Sunday, November 4, 2012

Run log 10/29-11/4

With the hurricane and its aftermath found some free time to explore the area around me more. Hooked up for Sunday with a friend visitng to hit those unforgettable street climbs in Dover. Using all my weights at home now.

Oct. 29th
8.1 miles moderate hills around Randolph-Mine Hill

Oct. 30th
Front squats, lunges, calves, BW squats in the AM with dumbells

11.1 miles around Randolph 7:47 pace hitting some hills and flats 50/50. The exact day after the urricane Sandy hit and was staying on grass until I almost clipped a few powerlines, which were numerous. Mostly road after that.

Oct. 31st
7 total.
3 mile WU
4 x 1/4 mile hill sprints @8-10% grade, recov down: 7:32, 7:45, 7:33, 7:42
2 mile CD

Nov. 1st
13.4 miles around Randolph with 2 Hidden Valley Powerline loops (2 mi each). Lots of small downed sticks, a few large trees knocked over, as everywhere.

2X 57 BW squats

Nov. 2nd
No access to gas, and car was almost empty. Ran to work and back, 7 and 6 miles.

Nov. 3rd
Two Mt. Minsi loops as a previews for DWG 50k next week.

  • 13.1mi
  • 2,163ft
  • 09:47/mi

  • Nov. 4th
    Dover long run with friend. Never realized there were this many good hills nearby- have to readjust my local route now.

  • 27.0mi
  • 4,188ft
  • 08:47/mi
  •  
    2X 60 BW squats (Getting up there! making sure to maintain form throughout though. Can get tougher in the beginning when I'm not as loose.)

    Miles/Week: 90 miles

    Sunday, October 28, 2012

    Run log 10/22-10/28

    After a very easy comeback week after Oil Creek, I was on the verge of deciding how to deal with the next couple of months of training given that there was nothing huge on the horizon and Leadville still is 10 months away. Plenty of time to do something different. I checked out a nearby gym which had a boxing room with 4 different kinds of bags. It had been a while but I grabbed my 16oz gloves and started doing intervals. Replaced my long weekly mileage with this and lots of weights. It felt much different, and gave my legs some extra recovery time (still had a lot of fatigue and feet were still sore from all the mimimus the previous week). Had the day off Friday and got my longish run in. All week long I was weighing the options, is it time to do something new? If I drop my weekly mileage now, will it negatively affect going for areally really good time if I sign up for Leadville another year? Even writing this now on a Sunday night, before a massive hurricane swoops over, I still am on the fence. Keep up lots of volume, my training could grow stale. Drop it, and replace with shorter, high-intensity crossfit type stuff and stairclimbing or heavy bag, and I may lose my long-run legs but gain a lot of functional strength. But something bit me. Every time I do this I can’t help but miss the long stuff. Maybe after 2 years of consistently pushing towards higher volume, running long mileage has become almost a physical need or something. I know it would probably be beneficial to mix it up for a while and let smaller tendons heal and what not, but it’s become almost a competitive desire to see how far I can push my running while keeping up the weights and what not.

    Oct. 22nd
    5 miles easy lunch run

    5 miles treadmill

    Upper body weights, core and abs

    Oct. 23rd
    Lift AM lower body

    Heavy bag 15 min

    5 miles treadmill: half mile intervals 8-8:30. All 4%

    Oct. 24th
    Heavy bag 15 min.

    Weights upper body

    30 min stepclimber

    Oct.25th
    5 miles with three 800 meter intervals up a 200 ft gain hill (same as previous weeks but with the extra 400 meters).

    5 miles with hash group, EZ

    3x 50 BW squats

    Oct. 26th
    17 miles of eight 1.75 mile hill repeats at South Mountain Reservation with some flats at the end. A great consistent hill repeat section, a tad rocky on the steep downhill, but a go to Leadville training spot where I don’t need to carry a bladder for very long runs. 2:53 or so- good pace for this.

    Oct. 27th
    6.2 around my place.

    Oct. 28th
    12 miles (2 loops opposing directions) Jockey hollow. Some good climbs but not insane.
    2x 55 BW squats


    MILEAGE/WEEK: 60 miles

    Sunday, October 21, 2012

    Run log 10/15-10/21

    Kind of an uneventful week. Highlights a time-guess hash meetup run, attempting a lifting session 3 days after a 100 miler, and accidentally discovering a sweet section of the Appalachian Trail. Wanted a light week, as light as possible, to fully recover for another high volume high-intensity cycle to swish me into the New Year and start strong in '13 (Dang! I remember New Year's 1999 so clearly, even that it was a clear night and the moon was half-waned (check on this)).

    Oct. 15th

    My legs were fatigued but not much soreness. Main problem was walking due to very,very tight and almost torn achilles and bruised right heel. This made running stupid for today. Just did some stairclimber and bike EZ, and even that hurt a little on the back heel. But it really flushed something out because I felt superb the next day.
     
    Upper body work/core/abs

    Oct. 16th

    Was debating running but it's been a tradition after 100 milers for a EZ 8 on the tuesday following, so I went for it with my Trail Minimus. New Balance really hit the nail with these, I've had 'em for 18 months now and they are falling apart except for the parts that matter- attached to my foot. I love using them for pacing and natural runs, and they seem to be therapeutic for the legs, aligning the tendons up just right. Barefoot, there has to be something to it. EZ 8 done.
     
