Something to Ponder????

Warning - not running related

I generally try not to post on politics or religion and this one is really on neither but some might think it is criticism of the current President since I am questioning his stimulus package at least indirectly. Now truth be told, I was criticizing the past President for the same thing. Moving onto my soapbox, we should spend what we collect in taxes, fees, services, etc... and we should not print money we can't repay in my lifetime. Ok, I am now moving back off of my soap box.

Anyway, what led to this post was our church had the annual stewardship speech (what are you donating next year) last Sunday, except they invited a guest speaker. Turns out he is local high school teacher who teaches economics and he gave a great example during his speech that helped me understand our current deficit spending in a way that really made sense (minor side track - I should clarify that he did not at any point criticize the current administration nor make any political comments, his talk was on stewardship). Back to this post, as an Electrical Engineer, math has always been something I have been fairly good at but when it comes to millions, billions, trillions I tend to have visualization issues. His example was to think of the money as time.

• 1 Million Seconds = 278 hrs = 11.6 days
  
• 1 Billion Seconds = 277, 778 hrs = 11,574 days = 31.7 years
• 1 Trillion Seconds = 277, 777, 778 hrs = 11,574,000 days = 31,709.8 years

So to complete the visualization, he said here is the way to look at the spending. If it really did equal time and you would go backwards in time based on the amount of time you spent.

• 1 Million Seconds takes us back to November, 5 2009
• 1 Billion Seconds takes us back to March 10, 1978
• 1 Trillion Seconds takes us back to 29,700 BC (no clue what month)

I thought it was a great example that helped me understand the bizarre spending in Washington over the last 12+ years. So when they talk about a budget deficit of a Trillion+ dollars it has a whole new perspective to me. I should also add that he did cover a few more topics concerning stewardship and he did provide an interesting perspective on that as well.

Disney and Ultra Running?

The other day when I was on a run (it was one of my last longish training runs before Surf the Murph) and for whatever reason "Disney" popped into my head.

My family last went to Orlando back in 2006, we were there over Thanksgiving with 2 other families we have know for almost 30 years and we had a great time. I do like many things Disney offers but not all things. And as I was thinking about Disney I got off on random track of comparing Disney to my upcoming 50 miler and to ultra running. This may also provide insight to why I love running longer distances as I have many great internal conversations and tons of random thoughts, my only problem is that most of them I can't remember a mile later let alone a day later but for whatever reason this one has stuck with me.

Anyway back to Disney, anytime my family has gone to Orlando to experience Disney, I have always had mixed feelings. I enjoy the rides, the shows, the experience but I hate the crowds, the lines, the costs. Did I mention, I hate the crowds. So as I pondered Disney, I decided that there are some similarities between Disney and the Ultra experience.

First, at each ultra I have done all of the volunteers (and race directors) have been very friendly, courteous and they try to make our experience a good one. They make us feel welcome, like we belong even though I know I am just a back of the pack runner, why even the best of the best runners usually smile and say hello. When you go to Disney almost all of their workers are friendly, courteous and they try to make the guests visit a good experience. Then you have the start, kind of like when Disney opens it's doors, the energy of the crowd is very similar to the energy we all have at the start of a race.

Then you have the courses, hills, rocks, roots, lakes, creeks, birds, deer, snakes, foxes, coyotes, eagles, hawks an amazing variety of nature and beauty all of which change each time you run the course yet they always seem familiar. Have you ever run a trail and not enjoyed the experience? Have you ever run the same trail over and over and then stop and you see something that you had missed or taken for granted. Kind of like Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Buzz Lightyear, Test Track, Mission Earth, Imagination, Rock n Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith (I have to admit that I like this ride as it brings back memories of seeing Aerosmith back in 1973, man are they old), Everest Expedition and many more. Each time I go back it all seems familiar but I see things that I missed the previous time through, ok, maybe this is a stretch as the trails are definitely more enjoyable.

Then you have the bad stretches that almost always happen in an ultra, kind of like the long lines and the crowds at Disney, if you are patient and don't lose your cool the time passes and you are back enjoying yourself. You also have the food, good at Ultras and ok at Disney and both venues have some strange food. Like mash potatoes or potatoes you can dip in salt (when I mention these type of foods to other runners, you should see the look on their faces) or the foods of the world at Epcot, ok now I am brain dead, I know they have some weird foods there, just can't remember them. You have the weather, always a concern at Ultras and at Disney. You have people from all over the world who run ultras and people from all over the world who visit Disney (yeah, not probably the same group). You have old and young, fat and thin, men and women, families, costumes, strange clothing, rules and many other things at both. Ok, my comparisons may be getting lame but I am still amazed that I remembered any of them.

