Treadmill Daydream

I am now putting in some solid weekly miles, and will be at or around 40 this week. (first time at 40 in a long, long time).  In fact I will have run more miles this week than in two different months of this deployment.  Numbers wise, I have ran 84.4 miles this month, which, not astronomical is more than I have ran in a single month since May 2011, and already a tenth of my totall 2011 mileage!  And, my legs are feeling great, stronger than ever.

The downside to all of this...almost every step of it has been on a treadmill, including this mornings 14 miler (2:17:35).  Thats right, I had to reset it not just once, but twice because the timer wont allow more than 60 minutes at a pop.  Talk about frustrating. 

To break the monotony of just pounding miles, I set the inline at random (no less than 3% grade) and just go with it.  Since I have a few big mountain races coming up this summer, I need to learn to run uphill better anyway.  This naturally makes me run slower with a shorter stride and forces me to increase my running economy, but it also does something else...

About 6 miles in today, my brain started drifting, day dreaming if you will...(I am thinking more like hallucinations mixed with delusions of granduer).  As the TM started up another incline for me to suffer through all of a sudden I was racing in Cheyenne Mountain against one of America's (and the worlds) best mountain runners in Max King.  In my daydream we chased each other through 26.2 miles of trails at the Xterra Marathon of Trail Races, Max is so good that my daydream wouldnt let me drop him.  (He did win the Xterra National Championship last year).  We pushed each other to the brink on the final big climb to the second highest point on the course, North Talon Loop and with both of us in oxygen debt is where I made a move, 4 miles to the finish.  The last super steep, rocky section of North Talon instead of going into an economical walk, I surged up and over the top...praying that my legs would recover and I could put a couple hundred yards on Max before he could do anything about it. 

(I had some Pearl Jam set to random, so the sound track that was playing in my ears to all of this was simply outstanding, Given to Fly, Severed Hand, Porch, Life Wasted, WWS, Yellow Ledbetter...I could run to these guys for hours...and I often do).  Back to the daydream

I couldnt believe it, I had broken Max King, on a climb in near sight of the finish line.  I only had two miles to go in my run and was cruising along, at a steady 3% and decided to shift gears on the treadmill, I bumped it up another .2 mph...feeling the finish.  And my mind drifted back to the race...all of a sudden I am neck and neck with Peter Maksimow (Cheyenne Mountain 25k, Greenland Trail 50k winner)..and its a race again.  With one mile to go the treadmill decides its going to lift me to the moon, and I make the brutal mistake of not slowing...as it goes to 5.5% grade, I try to push the pace and pay for it. 

I had completed this entire run with only a little water and no gels...I wanted to push myself into suffering today..and the last mile, suffering is what I did.  I had to slow down and walk for a tenth, because my breathing was ragged and true to form Peter went on for the win, I finished second (even my dreams keep me honest) breaking 3:50 in a trail marathon (listen, this is MY dream). 

I am glad for the hard run, though and the welcome distraction of a race, even if it is in my own mind.  I am really starting to feel strong and run strong.  I am learning how to recover properly and have rid all the junk with the exception of a coke or two a day out of my diet.  I drink Fluid Recovery System drink after every hard run and at least once a day otherwise.  I am really blessed to have them as a sponsor, I dont think I could train with the intensity level that I want to, without being able to recover quickly.  I take 2-4 BCAA caps a day, along with Omega 3-6-9 and a B-12 supplement.  I stay away from protien shakes and any thermogenics, as all the protien does is make me fat, and the thermogenics lift my heartrate too much to run. 

I am looking forward to an amazing summer schedule which will include the Aspen Marathon, Leadville Silver Rush 50, possibly volunteering (with my family) at Pikes Peak Ascent (Kilian Jornet is supposed to be there and who doesnt want to see him run P.P.),  a Dirty Dash with my wife and daughters, and I am trying to decide between a couple Xterra's (Indian Peaks and Cheyenne Mountain) or Run Rabbit Run 100 for my first 100.