Fór í Laugar í gærkvöældi og tók 9 km á brettinu. Tók síðan nokkrar æfingar á eftir. Held að þetta geri bakinu gott sem er að liðkast. Þarf greinilega að sinna því betur til að fyrirbyggja svona uppákomur.

Horði á annan þáttinn um Maó formann í sjónvarpinu í gær. Maður situr eiginlega steini lostinn yfir því sem maður sér. Það er óhuggulegt að sjá hernig heil þjóð og það engin smá þjóð hefur verið heilaþvegin svo gjörsamlega og þeir sem andmæltu voru náttúrulega drepnir eða í besta falli sendir í endurhæfingu. Ég hef lesið um „Stóra stökkið“ sem er eitt hið svakalegasta rugl sem maður hefur heyrt um. Þá áttu allir að setja í algeran forgang bræða járn, sama hvað menn gerðu. Læknar, kennarar, bændur og aðrir bræddu járn. Út úr þessu kom náttúrulega verra en ekki neitt. Maó endaði náttúrulega svo eins og allir formenn sem hafa setið of lengi. Hann hætti að þola gagnrýni og hlóð í kringum sig jáfólki. Það verður fróðlegt að sjá næstu tvo þætti se fjalla um menningarbyltinguna og rauðuvarðliðana sem voru heildaþvegnar sveitir ómenntaðra unglinga sem MAÓ æsti upp og sendi á almenning til að halda völdum. Hitler er bara smápeð í samanburði við þessi ósköp.

Það er mikið talað um hvort krónan sé orðin ónýt og hvort evran sé einhver bjargvættur í þessu sambandi. Ýmsir kalla eftir lægri vöxtum, lægri verðbólgu og stöðugleika. Það vantar hins vegar alltaf nokkur púsl inn í þessa mynd til að ramminnsé fylltur út. Það er hins vegar aldrei minnst á atvinnuleysi. Það er ekki minnst á opinberar framkvæmdir. Mín spá er að ef sett markmið um lága vexti og lága verðbólgu myndu nást þá færi atvinnuleysi upp í a.m.k. 3 - 5%. Það er lágt atvinnuleysisstig miðað við flest öll lönd innan Evrópusambandsins. Hvers vegna yrði þetta? Ef vextir myndu lækka verulega að öðru óbreyttu þá myndi það þýða auknar framkvæmdir og aukna eftirspurn. Það leiddi síðan af sér aukna verðbólgu. Stjórnvöld myndu þá reyna að hægja á framkvæmdum til að draga úr eftirspurn. Einnig gætu þau aukið bindiskyldu banka til að draga úr fjármagni í umferð og aukið skyldusparnað. Fjármálum ríkis og sveitarfélaga yrðu settar mjög strangar skorður. Afleiðing þessa væri samdráttur í atvinnulífinu sem þýddi aukið atvinnuleysi. Það er kannski það sem menn vilja en þá eiga þeir að segja það. Það verður ekki bæði sleppt og haldið.

Sá nýlega mjög skemmtilegt viðtal við Tim Twietmejer sem hefur hlaupið WSER yfir 25 sinnum og altaf undir 24 klst og unnið hlaupið 5 sinnum. Hann hleypur að jafnaði yfir 80 km á viku árið um kring. Læt viðtalið fylgja hér með fyrir þá sem hafa hug á að leggja upp í langferð á árinu:

Go Ultra
An ultra champ's secrets for going long-without (too much) sacrifice
By Tish Hamilton

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.

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.