2016 Training Log : 11/14 - 12/4

11/14 - 11/20: N/A.

11/21 - 11/27: 5 runs for 31 miles.

11/28 - 12/4: 7 runs for 49 miles.

I've been slacking in the blogging department lately, so decided to do just one catch up blog post. Considering a lot of the time since the race was spent not running & most of the runs were uneventful there really wasn't a lot to write about.

I decided to take the week following the race off & let everything reset. This coincided with a work trip that took me to Seattle & Dallas before returning home. For the first time in a long time I didn't pack anything running related for my trip & it was oddly refreshing. My week off turned into 11 days off.

I've picked the Big Turtle 50 as my spring race, put on by the same fine folks that did the Rough Trail 50k. With a very manageable elevation gain this will be a perfect first 50 miler & great prep for my fall 100 miler, the No Business 100. I'm going to be using the plans out of Relentless Forward Progress again for the 50 miler.

On Wednesday 11/23 I got back at it, jumping right into week one of the RFP plan. This time I'm going to be able to do the full 24 weeks & plan to do a good bit more trail running. I found over my last training cycle I just didn't do enough trail running & instead opted for the road. A lot of this has to do with the drive time involved in getting to/from the trail head.

I also got to try out the new section of Legacy Trail, 2 more miles which ends rather abruptly!

Rough Trail Ultramarathon 50k - November 12, 2016

Coming Soon!

2016 Training Log : 11/7 - 11/13

Quality: Rough Trail Ultramarathon 50k

Trail: N/A

Easy: 3 runs for 10 miles.

Cycling: N/A

Total:  4 runs for 41 miles.

I really enjoy the week leading up to a big race. Scheduled runs are pretty short giving the body & mind the rest it needs while still keeping everything fresh. Unfortunately my eldest did something to her arm resulting in joint pain & numbness. This had us in & out of doctor offices throughout the week which led to a few missed runs.

On Friday, the day before the race, we were able to get her in to see a sports medicine specialist. Getting home around 2100 caused me to scrap the idea of camping the night before the race, I'm not a big fan of setting up camp in the dark & figured I'd get more sleep if I just got up early on Saturday. This worked out surprisingly well. The drive in allowed me to get fully woke up & a quick stop at the rest area allowed me to use a real toilet before the race. Something to consider for the future.

I'll leave the majority of details concerning race day to the race report. In summary I came in 12th place overall with a time of 6:29:41!

2016 Training Log : 10/31 - 11/6

Quality: N/A 

Trail: 1 run for 10 miles.

Easy: 6 runs for 31 miles.

Cycling: N/A

Total:  7 runs for 41 miles.

First week of my taper for the Rough 50k on 11/12 & I can definitely feel the extra spring in my step. The only downside to tapering is I start getting too fidgety & think now would be a good time to go after some Strava CRs along my normal routes. It takes a good bit of restraint to keep from doing this since a taper is all about resting. That said, I still went for the CR on one of the hills close to home. Unfortunately I forgot which hill it was & ended up going all out for two hills. The second one being the segment I was chasing. I ended up missing the CR by just 1 second so I'll have to rectify that after my race, it's all about the little things in life.

Sunday's run was another in the series of group trail runs being put on by John's Run Walk Shop. This week we visited SkullBuster which if you keep up with this blog you'll recognize it as one of my favorite trails. We ended up with a pretty large group of people with almost everyone being new to the trail. I ended up using two cut throughs on the Orange loop to make my run the 10 miles as scheduled. After the run I heard lots of praise from the group on the quality of this little hidden gem. Hopefully that brings a little more traffic & keeps it from being so overgrown in the spring. Would also be nice to have a few more cobweb sweepers out there.

The crew headed out!

2016 Training Log : 10/24 - 10/30

Quality: N/A 

Trail: 3 runs for 43 miles.

Easy: 4 runs for 21 miles.

Cycling: N/A

Total:  7 runs for 64 miles.

Last week of training before I start my taper for the Rough 50k & it couldn't have gone much better. I made it out to SkullBuster on Monday for a 13 mile Blue & Orange loop run. This was my first trail run with the new phone & some bluetooth issues were causing it to flip between the Glo & the iPhone GPS. This resulted in a GPS track that was likely a bit long. I returned to SkullBuster on Wednesday for an 11 mile run just using Blue as a connector up to a full Orange loop.

John's Run Walk Shop has started up a group trail run recently & this week I was finally able to join up with them. We met down in Red River Gorge for a run from Whittleton Campground. We went up Sheltowee to Tunnel Ridge Road where we ran out & did the Auxier Ridge loop. We then returned back the way we came with an addition of Daniel Boone Hut back up to Grey's Arch parking lot loop which offered a great preview of one of the nastier climbs along the Rough course. I was also able to do a quick out & back to see Whittleton Arch. Ended up with 18.5 miles & 2600ft of elevation gain on the day. These group trail runs are amazing & I hope they're here to stay. I'm mostly a solitary runner but really enjoyed the companionship of running with others. These runs are also a great way to learn a new trail.

The group with yours truly in the center

2016 Training Log : 10/17 - 10/23

Quality: 18 mile long run on Sunday at Legacy Trail

Trail: 3 runs for 25 miles.

Easy: 1 run for 4 miles.

Cycling: N/A

Total:  5 runs for 47 miles.

If the rest of the year could have a theme song it'd be "On the Road Again". This week saw me in Denver, CO for work. This is one of the few areas of the country I'd consider relocating to, just driving up to the mountains gets my heart pumping. Pictures just don't do the landscape justice, it is truly one of those places you just have to experience first hand.

This was my first extended stay within the Denver city limits as most of my trips to CO have been to the Boulder area. Luckily a hotel clerk was able to point me in the right direction. For my Monday adventure I went down to Red Rocks Park & got in a solid 9 miles of running with about 1800ft of elevation gain. Because of a few missed turns I ended up skipping a few points of interest along the route so Wednesday brought me back to the same place. This time I ran the route in reverse, which was much more enjoyable. This route ended up at 8 miles, also with about 1800ft of gain.

Fortunately we were able to finish work early & my coworker really wanted to get out into the mountains. Since we had the entirety of Thursday to enjoy ourselves I suggested we drive up to Boulder & tag a peak or two. I gave him the choice of South Boulder with an optional saddle hike to Bear to get in two peaks or hit Green he decided on the hike up Green. Our route took us on a 7.5 mile hike with about 2500ft of gain.

The rest of the week was pretty boring when compared to my three epic outings in CO. I can understand why so many people are moving to this area. There is enough outdoor activities to last someone a lifetime & I take every chance I get to visit.

Red Rocks Park was breathtaking!

Obligatory Green Mtn pic

2016 Training Log : 10/10 - 10/16

Quality: 12 mile long run on Sunday.

Trail: N/A

Easy: 6 runs for 28 miles.

Cycling: N/A

Total:  7 runs for 40 miles.

This week brought on a mid week trip to NE Mississippi for work. When I'm on these trips solo I usually have no problem getting in my normal volume. When I travel with others, however, I'm always cutting runs short so they're not waiting on me. It always becomes a stressful thing that I don't enjoy very much. A lot of this stress would be alleviated if my lazy butt would get up early to knock these runs out.

I did luck out in finding a park very close to the hotel that had some offroad trails along with the paved variety. I ended up doing all of my runs here with my only complaint being that there wasn't more to it. Each "loop" was only about 3 miles long, but it sure beat banging the miles out on a treadmill. I'm going to have to figure out a solution for travelling as I don't have any solo trips coming up soon.

With my long run on Sunday I actually hit a 20 day run streak. I've toyed with streaking off & on with my longest being 251 days. During that streak was probably the best shape I've been in so I've thought about bringing the streak back. There will be a lot of starts to it before it sticks, especially with my busy travel schedule coming up. Hopefully once the streak gets going it will make it easier to get motivated for the shorter easy days. The only reason the last streak got broken was from a car accident on the way to run. I still wanted to put in at least a mile but I'm pretty sure that would have resulted in a divorce.

