Hills man hills

Sat- 100 miles- 23:45:55 -63rd place

Just a quick one to let the curious mind know...... Nope I did not run 15:00 (my dream goal for a 100) Nobody did. I doubt anyone ever will again at Vermont. The course is a lot tougher (2500+ more climb and decent) (and longer-3-4miles!)) than it was. AJW and Jim Kirby ran awesome and were in great shape and had AMAZING weather and still only managed to run right around 16 hours. SUPER!, but not the 14:08 and 14:19 times turned in there previously. Montrail guys finished 1,2, 4, 5 and first female!

As for me. I was not feeling great going in to race day, and discovered quickly that I just was not ready to run fast on hills and trails. A YEAR without either is something you can not regain in a couple runs. I could have run okay had the race been on completely flat pavement, but not hilly trails.

I did not go out crazy and die, rather ran at 140 bpm on the HR monitor in about 20th place innitialy...moving up to a high of 12th by mile 11 then slipped back the rest of the day. I was 4:11 at 25miles, and was not in trouble physiologically. I was eating 2 Cliff shot blocks (66cals total) every 10 minutes and processing well, just had legs that were not capable.

Honestly, at 12 miles I really found out I was not ready for hills and trails and it just got worse from there. My 23:46 was a TOUGH effort. Sure it is not super quick, but I pushed very hard to beat the 24 hour cut off. "Running" 9 hours and 17 minutes for the last 30 miles was honestly all I could manage. I was as beat up by the finish in this one as in any of the 14 other 100 milers I have finished. I tore the popliteus muscle in my left posterior knee somewhere around 45 miles and just destroyed all the stabilizer and accessory muscles that help maintain balance and keep you upright on uneven surfaces. Additionally. I don't think my hamstrings ever recovered from the 40 mile walk followed by 21 mile trail run 3 weeks prior. On paper it looked great, but a year with out using these muscles that way was too much to ask and they couldn't deliver.

Additionally, I had intestine trouble yet again..... having to take 6 number 2's between miles 20 and 45. Stopped by two doses of prescription strength Imodium.....only then to have a stomach that just sloshed and wouldn't drain. BLAH! 100's suck.

I decided at mile 28 that I was not going to Leadville next month and decided at 70 miles that I am having my my wife (a brand new lawyer) draw up an official contract stating that I will not attempt a 100 mile race for at lest 3 more years. She of course thinks I'm kidding, but really I am not. I am 15 for 25 now (I had miscounted thinking this was 26) and that is enough for a good while. I won't say never again, just not for a while. It is not fun and has not been fun for 5 years now. My attention is going to shift to 50k's, 50 milers, and a quality road marathon once a year.

In 3 tries now (23:08=2001, 23:30- 2002) I still have not been able to run the VT 100 quicker than my 22:14 at Massanutten! Funny.

Now a good couple of weeks off. Pack up the apt in Arlington and move to Richmond this week. Then off to a wedding in Ithaca, then off to the Caribbean on vacation!

Cheers, and thanks for all the well wishing along the way while I was in Egypt and the last 4 weeks upon my return. What a long strange trip it has been the last 6 months building for this event.

Off To Vermont

Wednesday- 4miles- 33min easy

All packed and ready to go!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be driving up tomorrow to camp out with my family for a couple days. Very excited, but scared too. I don't feel as sharp and fit as I had hoped. Hopefully it will all go well. The plan is to run completely comfortably and eat two Clif shot blocks every 10 minutes all day long with short walk breaks in there. 6-7000 calories total. Drink NUUN in my bottles, and just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I have run 100 miles before, I just hope to do it faster this time!

Runners are Stupid

Friday- 4.4 miles- 41mins (3 walk breaks)
Saturday- 6.6 miles- 54mins

Okay the legs are SLOWLY coming back. A good thing as my supper wussy runner's ego and confidence was starting to wain big time. I am not alone in this.... runners have very fleeting confidence. I recognize it and hate it, but seem to be able to do little about it. You are only as good as your last race...and if workouts are poor then for damn sure ALL your fitness is lost. Not logical thinking I know, but I am not alone in these skewed thought processes.

