Week in Review: Oct 15-21

This past week was meant to be a recovery one after my 30-mile trail ultra on October 13. It ended up well. I ran 5 times and never felt bad. Nothing fast, but I did manage a 13+ mile trail run. I seem to be healing and recovering. I think this week will be a little messed up since I have tons of work, plus a conference in Seattle. I'll bring my shoes, and rain jacket, to the Emerald City and hopefully get in a few runs...maybe even a jaunt along a trail.

Count:	5 Activities
Distance:	30.37 mi
Max Distance:	13.12 mi
Avg Distance:	6.07 mi
Time:	5:49:37 h:m:s
Avg Speed:	5.2 mph
Avg HR:	116 bpm
Max HR:	153 bpm
Calories:	3,792 C

I got two pairs of shoes this week. The Altra Superiors looked pretty sweet, but were too short.  I returned them for an exchange (size 13 to 14). Apparently they run small. If the size 14s work, these could be my 100 mile shoe. The second pair of shoes was the New Balance MT 1010 (Minimus Amp). They fit OK, but just seem a little clunky. Maybe it's the rockplate, or extra cushioning, or higher heel (4 mm heel to toe drop). They do feel protective, but they don't feel natural. Maybe the sole will loosen up and flex better after a few more runs. Right now, they would be an excellent fast hiking shoe, but not a running shoe. I'm thinking of returning them for the Merrell Mix Master 2. Hope springs eternal...I will find my 100 mile trail shoe. Maybe those Hoka Stinson Evos I returned a week ago would work if I found them in size 14?

Beauty Beneath the Dirt

I went to see an early screening of the movie "Beauty Beneath the Dirt" last night at the University of Illinois (the director and producer was from UI). Members of the cast and crew were in attendance so there was a nice Q&A session after the screening.  The movie recounts a group of three (brother, sister, and best friend) completing the Appalachian Trail in 2010. It was an interesting look at group dynamics as the three struggled to complete 2100+ miles from Georgia to Maine. I've seen better movies that capture the AT and its glory, but this one was very good at telling the story of a small group of hikers and their respective highs and lows on the trail. Here's a short trailer:



If you get a chance to see the movie in a special screening, go for it!  At some point in the near future, the movie will be released on a DVD. Depending on cost, it would be worth a purchase. If you are an AT fanatic, you'll want to add this to your video library.

Farmdale 2012 Race Report

I did the Farmdale 30-Mile Trail Race this past Saturday (October 13). This was my 7th Farmdale ultra race. Finished in 6:13. Not fast, not slow. Considering the crazy amount of mud and water on the course, I'm very pleased. It rained for several hours. Lightning and thunder added excitement to the race. I wore my New Balance MT110 trail shoes. They worked well considering the conditions (nothing would get traction in that mud). Here is my quick summary of each 10-mile loop:

First: Awesome. Dry trail, lots of friends.
Second: Awesomer. Rain, mud, water, lightning, thunder!
Third: Awesomest. Slippery, muddy, but steady energy.

The basic statistics (from my Garmin 305 GPS watch):

Distance: 29.24 miles  (supposedly 30 miles, might be even longer)
Time: 6:13:25  (splits = 1:55--2:12--2:06)
Finish Place: 11th (43 starters, 35 finishers)
Elevation Gain: 2,225 feet
HR Average: 137
HR Peak: 168
Calories: 3,643
Weather: 54F to 61F, cloudy, rain, thunderstorms!

After this race, I feel confident that my training is back on track. I am uninjured and feeling good. My next ultra is the McNotAgain 30-Miler on November 10. Just enough time rest a bit, get in some training, and then race!

SPECIAL NOTE: My Buffalo-SLUG friend Rob Raguet-Schofield from St Louis won the 30-mile race in a time of 4:27. Well done!

Week in Review: Oct 8-14

Last week was a good one! I didn't run often (took Wednesday, Thursday  and Friday off), but I managed to have a solid week by completing the Farmdale 30-Mile Trail Run. Even with steady rain and the course being covered by mud and water, I had a good race and emerged uninjured and happy.

