Michael: Choices

In the sea of white
Dark angels are whispering
Sirens to the lost.

Monday, September 17, 2018

At this stage of the game choosing a race is looking for what’s local, what’s interesting, what haven’t I done before, and what haven’t I done well in before.

For example, although I finished fifth in the 2nd annual Valencia Trail 50k, because I got lost for a decent amount of time, when I received an email from that race for an early bird special I was strongly considering signing up. I just wanted to make sure I’d have enough recovery time from another revenge race, the Sycamore 100k, to compete decently. The Sycamore is at the end of February and the Valencia race is at the end of March, so case closed.

But when I went to sign up the sign up server was down. Out of curiosity, I thumbed through what other races were occurring in SoCal at the end of March. Turns out the Nine trails 35 miler is in that time frame. I’ve never run a 35 miler before, at least on purpose, so I decided to look into it.

Turns out it seems like both an old and formidable challenge. It wasn’t run this year due to the Thomas Fire, but the director promises to have it up and running again next year.

Outside of a new challenge, what I find intriguing about this race is the spread between the best time of 5:35 and the best time in my age group (60+) 9:18. And that 9:18 has stood since 1991. A record where there’s almost a 3 hour time difference between the gazelles and the old goats calls for a reckoning. So Valencia’s going to have to be put off for another year.
I’ve got to sign up for this Nine Trails race as soon as registration opens and see which one of is more ornery. I haven’t DNFed since 2014, and I plan on keeping it that way, but Nine Trails must be a real butt kicker.

Michael: Returning the Favor

Murmurs of the rain
Carried down the dry creek bed
On a summer wind.

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Like many people nowadays, I buy many of my shoes and other trail and running goodies on-line. But since Jeff at Fleet Feet saved me by having a booth set up at Bulldog with vests to try out (I left my bottle at home.), and the store was close to my work and they were offering 10% off (the same as Running Warehouse), what the heck?

They also had the next shoe model I want to give a tryout; the Hoka Speedgoat 2. Only problem is not in the color I wanted. I want the flashy yellow. I’ve got plenty of race attire to match that color scheme. But all Fleet Feet had was the grey and red; a pretty mundane combo and difficult to build an outfit with flare around.

But I’m going to give it a go if the shoes pass my initial trial runs and I don’t return them. But now outfitting is going to require at least new socks and a shirt; which really ought to be included in the hidden cost of shoes that don’t have the right color scheme. And these shoes, even with the discount, are Hokas, not quite up there in the outrageously expensive category as some Salomons, but not that far behind.

Gray and red… I wanted to be a bit flashier. Oh well, at least in short races the Torrents, in their light green flavor, holds out some promise of panache.

Michael: Thai Massage

It’s a cruel world
Where disabled veterans
Survive on cardboard.

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Outside of bicycle accidents, I have been extraordinarily fortunate in avoiding injuries, though my recent push, as I’ve turned 60, to compete often and well has left me with a strained hamstring.

And with another challenge just over a week away, deciding between rest, working out, and using other methods of rehabilitation have been foremost on my mind.

One of those methods is massage, which I haven’t done on a regular basis for over 10 years. And my last regular masseuse was a small Philippina woman whom I developed a long term deep tissue/S&M bi-weekly enticing/dread relationship with. Fortunately or not, we don’t live near that neighborhood anymore where it would even be worth the long shot call to see if she’s still in the business.

Here, we’re within walking distance of a Thai massage place that has very reasonable rates, so what the heck?

I’m not sure the combo. Swedish/Thai massage I received from Lila last week was therapeutic for my hamstring but it did feel both good, worrisome and different; kind of a amalgam of ballet, performance art, chiropractic maneuvers, contortionism and wrestling. But I liked it and will be back for more.

Michael: Updated Checklist

Within my day dreams
Ten minutes of clarity
Is all I ask for.

Friday, September 7, 2018

Due to my recent goof in forgetting a water bottle at home before a race, I’ve decided to update my “Less Than One Day’s Travel; Short Race Checklist”. Hopefully I won’t be adding any items to it in the near future.

Clothes: On Body:
-socks -Body glide
-shoes -nipple guards (band aids)
-shorts -Topical Edge
-shirt -Heat
-gloves
-hat Fuel/Hydration:
-watch -Pack
-race belt -gels/chews/bars
-necklace -electrolytes
-warm up pants -Run Gum
-warm up jacket

Logistics: Research:
-Directions -Course profile
-Registration info. -Weather
-Re-set alarm -Terrain
-Breakfast ready -Plausible finish time
-Gas in car -aid stations
-Coffee or know coffee stop
-Water/food in car
-Carry or hide key?

Misc.:
-toilet paper
-phone
-I.D.
-Cash
-card
-towel
-flashlight
-pen to write contact info. On bib
-towelettes/hand sanitizer

Michael: 4 for 4

Chocolate bulldog
Lunges at the marble cat
With intent to kill.

