Achieving Transcendence of Fitness

30 Days Till Grindstone Ultra

2009-09-02T06:26:00.007-04:00

Day 1 of "30 Parks in 30 Days"

How many times do I have to come up with stupid ways to challenge myself? Well, here's one that takes the cakes. With 30 days till the ultra I decided to run in 30 different parks in 30 different days, and running at least 10 miles per run in the process. I knew a lot of parks around the area, but I wasn't sure I can get a list of more than 30 parks. Well, I sat down, started to compile a list of parks in the area, and found, with a little bit of a stretch, that I can indeed run in 30 different parks. Some of the parks require a drive of an hour or more so in order to be cost effective, the parks that are out there I can double up on, meaning I'll run 20 miles that day with 10 miles in one park and 10 in another. This will create some free days for me which is necessary to get other stuff done.

Well, I started this stupid quest with a trip down to Neptune, NJ for a quiet run in Shark River Park. I've never been to this park before, but I was going to a meeting with the Jersey Shore Triathlon Club in Belmar afterward. The park has a moderately difficult trail called the Shark Run which is 2.4 miles in length. Two out-and-back laps (plus a little run on the road to get to the car) would equal 10 miles.

Here are the pictures of that run:

Sign at entrance to park.

Steps on Shark Run trail. There are several of these "staircases" around that make the run more challenging.

Another staircase:

This picture here looks eerily like a jungle scene. Nice pic.

Signpost leading back to the trailhead. I'm almost done!

39 Days Till Grindstone Ultra - Road Rash Monday

2009-08-24T17:13:00.003-04:00

Now this was an interesting start to a big week of ultra training. I got a road rash all over the front right side of my body. And this was done while RUNNING, not cycling. And the run was on the PAVEMENT, not trails.

So I started off nicely on the South Beach Boardwalk on Staten Island to do 2 loops (4 miles each) of running. The run starts off on Father Capodanno Blvd, then turns around and comes back on the actualy boardwalk. Fr. Capodanno Blvd is full of cars, and with a nice wide sidewalk to run on, that is where I ran.

At the beginning of mile 2, I moved over toward the road to pass another runner going in the opposite direction and BOOM, next thing I remember I was sliding nicely on the cement. Problem is that skin doesn't really slide nicely on cement. I guess that's why baseball is played on grass and dirt, not cement. Sliding into second would be quite event if baseball was played on cement, right?

Well, after being sprawled on the ground I gingerly got up and accessed the situation. Blood gushing from my right knee, a huge red spot on my right thigh, and another gigantic red spot on the stomach. Ouch. The first thing I accessed was my knee. Luckily, there were bathrooms along the boardwalk; it took me about 10 minutes to get the bleeding under control. The culprit? A little metal stump where a bus stop sign once was. Someone put a yellow tape around the stump, but that only served to mask the damn thing instead of expose it (I'll take a picture of the thing tomorrow when I go back there for tomorrow's run). I managed to finish the first lap, get back to my car, and use the first aid kit to my advantage. After cleaning and dressing the wound, I decided to go back out again and finish off the run.

It was not a pretty second loop, but it was done. Believe it or not, I had more pain in the thigh and stomach than my knee. Road rashes suck; I've fallen on my bike several times in my life to know that.

Anyway, I was enterprising enough to go out and ride 21 miles on the bike early in the PM. The knee was still leaking fluids, but I figured since I wasn't in any real pain that I go and do it. It was a nice ride.

Hopefully this thing will dry up for tomorrow's run and swim.

(part 4 of "The Difference Between a Marathon and an Ultra" will be out tomorrow)

Differences Between Marathon and Ultra Part 3 - Carbo Loading

2009-08-19T09:10:00.004-04:00

Carbo-loading before an ultra. How important is it?

Well, that's a good question. Why do people carbo-load before an endurance race anyway? Because the goal here is to have the maximum reserves on tap when you toe the starting line. By maximum reserves, that means glycogen in your liver and muscles.

