Training - 09/17/12 - 09/23/12

25.19 miles this week.  Bear Chase 50 Mile Trail Race is now less than a week away. With so much smoke in the air from all the wildfires from Idaho, Wyoming, and Washington, my breathing has definitely been affected.  I’m an asthmatic, allergy induced, but very rarely have to ever use a rescue inhaler.  The smoke in the air has left me short of breath recently though.  The other night I found myself having to take ‘talking breaks’ during normal conversation, just so that I could catch my breath.  On runs, I’ve been consciously telling myself to ‘look up’ and ‘raise your head’.  As a trail runner, I typically keep my gaze fairly low, to watch for obstacles, etc., on the ground.  Lifting my chin up higher seems to help open my airways some and lets me get more air in – albeit crappy quality air.  

Overall I'm feeling good about my training, despite the low miles.  I've been consistent with a 10:00'ish pace on similar terrain, and climbing, as to what the Bear Chase 50 will be.  And my HR is responding better and better all the time.

Monday, September 17 - 0 Miles - Rest day. 163.4 lbs.

Tuesday, September 18 - 7.08 Miles, 10:06 pace, 155 HR. 161.0 lbs.  It was a rough outing again – this time at the Boneyard.  Legs are sore and heavy.  I tried to do some harder efforts occasionally to try and shake things out.  That seemed to work a bit, and was feeling a bit better by the end of the run.  Gotta wonder how much the air quality is affecting me, and my legs.  And, am I still fighting some kind of cold, or flu shot side-effects?

Wednesday, September 19 - 0 miles - Rest day. 162.0  lbs. Took the day off of work and spent the day hangin’ with Diana.  Worst nutrition day in a LONG time.  It all started with Lamar’s Donuts for a coffee and an apple fritter in the morning.  It was all downhill from there.  Lost count of how many Mexican Cokes (natural sugar – no HFCS at least) I drank.  And then there was pizza and calzones.  It was my first gluten or dairy in two and a half weeks – and, as always, I felt like total garbage with some major stomach and GI issues as a reward.

Thursday, September 20 – 8.05 Miles, 9:59 pace, 156 HR. 164.8 lbs.  Stats show a good day at the Boneyard for me.  Besides the lingering stomach and GI issues, my legs and feet were telling me otherwise the whole time though.  Legs were heavy, tired, and burning – though I wonder how much the gluten, dairy, and gluttony on Wednesday is to blame for that, on top of air quality.  But my feet were the worst.  I’ve suddenly developed extremely painful arches, with my right foot being the worst.  Am I possibly over-trained, or maybe under-trained?  I like the fact that my average HR was only 156 at that pace at the Boneyard.  That reinforces that my fitness should be good for the Bear Chase, but right now, the legs and especially the feet are bit of a concern.  Wondering if I should dial back my taper even more – if that is even possible.

Friday, September 21 - 0 miles - Rest day. 161.8 lbs.

Saturday, September 22 - 0 miles - Forced rest day. 162.6 lbs.  Logistics to run today just didn't work out and I was NOT motivated to get up at 3am to get in a 10 miler.

Sunday, September 23 - 10.06 Miles, 10:02 pace, 149 HR. 163.6  lbs. It's my long taper run day and decided to do the Bluffs, in both directions.  Motivation was very hard to come by and it was rough getting out of bed.  The run felt like a mixed bag to me today.  At times it was very rough, other times I felt pretty good.  That's what next Sunday's BC50 will be like so it was probably a good thing for my mental preparation.  The foot pain in my arches was less of a factor today, and am confident that with a very low mileage taper week, that I'll be fine for the race.  I'm excited, and a bit puzzled, that my HR was so low on this run. Typically I'd be around 155 - 160 on an effort like this with almost 960' of climbing.  I typically down 18oz of H2O when I wake up - today, I only took in 8oz.  And while running, I took in only 24oz of H2O.  The more I read about people's experiences, the more I think about less H2O and less calories in.  I'm going to test that out more this fall.

Nutrition - Nutrition was not good overall, and my weight reflects that.  I’m not going to change anything now, but we’ll see what post Bear Chase will bring as far as my diet/eating plan.

My biggest problems as a food addict are;
*Cheating.  If I cheat at all, it's game over.  I binge and can't stop myself.  I have to be 100% strict to be successful.
*Quantity.  I may be eating healthy food, but my portions/serving could feed three or four people.