So sometimes when I am running my training runs and I start thinking to myself why am I doing this, all of a sudden "It's a small world after all" pops into my head and everything seems ok. So if you see me zoned out I might just be meandering my way through Walt Disney world, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, MGM, Blizzard Beach or various other Orlando locations and if you see me struggling just mention "would you rather be here or waiting in line for Buzz Lightyear?", I am sure you will get a smile and a very quick reply, "here!", as I do so hate crowds.

What next?

Now that is the question, what am I doing or training for next?

My first 50 is complete and the next race that I have signed up for is the Chippewa Moraine 50k but it's not until April 24th, just 166 days and a long, cold, dark Minnesota winter away (you can see that winter is not my favorite time of year :-). I know that if I my training focus is only on Chippewa I will drift aimlessly towards it and then sometime after January 1st, I will actually start the training. As I usually respond to the panic of an approaching race by getting out the door despite the fact that I don't like to run longer in the cold. You see, I know if I don't get out well then Chippewa will be a longer day than I would like and this year I want Chippewa to be fun, no dehydration, to have no snow and yes this year I want a PR. What this panic training does instead is it leads to a plan that will get me through the distance but I may or may not have time to improve as I am way too busy re-building my base. I could also just forget about running and do cross training like XC skiing, snowshoeing or do indoor training (boring) but I know that these although occasionally enjoyable don't really get me out the door or into working out on any kind of regular basis.

So I have decided on a different approach, I have added a second countdown except this is to the next race that I am simply thinking about. Which for me is the Psycho Wyco Run Toto Run 50k. I ran it last year with Wayne and Les and I had a blast slipping and sliding around that wonderful Kansas mud so I wouldn't mind doing it again. It is on February 13th and is 96 days away. Now with that on my calendar I can focus on it and if it doesn't work out, no loss. Regardless, it will simply help me get out the door which will help me maintain my base and that will get me to Chippewa faster, lighter and if nothing else it will help make the time of winter pass.

Surf the Murph pictures and other facts

A few pieces of additional info which I failed to include in my race report.

First I read Kel's report (great job Kel) and she reminded me about the bridge which we all were sliding off of. My thanks to Steve L. who pulled me up.

I am pretty surprised as to what was sore the next day, mainly my shoulders and back. My feet seem fine and my legs are fine. I did take it real easy on Sunday but on Monday I was able to walk the stairs at work with no issues. Today I had planned to get a run in but it didn't work out right after work and then I wimped out going in the rain and the dark. So a few days later all is well and here are a few things about the race some might enjoy.

Imported from BimActive

Route

Route Name:	Surf The Murph 2009
Location:	--
Distance:	51.34 miles
Elevation Avg:	953 ft
Total Uphill:	+4868 ft
Total Downhill:	-4868 ft
Elevation Net:	+0 ft
Difficulty:	4.5

Elevation (ft.)

Pace by loop per my garmin (as I left the start/finish on each loop)
Loop 1 - 16.01 miles - 3:47:15 - 14:12 min/mile
Loop 2 - 32.06 miles - 7:54:55 (loop 2 time = 4:07:40 - 15:26 min/mile)
Loop 3 - 48.22 miles - 12:39:19 (loop 3 time = 4:44:24 - 17:36 min/mile)
Loop 4 - 51.34 miles - 13:40:36 (loop 2 time = 1:01:17 - 19:39 min/mile)

Pretty easy to see how I ran out of gas as the fueling issues and the pain increased. When I looked at my mile splits I was where I wanted to be up through mile 44. Now the last 6 miles, I believe the best way to describe them is as "a walk in the park". I think my training worked out except the longest back to back mileage days on a weekend oddly enough was 42 miles, pretty much where I tanked. I may want to push an extra 6 miles out on a few weekends and see if that helps next time. I also have to admit I was fairly freaked out during loop 2 as I was afraid of what I would experience in loop 3. Once in loop 3, I was afraid if I would be able to walk the next day. Now that I know what to expect, I think I can push it a lot more in loop 3 and a bit more in loop 2 especially if I get the fueling working a bit better.

One last thing, although I thought I was on the verge of dehydration at times, when I got home I weighed myself and I was only a pound down so I think I did get myself rehydrated with the slow down in loop 3.

I also wish I had a camera with me to take a few picture out on the course. Maybe next time I will have one to take with me but here are a few my wife took during the race.

Wayne and myself coming in with loop 2 almost complete.

Me after I stooped to talk with my family, feeling good still but if you look close you can almost read my mind and based off of the look on my face it probably was "I can't believe I have one more lap".

Wayne and me coming into the finish

At the finish, yes I was happy to smile and I felt better than I expected but I was tired.

Ok, maybe I wasn't doing that good after all, feel free to laugh at me for this picture but I couldn't resist posting it. I could not believe how hungry I was when I got done nor could I believe that I ate pizza. It normally takes me a few hours to be able to eat after a race.

I still know I am forgetting a few things but that's it for now.