Letter to a frend 1 year after moving to Asheville

Jannuary 28, 2009 

Hello Chris,

It is really nice to hear from you.  We are doing great, thanks.  I am not working much other than putting in about 4-5 hours a day for the community Board of Directors.  I am running quite a bit and getting in really good shape for the 2009 road season which officially started last Saturday.  We did a 5K in Greenville, SC that had almost 2,000 finishers.   I got second in Grand Master and almost got under 19 minutes, 19:03 on a hilly course.  I was pretty happy with that.  Eve did well but man, she had some tough competition down there.  There are some FAST runners in Greenville!

We are adapting slowly but surely.  It is an interesting area and has it's own unique quirks like any other place.  Instead of panhandlers and stressed out pit bosses we have lot of people here that like to plaster bumper stickers all over their cars.  You will see a $70K Volvo with a shit load of bumper stickers expressing their concerns for the environment, being a vegetarian, what Cheney does at night under the covers, Mama's for Obama, Mother's for a Brother, Life is Good, Life Sucks, Dog is Love, Dog is My Co-Pilot, etc..  Obviously some people with a definite identity crisis in full bloom.  It is a slower pace here and many people are still struggling to emerge from the 1970's.  Probably something that has to do with the regular use cannabis and the effects it has on personality development.  But there are some really sharp people that we have become gradually acquainted with and we now consider our friends.  The running community is very strong here as is almost every outdoor pursuit you can imagine.  It is a wonderful area for outdoor activities and sports, along with the arts, and gourmet restaurants every where you look.  The economy has slowed considerably of course, like everywhere, but not near the gloom and doom I hear from Las Vegas.  It is really bad there.


I guess you probably know already that Nick Braybrook retired last fall.  Jerry Stueve put in for his position and the entire Construction Division was hoping he would get the job and the entire Resource Department was praying to God he would not.  Because of the slow down the District did away with Nick's old position and the divisions were re-assigned under Tom Minwegen and Shawn Mollus.  I have to wonder if Jerry went home and threw his own personal phone into a wall.  I always imagined that guy in black uniform with red and white trim, black riding boots, a monocle in his right eye, and German Sheppard at his left heel.  I always worked well together with Jerry because I knew how to handle him and he was a great antagonist when it came to dealing with details.  Whatever we did together I knew it was bullet proof when we got done. But he was one weird psycho if I ever met one.  I hope he stays on his medication and doesn't make any more kids.

Groaners

The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
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> I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.
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> She was only a whisky maker, but he loved her still.
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> A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption.
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> The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
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> No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
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> A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
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> A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.
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> Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
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> Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
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> A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
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> Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
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> Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, 'You stay here, I'll go on a-head.'
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> I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
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> A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'
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> A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, 'No change yet.'
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> A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
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> The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium, at large.
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> The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
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> A backward poet writes in-verse.
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> In democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes.
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> When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
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> Don't join dangerous cults, practice safe sects!
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Ernst Van Aaken Endurance Training Examples

Ernst Van Aaken endurance training examples:

1)    10 x 350 m at easy effort with 50 m jog/walk; 2,000 m two minutes Slower than Best Effort (SBE); 5 x 350 with 50 m jog/walk; 2,000 m 1 ½ m SBE; 500 m tempo run.

2)    10 X 350 m at easy effort with 50 m jog/walk; 5,000 m four minutes SBE; 500 m tempo run.

3)    Multiple 2,000 m at two minutes SBE or 3,000 m at 3 – 4 minutes SBE, both with 3 – 5 minutes walking or exercises between.   Keep this up for 10 – 30 K.   Include 1 – 2 x 500 m tempo run with 3 – 5 minute walking or exercise between.

4)    Continuous steady run over varied terrain for 10 – 20 K.

5)    Mixed run as you feel and include either 2 x 500 m tempo runs or a time trial of 3 – 10 K.

6)    Recovery run: 25 – 50 x 350 m with 50 m walk between performed on flat soft surface.

7)    Weekly long run of 20 – 40K at easy pace with 3 – 5 minute walk/exercise breaks every 2 – 5K.

8)    Marathon specific training:

a)    5 – 10 x 2,000 – 3,000m at 1 ½ - 2 minutes SBE with 3 – 5 minute walk/exercise between each; 6 – 8 x 60 – 80 strides at end of run.

b)    20 – 42 x 1,000 m at MRP with 3 – 5 minute walk/exercise between each.

c)    5 – 10 x 1,000 at 10K race pace with 5 – 10 minute jog/walk/exercise between each.

