Gotta be the wax

Today was a stellar day on skate skis. That doesn't happen for me very often, but this year I've actually gotten out more times than I can count on one hand, and I think the coordination is starting to come together.

I wasn't expecting a great day: I had just done a 12 mile long run that turned into a 'cave of pain' tempo run the day before, and was pretty cooked. But, in a fit of forethought,  I had taken my skis and rubbed them down with some One Ball Jay snowboard wax.

This turned out to be the killer move of all time. I was gliding extremely well, passing people who looked like they were sticking a bit. I also didn't get as hyperspasmodically tired. I was able to put long climbing sections together without stopping, and when I stopped, I felt rational, not on the edge of passing out.

Skate skiing works well for me because I waddle naturally from side to side. When you put that waddle on skinny skis and long poles, it works pretty well. I don't know how good I look -- I'm willing to bet not as good as I feel -- but I feel like, occasionally, in fits and spurts, that  I'm dancing up the slope. Especially today. Again, it's gotta be the wax.

At the same time I can feel a lactic acid bath going on in my legs and lungs. Only focusing on the movement actually gets me up the hill without stopping.

I realized on the 12 mile run that the pain cave is a romantic concept (romantic as in enduro geeks get all dreamy eyed about it), but the reality is, well, painful. The only way I can get up in there and stay there is to stay focused on the movements and not think about the futility of the effort. I'm not sure how other people get through tough efforts. For me, thinking about anything other than right now = slowing down.

Left foot and ankle feel odd. kind of twingy. I'm going to hopefully get my ass out of bed for a recovery run tomorrow, and I'll check it out then. Maybe it'll get pounded out? 

Yasso 800s suck

I mean that in the best way possible. I think I just found my interval training go-to workout. It's so damn simple that I just cant f*ck it up. Yasso 800s:

1. run 800 meters at your target marathon pace
2. jog for the same time you ran the 800
3. repeat

Now, I'm not training for a marathon. I'm training for a half. I found this half marathon pace calculator, but (a) it's depressing and (b) I start slow, pick it up in the middle, then tend to slow down as fatigue creeps in. 

The Mercer Island half marathon always, in the words of a friend, a kick in the nutsack. The first time I ran it, 15 years ago, I ran it in 1:45. At mile 10 I had some gastric issues that slowed me significantly. The following year, with significantly less training, but less gas and more pride, I ran the same time. We had kids, etc, and 5 years later  I ran a 1:50something, cramping the last mile. 

This year I want to show up on the start line, but without expectations. I certainly can't fake like I'm 29 anymore. But maybe I can run negative splits. 

Yasso 800's feel real. The effort starts to add up, it starts to take a toll after a while. They're nice on a hilly course because if you're running hills, you get a longer recovery. If you're running flats or downhills, you get a shorter recovery. I ran roughly 7:30 pace for my 800s, which is slooooow. But I've got ~ 1.5 months to go for this first half (thinking about running a couple this year), and if I can get these in on a regular basis, I should start to get some speed going. 

Tomorrow is a 12 miler, just getting out, running it slow at first, then picking it up. I did the yasso 800s, racked up 5.89 miles, and coupled with my 3 mile recovery run, my weekly total is a weakly total of almost 9 miles. I'll work on getting the miles back up next week, starting (hopefully) with a nice skate ski on Sunday!