A few Weeks of Peacock Prep

Saturday, September 20, 2008 27 Miles

We had a good turnout for Saturday's run at Peacock. Nice weather, the road had been graded in places, so there were more soft lanes than normal. A lot of stuff has been whacked back, so it is a bit of a different run at times. Though its hard to get away from the difficult reality of the thing, no matter what they do to the scenery.

Gordon, Huddy, Steve Villiger Sean Price, and John Robb all ran like the wind. These guys all started a few minutes ahead of Rex and I and we never really saw them again. Gordon got there late, and I shook his hand and Rex and I beat it up the switchbacks. Rex and I talked the economic situation, and after an atypical outburst on my part, I just ran away from him
it bothered me so much. I kept screaming back that it was all runable, but Rex
didn't even bother to mock me.

Somewhere up that three tiered camel's hum I spied Rob Lahoe behind me, and I bent over a bit more and goose stepped up the remaining hills. I hit the top and there was nobody behind me and I actually thought I heard the guys ahead, so I took off. I managed run most of the way to the golf ball. At the trail I looked across the valley and saw a few people on the road, and then, low and behold, I saw Gordon, quick stepping up the road toward the golf ball. I let
out, and ran as best I could. One time I looked back and he seemed no more than
a few hundred yards behind me. I just pushed. Hit the top, skipped a rewatering, and pushed on. Gordon caught me a mile down the road, as I was beginning to have some problems with my hip, and losing concentration. After a brief conversation he slowly disappeared ahead of me, and I didn't see him and a few other the others again until most of the way down 4 mile. I passed the others just inside of the second gate. I watered quick, and looked down and I was at 4.30. I ran into Rex and Dan Eldridge on four mile up as I pushed up the first hill, they were the only other runners who did the whole loop. Rex actually asked me, quite straight faced, if I would turn and go back down with them. I had just stared at him, as if he was selling tickets to contagious disease. Up and out in just over 60, over in under 60, and I was looking at 6:30 at the stash. But the down ate me up, and my toes started to cram the fronts of the road shoes I was wearing. I had to slow down, trying not to loose my big toe nails. Just about did it, except I kicked a rock at the bottom in the last few hundred yards of the trail and creamed my right big toe. Limped home in 7:10. A painful PR.

I had intended to go back up, but my toes were trashed. I sat around down at the bottom for over and hour and finally saw them come down the cliff switch backs. Dan had a hard time, but did it. His first Peacock, only the forth over 25 er he has done. He looked it. Reminded me that the first time we did that sucker I didn't look much better.


Sunday, September 21, 2008 2.5 miles

Ran an inner loop with Pete. We did trek direction. Going up center trail and down hogsback. Relaxed pace.


Tuesday September 23, 2008 8.0 Rex, 4 with Fish

Ran with Rex at 2:00 Up the Tantalus road to Concretes. Relaxed pace, but mostly jogging and not walking. I led up, and half way down and then my calves rebelled. Rex went down ahead of me the rest of the way. I walked the last half. It was a nice day. Some rain, and relatively cool.

Ran with Fish at 5:30. We went up Hogs back, did cross over and up Makiki Valley trail past Nahuina intersection to the road. Turned around and came back. It was raining and slick. Getting dark. Coming back on cross-over, just after foot prints we passed a Korean Lady who did not have a light. A hundred yards down the trail I asked Fish if he thought she would need help. ‘Its getting dark fast,” was his reply We made it up to the four way at the top of Hogsback and Fish went back for her. I followed a while later. We took her with us on the down and out. It was dark half way down hogsback. She would have had a hard time up there otherwise. Good pace over technical ground. Calves and toe were bothering me a bit.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Rest day. I was sore, both my calves were tight. My arm hurt in the night. But I took my pulse and it was a resting 52. 120/71. Would like to drop the blood pressure a bit. My weight is about 10 pounds too high. At 200. Need to get that down to 190 for the race.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Got to lot late. I was beat. Pushed up despite this, knowing either I’d feel better, or it was just good training to be pushing hard while feeling weak and played out. No running on the up. Ran into Rex on the way down. Jogged down with him. That was good as it worked my legs and calves over the hard road. Came home and mowed the lawn. I didn’t call Fish, and he didn’t call me. I was too worn to go out again. Got to get ready for Saturday at Peacock. They are running 47. That is a bit much, but doable.


