Blog Post

Boy this morning tested me. 4: 45 am run. 7 mi with 8x400 speed intervals followed by 2X 200 speedier intervals in -3 windchill blowing snow. It was tough and I wanted it to be easier, but very pleased with results #feelinglikeachamp

Watching evening TV for the first time in a long while, I was struck by the plethora of junk food adds and the number of diet plans, diet companies & prepackaged, home delivered food outlets that grace our screens. All purporting to be convenient, healthy, cost effective and life changing. As a society we have never been more educated or had greater access to information pertaining to our health and well being, yet everyday we see parents taking kids of all ages to fast food restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner. People of all ages undertake an immeasurable number of fad diets that never seem to work. Are we so lazy that we don't care, always seeking the easy way out or could it be we are so time poor all we can manage is to drive a few km (not walk) to the nearest burger joint, or have someone deliver it to us. Surely the saturation advertising these companies employ isn't working, we all know how these industries work so surely we can resist or at the very least know what we are getting ourselves into. But no, well educated people still want the quick fix and don't seem to know the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods and are still unaware that we have to excercise. Or is it that they can't be bothered to take responcibility for themselves as we increasingly live in a world of entitlement, I hear you say .

Then there is the diet industry, it's size and reach is staggering on top of what I have mentioned above there are TV programs that make entertainment out of overweight people trying to loose weight. These programs are sponsered and funded by the very same industries that produce unhealthy food if over consumed and the diet industry. Then the winners of these programs are the ones that can loose weight the fastest and if you don't or can't, you loose, kicked off and left to your own devises, no support, no follow up, but hey the raitings were great!! I've even read where people deliberately put weight on, some reports say they are instructed to, so that they will be picked for these shows. Andy Warhol said we will all have 15 min of fame but this is a deadly way to achieve it!

We also can't avoid the endless fitness machine, fitness plans, DVD's and juicer adverts that are always the quickest way to build or excercise or drink your way to a new you, a happier you, a complete you. These companies prey on the people that are lonely, vunrable or are looking for that quick fix to prop up their self esteem issues and along the way making a few people very rich.

If I can see it and you can see it, why can't the masses seem to. We have an obesity and diabeties epidemic exploading before our eyes and the more educated we are the worse these problems seem to become. This problem is becoming so large that governments are looking for ways to avoid the bankrupcy that these problems will surely bring. If the spiraling costs are not bought under control, the public purse will not be able to sustain the associated costs of these conditions. 

Personally I think as a society we have forgotten how to live a simple, healthy, rich and forfilled life and it's all about me and not about us. We are isolated from each other, though we live among each other, and the life skills of taking responcibility, common sense, caring for children, cooking, growing your own food, repairing things, making things, respect and community values are not passed down from parent and grandparent to child and we are all, no matter our individual circumstances, the poorer for it.

Hiya!

Thought I'd start by re-posting (from the 2014 Cool Impossible thread) my Cool Impossible for 2014...

My original post....

"Bit of background first! I was forced to run in PE when I was at school and generally hated it because I thought I was no good and the teachers didn'r care. I left school in 1982 and didn't run again until about 1991 when I joined the army reserves, when I left them in 1993 I dindn't run until 2010! My first run in 2010 took me over 30 minutes to run 3 miles. Yet in April this year (2013) at the age of 48, I ran a half-marathon in 1:28:29 - and that was before I discoverd the Cool Impossible. That half-marathon time has put me in the top 4.5% of all half-marathon runners in the UK - that's all runners not just my age group. I want to improve on that time further, and whilst it might be a challenge it's a very worthwhile challenge for me and I've got a dream of being inside the top 4% in the UK.

So my 2014 Cool Impossible is to be inside the top 4% of all half-marathon runners in the UK by the end of the year - a great way to mark my 50th birthday in October 2014

There is nothing quite like an open declaration in public to motivate me! So you can check my progress here http://www.runbritainrankings.com/runners/profile.aspx?athleteid=27...

In particular look in the event rankings section on the lower right hand side"

Updates - I reckcon (to get well inside the 4% mark) I need to achieve a 1:25 half marathon. An becasue I'll be 50 later this year my challenge will be called "1:25@50"

The other day I posted "Don't ask yourself "what's stopping me?" instead ask yourself "what do I need to do to get my goal?" #CoolImpossible"

So this blog will be just that - what do I need to do? No self doubt or excuses - just a solid plan of action :-)

More to follow!!

First up this year is Cruel Jewel. Questions floating in my brain...are my legs REALLY gonna be able to do this whole series? I've never climbed 17,000ft in one race...in 56 miles to be exact. Am I gonna be crying with my tail between my legs after the very first race? I am terrified and excited....and terrified!  I don't feel like I need any answers. They won't come anyway, so why spend the energy trying to figure  what the outcome will be. There's no way to tell.  And I love that. So, like my kindergarten teacher said, "color hard". I am coloring and coloring and coloring....all kinds of training paintings (runs)....here's a few pics and a rundown of today's painting ~ a 10 miler on a large wildlife preserve near home...

