June

So... 6 months of training are complete. I've come a long way. I've lost 35 pounds, logged 1316 miles. I ran for 163 consecutive days. I broke the string, intentionally on June 11th. It had to happen... with my focused training (increasing long runs) days off would be needed. So be it! Shorter days of 6 and 8 mile runs have morphed into 15 milers. I have run a bunch of them this month. My long runs have grown longer. The third week this month, I ran a 26 and 30 miler in the same week... racking up 87 for the week. I have never run two marathons in the same month... never mind week. All good. However, despite all the hard work and base building.... it gets harder from here. My first ever 24 hour race is in 27 days... looming large and menacing. Sure, I have run upwards of 6 hours and likely could have continued for a bit... but, for 24 hours? Thinking about it is like staring at the end of your nose... it's familiar and nearby, but hard to bring into focus. Someone once said that "ultramarathoning is 90% mental, the rest of it is in your head". I like that saying, but I suspect that I am going to find my self in a very new place as I explore these uncharted waters. So... here's the plan. My diet has to be tightened up even though I'm comfortably at my BMI, I expect to lose another 6-8 pounds before the race. Sweets, wine and salty snacks... three of my favorite things... gone. Easy 6 mile filler runs... gone. A steady diet of middle (15-18 mile) and long (25-35 mile) runs interspersed with rest days, nothing else. Perhaps I should shave a monastic bald spot on my head for good measure. I need to run middle distance runs on consecutive days. This past week I ran two 15 milers back to back (b2b). This week I will run three, b2b2b... you get the idea. It's a lot tougher to do than it sounds... but it builds endurance, just what the doctor ordered. Then the week before the race... back it down, the big taper. So, that's the plan... we shall see. Kudos to Bill for his good work, he has asked me to run a 10K with him in the beginning of August... I will be there. 

Big Changes, Goals Met, Onward to October

So first, big congrats to Dave and his great work toward the Ghost Train.  Always an inspiration.  Well, I haven't posted since March, but that doesn't mean nothing has happened.  In April, Mike Daley and I did the Great Bay Half Marathon.  My goal was to walk it at a 16 minute/mile pace and we did it in 3:22:38, a 15:23 pace.  Very psyched.  My wife and I welcomed our son into the world (5 weeks early) in May!!  He spent 3 weeks in the hospital due to being early, but is in great shape and is now home with us.  I'm happy to say that, despite the craziness of a new baby and all that comes with it, I've not faltered in my daily treadmill/walking.  Yesterday marked 134 days straight of daily cardio as Mike Daley and I did the Leap 5K in Concord.  My goal was to do it in 14 min/mile or less and we did it in 40:14, which was 12:59 per mile.  Very psyched.  Perhaps the coolest thing was that I actually ran part of it.  This marks the first time I have "run" in an organized race in about 20 years.  Yes, it's slow and it was tough given my current weight, but it was great to do it.  I'm still looking for a good 10K to do in July.  The biggest challenge remains the weight loss, but yesterday was quite a wake up.  It was great to run, but I felt like I was towing a small bus.  At the 10K, I hope to be lighter and even faster.  Thanks to Mike for running with me!!  Onward. 

May

Things are getting interesting. This was a long month... 5 weeks, 273 miles. I have now run 1,095 miles in 154 consecutive days. I'm starting to focus on the weekly long run... similar weekly mileage, but shorter runs during the week and then a longer one on the weekend. I had hoped to be up to an 18 miler by month's end. I did that on May 18th. Last week I ran 21 miles. Today, in 94 degree heat I toughed out a 24 miler. Slow and steady I ran pretty well through 18 miles... I took many walk breaks during the last 6. Remarkably, even though I drank over 80oz of fluids and ate a bean and rice burrito... I dropped 9lbs during the run! Sacre Merde! I ran for 5 hours and 9 minutes at an average pace of 13:15 slow, but... respectable in the ultra world. My broken toe is mostly healed ('tis about time!). My weight is just under 200lbs for the first time in several years. Pretty exciting month for me, today was pretty epic... I know, strong language... you had to be there to fully appreciate it! Next month... longer runs. Until next time.