Motivation, Schmotivation

It's a given that GVRAT provided tons of motivation for me to run all those miles. Ever since I've been done with it, I'd been a little concerned about undergoing a letdown. This didn't happen... until this week. 62 miles: my lowest weekly total mileage since March or April.

And it's not like there was a lot of quality, either. There was the race, but that's pretty much it.

Now I'm mad. Next week starts the big push.

How Low?

How low can I go? Two weeks ago, I averaged 3:40 for my Yassos. Last week, it was 3:39. Today? 3:37. Having said all that, it's getting pretty tough. One cannot keep improving forever. I think the answer might be to try something new on the track next week. Maybe mile intervals, or maybe something else.

My mileage appears to be a little on the low side as well as my times. But that's only because I'm no longer including walking mileage in my running log. When I started GVRAT, I thought I should include the walking to ensure that I can make the distance (1269 miles in 4 months). Now that the four months are nearly over (and I completed my overall mileage), I am trying to see whether I could indeed have done it without the walking mileage. Well, I can tell you that since I've kept the walking designated as such, I can say that I will have those 1269 running miles within another day or so.

I did receive my GVRAT 1,000 pin and BAT map,

Change of Venue

Notice that there's no day-number as part of the post title. That's because I'm done with GVRAT, Except for trying to make the distance with running miles only. I'll keep track of that and report back by the end of August.

It's cool, crisp, and clear as I begin my long run on the Lester Rail Trail. For the first time this season, I spot Orion rising in the east. This is about as good as it gets for mid-summer running. I didn't run long or hard the last two days. I've got no injuries to speak of. In short, I've got no excuse for not running well today.

Except that I'm not. I'm moving slowly. Too slowly. The bathroom stops don't help, but I've dealt with those kinds of problems before. Mostly, I just can't seem to wake up. This, despite my usual gallon of coffee this morning. So I'm having a lousy run for no reason at all. 

I'd thought about running 24 here this morning. I often do that, but more often, I wind up settling for 18 as a long run total. Today, I am beginning to doubt that I can even do that. I may need to quit altogether. It's too bad that I don't even have an excuse. Other than quitting early, there's only one possible option left for me: a change of venue.

I like the Lester Rail Trail, and I do a great many of my long runs here. But once in a while, it just doesn't work out. Too bad it's not working out today during this beautiful morning. At least I get eleven in before I decide to drive over to the track. But I don't know whether the Buckeye HS track will even be open. It's been locked up lately, and I haven't been there since last year. I suppose that if it's locked, I can go to another track, or truly quit altogether.

Buckeye track is open. Even so, I begin this part of the run at a speed no faster than what I had been doing. Perhaps I really and truly should quit. I try to run a little faster, and I manage to do that. Somehow. Then I go faster and after. Each mile is better than the last. Some soccer or cross-country high school girls begin showing up. The sun is higher and warmer now. And I keep running. And my miles continue to improve.

Until I get eighteen and change, at which point, I'm done. The change of venue worked.

Day 99: I'm a BAT

I am a BAT as of today. I made it *virtually* back across Tennessee (Arkansas to North Carolina, and then back to Arkansas for 1269 miles) in 99 days. Here I am in my backyard with my GVRAT shirt and a celebratory beer.

It happened in Erie. I ran just five and a half before walking around three more. That's all it took.

Now I'm done... Until tomorrow.

Day 98: Erily Done

I'm in Erie, PA, and it's a beautiful, cool summer morning. I'm lost, and that's because the roads don't go straight, and also because they have this habit of repeating otherwise disconnected road and street names in different areas. But all that's okay. I'm still enjoying the run. I eventually find my way back to the hotel. Maybe tomorrow I'll drive to Presque Isle to run. Maybe.

And by the way. I may be done. There and back again across Tennessee. Today's eight and a half running and two walking miles may indeed do it, but I won't know for sure until it's applied tomorrow. If not, then tomorrow will be the day for sure.

More on this GVRAT mileage thing in a near-future post.

Day 97: Ramming Speed

Everyone knows about ramming speed. But were you aware that the speeds leading up to that ultimate pace are 'battle speed' and 'attack speed'? I didn't think so. Here it is: one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies: Ben-Hur.

I bring this up because I just barely made it to tempo speed today. That's three miles, all something on the order of 8:20 or better, all without a break. Sometimes I can go faster. And sometimes I can go longer. Sometimes (although not often) I can do both. Today, it was just the three miles, and just the minimum tempo pace.

