Back in the saddle...

Alright, after almost a week off to recover, I finally got out there today for a road run of 6.2m. I could definitely still feel the after-effects of the race last weekend. I basically trained my legs to run 11 min/mile for that last ultra, so I now have to re-train them back to 8-9 min/mile. My next race is Sunday, August 17 in Washington Crossing, PA (Chasing the Unicorn), so I have a couple of weeks to get my act together. My usual routine is to run 2 hard 'time trials' per week on my usual 5 mile course and possibly do a 5k race a week or so before the marathon. Any other ideas?

Haven't run since last Sunday...

I would normally be crawling out of my skin to run after not running for 2-3 days. Not running for 5 days is almost unheard of for me. In this case, after running a bunch of mileage last weekend, I don't want to jump back in the water too quickly for fear of injury (oh, did I mention that big, honking blister on my heel?!). I try to de-taper after a run the same way as I tapered. So, my next run will probably only be 3-4 miles. Does anyone do anything different than that after a race?

In 24 race highlights

Having just run 76 miles at the In 24 hour urban ultra last weekend, I was reflecting on the good, the bad and the ugly.  No matter how short or long the race, one always gets ideas from other people and the surroundings. The key is to actually learn from them. Below are a couple of tidbits that I came away with:

1. Never underestimate the weather.  In the case of last Sat-Sun, the weather was 80 deg F with fairly low humidity and a slight wind which is about as good as it's gonna get in mid-July in Philadelphia.  The weather at this event in previous years usually averages around 90 deg with 90% humidity.  The event was even re-scheduled last year to a Sept date which resulted in torrential rain (which is still arguably better than 90deg/90%.
2. Footwear can be deceiving over longer race distances.  I always train in running shoes for many miles before using them in a long race.  What you don't know is how they will perform in a long run/race until you get there.  In the latest 24 hour race, I started developing hot spots on my feet (metatarsal and heel) relatively early in the race (30+ miles).  I stopped at one point and changed my shoes (to a different pair of the same brand/model) and re-dusted my feet with Glide and baby powder.  This helped for a while, but eventually I felt the telltale funkiness of the dreaded blister on my heel.  The blister would have been a major problem in a longer race.
3. Stopping at aid stations can add up.  In this case, the course had six aid stations (not including the start line) on the 8.45m loop.  My nemesis was at the start-stop line.  We had a gigantic 20", three room tent setup in the little 'tent city' next to the starting line.  This became a magnet that sucked me in for at least 15-30 every loop.  I'm no mathematician, but that adds up to some serious time over 9 loops.
4. Nutrition, nutrition, nutrition.  Since you have to eat real food/meals during a race like this, it's important to figure out what foods work for you and your stomach.  I wasn't very hungry as usual and only managed several bites from an Italian hoagie, some veggies from a meatloaf platter and miscellaneous items from the aid stations.  Not enough to sustain me in a long event like this.  My magic brew of Campbell's chicken noodle soup fell flat when I first tasted it, too. I need to find something that provides high calories but doesn't upset the stomach. 

Ok, that's all for now.  I may add to this list in the future based on what comes to mind.  Happy running!