Remember what I said about nutrition in a marathon, that since you are not ingesting as much as your expending in calories, and that you are constantly tapping into your glycogen reserves throughout the entire race. The ultimate trick is to get across the finish line as soon as those glycogen reserves are depleted. So the bottom line is that, for competitive marathoners, carbo-loading is absolutely essential for a good race.

Ultra runners have nutritional strategy is different than that of a marathoner. As I stated in a previous blog, ultra runners need to utilize foods that they ingest DURING the race for their energy. That means processing (indesting and digesting) their food on the fly, and have it available for their use. Therefore, tapping into potential stores might not be as important in these races. Generally, the longer the distance of an ultra, carbo-loading is not considered as critical as in a marathon. Does this mean to skip your dinner the night before your race? No, but you really shouldn't be concerned much with your carb intake. Just focus on eating a regular nutritional dinner the night before and you'll be set.

One other important thing to note that stems from the relative paces in a marathon and ultramarathon: Studies have shown that the body burns a lot more fat than glycogen as the pace decreases. In other words, marathoners have to rely on their limited glycogen stores while ultra runners primarily have to rely on their fat stores. Even in a skinny person, fat stores are virtually unlimited, even in a 100 mile race. So you're already loaded for the race! An ultra runner can get by with just a little glycogen to burn the fat. This glycogen needed to "stoke the fat flame" can easily be ingested during the ultra.

Next blog we will see what your overall pace of the run should be (should be obvious, right?)

Differences Between Marathon and Ultra Pt 2...The Type of Food You Eat

2009-08-12T22:53:00.009-04:00

Part 2 - The Type of Food You Eat During an Ultra.

On my last blog I asked "How do you eat that much food while running? How do you know you've eaten enough calories? And what type of food can you eat to keep you going?"

OK, the answer is going to surprise you. Aside from some energy gels and drinks, you should be eating some real food for your run.

That's right. The real difference between racing a marathon and racing an ultra is that you CAN eat real food during an ultra. In a marathon you cannot.

Again, take a look at the typical ultramarathon aid station:

What do we see here. A choice of cookies, some boiled potatoes with salt, M&Ms, pretzels...representatives of all food groups accounted for! A 50 and 100 mile ultra is many hours of running, even over a full day at times! In a way you need to treat this as a normal day and eat your 3-5 square meals over the course of the race because even at a high metabolic rate, the body still has to do other functions that require all those food groups.

And that means eating REAL FOOD. Can your body digest some heavy food during the run without upsetting your stomach?

Yes it can. And herein lies another major difference between the marathon and an ultra. Your slower pace in an ultra is enough for your body to send enough blood to the stomach to digest real food. In a regular marathon you are still running with a lot of speed, so your digestive system is only limited to easily digestible things like energy gels and drinks.

As for eating full meals in an ultra, you can schedule a 15-30 minute walk within your ultra into further help digest your food. Your best bet to eat a good meal is right before a large uphill that you know you are going to walk anyway. By the time you reach the top of the hill, you should feel energized and ready to run again with the food fully digested and converted into energy.

And how do you know what type of food to eat? This is the easy, yet misunderstood part. Just ask your body!

Your body knows what it needs and send messages to your consciousness regularly. It is called the craving. If your body needs a little sodium, you will crave salty foods like chips and pretzels. If it needs fat, you'll crave the M&Ms, and if it needs carbs, you'll crave potatoes. It is perfectly acceptable to give into the crave during your race.

And how do you know when you've eaten enough calories? This is the tricky part. Whereas craving is an accurate indicator of the types of foods you need to eat, thirst and hunger aren't quite accurate. By the time you get hungry or thirsty during your race, you've already taxed your calories to a great extent and need a lot of food and drink to get back to normal levels again. The trick is to try to avoid hunger or thirst as much as possible by making sure you eat and drink at every aid station on the course. If your race doesn't have aid stations, make sure you time yourself to eat and drink every 15 minutes. If you do get hungry or thirsty, don't hesitate to take 5 minutes at an aid station to ingest a good amount of food or drink and walk a little afterwards to help in digesting the food. It's tough to do this because you're in a race after all and the clock is ticking. But ultra races are very, very long...if you take 10 minutes to feed yourself, it could save you hours later on.

