The Murder Stone

1823
To Record
MURDER
This stone was erected
over the body
of
Margaret Williams
aged 26
A native of Carmarthenshire
Living in service in this Parish
Who was found dead
With marks of violence on her person
In a ditch on the marsh
Below this Churchyard
On the morning
Of Sunday the Fourteenth of July
1822
Although
The savage murderer
Escaped for a season the detection of man
Yet
God hath set his mark upon him
Either for time or eternity
and
The cry of blood
Will assuredly pursue him
To certain and terrible but righteous
Judgement

As it's Halloween, I figured it was the perfect night for a creepy story from Wales. Here's one I grew up with that was literally outside my own back door.

In the village of Cadaxton, South Wales, just outside my hometown of Neath is a picturesque parish Church. A small and leafy path leads from Birch Lane and the Main Road to the Church, meandering through a charming small cemetery. The cemetery is very small, holding no more than 30 or so graves dating from the 1700s, while the church itself dates back to the 1200s. One of those graves stands apart from the others and bears the epitaph "MURDER" (see the complete inscription above). My Dad first took me to see the grave when I was a young boy, and it always sent a chill down my spine. When he showed me these pictures he'd taken with his digital camera I found myself just as fascinated with this story now as I was then. My dad is a much better story teller than me, but I'll try my best.

Margaret Williams was a young girl who lived in the early 1800s. Originally from the rural West Wales farming community of Carmarthenshire, she was employed as a serving girl in the house of the local Squire and allegedly embarked on an affair with the Squire's son. In the summer of 1822 her lifeless body was found near the marshes - she had been strangled and her body thrown into a ditch. Suspicion immediately fell on the Squire's son amid rumors of a secret pregnancy, and several witnesses who had seen him with the girl on the night of her death. But times being what they were, no charges were ever brought.

She was buried in the Churchyard, not far from the spot where she had been found, and the locals erected the headstone you see above, positioning it to face the manor house. The trees to the front were cut down so that every morning when the Squire's son looked out of his window, he saw the gravestone looking back at him - a constant reminder of his crimes.

Today, if you find yourself in Cadaxton, in front of this beautiful old Church, there's an eerie stillness to the place. The leafy trees swish in the breeze and traffic from the Main Road is muffled. Although the manor house is no longer standing, it is easy to imagine looking up and seeing a shadowy figure standing in the window staring. When I went home last Christmas, part of my early morning run took me through this graveyard and it's still a creepy little place, especially in the dark.

I love these old Welsh stories - it seems that there's at least one in every little village. Ghosts of the old millenium and dust beneath our feet, yet the story still lives on in legend - the life breath of an ancient land steeped in mystery and storytelling that I call home.

Happy Halloween

Halloween Humor

A man was walking home alone late one foggy night, when behind him he hears:


BUMP...

BUMP...

BUMP...


Walking faster, he looks back and through the fog he makes out the image of an upright casket banging its way down the middle of the street toward him.


BUMP...

BUMP...

BUMP...


Terrified, the man begins to run toward his home, the casket bouncing quickly behind him


FASTER...

FASTER...

BUMP...

BUMP...

BUMP...


He runs up to his door, fumbles with his keys, opens the door, rushes in, slams and locks the door behind him.

However, the casket crashes through his door, with the lid of the casket clapping


clappity-BUMP...

clappity-BUMP...

clappity-BUMP...


on his heels, the terrified man runs.

Rushing upstairs to the bathroom, the man locks himself in. His heart is pounding; his head is reeling; his breath is coming in sobbing gasps.

With a loud CRASH the casket breaks down the door.

Bumping and clapping toward him.

The man screams and reaches for something, anything,
but all he can find is a bottle of cough syrup!

Desperate, he throws the cough syrup at the casket...

and,


(hopefully you're ready for this !!!)

(are you sure?)

(get ready...here it comes)


The coffin stops !!

The Need for Speed

I did speedwork at the track on Tuesday night - 6 x 400m repeats with 200m recovery between. My times were pretty consistent and ranged between 80 and 85 seconds per 400m (5:20 to 5:40 per mile). I tried to hang with a guy who had just done a 1:14 half marathon and got my butt handed to me - he beat me by a good 10 to 15 seconds each repeat. I can tell that I haven't done speedwork for a long time because my legs are still sore today. I prefer hills so much more, which means these are doing me some good.