But that's okay. I ran quite well yesterday. I'll take anything I can get for today.

I should still finish my BAT (Back Across Tennessee) tomorrow or Friday.

Day 94: Piles of Miles

The running mileage total for this past week is on the order of 75. That's one of the lowest weekly totals since GVRAT began. Most weeks are 80 and above. Now, 75 ain't really all that bad, and there were a couple nice and decent runs involved. And these numbers don't include walking miles, which I'm still counting and which I may still delete later. (It was another 400+ mile month when you do include the walking.)

But maybe all these GVRAT miles are beginning to take their toll. Note that I've said this before, and then continued on. Maybe that'll be the case this time as well. I should complete the Back Across Tennessee leg in four or five more days. We'll see what happens then.

Day 92: Logan Run

Logan's Run was a '70's science fiction movie. Debbie and I were visiting the Ohio Hocking Hills area, and we stayed (and I ran) in Logan, Ohio. Today's run was about ten miles near and along Lake Logan. Since traffic was nearly non-existent, and since the temperature was comfortable (there was a bit of rain), this was a pleasant run. It's always good to run someplace new. Especially someplace scenic.

Along with today's hiking, I'll get over 400 miles in again this month. I should complete my run back across Tennessee in about a week.

Day 89: A Bad Millennium

Some of this appeared in a 2011 post. It seems appropriate to bring it back up today.

Word has it that legendary sea explorer Jacques Cousteau and his crew discovered a sunken ship from ancient Greece. Among the artifacts brought up was a bottle of wine. Cousteau opened the bottle and took a good swig. He immediately spat it out, exclaiming with Gallic aplomb, "That was a bad century!"

Another story: some years ago, a radio announcer said this about the Chicago Cubs (who had been doing poorly): "Any team can have a bad century... but now they're having another one."

I mention these things again because I do appear to be having not just a bad day (it didn't go well .. again), a bad week (last week was decent, but unfortunately, this week, not so much), a bad month (it's July: the heat and everything else slows me down), a bad year (I'll blame the coronavirus and GVRAT), but a bad millennium. Keen observers will note that I skipped 'century'. Sorry. 

Maybe I should just give up and wait till the next millennium rolls around.

Day 88: Another Hinckley Run

It wasn't easy to do after yesterday's long run, but I did manage to get out of bed and run the hilly nine-mile Hinckley run with friends today. That about did it for me. Except of course for the lake loop we walked afterward.

Day 87: Back to the Towpath

Been a while. It used to happen nearly every Saturday: a long run on the Towpath. But due to the pandemic and a bunch of other reasons, I've been staying closer to home. Today though, Larry Orwin and I ran nice and long down there.

'Down there' is down near the Cuyahoga River in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It's a wonderful place, and the towpath makes it perfect for running there. We were lucky to have a beautiful summer morning for our run.

We ran a bit over 20 miles. I was tired toward the end, but I'll call it a good long run. It was good all around.

Day 85: Today's Ten

Keen observers of my posts will recall that I have some bad days, running-wise. They often occur after a day or two of pretty good running. This week has been mostly pretty good, so you might think that I was due for a stinker.

It didn't happen. I wound up running my ten-miler with Michelle and Andy Wolff, and it went quite well. I now only hope that Saturday and Sunday do as well. Those are days that I often run longer miles, and/or run with friends. We will see.

Day 83: Buckets of Sweat

My True treadmill is a real wonder. It's about 18 years old and it's endured not only thousands of hard miles, but also buckets upon buckets of my sweat. Someday, I need to figure out its total mileage. Eleven today; it was raining outside.

Day 82: Share the Love

Most of my running is solitary these days. I do better and enjoy it more when I run with others, but that's not usually in the cards for me, especially in these Covid-19 Pandemic times. So when long-time-but-not-so-much-lately-training-partner Michelle Wolff asked if I wanted to join her for a Tuesday track training trot, I jumped at the chance.

Her goal was to do three miles at AT but close to tempo pace, then another mile at a faster pace. Amid the rain, beautiful sunrise, and pink rainbow, we did all that. I then went on to run three more 800s.

So I suppose you could say there was a little bit of everything today: rain, sunrise, rainbow, tempo (ish), and various interval lengths. All (or at least most) whilst sharing the joy and misery of the track.

Day 81: Not Zero

I am up early. Have my coffee. Sit around and play games and mess around on the web. Time passes...

