First Steps

I've been very inspired to see Dave's progress over the last couple of months.  So, I'm jumping on the bus.  Today, I completed 51 straight days on the treadmill.  About 118 miles so far.  The biggest challenge remains the weight, but I feel better and confident that the weight will begin to drop away with more focused training.  Pursuant to my conversations with Dave, my most ambitious goal for the year will be to run with him on Sunday, October 27 as he attempts to do 75 miles in a single weekend.  (I will join him for the final 15 and will try to run it).  Today, I officially registered for the race.  However, I will need to actually run a few races in the interim.  We figure I should do a 5K, a 10K, a Half Marathon and then the Ghost Train.  (I registered for the Great Bay Half a while back.  This will occur on Sunday, April 7, but I will walk this.)  For the first 5K, I have registered for the 2013 Leap 5K in Concord.  I am going to wait to register for the 10K because I haven't found any that I like yet.  I will then hopefully do the Pisgah 23K with Dave in September, but I don't think registration is open for that yet.  This is 14.26 miles, rather than a half, but that's OK.  The ultimate goal will be to be at 250 pounds and finish the Ghost Train at under 16 minutes per mile.  Onward!

February

Well, another month done. I have now run for nine weeks, 63 consecutive days. In January I ran more than my planned 40/week. I added an extra 12 miles for the month. In February I hit the numbers dead on, 45/week for 180 miles... my total for the year is 392. This is good. I'm tired and a little sore, but uninjured. I lost another 4lbs. I added a few trips up Gould Hill, a brutal 1/2 mile climb that ramps up to 10% in some sections. Next month as the snow banks recede I will start running with an old friend... the Crotchet Mountain Auto Road. It climbs for about a mile and a half with ramps of 12%. It's a brute... but good for me. The nasty snow and icy rain on the 27th drove me indoors to the dreaded treadmill. The rivers of slush the next day kept me there. I hate the mind numbing boredom of running indoors, I've only done it a handful of times in the last 10 years. However... I was reminded that it is an incredibly controlled environment. You can run multiple miles at precisely the same speed... this can be useful for pacing. I can't believe I'm going to say this... I will likely start running once a week indoors. This has been a real winter... cold, snowy and icy. I'm glad it is winding down... I'm looking forward to running on less slippery roads without a half a washing machine's worth of clothes on. All in all a great month.  March brings 50/week... there will be at least two 10 milers each week. The Ghost Train registration opened yesterday... I'm in.

January

Well... things are settling in nicely. Came over the new year still a little sick and had to walk the first few days. But, I was there every day... 6 miles a day. The plan is simple... 6 miles a day for the first 5 weeks. Yes I think in terms of months, but 4 months of any year have to have 5 weeks. In 2013, January is a 5 week month. As the month progressed the running increased and got quicker... the walking decreased. But, seeing as how I never stretch, I end every run with at least 1 mile of warmdown walking. Seems to be working so far. If I'm tired I can walk more than 1 mile. It's OK... ultramarathons include walking, it's part of the sport. I have run 35 consecutive days, 6 miles a day (one day I added 2 extra miles). My total mileage this year stands at 212. I only lost 3lbs this month, but that's OK too. If I continue to lose 3lbs/month I will hit my target weight of 195 by June. February brings a slight increase in distance... 8 miles a day 3 times a week, the other 4... 6 miles. The plan is to slowly ramp up the miles, continue to run everyday and not get injured. If all goes well, I will be running 75-80 miles a week by late summer... still running everyday. Like I said before, this is an encouraging start, I'm optimistic... but, I have many miles to run before I compete! Until next time...

December

Well... this month turned out a tad funny. Got off to a flying start, ran 42 and 48 miles the first two weeks. But, I had some fairly serious oral surgery early in the month that was kind of rough... slowed me down some and the led me to getting quite sick the second half of the month. I rarely get sick and this has been dragging on for almost two weeks. I haven't run ten days. I'll be fine, but I am having a hard time getting this nasty congestion out of my chest. Oh, well. With that said I managed 117 miles in two and a half weeks before I got sick. Tomorrow marks the first week of the New Year... I will be out there. My New Year's day 10K is probably not going to happen the way I'm feeling. On a bright note, between being sick, surgery and some real discipline I have lost 19lbs in the home stretch. I'm good with that. Upward and onward!

November

OK... one month down, I'm only going to blog once a month for now unless something significant happens. This is the first four weeks of my build-up to next October. In four weeks I have run/walked 141 miles, just over 35 miles per week. Good start! Some days I run, some days I walk and some I do a little of both. In fairness, I have walked more than I have run... but I am getting out most days including the last 13 in a row. This is about consistency... day after day. However, I did sign up for a New Year's day 10K. I am going to have to work on some short runs over next four weeks to get ready. That's all I've got for now... see you in a month.

Dave's the Dog

Sounds like the new Road Dog philosophy is winner...and highly appropriate.  Count on support from this side.  Badaxe.

Moving Forward

Having completed my first off road ultramarathon, I now see things with much greater clarity. I paid very close attention to the other competitors on October 27th. The out and back nature of the Ghost Train is very conducive to that. I saw how they ran, how they ate and how they paced themselves. This is a sport for dogs. In the wild... wolves, coyotes, dingos, African Spotted dogs, etc. don't run the fastest... much of their prey can out sprint them, but the dogs can run longer. Wild dogs run their prey into the ground. They can run at a moderate pace for hours. That's what ultramarathoning is all about. You trot... mile after mile after mile. Sometimes you pause... to pee, to eat or to drink. And then... you trot again. It's pretty simple... not easy, but simple. So... you train to trot. Hour after hour, day after day. It's beauty is in it's simplicity. This may strike some of you as fairly obvious... but it wasn't to me, this is a near epiphany. For the next eleven months, I need to hone a slow energy efficient jog. This is the opposite of everything I have worked on for years. Fast turnovers, long strides, high heel flicks and uphill accelerations, the building blocks of road racing, are to be avoided. A steady shuffling keep your feet close to the ground gait and walk up the steeps are the order of the day. It's all about energy conservation. It is both incredibly simple and at the same time an enormous commitment. Perfect!.. I get it... off I go.