Next week brings a trip to Denver, CO. I couldn't be more excited about the opportunity to get up into the mountains. One of the few places I'd live outside of Kentucky.

2016 Training Log : 10/3 - 10/9

Quality: 10 mile long run on Sunday at Legacy Trail.

Trail: N/A

Easy: 6 runs for 17 miles.

Cycling: N/A

Total:  7 runs for 27 miles.

Disney vacations are usually where training plans go out the window. Usually there just isn't enough time to get in any kind of run & with the amount of walking it might even be detrimental. In the past I've always tried to maintain a normal volume, with some super early wake ups. This always had me leaving the vacation wishing for another one immediately after. This time I decided to just run whatever I felt like & had time for.

This resulted in mostly 2 & 3 mile runs in the mornings before heading to the park. Thankfully I was able to get out every day, even if it was just for 20 minutes. I figured the extra 4-6 miles of walking each day would more than make up for any loss of volume.

We ended up leaving a day early due to the hurricane & drove the ~14 hours straight back home. Even after being in a car that long & getting home at 4am I was able to wake up the next day & get in a 3 mile effort. Sunday saw a slight return to normal with a 10 mile long run at Legacy Trail. Unfortunately my travel schedule only picks up from here on out so running with any kind of consistency is going to be a challenge.

2016 Training Log : 9/26 - 10/2

Quality: N/A

Trail: N/A

Easy: 7 runs for 23 miles.

Cycling: N/A

Total:  7 runs for 23 miles.

The original intent for this week was to just take the whole week off to recover from the 100k before going into a short ramp up for the Rough 50k. Due to my failed attempt at the 100k distance, only making it ~64km, I decided to just go with a reverse taper of sorts. Nothing extreme just a bunch of 2, 3 & 4 mile runs.

My legs were definitely screaming at me for the first part of the week but seemed to quiet down by the end. Hopefully this sped up the recovery process instead of hindering it. With a trip to Disney next week, which entails a ton of walking, I plan to keep the running easy & just do what I feel like each morning.

Not Yo Momma's 100k - September 24, 2016

Coming Soon!

2016 Training Log : 9/19 - 9/25

Quality: N/A

Trail: 40 miles at Great Seal St Park on Saturday

Easy: 4 runs for 14 miles.

Cycling: N/A

Total:  5 runs for 54 miles.

Race week! While I enjoy racing, I absolutely hate the week before a big race. All that free time I get back from running such reduced mileage is consumed by getting ready for the race. A lot of time was spent packing for the trip. With my wife & some friends joining me it meant an even greater amount of stuff was needed. Luckily we got everything together & made it to the campground right on time.

As far as running goes, I hit all of my scheduled runs with the exception of Tuesday. Taper's always drive me a bit mad. I start overthinking everything when I should just be enjoying the reduced mileage. On Saturday I attempted the Not Yo Momma's 100k up at Great Seal State Park in Chillicothe, OH. While you'll have to read the upcoming race report to get the full details of the event the short of it is a hot day, combined with getting behind on nutrition & hydration, led to my first ever DNF at the 40 mile mark. I learned a ton of things from the day & will be making some adjustments going forward. Next week will start a reverse taper & the search for my next ultra is on! I'll be looking for something in the Spring around 100k & still determined to try my first 100 miler next fall.

2016 Training Log : 9/12 - 9/18

Quality: N/A

Trail: N/A

Easy: 4 runs for 24 miles.

Cycling: N/A

Total:  4 runs for 24 miles.

First week of my taper & also a travel week for work. With the travel I was lucky to get the mileage I got. I struggle to find a time to run on travel days as I'm usually up super early to get to the airport & then I spend the majority of the day just getting where I'm going. By the time I get there I'm too cooked to even think about going for a run.

Two of the four runs I did get in this week were on the treadmill at the hotel. While I'm not normally a treadmill guy I found these runs to be interesting. They allowed me to test out the treadmill mode on iSmoothRun. I was pleasantly surprised to find, as long as I kept the pace close to my road pace, that iSmoothRun & the treadmill agreed almost perfectly. Another neat feature was my heart-rate monitor automatically synced up with the treadmill. Some exciting tech going on for all of that to work out. While I kept the pace pretty consistent I varied the elevation on the treadmill to keep my heart rate up. This definitely helped with the boredom aspect.

One more week  of easy running coming up then Not Yo Momma's 100K on Saturday!

Rugged Red Half Marathon - September 10, 2016

The Rugged Red is a point to point trail half marathon located in the Red River Gorge of Kentucky. An absolutely beautiful course utilizing some of the prettiest trails at the Gorge. It is put on by a guy named Joe Bowen, who is a very interesting individual. He's biked 14,000 miles across the US for charity twice, owns the Guinness Book for World Record's record for longest stilt walk, has traversed the US on stilts & is an author.

Training: This race fell inside my training plan for Not Your Mama's 100k, near the end of the Relentless Forward Progress plan & two weeks before NYM. This was my last hard effort before starting the taper.

Gear:  With temps in the low 70s for the start this is what I decided to wear.

• Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 6
• Socks: Injinji Trail Socks
• Shorts: Patagonia Strider Pro Shorts 5"
• Shirt: None
• Tracking: Magellan Echo + iSmoothRun + Garmin GLO
• Other: Amphipod Handheld, & Half-Buff

Learned my lesson from the previous trail race & went with a much lighter kit. This ended up being a perfect combo for the race.

Race Day: I camped the night before at the Natural Bridge Campground, just like last year. This is the location of packet pickup the night before & within walking distance of the shuttles to the start line the day of. The shuttles are scheduled to load at 5am but don't leave until 6am. I decided on a 4am wakeup to give me plenty of time to take care of all my pre-race needs. My normal breakfast was replaced by a couple of PB&Js, mainly for convenience. After a couple of cups of coffee I was good to go for the day. By 5:15am I was ready & headed for the buses.

The only part of this race I dislike is the bus ride to & from the race. While I understand the necessity in a point to point race, I do wish there was a way to at least eliminate the need for one of the shuttles. After a short walk to the rest area I was loaded onto my bus which didn't leave till sometime after 6am getting us to the start line shortly after 7am.

The start time is listed at 7am & in the two years I've ran this race they've never started on time. This isn't a big deal at all, since it gives the sun a chance to get a little higher in the sky making the trails not quiet so dark. The race starts in waves & is chip timed. Every 5 minutes a new wave of about 100 runners takes off down the road headed for the trails. I ended up assigned to wave 3, something I was very happy about. Had I been in the first wave I would have waited to go in the second or third wave. I'd rather do a good bit of passing than be the one getting passed.

The first wave took off at 7:20 with the second wave following right on schedule at 7:25. I lined up with wave 3 for our 7:30 start & after a short countdown we were off!

Obligatory Start Line

The first 1.7 miles are along Chimney Top Rock Rd. This allows the wave to get nice & spread out before entering the single track. It's also a great chance to go out too hard & ensure a blow up later on in the race. I stuck with the main lead pack for this section not really pushing the pace, averaging around 7:50 pace.

The next .6 miles drops 450ft along Rough Trail to Koomer Ridge Trail. I was surprised that we were actually catching people from the earlier waves already. While this presented it's own challenges everyone was pleasant & moved over as soon as possible to let us through.

The following 1.2 miles climbs back up 400ft & rides a short ridge line to the Buck Trail which you are on for another 1.5 miles. The start of Buck is a 300 ft drop followed by a 350ft climb back out. This race starts out with 2 very steep descents & 2 equally steep ascents. Ensuring your legs are fully awake for the next 9 miles.