Now you're starting to see some major differences between a marathon and ultramarathon. Wait, there's more...

Tomorrow's post will be your carbo-loading before the ultra and how it compares to a marathon. Stay tuned.

Key Differences Between A Marathon and an Ultramarathon

2009-08-11T10:30:00.009-04:00

OK, so you've done several marathons now and wonder what to do next. Seems like you have 2 options available to you. First is to improve your marathon times by going faster and maybe qualify for Boston. Not a bad goal, what happens when you feel you're getting up there in age and don't want to bother with the speed workouts.

Luckily, more and more people are starting to choose Option 2, go the ultramarathon route. And in the whole scheme of things, it's quite practical for those who want to discover what the real joys of running are and to challenge themselves in a way that, if done properly, can reduce your chances of injury (low impact running, but that is a different subject).

But what do you need to know about ultras? There are some key differences between the 2. The key differences are 1) The rate of ingestion during the race, 2) The type of food you'll be eating during your race 3) Your carbo-loading dinner 48 hours before the race, 4) Your overall pace of the run, and 5) your cirdacian rhythms over the long hours of the ultra.

Since this is a long and comprehensive subject, I'll post each subject one blog at a time to make it easier for you to understand.

The Rate of Ingestion During the Race

OK, this is a very important factor, one that bears reading multiple times until you grasp the importance of this one. Remember your marathon, where you run by the aid stations, grab a banana or energy gel, or a cup of water, and keep within your stride. You don't eat much during a marathon, relying on the nutrition that you built up in your carbo-loading and what you ate the morning of the race. Just a little energy is needed during the race to get yourself to the finish. Most everyone who finishes the marathon is depleted in their energy reserves; if you ask them to go another 5 miles, they cannot do it very well.

Well, that is because the energy you expend during the marathon is greater than the energy you ingest. All marathoners end up tapping into their reserves for energy. If done well, you exhaust your reserves at or near the finish line, for those who didn't plan well, they "hit the wall" at around mile 21 and struggle to the finish.

So fuel reserves for the average person is worth about 21-26 miles. So if you tap out at mile 25, all you need to do is will yourself over the last mile to finish the marathon.

Now, what would happen if you "hit the wall" at mile 25 of a 50 mile ultramarathon? You'll be up the nasty creek without a paddle, wouldn't you? Ready to struggle another 25 miles to the finish? I didn't think so. It wouldn't be a nice predicament to be in and surely one that you need to avoid.

So scrap your marathon strategy because it doesn't work with ultras. You need to come up with a completely different plan to get you to that 50 or 100 mile finish line. If your reserves are limited to 20 miles and you have a 50 mile race, the extra 30 miles worth of energy is going to be needed from food ingested DURING the race. And since it takes some time for your ingested food to be converted to readily available energy, you need to eat early and often in an ultra.

Luckily, most races have aid stations that are set up for this; you'll immediately see the difference between an ultra aid station and a marathon aid station when you come upon one. As you see below, you will not see an aid station fully stocked with a wide variety of foods in a marathon:

(this aid station comes from the Tarawera 50mile ultra, yumm!)

(Just one thing on aid stations, it is always beneficial to have other options if the food at the aid stations doesn't work for you. A lot of ultramarathoners use their own crews that provide a personal aid station with foods the runner knows will help him or her out. It pays to have a couple of people to help you out during these races).

So what is the ultimate rate of ingestion needed for a 50 or 100 mile race? The same amount that is expended during your run. If you cover 5-6 miles per hour in your ultra, the amount you expend is about 500-700 calories, depending on body type, so you'll need to eat that much to keep going. For 50k, a little less in needed because it is only 5 miles longer than a marathon. In a 50k, you still have to significantly change your eating habits because who still wants to hit the wall at mile 21 and struggle a full 10 miles to the finish?

