Stepping Forward

My name is Joshua Pauley. And I can take another step.

What a week… early mornings and late nights. You’ve got to love that. This week was a bit of down week for me in terms of mileage. I got to Thursday and was feeling a bit run down so I backed off on Thursday and Friday and ended the week at 108.  I really don’t want to over extend myself in this three week span when there is so much time left before race day. 

Tuesday- Hill circuits. These went better than the last time I ran them. I was pretty happy with the effort and the progression throughout the workout. It was so cold on Monday and it carried over to Tuesday as well. But I toughed it out and lived to fight another day.

Saturday came around and I had 30 miles: 10 miles progressive + 5 miles tempo + 5 easy + 2 hard + 8 easy.  The first ten miles I started out pretty quick (quick for me. I’m usually a slow starter) progressing down to 6:35 ppm. The tempo came and I just put my head down and ran. It went well. I averaged 5:36 for five miles – nothing to crazy. Then the recovery period came. And I ran into some Aztecas.

Aztecas are a running group here in Dallas that started back in the 80s when the creator of the club brought these guys up from Mexico. They used to be really good. But now they just casually come out to White Rock and do a loop or so. Well on Saturday I found one that brought out the competitive side of me. We had an impromptu race. It was interesting and not too smart on my end of things. It was an epic battle of wit and guts. Eventually I dropped him, just in time for me to stop by my car to grab some fuel. Him and his Azteca buddies ran on out of site. I continued to run at a natural pace until it was time to run the two mile blow out. It was not easy; let me put it that way. I ran 10:42 for two miles (passing the Aztecas in the process). I continued on my way feeling good. This lasted until I got to the marathon mark and my legs finally began to feel fatigued. I stopped for a brief second wondering what was wrong. And here is where I had a thought.

Nothing is wrong. I looked at my watch to see how I was doing and I was running much quicker than the previous week. I was killing this run. Pain is natural. Everyone who is working hard is hurting in some way. It just means I’m alive. I embraced the pain this day. So I took one more step forward. And then another one after that. And I ran out the remaining four miles will smile to cover up the agony that was beginning to take its toll on my body. And that’s what I’ll do from now on. One step forward. One step forward. One step forward…

I also got my first blister of the season on Saturday. That was cool. Mary loves me enough that she popped it for me. I don’t know how I convinced her to do that.

Sunday I ran my second long run of the week to give me thirty on the weekend. It was a gorgeous day with temperatures in the 70s – for the first time in a while I did not need to wear an over shirt. I put on my Scott Jurek hydration vest and started my run. The vest was abnormally big though; bouncing up and down all over the place. I had never noticed this because the only times I had ran with the vest I wore a jacket as well.  The vest is a M/L and I assumed this was the size I needed compared to the S/M they sale. I have not been a small anything in a long time. I trotted back to my car to see what I could do with the vest as it was already cinched all the way it would go. As I examined it closer I noticed there were loops all the way down both sides of it. I was lucky to have an extra shoe with me to steal from. I took the shoe lace out and wove it through the loops.  It was a slight modification to the vest but it made it a lot tighter and an enjoyable tool to run with. I was proud of this – it made me feel like MacGyver. And the vest works better now.    

When you get rocked you either step up or you go cry in a corner. It is that fight or flight instinct. What will I do? I found out on Saturday I’m going to keep moving forward. And if I can do this, then I cannot fail.

I am generally happy with the week of work that I put in.  And I have so much to be thankful for. I have truly been blessed. Thanks for sticking with me this far.  I race for the first time in less than a month – it should be a good time. Just keep moving forward.

 

~JP

Busy and Blessed.

My name is Joshua Pauley. And I am busy.

Let me first off take a second to breathe.  Second let me just say that I believe being busy can be such a blessing at times. Being busy is a result of the opportunities that have been put forth before me.  And that is a pretty neat thing to realize.  Being busy has also allowed me to be reminded of the awesome community that is around me. This includes a great fiancé, great family, and so many others that have probably done things for me to help me through this week and I have not even realized it.

So what have I been doing? I’ve been running, working, and sleeping when I can.  I will come back to the running momentarily.  But right now I’m working 65 hours a week. I didn’t even know there was that many hours in a week! I’m not burnt out yet and I feel like I’m picking up steam. So maybe I can hold out?!?!?

