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