Buck Trail intersects with the Sheltowee trail which you get to spend the next 7.5 miles on. At the 5.8 mile mark you are treated to another 400ft drop which leads to a very fast section. With a gradual downhill slope this "flat" section allows your legs to recover a bit. During this stretch I almost made a wrong turn, where Sheltowee & Rough split. Luckily another racer yelled out to me & I was able to get back on track without much lost time or added distance. It's not a trail race until I get lost.

At mile 8 you are treated to an awesome crossing of the Red River via suspension bridge. This also starts a 300ft climb to a rolling ridge line. This culminates with 250ft scramble over just a quarter of a mile. Definitely takes any last energy you had out of you. From this point the race is mostly downhill all the way to the finish.

Suspension Bridge over Red River

The last .8 miles of the race is along Bison Way Trail & Red River Rd. A very enjoyable mostly downhill run to the finish line. Once I hit the road section I was glad to see I still had enough energy for a decent kick to the finish coming in just two seconds over last year's time at 2:29. Unlike last year I finished feeling like I could do more.

Strava Activity: Rugged Red

Conclusion: Amazing race that went better than I expected. With Not Yo Momma's coming up in only two weeks I didn't want to really push the pace hard. Even with a time a tad slower than last year I still improved to 19th place overall & 2nd place in my age group. I'm assuming the heat played a role in the standings, the winner of the race was 15 minutes slower than last year's winner.

I definitely ended up in the right wave. I didn't get passed after the road section & was able to pass quiet a few people. Huge morale boost to be the one passing, especially late in the race, than the one being passed.

This is definitely a race I'll continue to do each year. It gets better each year & supports an area dear to my heart. My hope is that we start seeing a few more races down in RRG, maybe even some ultras in the 100km to 100mi range. 

One last thing on the shuttles. I boarded my shuttle at 5:30 & was on the first shuttle back from the race, which got me back to the campground around noon. Subtracting my 2.5 hour race means I spent 4 hours either waiting on a shuttle to leave or riding in one. I really wish there was a better way!

Elevation Profile

2016 Training Log : 9/05 - 9/11

Quality: 18 mile long run on Monday.

Trail: 13.1 mile Race at RRG

Easy: 2 runs for 17 miles

Cycling: N/A

Total:  4 runs for 48 miles.

With Monday being a holiday I slept in a bit opting for a lunchtime run. If you follow this blog any at all you probably have heard this story before. Basically it got wicked hot & I ran out of water resulting in a brutal final two miles. Cursing myself as I got to the house, promising to never get up late for a big run again. This was the second half of my 20/18 back to back & the conclusion of my last big effort before Not Yo Momma's.

I spent the rest of the week just taking it easy with only 2 runs. I needed to be semi-recovered by Saturday for The Rugged Red trail half-marathon. While not a race I'd planned on going all out at, I still didn't want to just jog it in. Friday's easy run left me feeling like I was going into Saturday still a bit over cooked.

The Rugged Red is an interesting event. With a 1 hour shuttle to the race start & then a 1 hour shuttle back to the parking area you spend almost as much time getting to/from the race as you do running it. Even with this seemingly negative it is still a must run race. The course is absolutely beautiful! I ended up coming in 19th overall in almost the exact same time as last year, only this time I came into the finish feeling like I could keep going for much further. It was actually very reassuring with Not Yo Momma's just two weeks out. Race report up soon detailing the adventure!

2016 Training Log : 8/29 - 9/4

Quality: 20 mile long run on Sunday.

Trail: 8 miles at CVP on Monday.

Easy: 3 runs for 27 miles.

Cycling: 2 rides for 12 miles.

Total:  5 runs & 2 rides for 67 miles.

After having to cut my run short on Sunday I planned to just do a swap of distance with Monday, shooting for 16 again. With it being a day off & still pretty tired from the day before I slept in once again. You'd think I would learn my lesson about sleeping in on big days during the Summer. I headed out to CVP intent on doing two 8 mile loops. After the first loop I was cooked & decided to just head on home. At this point I'm positive my problems with finishing runs is the heat. The only effort that is seemingly sustainable when it is this hot out is walking & I'm not even sure about that.

With a break in the weather on Friday I went for a ride/run/ride adventure. I really enjoy these but am pretty fair weather when it comes to doing them. Maybe once the Legacy Trail extension finishes up I'll do more of them. It is supposed to come through very close to my house. This would allow me to do some early morning rides before the heat kicks in & not have to worry about getting ran over.

Sunday was scheduled to be a 25 mile effort but with a family reunion that day & a race coming up on Saturday I decided to change the 25/12 into a 20/18. This should still get me in one last big effort before the taper but allow me to recover more quickly going into the Rugged Red. Was able to get out early & beat the heat, it was actually a chilly 55 degrees out for the start. Signs that fall is just around the corner! Not Yo Momma's is coming up quickly & I'm already starting to feel the butterflies of excitement.

2016 Training Log : 8/22 - 8/28

Quality: 5k road race with the kid.

Trail: 12 miles at SkullBuster on Sunday.

Easy: 3 runs for 24 miles.

Cycling: N/A

Total:  5 runs for 40 miles.

Down week after the big weekend. Leg's still felt like they were filled with lead on Wednesday, thankfully they finally started to loosen up about halfway through the run. Saturday's activities included a local 5k that has become a yearly event for the family. This is a race that I outright won the first year I ran it. It is held at 6 pm in absolutely miserable heat & this year was likely the hottest it's ever been. I had already made the decision early in the week to run it with my eldest, ended up having a blast running it with her & will likely continue to do so as long as she's interested. I'll find a nice & cool 5k if I'm PR hunting.

Sunday's scheduled 16 miler didn't go exactly as planned. As a result of sleeping in it was already well into the 90's by the time I decided to go for the run. I opted to head out to SkullBuster, which is well shaded, hoping for it to be a bit cooler. I don't know what it is about this trail but I have the hardest time doing any bigger mileage efforts on it. I always seem to run out of gas on it & end up cutting the run short. This is exactly what happened this time & had me promising I'd just flip my back to back. The plan was to run 12 Sunday & my 16 on Monday. I think I've failed to complete the distance on more runs this training plan than all others combined, not exactly confidence building going into my longest race ever. I'm likely just pushing too hard trying to race the clock.

Hot Hot Hundred 10k - August 20, 2016

"Experience the beauty and history of one of Kentucky’s prettiest properties at the Hot Hot Hundred. Held on a private tree farm just north of Morehead, KY the Hot Hot Hundred is a 10k looped course. Runners have the option of a single 10k lap or a 1- to 5-person team 100k relay. Battle the intense heat and your urge to give up as you encounter steep off-trail ascents, plummeting descents, and a wide variety of plan and animal wildlife. You’ll find great views from the ridgeline above and the valley below. Pass by old homestead sites and even grab some wild blackberries and blueberries that grow right along the course!"

Training: This race fell inside my training plan for Not Your Mama's 100k, midway through the Relentless Forward Progress plan & the day before a planned 50k training run.

Pre Race: Initially this wasn't a race on my calendar but when a tweet popped up saying first person to register would get in for just a dollar I jumped on the opportunity! The awesome folks that organize this race on also put on the Rough Ultra so I knew it would be a well ran event.

Gear:  With temps in the mid 70s for the start this is what I decided to wear.

• Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 6
• Socks: Injinji Trail Socks
• Shorts: Patagonia Strider Pro Shorts 5"
• Shirt: Champion C9 Shirt
• Tracking: Magellan Echo + iSmoothRun + Garmin GLO
• Other: Amphipod Handheld, Champion C9 Compression Shorts, Half-Buff & Calf Sleeves

Pretty standard kit for a shorter trail race. In hindsight I should have gone without the shirt, compression shorts & calf sleeves as it ended up getting much warmer than anticipated. The race photographer caught me pre-race giving a good picture of the outfit.

