Monday, April 25, 2011

Never have I ran so far...

As many of you may have been aware I have finished my first ultra-marathon distance this past weekend at the Earthly Unicorn 720. How long is an ultra-marathon you may ask, well in the classic distance it's 50k, but in truth it is any distance beyond a marathon. Usually you should prep for this with lots of training. Well, I did not, with little preparation and not too much thought I jumped into this race. In all fairness I new it was coming and had committed to it months ago, I just did not training as hard as I should have. In the weeks leading up to this event I think the longest run I had engaged in was a weekend five miler. That is not the distance needed to be able to go out and own a distance of any great length. So keep that in mind.

Now let me paint the scene for you (keeping in mind I am not a fast runner usually around 11 min per mile) as I pull up to my friend Eddie's house (aka the race site) I meet several people there for the run and they were all faster then I was, a lot faster. As I get out of the car and hear the "snap, crackle, pop" of various joints and various body parts I get a chance to meet everyone. Eddie's father Ed was there and he is a great guy who was super supportive of my efforts and stayed out in the driveway, if he was not running the whole time I was running. I also got to meet some of Eddie's other neighbors and ran across some guys from church, it was good to meet with other runners. As I prep for the course it takes mere moments for Eddie and a friend come around the corner and I quickly fell into line to learn the route and the pace...the very fast pace. It was not a pace that would be maintained (9 minute miles is what I do in my sprints not a long distance race...or I could try running faster...a thought for another time).

I have ran many miles before, I have ran many miles in many different settings, and I have ran for long periods of time and never really covered a lot of distance before. Never before, though, have I gone though so many different mindsets in a run. I started out focused on getting miles done, then I ran on remote, then I walked, then I totally just made it a point to muscle through the miles, and then back on remote. All and all it was an exercise of mental toughness that I had not experienced in years. I have experienced several different challenges in my life that have required a mental toughness of their own, but this was a completely different mental toughness and, not to sound pretentious, I can honestly say that running a marathon was easier this time for me despite the poor prep.

The course was easy enough a loop that was one mile and some change and after seven hours I started to feel like a slow motion NASCAR race always making left turns! I was there though pounding out the miles and I felt great for a long long time. I was doing really good truth be told, but the miles really started to wear me out around mile 23 and for the record 31 miles is way longer then 26. I took needed breaks and ate and drank to keep myself in as good of a shape as I could stay into and finally after much effort I ran across that finish line and ever so thankful to be done! I was ready to be sitting and relaxing and so was my body.

I hurt mostly in my hips and feet that day and to say I was tired was an understatement, but what I really surprised me was not being hungry, until that is I got home and then I got hungry. I slept well Saturday, I slept better Sunday, and I slept even better Monday. I wonder why I slept so much better the further from the event I got? I guess a smart medical person would have to tell me.

I was also sore, but I did not really hurt until Sunday when my hips simply did not want to function, but how do you explain that to people, especially my little people, who simply want their daddy around. So, I got up and kept going walking tall, walking stiff, and not understanding why at church they kept insisting I stand. I did not make a production out of it, but honestly I can praise the Lord from a seated position. My pain ebbed and flowed that day and since then it has slowly improved. The areas of soreness have changed along with my recovery this time around. It seemed the further I got away from the event the more tired I was despite my sleeping and napping. I can say that at the end of today though I feel close to charged up.

I have been using my muscle rub and taking some Advil (but only when it was safe to do so since it is an NSAID) and I tried out a new concept to aid in my recovery. I used KT Tape to help my sore shins and I think it really is helping or its a placebo. Another way I changed was I did not get sick at all this time. You may recall after the marathon I was sick for about two full days; but not this time. I think both my body and mind were in a better place to handle the recovery.

As I sit here in my race t-shirt I think to myself about what now, but I remember the old adage that "you are not ready for your next marathon until you can forget about your last one" and I can assure you I have not even gotten close to forgetting my ultra, so I think I will...oh I know really do something nuts and train for back to back marathons in the fall! Sure that's what I will do! Run a 1/2 in October (if allowed), then a full in December followed by the Goofy Race Challenge in January, that should be enough of a challenge to make most people question my sanity, but hey what's the point of running if you don't enjoy the odd looks everyone gives you. I wonder why they never do that to football players or baseball players? Hmmm another topic for another day.

Friday, April 8, 2011

A time out for T-Ball

I have been spending time away from running lately and spending more time coaching my daughter's t-ball team. I am sure that many of you can guess where this is going and you are right! I really enjoy being apart of this opportunity to reach out to my child and other children as well. To talk about the team I have fourteen kids, mostly boys as one would suspect, and these are some of the most fun children to have on a team. I have two other parents helping with the coaching and that makes a big difference and that helps to keep comments down. I also employ the age old strategy of involving my critics. I am always on the look out for a parent or two who think they can do a better job and then put them on the field or in the dugout so they can be part of the solution. This serves two purposes, one they don't criticize what they are apart off and second they get a taste of trying to herd cats. I know, I know, I said it...managing 14 kid on a baseball field is like herding cats.

Having never been successful at herding cats and had little hope of keeping all the kids focused during a game, that even when played by well trained adults can be agonizingly slow, is just as slow when they are actually apart of the team. I have been able to make it through the only practice I want to have and the first game. I am so glad that we don't keep statistics for a group this young and growing up where score was everything, I am equally as glad that there is no score. I want to tell you about my kids. I have some older some younger, some new to the sport and some in their second year, but no matter how long they played they are passionate about getting a hold of the ball and hitting the ball. It is great to line them up as one big sweeping arc and then let them go where they may when the ball is hit. An untrained eye or visitor from outer space would have a hard time telling the difference between fielding in a t-ball game and a shark feeding frenzy both are amazing to watch and has the potential for blood shed.

I also have some real characters on my team. I have some very good hitters (one managing to smack me in the face with a line drive) and very good runners. I have one that, right now, always runs for the pitcher's mound when the ball is hit and still others that aren't terribly sure where second is and if it is necessary to tag the base. The part I enjoy best is how they all get confused about the importance of actually touching home plate. Several were coming up short and had to be encouraged to keep going those final 3 or 4 steps.

At the end of the day it is a fun game with good kids. I'm not sure RK will be a heavy softball player in the years to come, we may have a girl into dance on my hands, or a soccer girl since she has a friend that plays that sport. I will make sure to be there and coach if needed based on the best of my ability. Keep in mind I know nothing about the following sports:
Soccer
Lacrosse

Fencing
Cricket
Rugby
Disc Golf
Lawn Darts
Surfing
Snow Boarding
Snow Skiing
or hockey (lawn or ice)

Luckily I do know about the following sports:
Football
Baseball
Bull riding
Bronco Busting
Ultimate Frisbee
Golf
Swimming
Endurance Running
Water Skiing
Skateboarding
Motorcycle Racing
and Fishing (yes it is a sport for some people...Come on it's on TV and has been for years)

I look forward to the next game and to see the team again and come this fall to whatever sport or non-sport RK may be interested in.