Mindset

Well another week of training is done, 3 weeks from today I'll be out in the mountains of GA running GDR.  Hard to believe that winter is almost done (although you'd be hard pressed to believe that given the temps today).  At this point, I've done all I can to prepare physically for the run (I'm trying not to call it a race, as I only want to race against myself and the clock, not the other competitors).  

Now time to prepare mentally.

While running long distances is a physical activity that requires a strong body and endurance, it is also a mental challenge.  As you get to the longer ultra distances that I am participating in, the brain comes into play a lot more than one would think.  There's a lot that can go wrong and having the ability to think through those issues when you've been awake and moving for double digit hours is crucial.  Your brain can make a big difference in your finish.

Last I fall read the book "The Ultra Mindset" by Travis Macy after hearing him talk about mindset on Trail Runner Nation podcast.  The book speaks to endurance athletes, but can also benefit life in general.  It's about adopting a mindset of success.  In the book, Travis lays out different mindsets and offers reflections and challenges for each chapter.  When I ran Stillhouse 100k and was starting to get down on myself since I was slowing down and hurting, I tried to use some of the principles, and helping to reflect on some of the topics helped pull me out and keep me moving forward.

Travis offers an Ultra Mindset Academy, where you and others get to delve deeper into the book.  I decided to sign up.  I'm in the first week and it's been very insightful. The first assignment was to think about events in your life that shaped your current mindset and how using a philosophy of 'if-then' to deal with different situations.  As part of the course,  there's also time each week with Travis and the others to discuss not only mindset, but a plethora of topics.

One of the other weekly activities is journaling.  Again, Travis asks some questions that require deep thought.  My thoughts are are randomly scattered in my brain, in a word document, in this blog and now in my own handwriting.

As I started out this post, I'm officially tapering.  It's good timing: I start work again on Monday and am immediately traveling for the week.  Looks like I'll be on the pavement for a week and working on speed.

Weekly total:  ~10 hrs, 47 miles, 4600 feet elevation.  The elevation doesn't include the 1 hour on the treadmill at +10% grade.

Running with Lavender

A friend of mine, Dee,  needed to get her pup, Lavender, out to burn off some extra energy.  I've never run with a dog before, but offered that if Lav was up for a three hour run, I'd be willing to take her out.  So off we went to Germantown Metropark for some splashing in the mud.  It was a fun 13 miles.  As Lavender is a guide dog, there were some times that she'd try to lead me down the path. Other times when she'd just run full out up the hills that I would normally walk.  By the end, I think we satisfied the goal of wearing her out.  

Snowy run

It started snowing this morning when we woke up, and didn't stop for quite some time.  Mark and I needed to run together (something we haven't done recently with his travel schedule), so we headed over to Twin Creek for a lap.

Twin Creek was flowing high (no we don't have to cross it):

This was another good week, 54.8 miles, 12.5 hrs, ~6400 elevation.  4 weeks out from GDR, I feel strong and ready.

Foiled!

The best laid plans:  that's what I had for today,  but had to deviate.  Oh-well, still got to enjoy some new trails.

My original plan was to run the Zaleski State Forest Backpack trail.  According to the map, it would be just under 29 miles.  Perfect!   I needed a final long run to finish out my training for Georgia Death Race in four weeks.

We had some pretty severe storms come through on 1 March.  You know the saying, "In like a lion..."?  Yep, March was coming in hard., lots of rain, wind and even a few tornadoes.  Today, I woke up early and everything was going to plan. I was out of the house early (surprising for me recently).  I was excited and ready to run a new trail.   As I was driving east, I noticed fields were flooded and a few places had high water signs up along the road.  I was concerned, but I figured at worst the trails would be muddy.   Then I got within about 3 miles of the trailhead and not only was there a sign, but water actually covered the road.  When the pick-up behind me (on some serious off-road wheels) turned around, I knew it was bad.  After trying to figure out if there was another route with very limited cell coverage, I asked a forest service employee.  He stated that the backpack trail was flooded as well and suggested I go elsewhere.

I was thinking about returning to Great Seal as I know I can easily get 20 mies with minimal repeats, but remembered the signs to Tar Hollow. as I drove out to Zaleski.  When I finally had a good cell connection, the map showed the park had the 21 mile loop Logan Trail.  I was going to be able to turn this into something new after all!

After some missed-turns and tree blocked roads (my car gps was taking me down some strange roads), I found the main park and the trailhead.  I decided on heading down the South loop first, to include the Dulen Loop.

The trails were nice, muddy in some places and the creeks were flowing, but clear.  Occasionally, near the creeks, the mud would suck my foot down over the ankle, so I decided to head back to the car for a change of socks, prior to starting the North loop.  This added a few additional miles.  I added the Homestead loop (kinda, that river was not clear and I couldn't see the bottom) to bring the total to 26 miles.

The South loop has portions in common with the Buckeye Trail, so it was pretty easy to follow. However, there were times, that the markers were not obvious, particularly at road crossings.

Although the North loop was closer to the campgrounds, it seems to be less used as there were numerous trees down and the briars were overgrowing the trails in places.  It was also a bit more technical and narrower than the South.

All together a good run.  At times, it would snow, then the sun would come out, only for the flurries to return.  My hands and toes got pretty cold, hence the trip to the car.  I even had to break out a handwarmer to get my left hand warm, as the gloves were not working.  Unfortunately, I slipped on an climb and slammed my left shoulder into the ground around mile 18.  Added to the trauma from a fall on the wood stairs at Caesar's on Monday, it is screaming.

I feel ready for GDR.  One more good push week, then start to taper.  Feb was a good month: 188 miles, with over 17k elevation gain.  I also got a great look at the GDR course.  I'm excited to see how the training plays out.