    Oct. 17th

    Lifing session PM. Did my circuit as usual (squats, dead,s lunges, calf raises with weights, back extensions) but with less weight and less sets. Man, I was still sore I guess. I felt a little cramping here and there but nothing popped or left me on the floor, just hard. Did some core to swing back into that, and

    TM 5 mi just to loosen up.

    Upper body work, core

    Oct.18th

    3 miles on Pica hills after work. Feet a little weary but excited to be feeling okay,

    5 miles prediction run with Highland Hashers. Went for :43 flat and got :42:10. Was working hard on the small hill sections and speeded up a little too much at the end, 50 seconds is close for a course I've only done twice before, but not good enough for even top 3 guesses, and needed to at least sniff a beer in the pub afterwards to nurse my downtrodden ego.

    Oct. 19th

    Upper body work at gym, 45 minutes stationary bike. Looking ahead to Novemeber when I'm no longer a memeber of any gym, just need to buy a little squat rack and a dumbell and some plates and everything I need is in my apartment.

    Oct. 20th

    In search of organic farms up in near Vernon, NJ I found a new spot to park at the AT, AND a sweet hill climb! Had hikers in awes of my amatuer east coast climbing skills. One hiker commented on how my ankles must be trained well to run downhill on a rocky slope 20-25% grade. Thanks lad, never thought about it lately but I used to really hurt my ankles from this shit. Now I gotta do it at least every week to maintain it. Would hate to lose it. Did 5 out and back in 2:15, 2:25 if counting the stops to take some great fall foliahhge pics. Still fatigued from last weekend and some hip wierdness, but I am happy to be still standing word.
     
    Oct. 21st

    Last week 100 miles, this week 6.2 on mostly flat up at Allamuchy - Cranberry Lake area.

    2 x 53 Bodyweight squats, pullups, abs

    TOTAL WEEKLY RUNNING MILEAGE: 37 MILES

    Saturday, October 20, 2012

    Oil Creek 100 mile, Oct. 13-14, 2012


    When a buddy of mine offered a ride to Western PA for 100 mile run through a place I drove through once to visit McD’s so I wouldn’t fall asleep at the wheel driving from Chicago to Allentown to be enjoy 6 months of being a bum before moving to New Jersey which I had only read about in movies, it sounded like a good excuse to take an easy week the week after and eat a lot of food, which would precede not eating a lot for 3 days, then eating a lot for one night, then eating a lot for 22 hours but really like I had not eaten anything because it was metabolizing.

    The mystic borough of Titusville saw the beginning of the oil industry when petroleum was discovered back in the 1800’s, when people were tough and men still wore elaborate triangular hats which offered no ear warmth, the women I believe wore suitable ear coverings. That was probably 1760 not 1860, but still everyone was basically camping 24/7/365 without North Face jackets hats and gloves, and below is more like the style of the time:


    It probably took an ungodly amount of time to get that picture correctly lighted and what they were paid I’m not sure. If that guy saw any of us trying to run to the oil well 14 miles away and back 3 times (50k loop) and then act like we are going to work but not going to work and coming home (7.7 mile “going home” loop) to delicious food and rest in a heated gym, he would say “2 cents an hour the wage” and tell us to use our handheld water bottles, to quench welded steel and question as above his own wardrobe choices when we are looking so “conform-clothed” and are wet yet warm, then dry 15 minutes later. Only two or three folks had a mustache as damn cool as that guy’s and deserve the same respect.

    Near the end of each 50k you pass oil derricks that sound like a wheel cutting and chopping planks. Not sure what it is really doing, but it runs day and night as we found out. Running in the woods is great but takes a bit of concentration with a spotlight on your head. I love having to stop for any reason because it involves shutting off my light and being in complete darkness. It’s the opposite of NYC at night, instead of whamming every sense with overloads of information and stimulation, it forces your senses into overload to try to accumulate any sound, glowing light, and everything smells like a scented candle. I wish I could do that every night, which I do, it’s called shutting my eyelids.

    I really like being out there alone but not too long, passing friends on the trail reminds you that you can now tell your fellow officers in the office that you hung out with friends in the woods so they think you really got hammered at the beach instead of exercised for 22 hours straight because your are too cheap to get a gym membership and want an excuse to get hammered on hammer nutrition the night before exercising 22 hours. Plus probably the only reason I keep going sometimes is the hopes of seeing those friends somewhere on the trail, eating the same thing I ate so while we both are sick we know exactly how to describe the desire to expel without words.

    Everyone I know personally had a great day athletically that day; it was a tough run to do with a lot of hills and many chances to throw in the towel. I met others out of nowhere from other races in faraway places, a unique characteristic of this hobby. Met a few new faces that had stories to warm your heart or make you think, how the hell is that possible to do? Hardrock is Leadville plus 12 more Hope Passes?!? And the service by the volunteers running the stations, making food, keeping us informed, you all were more than fantastic out there. The pre and post dinner/breakfast was the best I’ve had at one of these so far.

    I recommend anyone who is interested in the industrial revolution to check this spot out, they have gone lengths to preserve the history of this small yet significant town down to keeping well intact a bouncy large suspension bridge that was used by the people working the oil that is hidden deep in the woods, and is part of the last 5 miles of the 100 mile course only right before a final gigantic hill and the end of the run.

    So now I feel like eating 21: bushels of apples and :27 plates of banana nut pancakes with a .07 acre swimming pool of blueberry syrup.

    Monday, October 15, 2012

    Run log 10/8-10/14

    Oct. 8th

    Taper week. Just a few runs to attempt to completely recover the legs yet increase my fitness by resting more.