Running through this patch has surprisingly gone very well so far. At 115 miles this past week I was stoked to be running a lot. I had my first wipe out of the season on Wednesday. At the beginning of my run (fifteen feet from the trail head) I caught a root and fell flat on my face.  I have never wiped out completely. I’ve stumbled and recovered. But never truly fell…so that was a real world experience.  I had my first back to back LR (or at least I consider them to be long runs). Saturday I ran twenty-eight miles and then on Sunday I turned around and ran twenty miles. I woke up very early Saturday to get my run in because I had work at 11 am, and was not sure how long it would take me.

White Rock Lake on Saturday.

With my supplies loaded up I made my way to the lake. At my “aid station” I had: two waffles, two gels, a mandarin orange, a banana, a gallon of water, a 22 oz handheld, a 26 oz bottle in my waste pack, and a 8 oz handheld that was a gu and water mix. I was not really sure what I would need – so I brought it all. On Saturday I had assigned: 10 miles easy + 4 miles @ tempo + 3 miles recovery + 3 miles tempo + 8 miles easy/progressive. For the first 9 mile loop I just took the water/gu mix bottle. Then I picked up the waste pack and some gu. I went through my tempo (details below) and made it back to my car at roughly 21.5 miles. While there I grabbed my banana and I had it peeled. Then I got distracted with my handheld and dropped my banana on the ground! I stood there looking at it in disbelief and sadness. Then I looked around to see if anyone was watching, and I picked it up and ate it.  Not only did I eat it, but I ate it with a smile on my face very similar to that of a kid who just found where mom hid the cookies.  It was a smile of someone who had just done something that they were proud of. I have no shame! I trotted off to finish a great day.

Sunday rolled around and I could feel the fatigue in my calves. So what better way to flush it out than by running for a long time. I thought a lot while on the trails. I spent a lot of time in prayer about my race in February.  I just prayed that the Lord be glorified no matter how things go.  Back in cross country season a teammate prayed a prayer that was along the lines of “If our Father be glorified at our expense, then let us fail every time.” I’m definitely paraphrasing there. But I really take that to heart. If He is glorified at my expense then I hope I fall flat on my face every time. Because I’m only here to further His kingdom and make His good name known.  The run felt like it took forever. But it was a journey. A peaceful one.

I’m not sure what Piney Woods will have in store for me. I’m using it as a training run and training right through the whole thing.  So that will put me smack dab in the middle of a 120 mile week. But I just don’t believe I should sacrifice my training for my big races later in the season for a tune up race this early.  It is just too soon to start coming off the quality and quantity.  It will be fun though. It sounds like a nice course and nothing too gnarly.  I’m excited for it and a lot of people I have talked to are excited to see me racing soon. 

I have a lot going for me. A week of good running.  A week of good work. I’m doing alright.  I’m just doing what I’ve got to do and that’s putting my head down and grinding away.  I have the opportunity to make a dream become a reality and I’m not going to pass that up.  Bring on week two of three!

Bump the Lamp,

JP

Training for this past week: 115 miles total.

Tuesday- 15x hill repeats. Solid overall workout. I was smooth and I progressed the whole thing. I don’t like doing the same workout back to back weeks, but with being in CA last week I just had to work with what I had. This coming week I have hill circuits, so I will be looking to master those for the first time this training season.

Saturday- 28 miles : 10 miles easy + 4 miles @ tempo + 3 miles recovery + 3 miles tempo + 8 miles easy/progressive. The first ten were pretty slow; likely because of the temps and just trying to loosen up. The 4 mile tempo was not as quick as what I would have had liked, but I think I have to take what my body is going to give me day to day. Not to mention I was trying to run hard after already running ten miles (funny thought). The three mile segment went very well though, and I was pleased with knocking that segment out of the park. I cruised the last 8 miles starting at 6:50 all the way down to finishing at 6:22 ppm. It was nice to finish strong but I was ready for a break. I took in 46 oz of water and roughly 350 calories during the run.  This was my first run playing with food and calories so I expect it to be a lot of trial and error. I felt pretty steady though, with no significant declines in energy level.

Sunday- 20 miles: After 1:30 2x (1’,3’,3’) on a 5 minute rest cycle. Good run. Felt a little fatigue in the calves. But that comes with the territory.