And speaking of hills, this Saturday we're heading off down to Bandera after the RRFit run as I'm pacing a buddy through the night for his 100 mile attempt at Cactus Rose. I've never been a pacer before - it will be a good experience and a chance to catch up with what's been going on with each other, as well as get a good workout on the Bandera course. I haven't run there since the summer. Nancy and Gavin are coming along to camp for the night and socialize. Should be a fun weekend.

Ken's Nirvana

I had a wonderfully enjoyable run tonight. Shawn and James couldn't make it, so it was just Bill and myself. We were both tired from hard workouts this weekend - me from running, Bill from cycling - so we decided to take it easy. That lasted for all of a few minutes before we started pushing the pace. We didn't really hammer any of the trails, but neither did we stop at any intersections. The weather was perfect - cool with a slight chill in the air - and we just kept on running and chatting when a strange thing happened. The further we went, the better I felt and by the time we hit the flats I was flying. All the tiredness and soreness had disappeared and we made it back to the dogpark right at 59 minutes and I felt like I could just keep going. I took a headlamp with me but never needed it and we both agreed that it had been one of the best runs ever - I wish I could bottle it.

Tonight's run also took me past 200 miles for the month of October which is a first for me - I'll sleep well tonight.

Clumsy by Nature, Resilient by Design

It's been a hard running weekend, packed full of miles, early mornings and one cracking fall.

Yesterday I got up at 3:30am to get in 30 miles on the road. It was a clear morning - the dark side of the moon was clearly visible - and I saw several shooting stars. I got in 14 miles before picking up my group back at the pavilion. I ran with them out to the group turnaround (about 7 miles) and then kept going by myself to tack on a few extra miles. Eventually got back to the pavilion again just as the Garmin ticked over to the magic 30 miles. I had started feeling it during those last few miles and was glad to be done. One thing I learned - the downside of running with two handhelds is that it is not easy to grab and open packets of gu.

The upside is that I didn't feel as if I'd just run 30 road miles. I emptied the hot tub later that day (yes, my hot tub resurrection post was premature - I found some leaks I had to fix) with no side effects.

So this morning was another early morning to test "the day after" effect against the hills of Ladera Norte. I did feel a little stiff and was not really looking forward to 10 miles of solid hills (and getting up so early again was hard). Sure enough I was a lot slower than last week, and definitely felt it a lot more....but I did it. By the time I got back to the dogpark there were several friends waiting to run Kens. I had decided halfway up one of the nasty hills that I was going to skip the trail run and head home, but it wasn't too difficult to convince me otherwise.

Maybe I should have listened. Early on in the run I lost my footing on a narrow ridge, my ankle gave way with a pop and I fell, skidding across the gravel and bouncing over a few boulders off the edge of the trail. I bloodied up my knee and got a big gash and flap of skin on my hand, but my main concern was that my ankle had gone again. Fortunately it appears to be lot more resilient than it used to be and I was able to run it off - the only thing hurt was my pride and it was easy to laugh that away. I caught up with the group at the next intersection - Joyce, Diana and the others were worried that I was ok, while Joe just chuckled and mumbled something about "style points" :-) The rest of the run was pretty uneventful, lots of good conversation and I was glad I'd decided to join in. We had a fun group, a lot of laughs and a very enjoyable relaxed run.

I am also 5 miles away from registering 200 miles for the month. With any luck I will get those in tomorrow and pass the landmark. Going to spend the rest of the day making (and eating) this pumpkin swirl cheesecake.

PS. a big "thank you" to Larry K. for the trail socks. I will certainly put them to good use.

2008/2009 Training Season - Week 9

Saturday 10/25/08
road - 30 miles. Done - 4:33:41 (9:07 pace). Got up ridiculously early (3:30am) and was up in Round Rock and running by 4:30am. Ran 23 miles by myself and 7 with the group, so I got the long solo run I was looking for. It was a beautiful crisp and clear morning and I had plenty of time to reflect and remember. I slowed down a bit for the last few miles, but overall my splits were pretty even.