Count:	5 Activities
Distance:	41.09 mi
Max Distance:	29.25 mi
Avg Distance:	8.22 mi
Time:	8:57:09 h:m:s
Avg Speed:	4.6 mph
Avg HR:	126 bpm
Max HR:	169 bpm
Calories:	5,023 C

Now I need to take it easy for a few days, recover, and push toward my next milepost: McNotAgain 30-mile trail race on November 10. One step at a time, one race at a time. Before you know it, I'll be on the starting line of Umstead 100 the morning of April 6, 2013. The keys to a successful 100-mile training plan are to stay injury free and still get in extra long runs (20+ miles). High weekly mileage would be good too, but I seem to do OK on relatively low training miles.

Barefoot Running Club Video

I returned my Hoka One One Stinson Evo Tarmac shoes. No more "maximalist" shoes for me. Now I'm back to barefoot running. This shit is serious! Run natural.

Barefoot Running Club from Enver Gjokaj      

Fell Runner (Fellrnr)

Before posting today's topic, I want to announce the winner of the "Barefoot Running: The Movie" give-away. Ragfield has won! You'll need to contact me off-blog to provide a mailing address. Congratulations. (The picture to the left is Fellrnr, not Ragfield.)

And now today's topic...a quick shout-out to my favorite running resource: Fellrnr.com. Jonathan Savage is the man behind the wiki and he does a wonderful job at keeping things up-to-date. In addition to being a great runner (he was on the recent USA 24-Hour national team competing in the World Championships in Poland), he also experiments and shares information like few runners I've ever encountered. I really trust his advice and appreciate that the web site has no advertising. The more I keep clicking on various topics, the more I get drawn into his deep knowledge of running, racing, nutrition, shoes, clothes, lights, run logs, etc. I use his SportTracks plugin with DailyMile and just love the statistics it provides--and the option to select which ones you want to calculate and display.

Here is the Fellrnr website: http://fellrnr.com
This is the main site with all sorts of resources, reviews, advice, and links.

Twitter account: @fellrnr
Mostly run log posts, updates to wiki announcements, and race report links.

DailyMile log:  http://www.dailymile.com/people/JonathanS
Pretty incredible training stats. Inspirational for a recreational runner like myself.

Week in review: Oct 1-7

This past week ended up as a step-back week, not by design, but by circumstances. I tweaked my right calf on Tuesday morning and took the rest of the week very easy. More walking, less running, and one full day off from everything. By the end of the week, the calf was feeling back to normal. I didn't push it on the two weekend runs--nothing long, nothing fast.  Just nice and easy. Threw in a few strides on Sunday after the 5-mile trail run. Everything felt good. Chalk one up for wisdom and discipline...I'm finally learning to listen to my body!

Count:	6 Activities
Distance:	23.14 mi
Max Distance:	5.91 mi
Avg Distance:	3.86 mi
Time:	4:35:32 h:m:s
Avg Speed:	5.0 mph
Avg HR:	112 bpm
Max HR:	156 bpm
Calories:	2,640 C

This week will be mostly easy runs, with pure walking on Friday morning. I have the Farmdale Trail Run 30-Miler on Saturday. Sunday will be a recovery run/walk. No goal time for Saturday--it's being utilized as a training run. Total mileage for the week will be about 50. Perfect way to kick off my 6-month training for Umstead 100!

No goal time for an ultra?  Don't believe me?  OK.  If you pushed me for an estimated finish time, I'd say just under 7 hours. I'm thinking 10-mile lap times of: 2:10-2:20-2:29=6:59. But that's not a time goal, just an estimate for my friend Jeff to know when he might expect me at the finish line. Jeff's running the 10-mile race and will need to wait for me.

Countdown to Destiny: 180 days to Umstead 100 miler! That's 6 months of solid training. No injuries. Nothing crazy.

NOTE: Today is last day to post a comment and be entered for the random drawing for a free DVD of "Barefoot Running: The Movie." Go to this Sept 29 blog post and add a comment before 11:59pm on October 8, 2012.

Hoka One One Shoes?