Race Day: With a later start of 0800 I decided to drive up the morning of the race,. Got up around 0500 & had my normal pre-race breakfast, which is basically my normal everyday breakfast. Left the house around 0600 & after about an hour long drive I arrived at the race site. This gave me plenty of time to go through packet pickup & loosen up before race time.

Obligatory Start Line

Luckily the fog lifted just in time for the start of the race. With a short countdown & a blast of the air horn we were off! The first .25 miles is down a gravel road before turning onto the service road. I probably let myself get too excited during this stretch & up to the first real climb. Running sub 7 minute mile pace for the first .5 miles. Once we hit the first hill the pace slowed a good bit, it was also at this point I realized the hills weren't going to be a joke. No switchbacks here! The next mile saw about 350ft of gain.

And they're off

During this section I was in about 7th place, following my pre-race plan of just hanging around with the lead pack & seeing how it went. Unfortunately I got gapped a bit around a corner by the guy in front of me. When I rounded the corner I saw tape blocking off the road & immediately thought I was going the wrong way. I turned around & quickly headed the other direction, unfortunately dragging a few folks with me. After about a tenth of a mile we weren't seeing any ribbons & decided to turn around again. It turns out there was another flag on the left of the blocked off part signifying a turn & I flat out missed it. My detour cost myself & others around a quarter of a mile. I felt terrible for causing others to get lost, but was happy to finally be back on course.

Follow the ribbons....

The next .8 miles saw a descent of 350ft & another 350ft climb, this race takes it's hills seriously! It was also during this stretch that I got off trail a 2nd time. Coming down the trail to a clearing I was presented with 3 choices in direction. Finding myself in between packs again I just came to a stop & waited for the group behind me to catch up. Someone yelled out "Go right", so I started down the middle & they yelled again "no further right". This found us doing a bit of bushwhacking while the next group of runners caught up. This group went middle & saw the ribbon we'd missed. Thankfully they yelled back to us & we were able to get back on course relatively quickly. Not much added distance here but a good chunk of lost time.

The next 1.5 miles included some pretty easy running, with some small rolling type hills. Concluding with another 300ft ascent over half a mile. I can remember hoping this was the last hill to climb as it really took the last bit of energy I had for climbing. Luckily it was the last significant climb with miles 4-5 being comparatively "flat". With the rest of the race being a wicked descent I was able to pick off one more runner before coming into the finish in about 70 minutes for 10th place.

Strava Activity: Hot Hot Hundred 10k

Conclusion: Overall a very positive experience. I take full blame for getting lost as I should have paid more attention. I'm confident that without those two detours I would have likely made top 3 overall. I really enjoyed the course & the people that put it on are top notch. I'll likely look to add this to my calendar for next year but may think about joining a relay team.

Finisher's "medal"

Such a beautiful location

2016 Training Log : 8/15 - 8/21

Quality: 13 mile long run on Monday.

Trail: 6.5 mile race on Saturday at Hutton-Loyd Tree Farm. 26 miles at Red River Gorge on Sunday

Easy: 2 runs for 20 miles.

Cycling: N/A

Total:  5 runs for 65 miles.

On Monday I went out for the second half of my back to back long run of 12 miles. It had been a while since I'd ran any mileage on the Legacy Trail so I opted to drive down there for the run. On the way to the trail, shortly after crossing some railroad tracks, my brake pedal went pretty soft. I pulled into the parking spot at the trail & felt a big pop in the brake pedal. Within an instant I had no brakes so had to jam the truck into park to get stopped. Pretty harrowing experience that could have been much worse. I then did what any runner would have done, I went for my run. Ended up doing a few miles on Legacy Trail then running back home. With a race on Saturday I skipped out on this weeks speed session & just did my runs at an easy pace.

On Saturday I drove up to the Hutton-Loyd Tree Farm in the northeastern part of the state for the Hot Hot Hundred 10k. I was fortunate to get in on a deal to run this race for a whole dollar. The event combines a 10k race & a 100k relay along trails around the farm. Beautiful course with some amazing views along the way & some seriously challenging hills! I'll leave the full details to the upcoming race review but needless to say I'm going to try to find a way to get this on my calendar for next year, maybe as part of a relay team.

Sunday's scheduled run is one I've been looking forward too ever since I put this training plan on paper. With a 50k on the calendar I could think of no better route than the one used for the Rough Trail Ultramarathon last year. Having packed everything needed for the outing Saturday night I woke up early so I could be on the trail at first light. It wasn't until about 20 minutes down the road that I realized I'd forgotten one very important item, my trail shoes! A quick 40 minute detour & I finally had everything needed. Once I arrived at RRG I swung by the Gray's Arch parking area to hide a gallon of water. I run by here twice on the route, once at 5.5 miles & again at 16, planning to fill up on water at the halfway point.

By 8am I was finally able to get going, starting from the parking lot of Koomer Ridge Campground. The first 6 miles links up the Koomer Ridge, Hidden Arch, Buck & Pinch-Em-Tight trails. This stretch is mostly flat with only one significant climb on Buck Trail. Upon arriving at Gray's Arch parking area the next 3 miles offer a chance to stretch the legs out as it is along Tunnel Ridge Rd.

After cruising down the gravel road the next 3 miles cover Auxier Ridge & Double Arch trails. Offering some absolutely stunning views & only the second significant climb of the run. Another 4 miles of gravel & I was back to Gray's for a fill up of fluids. This was my first outing with my Hydrapak 2L bladder & I've gotta say I love this thing. I still had fluid left after the first 16 so was certain a full bladder would last me the next 16 easily.

From here I went out Boone Hut & Rough to KY 77 & then back to the Rough/Gray's intersection. The climb from Boone/Rough to Grey/Rough is crazy steep & goes on forever. Really works the quads. This is just the beginning of the ascents as the route really back loads the climbing. The next 6 miles will have three more climbs.

Around the intersection of Rough/Rush Ridge I started developing a cramp in my left quad. I thought I'd been getting enough to drink but a quick pee stop told me that wasn't the case. I was at the orange juice level of dehydration, not a good place to be. I started trying to play catch up on fluids & starting feeling a bit better a couple of miles down trail. The downside was I'd drained most of my water. I made the call to cut the run short & remove the rough to Sky Bridge Rd out & back section.

On the last climb up Koomer Ridge I went for a drink & found my pack to be empty. This was about 2 miles from the campground & the cramps had returned in both legs. I had to death march the last 2 miles back to the car. The cramps & dehydration were just too much to allow much if any running.

All in all a great day out in the RRG with 26 miles & 4500ft of gain. From a gear check standpoint everything mostly worked great. I was able to stomach my homemade gels, the combo of my HF bladder/UD pack worked out & the Magellan/Glo/iPhone combo provided a reliable track. Some things didn't work out well. My Injinji trail socks don't seem to dry very well after a water crossing, basically remaining soaked the entire time. I might have to look at a lighter weight sock in the future, at least during the warmer months. I also need to find a way to either stash more water or carry more. Some salt tabs are on my list of items I should always have on me.

Just a taste of the views

2016 Training Log : 8/8 - 8/14

Quality: 18 mile long run on Monday. 4x3200 at the track on Wednesday. 16 mile long run on Sunday.

Trail: N/A

Easy: 2 runs for 17 miles.

Cycling: N/A

Total:  5 runs for 64 miles.

I've actually started looking forward to the Monday morning long run lately. It's definitely a struggle to get the legs moving after almost running a marathon the day prior. It's definitely one of the hardest things I've done in training. I remember before I started training for an ultra distance thinking the back to backs wouldn't be that tough. The mental part of it may, in fact, be tougher than the physical. On Sunday during the first leg it's always on your mind that tomorrow morning you have to get up early & do another long run.

