We're Getting There

"We're Getting There" is what you will see on a sign out front of Gathering's pertaining to the construction status in the new Greek Peak restaurant. I thought this statement could be used in a number of different contexts including Sunday's ultra-long run through that area.

I wanted to also thank everyone that has donated for the Lupus charity that I am running for (along w/ a couple other runners) and invite anyone to give what you can for this great cause. You can donate or check our status at...http://www.firstgiving.com/lupusrunners Thanks!

I had another HUGE week and am definitely feeling it. Time to back off a little and let the body recuperate some.

Miles for the week: 87

Monday= rest
Tuesday= 5 mile easy run on Cayuga trail
Wednesday= 4 miles at Island Health and lifted weights
Thursday= 11 miles on Abbot Loop and Michigan Hollow Rd. add on
Friday= 10 miles on Black Diamond Trail w/ Cass Park add on

I geared up for another weekend full of running and working (which calls for being on my feet the whole time). This time I decided not to do the whole sleep deprivation thing but it kind of happened again unintentionally! ughhhh! Thank god I finished my Anatomy and Physiology class.

I decided to wake up early Saturday morning and drive up to Green Lakes again to run the 50K course. It was such an enjoyable run the previous week I didn't mind making the hour drive. Plus I felt that I didn't have the course completely dialed in. I do now! I did 3 loops plus a little add on for 24 miles. Sat. night work- go home- sleep

Sunday morning 5 am the alarm went off and I could hear the rain outside. When I looked I saw a big flash of lightning too! I thought of going back to bed but prior plans of meeting others for a 36 mile Iroquois Trails run through kept me moving forward as planned. After quickly having some breakfast I packed my cooler with Ensure's, EFS fluid, watermelon, and a diet pepsi. I also had my usual salted pretzels, dried red banana's, pistachio nuts and Honey Stinger gels.

I met Scotie at Gatherings and we dropped one car off at the planned finishing point on Daisy Hollow Rd. After getting back to our little hub in the restaurant's parking lot we lubed up in Body Glide, filled our water bottles and started our journey for a long day of scouting the course.
Also, we had to be back by 8 am to meet Jay so the first section of the course (about 6 miles) had to be under watchful eyes of the time.

Up the ski resort we went. It was good to be catching up w/ Scotie after he's been out for a couple of weeks on the injured reserve. We got to yapping and realized at the top that we went the wrong way! As we wandered around the resort we just decided to descend to the Alpine Center and figure out where we went wrong. At the base we finally figured out what we did wrong and it was a good learning experience. We won't make that mistake again.

We headed back to meet Jay and went for about a 17 mile out and back (section 2 and 3). Jay joined us for about 10 of those. Toward the middle of this part (around 18 miles or so) Scotie and I were starting to feel completely drained. The gels weren't doing it and we were running low on fluids. One thing that we did have going for us was the weather. It didn't rain but it remained nice and cool w/ lots of cloud cover. At one point we just started naming all the foods we had in the car and discussed what we were going to eat in 5 miles. It was a great exercise to keep our minds busy and to also feel that discomfort too.

Ahh! lunch!!! We had a buffett on the roof of my car and breaked for about 20 minutes. This was so helpful. I was feeling so much better but the arch of my left foot was really starting to bother me. It reminded me of a feeling I had a few years ago after a marathon which turned out to be a touch of plantar fasciitus. uh oh... i took some anti-inflammotory but wasn't thrilled about this painful realization.

After our break we stocked up and headed out for our final portion of our training run. We headed up Greek Peak again, the backside this time, and both were reminded how tough this race is going to be. I kept reminding Scotie that "we're getting there". We agreed that breaking 24 hours in the inaugural Iroquois Trails 100 is going to involve having one remarkable day.

There was one more little confusing part of the course that we took a wrong turn on that cut off a few miles but ultimately put us in the same spot. We were both amazed how good we were feeling after 30 miles despite my foot. We ended up finishing the run with 33 miles and drove back to Gatherings.

This is when I saw the sign again and it really reminded me that this race is right around the corner.

I had an hour massage today but the foot is still very sore. Hopefully taking it down a couple notches along w/ ice and self massage/anti-inflammatories will help. That's enough of the back to back long runs/ minimal sleep weekends for a while. I felt that they were very helpful though not only for the physical aspects but for the mental fatigue as well.

Well... more will be revealed!

Quote of the week: "There are as many reasons for running as there are days in the year, years in my life. But mostly I run because I am an animal and a child, an artist and a saint. So, too, are you. Find your own play, your own self-renewing compulsion, and you will become the person you are meant to be." - George Sheehan