City Running vs. Country Running
Most ultrarunners end up doing a lot of their mileage on trails, because the softer dirt surface is much more forgiving on the body. You end up with more variation in terrain (e.g., fire roads, single track trails, etc.) and elevation (bigger uphills and downhills), so it typically ends up taking longer to do the same number of miles on trails than it does on the street (road running).
I had a couple friends, Wendy and Bill, who were going to do 35 miles in the Santa Monicas, but they're both a little faster than me now, and I've been really careful about staying within my boundaries so I don't get hurt.
So this week, I decided to do my long run on the street.
Now you'd think that would have been the more "safe and sane" way to go. After all, you'd be in civilization, right? Last week on the trail, I almost stepped on a 3-foot rattlesnake that my friend Diana was kind enough to point out as I headed right toward it...he was laying sideways across the middle of a fireroad, and I was looking off into the distance on an uphill stretch. We stopped and watched him eventually crawl off into the brush. But at least out on the trail, you know what you're getting.
I decided to leave my house early, 5:15am, and headed West on San Vicente. A couple miles into my run, I came across a guy also out early, sitting on a beach cruiser bike with his (big) dog next to him...some kind of dobie mix, by my guess. I passed, said "hello" and kept going. About 2 minutes later, I heard the sound of racing footsteps and a deep growl, followed by a "NO!". Fido was running down the median, and came parallel to me. I turned and we faced off until master arrived. We exchanged verbal pleasantries and I proceeded.
Another 2 minutes. Footsteps again, another standoff, more verbal pleasantries. I LOVE dogs but hate owners who don't know how to handle them. They must have turned back up, because after that they were gone.
Having used up my adrenaline for the day, I kept on...moving South through Ocean Park, watching the sun come out. About 1/4 mile from the pier, I noticed a little head poking out from behind a trash can. As I approached, a black cat scurries out, runs right across my path, and disappears into the brush on the other side. It was like a bad scene from a cheesy movie.
I ended up meeting some other folks from my TNT group to do the middle 10 miles or so of my run, and it was pretty uneventful until we were finishing up going down Venice Beach. I don't know if it was the black cat, or what. Seems there was some dispute between a homeless woman and a vendor about whose spot was whose. The homeless woman proceeded to answer the question by tossing the vendor's chair, dropping her shorts, and relieving herself in the middle of the little grass area. Some things you don't need to see at all, let alone at the start of your day.
I decided to head back up Washington, through West. L.A. to get back home, and it was a nice change. Lots of fast food restaurants if I needed a bathroom, lots of 7-11's for Gatorade or water. It was just nice to do a different route altogether, past the businesses just getting going and the Santa Monica airport. Doing the longer runs both enables and requires you to become creative.
I finished up the run nice and easy, about 6 hours for 30 miles. All in all, a very good week. We finished up on Sunday back on the trails for an 11 miler with my TNT group, many on the trail for the first time. Lots of fun.
Here are my numbers from this morning...a mini-milestone for me. Dropping 10 pounds always feels good!
Starting weight: 206.5
Current weight: 196.0 (-10.5)
Long run: 30
Last week's miles: 64
When I coach, I talk about weight management and bring out a 5 lb. bag of flour and a 10 lb. medicine ball to make concepts more concrete. I ask the folks we train if they feel like carrying either prop in a backpack during their marathons. It's effective. And it works even for me...not having to drag around the extra medicine ball feels good. I have one more medicine ball and a bag of flour to drop by race day.
I had a couple friends, Wendy and Bill, who were going to do 35 miles in the Santa Monicas, but they're both a little faster than me now, and I've been really careful about staying within my boundaries so I don't get hurt.
So this week, I decided to do my long run on the street.
Now you'd think that would have been the more "safe and sane" way to go. After all, you'd be in civilization, right? Last week on the trail, I almost stepped on a 3-foot rattlesnake that my friend Diana was kind enough to point out as I headed right toward it...he was laying sideways across the middle of a fireroad, and I was looking off into the distance on an uphill stretch. We stopped and watched him eventually crawl off into the brush. But at least out on the trail, you know what you're getting.
I decided to leave my house early, 5:15am, and headed West on San Vicente. A couple miles into my run, I came across a guy also out early, sitting on a beach cruiser bike with his (big) dog next to him...some kind of dobie mix, by my guess. I passed, said "hello" and kept going. About 2 minutes later, I heard the sound of racing footsteps and a deep growl, followed by a "NO!". Fido was running down the median, and came parallel to me. I turned and we faced off until master arrived. We exchanged verbal pleasantries and I proceeded.
Another 2 minutes. Footsteps again, another standoff, more verbal pleasantries. I LOVE dogs but hate owners who don't know how to handle them. They must have turned back up, because after that they were gone.
Having used up my adrenaline for the day, I kept on...moving South through Ocean Park, watching the sun come out. About 1/4 mile from the pier, I noticed a little head poking out from behind a trash can. As I approached, a black cat scurries out, runs right across my path, and disappears into the brush on the other side. It was like a bad scene from a cheesy movie.
I ended up meeting some other folks from my TNT group to do the middle 10 miles or so of my run, and it was pretty uneventful until we were finishing up going down Venice Beach. I don't know if it was the black cat, or what. Seems there was some dispute between a homeless woman and a vendor about whose spot was whose. The homeless woman proceeded to answer the question by tossing the vendor's chair, dropping her shorts, and relieving herself in the middle of the little grass area. Some things you don't need to see at all, let alone at the start of your day.
I decided to head back up Washington, through West. L.A. to get back home, and it was a nice change. Lots of fast food restaurants if I needed a bathroom, lots of 7-11's for Gatorade or water. It was just nice to do a different route altogether, past the businesses just getting going and the Santa Monica airport. Doing the longer runs both enables and requires you to become creative.
I finished up the run nice and easy, about 6 hours for 30 miles. All in all, a very good week. We finished up on Sunday back on the trails for an 11 miler with my TNT group, many on the trail for the first time. Lots of fun.
Here are my numbers from this morning...a mini-milestone for me. Dropping 10 pounds always feels good!
Starting weight: 206.5
Current weight: 196.0 (-10.5)
Long run: 30
Last week's miles: 64
When I coach, I talk about weight management and bring out a 5 lb. bag of flour and a 10 lb. medicine ball to make concepts more concrete. I ask the folks we train if they feel like carrying either prop in a backpack during their marathons. It's effective. And it works even for me...not having to drag around the extra medicine ball feels good. I have one more medicine ball and a bag of flour to drop by race day.
posted by Greg Minter at 10:35 AM
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