Training Log Archive: Grandpa Jameson

post race beers with maggie, brad, and claire. marin brewing company and then bel campo meat co for burgers. had mine with joule bacon and a Headlands brewing company. good combo. then ice cream after.

horrible night of sleep. probably the worst post race sleep i've ever had. my little toa on my left foot, the on i kicked the dresser with last wednesday night, was throbbing like hell. no ibuprofen with use so just suffered and the rest of my body was just achey and restless. paying the price.

noon flight from OAK to SAN. no issues.

woke up and legs weren't horrible. sore for sure but have been worse. hoping my recovery will be nice and quick.

breakfast at depot cafe in mill valley again. so good. croissant breakfast sandwich.

Event: The North Face 50 Championships
 

good sleep... considering i had to get up a 230 am. good think it was dark by 445 and we had dinner at 530. pizza and a lagunitas ipa. ready to roll.

average race for me. not great, not horrible. could have been better, could have been worse. i still have a lot to learn about properly "racing" 50 miles. very happy with the day though. with some small changes both in training and on race day I am pretty confident i can run ~6:45 on that course. and as far as the course goes.. it was incredible. it was muddy but we had great weather. so glad we still got run 90% of the original course.

here's the details....
http://app.strava.com/activities/226876539/overvie...

I felt good and rested on the start line but probably went out a bit too hard. shocker. With the minor course changes the packs stayed together longer than usual for the first 11 miles. I was just having a good time chatting with Vargo and Dylan and never felt like I was pushing. For the most part I was in the second pack and between the first and second pack there must have 30+ dudes together.

After a bit of confusion after the second loop (mile 11) when a good chunk of the front runners missed the turn I found myself in the lead group heading up the Miwok climb. Not where I wanted to be. So I stopped to go to the bathroom and let them go. I continued up the climb and then descended to the Tennessee Valley aid station. I saw Maggie, got a new bottle, and was on my way. I was definitely a bit of ahead of where I should have been... or more importantly wanted to be. For the next few miles I ran with Vargo and then we descended to the Muir Beach aid station (mile 18). I was still feeling good and staying on top of my nutrition.

At mile 19 we started the climb up to Cardiac and I had guys all around me... just ahead and behind. I couldn't get my legs to go up the muddy switchbacks. It felt like I was stuck in 2nd gear. My energy was good, my head was good, but my legs wouldn't go. I slogged along for a bit and got passed by a few guys. I continued to feel like crap from the Cardiac aid station (mile 23.2) all the way to the Mckennan Gulch aid station ( mile 28.1). I just didn't have any power during the 9 miles of climbing. Pretty much the worst part of the race to hit a low spot. It could very well have been because I went out too hard and I'll be honest I was getting a bit worried and having a pity party.

I was thinking about how nice it would be to drop at mile 33 where I would see maggie next and just chalk it up to not being my day... but then I got my head on straight. I was talking with Maggie right before the start of the race about how stoked I was just be healthy and fit again. It's been a long road since getting hit by a car on memorial day weekend of last year. A lot of ups and downs and for the first time this fall I've finally felt like I'm back to where I was before then... and even better than before. So I rallied and was going to get this thing done no matter what.

Just after the mile 28 aid station I passed a struggling Rob Krar. We shared a couple words and I continued to roll. Once back on the Matt Davis trail my legs and body started to come around and I was rolling all the way down to the Stinson Beach aid station (33.1). I passed a couple of guys on the way down and got to see Maggie again. I climbed well out of Stinson beach and that climb was one of my favorite parts of the course. I caught a couple more guys and but was also passed by a charging Rob Krar... damn can that dude power hike. I topped out at the climb and rolled down to the Cardiac aid station (mile 35.8). I was feeling better now then I was when I rolled through there at mile 23.