Another great speed session on Wednesday. Workout consisted of a 2.5 mile warm up, 3/3200 w/ 800 recovery & a 2.25 mile cool own. Did really well to come in ahead of my 13:20 goal on 2/3 intervals. I'm going to miss my track sessions in the coming weeks as I'm getting into the thick of my race schedule. With the Hot Hot Hundred 10k on the 20th & the Finley 5k on the 27th I won't be doing speed work on Wednesday. Instead the races will count as my speed work.

Used my Friday run to do a bit of exploring. They're getting really close to finishing an extension to the Legacy Trail up to the Scott Co. line. I wanted to see where it ended & if it was feasible to get there from my house. This would require about half a mile on Lisle Rd, which has no shoulder. Very sketchy! I wasn't able to find an easy way to the extension & ended up just running through the horse park & making a loop of it. Not a run I plan to duplicate. Hopefully they finish the extension to Georgetown College soon & I'll have a traffic free path all the way to Lexington.

Sunday's long run was "just" a 16 miler. A phrase I wouldn't have uttered prior to this training block. When a good chunk of your long runs start approaching a marathon in distance you start to think of anything under 20 as just another run. I don't know if that's a good thing or kind of scary. I was again strapped for time having a family reunion to get to so this run happened on the road. Going to take it easy next week leading up to my race on Saturday & my 50k training run on Sunday. Should be a fun weekend!

2016 Training Log : 8/1 - 8/7

Quality: 24 mile long run on Sunday. 4x2400 at the track on Wednesday.

Trail: N/A

Easy: 2 runs for 22 miles.

Cycling: N/A

Total:  4 runs for 59 miles.

Decided to sleep in a bit Monday morning & put off the second half of my back to back until lunchtime. I do this every so often to remind myself why getting up at 4:45 is a good idea. Miserably hot outside. The upside is I got to try out a new route. Most of my 12 mile runs from the house are out & backs. This new route allows for a bit of a lollipop which helps keep things interesting.

Wednesday saw a return to the track. Workout consisted of a 2 mile warmup, 4x2400 w/ 800 recovery & a 2.25 mile cool down. I was able to hit my target of 10:00 per interval pretty easily. Being able to hit my splits after the brutal back to backs really builds my confidence going into the fall. I definitely feel stronger & the pace is starting to feel easy.

On Sunday I was strapped for time so opted to bang out my long run on the roads. With 22 scheduled I decided to lengthen it to 24 due to running on the road being easier & faster. Around 13 miles into my run the app I use totally crapped out & reset itself to 11.5 miles, luckily this kind of thing rarely happens. This left me having to do math the rest of my run to figure out how far I'd ran as I wasn't 100% sure how much distance it had cut off. I figured it to be at least 1 mile so I shot for getting home around 23 miles by the watch. Review of the run shows that it had chopped off 1.5 miles putting me at 24.5 for the day.

All in all a solid week. I ended up not running at all on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday. I've got to get better with motivation for the "junk" miles. Maybe I can get the eldest back into running as running with her definitely helps get me out the door.

2016 Training Log : 7/25 - 7/31

Quality: 16 mile long run on Monday. 6x1600 at the track on Wednesday.

Trail: 19 miles at Capitol View Park on Sunday.

Easy: 4 runs for 35 miles.

Cycling: N/A

Total:  6 runs for 70 miles.

Started the week off with an early rise to get my long run in. As noted last week I ended up having to cut it short on Sunday so just flipped the two days. I really enjoy these early morning runs but can only seem to get the motivation to do them when the mileage is high. Ended up taking Tuesday off as I've been want to do lately. I now understand why the plan I'm following has days off following the back to back long runs.

Wednesday saw a return to the track for the beginning of the strength sessions. I'm basically mixing the Hanson & Relentless Forward Progress plans. Doing the speed/strength from Hanson & the mileage from RFP. For this session I did a 3 mile warmup, 6x1600 in 6:40 w/ 400 recovery & a 1.5 mile cooldown. Had another guy on the track during most of the workout, which brought the added difficulty of passing someone during each interval. Still happy to have been under for each segment.

With Thursday being another day off I rolled into Friday & Saturday for just two easy runs. If I followed the layout of the plan then Thursday would be a 6 miler with Tuesday & Saturday off. So my slight modification is I get the 6 in during those easier days by just playing it by feel. I actually kind of like the freedom of this method.

Sunday morning I ventured out to Capitol View Park for a scheduled 24 miler. Usually I do three 8 mile loops, allowing for a water refill & general maintenance at evenly spaced intervals. Unfortunately this weekend someone was parked in my normal place so I relocated to the library, a section I normally skip for the 8 mile loops. With it feeling a bit cooler outside I went for the full loop on my first segment which put me back to the car after 10 miles. During the first loop it warmed up pretty quickly. With my feet already squishing I decided to try ringing out my socks/shirt & using the towel to dry out the inside of my shoesduring my stop. This actually had a pretty positive effect on my feet. I'm definitely going to pack some dry socks for the 100k.

After my second loop I got about half a mile from the car when my wife texted me asking where the car seat was. Big oops on my part. I turned around & booked it to the car. After a 30 minute drive home I changed into some dry clothes & finished the rest of my mileage for the day. My legs had already cooled off, starting to stiffen up, which made for an interesting first mile. Was definitely an odd feeling to be so tired in places where I'm normally just getting started.

2016 Training Log : 7/18 - 7/24

Quality: 18 mile long run on Monday

Trail: 12 miles at SkullBuster on Sunday.

Easy: 3 runs for 24 miles.

Cycling: 4 rides for 32 miles.

Total:  5 runs & 4 rides for 86 miles.

Traveled for work this week, which always seems to throw me off a bit. Had to wake up at 4 am on Monday to get in the second leg of my 20/18 back to back before hopping on a plane. I'd almost forgotten how awesome watching the world wake up while out for a run is. Not that I can see myself up at 4 am often for a run. I also used my homemade energy gels again on this run, but this time I went with 2oz of gel & 1oz of water in the flask. Seemed to not only come out easier but wasn't as strong. I may have to maintain this ratio in the future.

Due to getting in wicked late Tuesday night, really Wednesday morning, I decided to just turn my speed session into an easy run. To up the difficulty I did it at 5 pm after dropping the family off at the airport. Also added in an 8.5 mile bike ride to the trail, then 8.5 mile bike ride home. Brought plenty of water for the trip but could have used some calories near the end. Was definitely close to bonking.

Near the end of the week it started to really warm up, like dangerously hot. When it gets like this there's no such thing as early enough to beat the heat. It's 75 at 5am with 80-90% humidity & quickly rises from there. With 16 miles on the schedule I arrived at SkullBuster shortly after sun up. This isn't a trail I'm ready to do much running in the dark on. It is also one of the harder places I run for keeping my heart rate in check. Even the downhills spike it up. By the time I got to my decision point where I could go 12 or 16 I opted to cut it short. My feet were squishing in my shoes from sweat & I looked like I'd found a pool somewhere to take a short swim. With the shortening of this run to 12 I'll just do my back to back in reverse, with the 16 miler on Monday. Speed sessions change to phase two next week, which is the strength part of the Hanson's plan.

2016 Training Log : 7/11 - 7/17

Quality: 3x1600 w/600 recovery at the track on Wednesday.

Trail: 20 miles at CVP on Sunday.

Easy: 4 runs for 29 miles.

Cycling: N/A.

Total:  6 runs for 57 miles.

Could have swore I put this one in last week. I blame a very hectic Sunday preparing for my trip. Another solid week in the books without anything too exciting, which is nice. On Monday I finished up the second leg of my 24/12 back to back. I had my doubts going into this training plan as to the effectiveness of back to back long runs. I am now a believer in them. They absolutely wreck your legs.

