April 28-May 3

Recovery weeks are usually pretty relaxed for me, but last week I felt better running than resting. The racing experience was so intense and exhilarating that the post-race recovery wasn’t so much physical as it was mental. My job isn’t easy or boring, but Monday felt very calm as I solved each problem in a very relaxed manner. Maybe it was the flood of endorphins from the weekend, but I felt like there was some weird stimulus acting on my body helping answers come to me faster. When I thought back on the race, everything else in daily life seemed simple and straightforward. I wanted something not so possible again, and I found that running around Crystal Cove struggling through some simple climbs and descents was just what I needed.

Though I don’t know everything about the brain and its relationship with endorphins, I feel like my experiences have led me to believe that as they intensify positive emotions and quicken response times, they also fulfill a sense of personal satisfaction. I think there is some variance in the drop off of the three effects, combined with the brain benefiting from extra energy from decreased physical activity and extra sleep. The post race blues seemed to be a magnified problem as the sense of satisfaction disappears more rapidly, and the brain still has plenty of energy to over analyze and plan ahead. Maybe this is close to the actual problem, or maybe my brain’s addiction to endorphins is closer to that of a crack addict..

3-28-11 Monday: 0,0,0

Tues: 4mi, 0ft, :36 road Costa Mesa
6mi, 1200ft, :51 Crystal Cove

Wed: 3mi, 0ft, :26 road Costa Mesa
6mi, 100ft, :44 road TTT run

Thurs: 8mi, 1700ft, :63 Los Liones

Fri: 3mi, 0, :27 Costa Mesa Road

Sat: 32mi, 8,600ft, 5:02 Eaton-Winter Creek-Mt. Zion, Sturtevant, Chantry, Winter Creek, Eaton. Really solid run with Chris Price. I wasn’t sure about the totals on the route I had made up, but Adam’s GPS backed it up (I think the elevation gain might be slightly overestimated based on my calculations). Still a solid 32 miler, with consistent pacing, and a good performance on the Chantry-Idlehour gap (1:35). Chris definitely disproved my concerns that climbing in smaller range hurts your long climbing ability, as he ran all the big climbs really well.

Party on Mt. Wilson Toll Road
Leona is going to be a very interesting race . We even saw Jussi Haileman climbing up Winter Creek. I didn’t realize he had ran sub 24 at the age of 60 just a few years ago..

Sun: 16mi, 3900ft, 2:28 Old ranch rd, Sullivan, bobsled, rustic, the mountain, Backbone and Rodgers ridge. In honor of Barkley I ran through mostly overgrown trails, streams, washed out ruts, steep climbs, and slippery steep loose gravel.. Not the quickest stuff, but a good challenge regardless.
Week: 78mi, 15,500ft

Month: 344, 54,900ft
The month would’ve been bigger without the extra long taper, but I feel relatively strong going into April, and feel prepared to do my most intense training through April-May-June. I acknowledge I’ve accomplished some basic checks in the box as far as some of my basic competencies, but the real performance objectives are still to be met.. And it’s perfect timing as the weather and the sun are finally back on my side.

Some tasty new tunes from Cold War Kids.. With an entirely ironic music video

Cold War Kids - Finally Begin


Btw, this pic is the Sturtevant Camp main hall. Would anyone be interested in camping at Sturtevant (4 miles in Santa Anita Cyn from Chantry Flats) for an AC training weekend?
Pro's: it's ridiculously cheap, probably less than $40 a person for a bunk and all meals
Con's: none.