June

I can't believe it's already June. Time flies. I just looked at the schedule, man all this running is going to keep me single. Had to bow out out of some; weekend bbq's, parties, late night hanging out with friends and not even a kid's b-day party because it's in the middle of a Saturday when I do my heaviest training. Western States in 21 days. I do however have some vacation time planned. The week after WS I leave to visit relatives in the Philippines. That will be a good break. The trick is not to get fat and to keep training. Whew a tall order.

Anyway the calves/achilles are not doing well. Did that super early run with Stephen this morning. Felt the right this time then followed by the left. Just sore and tight and now they're making that funky "creaking" noise up and down stairs. Doesn't help that Stephen is fast. This morning's run went really well though. You know, for runners, running while catching up with a good friend is like...for lack of better words, just a super great thing. I cursed the clock when the alarm went off, cursed it six more times everytime the snooze was up but once I was out there with Stephen it was all good.

Nevertheless I think I will have to abandon the majority of my long run tomorrow. However there is still the bike, right like I was going to not workout. It's too critical to let up now, too close to the race. I was planning on biking early anyway then doing the long run, now I will have to do a long bike. Tricky, my bike rides have been short. Oh my legs could do it, it's the other muscles involved; the neck, back, especially the back. If the biking doesn't bring on the tightness and soreness then it will have to be a long bike ride followed by a short run. If the bike aggravates it then I'm out. I'll have to do like Kim and sit in an Ice Bath for most of the weekend. Probably skip Tuesday track again too.

I'm gonna need these legs healthy for next week. Garett informed me last week that there's a Mt. Diablo 50k next weekend. Today I've decided to enter the race as part of my last long training run, it'll be hot which I need. I hate that damned Devil mountain in the East Bay. I've done that 50k before, it was my second ultra in fact and I've never gone back. I hate the damn mountain. I hate the fireroad leading up to it, I hate the heat, I hate the bare top that has no shade and I hate the downhill trail they make us use which is filled with dust and loose rocks. When I did this I got so delirious from the heat I started running downhill 2 miles shy of my second summit of the top and thought I was still heading up the mountain:) The next runner behind me turned me around. I remember running out of water a couple of miles from the top and I would stop in the what available shade there was to cool off. I drank 60 ounces of water when I finally made it to the top and drank another 20 ounces before I reached the next aid station. Yes I was only carrying one water bottle at the time and yes 50k runners have to summit twice. Damn that race. I'm stronger and smarter now but damn I hate that race. Well like I said, I need the heat. I have no heat training whatsoever. I anm worried about the two back to back canyons in WS where the temperatures can rise to 110 but I'm prepared to suffer. No racing this time for Mt. Diablo though, really, just a training run. Then I'm off to taper and if it were up to my calves/achilles, taper would start right now.