    Upper body work/core/abs
    5 mi treadmill, 1%, easy pace

    Oct. 9th

    No lifting. Not even bodyweight work this week.
    8 mi around work/mostly flat

    Oct. 10th

    6 mi around my place with some mild hills, moderate pace.
    Upper body work, core

    Oct.11th

    5 miles with Highland hashers. Pace was a little pushing it but I felt fresh and it was only 5, nothing that could hurt me for Sat.

    Oct. 12th

    Walk the first 1.2 miles of the course and back with Julian who drove me the 6 hours up (and back) to Titusville. We discovered the old bridge above the bike path was leaking some battery-fluid looking fluid from its rafters. Looks like someone removed it the next day though.

    Oct. 13th

    Oil Creek 100M in 21:27:07. 17.7k gain. Ran 90% at 12/mi pace for the first 100k, some groin cramping during the first 20mi so I held back on the pace slightly in the first half. No issues with heartburn until the very end which in the past was constant and intense. GI stress minimal. Surreal course. Race report to follow.
     
    Oct. 14th

    Complete rest

    TOTAL RUNNING MILEAGE FOR THE WEEK: 124 MI

    Wednesday, October 10, 2012

    Mountain Madness (MoMa) 50k report


    This has always been my favorite 50k, running through NJ’s wilderness during the short autumn daylight hours. I felt great from recently jumping to 90-100 mile weeks with speedwork, b2b long efforts, a ton of calisthenics and my usual 2/week hard tempo runs. After training on the actual main loop counterclockwise as it would be this time, the altered course shifted my time goal: to at least meet the 5:43 from last year's time when the main loop was done clockwise, and most thought, the faster way to go. A year ago my diet was more processed-based and I stacked two tough 100-milers only 5 weeks apart shortly before MoMa: I felt way fresher this time and I my legs felt more developed for long hill efforts. So that hopefully would compensate.

    I did no taper, just wasn’t tired enough. The Saturday before I PR’d a 50M by two hours from 2010 at Virgil Crest- and still felt fresh. Recently I had switched to almost a no-meat diet and massive amounts of fruit all day long and it helped me drop 15 pounds in 6 weeks and my recovery was near instant, I felt light and strong on the hills, and ran all but the steepest sections of the course. This time I’d have to run everything to make time. I think being short-legged makes me slow hiking up hills so I trained to run everything possible.

    At the start the front crowd thinned to 6-7 of us, Julian (last year's winner and course record) pulled ahead to the front and hauled up the first 3-400 ft climb. Everyone else followed suit, ran right up it and began to disperse. I fell back a little wanting to at least preserve something, knowing the course beforehand was a big advantage. I jumped over a log uphill, probably unnecessary. The course flattened to single track, I was leapfrogging with a few guys as we traded names and moved on. Back up another long hill, still felt strong. I realized unlike other years we didn’t have to go up and down Bear Swamp road, instead we’d only go down it once- no big change, only more trail elsewhere, but mentally it seemed we were given a big break. 9 miles in I reach the far-point and high-point, Skyline Drive. All my training runs began here as it was a full 7-8 miles closer to the highway- and Doungking Donuts. Without me even realizing it, Harry Hamilton who was helping at the aid filled my water and Dan O’Keefe filled me in that the leaders were only 5 minutes ahead, sweet. Laurie Timko, who unfortunately got injured right before the race, snapped some great photos right here when everyone is anticipating a long downhill.

    The next section was long downhill and rocky, and I felt loosened up really good by now and tried anticipating foot placement as fast as possible- nearly missing some potential falls on some not so friendly rock garden sections. After this, the halfway point was a few miles away. There I realized I had only drunk two handhelds by this point, which didn’t seem healthy and also might cause bad cramps and bonking. Still, I felt focused, and grabbed two gels, barely stopping for more than a water fill. The toughest section was ahead, a long climb, 10% grade for the first mile, and would take most of my energy leaving nothing for the last 9 miles if I wasn’t careful. I stuck with running the whole thing anyway, feeling great. I knew there were about 6-7 runners ahead and I started passing many on this hill. A few shorter climbs later and the main loop was done. I was getting thirsty at this point but the mini-aid station a few miles from the end of the main loop was tapped of water- another good reason to move quickly to the start where I had an extra filled bottle stashed.

    Nearing the start, I hadn’t passed anyone in a few miles. Figuring the 2 ahead of me were miles ahead, they will easily break the course record! Coming down into the same straightaway we started on I saw Julian blasting below on the beginning of the second loop. Coming back to the start I threw my hip-gear down, forgetting again to drink, and grabbing my spare bottle. I downed it in the first mile- only thing left to do is haul and not get dangerously dehydrated. I figured 9-10 minute miles I’d be safe. Never before did I sacrifice time in drinking a little extra for time on the clock. Now it was necessary to put in a good finish.