I'm pretty much a minimalist runner. I like lightweight, low heel-to-toe drop, flexible, feel-the ground, type shoes. I even run barefoot. But I'm thinking I may need a new "tool" for the Umstead 100 miler. Umstead is not a technical trail...it doesn't have rocks and roots that require a rockplate. The Umstead trail is basically a smooth dirt and crushed limestone path. But it is 8 loops of 12.5 miles equating to 100 trail miles.  That's a long time to be on your feet. I ain't running Umstead barefoot. Or in super-minimalist shoes. I need a little cushioning, maybe a lot of cushioning, to stay on my feet for 24 hours and 100 miles.

In addition to very minimalist shoes (Feelmax Osma, NB Minimus Trail, Mizuno Wave Universe, Merrell Trail Glove, Vibram FiveFingers), I have medium minimalist shoes too (NB MT110, Skechers Go Bionic, NB 730). And I have a "hard to define" shoe--the Altra Instinct. The Instinct is zero drop, has a wide toe box, little support, no motion control, and is cushioned. If I had to select one of my current shoes for Umstead 100, it would be the Instinct. I'm confident it'll see a portion of the Umstead trail next April. But I don't think it'll be used for the full 100 miles. I like to swap shoes during long ultras. For Umstead, I figured three shoes: first 25 miles, middle 50 miles, last 25 miles. I was thinking MT110 for 25 miles, then SOMETHING next 50 miles, followed by Instinct for last 25 miles. Something for the middle 50 miles. Something different? Very different?

Maybe the Hoka One One Stinson Evo Tarmac could be that middle 50 mile shoe?

Maximum cushion. Low heel-to-to drop. Fairly lightweight. Stable and wide. Did I mention maximum cushioning?

I like this guy's shoe review of the Stinson Tarmac shoe. It seems to be a little lighter and more flexible than the other Hokas. Designed for smooth roads or trails, it should work for Umstead. I'm worried it might be too narrow in the forefoot, especially after 30-40 miles. I eagerly anticipate Fellrnr's review of his Hoka use in recent runs and races.

If the shoe works, I don't mind looking like a crazed clown running down the trails!

UPDATE (October 12, 2012): I bought the Hoka Stinson Evo Tarmac in size 13 (my regular shoe size).  I found them a bit narrow and short.  I can't seem to find them in size 14, so these will go back and I'll need to find another neutral, low drop, cushioned shoe as my "go-to" 100 mile choice. Currently thinking the New Balance MT1010 might work.

NOTE: The "Running Barefoot" DVD give-away ends on October 8 at 11:59pm. Not much time to post a  comment on this Sept 29 blog posting to be entered in the drawing!

Week in Review: Sept 24-30

Before I get into last week's statistics, don't forget to add a comment on my last blog post so you'll be entered to win a free DVD of "Barefoot Running: The Movie." Contest is over on October 8.

This was a good solid week of training. Nothing special, but I did finally get in a longer trail run. The walk-jogs I'm doing to recover and simulate the walking I'll do at Umstead 100 are nice changes to my normal routine. I basically have 6 months of training until the 100 miler. I feel ready to progress...with a slight hesitation due to my right arch being a bit sensitive. It's actually above the arch, toward the ankle (but not the ankle itself).  An odd place for pain. I'll keep an eye on it. Otherwise, I feel my basic aerobic fitness is beginning to come back and I have no other nagging injuries. I hope to have about 40 miles for this coming week (Oct 1-7), then the week of Oct 8-14 will see my first fall ultra (Farmdale 30 miler). After that, the real training begins!

Count:	6 Activities
Distance:	38.04 mi
Max Distance:	14.46 mi
Avg Distance:	6.34 mi
Time:	7:56:20 h:m:s
Avg Speed:	4.8 mph
Avg HR:	112 bpm
Max HR:	162 bpm
Calories:	4,375 C

I sure am keeping the average heart rate low!  Guess the extra walking and slow jogging tends to sway the average. Of course, that 162 high heart rate is a bit of an anomaly...think that was when I was trying to catch another runner while running barefoot on Saturday. I caught them with 1/4 mile to go. In general, I'm trying to keep my heart rate below 150 to strengthen my fat burning and reduce the chance of injuries. Maybe one "tempo" run per week to build stamina and keep the leg turnover high.

NOTE: Make sure you enter the drawing for a free copy of "Barefoot Running: The Movie" DVD. Just add a comment on this Sept 29 blog post.