Wednesday brought about a return to the track for mile repeats. I have trouble with the longer repeats due to my tendency to check out from time to time. Really hard to stick the pace when auto pilot is so easy to engage. That said I came really close to my 6 minute target & my last interval was my fastest. I might have to reevaluate my pace before I go into phase two of the speed training.

Sunday's long run again had me headed back to CVP. Such a great place to do loops for these longer efforts, but I'm starting to tire of it. I need to diversify my trails. I also mixed in an experiment for this long run. I made my own energy gels! This is something I've been looking to do for a while now as I just can't stomach paying $1.50 per gel. I followed the recipe in this video, except I used honey instead of corn syrup. I'll continue tweaking the recipe until I get it to my liking then do a blog post on it. Currently I'm using some 3oz travel bottles I got at Target for about a buck each. They work ok but are pretty big & hard to get the last drop out of. If I stick with this I'll likely purchase one of the soft flasks out there specifically for this.

No pictures again this week. My phone is hard to operate when I'm absolutely drenched in sweat. Gotta love Kentucky summer...

2016 Training Log : 7/4 - 7/10

Quality: Ladder workout at the track on Wednesday.

Trail: 24 miles at CVP on Sunday.

Easy: 4 runs for 29 miles.

Cycling: N/A.

Total:  6 runs for 63 miles.

Training by heart rate can be frustrating, especially on the trails. I find myself walking a lot more than before & my pace on all runs is way slower than before. The plus side to it is I don't feel totally wrecked after a run, which I guess is kind of the point. I'm going to keep at this through the winter to give it a solid 9 month trial. While I try to stick with the zone 2 running for all my other runs I use my Wednesday run to really step on the gas.

This Wednesday I did a workout that I've been looking forward to since I put it on the plan. Unfortunately I missed it last week but decided to move it to this week. It's a ladder style workout that starts with a 2.25 mile warm up then a 400/800/1200/1600/1200/800/400 ladder with 400 recovery & finally ends with a 2.25 mile cool down. Such a brutal workout but I definitely felt stronger coming out of it. I've got some shorter races on the calendar to test out the benefits of these speed sessions.

Speaking of shorter races. I was fortunate to land a registration to the Hot Hot Hundred 10k for just one dollar. My fall racing schedule is really starting to fill up with a 5k, 10k, half marathon, 50k & 100k. I'm following through with my plan to race more & not just train for A races only.

Sunday's long run was a distance I'd failed at previously. I've blamed that inability to finish the run on heat, nutrition & hydration. What I now know is that I was just running too fast, basically trying to do the entire run in zone 3. This lead to me just being totally zonked out around 16 miles into the run. Sadly I didn't complete the entire 24 miles on Sunday in zone 2. I had a hard cutoff at 11:30 to finish my run by, which led to me cranking it up on my third loop. With the majority of this segment in zone 3 I could really feel the familiar struggle & confirmed that the previous failed runs were caused by going too hard. In hindsight I should have stuck to my heart rate plan & just cut the distance short to make my cutoff, I just had to get that monkey off my back.

2016 Training Log : 6/27 - 7/3

Quality: 16 mile long run at Legacy Trail on Sunday.

Trail: N/A

Easy: 4 runs for 29 miles.

Cycling: 1 ride for 8 miles.

Total:  5 runs & 1 ride for 53 miles.

Another travel week for work & with it the inherent difficulties in making all my scheduled runs. I only ended up missing one run for the week, my speed work session on Wednesday. I was originally going to stay at a location pretty close to a high school track. That fell through & I ended up no where near a track. The plan was to get up early & just do an easy 8-10 miles, which didn't happen. After driving eight hours home I was in no mood or shape to run.

The rest of the week went well. I've fully embraced running by heart rate, completing all runs in between 130-142 BPM. I've had to walk a bit on some hills I would normally run & my pace is a good bit slower. However, I'm completing the runs feeling like I could run forever. The aftereffects of a 16 miler feel no different than a 4 miler. Going to keep at it with the only day above target heart rate being the Wednesday speed session. I've also made a minor tweak to the schedule, moving the back to backs to Sunday/Monday, to avoid conflict with Saturday morning soccer games. This should allow me to run in the cooler morning temps.

During Sunday's long run I stopped at the "peak" of the biggest hill along the Legacy Trail to take a picture. While pulling my phone out I inadvertently dropped my key. It wasn't until I got back to the parking lot that I realized it. Having already ran 16 miles, emptying my water bottle & having no calories on me the idea of 6 more miles to retrieve the key didn't sound smart. Luckily the wife was able to bring me a key so I could get home. After a light breakfast I returned to the trail with my bike to retrieve the key. The added bonus was I got some miles in on the bike, something that's been lacking lately.

On Friday I finally registered for Not Yo Momma's 100K. I can't wait to try my hand at a new distance. The looping style of this course should be helpful for my first time above 50K. Getting back to camp every 16 miles allows me to adjust calories, clothing & hydration during the race. It also allows for the moral support of seeing my wife. Unfortunately we're a lot of rain in the area lately which is keeping me off the trails.

Found it!

The cause of the lost key

2016 Training Log : 6/20 - 6/26

Quality: 4x1200 w/ 400 recovery on Wednesday.

Trail: 14 miles at SkullBuster on Monday. 16.5 miles at CVP on Saturday.

Easy: 3 runs for 17 miles.

Cycling: N/A

Total:  6 runs for 56 miles.

Got a few new toys to play with this week, basically going all in with the phone as my run tracker. The first addition was the Polar H7 HRM. I've always been intrigued with using HR to pace my runs & have tried a few times with my Garmin HRM to do so. The Garmin strap was just very uncomfortable & caused a good bit of chafe. The Polar H7 is much more comfortable to wear, only causing some minor chafing after a swampy 16 miler. I'll likely need to add some lube to the hot spot in the future.

The second new toy was the Garmin GLO, giving me a 10Hz bluetooth GPS receiver. While I find my phone to be very accurate on the open road I'd began doubting the accuracy on tree covered trails. What I found was the GLO agreed with my FR210 on the trails I run. Confirming my suspicion that the phone's internal chip was clocking a farther distance than I was actually going. A lot of this is likely related to where I carry my phone, in a belt at the small of my back. The beauty of the GLO is it is small enough to fit in the pouch on my Amphipod handheld, putting it in a great position to receive GPS signals.

I also learned two lessons this week. With my kid's soccer games at 9am on Saturday morning I can't get a long trail run in before the game & with temps in the 90s after the game I'm having trouble completing the distance (I had to bail at mile 16 of 24 Saturday). Trying to keep my HR under 145 on the trail is hard enough in mild temps, but when it's an oven outside it becomes near impossible. The combo of high heat & high average HR is causing me to run out of gas before I can finish the run. With the heat I'd almost have to walk to keep my HR in the aerobic range.

With those two pieces of data in mind I'll be shifting my schedule so my back to backs are on Sunday/Monday. Putting the longer distance on Sunday & the shorter distance on Monday. This actually more closely matches the training plan which has them long/short as well. I'll also start walking significant hills early, to keep that HR under 145. Hopefully the cooler morning temps will allow me to get the distance done without having to go to the well.

2016 Training Log : 6/13 - 6/19

Quality: 6x800 w/ 400 recovery on Wednesday.

Trail: 12 miles at CVP on Monday. 16.5 miles at CVP on Saturday.

Easy: 3 runs for 22 miles.

Cycling: 2 rides for 8 miles

Total:  6 runs & 2 rides for 68 miles.

One thing about trail running is it teaches you to pick your feet up, sometimes violently. During Monday's trail run I was still recovering from Saturday's bonk. Legs were just a bit heavy & mind a bit tired. I ended up soaring through the air with the greatest of ease three times. I went from someone that had never fallen to racking them up in short order. This all happened in the first four miles, after which I seemed to wake up. The rest of the run was uneventful & rather enjoyable.