    Since the 7.77 mile bike loop was hilly but no long hills, it would have to be done at 10k effort. I downed a gel and I felt energized but tapping into my final reserves. The first main hill I powered up, but the nastiest groin cramp ever came over me and I tried stretching in a V hoping it would go away. Luckily, it was the top of the hill and a little downhill would let it rest. I got complacent about being in 3rd but I knew the 4th guy was right behind; we passed at the turnaround stairs. But then after 3 miles into this final loop on the backturn portion, I looked behind about 3 miles in at the end of a long straight stretch, nothing but trees! Relaxing, I probably lthen et off the gas too much- because coming in the last 2 miles of hilly single track, 4th place David came sprinting out of nowhere! He later said he knew I was only 6 minutes behind and ran HARD to catch up. And he did, leaving me in the dust. 10 yards from the finish I see Dave at the same time finishing his first loop, looking ready to eat the trail up. David goes on to finish 5:01, I came in at 5:04. The top two broke the 5 hour mark, Julian at 4:59, and Michael at an Astounding 4:39. It was a jaw dropping finish- could have even been neck and neck, rare for these kinds of events!

    Next thing I hung around watching some friends finish and kill their goal times on a harder course than before. Unfortunately a few buddies got injured right before and had to sit out, as running this terrain on injuries cannot ever be a fun experience, I've been there too many times. I felt more than pleased with the race, and even more excited with seeing how much further I could take it. Nothing is more satisfying than feeling strong running up steep hills. My personal training schedule can be draining, but I feel like my timing is more nailed down than usual for consistent increases in endurance and speed. What's great is how everyone is already taking bets on the results for 2013. Thanks NJ Trail Series!

    Monday, October 8, 2012

    Run log 10/1-10/8

    Oct. 1st

    5 mi EZ lunch break at work. Getting less and less of these oppurtunities lately, at least for a full 5 so always take the chance to get out in the middle of the day. Actually makes me way more alert in the afternoon.
    Upper body medley- decided to quit the gym membership this week, I don't use 95% of the stuff at the gym, go to no classes, and have the weights I need in my aprtment. Only thing left I would lack is heavy deadlifts and back extensions- no big loss. Even if I went and spent a fortune on more equipment for my "home gym" it would save me already 9 months from now.

    6.2 around Mine Hill
    Oct. 2nd
    AM- lunges, deads, squats, some pullups, calves. Upped the weight on everything- more than usual. Prob did it too hard this week as I was running late and pushing to get all the exercises in. Taking off lifting lower body next week to be overly fresh for the Oil Creek 100.
    PM- off. No running today to kick off the taper, lifting was enough.
    Oct. 3rd
    Upper body stuff at gym, mainly shoulder presses dips and pushup variations. Abs and core using this stability ball pull towards your stomach with hands on the ground exercise I saw online. Felt it good in the lower abs.

    10 miles easy around the area. Got some decent hills in but no intensely.
    Oct 4th
    11 miles Tourne trails doing my usual route plus some added hill repeats I haven't done before. My pace was overall slower than the last couple weeks, partly b/c of the hills but I think I am in need of a good recovery. The next week luckily is the 100 so just a few jogs will do to freshen back up and have some speed again.

    5 miles with Highland hashers. Firs trun with this group, a few speedsters mostly guys training for marathons and ran with Andrew who is very good- it was a push and got me a good 16 for the day.
    2X52 BW squats. Core, Abs.
    Oct 5th

    Abs-core, 5 miles TM EZ

    Oct 6th

    14 mi Highlands Trail mostly. Last longish run before 100. Went to the highland trail from yellow and pumped out some serious hill work, felt like I was working hard but only got 14:30 pace for the whole 14 ~3650ft g/l. I definitely need some rest. Many sections were almost unrunnable rocky on the first .75 miles from the start on the yellow trail.
    Oct 7th

    4 miles in Allentown.
    Total (running) mileage: 60 miles. Glad I decided on this semi-taper week to allow rest to give me fitness instead of chasing another 100 mile week. I look forward to having a very well rested race next Saturday- I've tended to over do the few weeks before so this will be inviting. Probably will gain a few pounds because I'm not that good at calorie restriction but will keep it to mainly fruit and V8.

    TOTAL RUNNING MILEAGE: 60 MI

    Monday, October 1, 2012

    Run log 9/24-9/30

    Sep 24th

    7  mi EZ around gym. Felt fast after a hard weekend's runs. Ate like crap on Sunday night, just was jonesen' for some ice cream all day long and had to scratch the itch. It certainly manifested itself after work as it dissapated into the atmosphere as entropy and other forms.
    Upper body medley
    Sep 25th
    AM- lunges, deads, squats, some pullups, calves. Upped the weight on everything. Have to do this every week a little bit as my lifting has platued for a while now.
    PM- Picatinny 12 miler hill interval course.. nailed this one I've been doing for years and possibly my PR for it, even with now running almost all grass the entire time and combining short hill sections on the way down. Basically always start flat for a mile, a steep hard grade, slight grade section, flat for a mile, a longer hill mile, back down and part of it back up, a 1.75 less steep but longer hill, a wraparound section, followed by down the large hill but springing back up at .25 mile intervals 8x. All this is done at my tempo effort striving for 8/10 the whole time. 7:34 pace for 1,129 ft gain total.
    Sep 26th 
    Speedwork sandwich. 4 hill sprints as last week, performed generally the same but on tireder legs from a hard hard effort yesterday, added a flat sprint for the 5th interval. 
    3 mi WU
    Four 1/4 mile sprints up a @8-10% grade, recovery down.
    Splits up: 7:48, 7:25, 7:30, 7:35 min/mi
    Flat interval. Forgot the time probably around 80-85 sec.
    2 mile CD
    Hindu's & dips and shoulder presses. Need to add weight to dips to build up strength. Not for running but I really am going to look at improving upper body functional strength without making it too time consuming, running volume and intensity always takes front stage.
    Sep 27th
    10 miles around Tourne near Denville, modearet pace to save legs for Saturday's 50k. Pushed on the hill sections, did mostly trail but added 4-5 miles of Mountain Lakes nieghborhood hills which ends up being my winter route when it gets too dark to do tempos on the technical trails.
    2X50 BW squats. Core, Abs.
    Sep 28th
    OFF! Nadas working out. Felt antsy all day it was the first sedentary day in over a month. Had sushi with friends in West Orange. Damn that was good stuff, gotta find the name- Kim's Sushi. Tiny joint. Awesome.

