The Beautiful Bluff

Today was an awesome day!  An outdoor rec climbing trip scheduled for yesterday was postponed to today due to weather, and it was well worth it.  The sun was shining, the river flowing, and the cool temps were just right.  It is just so nice to be out there climbing on the cliff right next to the Cumberland River with the rising sun shining at your back.  The group of seven knocked out about six or eight beginner routes ranging from 5.5-5.7.  I got to lead some more sport climbing, which is always good.  I'm a pretty conservative top-roper, so I don't think my leading skills are that far behind.  I was hoping to lead a 5.8 today for the first time, but time didn't allow.  Doing those easier routes was really fun though.  We implemented a more educational approach today as well, which really paid off.  The group of participants were eager to learn and take action.  They did a lot of belaying each other and learned everything from tying in to gri-gri use and the basics of leading and cleaning.  Everyone seemed to have a fun, rewarding day.  Great Success!

*If you don't know, King's Bluff is a climber owned and maintained property on the Cumberland River in Clarksville, TN.  For more information, check out www.seclimbers.org.

Time to Shut 'Er Down

It's taper time.  Last week, after completing the double 11.2 the previous Saturday, I had a pretty typical week.  I ran 3 times during the week and 11.2 on Saturday with a friend who was attempting to double.  Well, I just felt slow all week.  I tried some tempo on Thursday and was pretty spent, earlier than usual.  Even the beautiful hills and peace in PWP seemed harder.  Every hill seemed longer and steeper than I remember.  

Today I did about 8mi with some friends at about 7:15-7:30 pace.  That is fast for me.  I run my tempo between 6:30 and 7:00 afterall.  Generally, I felt okay, but my shins were tight and my knees are still feeling it.  Since the double, I've had the reoccuring nagging knee problems.  All these aches and pains and sluggish feeling tell me one thing - it's time to shut it down.  I have just under 12 days before the race, and I need to rest.  I will resume using the foam roller and stretching hardcore to make sure the knees are good.  And I will be running easy from here on out.  

The time is close - I get more excited with each day.

The Week in Review: Long All Around

Big, busy week.  Three wks out from the big day, it had to be a big week of running for me.  On top of that, this is when the semester gets really busy.  

I got some good runs in Mon and Tues with friends.  Each day we did about 7-7.5mi.  One guy is running New York tomorrow, so we both encouraged and joked with him about his first marathon.  Wed is always busy, so I usually take it off in exchange for a solid 7-8mi on Thursday.  However, this week I had a bunch of assignments and a big PChem test on Friday, so my Thurs was spent studying.  That meant that I was well-rested going into my longest run of my preparation.  I even took it easy halloween night in order to get some good sleep.  

Now to the run.  The plan was to double the 11.2mi loop in Percy Warner Park.  My running partner has been sick and battling IT band trouble, and she ended up turning around about mile 3 or 4, so I went most of the way solo.  I felt like I started really feeling good about 6-8 miles and was keeping a faster than usual pace (around 9:00/mi).  After finishing the loop counterclockwise I refilled my bottle and ate a granola bar and then hit the loop clockwise.  This was the second time I've done the loop in reverse(clockwise) and it is definitely harder!  Percy Warner is a geographical anomaly - I think it is uphill in every direction.  I was pretty pumped going into the 2nd loop and seeing the mile markers countdown was a big boost.  About mile 16 is when I started feeling it.  My legs were just feeling fatigued.  As the mile marker number got smaller, I knew the mental and physical test was only going to increase.  I'm big in self-motivation and encouragement so I was talking to myself - knowing that I was not going to be stopped.  Crossing 18mi made it the longest run for me, but going past 20 was incredible.  At that pt I was feeling every step from my toes through my hips.  When I finally came down the final hill to the parking area and stopped, MAN, my legs were hurtin!  I just wanted to sit down.  I got to the car quickly, stretched a little, and drove back to campus.  Hands down, this was the best ice bath I've had.  I drank too Ensures, showered, stretched a little, and ate half a pizza.  I've been trying to rehydrate.

In other news, The Gators are getting me pumped up!!  Stick it to the Dawgs.

I may run a little bit tomorrow depending on my schedule.  I'll mostly be sleeping and studying for three tests though.  Sunday's sleep-in is going to be amazing, especially with the time change.

Cheers.