I started my new years fitness resolutions this morning because I have a lot to accomplish in 2010 and cannot wait for January. I am finding that it helps to have races planned out and signed up for. It is amazing how many excuses can pop up if you have not committed to something.
My two main goals right now are drop a little weight and to prepare for the Bear Mountain NorthFace half marathon in May. I want to run a fast time and have put a lot of my bigger races for later in the fall. I will still run a few marathons, a 50k and do some snowshoeing but keep up the endurance but the focus will be on speed for the half marathon. That means faster/more intense workouts, more weights and dialing in my diet to shed 10 pounds.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
More running than blogging
Well I have been running a lot more lately and have not taken time to blog. Since my last post in March before the Hat Run I have run the Bear Mountain Northface 50k, DNF'd the Speedgoat 50k and finished the Northface DC 50 miler in 12 hours and 30 minutes. In a nutshell I am having a blast running and was on cloud nine for a few weeks after running the 50 miles. Next year is all planned with more races planned for later in the year and right now with the season being over I am resting and doing yoga a few mornings a week. Here is a quick recap of the races that I did this year:
Hat Run- first long run since ankle injury in January, 7:20 time, pretty hilly and went slow for the first half. I am registered for next year.
Bear mountain 50k- very hilly, power hiking the 1st half with time of 8 hours for the race.
Speedgoat 50k- an absolute beast of a run, not in shape for it. 11 1/2 hours and I finished 26 miles, altitude problems, second degree sunburns and a lot of lessons that came in handy on the 50 miler
Northface DC 50 miler- Mentally very strong for 35 miles, troubles from mile 35 to 42 with nutrition and thinking that I only have 15 more miles to go and that the race was almost over. Huge accomplishment. I was alive afterwards so I figure that I can run more of these which was the big test of the race. Also heard the words when I finished "Let's hear it for the 11 people left on the course." 50 miles is far......
Next year I want to be faster, drop weight, improve flexibility and add on the experience/success that I had this year. Easier said than done as life got a lot busier this year but I am up for the challenge.
Happy trails,
Rob
Hat Run- first long run since ankle injury in January, 7:20 time, pretty hilly and went slow for the first half. I am registered for next year.
Bear mountain 50k- very hilly, power hiking the 1st half with time of 8 hours for the race.
Speedgoat 50k- an absolute beast of a run, not in shape for it. 11 1/2 hours and I finished 26 miles, altitude problems, second degree sunburns and a lot of lessons that came in handy on the 50 miler
Northface DC 50 miler- Mentally very strong for 35 miles, troubles from mile 35 to 42 with nutrition and thinking that I only have 15 more miles to go and that the race was almost over. Huge accomplishment. I was alive afterwards so I figure that I can run more of these which was the big test of the race. Also heard the words when I finished "Let's hear it for the 11 people left on the course." 50 miles is far......
Next year I want to be faster, drop weight, improve flexibility and add on the experience/success that I had this year. Easier said than done as life got a lot busier this year but I am up for the challenge.
Happy trails,
Rob
Friday, March 20, 2009
Tomorrow is the Hat
Well tomorrow is the big day. One that will be very welcome after the horrible week of way too much news on my employer. I am upset with how things are being handled but this blog is not the place for those discussions. All will be forgotten once I take that first step tomorrow.
I am hopefully realistic in my expectations after the ankle problems in January and February and am looking at this as a long run. I need the mileage, need to start slow and need to learn how to run better when I am tired. If I can start slow and run when I am tired tomorrow it will be a successful race.
I have learned in life that most successful endeavors are either envisioned before hand or come as a result as a lot of hard work and luck. Your mental state regardless of how you find success is the same- loose, ready, passionate, excited, minimal amount of preconceived notions, not easily flustered when things go wrong etc. I have really focused this week on making sure that I am mentally prepared.
My next post will be a race recap.
As always, Happy trails
Rob
I am hopefully realistic in my expectations after the ankle problems in January and February and am looking at this as a long run. I need the mileage, need to start slow and need to learn how to run better when I am tired. If I can start slow and run when I am tired tomorrow it will be a successful race.
I have learned in life that most successful endeavors are either envisioned before hand or come as a result as a lot of hard work and luck. Your mental state regardless of how you find success is the same- loose, ready, passionate, excited, minimal amount of preconceived notions, not easily flustered when things go wrong etc. I have really focused this week on making sure that I am mentally prepared.
My next post will be a race recap.
As always, Happy trails
Rob
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Catch up post
Well the 50K is in the books. Here is a recap of a post that I put onto runnersworld's discussion board.
I ran my first 50k on Saturday- The Mendon Ponds 50k in upstate New York (beautiful course). It was 5 loops with 1100 feet of climbing per loop. My time was 7:01, which was basically in the range of 6:30 to 7:00 that I thought that I would run. Here are my observations about my training and the experience of running my first ultra.
1. Training- I started training back in June and gradually built up my long runs to 4 hours 3 weeks before. I would run for 2 hours a couple of times and the run 2:30 a couple of times etc. 4 hours was not long enough. I would have done a 5 hour run. I also would have done more hill work. I played basketball once a week in lieu of speed work. I don't have the running base to do that so I would have played less basketball and done more speed work. On a positive note I did not have any major injuries outside of a sore knee (I did a century ride about 6 weeks before which was the reason for the sore knee) and the inevitable ankle twists.