Sunday 10/26/08
road - 10 miles hilly (Ladera Norte). Done. Ok, I felt this after yesterday's 30 miles. Dang, there are some nasty hills in here.

trail - 6 miles. Done. Finished the road portion and got back to the dogpark to find a group of friends waiting to go out on Ken's. They convinced me to join them (to be honest it didn't take much). Nice relaxed run, although I did take a good fall which left me with several extra flaps of skin.

Monday 10/27/08
trail - 6 miles. Done - ran Ken's with Bill in 59 minutes. One of the best runs ever.

Tuesday 10/28/08
track - speedwork. Done - 6 x 400 repeats with 200 recovery between. Chased guys who are far faster than me. Could tell I haven't done speedwork for a long time.

Wednesday 10/29/08
easy 4-6 miles/rest

Thursday 10/30/08
rest

Friday 10/31/08
rest

Remembering Mike Barnett

I heard the sad news today that Mike Barnett, my old rugby coach, collapsed and died last weekend while doing what he loved - standing on the sidelines coaching his rugby team. In these days of pampered and overpaid sportsmen, Mike represented a throwback to simpler times. He gave so much of his time and expertise, not for monetary reward but for the love of the game. Unsung heroes like Mike are the lifeblood of the grassroots that built a small Nation's proud rugby heritage.

It's been 15 years since I played for him but he had a big influence on me. He was a larger than life character who worked hard, played hard and made sure every one of his players felt like world beaters and enjoyed their rugby. Even now I think back with a smile - I remember all too well the infamous 440s that ended every training session, some of the crazy bus trips back from away games, the hilariously off-the-wall stories and the quiet chuckle from the sideline when you put a big hit on your opposite number. I know he's up there somewhere dishing it out to somebody.

The respect and affection in which he was held is evident by some of the comments on his memorial page. Here are some that struck a chord with me.


"On this planet we are not blessed with many people who make a difference to so many peoples lives. They are very few and far between. Mike Barnett was one of those people."

"A true character, a passionate coach, a loving family man."

"I used to dread the little chuckle at the end of a training session with him saying get in the corner boys. We all knew what that meant with the dreaded 440's but it got us fit and won us many of games in the last quarter."

"He was and always will be a true legend"

"Mike was a larger than life character, who left a positive effect on all that knew him, especially all the local sportsmen that he coached over the years. He will leave a great void in local rugby circles"

"I was lucky enough to be coached by this true legend"

"If I am one tenth the man he was when its my time then I would be the proudest man on this planet"

"Rugby has lost a true character and will be greatly missed by everyone whose lives he touched"

"Mike mate, I bet you're organizing a youth team in the sky."

"Thanks to all who enjoyed a naked 440 in honor of Mike at The Ferry club at midnight on Saturday night!! There was only one thing missing.., that angry voice screaming, ''Don't cut those f*king corners!!'' What a great bloke!!"


I know Mike would have appreciated that last one.

I will get up super early on Saturday morning for a long solo run and dedicate it to my old friend who is being laid to rest 5000 miles away. That's the good thing about pre-dawn solo runs - there's plenty of time to reflect. Go easy big man - just don't make those angels run too many of your legendary 440s!!!

Kath, Sarah and Ryan - we're thinking of you.

Hot Tub Resurrection

The hard (and hopefully dog proof) hot tub cover arrived last week and I cleaned out the hot tub and refilled it at the weekend. Unfortunately, one of the pumps had stopped working so we were unable to use it. Well today one of the super friendly guys at the spa shop came out to take a look. He took the motor apart and got it working again which was lucky as we might have been looking at a new motor for $$$. I can hear it bubbling away and heating up out there. I will take the next few days to balance the pH and make sure everything is good - we're all looking forward to using it by the end of the week.

I enjoyed an overdue day off from running today. While I had a really good session of hill repeats last night I really needed a break. I've been putting some good hard miles in recently so I don't feel guilty about taking a few days off.

