Holla Back Young'n

Well, I'm blogging a lot lately.
For me, that's a direct correlation to a training volume spike, and a social life dip.
Blogging helps my head.

I try not to talk about my training as much as possible, because of the responses I get("you're crazy", "but why", etc.) and..call me crazy, but I'm afraid of jinxing it all.
I don't want to get injured.
Now, I can understand why Eileen Steil goes to multiple pools to do her workouts...so people don't know what she's doing. She's right, it's just easier to not have to explain it.

I've started to become a superdork of the sport. I'm digesting all the greats blogs and analyzing and visualizing and really starting to go inside of myself. Every tough point in training gets easier when I ask myself how it's gonna be in Mexico.
Is it too early to be going into this mode?
If I was trying to win a single Ironman in October, maybe...But some of the best Ultra triathletes in the world do numerous Double and Triple Iron competitions before doing the Deca in november. I'll copy the europeans, who dominate the sport.

The harsh reality is that there's no room for error right now.
8 months is all I have, really, to build my endurance.
I'm gonna blink, and it's going to be June. Another blink, and it's October, when training hard ceases.

I do need to work on a creating a couple of training camps of 4-5 days away from everyone and everything within the next couple months for the big builds.
I have some ideas; I just need to work on scheduling the time off.

My brain continues to try and wrap itself around a 700+ mile race.
I wonder if I'll ever be able to justify a 700+ mile race in the same way I can now shake off a 50 mile run..... the human body is crazy.

Guess its time for a 5x-specific update, to kind of place where things are at in relation to the race.

It's really easy for me to just get lost in the day to day of things. Writing it out fills you, the reader in, and helps me put things in perspective.

On my calendar, I have a new goal for each month. Last month, the big word was FOCUS, because I couldn't get into a routine.
February is DETAILS.
Gotta get to a doctor for a med check and hematocrit test.
Have to get my passport.
Gotta get my sponsors finalized so I can get there without living in a tent for the summer.
Have to finish my website.

I'm having difficulty finding time around training and work and other life obligations to get this stuff done.
I have a feeling I'm going to have to "disappear" this summer, just so I can adequately train.
No more obligations.

I feel good post-50. Only carnage is a couple blisters on my big toes and some thigh chafe. As miserable as that 50 was, it was one heck of a jump start to fitness. If I can get a 20-30 mile long run in per week now, my run will be on cruise control for the next couple months.

And now that the run is on the way, it's time to start developing my bike fitness. Won't start doing ridiculous rides until june or july. I have one special ride I'm planning this summer. Noone will know what or when it is till I'm halfway done. I think it might get too much hype if I talk about it to early...and then what happens if I don't finish??

I just submitted an email to Dick at the UMPI pool for a sponsored pool membership. Sad that the only reason I haven't been swimming is because I can't cough up the moola right now. I just don't dare, with all the other potential mexico related bills out there, if sponsors don't come through. I'm not worried, though, swimwise.
In all honesty, I can be ready to survive a long swim in a month and a half....however, I'd prefer to not "survive" in Mexico.

I'd kinda like to thrive.

The bottom line is this: I'll just take it day to day, and somewhere around June it'll all be on cruise control.

I can't wait for that.

Aftermath

I'm laying in bed writing this.
Been in bed almost all day.

Wow, last night's Treadmill 50 miler was....an experience.

It was like a time warp. During the night, time dragged on like I've never seen. There were times I could swear half an hour had gone by, only to look down and be surprised that just 6 minutes had passed.

No scenery. No terrain change. Just me in the mirror. Joe and I talked very little throughout the night. We were both in our own little world of pain. I saw every infomercial known to man, and then back to back to back repeats of nesn's sportscenter. Awful.

Miles 20 to 45 were a slog. I just couldn't seem to get my head into it.Overall, my attitude was pretty negative, and I'm not sure why. At mile 45, I was so over it that I just went as fast as I possibly could without hurting myself, just to get it over with. I finished feeling more relieved to be done than proud of the accomplishment.

