Run With Garrison

Aloha! I am now less than a week away from the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler and I am feeling pretty good. I have spent the last 2 weeks running easy and trying to make sure I am rested and healthy heading into this challenge. The only 2 serious efforts I made over these 2 weeks were the Chapson 8k race here in Honolulu and my first crossfit workout at the men’s Rx–this also happen to be my last elements class.

This 2 week training/tapering block started off with a massage. I have been working with Barbara at Massage Specialists and she does an outstanding job every time. My massage sessions last 2 hours and I can’t wait to get another one before I fly to Huntsville on Thursday!  Mileage over the past 2 weeks has been 56 and 41 miles per week with 4 days off. I have been sleeping a bunch and my focus is really starting to narrow down. Sweet P has noticed that as we get closer to the start of big races, I start to become more and more quiet.  Over the course of the runs, my thoughts have either been focusing on how I think I will feel at different points in the 100 miler or I have just been completely zoned out and thinking about very little at all. Thank goodness for the waterproof iPod and iRun waterproof headphones. It has not been raining, I just sweat a lot on a regular 11 mile run….Onto the big efforts of the past 2 weeks..

The Chapson 8k is a typical, well-run, early season race here in Honolulu. It starts and finishes in Kapiolani Park and the course is out and back over Diamond Head Road. I wanted to get in a solid effort just to see where I am in my training. Last year I finished in 13th place and ran 31:56–6:26 pace. The goals for this race were to finish in the top 3 and run sub 6 minute pace. The race went out at a fairly conservative pace. I noticed on my warmup that the entire way out we would be facing a serious headwind so I sat in the main field for the first 1.5 miles and let the other guys take the wind. At the start, 2 guys took off and got themselves a pretty good lead, we decided to let them go and I felt confident early in the race that we, as a group, would reel them in.  Well, I guessed wrong and as we were nearing the top of Diamond Head on the way out, I decided to make a move to try and close the gap. I totally committed to the effort and had no doubt that this was the right thing to do—super positive! Nobody from the main field followed me so I was all by myself into the headwind to chase down the 2 leaders. It took quite an effort but I caught them by the turnaround at Triangle Park. I worked my was past the younger of the two guys as we headed back up Diamond Head on the return trip. I could see the bunch I was running with earlier and I felt confident that my goal of top 3 would be realized (check) and now I just needed to see what I could manage and if I could actually win the race. The runner in second was really laboring on the uphill and as I moved up to the leader, I felt that I had successfully made it a 2 man race–I was wrong… I crested the hill with the race leader and I was starting to really feel the effects of chasing down these 2 guys. I started thinking ” just follow, hang on, don’t make any move until we get to the park (about 1000 meters to go)” and as we were about halfway down the hill, the kid in third just runs right up to us, and then right past us! I jumped onto his shoulder and kept up the same race thoughts–this time just at a faster pace!. It was once again a 2 man race and as he let up a little bit I made a move but I did not totally commit to it. Looking back, I should have either fully committed to the move to just sat there and showed a little patience. I chose wrong and paid for it. Legs felt heavy at this point and as he passed me after my weak move, mentally I just checked out and stopped fighting. I was passed by the older of the 2 guys as we headed into the park and the result did not change from there. 3rd overall, 29:26–5:55 pace. I met all my pre-race goals but the lack of commitment late in the race stings a bit. Winning a race is hard to do and I feel like I let a great opportunity slip away…Hopefully I can learn from this for a better result next time.

The other effort this week was my final crossfit elements class/workout. This was my first workout at the men’s Rx and I am very happy with it–very tough! the workout was 5 sets of 400m run, 30 box jumps on a 24″ box, 30 wall balls with a 20# med ball. The runs and the box jumps were fine, the wall balls were the killer. I finished the workout in 31:52 and my abs still feel the workout 3 days later:)

That is all for now. Looking forward to my first 100 miler. Hopefully, the next time I write–I will be a 100 mile man!

We may try to send updates during the race to post on this site. I will see my support team at least every 20 miles at Rocky Raccoon and if we can find some wi-fi they will post updates and maybe some video or photos. Heading out to buy a Go Pro camera to log some of these crazy experiences–hope to share some great video with all of you.

If you want to receive updates from the race, just sign up to follow the blog and you will receive an email whenever we post new info on this site.

Happy Running!