I also spent part of the weekend putting together some training schedules for beginner runners at work. Since the marathon relays there's been a lot of interest in running and I haven't been able to get off the wellness committee. In fact I've gotten pulled onto another one to prepare work teams for the Texas Roundup. Apparently my weekly emails of training programs, tips, tricks, funny stories and bad jokes have been very popular. I have put together a 10 week program for walkers to transition to running for 20 minutes nonstop, another to get them to 30 minutes, and intermediate schedules specifically geared toward 5k and 10k events we've earmarked.

I was talking to some friends today about the 100 pushups website. Now I've hardly done any pushups since I completed the program several months ago and I need to get back into it. So this weekend I will start off again at week 4 and see how it goes.

Oh yeah, I mailed in my application form for the Decker half today. Let's see how I handle those hills after a 50 miler the day before.

The Devil fell in the Details

Felt the hangover from my weekend's efforts tonight. Did a slow recovery run around Walnut Creek when I really should have taken a rest day. Or maybe it's just that I had to keep stopping for the mountain bikers that threw me off. Who knows, but my heart just wasn't in it.

Anyway, yesterday I had a fantastic 10 mile run around the "so hilly your car may not make it up" Ladera Norte/Mesa/Far West Blvd neighborhood. I met Roger at 5am to keep him company for the start of his last mega-long run before Cactus Rose. It's a beautiful neighborhood, full of high end houses and lots of deer. And get this - it was actually cold when we started off (though the first big hill soon took care of that). Roger went on to repeat the 10 mile loop another 3 times, while I jumped in the car and headed up to the greenbelt to meet another friend. We haven't run together for a while and had a fun time catching up while enjoying a glorious Fall Sunday morning - definitely a "jazz brunch" kind of day. We did about 7 to 8 easy miles and it was a great way to start the day. While driving down 360 on my way home, I was tempted to stop off at Bull Creek and join up with Roger again, but my breakfast waffles were calling me. And I'm glad I listened - they were superb.

Back to race plans and I've been getting a lot of advice from friends about whether or not to run the Double Decker marathon the day after the Sunmart 50 miler. There have been good and bad angels on my shoulder, and it would have been an interesting challenge to make the 5 hour time limit on a very hilly course after such a long race the day before. Well, the decision was made for me today when I found out the time limit was 4 hours and 30 minutes, not the 5 I had thought. End result - I'm going to sign up for the half.

2008/2009 Training Season - Week 8

Saturday 10/18/08
road - 12 miles. Done. 1:40:52 (8:24 pace). Ran nice and easy at Brushy Creek. Stopped at the turnaround to sweep the last runner. Walked/jogged the last half mile with a runner who was having stomach problems. Felt good.

trail - 6 miles. Done - untimed. Ran Kens with Nancy. Nice easy jog and chat. Haven't had the chance to run with my wife for a while - it was fun.

Sunday 10/19/08
road - 10 miles hilly. Done - got up super early to run Far West/Ladera Norte with Roger. Good challenging run, a cold clear morning and lots of deer.

trail - 8 miles. Done - met Clea and Pancake at the HOL. Nice relaxed run, great morning, good to catch up, enjoyable run. These are what Sunday mornings are all about - good times.

Monday 10/20/08
trail - 6 miles. Done - slow recovery run at Walnut Creek. Not one of my best.

Tuesday 10/21/08
road - hill repeats. Done - felt much better tonight. Did 10 forwards and another 10 backwards.

Wednesday 10/22/08
rest

Thursday 10/23/08
rest

Friday 10/24/08
rest

Enter the Trilogy

Many great movies come in trilogies (think "Lord of the Rings" and "Star Wars") and sometimes so do races. I just filled out my application, wrote the check and mailed off my entry to the Sunmart 50 mile race - the last prong of the Texas Trilogy series of ultramarathons this winter. Sunmart is a special race for me because it was my first ultramarathon last year and I have very fond memories of it. What's more, if I manage to complete Sunmart, Bandera and Rocky Raccoon I will earn the iron coat rack pictured above for finishing the series. Pretty cool, huh?

Now I need to decide what to do about Decker. It is the day after Sunmart and is another of my favorite road races. It's a very hilly course and this year they are offering a full marathon as well as a half to celebrate the 30th anniversary. My brain tells me I should stick to the half, but the devil on my shoulder keeps whispering "do the full".