Never thought I'd get to a point where I'd consider 50 miles a "routine" run. I feel like I pushed my mental limits- due to the nature of treadmill running, but physically I feel fine. Sure, the usual ultra stiffness is there, but that's temporary.

The first ultra of the year is always a shock to my system. I think that's why I couldn't get my mental game down. So I'm glad to have the initial shock out of the way. On to bigger things...

krp

Sunday Night Fever

Tomorrow's the big day....or should I say night.
I feel a little nervous.

Questions start to arise as I start to wrap my head around the night:
-I know my equilibrium will be affected, running stationary, but how bad will it get as extreme fatigue sets in?
-What will my pacing strategy be?
-How much of each type of food should I bring?

Running treadmill for 10 hours does have its perks, though.
You can watch your form and how it changes as you get more tired.
You can bring your "aides" (ie foam roller, etc) and just get off the treadmill and use them.
You can play with pacing and see how things feel.
No leaves for toilet paper....

As a whole, I'm excited to get on and see how things go.
Got a small group run tomorrow, then a couple xc ski lessons, then it's time to prepare for the run. Maybe a short 2 hour nap from 5-7pm.

Really hoping things going well.

+1 notch

I'm steppin my game up.

-Bought my website domain and hosting.
Soon, www.kalepoland.com will be up and running...hopefully by the end of the week.
There, you'll be able to check out my sponsors, get race updates, and see where my training's at.
-Should have my $$ sponsorship letters out within a day or two.

My first real test of 2010 is sunday night.
50-60 miles on a treadmill. It'll be an overnight run at the PI Inn and Convention Center. 10 hours, from 9pm to 7am.
This is how I know I'm strange. I'm excited to run for 10 hours on a treadmill, at night, instead of sleep.
While I dread the boredom, I look forward to what it's going to do to me. It's going to dumb me down.
It's going to train my mind to not think.
I will become a zombie that just moves without thinking. It's the closest you can get to turning yourself into a robot. A machine.
I'm hoping I get through unscathed, and if I do, that'll be a HUGE jumpstart on my way to Mexico.

I was confessing to Troy my debauchery of the weekend yesterday, and how I always leave party weekends feeling guilty that I only trained my booze tolerance. He brought up a great point. Balance. Why, he asked, do you think you are always hearing about NFL and other pro athletes getting in trouble at bars and whatnot? You gotta let loose.
Thanks Troy for rationalizing my stupiditiy. There is some truth to this...I was very motivated when I woke up yesterday morning.

A light ski today will loosen me up from yesterday's 4 hour snowshoe run and 1 hour of plyometrics yesterday.

When training's going well, it's easy to love life.

ventilation system

this is how i know i need to move to a professional level....
i think i'll basically go crazy if i don't.

i need things to be steady, and right now, my training feels bi-polar.
it's either awesome days, or no training at all.
it's like i'm living two lives.

in one, i work. i eat crappy food. i drink beer. i hang out.
in another, i train. i eat clean food. i'm motivated. i jump out of bed to train.

thing is, i hate the first. hate it.
it's the same zombie life i had with olympia.

i'm sick of the winter, already, because i can't bike.
not even enjoying skiing this year....a first.
so over it being dark 75% of the day.

i know a lot of my recent blogs have sounded angry.
in a way, i guess i am.
i want to train. it's all i want.

i've finally reached this point... where the amount of time i have available to train does not give me what i feel is enough. it's too early in the year to forego sleep.
i'll crash in may if i start that now.
maybe it's a chance i have to take to preserve my sanity.

this wasn't that coherent.
my brain is scattered. now you know why.

update 1-9-10

Did a 2 hour Snowshoe run last night, gaiterless. How dumb is that?
Frostbite on both achilles tendons.
Yehaw.

Other than that, I felt awesome. I gotta say, I feel very very strong right now.
When all is said and done, I'll have about 15 hours of training in this week, which is solid for this time of year.