Fortunately it has only been a week since my LONG long run and finallyI was able to run normally today. I was starting to think stupid thoughts like I would never be able to finish Vermont....jeez a run of only half the distance killed me....how can I possibly..... blah blah blah.

Today, I had a normal stride and ran the Hilly / sandy loops well with even a hint of a spring in my step. Quads still have some lingering soreness but hey, that only means I must have killed off all the week myosin heads and destroyed the weakest sarcomeres... Now only the strong survived and I will surely be able to crush the Vermont course.

While running I had a thought about the coming Vermont race that I have been focusing on for a good 7 months now. I don't care at all about anyone else in the race. I know a couple good guys are running (Jim Kerby- AT 100 winner, and Todd Walker- 2nd at MMT '07) but I can't control what they do on July 21st. Just what I do. And I plan on running through the first 50 miles comfortably in under 7 hours and continuing to crush myself and the course there after. I hope to be running strong and even paced splits through 80 miles. And while on training runs most days of the week I envision myself running strongly all the way through the finish line.

I will be lining up to attempt a 100mile race for the 26th time. I know what to expect. And I am trying in training to prepare properly to avoid mistakes I have made previously. If I can pull all I have put into this body the last 7 months back out of it on race day, I will be happy. Whether that brings me home in first or 10th I don't care.

Get in What you Can

Fri- 5.5 miles - 42min easy
Sat- 6.6 miles 52:44 at southcamp on dirt w/ hills!

Well, busy of late with the investigation, travel, and what not. I am in the south camp base today and will fly back north tomorrow. I am still feeling tired /beat down a bit, I think from doing 3 hard runs in a 4 day period a week ago. That was out of my normal pattern and messed me up. Workouts have not been poor, but all week I have not had any spring in my step or pep in the legs. I'm back on the HARD workout every 3 days schedule and actually sat down and mapped out the final specifics for my training plan from now through the Vermont 100 July 21st. I am now heading out of an 8 week phase of no long runs, but a focus on getting my speed back. I did however, get in 8 workouts of 14-21 miles with lots of miles at my lactate threshold and current marathon pace. I will now head into an 8 week phase of ENDURANCE work. I will bring back my doubles (only 3 in the last 4 weeks) which will increase my weekly mileage from the 60 I have been doing to 80. I will also (hopefully) put in 3 really long runs of 40, 50, and 50 miles spread 3 weeks apart (5 May, 26 May and 16 June).

Hopefully all will go well. I will still do the Jack Daniels running formula workouts and the great upward spiral I have been on will continue.

Training Plans

Mon- 5 miles- stiff sore jog w/ walk breaks
Tues- 6miles- 47:41

Over the last two days I have spent a significant amount of time formalizing a training plan for the next 19 weeks leading up to the Vermont 100. I am trying to use my unique situation here being deployed and without many creature comforts (read time wasters) like TV to my advantage. Also being removed from normal daily taskings such as commute time, household chores, and quality time with family, I plan to completely devote myself to running. This is truly an opportunity to be an extremely selfish and obsessive runner. Why not?!

So I decided to try something a little different. I outlined a plan where every 3 weeks I back away from the routine of a long run, speed session and tempo run mixed with easy recovery runs and simply throw in a BIG MILES week of easy paced long doubles. I follow this with two normal structured weeks as outlined above, then repeat. I will run intervals of 1500-3200m on Tuesdays (3-6miles worth), a medium long run with striders on Thursdays, and a cut-down or tempo run on Saturdays. During the BIG miles week I will run at an easy 8min/mile pace for 6-13 miles, with doubles most every day.

I am also going to periodize a bit more and hold off on super long runs for several weeks. Over the last 8 years that I have been running ultras covering the distance has never been my problem. And to be as competitive as I want to be I need to improve my speed. Thus, I'm going to work on that for several weeks and then change up the program in the last 8 weeks before the race and include several runs in the 15-18 mile range and a regular 30-40 miler.

This is the first time since 1998 that I have sat down and programed a specific program for myself. I really have been a hap hazard trainer for years now. Nothing wrong with that, and I have enjoyed it immensely, but I know I have not been getting the best out of my body.

So, let the training begin and wish me luck!