Wednesday brought about a return to the track. Once again I biked the 4 miles to the track, did a 2.25 mile warmup, ran 6x800m with 400m recovery targeting 180 seconds, then a 2.25 mile cool down & finally a 4 mile ride home. That short rest between intervals is getting brutal & I can only imagine the suck for the next two sessions. Luckily when I step up to mile repeats I get a two lap rest. Met a guy with what I assume are his boys at the track. They were doing mile repeats, which given how young they were was pretty awesome.

The scheduled back to back for Friday & Saturday was a 14/16. I opted to do the 14 miler on the Legacy Trail due to other commitments that day requiring me to run very early in the morning. For my 16 miler I headed back to CVP, mainly because I needed to stop at a sporting goods store for some fuel. Unfortunately all they had in stock was Gatorade chews, something I'd never used before. Luckily they didn't seem to disagree with me all too much, so I can now add something else to the list of fuel. The plan for my run was to run two 8 mile loops, stopping at the truck to refill my handheld. I also tried a different fuel strategy by eating half a pack of chews every 30 minutes instead of a full pack every hour. This worked out a lot better & I felt strong for the duration of the run. Another new addition was keeping my water in a cooler. Much better than the seemingly boiling water I'd often find in my vehicle. Really starting to question the accuracy of my phone on trail runs. My Garmin GLO is in & I'm looking forward to trying it out next week to see how much of a difference it makes.

Received a gift card to Amazon from work, which led to new shoe day!

Left to right: Saucony Peregrine 6, Ride 8 & Kinvara 6.

2016 Training Log : 6/6 - 6/12

Quality: 12x400 w/ 400 recovery on Wednesday.

Trail: 10.5 miles at CVP on Friday. 19 miles at SkullBuster on Saturday.

Easy: 2 runs for 12 miles.

Cycling: 2 rides for 8 miles

Total:  5 runs & 2 rides for 60 miles.

Week 1 of the training plan for NYM was an interesting one. Rode 4 miles out to the local high school track for a speed workout. Did a 2 mile warmup, then 12x400 targeting 90 seconds with a 400 recover & finished with a 2 mile cool down. It was really nice to get out & really rev the engine up. The bike ride to & from serves as an extended warmup & cool down. It also allows me to mentally reset afterwords. If only there was enough time in the day to use the bike to get to all my running spots.

Friday & Saturday were the start of back to backs, with a 10/16 scheduled. In trail running they say it's not if you fall but when you fall. On Friday I got to experience my first ever superman. Started day dreaming near the end & checked out a bit. An exposed root snapped me back to reality & sent me airborne. Luckily only minor scratches were incurred. On Saturday I went out for a 16 miler that ended up going a bit longer than expected. I don't know if my GPS was that much off or my math. I figure it was a combination of the two. I packed two 140 calorie baggies for the run & a 20oz handheld. By mile 16 I ran out of gas & started to feel the bonk coming on. By mile 17 I was walking. The last 2 miles took over an hour to complete with a few pit stops to sit down & try to recover a bit of energy. The lesson learned here is to take more calories & water to the trail than you think you'll need, you can't base it off what you'd need for a road run.

It's been a long time since I stepped foot onto one of these

2016 Training Log : 5/30 - 6/5

Quality: 14 mile long run on Saturday.

Trail: 8.5 miles on Monday at SkullBuster.

Easy: 5 runs for 33 miles.

Cycling: N/A

Total:  7 runs for 55.5 miles.

Another travel week found me in rainy Dallas, TX. Was fortunate to be able to make all of my scheduled runs. Even found a fantastic green way to run on for any return trips. I only ended up regulated to the dreadmill for one run, which I ended up cutting a mile short as I just couldn't take anymore. I'd rather run laps around the hotel, at least there's some scenery change.

Headed up to SkullBuster on Monday to do some trail running & when I grabbed my shoes I noticed a gaping hole in the side. Only had 400 miles on them when the upper let go, which isn't terrible but was hoping to get more like 500-600. Without any backup trail shoes I opted to use my wore out Kinvaras for the run. The trail was still pretty sloppy from the rains on Saturday which coupled with a very slick bottomed shoe made for an interesting run. I ended up taking the bail out on the orange loop to the road & finished the last 1.5 miles of the run on pavement. Also encountered my second snake of the season on the road, if I was wearing a HRM you would definitely see a spike around that time.

During my time in Dallas it rained pretty much every day. They were going through some wicked flooding down there. Luckily the green way I found had plenty of tree coverage to block the rain & the sun when it did peek out. One of the things I wish Legacy Trail had was more tree cover. It would help with the Sun in the Summer & the wind in the winter. In its current state it offers plenty of exposure to the elements.

Decided to try out one of the training plans from Relentless Forward Progress for the 100k in September. Next week should see a semblance of that plan with speed work starting on Wednesday. I think I'm going to ride to the local HS track to do my intervals, instead of trying to do them on the roadways.

Blowout!

 Greenway in Arilington, TX

2016 Training Log : 5/23 - 5/29

Quality: 14 mile long run on Sunday at Legacy Trail

Trail: 8 mile run on Monday at SkullBuster

Easy: 5 runs for 29 miles.

Cycling: 4 rides for  29 miles.

Total:  7 runs & 4 rides for 80 miles.

Definitely a solid week of training. I was able to make all my scheduled runs & rides. If I can keep this consistency up the fall races will go very well. Next week brings another round of travel, so the challenge there will be staying on target.

This time of year is very wet in Kentucky & the trails I run take a good bit to dry out. Luckily on Monday they were dry enough to get some mileage in at SkullBuster. Got the bike out on Wednesday & Saturday to ride to the Legacy Trail & back, stretching the ride out a bit on Saturday. The great part about riding is it allows me to keep my cardio base in tact while running a lower mileage load. Need to find a good spot to drop in a third day of riding.

Capped the week off with a short hike with my eldest. Trying to get her out in the woods at least once a month. The key is not to be in a hurry & allow her to explore. She doesn't like it if the trails I pick don't have creeks on them, so I've got to do better about making sure she has a water crossing to play in.

Decent trails at Levi Jackson State Park

2016 Training Log : 5/16 - 5/22

Quality: 12 mile long run on Sunday at Legacy Trail

Trail: N/A

Easy: 5 runs for 23 miles.

Cycling: 2 rides for 12 miles.

Total:  5 runs & 2 rides for 47 miles.

While I enjoy traveling to new & exciting places, it definitely messes with my running schedule. Had to cut a mile off Mon/Tue runs to fit them into the schedule. Ended up missing my Thursday run after driving all day, I just couldn't get out of the recliner. Missed my Saturday run after an all day birthday party for the youngest. I've got to get better about morning runs when I travel, even if it means pounding out the mileage on a dreadmill.

The runs I did make were quiet enjoyable. I love exploring a new town by running & found this location to have tons of multi-use paths. Definitely a self-powered friendly place. I'm looking forward to my return trip where I can explore some more! Hopefully next time I can find some single track or something resembling a trail.

Actually I did find a trail, too bad it was only 1/10 of a mile long

2016 Training Log : 5/9 - 5/15

Quality: N/A

Trail: N/A

Easy: 7 runs for 38 miles.

Cycling: 4 rides for 24 miles.

Total:  7 runs & 4 rides for 62 miles.

After taking a week off following the marathon I couldn't have asked for a better week back.Was able to run every day & even got in some riding. Did some thinking about races this week & I believe I'm going to give Not Yo Momma's 100k a shot, instead of the Iron Horse.

Was really bummed out when fall vacation landed on the same weekend as Cloudsplitter but this will give me an ultra two weeks before vacation. The course is a loop, so it will be a great opportunity to try out a new distance. The looping nature also reduces the amount of stuff I need to carry with me, allowing for a base camp of sorts. I just need to have 16 miles worth of gear on me when I start each loop. Should be very forgiving for my first 100k.