2. Ultras are a lot harder than I thought. My groin was tight the entire 2nd half of the race and any time that I would trip on a rock or almost stumble pain would shoot up my legs. I also ran alone for most of the race and had to fight boredom. I guess that is where the longer runs would have come in handy.
3. I am not a smart (experienced?) runner. My lap times were 1:03, 1:11, 1:22, 1:44 and 1:39. Obviously way too fast and I payed for it dearly in the final laps. Why I thought that I was on a weekly 2 hour training run I will never know. In my defense I knew that the time of the first lap was way too fast but I would have slowed down a lot more and conserved energy and I would not have used up so much the first lap. I also had only about 15 songs on my ipod. These were just stupid mistakes and I should have known better. So mentally I should have prepared better.
4. Ultras are fun and addictive. While I was on the trail I experienced every emotion that you can imagine and the feeling of making the final turn to the finish with the knowledge that I have accomplished something and have pushed myself farther than I ever have before makes all of the training mistakes and pain worth it. At shorter races you get t-shirts, there is music at the end and people are cheering you on. At the end of the race there was a guy collecting my chip, a guy on a laptop and my wife. It was a good reminder of why I run. So armed with the experience and excitement of having run my first ultra I am set for next year and have my calendar mapped out with the big goal being the JFK 50 miler.
Since the 50K I had a good December and January and did a long 22 mile run where I power walked the last 3 or 4 miles. The temperature was less than 30 degrees and it was snowing but nonetheless it was a great day. A few days later I rolled my ankle playing basketball and have been out of commission for about 3 weeks. I plan on picking up training next week by swimming and riding an exercise bike and then resuming my schedule in March with the Hat 50k in Maryland on the 21st. I will probably only do half of the race.
My schedule for the year year is below
Hat 50k March 21st
North Face half marathon at Bear Mountain May 9th
Speedgoat 50k in July
NorthFace 50k in Washington DC October
JFK 50 miler in November
After the Speedgoat 50k I am planning on breaking up the running with some mountain biking and I may skip the JFK 50 miler and do the Mendon Ponds 50k again and do a 50 miler next year. I will probably also do a century and a triathlon for fun at some point.
I ran my first 50k on Saturday- The Mendon Ponds 50k in upstate New York (beautiful course). It was 5 loops with 1100 feet of climbing per loop. My time was 7:01, which was basically in the range of 6:30 to 7:00 that I thought that I would run. Here are my observations about my training and the experience of running my first ultra.
1. Training- I started training back in June and gradually built up my long runs to 4 hours 3 weeks before. I would run for 2 hours a couple of times and the run 2:30 a couple of times etc. 4 hours was not long enough. I would have done a 5 hour run. I also would have done more hill work. I played basketball once a week in lieu of speed work. I don't have the running base to do that so I would have played less basketball and done more speed work. On a positive note I did not have any major injuries outside of a sore knee (I did a century ride about 6 weeks before which was the reason for the sore knee) and the inevitable ankle twists.
2. Ultras are a lot harder than I thought. My groin was tight the entire 2nd half of the race and any time that I would trip on a rock or almost stumble pain would shoot up my legs. I also ran alone for most of the race and had to fight boredom. I guess that is where the longer runs would have come in handy.
3. I am not a smart (experienced?) runner. My lap times were 1:03, 1:11, 1:22, 1:44 and 1:39. Obviously way too fast and I payed for it dearly in the final laps. Why I thought that I was on a weekly 2 hour training run I will never know. In my defense I knew that the time of the first lap was way too fast but I would have slowed down a lot more and conserved energy and I would not have used up so much the first lap. I also had only about 15 songs on my ipod. These were just stupid mistakes and I should have known better. So mentally I should have prepared better.
4. Ultras are fun and addictive. While I was on the trail I experienced every emotion that you can imagine and the feeling of making the final turn to the finish with the knowledge that I have accomplished something and have pushed myself farther than I ever have before makes all of the training mistakes and pain worth it. At shorter races you get t-shirts, there is music at the end and people are cheering you on. At the end of the race there was a guy collecting my chip, a guy on a laptop and my wife. It was a good reminder of why I run. So armed with the experience and excitement of having run my first ultra I am set for next year and have my calendar mapped out with the big goal being the JFK 50 miler.
Since the 50K I had a good December and January and did a long 22 mile run where I power walked the last 3 or 4 miles. The temperature was less than 30 degrees and it was snowing but nonetheless it was a great day. A few days later I rolled my ankle playing basketball and have been out of commission for about 3 weeks. I plan on picking up training next week by swimming and riding an exercise bike and then resuming my schedule in March with the Hat 50k in Maryland on the 21st. I will probably only do half of the race.
My schedule for the year year is below
Hat 50k March 21st
North Face half marathon at Bear Mountain May 9th
Speedgoat 50k in July
NorthFace 50k in Washington DC October
JFK 50 miler in November
After the Speedgoat 50k I am planning on breaking up the running with some mountain biking and I may skip the JFK 50 miler and do the Mendon Ponds 50k again and do a 50 miler next year. I will probably also do a century and a triathlon for fun at some point.
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