32 degrees and snowing moderate to heavy with moderate wind. This would be a solo jaunt. Parked at the base of the preserve and warmed up for about 5-10 minutes before hitting the first hill. 

Here's Comb's bridge, near where I started my run, crossing the Illinois river

Climbed the first hill keeping a zone 3 to mostly 4a effort climbing to the top, about a 1/2-3/4 mile hill.  Plateued and ran across the top of the preserve for another 1/2 mile or so...

Hung a left off the preserve road onto a fire road, a less maintained forest service road.  I call it "no horse" road....there's a sign that says no horses. Original I know. I've never been down there, so this would be a new adventure. I didn't know how far or where it went, but had about 3-4 miles before I would need to turn around.

The trail/road undulated up and down mildly for a bit before taking a big downhill....And here I found the only ski slope in Oklahoma! You can't appreciate the downhill grade or the length...It's about a 12% downhill grade and about 3/4 mi long hill down and around the corner...and around another corner or two.

I came across this nice critter/bird house and couldn't resist a pic

Going down I ratcheted it back to zone 2 and relaxed and cruised down.  Another up in zone 3-4a and turned around at 5 miles.  Those ups and downs would now be in reverse.

At mile 8 I popped back on the preserve road. This gave me a chance to really play. My legs were feeling spunky from the up and down and the last 1/2 mile of fairly flat recovery.  I took off!  About 2 inches of snow under me on gravel road, road that would now be flat and down a 1/2- 3/4 mi hill to the base. My pace was in the 7s and then the 6s, it was a hoot!  Then a 1 mile of more relaxed recovery back to the van.  

This run looks like it aged me a bit! . 

I love this place...sweet, only mildly technical trail at times, and fairly long stretches of what you see here.

On today's agenda was 5 minute hill repeats getting into zone 4a to 5a, and making sure to hit 5a by the end. Coffee and my favorite fruit, kale and egg protein smoothie in, I made the hour and a half drive to Hobbs State Park for today's adventure. My new work schedule with rotating shifts offered me 3 weekdays off this week...penance will be paid Thursday, Friday, Saturday! But fortunately, that is still blissfully far away.  Kids off to school and me off to trails.  Got all nice n warmed up (not easy with 16 degree temp) and got down to the base of the hill.  Turned around and up I went. Got into zone 4a really quick, and 4b even quickier...like by 2 minutes. That made for a reaaaaallly long 3 minutes to go! hit 5a by 3 minutes and backed off a tad (It did not feel like I was backing off...just not getting ready to explode). I decided the last minute would be 5a all the way if possible. Holy lungs and heart exploding batman! I was glad I didn't have company on this run. I definitely looked and sounded to be in serious distress the last 2 minutes! Hands on knees at the end and back down the hill for round 2.  Round 2 and 3 proved to be equally challenging. Round 4 I was sure was going to be the death of me.  And then it was over!  It took about a mile of jog/run recovery before I got the spring back in my step (I wasn't sure it was going to return!). The next 4 miles were nice, some faster than others, but feeling pretty spunky all things considered. Never needed any fuel or water for this one...carried it, but just felt well fueled the whole way. 10 mi total today.

Stopped to catch a few pics....spotted this armadillo rooting around.  And leaning trees...there is something about leaning trees I love. They inspire me somehow. I can't put it into words how they make me feel, but they just humble me.

And then this bridge is awesome, it is on the drive to Arkansas...

Winter running in Jackson Hole and the Teton's is amazing, beautiful, and just as spectacular as hitting the trails in the Summer.  The BIG difference is the temperatures, often hitting minus 10, minus 15 degrees F during some of my runs.  Cold weather brings bright sunshine and perfect snow conditions on the trails.

With the polar vortex affecting most of North America, I have heard from many runners asking what I wear.  I have developed this layering system from many cold, enjoyable miles of experience.  One day sticks in my mind.  It was minus 22 F and I was running North of Jackson near the Town of Kelly.  The sun was out, but it was bloody cold, so cold that I had to run 2-3 minute intervals alternating between running forward and backward, so I could face the sun and warm all parts of my body.  I have run many many long hours in conditions like this.  Cold weather running is NOT bad for us, only poor clothing choices are bad for us.  

So here goes:

• Sleeveless Base Layer
• BIO Compatible Wool l/s Base Layer
• Giordana Thermal Jacket
• Zoot Compression 3/4 Length Tights
• Giordana Thermal Bib Tights
• ToeSox Crew Length Ultra Socks
• B2R Moc Shoe
• R.U. Outside Balaclava
• Eassun Record Sunglasses
• EMS Mittens 
• SOS Rehydration

So, yesterday was the day of my return to a nice little 10-mile race around the local area, the Braunton 10. I ran the race last year, just as I was starting to get my eye in on racing in general and it was great to come back a year later, knowing a bit more of what to expect and how to go about tackling it.