Got in two days of duathlon style workouts, where I rode to the Legacy Trail, run a bit & then ride home. Really enjoy replacing the car ride with a bike ride & it really doesn't take me much longer. These were also the first ride in a pair of actual cycling shorts & I really appreciate the padding they offer. Now to just work on my transitions!

Spring out on the soccer fields

Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon - May 01, 2016

"The Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon is a beautiful course, which “flies” along the streets of Cincinnati, Covington, Newport, Mariemont, Fairfax and Columbia Township. The course presents a well-balanced, diverse tour of some the best neighborhoods in the area."

Training: I roughly followed a Hanson's type plan. Removed the speedwork session, made it a seven day schedule instead of six & added in a step back week every fourth week. I was still on the cautious side because of a year filled with injury & re-injury, telling myself that making it to the starting line healthy was of the most importance. This led me to skip a run if I even felt a slight twinge or to pull up early during a hard tempo if something started feeling off. I still ended up with a small issue in my right calf that led to a full week off right in the middle of my peak. All in all this training cycle did exactly what I wanted, it got my confidence back.

Gear:

With temps in the low 60s for the start, climbing into the 70s by the end, this is what I decided to wear.

• Shoes: Saucony Kinvara 5
• Socks: Injinji Trail Socks
• Shorts: Patagonia Strider Pro Shorts 5"
• Shirt: Saucony Men's Hydralite Singlet
• Watch: Magellan Echo + iSmoothRun
• Other: Headsweats Race Hat, Throwaway Arm Warmers & Throwaway Poncho

This ended up being a near perfect "outfit" for the race. I've only had the Patagonia shorts for a couple of runs now but they make me want six more pair, best shorts I've ever worn hands down. The only small tweak that I would have made is a pair of compression shorts underneath. This only became an issue in the final miles when I was soaked from constantly dumping water on my head.

Gear laid out the night before

Race Day: The events leading up to race day are well chronicled in my training blog for the week. To summarize, it was a disaster. Sunday morning came with a 4:30am wake up. Had two servings of steel cut oats with raisins, two hard boiled eggs & a cup of coffee. All packed from home to ensure nothing new on race day. Jumped in the shower & sprayed off really quick, just to help wake the body up. Got dressed, grabbed a water bottle with some Nuun & got out the door by 5:30am. I didn't use my phone GPS to see how far the start line was, I didn't want to know, I just followed the masses headed that way. Looking it up now reveals it to be a one mile stroll, it was that kind of a week.

Arriving at the start line my corral was easy enough to find. There was a parking area down by the river that was being used as a warm up area, so I went through my normal routine. 10x squats, 10x side to side, 10x lunges, 10x front leg swings & 10x side leg swings. One look at the porta potty line told me all I needed to know, the bushes would be my only relief. I wasn't the only one with this thought as the bushes were quiet crowded.

Arrived back to my corral with fifteen minutes to go before the start. It was about this time I realized I had forgotten my nipple tape. Images of a bloody number eleven on my chest flashed through my head. I quickly texted Chas to bring some Vaseline to our first meeting spot, got my tracking app started up & iSmoothRun loaded. Before I knew it the national anthem played & we were off!

Obligatory Start Line

• Mile 1-3: The first 3 miles take us from Paul Brown Stadium into Kentucky & through Covington. Some great views from the bridges across the Ohio & some nasty climbs to get to those bridges. I settled in behind the 3:05 pace group planning to stick with them until the halfway point & reassess then. Effort wasn't as easy as I would have liked, definitely felt like I was working harder than the ~7:00 pace we were running.
• Mile 4-6: Back into Ohio & through the city on 7th street. Took my first Gu at mile 4 & water at every stop. The plan was to meet Chas at Walnut & 7th for my goodie bag of lube. I had trouble seeing her in the crowd & we botched the hand off. Looks like we'll be going without any protection for the nipples this race. Effort levels seemed to have dropped off as I was now hitting my stride & felt like I could keep this for the rest of the race easy. According to the timing mats I hit the 6.8 mile mat at 48:20 for a pace of 7:04.
• Mile 7-9: This is the big climb for the race, the hills just never seem to stop. I took my second Gu around mile 8. This is where I noticed that my watch was off by a bit, the big buildings in the city had really messed with it. Not a big deal as I run most races by feel & only use the GPS to document it. I also had the pace group doing all the math for me. It was during this stretch that I began feeling the effects of the heat & humidity. Every water stop now included a small shower.
• Mile 10-12: Some gradual downhill running as we ventured further out into the burbs. I took my third Gu around mile 12. It was a struggle to get this one down, I'm thinking my next training cycle will involve finding a new calorie source. The texture of the Gu just doesn't sit well with me & I find myself dreading them.
• Mile 13-15: Finally the halfway point! I came through the first half in 1:31:59 for a pace of 7:02. Right on schedule & feeling good. I opt to stick with the 3:05 pace group as the heat has all but shut down any thought of going much faster. We also enter into an out & back section during this stretch so we get to see some of the runners in the front. I'm always amazed at just how effortless they look.
• Mile 16-18: This section completes the out & back portion. I take my fourth Gu around mile 16 & almost lose my cookies. The crowd support at this race is amazing. It seems the whole city comes out to cheer us on with people lining the streets for almost the entire length of the course. Still on pace & hanging with the group, which at this point is starting to thin out.
• Mile 19-20: I came through mile 19.7 in 2:18:15 for a pace of 7:02. Still right on schedule, This is the only portion of the race without much crowd support. It's along a limited access highway & I refer to it as the lonely section. These miles always seem the longest & I was actually surprised to find it was less than 2 miles in length, it feels like 4. I took my fifth Gu at mile 20 & decided it would be my last. The one planned for mile 24 would stay in my pocket, no matter what. It was also during this section that I really started feeling the heat & humidity, often dumping two cups of water on my head at aid stations.
• Mile 21-22: At the water stop in this section my biggest fear was realized, the pace group gapped me. This happens often, due to congestion at aid stations, but this time it was different. I didn't have another gear to hit in order to catch up. I calmed myself down by thinking they crossed the start line before me so I have a buffer, if I can just keep them close I'll be alright. Unfortunately these are the kinds of lies a person tells themselves when they are dying. That gap would continue to grow but I'd tell myself that I'd catch them in the final miles. It was around this point that I started passing some walkers, apparently I wasn't the only one dying out there.
• Mile 23-24: The wheels hadn't totally fallen off yet, I could still see the pace group in front of me. The gap had gotten pretty big by now but they were still in sight. I'd finally accepted that I wouldn't be catching them & at this point was just pushing for a PR. One of the aid stations had a guy with a water hose giving showers, an angel without wings he was.
• Mile 25-26: And then the wheels came off. I could no longer see the pace group & was in full on damage control mode. At this point I started freaking out. Would I PR? Would I even squeak into a BQ? I passed a few more folks in full death march & even considered just walking it in a few times myself.
• Mile 26.2: I covered the last 6.5 miles in 48:44 for a pace of 7:29, not terrible but most of the damage happened in mile 25 & 26. I managed to pull it together & pick up the pace for the final .2 miles in what felt like a sprint but likely looked nothing of the sort. Crossed the line in 61st place with an official time of 3:06:59 which is a PR of 1:36 & another BQ.

Strava Activity: The Flying Pig

Conclusion: With the planets seemingly aligned against me I couldn't have asked for a better result. While I really wanted sub-3:05, it just wasn't in the cards. The heat/humidity got to me pretty bad. I had trouble sleeping that night because of how hot I felt. I think my core body temperature was elevated as my skin was very warm to the touch. Now time to start getting ready for my fall races. For the next training cycle I'm going to dial back the volume & focus on intensity, shooting for a sub-85 half in the fall.

Soaking wet finisher's photo