Next was a long, super muddy descent back down to Muir Beach. I still had good legs and my spirits were high as I was getting a lot of encouragement from all the 50k runners running in the opposite direction. I got to the Muir Beach aid station at mile 41 and slammed some coke and water. Then it was time for about a 1000ft climb out of Muir Beach on some super steep fireroads. I ran and power hiked my way up the climb. I was feeling pretty good and was stoked that i felt better from mile 30-40 than I did from 20-30.

Nearing the half way point on the climb I started to get a gnarly side stitch and could not get it to go away. It slowed me down quite a bit on the descents between the climbs but going up was fine. I got to the top of the climb and did my best to roll the descent while i felt like was getting stabbed in the gut. A mile or two before I got back to the Tennessee Valley Aid station (mile 45.1) the side stitch finally went away. In trying to get it to away I had stopped eating and drinking which I new would cause some issues the last 5 miles.

I was shocked and stoked to see Maggie and Brad at the Tennessee Valley aid. Maggie was originally going to just head to the finish after Stinson Beach. I walked through aid with her and she gave me a pep talk and then it was time for the last climb of the day. I ran 99% of it, not fast, but I got it done and then rolled into the finish in 7:11... very stoked to be done.

C • nice run my man ! 1

Long day yesterday. Flight delayed. Finally got to studio in mill valley at 11pm. It's killer though. Good sleep. Feeling good and ready to roll.

pre race jog on the old springs and miwok trails. trails are actually in great shape. definitely some mud but just super tacky. some of the jog was with maggie.. so rad. can't wait to race.

killer coffee at equator after and then breakfast at depot cafe with brad. bacon, eggs, and toast. picked up packet and some errands. good times. having fun... can't wait until the post race fun!

another course change. a bit of looping but WAY better than 2012. a little less climbing and more runnable terrain. 50.8 miles... it's going to be fast.

woke up a 2 to go to the bathroom and ruby was sleeping on the floor at the foot of our bed. not where she usually sleeps. i walked around her and in doing so kicked the dresser with my little toe on my left. it's bloody and sore this morning sweet.

C • now you know 2

nice relaxing morning. took maggie to work so i can pick her up on way to airport later. everything is packed and ready for TNF mudfest 2014.

easy spin down to del mar and back. a couple hard efforts throughout. feeling good.

banking sleep this week. mellow night watching 4 episodes of the blacklist on netflix. we're now through season 1.

last day of work before race... and should be a pretty mellow one.

C • muddy 3

late start. super fun run with ruby. light rain the whole time and ruby was ripping through the puddles and mud. totally worth having the clean her head to toe after.

i felt great before, during, and after. i was having so much fun running through the mud with rubes and when we got back i didn't even feel like i ran. weird.

feeling good. mellow week on the work front... as planned. only 2 more days and then another 4 day weekend.

headed out the door expecting some rain but unfortunately i didn't get any. slowly built into this one and felt good. just cruising and staying steady on the climbs.

stomach was a bit off the whole time. two pit stops. i had a glass of wine last night... lately that has been giving me stomach issues when i have to run first thing in the am. i should stick to beer.

recovery session
truestretch
band stretching and mobility
myrtl
stretching over ball
foam roller

lax ball... felt so good to get into the sauna.

race week.

easy jog with ruby. felt great. taking it easier Sundays has been great. loving waking up monday rested, full of energy, and ready to rip.

last session... my body feels really right now. very moderate effort.

5 min on bike, 400m jog
long dynamic warm up

A).
6 x 200M (~35 for each, moderate but felt snappy
Rest 1 Minute

B).
3 Rounds:
30 Seconds Nose to Wall Handstand Hold
Rest 15 Seconds
30 Seconds Ring Support Hold
- love this stuff. want to do more of it

C).
2 Rounds:
AMRAP 5 Minutes:
6 Push-Ups
9 Goblet Squats - did air squats
12 Kettlebell Swing (Russian) #35 - feel very light after swinging #53 last couple of weeks.

Rest 2 Minutes
12 rounds + 15 rep at a mod effort.

400m jog and 6 x 200.