That amount of calories ingested could pose a problem for some people. How do you eat that much food while running? How do you know you've eaten enough calories? And what type of food can you eat to keep you going?

That is the subject for tomorrow's blog. Until then, Happy Trails!

Ocean City, Maryland Week

2009-08-10T10:15:00.002-04:00

Last week, I took a little trip down to Ocean City, Maryland.

Seriously, how did I ever find myself down in Maryland last week? The weather was hot, the days were so humid that I couldn't see the tops of the buildings, I don't even like seafood, I could only stay a couple of hours at the beach at only one time, and I don't drink as much as I used to at nights.

Nevertheless, the opportunity presented itself, I left for Ocean City, and I actually had a solid week of running down there along with the rest of my stay. It was actually an enjoyable week!

The trip actually went together well. It was a very cheap vacation, I actually had a social life down there, I body surfed the waves on the beach, and I didn't leave there as red as a lobster due to a severe sunburn. But I'm only going to focus on the running there because after bowing out of the Burning River 100 Miler I was at a loss of focus for the fall racing season. And this was a good opportunity to try to get that back.

For those who don't know Ocean City, the barrier island in which it sits is exactly 9 miles long, ending in the inlet to the south and the Delaware border to the north. The south end of the island is the main boardwalk and attraction location (think Seaside Heights, and you get a good picture of the boardwalk there) .

To summarize, here is the tally for last week. Total mileage turned out to be 71 miles.

Monday - 8 miles South End in AM, plus 4 miles to South End in PM (12 total).

Tuesday - 10 miles North End to Delaware Border in AM Very humid

Wednesday - 8 miles South End - this was the toughest and most humid day of the week. The haze was so thick I couldn't see the tops of the buildings.

Thursday - 13 miles - 5 miles South End + 8 miles South End - a bit drier and a beautiful day to run.

Friday - Off

Saturday - 20 miles - This was a well executed run that took me into Delaware for a while before reversing course and getting back to Ocean City. A cool, dry beautiful day for the run.

Sunday- 8 miles - South End - Back to high humidity and soupy mess again. I'm glad it was only 8 miles.

Not a bad week at all. Now all I have to do is keep the momentum going this week. If I can get all 90 miles of running in this week, then I'm golden!

Finding My Low Gear Again

2009-07-29T08:37:00.003-04:00

Monday's run was actually the first double-digit mile run in a couple of weeks. I was actually happy about the way I ran 12 miles in Bayonne more than the mileage itself.

Let me explain how I go about my running these distances. I utilize what is popularly understood as the Galloway's "Run-Walk-Run" Method in terms of marathon training. I don't necessarily advocate this to marathon training as Galloway does (speed is still quite critical in marathons and this method does not address speed), but this method is PERFECT for ultra training.

My method for flat terrain is an 8 minute run/2 minute walk approach. For hilly terrain, I walk whenever I encounter a significant climb (with come caveats, of course). Now 8 minutes is a lot easier to digest than, say, 3 hours. And I started to treat this as "only" 8 minutes of running. The problem the past 3 weeks is that I actually started to pick up my pace as if it was an 8 minute interval on the track. By the time the 8 minutes was up, I sometimes had to stop to catch my breath. I realized this when I failed to finish only 15 miles of running last week.

On Monday, I kept the run easy. Real easy. And the 12 mile run was downright comfortable again. Even with the speed slower I found I only ran 4 minutes slower than what I was doing last week. And over the course of an ultra, those minutes are really insignificant. I managed to find my low gear again, boy, I'm glad to have it back with the Grindstone 100 coming up.

A Little Fan Support and Victory up the Steeps in Upstate NY!