    Sep 29nd
    Mountain Madness 50k in 5:04. They did it in reverse this year supposedly it was harder. Blew way past my goal pace of 10/mile. Ran the whole thing, and the mistake was getting complacent in the end thinking I had 3rd place and $75 bucks in the bag. All of a sudden 1.5 miles from the end 4th place sprinted past me! Turns out he knew he was 6 min behind and ran his ass off to catch and overcome me. What an effort to blast out that far from the finish, kudos!
    Sep 30th 15.4 mi at my folks place near Allentown, PA to help them move stuff. Love doing this mostly flat with some long climbs route that starts from my parents, goes into and through the Little Lehigh Parkway, some neighborhoods, and back. Makes a relatively moderate 20 miler no prob. Got some cold hail passing over which felt fantastico,
    2x50 BW squats. Pullups, leg raises abs and such.
    Total (running) mileage: 84 miles. Light for the week but this was my planned lighter week in liue of 90-100/week lately which back to back is a sudden ramp-up from the Leadville DNF. Haven't missed a long run since then and I am not crashing so keeping it going. Hope to pull off another 100+ this coming week even though I signed up last minute for Oill Creek 100 on the 13th. It will only confirm for me that I might not benefit from long tapers after all, I am suspecting since my past 2 week's races went great with high volume the past month.
    September mileage: 420 miles
     

    Sunday, September 23, 2012

    Run log 9/17-9/23


    Sep 17th - Sep 23th
    Sep 17th
    4.3 mi moderate @work
    6 mi EZ around gym
    Upper body medley

    Sep 18th
    AM- lunges, deads, squats, some pullups, abs, core
    Skipped calves in lieu of race week (Virgil Crest 50M)

    PM- Torrential downpour, tornado warnings, wussed out and skipped the outdoor run for some treadmill action- haven’t tested my treadmill climb running fitness in a while. Felt strong on these- not completely tapped by the end like a few months back.
    1% at 8 min/mile
    3% at 8 min/mile
    4% at 8 min/mile
    5% at 8 min/mile
    2% at 8 min/mile
    4% at 8 min/mile
    5% at 8 min/mile
    40 sec break to reset treadmill (only allowed 60 min of time on it at the gym)
    6% at 8 min/mile
    2% at 7:30 for .50 mile, 7:00 min/mile for .50 mile
    2% at 8 min/mile
    Sep 19th
    AM- 3 mi moderate at work
    PM-
    2 mi WU
    Four 1/4 mile sprints up a @8-10% grade, recovery down.
    Splits up: 7:48, 7:25, 7:30, 7:35 min/mi
    2 mile CD
    Sep 20th
    8.1 miles around my apartment, moderate to push pace (7:50).
    2X47 BW squats.
    Sep 21st
    4 mi EZ at work to stay loose for Saturday. Upper body at gym.

    Sep 22nd
    Virgil Crest 50M in 9:35. Around 51 miles, about 11,000 gain. Only 10-15 minutes of non moving time. Strived to spend no more than a minute at all the aid stations just to grab a gel and refill my handheld or hip bottle, only needed to hit the woods twice, and added a mile of climbing due to taking a wrong turn a couple of times. The leader ran 8:57- I think I could have caught him if I had no stops. Ran 90%, including most of the Green peak except the very steep portions. Felt very strong throughout. I attribute this to high volume lately (90-100 miles/week), losing a little tubby, and possibly the recent addition of speedwork. Hardly tapered or rested at all this week. If I chose to do the 100M would have had over 14 hours on the 2nd 50 miles to get sub-24. Not gonna lie I wished I had brought my checkbook. This race was so much fun and I didn’t feel like I was overly struggling at all the whole time. Didn’t really carb load the day before- woke up 13 minutes before the race unregistered, and at a breakfast gel miles in. So much for the whole carb loading thing. I guess failing at Leadville put a fire under my buttocks. Look ahead to taking my fitness as far as it can go in the next year.
    Sep 23rd
    10 mi patriots path. Achilles a little tight in the beginning but felt good and ready for a new week. 6 days till Mountain Madness 50k!
    2x50 BW squats (Finally hit that 50!). Pullups, front and side crunches
    Doing pushups daily now, at least 110-120 every other day.

    Total (running) mileage: 103 miles

    Sunday, September 16, 2012

    Workouts Sep 10th-16th

    Sep 10th - Sep 16th

    Sep 10th

    6.2mi @ easy pace. Feeling great despite 55 miles of running the past 2 days at a good effort. Regular route around gym and surrounding area after upper body workout. Mostly flat with on hill going up Mine Hill.

    Sep 11th

    AM- lunges, deads, squats, weighted calf standing raises, some pullups, abs, core

    PM- 12mi Pica hill intervals. Same route as last week b/c I fotgot my Garmin, and wanted to see how much faster my speedwork was getting me for the 12mi route I memorized long ago.. Estimated a 7:50 pace, which I could hardly believe. I guess the recent 10 or so pounds of weight loss also helped!

