I have had a good week even though I still have a summer flu/cold thing. I ran 3 miles Wednesday morning and 3 miles Thursday night with 300 jumps on the jump rope. I also started taking a joint supplement (Schiff Move Free advanced) to see if my hip and knee will start feeling better. The Thursday run felt pretty good and I felt strong going up the inclines.

I almost forgot that I ran on Monday for memorial day for 3 miles.  Saturday was a 10 mile hike with some good elevation gain.  I am not too concerned with skipping a long run right now and replacing it with a hike because it is early in the base phase. 

I am planning on a bigger week of about 20-25 miles and some pilates. I also want to get on the bike once or twice.  I have started stretching this week but cannot really feel the benefits yet- my back has been tight for years now and my hamstrings are tight as a result.  

My big goal right now is to improve my diet by eating more fruits and vegetables and by eating less sugars and fat.  Here is a link to an article on Nutritional periodization that I read this week and enjoyed

http://coaching.usolympicteam.com/coaching/kpub.nsf/v/3dec/04. 

I am excited for this week and am going to top it off with a day in Central Park with my family on Saturday. This week will be a good indication of where my fitness is at and I want to see how my legs respond to more miles.  

Happy trails, 

Robert 

Not quite the week that I imagined.....

Well I got sick this week on Thursday (summer cold) and have felt horrible since then. I did run a three mile race on Tuesday at a 6:59 pace which is slower than last years 5k pace of about 6:50. I made the mistake of starting too fast and not warming up. I guess I was in quite better shape last year and was 10 pounds lighter. So on the bright side I feel pretty good that 10 pounds only adds about 10 seconds over three miles. My hamstrings were quite sore after and my right hip, which has been giving me problems for a while was hurting as well. I am not as concerned about the hamstrings but the hip hurts whenever I go hard or go long.

I did learn a lesson from running the three miles and that is that you have to get out and actually do it. I figured that I would run about a 6:30 pace based on last years 6:50 5k pace (3 miles is slightly shorter than a 5k (3.2 miles) and based on the basketball that I have been playing ( a lot of sprinting). Being off by 29 seconds/mile is quite a lot. I didn't factor in the brain fart of starting too fast and not warming up and I misjudged my fitness level. These types of mistakes will work over 3 miles but the longer distances will have their way with me. Without the proper training and preparation for 50 miles I will not have a chance.

I am confident in my plan to slowly build until the Northface 50k in September and believe that it will be a good test and allow me time to make adjustments before the 50 miler in November.

I did pick up some running clothes from Target (C9 collection) that were on closeout. I bought about 8 items for about $50 and only paid full price for two pairs of shorts. I also picked up some drywick shirts from Walmart. Other than buying new shoes as the need arises I am set in the clothing department, which is a huge relief. Part of my wishes that I would just go out and run and not have to worry about buying clothing and I still think that a plain old cotton shirt is the way to go for anything less than 5 miles and any other activity other than running or biking.

As promised in my last post I included the answer to my questions about getting ready for the JFK 50 miler (see bottom of this post). Good information and it put into perspective into how much biking that I would be doing (i.e not a lot). It looks like I will ride more on off weeks but will spend a lot more time running than biking. Maybe it would be different if I had a better running base but I don't.

This week was good- I ran about 15 miles, hiked 9 miles, lifted weights twice and will not have to stay up late to watch the Jazz and Lakers (10:30 start times are tough). I stayed up Friday night and got about 3 1/2 hours of sleep before getting up at 5:30 to run about 3 miles before the hike. I still have not planned this week but Memorial day is coming up and I want to do something longer on Saturday and Monday. Maybe a long run on Saturday and mountain biking on Memorial day- we'll see.

My goals for this week are 25 miles, lifting weights twice, riding once and three days of pilates. I am running a 3 mile race on Tuesday and am interested in seeing what time I will have. The last 5k that I ran was about a 6:50 pace and I had a little bit in the tank at the end. I am hoping to warm-up better, go all out and have about a 6:30 pace.