Whichever one I do, I can guarantee you this - I won't be breaking any speed records.

Challenging Yourself

When I was playing rugby, my dad once told me that to be a good player you had to play with better players. I followed his advice and joined a very strong local team which made me work and train hard in order to force my way into the team. The end result was that I played representative rugby that I most certainly would not have if I had joined another less competitive team.

The same thing applies to running - if you want to get better then you sometimes need to challenge yourself. I do this on Monday nights with two of my fast road friends, and I do it on my Saturday long runs when I do 10-12 miles by myself and then run with my group and challenge myself to stay the pace (and sometimes bait them into running a few bonus miles). So far it works because I'm hitting negative splits from most of my long runs (finally, a useful application for stupid male pride) and getting plenty of practice at pushing it on tired legs.

Tonight I ran hills with my road group. I've really been knocking these back this year and did 16 repeats tonight (10 forwards and another 6 backwards). The funny thing is that these were hard last year, but I'm feeling very strong on them this year, in large part because I've been running hills for months (sometimes with Gavin on my shoulders). One of the big rules is to only do hill repeats once a week, and some of the other coaches castigated me for running hill repeats 2 nights in a row last week. But the truth is that they really aren't that hard, I'm not sore afterwards, and I'm not training for a marathon (in fact, I'm not following the RRFit schedule at all). I believe that you know your own limits and this is why I fall firmly into the trail runner's mentality. I don't like following rules just for the sake of it, and if I feel it's right for me I'm damn well going to do it. I have the 100k at Bandera in January and I may be pacing a mate at Cactus Rose in a few weeks so I need the hill practice. I think I may just go back and do them again tomorrow.

Finally, a big "thank you" to Jeff and Diana for recommending their local "Spiz" dealer. They were really friendly, I got a great price and I'm going to experiment with it this weekend. A second big "thank you" to Diana for rescuing the handheld I accidentally left behind at the Trail Twister.

The Day After....

Someone sent me this video clip after the Austin marathon back in February. Very funny - enjoy.

Weekend Treats

Since I run at least 20 miles most Saturdays, I've found that I need something to look forward to afterwards. That something has become my sourdough waffles with syrup and butter - I spend quite a few miles anticipating that particular post-run treat. I bought Nancy a nice Belgian waffle maker a few Christmases ago - it was one of those things that we weren't sure if we'd use or not, but it turns out we use it all the time. It gets a very good workout most weekends.

I stopped off at HEB on the way home from my run yesterday to do the weekly grocery shopping and picked up some more pumpkin ale. Get this - I was carded!!!! Do you know how long it's been since I was carded? Just about made my day :-)

This weekend I've been experimenting with handhelds. I usually run with an Amphipod Hydraform but yesterday I decided to try the Nathan Thermal Quickdraw. While I liked the thermal insulation on the Nathan that kept the water cold a lot longer, I much preferred the ergonomic shape of the Amphipod. The Nathan bottle felt a little "fat" to hold and my hand felt like it was cramping a few times. If only Amphipod could come up with some kind of thermal sleeve for their bottle, it would be the perfect handheld.

This morning was extremely humid and I decided to experiment running Kens with 2 handhelds - something I've never done before. My plans for the winter ultras are to carry 2 handhelds - one filled with water and the other with either spiz or pedialyte (though for Rocky Raccoon I will use my camelbak for some of the loops). So I used my 2 amphipods and they felt very natural - in fact, they felt a little more balanced than just carrying the one. I can also spread my sports beans and gels out between the two.

I think I'm just about set on my trail socks too - I plan on using my Drymax trails with the Balegas as backup. The Balegas are my favorites for shorter runs, but the Drymax has a lot more padding and protection for long distance. As for shoes, I will use the Vasques for Sunmart, the Montrails for Bandera and a combination of the two (plus my road shoes for the last loop) at Rocky. At some point I also need to experiment with gators.

Things are coming together.

Finally, in these times of economic turmoil and recession we all need to laugh (and I don't mean the "I just checked my stock portfolio" type of laughter). Derek's chicken post certainly made me smile this morning. Check it out.

