Checkin' In

Its been a good chunk of time since I checked in.



I have only raced once this year. A far cry from my plans at the start of the year. That said, I had a great year of mileage. Most importantly, I have learned to wean myself off of the heart rate monitor. I find now I am much more aware of how my body is feeling. I pay attention to breathing and percieved exertion. Overall, it has made me a runner who is much more in tune with my body as opposed to being detached from my body and the feedback it is providing.



To initiate the process, I knew what type of paces produced certain heart rate zones on flat terrain. So I attempted to run at these desired paces, and over a few months came to learn what the exertion feels like at those zones. Every so often, I strap on the heart rate monitor to make sure all the paces and heart rates still jive. In the mountains it is the same. I am aware of my how hard I am breathing and if I feel any lactic acid in my legs, that is a sure sign I am pushing the pace too much.



So using these techniques, I ran my one race of the year. The Bulldog 50k in August. I ran a 4:54 which was slightly faster than last year. It was good enough for 13th overall and 2nd in my age group. The photo is post race. Sitting on a bag of ice with a soda was really nice. The coolest part of the day was participating in the award ceremony because Matt and Charlotte really got a kick out of seeing dad get an award. As always, I gave Charlotte my finishers medal to put on one of her dolls. That has sort of become our tradition. The only ones I keep for myself are the 100 mile belt buckles.






Anyway, enough about this past year. Things are rolling really well right now. I am running about 50 miles a week after a mid fall mellowing out period. I am entered in some lotteries for races next year and will know the results in a few days. This sport has become so heavily subscribed that now entry into the major ones is via lottery. I am waiting to hear about the following



Way Too Cool 50k

Miwok 100k

Massanutten 100m

Squaw Peak 50m



Depending on how these lotteries go, I will make a season plan from there.



Back with more after the lotteries!!