The route is all on-road (that is, mud-slicked, flooded road at this time of year) and is more than a little undulating - in particular, there are two significant category 4-5 climbs along the way. Fortunately, I'd run the course the week before with Clare and Luke, just to remind myself of exactly where these hills came and exactly how brutal they are. I reckon preparation is the key for a good steep, long climb that turns enough corners to hide its true end from you!

I ran with Clare, Luke and my brother Joe - the last few times I've run with this guys, we've all stuck together around the course; this time we decided we might not stick together and I'd go for it as much as possible. The strangeness of leaving Clare and Luke at the start line was balanced at least a little by being able to focus more on my own running (Joe was going to try and keep pace as best as possible).

Although I'm feeling great with my running at the moment, I don't know... something wasn't feeling 100% as we got around the first couple of miles. Heartrate was too high, breathing too difficult to keep controlled; not my finest moments to be honest. As we hit the first steep climb, I guess having the ascent to focus on reined in all of these loose ends though - we were determined to keep running up the hill, rather than throw in walking breaks, and I suppose because that meant I had to truly focus on my gait and tempo, everything else snapped into a good place. Not sure. Either way, once we were on the ensuing downhill section, I started to feel a bit better; my heartrate started to creep back down and I could begin to enjoy the run; it was almost as though a tough climb had hit my 'reset' switch.

Although I'm not super-competitive against other runners at races, it was nice when we hit some of the steeper downhills and I found I was still flying down them confidently (all that downhill work must have paid off and stuck somewhere!) to help us gain ground on some of the more cautious racers. Likewise, it felt good that on the second major ascent, our (Joe was still with me) careful dialling-down through the gears kept us slowly running past people who'd started up it too quickly, or just plain ran out of juice.

The second steep hill comes just after halfway on the course, leaving around the remaining four miles as a mix of downhills and flats, which would normally make for a good, easy, quick section. Yesterday, though, this was tempered just a bit by howling winds and horizontal rain pushing back against us as we ran. This was one point where mild brotherly competitiveness actually came to good use, as neither of us was going to be the first to let the conditions slow us down.

In fact, Joe kept pace all the way to the finish line - one last steep downhill saw us gain another couple of places and then we eventually crossed the line in about the same time as I'd run the course last year. Considering how nightmarish the rain was for the last few miles, I'll definitely take that.

That wasn't the best thing about yesterday, though. Clare and Luke finished a while after us, towards the back of the field, but not last! Neither of them were runners at all before I started running and gradually, as we wanted to spend more time together as girlfriend and friend respectively, they've come into their own. Now that they're both choosing to enter races, I figure it may even have transitioned from 'running because Ben does' into 'running because we want to' (I guess Clare counts as my household, but Luke means one more household with a runner, Eric!). I was so proud - and they're still in early running days. One day, I reckon they'll be cheering me over the line, if things keep up like this...

- Ben

"What if you striped away the need to know and the need for "meaning"'- Eric's comment on his blog post Today's Thoughts On Real Performance. Timely conversation. Those words, and comments by others rattled around in my brain yesterday and early this morning as I started to think about the race.  I tend to stress out more about the 5k - 10k races than the ultra distances...the farther the race the less "fear" I have. 5k and 10ks are so raw. For me it's a really stripped down way of assessing my speed, strength, endurance, training. No trees or rocks or roots or aid stations or porta potties to hide behind. No excuses of bonking, not drinking enough to explain a less than desirable performance. The shorter races are  little "tests" for me.  I tend to attach a lot of meaning to them, to every detail. "The finish line is the enemy to a runner" danced around between my ears.  I couldn't make those words and phrases make much sense. I got it, but I didn't get it.

Driving to Tulsa, I got more and more nervous. I had pace parameters set...what if I couldn't hold the pace...what would that mean? Then it started to click..."meaning = knowing and knowing is impossible". And then, "What if you striped away the need to know". And the answer came, If I stripped away the need to know, I would run without fear. At that moment all of the fear that had been building just disappeared. I visualized stripping away everything,...well... except my clothes ;)  I decided the finish line would not be my enemy, but my friend and my teacher. I wasn't going to let the finish line carry any meaning.  I would trust my training, my effort, my internal senses and just run in every moment. So here's how it went down....