2008/2009 Training Season - Week 7

Saturday 10/11/08
road - 22 miles. Done - 3 hours 13 minutes (8:43 pace). Ran 12 miles by myself and 10 miles with the group

Sunday 10/12/08
trail - 6 miles. Done - ran Kens. Very humid run - experimented with 2 handhelds which worked very well. Ran the sections hard (tried to keep up with Larry).

Monday 10/13/08
trail - 6 miles. Done - ran with Shawn and James. Gorgeous full moon tonight.

Tuesday 10/14/08
road - hill repeats. Done - damn, I'm smoking these hills this year. Did 10 forwards and 6 backwards. Felt very strong throughout and finished with plenty left in the tank.

Wednesday 10/15/08
rest

Thursday 10/16/08
road - 6 miles

Friday 10/17/08
rest

Once a Smartass...

Conversation in the car while riding home from work today:

Mrs. Welshrunner : You know, I'd really like to visit New England in the Fall.
Me : Well, why don't you train up and run the New Hampshire marathon?
Mrs. Welshrunner : When is it?
Me : Every year

Good to know that 10 years of marriage haven't managed to kill off my inner smartass :-)

King of the Hill Repeats

Wow, I had one of those nights tonight where everything came together. I felt great and blasted the hill workout. Ran a mile to the hill, banged out 12 repeats, finished off with another one backwards and then ran back to the car. Considering I had such a crappy race on Saturday, this was a timely morale booster for me.

Also got an email from James to say that he was OK after yesterday's altercation with the tree branch and he'd be back out next Monday night for some more trail action. Just goes to show you can't keep the Brits down.

Who Put that Branch There?

Yesterday I did a few slow recovery miles by myself at Bull Creek. My legs felt OK but I had some painful heel blisters I'd picked up at the Trail Twister. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful morning as I climbed up to the scenic overlook and I took some time to just sit there for a while watching the world go by - it was very restful.

So tonight I guided my Silicon Lab relay teammates around Ken's. I experimented with taping up the blisters and I must have done a good job because I didn't notice them during the run. I'd planned on taking it easy, but we ended up hitting it hard. As we were tearing around the switchbacks, I heard a meaty thud and a yell from behind. I looked round and James (my fellow Brit) was on the ground with blood streaming from his head. It turns out that he didn't see a tree branch and ran smack into it at full speed. Bill was behind him and saw it all - he gave him 10 points for the fall and a bonus for drawing blood. Luckily he also had a bandanna to help stem the flow.

Once we were all sure that James was alright, the jokes came out. From the standard "congratulations, you're not a novice trail runner anymore" to "there's part of a foreign trail that is forever England". He was a bit unsteady on his feet so we backtracked the switchbacks, walked straight down snot rocks and took the left turn at the bottom to shoot off the trail and into some company's parking lot. We walked alongside 360 for a while until we got back onto the flats that took us back to the dogpark.

They all said they wanted to come back next week for another crack at it, though I think next time we do the switchbacks I'll stand by that branch and shout "DUCK".

Toad in the Hole

Toad in the Hole is a standard old British dish consisting of sausages cooked in a Yorkshire Pudding style batter. It derives its name from it's appearance - once it's cooked the sausages poke up through the batter like..... well, toads in holes.

Unfortunately, like a few old time British dishes it can be a bit bland, so this is my take on it. I've spiced it up with a bit of chili powder for an extra kick, cooked it in an iron skillet and paired it with a balsamic smoky onion gravy. I certainly enjoyed it as a "race reward" supper tonight.

Mark's Iron Skillet Toad in the Hole
(serves 4)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup self rising flour
1 tsp chili powder
1 onion, diced
3 fresh sausages (Italian, Bratwurst etc), uncooked

Preheat the oven to 420

In a small bowl, combine the eggs and milk.
In a medium bowl, combine the flours, salt and chili powder. Slowly add the milk and egg mixture, whisking until smooth, then cover and set aside

Heat a 10" iron skillet. Cut each sausage into 4 pieces and add to the skillet. Cook for about 2 minutes, then add the onion. Continue to cook until the sausage is browned and the onion is soft.
Set aside about 3 tablespoons of the onion to use in the gravy.
Make sure that the sausages are evenly distributed in the skillet, pour the batter over them and put in the oven for 30 minutes or until batter has risen around the sausages and is golden.
Leave to cool for 5 minutes, then divide into quarters and serve.