Joe and I are planning on running a treadmill 50 miler on the 25th, so hopefully that bodes well for both of us. It will be mindnumbing, but that's exactly what I want. I don't want to think. I'd like to turn myself into a robot that just goes, and I think that's a solid way to "program" myself.

On the snowshoe run last night, I felt worked, but in a good way. I could feel my core engaging- something that has not happened before. I've always been extremely weak in the midsection, and I give all the credit to Troy at Northern PT and Kate Hanes.

Gotta bite the bullet and get on the bike already. That's the missing element to my training right now. I'm not as concerned with the swim right this second, although that's going to have to happen here real soon as well. Running is going well...lots of mileage and time on my feet this year already.

I'd considered the Beast Of Burden 100 in february. I don't trust myself to be honest. I don't want to go there and get injured. More likely will be the McNaughton 100 in May in VT. They have a 150 mile option that I'm really considering. It'd be nice to go to Mexico having run 150 miles before. To have that confidence at the starting line of the quintuple would be pretty awesome.

Hard to believe in a few months sleep deprivation comes back into play.
Feels like just the other day I was showing up at physical therapy in the morning, not having slept yet, feeling like crap, and just trying to get through the day. I have to admit that I don't look forward to that, but it is a necessary evil.

I am raring to go....a stark change from 2 weeks ago.
I have been reborn.
Let's get it on.

Itching The Hermit

I'm getting to that agitated point of things.

This week was supposed to be my first spike in training volume...but I somehow got the plague of a lifetime. The good news is that now, it's on the downslide. I feel better after 10 hours of sleep last night and a Nyquil overdose.

When I plan for something and it doesn't happen, I get this little itch inside, and it keeps getting worse until the matter is resolved. This little itch is usually a precursor to what I've now come to call Hermit Mode...
No friends. No phone calls. No personality. Just training.
Usually it's a week or two weeks, culminating in one huge workout....IE Presque Isle to Bangor ride, run to Houlton, etc.

So I'll have my first big workout next week.
I'm tossing around a few ideas in my head, but the reality is that I won't know exactly what it is until the day before. It all depends on how this next week goes.

Right now, I'm just thankful that I am relatively structurally healthy. My name was just posted on the Mexico site for the Quintuple, so now it's more real than ever. I'm going, and I cannot wait. Just have to be smart and not overdo it.

Man, November's gonna come quick. It's scary to think I only have 10 major workouts left.

Zoinks. See you next week!

krp

Ramble

Wow.
Haven't updated in awhile.

I guess, really, there's not much to update.
Just spent the last month working every day all day...
I sure am glad to have that behind me now.

2009 was one psycho year. Like, crazy.
2006-2008, I wrote Year In Review blogs. I just read them, trying to get inspired to write something on here, and there is one common theme in all of those entries: they ended with something to the effect of: "insane year". This leads me to believe that life in general is crazy, my life is crazy, or more likely, I am crazy.
The best part is that each insane year just keeps adding new chapters to the book I've been trying to write for the last few years. I collected some really great material this year. I know that at some point, I will do it. Absolutely. It's just a matter of when.

Soooo. 2010.
There' s a lot on my plate right now.
I just submitted my entry form to Jorge for the Mexico Quintuple Iron. That's November 14.
Eileen Steil really put it in perspective on the phone the other night. Really, I only have 10 months of training left.
10 months to get ready for 703 miles of racing.
I have a ton of other races in the plans, but if I don't make it to them because I don't wanna get injured, or have to drop during them to better prepare for Mexico, that's just going to have to happen.

So, I'll be in the gym, battling for machine use at the gym with all the "1 monthers". That's a title I give to the resolution people. January is always so crazy at the gym...where do they go the rest of the year?


I dunno.
I'm ready to focus now. My wild oats have been sewn since that cold October morning.
I've lived it up quite a bit. Drank my beer. Eaten my junk food.
My goals for 2010 are simply stated:
-Keep a balance of social life and training. It can be hard to pull myself out of training mode when I'm in the zone.
-Keep it fun. If it ain't fun, I'll burn out.

Here's to the new happenings....