Mike Schramm: 2008 St. George Marathon Recap

While going through some old scrap books, we came across a great marathon recap from a good friend of ours, Mike Schramm.  He has run for many years and a variety of distances.  This recap is from the 2008 St. George Marathon in Utah.  In the 37 year history of this event,  it's only rained twice.  This was one of those years. What a crazy wild adventure for Mike.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we did...

"Tough race, which is too bad, as I felt OK, well sort of anyway...here is a recap

We have been staying the night in Pine Valley the last few years, which is the way to go.  I woke up Saturday morning and thought someone was taking a shower in the cabin.  I went outside to take a walk and assess the conditions, and realized no one was showering, it was RAIN!!!!! Ugh....And to top it off, a wind from the south at about 15 mph!!! It hasn't rained at the marathon in St George for 25 years.

We got to the start line about 6:36 am.  I started with a garbage bag for the rain, but took it off quickly as the wind made it feel like a parachute.  I decided this wasn't a race for time, just survival.  I heard my first mile split of 6:24.  I didn't know what I was doing again until 5 miles, when they had a clock that said 32:34, not bad for conditions.  I started to make a move up the Veyo Hill at mile seven, passing runners, but not looking at my watch.

Now the bad...  I went past 10 miles feeling OK, then about 10.5, I started smelling fuel...weird...a strong sense of fuel, but no motorcycles around, no ambulance, no truck, but the smell was strong.  I was getting nauseous, really bad, and I thought, I am going to lose it....I stopped on the side of the road, and lost everything I had eaten that morning.  That has never, ever happened before in a race.  I then thought, well, this is over, where is the van to take me to the finish. I am sick, the wind is blowing, it is raining, and everyone is passing me....

Well, then, I just literally got mad, thinking everyone that passed me figured I was DONE, and it just ticked me off (anything for motivation!) I started running again, and felt OK, and started to run a bit more aggressively.

At the half, I passed the clock in 1:28:20, probably had 150 runners ahead of me, and I couldn't believe it.  I thought on a normal day, I would be 1:23, but with the conditions, even with the stop, I would be 1:26 (remember, I wasn't looking at my watch).  Man I was ticked!!  I still felt good, and I started hammering the course as hard as I could, passing people like crazy.  I came to mile 15, and there was a big group of runners, all together, about 10, running in the wind and rain, staying in a pack.  There was no one in front of them that you could see.  The SMART thing would have been to tuck in behind them, and run with them for awhile, especially with the wind.  But, I blew right by them as hard as I could, and in my mind I was thinking. "you can all go to hell thinking I am crazy, I dare you to stay with me", I quickly gapped them (I looked later, the leader of that group finished 10 minutes behind me), and just started pushing it hard through miles 16 and 17 (Erica was waiting on the bike).

I looked later and did miles 16 and 17 in 11:18, which was good with the wind.  I was still ticked!!! I was cruising, just picking off runners every 45 seconds or so.  Erica was really pushing me from the bike trail.  At about 19 miles, my shirt weighed about 10 pounds from the rain, so I took it off, pinned my number to my shorts (with only one pin), and threw my shirt to Erica.  So now, I am shirtless in the freezing rain and wind, must of looked like an idiot.

You should have seen it Bart, the runners I came up on were totally wiped out.  A good runner that I know, I whacked him at about mile 18, and finished 10 minutes behind me in the end.  The conditions were just killing everyone.  Erica started saying, OK, next runner about 200 meters ahead...and in a normal marathon at 20 miles, I wouldn't catch no one 200 meters ahead, unless they were walking, but today, I would get them after about .75 of a mile.  I was running my miles about 5:55 or so, and that is with the wind.  I came up on the Women's leader around 22, and when I passed her, I noticed that she was CRYING!!! Wow, it was a weird race.

At mile 24, I started to hurt a tad, but I was still knocking others out.  I then saw another St. George masters runner, Ken Carlson, that has been training 90 mile weeks, and wanted to break 2:40 (probably would have in good conditions), and I just had another adrenaline surge, and flew by him, he finished about 2 minutes back in the end.  I caught two more, between mile 25 and 26, and finally the last mile from 25.2 to 26.2, I didn't see anyone else, my adrenaline was running out, and I ran a 6:45 mile.  I came into the finish, shoes and socks soaking wet, no shirt, my shorts were falling down (soaked with rain), and I kept having to push up my shorts for the last 10 miles, it was quite a sight...