Balsamic Smoky Onion Gravy
Heat 2 Tbsp canola oil in a medium saucepan and add 1-2 Tbsp all purpose flour. Keep stirring until the flour is incorporated and then add in the onion.
Slowly add 3-4 cups of hot water or beef stock, stirring all the while. If adding water, season with salt to taste. Bring to a boil and add a few drops of balsamic vinegar, liquid smoke and gravy browning (if desired).
Simmer for about 5 minutes until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.
Pour over toad and enjoy.

Traditional sides include mashed potatoes and a selection of vegetables.

The Life of Bryan

Bliss : John Sharp and myself celebrate completing the 60k by jumping in the Lake

A 3:30am alarm call this morning started my day at the Trail Twister 60k in Bryan, Texas. My mate Jeff and I drove up together and got to the park just after 6am. Having set up our dropbags, I wandered around saying hello to friends. An especially big shout out to my longtime friend (and secret Welshrunner blog reader) Celeste who finished the 30k this morning in a great time. So sorry Nancy couldn't join you.

Chris got us going at 7am and I settled into my favorite little niche just behind the lead pack. Because the 30k and 60k folks were all running the same course (the 60kers ran it twice) I had no idea who I was running against. Of course I ended up chasing a lot of 30kers and probably went out too fast - big shock there.

It wasn't too horribly hot for the first loop, but it was very humid - my shorts were soaked within the first few miles. I had made a promise to myself to do better on my nutrition for this race and in this I failed miserably - I made do with half a packet of sports beans and whatever they had at the aid stations. This is getting to be a real problem I need to fix and I think one solution may be to just carry Spiz in my handheld.

I completed the first 30k in just over 3 hours, but was not looking forward to going back out. The temperature had risen into the upper 80s and a lot of folks decided to drop after one loop. But I had signed on for a 60k and I was determined that was exactly what I was going to do - after all, I have a zero DNF record to defend, this is all good time on feet training, and I haven't run very much trail of late.

I have to say the wheels came off a bit on the second loop and I walked a lot of it. No excuses for that other than my feet felt bruised, I picked up a few blisters, motivation sagged and I was just lazy. One thing I found out was that audiobooks on the ipod do not work for me - they just lull me into the story. What did work was music - in particular the Rolling Stones "Paint it Black" and (somewhat bizarrely) Les Miserables really got me in the groove. I'm sure the sight of me running through the woods while belting out "Do you hear the people sing? Singing a song of angry men" brought a few quizzical looks from passing mountain bikers.

A small aside - Nancy and I have been to see Les Miserables three or four times, and every time she's cried. I always tease her about this, but it's really cute and part of why I love her. I rarely get emotional during a run, but today one of the songs left me with an overwhelming urge to be at home and to give Gavin a big hug and kiss. I'm not too big to admit that I sniffled a little (though only a little mind you). Needless to say, the first thing I did when I got home was to pick up the little Batman and smother him with kisses until he giggled.

Back to reality, about 5 miles from the finish line I had to leap suddenly to avoid (what I think was) a Speckled Kingsnake that was meandering across the trail. From then on, every root or branch was suddenly a slithering demon :-)

As I approached the finish area I spotted Jeff standing by the dropbags. I asked him how he'd gotten back so fast and unfortunately he'd dropped after the first loop. I crossed the finish line in 7:22:35 - a horrible time, but enough for 17th place (41 started the 60k and 28 finished). It's amazing how time is so relative in trail running.

I hung around and socialized at the finish line, clapping runners in as they finished. It wasn't too long before John Sharp came in. He's a super nice guy I first met at Rocky Raccoon and we have a habit of finishing races really close to each other. He's had a tough race schedule this summer, including two 100 milers in the mountains. He had the great idea of celebrating the completion of the 60k by jumping in the lake, so we did. Wow, it felt great.