I did my warm up just before the race and lined up. I was really excited and pleased to feel comfortable and ready to run. I was nervous, but it was a positive energy. I am absolutely TERRIBLE at going out of the gait too fast and burning up.  So I set my watch to alarm at me if I went under a 7min mile pace. The goal for this race was to stay between 7:00 and 7:20, so that's where I set the alarm. Well, sure enough, I shot out of there trying to convince myself I was at a 7:00 pace. Ding ding ding....I slowed a tad...ding ding ding....I slowed a tad...ding ding ding.... it was so difficult to bring myself down. My watch stopped dinging and I settled into around a 7:05-7:09min mi pace for the next 2-3 miles, I didn't realize until after the race that I paced just under a 7 for the first 10 minutes, it seemed like just a few that I was under. This pace felt upper end of moderate, but sustainable. There were 200 entrants. The lead pack of 4 or 5 runners was ahead of me. I was a good minute or more behind them and all by myself. It felt so good to be solo, just inside myself and breezing along. The race goes right alongside the riverparks and is a flat/fast course, out 5k and back 5k.  

By the turnaround my average pace was now 7:12. I was still pleased and felt like I was holding well. Tammy West, the lead female I knew well. We live in the same town and I often see her on my am runs. I cheered her when we passed eachother and told her, "go get em!" she was right there just trailing the front 3 guys. It was so cool, When I turned around and started heading back I started getting lots of cheers and "go!". I cheered them as well and yelled, "good job!" and waved. It was a hoot. I was getting quite tired though. By 4 miles I could tell I was struggling a little to keep the pace and knew I was likely slowing a little. I refused to look at my watch and just maintain as strong an effort as possible without blowing up. By 5 miles I was no longer cheering and waving much! The last mile I knew I was fading. I looked at my pace, 7:17...way to close to 7:20, so I picked it up and just gave it what I could to try and bring that number down. I drew into the finish line at 45:46...happy. Totally at peace and happy. It wasn't the time I wanted. I wanted to see 44:__ or even less, but I wasn't at all disappointed as I would normally be and that made me even happier. Of course I go back over the race in my head figuring where I could've done this or that, but there's no meaning attatched to it. This race didn't MEAN anything! It is a measure of my training, speed, endurance, etc...but it doesn't MEAN anything about me. I was fortunate to finish 2nd female, 1st in my age division and 5th overall. 

So I was due for one of those slow, steady mitochondria building Zone 2 30 minute type of runs. But I met an old student on my way out who wanted to come. Now she's seriously talented, super quick, and in the past, well, I've managed to stay with her for about a mile before having to collapse quietly in a ditch and throw up. Only reason I can stay with her at all is that she's 16 and some way off her potential. But after 10 weeks of Phase 1? Hey, I stayed with her for over 3 miles (way out of zone, sorry coach!), and hell it was fun and exhilarating and the Garmin chirruped up to point out that I had just obliterated my previous PB for 5K. By 2 minutes. After 3 miles she was still going strong and I made my excuses and relaxed gratefully into the Zone 1 warm down, but it was brilliant fun. Now, if I could just clear up this quirky little injury (see Injury Corner - Eric, I'm booked in to see a physio, but I'd be interested in your views.)

I was wondering what the small pang in my heart has been over the last couple of weeks and I've eventually realised what it is: It has been an absolute age since I've posted here. This is a situation I intend to rectify, so for now, a very brief bloggy update:

• I'm wondering whether to drop the 'how many weeks I've been trying to be a runner for' titling of my blogs, since after my twenty weeks in the 'wilderness' of not-blogging, I have returned actually considering myself a proper Runner. I never, ever thought we'd see the day, but it has come!
• I've run a load. Since I last spoke to you all after my Barnstaple-to-Bristol attempt, I've been racing, training and ENJOYING. I'll save the teetering Zen-ness here for a later post :)
• In the words of El Gavilan, I think I've finally, truly begun to 'inspire to inspire' - at least two people have taken the plunge into running as a direct result of my own efforts and a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of running ten hilly, sweaty, brutal miles with them as a way to celebrate Christmas. For fun.
• I've started working on something... else regarding my running. I won't be able to keep it to myself for too long as it is, so I'll at least savour my restraint for now.

So, as I say, I'll keep this brief. I'm not dead, I'm running more than ever and I'll write something proper and more meaningful soon. In the meantime, I look forward to going over all of your posts that I've missed :)

- Ben

Due to a string of unrelated and non-running injuries, I was unable to run from May 2012 to late Sept 2013. This left far too little time to train for my 2013 Cool Impossible, but made it an even better goal.

The Kepler Challenge is a 60km loop, starting with 6km along the shore of Lake Te Anau, before climbing 950m (3100ft) to the gear check at Luxmore Hut. A climb of 350m (1150ft) takes runners to just below the summit of Mt. Luxore. From there, it's and undulating ridge run to Hanging Valley Shelter, before a steep zig-zag descent down the back of the mountain to Irisburn Hut. This is the halfway mark, at 30km. It's then a long run down the Irisburn Valley, past Motorau Hut, Rainbow Reach, around the mountain back to the start point. (Of course, whilst it's essentially a valley run on forest trails, it's not all gradual downhill, and whilst there are no big climbs left, they feel big at this point!) On race day my altimeter recorded 1855m (6085ft) of ascent.