So, I went 1:28:20 in the first half, then lowered it to 1:19:13 in the 2nd half.  I ran just over 37 minutes for the last 10k, finished in 34th place, passing at least 100 runners in the 2nd half.  It was crazy.  Not that it matters, but the good runners were commenting on 6-8 minutes was the penalty for the weather.  It also mentioned in the paper that it was between 8-10 minutes because of the weather.  It just makes me wonder if I would have cracked the 2:40 barrier in good weather.

Well, that was long, I hope you made it through it. It was just such a weird experience"

Mike

GO ULTRA: An ultra champ's secrets for going long-without (too much) sacrifice. By Tish Hamilton

GO ULTRA

An ultra champ's secrets for going long-without (too much) sacrifice

By Tish Hamilton

Image by Timothy Archibald

PUBLISHED 01/03/2007

Tim Twietmeyer, who's completed the grueling Western States Endurance Run (a 100-miler) under 24 hours a record 25 times, winning five times along the way, insists you can train for ultras and still have a life. As proof, the 47-year-old Hewlett-Packard project manager and father of three offers up his own training log, which shows he typically runs about 2,700 miles per year, averaging a mere 50 miles per week. That said, he often goes out for a run every other Saturday before the sun rises and doesn't come home until after lunch. Here, Twietmeyer discusses the longest long run, mental tricks, and finding time to mow the lawn.

How much harder is an ultra than a marathon?
You may think a 50-miler is just twice as far, but the difficulty goes up exponentially. The American River 50, for example, is about three times the effort of a marathon. It's the same thing going from a 50 to a 100. You're going to be out there about three times as long. You have to build up your body to be able to handle the amount of time you're going to be on your feet. In the same way you'd build up to a 20-miler before a marathon, you need to do the same thing before a 50- or 100-mile race.

How far should you go on your longest long run?
Probably 50 to 60 percent of the distance. So, 50 to 60 miles before a 100-miler, or 25 to 30 before a 50-miler. Any farther is like a maximum effort, and recovery is more difficult. When you're in that 50 to 60 percent range, you can continue to train in another week or 10 days. When I did my very first Western States, I ran a 50-miler in February, a marathon in March, a 50-miler in April, a marathon in May, and then the Western States in June in 22 hours. Those marathons were not supercasual, but I could run them without feeling like I had to go sit in a hot tub and rest for two weeks.

What about back-to-back long runs?
The value of the back-to-back is that you learn what it's like to run when you're not fresh. You learn about how to motivate yourself when you think, I don't want to run anymore; this is harder than I thought. But I'd rather do one longer run and then rest. Back-to-backs waste a whole weekend. If you do one longer run on Saturday, you can mow the lawn on Sunday.

So you do have time for a life?
It's a delicate dance, that's for sure. I have three boys, 12, 14, and 16. On weekends, I'll go out running by 6. I can be back by 1. A seven-hour workout is enough to keep me in top shape. Then I can waddle around and get stuff done. I alternate long-run weekends with weekends where I do power workouts, say, 10 to 12 miles of hill repeats. Then I'm not gone for one Saturday, Sunday every other week.

How do you avoid injury?
I'm cross-training a lot more now. I mountain-bike on trails near my house with a group of guys who go every morning at 6 for an hour and a half. I haven't had any injuries. I have aches and pains, but I've been running ultras for 25 years. A lot of that has to do with not over-over-mileaging it. Taking rest days when appropriate. There's always a time of year when I'm not racing.

I've heard people say ultras are easier on your body than marathons. How could that be?
From the intensity standpoint, it's easier. You're going at a moderate rate over a longer period of time. You're stopping at aid stations, you're getting something to eat, refilling your water bottle. In marathons, you go, say, three and a half hours at the exact same pace over pavement. Most ultra courses have a variety of terrain, so you're using different muscles. Even the outlook is different: I'm going to walk for 30 minutes, then I'm going to run downhill for 40 minutes. That's completely different from I've got an hour and 15 minutes of First Avenue ahead of me.

When you've run 70 miles, how do you come to terms with 30 more miles?
In an ultra, you have to turn your brain off. At Western States, when you get to the halfway mark, you feel like you've spent 80 percent of your energy. How can I make it to the finish line? You go through these huge mood swings. There are going to be real low times and times where you feel like you could run another 100 miles. When you're really feeling crummy, you might need to eat something, drink something, walk for a while. But you're going to feel good again. In shorter races, low moments pass so quickly that you don't have to come to grips with your own soul. In ultras you do.