Whoa. Too much time passed. Now I do not have time for much of a run. I could quite easily talk myself out of running altogether. Doing nothing would end my 120+ day streak.

Some day that streak will, in fact, end. But today is not that day. I step on the mill and crank out five miles.                                                                                                                                         

Day 76: Why Run?

Running is stupid. Why do I do it?

I wouldn't, but for GVRAT. Those thoughts and others like them were bouncing around in my head today, as I only got a few extremely slow slog-miles in.

The good news? Tomorrow's another day.

Day 70: Not Uranus

I did not see Uranus today. Or Neptune. But I did spot Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Oh, yes. And part of Earth. I think that accounts for all of them. At least all the currently designated ones.

Fireflies lit the sky today as I began my run on the Lester Rail Trail. Fireflies, and the Moon and the stars. And the planets.

I got eleven miles in, and it was a nice run. Until the deerflies began to wake up.

Day 69: Get Enough Sleep

Knowledgeable athletes, including distance runners, are well aware of the importance of getting enough sleep. World-class runners reportedly get much more than other people, and the mid-day nap is an important part of their routine.

Although I am not quite world-class (I am still working on it), I also endeavor to get enough sleep. Based on my experience, it's of extreme importance, but there are other things to consider. One is probably how much time before waking to begin the run. Of course, caffeine figures importantly into that equation. Also, the relationship between the amount of sleep the previous night before a run does not appear to be nearly as important as the overall amount of sleep over a period of days, perhaps even weeks.

I can go out for a run the morning after an awful night's sleep (this happened yesterday), and still have a decent performance. This often happens for races, as pre-race nerves can be a factor. Yet if I don't get enough rest (including naps) over several days, I know my running will also suffer. It's possible that the amount of sleep two nights before a run have a greater influence than that of the night before. In any case, I'm certain that the amount of sleep over a relatively long period of time is what's most important.

My own sleep habits have greatly improved since my retirement. A very rough estimate would put it in the neighborhood of an hour more per day. How has my running been affected? One shouldn't put too fine on this, but I think it's improved, perhaps a great deal. Volume, for sure. Speed, maybe not so much. But that may be entirely because of the increased volume. And it may not be so bad anyway. Most importantly, I have been largely injury-free.

And that's a good thing.

Day 68: Lying Awake, Wondering if there is a Dog

Did you hear about the dyslexic, agnostic, insomniac? He kept himself awake at night wondering if there is a dog.

1:30 AM: I am lying awake, figuring that it's an even bet whether I'll fall back asleep or not. It also occurs to me that hey - with all this extra time, I can make this morning's run a long one. I truly had not been thinking about this last night before bed. I'd been thinking that I may consider doing elevenish miles to make up for coming up short of ten yesterday.

2:15 AM: Whoa. It appears that I did fall back asleep. At least a little. Now I'll begin getting ready for that long run.

3:15 AM: Double whoa. I fell back asleep again. But I'm really getting up this time. I mean it!

4:00 AM: I'm becoming woke. I'd been working towards getting out the door by four, but I've only had two of three huge mugs of coffee. I pour the rest and also have some toast with jam and an apple.

4:30 AM: The run begins. It's ridiculously warm and still. The current heatwave has, so far, featured relatively comfortable humidity and relatively cool nights. Those days are now gone. The heatwave isn't fooling around anymore. I notice the nearly full moon, then nearby Saturn and Jupiter. In the middle of the sky I spot Mars, and then Venus rising in the East.

5:30 AM: Time for a necessity stop after those five one-mile loops in the subdivision. Afterward, I bring some water and gel with me as I jog over to the track. Only 13 to go.

6:00 AM: I crawl under the fence as usual. I will plan to do around seven miles here before my return. The sunrise is pretty.

6:30 AM: My pace, which had been extremely slow, has now picked up. I would call it. 'respectable'. I mostly hold to it while I'm here running in circles.

7:30 AM: I took a gel and I'm going home. Whoa. I'm tired, sore, and beat-up. I slow down. Then I slow down some more.

8:00 AM: The final three miles have been totally awful, but I've made it back home. Barely.

Day 67: When Coffee Doesn't Work, Part 215

Readers of this blog may remember some of my previous posts about coffee, the most recent being only a couple weeks ago. Usually, coffee does it's intended duty quite well, but other times it doesn't seem to work well at all. Today was one of those latter days. I call it sleep-running.

Maybe I'll be more woke for tomorrow's run.