Rob,
It sounds like you are very serious about your fitness and are also very
determined to run the JFK 50. That, along with the mindset that you WILL
complete JFK are key factors, since it is as much mental (especially in the
second half) as phyisical. We often tell folks of the importance of
starting the race healthy (in other words don't overtrain to a point of
injury) and to be very convinced that you can finish. There will be some
low points in the day, expect it and be ready to move through those low
spots and press on.

Regarding your questions on the mix of biking and running, I'm no expert on
the biking aspect, but certainly that will give you good leg strength and
will your long rides help your cardio fitness.

How long have you been running? What is the longest distance you have run?
Have you done any trail running yet? You mentioned your background is
mostly running casually, a few times a week at about 5 miles each, what has
been your average weekly mileage overall? The reason I'm asking these
questions is that those that have a good base of mileage, and have put in
some long runs over time, generally are a bit more successful with ultras
than say those that try to "cram" a lot of miles in over the last few
months.

So, based on the background you have provided so far, I would recommend;
1. Gradually increase your total weekly mileage, try to get up to a point
where you can sustain running 40+ mile weeks. Just be careful not to
increase too fast and listen to your body, if you are getting a lot of new
pains or problems, back off and slow down. Also, you should continue to
take at least one off day per week, and it's ok to alternate between higher
mileage weeks and backing off to say some 25-30 mile weeks in between.
2. Doing North Face is a great idea and will be very helpful. I would
recommend that before North Face (and after) you try to get in some trail
running. JFK isn't very extreme, compared to many ultras, but the first 16
miles or so are mostly on the AT and it can be rather rocky in sections.
3. You might want to do a marathon in October. Many of us run the Marine
Corps and consider that our last long (supported) training run before JFK.
So, perhaps after North Face you take a weekend or two with your longest run
between 10-15 miles, then do one more run of about 20 or 22 miles about 3
weeks before your marathon (if you do one), then do the marathon and start
to taper off.
4. You asked how far your longest run should be, and for many the marathon
is the longest run prior to JFK. Since you are doing the 50k, that should
serve you well.

Sorry I can't be more helpful on the biking aspect, but I hope this info is
useful. Feel free to send follow up questions (and background info)!

Best of luck!
Jim

Jim Ashworth
Reston Runners

50 miles???????

I have a goal of running the JFK 50 miler in November. (jfk50mile.org) I got the idea of doing an ultra marathon after reading the book by Dean Karnazes (Confessions of an all night runner). The things that Dean did left me thinking that I could do something more than a marathon and what I thought were limitations before are now just steps on the path to doing an ultra. I would love to say that I have grand ambitions of doing the Western States or the Wasatch 100 (I'm from Utah originally) but 50 miles is 50 miles and I know that I cannot fake my way through it. So this will be done one step at a time.

I am still trying to figure out the motivation for 50 miles but the distance just resonates with me so I am not going to wax philosophical on why I am doing this right now. Maybe it will become clear as it gets closer or maybe I won't understand it until it is over. Anyways I am going to need all of the energy that I can muster to train so I will spend more time on training and recovering.

So far this year I have tried to address some muscle imbalances in my legs, fix some hip problems, work on my core and play a lot of basketball. I started biking and running more about a month ago and did a half marathon. I am now running more and am aiming for a 50k race in September (Northface endurance challenge in Washington DC) as part of my preparation for the 50 miler in November.

My schedule will roughly look like the following:

September
North face 50K

October
Marathon (TBD)

November

JFK 50 miler

Right now I am focusing on building a running base and increasing my long runs. Cross training will include biking (mountain and road) a little basketball, although not as much as before, and hiking. I am about 15 pounds overweight, my long run is about 9 miles and my diet has fallen off lately so my immediate goals are to improve my diet (less ice cream), gradually increase the long runs and not get injured- very impressive.

My next post I will put an e-mail exchange that I had with a running club in Virginia (www.restonrunners.org). I have to include a plug about how gracious they have been. I e-mailed some questions during lunch yesterday and had a long and detailed response to my questions within the hour- very impressive.