Saturday, September 27, 2008

A good 20 runners showed up by 6:00 AM at the Parking lot at Dillingham. Gordon
Larry, Rex, Karen, Dan Eldridge, Cheryl, Marian, Doctor Bill, Brenda, Michael Domingo
Ryan Seto, Jeff Fong, Heather, John. Steve Villiger was doing a birthday run with Sean Price, John Robb, and another fellow whose name I can not recall.

It was a return to Peacock’s and the personal challenge was to break 7:00 hours. I did a 7:10 the last weekend and was ready to go for a 7:00 this weekend. I had changed my shoes, going back to a more trail ready shoe, but one with a lot of cushion to deal with the roads, both dirt and asphalt. I had prepped a bit more this week, as the journal shows, and I got a good night sleep and ate a good breakfast. I also had been going high on antioxidants in the last days before the run.

I pretty much did this run on my own. I climbed out of Dillingham to the picnic bench with Larry, Karen, Lahoe, and Gordon, in about 30 minutes. We headed up the camels humps, chasing the birthday quad, and I found them waiting at the three-way at the top at 58 minutes. I headed off toward the golf ball and pretty much had the trail to myself until the descent into the last valley when Rob and Larry caught me. We hit the bottom of the asphalt hill almost together. I chased Larry to the top, and when he took a break, I moved on alone. I never saw them again. I hit the top of the hill before ‘testical farms’ at 2:01. I was having some left calf problems and could not run, and had to race walk a lot. Which was just as well because it kept me from running myself out.

At the top, instead of going to the stash and taking the road I took ‘Huffer’s cut-off’ and got lost and wandered in the brush along the ridge for five minutes, losing my goo bottle and getting scratched up. I hit the road at 2:35 and moved on. Somewhere down the road I stopped for a minute and moved on for a few more before realizing that I did not have my goo bottle. I ran back to check for it, and could not find it. (Any time I might have saved on the cut-off was effectively erased by going back and looking for my goo bottle). But I did find the birthday quartet and the Gordon. All hoofing it hard down the road. I ran with them for a while, and then just let them move on ahead as the pace was not to my liking. I hit the Peacock gate at 3:30.

Long Road was super hot and dry. The sun was out and even the down was hard. A lot of the upper portion is too steep for me to do much more than walk fast, but I tried. Whenever possible I ran the flats. I hit the stash at 4:05. The birthday quartet and Gordon were just on their way out, and only had a few brief moments of conversation with them before they were off and away. By the time I was ready to go, perhaps ten minutes, they were already beyond the far gate on the flat. I left at 4:14 and pushed hard down the flat, walking the hills as fast as I could manage. The road got hotter as I climbed. That never-ending section of switchback between those green blockhouses was a killer. I must have sucked down a quart of water on that mile section alone. I made the turn into the back valley and pushed up the last mile, hitting the top at the peacock gate at 5:15. I didn’t give myself anytime to celebrate and pushed on down the hill and up and onto the jeep road. I made the cattle gate at 5:35, and pushed hard. The last two thirds was no easier, but more shaded. I hit the stash at 6:36. The birthday quartet less one was there, and I watered quickly, wished them luck, and was off. I ran when I could and crab walked down the camel humps. I hit the picnic table at 6:38. Having no other choice I jumped off the edge and flew down the switchbacks, landing in the parking lot at 6:57.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the harder you try, the less interesting you become. The faster you are the less happens that is worth noting. It must be why almost all the really really fast people I know are as boring as rocks.

Friday October 3, 2008.

I was coming home from Kailua, having had a beer with Pete, and I happened to pass the Makiki Street turn off to Tantalus and spotted Fish. I followed him up the road with the intention of just saying HI, and I found myself talked into a night run. I went home and get ready and was at Pair-o-dice at 7:15. Paul Sibley was coming down, and he and I talked briefly as he rewatered and I headed back up with him, running into Fish and Bozo at the Bridge. We went back, rewatered and headed out. It was a climb up and out of Manoa. By the time we got to the top Fish was saying he was not feeling up to a 20. I made not complaint, and he promised Bozo they would be back out in the morning to finish up a 20. We headed over to the Nature Center, doing the reverse first section of a HURT--just incase Carl was coming our way. It was as nice night but I was not really up for it. Finished up by 11:00 at the nature center, having come down Center Trail. 8 miles.

Saturday October 4, 2008 I got out late and planned to do a Tantalus Road Loop. I was not very full of energy, and got about three miles up and baled at the Seven Ducks. Went down the Makiki Valley trail, Mangos, and Center back to the Nature Center. My calf is still tight. 6 miles.