Shoes used and mileage–Adidas Glide (151.34), Adidas XT3 trail (6.02), New Balance 890 Blue (361.68), Adidas Aegis (139.78), Adidas Ride (40.81), and New Balance 890 Black (66.47)

Aloha! Week 2 of 2012 training is in the books and overall it went pretty well. No big workouts to report but the theme for this week was to continue to work on my mental focus. Over the past year this aspect of my running has shown great improvement. I’m certain that my improved fitness has been a factor but I also think that age and maturity have started to set in—Finally!. I am growing comfortable running easy on easy days and letting the ego take a rest along with my body. Ultra running has taught me the need to run my own race–not that I always apply this lesson–but I am trying hard to apply this to my training runs as well. During every run this week I thought about how fortunate I am to be able to run/train in the manner that I do. I find it very important to say and believe that I never “have to” go for a run and instead that I “want to” get out the door. This is a little bit of a newer mindset for me and I must say it is working out well. I make the choice to run because of a long list of things that it gives me in return–too long a list for now but I will touch on that in future posts. I have also been focusing on only embracing the positive thoughts during workouts and longer runs. This is a weapon that I need to have ready and at my disposal in 3 weeks because over the course of 100 miles, lots can/will go wrong. Whenever stressful or negative thoughts popped into my head this week, I worked thru it and then mentally compartmentalized it and just put it away in a box. I can’t say it is easy to do but with practice I am starting to get a better hold on it. I can’t just expect to have this skill available if I don’t recognize it as an issue and set forth a strategy to develop the skill. More on this later because I am certain you will see this as a theme. I have spoken with a few friends about this project and they all want to know something along the lines of “what am I thinking about when I put in those nasty miles”. So thru this project, I will attempt to provide a little insight into that topic. Thanks in advance for the feedback and I hope it helps.

Here is the training from week 2

Monday—Nice easy run, been feeling a little heavy after a weekend of bad eating. It was great to have the weekend off work and just relax with Sweet P. I did 3 pullups in the park at the end of the run :). Mental focus today was to start to think about and visualize what the last 20 miles of the 100 will be like. Average pace for the run was 7:41.

Tuesday–same loop as Monday, sightly faster. Felt a little tired at the start but then fell into a groove. Today thought about miles 60-80 of 100 miler. Need to work on staying relaxed and patient. Broke out a new pair of New Balance 890’s and they felt great. This will likely be my Rocky Raccoon shoe unless the trail turns out to be more technical than I thought.

Wednesday–Big day of the week. Tantalus Counter Clockwise from home–15.63 miles average 7:29 pace with a nasty 5 mile climb in the middle. Warmed up too fast! Filled Nathan pack with 2 liters of Secret Drink Mix and the thinking point for today was “purposeful” arms on the 43:37 minute climb. I felt solid and thinking about driving my arms instead of just letting them think for themselves seemed to work well. I love this run–hands down my favorite here in Hawaii. If I could only have this run on dirt (without tons of roots) It would be perfect. ran sub 30 minutes on the way down and ran 73:30 for 1 lap–that is  a pretty fast time for me so as I hit the lap timer at the bottom of the hill—Big smile on my face–fitness might just be right around the corner! Average HR was 153. On the way home, I felt a bit gassed but somehow averaged 7:17 pace on the way home. Still not sure how that happened. Planned on doing crossfit today after the run but my body said waiting a day would be ok—so I actually listened this time.

Thursday–super easy 7 miler before crossfit. Workout was 3 sets of 400m run/21 Kettleball swings/12 pullups (I used bands) in 10:58. I am so new to crossfit but I am starting to get in a rhythm. My key is to just stay within myself and just remember that I want to use this to improve my running, not replace it. So far, it is working. The workout today played to my running strength but I really need to keep working on my pullups. I used to not be able to do 1, so it is easy to see my improvement from week to week.

Friday–Houston, we may have a problem. nice easy 10 mile run in new balance 890 and had a sharp pain at the base of my shin, top of ankle. hurt the entire run and afterward. Started taking Aleve (I don’t like doing this) and the pain subsided. Hopefully, I just tied my shoes too tight and the pain goes away. bad time to get hurt. To top it all off, mentally was tougher than normal today. My head was all over the place and I could not find a focus point. My head was so spastic that thinking about nothing was too much to ask.

Saturday–Tried something a little different today–Instead of loading up my Nathan pack with fluids, I loaded it up with a towel and workout clothes then I ran to crossfit. A little over 4 miles and it was relaxed. 1 problem, I bought a new iphone 4s so I can shoot quality video/photos from the races, and let me just say that text messaging and running are not for me. Crossfit workout went well. I am still following the beginner path so my workout was only 15 minutes compared to the 20 minute prescription. I finished 8 sets of 10 push press/10 KB swings/ 10 box jumps in my 15 minutes. Felt good, happy to stay within myself and I am very happy with the whole crossfit experiment so far. I am getting stronger and meeting some cool people as well. Easy run home

Sunday–Nice long run, ran a couple improvised Diamond Head/Kahala loops and incorporated that monster hill on Pahoa. That climb is long and tough–I need to start to add that into the daily loop. Much tougher than the climb up Diamond Head Rd. Drank 1.5 liters of Secret Drink Mix—NOT ENOUGH–I ran out with about 3 miles to go–oops. Ate 2 Metasalt tabs every 45 minutes and that worked out well–no cramping issues at all. Tons of people out running today training for the Great Aloha Run in a few weeks. So nice to see that many people running along Diamond Head road. I am feeling like my fitness is coming around and the leg pain is much less severe. As usual, getting thru the 2nd lap of the run was the toughest part–mentally running away from the house after putting in 9 miles and committing to another 10-11 miles–very happy I made the right decision and had positive focus and thoughts today. Might be my last long run prior to the 100, we will see.