So Jeff and I headed back to Austin, stopping at McDonalds on the way. I had told him of my tendency to crave Big Macs after ultras, and that planted the idea in his head. Yummy.

Things I learnt from this run - nutrition is something I need to formulate a better plan for - and stick to it. For my best ultras, I've been well prepared beforehand and had some calorie shakes to down between loops, but I've gotten too laid back and lazy. I think the reason I'm so nonchalant is that deep down I know I can complete the 50k to 50 mile distance without too much fuss. While I may get away with this attitude at Sunmart and Bandera, I really need to pay attention to it at Rocky Raccoon. My other experiment with the Drymax "Maximum Protection" socks worked great - my feet stayed dry throughout the race. I didn't have a very good run, but it is what it is - a nice long "time on feet" training run. In that respect it was a good day.

2008/2009 Training Season - Week 6

Saturday 10/4/08
Trail Twister 60k. Done - 7:22:35

Sunday 10/5/08
trail - 6 miles. Ran Ken's by myself - slow recovery run. Sat on a rock at the scenic overlook for a long time and watched the world go by.

Monday 10/6/08
trail - 6 miles. Done - took Silicon teammates around Kens. Watch out for low branches guys!!!

Tuesday 10/7/08
road - hill repeats. Done - felt really good tonight. Did 12 repeats and 1 backwards.

Wednesday 10/8/08
road - hill repeats. Done - went to the hills again tonight. Felt so strong - did 8 forwards and 6 backwards. Felt easy.

Thursday 10/9/08
rest

Friday 10/10/08
Rest

The Joy of Experimentation

Tomorrow's race is all about experimentation ahead of my other big races this winter. I don't remember the last time I ran with music, but I have my ipod loaded up with a number of podcasts, an audiobook and all types of music from Country to Oldies to Hard Rock, Garage, House and even some opera and Les Miserables. We'll see what works - I haven't planned on using pacers for either Bandera or Rocky Raccoon so I may need something to distract me through the night. Hopefully a good audiobook will fit the bill.

I am also going to experiment with the Drymax "maximum protection" socks I have yet to use. I know the rule is to never try something new on race day, but I've never been one to follow rules and I've had good luck with the other Drymax socks. So I'm going to pair those with my Montrail Hardrocks and keep the Balegas in my dropbag for insurance.

One thing I do need to work on is nutrition while running - something I'm really bad at. I never plan for it, I just don't like stopping and really need to force myself to rectify that. I will stuff some sports beans, gu and a few salt tabs in my handheld. That plus whatever they have at the aid stations should see me though - I just need to be more disciplined about eating them. I'm also trying out a new pasta dish this evening - Italian sausage with broad noodles and red peppers in marinara sauce washed down by pumpkin ale. Yum yum - carb load nirvana right there.

In other news, I had the day off today and had a great morning. I visited the Half Price bookstore with Gavin and he was as good as gold. We looked at what I wanted, then spent some time having fun in the kids' section and both came away with stuff. I always love browsing because you can get some great bargains in the clearance section. Today I picked up "Angela's Ashes", "The Liar's Club", "New Orleans Stories", Mickey Spillane's "The Mike Hammer collection" and Sue Grafton's "K is for Killer" - all classic examples of particular genres - for $1 apiece. That lot should keep me busy for a while.

And lastly, Nancy pointed out that today is the 10 year anniversary of the day we first met at the bottom of Lake Travis. I can't believe it's been 10 years - time really does seem to accelerate the older you get. I was 25 when we were first shackled together - how did I get to be this old? I'd better continue to be nice to Gavin or he'll have me shipped off to a nursing home.

I wonder if they'd still let me run :-)

A Series of Unexpected Events

Well, Nancy was supposed to run the Texas Twister 30k trail race in Bryan this weekend while Gavin and myself worked an aid station, but she's sick and the Gavster is a little under the weather too so they're staying home. I've switched her registration to myself and bumped up to the 60k. I think I'm at the point that I could do with a nice long race to get a feel for where I am in my training.

And that also means I get to taper (ie not run) today and tomorrow. Woo hoo!!!