Training Resume's ........in San Francisco

Exactly 2 weeks post fall, I flew out to SF to meet the young bull for an attempt at running on the North Face Endurance 50 mile Trail Run. Two days before I went to a bone and joint doc who advised me to let my ribs heal for another 2 weeks. He also said in the interim I could do so cross training to keep my butt in shape. So with that I hit the pool and did a spin class. Two days later I was on the trails in Muir Woods National Park with the young bull.

By mile 3 on Saturday morning exactly 4 weeks out from the race the muscles in my back had loosened up and despite some minor discomfort I felt great!!! Game on young bull!! We managed to get in about 15.5 miles on the very hilly course a few miles outside of SF. My legs felt like they had a 2 week layoff. They were fresh for the run, but post run it felt like I'd been thru the meat grinder.

Saturday was a beautiful morning. We ran thru the fog, into the sun and back again. The temperature was probably mid to high 50's. The course itself is not very technical, unlike the Leadville Silver Rush 50 Trail Run. It is however, almost as hilly and challenging as the ascent and descent in Leadville, only minus the effects of altitude. See Pic below taken from the Muir Woods side of the Golden Gate bridge.




On Sunday am we managed to grind out 10.5 miles in the windy, foggy, rainy weather on muddy trails. On sore legs, the quads and calves were talking to me the entire time. At 4 weeks out, the timing was perfect to trash my legs and then load up on amino acids and proteins to build some muscle for the race. On Monday, we both flew out and back to work. Fortunately my #1 massage therapist was available on Monday night for a 90 minute rub down and work out some of the soreness in my quads, achilles and calves. I've been getting lot's of rest post SF training weekend, while doing some cross training - swimming, biking and running each morning. Run's have been 3 miles each day on the treadmill - so not to beat up my achilles - and allow my legs to recover, while I suck down proteins, antioxidants, alleve and lot's of water. Feeling good but tired. Getting up at 4:45AM for a 5-6:30 swim class, followed by a 5 mile run.

The plan for Saturday is to get in 10-15 miles on the soft treadmill. Realizing that this is different than trail running, just simply trying to keep the wear and tear off the legs while still getting in my miles. Also, will go for a two hour bike ride on Saturday as well. Goal is to get in 4 hours of training continuously so I'm prepared to put my body thru a sub 10 hour time at the NF50.

Cheers!