    45x2 BW squats

    Sep 12th

    3 mi flat and easy, 2.5 miles of ~.25 5% uphill sprints with down recovery, 2 more miles easy. Second week of “speed” work. Last week struggled to get 8 mi/mi on the repeats, this time they were well under 8. Did 5 instead of 4 also, 2 mile cooldown. 8 total.
    Sep 13th  
    11 miles Tourne Park. Twice up the Top of the Tourne instead of once, 25 seconds/mile faster. I feel the small amount of speedwork may be paying off drastically already. All I think about lately is Leadville for next year. At this rate hopefully it will be an amazing buildup.
    Dive bomber/hindu pushups, dips, abwork, core

    Sep 14th

    10 mi easy patriots path near Morristown. Upper body stuff at gym.

    Sep 15th

    Main clockwise 2011 MOMA loop at Ringwood without, plus 5 miles of the white trail mostly on the other side of Skyline Drive. 30 miles with some 4500 ft gain. Faster generally everywhere, accounting for a 5 stop running into some friends and a 5 minute woods break b/c of eating a lot the day before.

    Sep 16th

    Went to PA to visit paretns and did 14 in the morning on a comfortable route from their house to the Little Lehigh Parkway and back. Love this route, although it ussually is at the end of a hard week when I am fatiqued as hell it is awesome to see a ton of other folks up that early on a Sunday.

    2x47 BW squats (aiming for 2x50 soon), pullups and bent over rows, abs (leg raises, side leg raises, crunches)

    Total (running) mileage: 91 miles

    Sunday, September 9, 2012

    Workouts Sep 3- Sep 9th


    Sep 3 - Sep 9th

    Sep 3rd

    6.2mi @ easy pace. Three hidden valley powerline loops on Randolph trails. Has just gorged on five guys hours earlier and felt like I was running with 3x earth gravity. Finished with some shoulder, pushups, triceps, calisthenics and weights and leg raises, various crunches, core.

    Sep 3rd

    AM- lunges, deads, squats, weighted calf standing raises, some pullups
    PM- 12mi Pica hill intervals. Felt a little easier, will add more hills next week. More pullups at home.

    Sep 3rd

    3 mi flat and easy, 2 miles of ~.25 5% uphill sprints with down recovery, 2 more miles easy. First “speed” work (about 8min/mi) I have done in a year. I was less sore from going a little easier on the weights Tuesday, and am looking forward to what benefits this harder workout will bring. This will make 3 hard workouts in a row during mid-week, but hoping the body will adjust to this by becoming more fit.

    Sep 3rd -  

    11 miles Tourne Park. Twice up the Top of the Tourne instead of once.

    2x40 BW squats. Pullups/bent over raises. Abs, core.

    Sep 3rd

    6 mi super easy. After work. Upper body stuff at gym.

    Sep 3rd
    Main backwards 2011 MOMA loop at Ringwood without AS 3/5 segment. 23-24 miles.

    Sep 3rd
    September 11th 50k, a loop around Manhattan. Did the first 16 casual chatting with people, got a little lost with someone in Harlem, and bucked up for the final 15 heading down the west highway. 33.15 in 5:25, letting me know I need to get some speed back as in 2010 I did 7’s steady all though the Philly Marathon. Great fatass at a historical site I had always wondered what it looked like. Unbelievable to see the new towers in construction too.

    2x45 BW squats

    Total (running) mileage: 98 miles

    Monday, September 3, 2012

    Weekly workout entries Aug 27- Sep 2

    Aug 27 - Sep 2nd

    Aug 27th-
    Upper body medley, 6 miles easy around gym area

    Aug 28th-
    AM- Leg raises, lower body gym, pullups
    PM- 12 miles Picatinny hill interval "course": ~1000 ft gain in 1:38 of short and longer     hills on mostly grass and roadside dirt

    Aug 29th-
    AM- Relaxed 5 lunch hour.
    PM- NJ Trail series 5k, 20:18- 15 seconds above my '11 PR so feeling good about that. 1 mile cooldown to sweep. Everyone started at handicapped times so all would finish more or less at the same time. It worked perfectly, cool concept!

    Aug 30- 11 miles Tourne Park. Going for my usual determined loop, when I saw a large bear 100 yeards away on the flat section. Diverted for some extra hillage, got 1,083ft in 1:34.

    Gradually introducing BW squats etc. now. 2x30 immediately after run.

    Aug 31- off

    Sept 1-
    Watchung sierra CCW plus pink hill. Easy pace, 12mi in 1:56.

    Sept 2-
    Ringwood, 30 miles in 6:25. Ended with a few sprints up a hill to approach 31 mi. attempting the reverse course loop which ended up going down some of the trails NOT on the course but added a lot of extra mileage. Went through almost 150 oz of water, a record. Had to stop at some bathroom at the 202 trailhead to fill up form their sink 12 miles in. I went up some scree-like hill clearings adding some extra elevation. Ended up sort of doing the reverse big loop except all of green and none of yellow. Encountered a large Timber rattlesnake, right on the trail. I was a few steps from stepping on it, obviously the rattle was enough to warn me. No biggie, until I go back home and research the species. Luckily they are unagressive unless severely provoked, at which time they might not even release venom as you're not a food source, but if they do, it's one of the most potent venoms. I'm not sure stepping on it would have gotten me a bite but the closest house would have been right at the end of blue, at the Bear road, 1.5 miles from 202 and then who knows maybe 10 to the hospital? May not have been deadly but surely painful. A beautiful snake, and a new respect on my end, like Indiana Jones' kind of phobia.