Race day arrived - the forecast early in the week had been poor, raising the possibility that the alternative course would have to be run, as the forecast gale force winds would prevent the safety helicopters flying. Fotunately, the expected storm (with snow to low levels in NZ summer) didn't arrive. Instead we had great running conditions; cool temperatures and light wind on the tops.

As I'm not a speedster, I started midway between the 8hr and the 9hr runners. I wasn't expecting to beat 9hrs due to the lack of training, but I knew from my previous run in 09 that starting too far back meant expending a lot of energy getting past very slow runners during the first 6km. 

At 0600 the gun went.... and nothing happened. At least where I was, nothing happened. Then after maybe 30 seconds we started to slowly shuffle forwards, eventually speeding up to a fast walk as we crossed the transponder mat.

I'd judged my start position fairly well, and most of the runners around were a similar pace. The 6km to Brod Bay was a very pleasant comfortable run.
From there the climb starts. As I live in the area and train on this part of the trail, my strategy was to run about half the 950m climb to the hut, and then fast-walk the rest after the gradient increased. However, I soon altered this, realising relatively low on the mountain that I was not faster than people around me who were walking. I fast-walked anything other than very easy angle, and was immediately quicker, passing others who I hadn't been catching.
Walking up hills quickly is usually a strength of mine, but for some reason, on this particular day it wasn't and I felt wrecked by the time I got to Luxmore Hut - to the point that I seriously considered retiring from the race. By the time I'd watered and got my gear checked though, I felt slightly better, and set off up the rest of the climb to the 1400m mark, putting on waterproof layer en-route. I took it a bit slower, but was very glad to be able to break into a slow jog on the leveller parts. By the time I descended the zig-zags the 300m to the feed station at Forestburn Shelter, I was starting to believe again that I could complete the race. More fluids & oranges, then continuing on the ridge to Hanging Valley feed station. The last climb back up to 1400m was rough again, and then the fun began.
Hanging Valley to Irisburn is all downhill; steep downhill for 900m. A bit of a crocodile had formed, going a little slower than I would have alone, but the track is narrow, hard to pass, and I decided to stick with them to conserve some energy. It probably did the opposite, thinking about it, but that's what I did, until near the bottom, where I passed a few, and trotted into IrisBurn, feeling better than I had since leaving DockBay, at the start of the first climb (apart from a few brief cramp type twinges in both calves). More food & fluids, layer changes (we were now under the forest canopy) and a few seconds staring in awe at the leader board. This is the half way mark in distance (30km) but the ascent/descent is pretty much done. Martin Dent had gone through in 2hrs 20mins!
From Irisburn Hut it's a long gradual descent down the valley, through the RockyPoint feed station to Motorau Hut at the 45km mark (also the lowest point on the track at 185m). Somewhere between RockyPoint and Motorau, someone said "Good Morning" to me. It was a pleasant surprise to realise it was still morning - up until this point I had not looked at  my watch. I took regular walking breaks down the valley, possibly too regular, but I was focusing on making the finish. I arrived at Motorau Hut in 6:29 and thought at that point that a time inside 8:30 was a possibility.
More food & fluids, and probably too long a break, and off towards Rainbow Reach. This section of the track is a pleasant 6km run through forest trails. I didn't feel I was going very slowly, but it took me a long time.
I left the Rainbow Reach feed station at 7:20, and I knew then that a time of 8:30 was probably out of reach - I wasnt going to maintain 7min km pace for the 10km back up the river. Right hamstring was painful on the uphills by now, but OK running the level/down.
That 10km was not as bad as expected, and I enjoyed the last 2.4 from the final feed station. A friend Kate (who had run the "Grunt" in the morning) met me at about the 1km mark, and I felt I was still running quite well as I crossed the line in 8:37.
I was happy enough to reduce my previous time by 29 mins. Next year the aim will be under 8hrs.
Martin Dent (Aus) , competing in his first ultra, destroyed the course record, finishing in 4:33. Ruby Muir (NZ) won females in 5:45.

Well, I made it! What I thought was impossible became possible! I thought there was no way I could live without sugar, no way! My family thought I was crazy, co-workers would look at me and say "why are you doing this to yourself?" I would answer, "because I am tired of feeling like crap!" I did not realize the side effects of sugar! I knew when I would consume a pop and candy bar mid-afternoon I would feel groggy and tired, but I didn't have sense enough to realize the culprit was the sugar. The first week was easy; I even made my husband an apple pie and didn't take one bite. About day eight, the cravings came. I wanted ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, a milkshake, anything. I continued to eat fruits and nuts and eventually the cravings were no more. I learned to read lables, especially ingredients. If I can't pronounce the ingredient, I don't want to consume it. I lost two pounds, I have energy and feel great! I have suffered from cystic acne for YEARS; my face has immensely improved. I still have a few spots but nothing like the painful, huge knots I normally have. My husband and kids are now on board with healthy eating, which is a huge help to have their support. I am now very anti-sugar/anti-processed foods . I drive by fast food places and can't believe I actually ate the food that is offered on the menu (I still go to Subway, which is way better than McDonalds).  I can't see myself going back to enjoying junk food. Yeah, I am sure I will eat a piece of cake or a few peanut butter M&M's once in a while, but not as a snack. Now, I am 100% dedicated to living a healthy living for my family and I.