Monday, September 3, 2018

The Pier to Peak on Sunday concluded my fourth race in three weeks. That was a lot of fun, and though I wouldn’t rule out a stacked schedule like that again, I feel it would be wise to avoid it. I’d like to continue to perform well in every race I schedule, and though my ego, obstinacy and intelligence are still duking it out, it finally feels like I’m going to wise up and start spreading my races out a bit more.

But I did it. In the four races no one my age or older came in front of me and I would’ve been competitive in most age groups in most of the races. I also accomplished my goal of setting the age group record at Bulldog, so I’m halfway to my goal of trying to hold both the 25k and 50k age group records. Hopefully, I’ll be healthy enough next year to go after the 50k mark.

An interesting note about the differences between the Bulldog trail race and the Pier to Peak road challenge is the composition of the competition. At Bulldog I came in 10th overall and at P2P I came in 43rd, yet there was virtually the same amount of older men in front of me at both races that both included fields of about 300 runners. At P2P one 40 year old, one 50 year old, and 6 women beat me. At Bulldog, four 40 year olds, and one woman beat me. That means the P2P road race  was stacked with a lot of younger, very fast competitors compared to Bulldog, and a lot more strong women runners. That’s only two races which I know isn’t much of a scientific sampling. But I always find such comparisons interesting to look at.

Also of note was my wife’s encouraging yet keep me grounded support. When I told her about the logistics of this race and that I would need to do this race in about 2:15 to get to work on time, and that I was basing this time on last year’s best time by a 60 year old, she was hesitant to throw her full support behind my ability to do this. Again, like my comparisons of the two races mentioned above, she thought I was drawing on an awfully small sampling to jump to a conclusion of what I could plausibly expect to accomplish. She proffered that that old dude could’ve been a fluke; an age group super-hero. And of course, she could’ve been right. And I was full of … for not investigating further and basing my time on over confidence.

But out on the course she pulled off on the side of the road when it was safe to do so to give me support and encouragement without any hints of doubt. And, somewhat paradoxically, I know without her being there I wouldn’t of done nearly as well as I did - a 2:08:39, well under the 2:15 I was shooting for.

Michael: Rolling the Dice

My muscles have lives
And aches and pains of their own
They will share with me.

Monday, September 3, 2018

Before last Sunday’s race, the race director answered one of my two questions I e-mailed; should I take the shuttle or arrange for a ride back from the finish? He was right. If I had waited for the shuttle I would not have made it to work.

The other question, the one he didn’t answer before the race, was how many aid stations there would be and where were they located on the course? Without that answer, I had to do a little investigating and guessing as to whether I should bring a bottle or not.

All the website said about aid stations is that there would be water on the course. It did, fortunately, have a short video of  a previous run of the race and from that 3 minute clip I gleaned that not very many people were using packs or bottles. I also discovered, this morning while I was searching for race results, that the 2017 description of the event stated that there would be at least 7 water stations on course. I wish I would’ve had that information earlier, but it is what it is.

From this, and knowing that the weather would be mild, I decided to roll the dice and not carry water. That turned out to be fine decision. Turns out there were 8 stations on course, about one every mile and a half, providing ample opportunity to go sans pack. And when going from sea level to just a pinch under 4,000 ft in 13.1 miles, it was a relief not to carry any unnecessary  weight

Michael: Racing on a Work Day

Ginger red mushrooms
As large as a dinner plate
Decorate the tree.

Thursday, August 30, 2018

One of the great things about being semi-retired is that I have more time to train, rest and race. However, there is a slight hitch compared to when I was working a Mon -Fri gig, and that’s that I now work Sundays starting at noon.

Usually, with shorter local races that’s not a problem, but now I’ve got to think at least twice about how far away or how long a race I can do before work on Sundays. This Sunday is going to test how well I manage those new considerations.

Here’s the lowdown; The Pier to Peak in Santa Barbara is about an hour and a half from work, which means I should be near the 101 heading south around 10:30 if I’m going to make it safely to work on time. With a 6:30 start that gives me about 3 ½  hours to run a pretty tough half marathon. I’m pretty confident I’ll finish well under that mark. In fact I looked up how the best 60 year old did last year, and he finished in 2:16, so I ought to be in that ballpark.

That time frame isn’t the only hold up though. The kink is that it’s a point to point with a shuttle service back to the start. I mailed the race directors about the shuttle service and they replied that the shuttles will take about an hour to get back to the start. They didn’t say when these shuttles would start, and they advised me that I’d probably be better off having a family member or friend pick me up at the finish. Okay.

But that would mean asking Kimme to give up a day - a very long day - to serve as my crew as I go from early morning racer to early afternoon worker. She’s willing to do it, but is it worth it? That, we’re going to find out, but I’m not planning on making a habit on leaning on someone else to give up their day so I can race.

And there are a lot of races on Sundays where I’m now going to have to factor those variables into what races I do, which adds a few new variables to my race pro/con ledger.