    Total (running) mileage: 80 miles

    Weekly workout entries Aug 18-26

    Aug 18-Aug 26th
    Aug 18th - Leadville 100 trail 2012 DNF 19 hours or so mile 60

    Aug 19- Stroll around some reservior 10 minutes down rt. 24. Thought some backpacker dropped his sandal and ran back, out of breathe in 20 seconds.

    Aug 20- Ran 8mi through Red Rocks. Fatigued still from Hope Pass but it felt good. Badass park! Missed Crosby Still and Nash playing the next day. Drove to Boulder and ran "blueberry something or other/Mesa" up to the Flatirons where there was this huge Flat Rock face. Ran back down (~3 mi total). Went a little nuts on the downhill there was some onlookers waiting for my fall. Back to Denver for a few winks.

    Aug 21- 10 miles Hidden Valley Randolph/Patriots Path. Felt lighter than usual, got to the gym the next morning and was down to 135 from 144 a month prior. I guess did not eat enough after the run and burned a lot of mass off. But feeling less stress on the joints.

    Aug 22- AM --> Gym squats/deadlifts/lunges/calf raises/back extensions. First time in three weeks. I think I screwed up my left calf doing the calves too heavy, the rest of the week had a weird calf strain making it hard to walk at work. Took some Tylenol which I don't usually do. Felt good to get back to this routine. Felt weaker on the lifts, thinking of switching to more plyometrics and attempting to do lots of one-legged squats throughout the year as it would be more condusive to trail running/hills and leave me less sore.
    PM --> Calf made running impractical. 60 min. stepclimber level 7 with double steps and level 8 last 3 minutes of every 10. Upper body workout, abs (leg raises and weighted ball crunches).

    Aug 23- 1 hour stat bike hill intervals. Upper body workout, planks.

    Aug 24- 1 hour moderate stepclimber level 7. Calf almost good.

    Aug 25- Help sister move into their new place in PA. Got a loop of Mt. Tammany DWG in on the way. 4.5 mi.. Felt good but calf still very tight.

    Aug 26- 26.2mi Ringwood main loop and capoff on the yellow trail at the end for a marathon distance. 5:08. Never felt better on this trail. My diet had been cleaned up over the past 3 weeks and I am lighter and more energetic. The hills were easier, I wasn’t as wiped, although it was a noticeably cooler day. Started with 100oz camelbak and used almost the whole thing by the end.

    Total (running) mileage: 50-52

    Friday, August 31, 2012

    Leadvile trail 100 2012 DNF report


    I bought entry on Christmas 2011 thinking of going for beating last year’s 28:08 and getting 24 hours for a finish. Last year I had come up a week in advance, climbed Mt. Elbert, climbed one of the three apostles, and gotten a 10 mile run in all in 3 days. This time I had more rest the weeks leading up. Flew into town 2 days before this time, and didn’t feel off in the slightest. A little headache the first couple of hours but all was looking good. I had a hip strain and knee injury from a fall and lost almost 2 whole months of long run days during May and July- usually peak training time. This made me nervous about even finishing, but interested in how a large amount of pure rest would benefit.

    Met my crew drove me around to the different aid stations. The route is very simple, mostly wide trails but they changed the last section around the halfway point from a dusty fire road to a rolling trail, adding a few miles and some elevation. The many tributaries to the Colorado River were dry, and even Turquoise Lake was much lower.

    Opting for a campsite this year was great, cold to the bone, but out where we were was 3-4 miles from the tiny town. Add to this the 10,000 ft elevation and remote location, and the night sky was more brilliant than I’ve seen in even California. It almost appeared 3 dimensional.

    Ah the start. People gather in the start area standing pretty much anywhere- no need to bid for space unless you want to try pushing ahead of everyone early on. It’s the same adrenaline you get from a 5k race, but it becomes very difficult to not shoot out of the start too fast.

    Down the street, the wide dirt road, up a steep 100 yard incline, run around Turquoise Lake. I had a few back to back longish runs less than two weeks prior, and was feeling fresh. My original plan was to go slightly faster than I should the first 6 miles to get ahead of the crowd, but soon so many people were passing me anyway it was pointless. Weaving around the lake wasn’t as frustratingly slow as last year when someone forgot their light and formed a backup line 30 people long on the single track trail- it was more sporadic this time. Possibly people were more prepared this time? A concern was avoid heartburn that I would get during 12+ hour runs where I was eating a lot, I cleaned up my diet recently and was hoping it wouldn’t come up so to speak. After the first aid (13.5 miles) I forgot where my crew would be after blowing through the aid station. I ran backwards on the course and everyone I passed was telling me so. Came back and luckily they were further down than I remembered. I still got a little panicky, I think because I was deadseet on banking at least 10 minutes per station faster.

    The shallow climb to the top of Sugarloaf pass. Up to this point my only concern was a steady banking of extra time where later on I could use to approach the 25 hour mark. But now I was getting more fatigued than I imagined doing a slow run up the mountain pass. The views were spectacular, early in the AM and power lines buzzing softly nearby. A lot of people were still on the beginning excitement still, yelping and howling in gaggles of runners. Many were walking now the slightly steeper sections. I noticed a much larger percentage of ski-poles this year, which no doubt has its benefits on the climbs, I would consider picking up a stick in the woods if I completely bonked but otherwise I had never used them in training and felt more comfortable free-handed. Then the sharp drop down the power lines was fantastic of course, at this point it always feels too easy. The next time I see this I will be in another world though.