It is interesting that Eric and others have started to talk about doubts and fear.  These are very real emotions for me at the moment as the registration for my Cool Impossible approaches on Feb 1.  Ever since I decided to do this race I have been racked with doubt: Am I too fat? Am I too slow? Am I strong enough? Am I just freaking crazy?  I have shared these doubts with my friends ad nauseam.  One of my friends who patiently listened and was supportive finally cracked and said "Just shut up and do it, at least then you will know if you can do it."  Truer words were never spoken.  

I am following Eric's plan fairly consistently.  I try to make sure I get out and do what I need to do.  However, today I had a Zone 3 Endurance Threshold run for 1:30 and only did 1:17.  While I didn't beat myself up over it, I did wonder if I should have done those last 13 minutes.  On an intellectual level I know that 13 minutes is not the difference between success and failure in a 100 mile race.  But emotionally I feel that I should have done it because that is what you do if you want one of those buckles.  Being 47 (I will actually turn 48 during the race.  Happy Birthday to me!!!!) I also take extra time off during the week to make sure my body doesn't break down and while I feel guilty about it, I know that at my age it is necessary, I am 47, not 27 and that makes a big difference.  When I feel indecisive about my runs I have started to repeat Eric's mantra "Satisfaction over Desire" and that keeps me going.  While I am religiously doing the slant board stuff, I really need to start doing the exercises, and I mean REALLY NEED to start.  If I fail I want to make sure it isn't because of lack of preparation or conditioning.  

On one level running 100 miles feels overwhelmingly impossible, but when I was looking at the race manual I realized something, I could run 3 miles or 7 miles or 12 miles and that is what I am going to do, it is just going to be back to back.   That is doable.  It is funny I want one of those buckles in the worst way.  I can't even articulate why I want one but I do.  I saw a quote that said if you want to truly find out about yourself do an ultra.  Maybe that is it, I am not sure.  There is a 100 mile race right up the road from my house I could have done but chose not to because they offer a 50 mile and 100 k option you could drop down into.  I wanted to make sure there were no consolation prizes so I chose Cascade Crest 100 since there is only one distance and there is no dropping down.  To paraphrase Yoda "Do or do not, there is no dropping down."  Will I finish? I don't know, what I do know is that I will give it my all and if I fail, then I have failed gloriously.  There is no shame in failure if you leave everything on the course.  

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort reported a foot of new snow this morning.  With fresh snow brings warmer temps, humidity…..and wind.  This means its time to get out of town and head North to find colder temps and good snow.  But first, I needed to fire off a few coaching emails, so I drained my double espresso and popped open the laptop.  I typically get a few emails each day from readers of The Cool Impossible and today was no exception.  One I received this morning started out with the usually, "thank you for writing the book, I love it.  I have been doing the strength work and run program and feel great."  But this one then took an unusual turn as he was writing me to ask if he could buy a training program because he just registered for his first 30k trail race in June.  

He went on to say that he was at week 5 of the Cool Impossible foundation program and was 'stuck' because it was too hard for him to get his long runs in during the winter and he was not motivated for the treadmill during the week.  Did he know I lived in Jackson and winter here is fifty nine months long!?

My response to him was that I felt the foundation program was ideal for this 30k race, sequencing perfectly for a June race.  I also mentioned that no coaching program can provide motivation or change the weather for him.  That a "new" or different program was not the solution to the challenges he was perceiving to have in being 'stuck' with the program.

When faced with challenges, we often think if something was only different it would change things:  "If only it wasn't so cold", well, wear something warmer.  Cold air is not harmful, not being prepared can be.  "There is too much snow", well, see it as a time to build more strength, rather than quit or turn around and head back to the usual road course with cars whipping past you.  "It is too icy to run outside", slow down and use it as a time to work on form.

Every challenge offers us an opportunity to improve and get better, but it takes a mind shift sometimes. Things will not always go the way we want them to and the more we resist this, the harder it will get.  Resistance creates stress and a desire to change something external only leads to more stress.  Acceptance of the situation gives way to learning and ultimately leads to great satisfaction and feeling of accomplishment.

Practice the mantra: satisfaction over desire.