Weekly Roundup: 80.86 miles. Overall a very positive week on all counts. I’m a little tired and thats ok–Massage on Monday with Barbara @ Massage Specialists—She does an Amazing job putting me back together–I highly recommend her if you are in Hawaii and need a great massage therapist!  Shoes fopr the week–Black New Balance 890 (55.16 miles), Grey NB 890 (344.79 miles), Adidas Glide (141.08 miles)–same gear as last week Secret Drink MIx, Nathan pack, Garmin 410.

Next week: I might jump in a local 8k to see how much more fit I am compared to this exact time last year. Other than that, 1 fartlek workout and some time on Tantalus. Stay tuned and thanks for reading! Please feel free to provide feedback or thoughts

Aloha!

Aloha, my name is Michael and I am a competitive Ultramarathon runner. I started this blog to share my training and racing adventures with friends and anyone else who might benefit from my experiences.  I plan on starting small, simply posting training logs and race reports. As the year progresses, I hope to expand and include some gear reviews and a coaching column. Although I have been running for the better part of the past 28 years, 2011 was the year I decided to really give ultra running a serious effort.  The race schedule in 2011 included the American River 50 miler (222nd place, 9:46:12), Tahoe Rim Trail 50k (11th place, 6:02:27), Noble Canyon 50k (12th place, 5:02:30) and the Dick Collins Fire Trails 50 miler (27th place, 8:24:36). On the training side, I put in 3,057 miles in 2011 (about 58 miles a week) and I hope to add on that total in 2012.  The first race on the calendar for 2012 is the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler in Huntsville, Texas. I’m looking forward to my first 100 miler and the possibility of a really big belt buckle!

I finally feel recovered from a lackluster end to 2011 and it feels like 2012 is getting started on the right foot.  You can check out my training routes on garmin connect. http://connect.garmin.com  look for coachgarrison

Monday–Tantalus loop from home. This route includes a 5 mile, solid climb followed by a really fun descent. Tough course and I love to use it as a fitness gauge.  I credit most of my strength to my time on Tantalus. First day using my new Nathan Vest and I an already tell it will be a very helpful tool in my racing. Completed 15.52 miles in 1:56:19–A training PR for this loop. Averaged 7:27 pace, 42:49 up and 29:58 down the hill. Great first run of 2012

Tuesday–Nice easy 10 miler around Diamond Head, 7:45 pace. Need more runs like this!

Wednesday–Very easy 9 miles around Diamond Head before my first crossfit workout at CrossFit Oahu. 3 pullups in the park after the run. Great workout at crossfit

Thursday–10 miles around Diamond Head. Fartlek workout 6x 6:30′ on and 90″ off. This is a staple workout for me and it went very, very well. Wanted to stop after 4 reps but worked through it. 7:00 pace average for entire run and very sore from squats yesterday. Pace during the ON efforts ranged from 6:14-6:43(up Diamond Head).

Friday–Relaxed 8 miler around Diamond Head before crossfit. 8:05 pace. I’m a little sore from the past few days.

Saturday—Great 24 miler!!! Filled up my Nathan pack with 2 liters of Secret Drink Mix and headed out the door. Started out up over Diamond Head and along the marathon course. Took the left on Kilauea and tackled the super steep climb. From there, rolled along thru the neighborhoods and UH campus until I found my self at the base of Tantalus. 46:51 to the top and 33:34 down. Ran the loop counter clockwise and never felt like I went past 3rd gear. Stayed very relaxed the entire time. After the loop, I headed toward the beach for a nice finish to the run. Super happy with the effort–big confidence builder! The only negative—I wore the vest with no shirt underneath and I chafed up my back a little and the pack took on a bright red tint . Looks like my angel wings have been clipped–lesson learned. Hydration felt perfect. Great end to the week–I earned a rest day Sunday

Weekly totals—76.67 miles for the week, long run 24 miles. 2 Crossfit workouts. Gear used—New Balance 890–336.49 miles so far, Adidas Glide–123.68 miles, Nathan HPL #020 Race Vest, Secret Drink Mix, Garmin 410, Thermolyte Metasalt, Waterproof Ipod Nano, iRun waterproof headphones

Aloha!