    A quick tour down a country road, horses to the left in a huge field. I am always amazed at how much open space is out here in this valley, on a map you see nothing but rocks and peaks but this is the hidden Colorado, a last remnant of the untouched Wild West. At the aid stations I had carefully organized my bags when I gave them to my crew with quick labeling and what was needed at every stop. At this point I had 5 tasks to try and accomplish in 5 minutes- check in, eat, fill water, apply sunscreen, porto-john. These tasks always seem to take longer than I want but necessary for overall comfort during the race. My 100 OZ camelback combined with handheld bottle made the water transition as quick as possible; I always try to have a least 1-1.5 liters in the backpack and food in the pockets. The rest could be carried. I should have brought a huge zip lock with potatoes; I had read this is the fastest way to get food steadily without having to eat it all at one time which probably caused my heartburn in the past. Got sun block and they helped me change my raincoat and get on down the road. I was definitely feeling more tired than I wanted to at this point. But luckily Leadville has a lot of varied terrain which allows some muscle variation, and helps keep things interesting and fresh.

    The road to Half pipe. I like running flat roads, but always try running along the sandy shoulder to cushion the impact. This section features a huge vista of the Lake valley, and you pass log cabins and get passed by drivers throwing out cheers and helping make your way past this necessary transition. I run this whole section, on the way back last time I half sleptwalked it.

    Passed my crew at the entrance to the Treeline section, and realized I was slowing down. But this entire section was runnable except for every now and then a walk, so I passed a ton of folks for the next 5 miles or so. After the aid it becomes mostly downgrade, and I was passed by Stephen England, another NJ runner, who was looking awesome. Down the treeline into Twin Lakes and I was looking forward to how far ahead my previous time I was. 42 minutes- not bad, but I knew I was slowing down a lot and Hope Pass would be tough. Had a dream up running up the entire thing, but just wasn’t ready for that as cool as it sounded.

    It was a tough climb; I’m not a fast hiker and get passed easily. But I love going up Hope Pass, and just about the same place every time, the moment I pass the sound of the creek, the first runners begin passing me. I actually knew who they were this year, and was looking forward to trying to back calculate what pace they were doing. Little did I know the second runner would end up basically approaching the course record taking into consideration the extra mileage/changed course.

    I went through the Hope Pass station quickly; I was looking forward to a sweet but treacherous downslope (the dryness made it easy to slip) and the first half in the bag. The down section was crazy, I forgot how step it was and it was hard to swallow almost hiking downhill when it feels as if it should be quick. The trail turned sharp right near the bottom and began on the new trail, which actually wasn’t as bad as I thought. Still though, compared the Winfield road, I had to walk some of it which added an hour to my old time- now exactly 13 hours in. Now it would be a challenge to get to the Twin Lakes aid station before dark.

    Back to the top of Hope Pass- it was really getting weird at this point. I had maintained weight, but felt as if had not eaten enough calories. I was walking strange and a little shaky- the check in point volunteer noticed as well. But I was an hour and fifteen ahead of cutoff so time to get going. Took 15 minutes to get in some soup and stretch out and got going. The way back was tough, up Hope pass my hiking turned in a death crawl and I was being passed by everyone- but I made it up just as it started getting dark. This was not good, I was a little overconfident about my pace and hadn’t packed a headlamp in my Winfield bag thinking it wouldn’t be needed until mile 60 like the previous year. It was dark and cloudy, no moon and without any kind of light it would take 4 hours to get down. Glowsticks were just beginning to be placed and there wasn’t a spare headlamp. I got handed a few glowsticks and after grabbing some potato mush and held them towards the ground while shielding my face from any of the light. This made the trail just visible below, so I could hike as fast as possible down the slope while staying on the trail. I texted my crew since by this time I was sure they would think I either missed them or DNF’d at Winfield. The going down was slow but I was making steady progress. Not sure whether or not the cutoff was approaching, I was aware of the extra 15 minutes they gave us but not sure if it would be enough. Halfway down a couple of hikers passed me and saw I was in trouble and offered me to stand in between their lights. It was a rare situation since everyone else was busting trying to meet the cutoff which was only an hour away. I was lucky to have an escort. However, this was the speed I had to accept and it would be close. I focused on their light and we eventually got to the bottom and the Colorado River again. I was informed the cutoff passed and now the concern was getting to my crew. My heartburn also started creeping up at this point; probably from the massive amounts of fig newtons I ate almost the entire time and bags of dates. I reached twin lakes as the garbage truck was pulling away, called crew who did think I kept going, and who had my light. They went to the next station and were driving back. I let the staff know I was here and they cut my bracelet. When my crew arrived I regret I could have offered doing the rest with Rob as he was primed for a 40 miler but I didn’t. It would have been only an hour since the cutoff.

    The next few days I was determined to kick it next year and be in 10x better shape- this race is no joke and feeling comfortable at least through mile 60 is necessary and would make the race way more exciting. So now the goal is taking an entire year to prepare- should allow me to cycle through training phases as well and build my volume up to 100+ weeks if I want but slowly. I guess I’m more motivated by failure than success!

    Thanks to my crew Rob and Laurie and Tara who came out and worked to keep me going the whole time- aweomse as always. Can't wait to come back.