Online Extras

What kinds of food and liquids are you taking in during training and during a race?
It's really important to manage your food and liquid intake by monitoring how much you're sweating, how hot it is, and whether or not you're urinating. When it comes to the liquids I usually take in an electrolyte drink, but you've also got to get a little water in your system and some sugar and salt. I might also add in some soda for caffeine and sugar, for the quick pop.

When it comes to food, I tend to eat energy gels because those are really easy to get down. I also try to take in some high calorie energy drink and some solid food, but not a lot. If you're going to be out there for a really long time (say, for a 100-miler) you're better off finding solid food that you like and that you can digest.

When you're training, how many long runs do you do?
If you're just starting out, I'd say no more than three to four. If you're doing a 100-miler and you want to do a 50 to 60 mile training run, I wouldn't do any more than two or three of those. Each long run should be done on progressively more difficult terrain. The first one might be going out on your local bike path that's nice and flat--not a huge stress. The next one would be on a moderately hilly course where you're doing some walking on some steep stuff. The third long run should be in conditions similar to the course you're going to run on, particularly if it's difficult.

Do you thing the human body adapts to longer distances over time?
Definitely. One philosophy that I tried to get used to as I became an ultra runner was getting out there and getting used to being on my feet as long as I could. I didn't care how fast I was. The marathons were nice--go out and run 75% effort but get used to being out there 3-4-5 hours without feeling like you're totally spent.

I think the best tactic is to train your body to go farther first and think about faster later. Part of training for an ultra includes your metabolism. You're getting your body used to catalyzing fuels to go farther rather than in the marathon where you're just using it to go faster.

Reflecting On Two Random Days During A 100 Mile Training Week

100 MILE JOURNAL

THURSDAY

This was scheduled to be an easy night, only 12 miles.   A mere short jaunt, a stroll in the park, nothing more than a protracted warm-up in comparison.  Yeah right.   Actually it went quite well, but we are tired.   Interestingly enough more head tired than body tired.   The legs are doing fine; no aches, pains or tightness to indicate that something is taking more of a beating than it can handle.  Eve and I chatted through the evening run about work, training and body responses.   It was evident that our humor is taking a hit this week.   While on the outside we appear patient and serene, on the inside we are not in the mood for any bs from anyone.   We wrapped up the run with 10 x 50/50 in and out surges which felt awkward at first but by the third rep, there was considerable more flow in the effort and left us afterwards feeling refreshed

FRIDAY

We both had the day off from work which helped mentally both from the aspect of having “a mental break” from work and being able to run during daylight.   The sun really felt good with the cool morning air.   This is to be one of our longer days, scheduled for 15 miles, but because of the choice of the short Sun City course became more like 16+ miles.   The Sun City loop is not easy, lots of hills and very little flat.   It is varied and we run through several neighborhoods which really breaks the run up mentally.   The Sun City loop has three variations of length, the shortest of which we will run today and the longest, about 23 miles, we will run on Sunday.  We hit the road at 9:30 and start slowly; very slowly.  With several other runners out on the road we have to restrain ourselves at times when the mental cursor keeps trying to hit the competitive icon.  The first 20 - 30 minutes are not particularly pleasant ,but we keep at knowing it will get better once we get warmed up and get a couple of climbs behind us.   The mental check list rolls; posture, lean, lift, keep the ankles loose and limp, roll down the road, don’t bounce and cadence, cadence, cadence.  The body scan continues laced with the latest topic of conversation: kitchen equipment for a pending kitchen remodel.  We stop at parks along the way for water, chug Hammer gel at regular intervals and the miles roll by.  By runs end, we are tired but not famished like Wednesday evening.   We wrap it up with a 6 minute segment at a good fast comfortable pace followed by a short cool down and we are home.  A shower, some stretching, then off to the physical therapist for a relaxing message.   This has got to be a great day.  And when we fully recover I know we will appreciate it more than we do now.

The parks and water stops all have names; Fallen Leaf, Ridge Brook (try to find a brook in Las Vegas), North Tower and then some names we have come up on our own like: Elvis Slept Here Park, Grumpy Old Farts Park (which is actually a golf course), This Is a Joke, Right? Park.

...Got so tired, I never finished this journal...