Running will not always be fun and most times over-coming a challenging workout or 'bad' weather creates an unbelievable feeling of satisfaction.  And, most times, having the need or desire for running to be 'fun' leads to just the opposite outcome.  Just like wanting the 50 mile race to be over with when you are at mile 20.  Satisfaction Over Desire!

Email done, a quick strength warm up on the slant board, and then off to run.  I decided to head North of Jackson past the Town of Kelly and to the Gros Ventre.  The workout plan for the day was to get in 10 miles with some long, sub-threshold climbs.  The Gros Ventre is great for this because I can run on snow covered roads with a variety of climbs.

The Gros Ventre

I chose to wear very minimal shoes to work on micro-strength in feet/calves/glutes and they offer great traction so I could run fast up the climbs on the perfect layer of snow sand.  

Settle in and Climb

The Gros Ventre Corridor is steep in history and is the location of Slide Lake, where a massive landslide occurred back in the 1920's creating the lake. Eventually, the dam broke, desimating the Town of Kelly with a flood.  

Gros Ventre Land Slide

500 Mile Expedition

The First Runners

At the time, Kelly Wyoming was the major town in the valley due to its proximity to the Gros Ventre River, but after this flood, settlers moved to Jackson and Kelly today is only a small, eclectic town of yurts, log cabins, and million dollar ranches tuck into the side of the hills.

Welcome to Kelly

Well, my run did not disappoint, time flew by with my focus on hitting all the climbs in HR Zone 5 to help build my threshold endurance and improve my fat burning efficiency, which is vital for bigger mountains to come in the Summer.  Legs felt very strong, which is my focus right now.  My climbing intervals came out to this:

1st - 6:30 min

2nd - 4:50 min

3rd - 2:40 min

4th - 7:00 min

5th - 6:40 min

Total Miles: 10

Average HR: 143

Max HR: 163

Zone 5 Climbing Time: 27:40

Well, I finally had to shovel twice today, oops make that now three times.  Our first snow fall in a week and it is still coming down. Should be good skiing tomorrow, the mountain needs it.  And, could be a good snowshoe run tomorrow.  The snow was good timing also because today is my recovery day from running.  This time of year my recovery is a complete off day from running and I focus on more strength training in my gym.  I try to do some form of foot and leg strength every day, so on Thursday's my focus is mainly on full body "true" strength.

When we develop strength in the core and upper body, we do ourselves a world of good for our running. We swing our arms better and move with greater mobility. We activate muscles along the spine that protect the whole body, allowing us to run upright with greater stabilization. We breathe easier. We run more relaxed. We maintain form economy better and longer, especially during those last few miles when everything feels like it wants to collapse.

In the alternative, if we fail to pursue whole body strength, trouble ensues. Interconnectedness gives as much as it takes. Almost as a rule, runners tend to get rounded shoulders, thereby tightening our pectorals, thereby pulling on the muscles in our back, which causes pain while running—and let’s be frank, everyday life as well. These same rounded shoulders affect our breathing and the mobility of our arms and upper body. Without mobility there, our torso moves side to side as we run. This throws off our efficiency and equilibrium, and as we tire—more quickly by the way—we begun to lean over our feet or hunch - The Cool Impossible.

One great exercise that I use with my athletes is the Scorpion.  This is a great one to test your stability, mobility, and overall "true" strength.

Check it out here and see how you do.  Send in your own videos so we can see how good ya are!

Today I did 2 circuits below plus a lot of bouldering:

• knees to chest
• rockers
• toggles
• can openers
• scorpions
• jackknife
• knees side to side
• knees to chest

"Run strong, to go long" - E

With three great training days behind me, I was looking forward to today, my Cool Impossible Wednesday.  I like to devote Wednesdays to getting out for a long run and using this as a creative time for myself.  While writing The Cool Impossible, I found that I wrote best by composing my thoughts while running, taking mental notes and riffing on a subject.  

My mind gets very creative while running and today was no different as I ran the trails of Cache Creek.  My mind wandered with thoughts as my legs meandered up, down, and around the very hilly terrain of Cache - a great strength run.  Today, thoughts were just flowing out of me, thoughts of how athletes think to performance well and how I believe there is a "best way" of thinking to perform - just as I believe there is a best way to run and train.

I was running high up on Snow King and past a skier being coached how to make great turns. People never think twice about taking a ski lesson to learn, but runners often do not think running is a skill that can be learned.  Some of the first skis date back to 8000 B.C.  In fact, Chinese skiers in the Northwestern part of China where known to persistent hunt for elk on skis.  Not unlike native peoples who persistent hunt on foot, running them to fatigue after many hours.  

These Chinese skiers and native runners, like the Tarahumara Indians, developed great skill out of lifestyle necessity that is lost on us today.  This is what my Cool Impossible Wednesday is all about.  Devoting a day to truly and authentically living the lifestyle I have chosen and dreamed about for myself.  This is not about mountains or cool wildlife, it is a mindset that can be harnessed anywhere, like in Oxford.  We all have a story and dreams no matter where we live.

