Girls On The Run

Lunchtime running is back. And yesterday I took a lunchtime shower thanks to the rain storm that caught me near the tail end of my run. I guess it beats coming back to the office all stinky.

Ten weeks to go before the race. It looks like I might have to pick up an extra lap if we cant find an alternate. One of our team members can only do two laps. We can either use an alternate or the other team members have to pick up the laps. I think I could pull off 40 miles. I'll get a couple of hours rest in between in each lap. I dont think I'll be setting any speed records on that 3rd and 4th lap though.

I did a double yesterday. I ran again with the Delco Road Runners at our weekly Wednesday Night Run. I ran with four girls that I have been running with for quite some time. And these b*tches were hauling ass. The entire time that I was running (behind them) I kept asking myself who pissed in their  cornflakes this morning. We were pushing an 8:20-8:25 pace, which doesnt sound all that fast. But I am out of shape, I was running on tired legs, and these chicks dont normally push that kind of pace. I have to up my game.

Did some trail running tonight. Trail running is kicking my ass. And I have been doing alot of running at Ridley. You're either going up, or going down. There's very little "flat" trails out there. And I am still stopping on some of the hills. Although tonight I did manage to tackle the "Gut Buster" (or Ghost Buster has my 7 year old calls it). Take a look at the elevation profile of my run

Good news is that I have already dropped a few pounds.

So it begins

So technically tomorrow, May 1, is the "official" start to my training for the 20in24. I created a training plan with some fluff time built into over the past two weeks to give me some "ramp up" time to get used to the training plan. As always, my biggest objective is to lose a couple of pounds. I am about 20lbs over the line (last time I checked, which was about two weeks ago)

So, what have I done in the interim period of time since my last post? A lotta nothing, except eating. I am very good at eating. But I dont like fish. And things that are white. Except rice. I like rice. I am referring to more of the cream based foods that are white, like ranch dressing, and mayo. I like cake icing. That's white. Where the hell am I going with this?

So aside from eating, I made the realization that I am still quite bored of running. And that's a problem considering that I am doing a 24 hour race in 2.5 months. Over the pas weeks I have made a handful of attempts at running on a treadmill. Normally, I have no problem running on a treadmill. While its not the most pleasant experience in the world, I normally have a good tolerance for the monotony. However, I cannot express in words the abject disgust I felt being on that treadmill.

Then one day, I was sititing there, daydreaming about ice cream or perhaps some sort of delicious fried food, and a thought popped into my head - trail running! I was avid trail runner for a very long time, but as my interests turned to long distance road running over thr course of the past few years, I moved away from it, partly because I needed the long miles with marathon training, and partly because I didnt want to risk injury by twisting an ankle which is very common with trail running.

I went out and bought a snazzy new pair of Brooks Cascadia's. I've owned two pairs of this fantastic shoe over the past five years. That now brings my total running shoe count to 10. I think. I might be missing a pair in there somewheres. Regardless, Ive been hitting the trails over at Ridley about twice a week. Trail running is one of the only physical endeavors (aside from sex) that doesnt require the use of music as a distraction. Ive tried to trail run with some tunes, and I have found the music to be the distraction.

Let me tell you that this trail running is kicking my ass. The trails at Ridley are anything but flat. Theres lots of downed trees and rocks and roots that require me to jump/ hop. Its fantastic cross training. Its a bit of a re-training with the way my mind works. My speeds are much slower than my comparable road runs. Granted, I am out of shape so I expect the speeds to be slow for bit more until my body starts to get acclamated.

But, I cannot avoid the plain truth - that I need to get in some volume miles on the road in the next 8-10 weeks. While trail running is a fantastic workout, I need to get in some good road miles as a prep for this race in July.