March

Well... what an interesting month. The first week I found another interesting race and adjusted my goals and schedule accordingly. At the end of July I will try my first 24 hour race... go as far as you can in 24 hours. The race is a 5K loop in Wakefield MA (that I have raced a 5K on) and starts at 7PM and goes until 7 the next evening. The race is in its 17th year, is well supported... given the layout and the two aid stations the runners do not need to carry anything... kinda cool. I'm in. So... I need to step up my schedule to get ready in time. I quickly ramp up to 60/week not 50. I run 54, 60, 60 and 64 miles for the 4 weeks. The weather has not entirely cooperated and I hit a speed bump on the treadmill the day of the big snow storm, the 19th. I ran 10 miles and right at the end the phone rang and I foolishly turned to see who it was. You can not do that on a treadmill. I went right down, put one foot through the wall (literally) and the got the other foot stuck between the moving belt and the wall. It ripped my shoe off, wrenched and sprained my foot and I lost some skin to "belt rash". Holy Crap! The next two days I walked to let my swollen purple foot recover a little, I don't think I broke anything and by the third day I was back running, albeit gingerly. A week and a half later my foot is still sore but slowly improving... I think. So much for 50/week and two 10 milers a week. I have run several 12 and 13 milers as well as a 15. All in all a great month, I have now run 630 miles in 91 consecutive days. April? Probably not a significant increase in mileage, I will hang between 60/70 but will ramp up the individual long runs to the 18/20 miles. Nice to see Bill on-board, nice steady work on the treadmill. I am expecting friends Alex Lange and Di Souza to sign on for the 15 mile Ghost Train and John Mahoney a student of mine has decided to take on the Ultra version... way to go John! All are invited and will hopefully join this blog. Good training to all... and remember: Never try to answer the phone on the treadmill!

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.