I just read a book about the Polish Alpinists of the 1980s and 1990s.  They were distinct in mountaineering because they created their own style, one of 8,000 meter winter ascents by new routes in the Himalaya.  This was never done before.  The Cool Impossible is just this, creating your own dreams and "style".

As I finished my run, I crossed paths with a women from France.  I gave her a smile and said "Hi" and she offered up a bigger smile and said, "hillo, furst timm, so buutiful."  What style!!

Here's to Cool Impossible Wednesday and your own style - and it's gonna be a great year!

Cool Impossible Wednesday Video

Today's Run Time: 90 minutes

AVG HR: 142

Max HR: 170

Ascent: 1600 ft

Mantra: "Trust and Create"

That was my thought on number 8 of my 8 x 200meter sprints. Holy sheeshums those were tough! As usual very nervous prior to speedwork this morning. The warm-up was all about thinking about the speedwork to come. I did 6 x 200 at the same pace last week and struggled, so I was worried there was no way I was going to be able to do 8. And of course those thoughts..."well if you were less of a sissy, you could do them with greater ease". "If you were tougher, they wouldn't seem as hard". Hehe..fortunately I just recognized those thoughts, said "hello" to them, and moved past...I don't have to OWN them. Those thoughts are fear and fear is ok, it's supposed to be there. It means I'm at the edge of my comfort zone and this is where cool things happen....or cold things...it was very cold! ...Sorry, ADD kicking in. After 3 of those I completed the next 5 with hands on knees at the end of each one, then walking, then jogging to recover for 200 meters before the next rep. Next up were 3 x 400s. These I remembered as being a little easier from last week but didn't know how I would feel after doing a couple extra 200s over last week. Once again they were tough, the last 50 meters seemed like 100, but finished those feeling strong and recovered between. And the pic? Not from today! Ha!! Just got tired of posting pics of freezing cold weather!!! It does depict how I felt finishing all those #$%^ing intervals thought! Warm wishes to all out there!  

Well, the media is using the phrase, 'polar vortex' to describe the cold front hitting the USA today.  Here in Jackson, this is everyday weather and the best gauge of temps is normally dictated by what the moose are up to.  If it is cold, they tend to relax for breakfast in the backyard.

Momma Moose

So, today was a typical JH polar vortex, with a 1 degree F run start temp.  Today is my strength day, where I hit the neighborhood trails and "track" for a strength interval session, followed with some, in the gym, full body strength work - cool impossible style.

I started with a nice easy easy paced WU.  I ran by speed rather than HR on this.  Since it is a relatively short run, I want to nail my SP1 training zone and see if this puts my in my zone 2 HR - which is did and is a good sign this time of year.

After this WU, I headed to my winter track for 5 strength intervals.  I did one as a WU at a very moderate pace and to measure out 60 seconds.  My goal for the workout was then to make the next 5 efforts faster than this 60 second interval, AND each one had to be faster than the last.

The Track

My first one I hit 56 seconds and feared I made this way too fast and was in for a challenge.  The 2nd one I hit the finish at 54 seconds and the 3rd at 50 seconds - doing well, but the speed was getting challenging on firm snow.  For the next one I had to really focus the entire time.  I nailed it pulling off a 48 second effort.  I felt this was my best effort and my goal for the last was to really try to relax and "just let it happen".  I started out and slipped and stumbled, instead of get frustrated I kept shouting in my head my mantra and stayed relaxed.

44.8 seconds, with speed in the fours - hands on knees.  Funny how the mind works!  

Capped off with a nice recovery run to the road and then performed 7 X 15 second moderate sprints to form, economy and flush the muscles quick recovery for my long mountain run tomorrow - stay tuned.

Total Run Time: 55 min

Average HR: 141

Max HR: 180

Mantra: "I want this"

The ups and downs of sugar detox is so unbelievably scary. I never knew how much this stuff affected my moods, my energy and my SLEEP! I am so high at night from energy, I am wired but then I sleep (eventually) and I wake up like I have crude oil for blood in my system. Sluggish, like a snail without a shell.

Irritability, highs and lows, intermittent 'fog-head' mixed with bursts of euphoria and creativity is what I am experiencing. I am so over sugar. It can sod off for ever. 

Day 7 of the training plan, doing good, getting to grips with the slant board and falling off the Fitball less now I am not looking round to see what my position is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-A5j0IawWA this is a link to one of my days on the foot/leg strengthening days.....

All is good. I am not at work over the holiday period but I am wondering how to fit it all in when I got back to working 13 hour shifts.......where there's a will....there's a way. 

1 hour walk with the dogs today, taking it easy on a no strength training day.

Thanks, Eric......I am really enjoying this.