2009-07-11T21:06:00.003-04:00

Doing a particularly light day today, I decided to go out on the bike one last time here in upstate NY and challenge myself on the steepest slope to Villa Roma. This hill, near the Stone Arch in Jeffersonville, begins with an agonizing steep over a 15% grade, tapers off to about 5% again before it ends again near the top at a 15% grade, a real nasty surprise to tired muscles at the top. Last year I tried going up this hill and failed near the top as I almost tipped over. This year, I try for a little redemption.

After 18 miles of rolling hills I finally arrive at the bottom of the hill, bottom out my gears, and start the tough ascent up the hill. The road is very lightly traveled by cars; this allows me to tack my bike from side to side on the bottom steep. I barely ascend to the flatter part of the hill with little energy left in my legs and wondering how I would get the energy to finish the climb. I decide to sit in the saddle and keep myself spinning to get back some energy lost in the lower part of the hill.

Arriving at the upper part of the hill I encountered some locals doing some chores around their house and started root me up the last steep on the course, a father and his teen kid. I smile at them (or was it a grimace?), get out of the saddle, and blast up the hill with whatever remaining strength I had. The cheering felt quite genuine; the hospitality of people up here is noticeably a lot better than down in the city. Apparently, the “fan support” gave me that extra determination to get to the top. No tacking here, it’s a straight-up power climb with the top in my sights! Every part of the body, not just the legs, participated in the coordination, the arms swinging the bike, and my back providing the extra strength and leverage for my legs. It was a beautiful synchronicity that got me to the top without stopping!

So a little victory has been made here this week on the bike. I go for a long run tomorrow here before finally going back home to more flatter terrain.

How about some pictures of the hills of Sullivan County, NY!!!

2009-07-10T20:59:00.007-04:00

Some pictures of the hills of Sullivan County. This is one part of the back hills of the Villa Roma resort. These tough climbs have sections of grades over 15%.

Looking down a tough 15% climb with a tough 10% climb in the distance. One of the many huge rollers in upstate NY.

Ouch! This intimidating hill in the background is so tough that tacking up it with your bike and walking it with your run is the only best way to get to the top.

A very beautiful picture of the hills of Sullivan County. Not many flat spaces here. If you want to do a bit of hill training without much of the travel, this is the place to do it!

Hilly Villa Roma!!!

2009-07-09T22:22:00.001-04:00

Finally, some mileage to show for this week! Nestled in the resort area of Villa Roma this week after the emergency root canal, with the pain subsided, I finally went out on a nice 10 mile run. The challenge of Villa Roma is that it is nestled in a deep valley on top of a mountain in Sullivan County, NY. Both exits out of this area presents an immediate challenge to the beginning of the workout. The front way is a long, 6 minute climb up a hill with a grade of about 8%. The back exit is even more challenging; it has two steeps at around 15% with climbs in between at around 8%. Every route then encounters a hair-raising downhill that bottoms at the main roads in the area.

Those very same hills pose a serious challenge coming back to the resort area. Each hill involves steeps of over 15% in several agonizing sections of the course. It’s just a matter of “picking your poison” when running or cycling back. Overall, if anyone is doing a key race this season that is extremely hilly, staying at Villa Roma for the week would be one of the best places to go for quad blasting hill training.

Rusty from the time I took off, I had major problems going up the hills with the 10 mile run and the 19 mile bike today. Doing a lot of endurance running, I was totally without the strength needed to power up the hills. Although I struggled, I did manage not to cough up a lung while getting myself to the top. I realize that a little strength is needed to traverse a hilly ultramarathon and will devote one workout a week to power and strength.

What’s up tomorrow? Pressing for 15 miles of running and an option of a 21 mile bike tomorrow.

Burning River Ultra a "No Go"; Eyeing a 100 Mile Race in Autumn

2009-07-08T06:56:00.002-04:00

I’ve been looking forward to this race in about a year now, gearing up and trying to train for the race. But several circumstances have come around, especially in the past 2 weeks, that made my decision not to attend this race in 3 weeks.

1) Two people from my crew have to withdraw. One of them found he has a family member with a critical health problem; the second has to be on a business trip the next day after the race.

2) I myself have to be in Maryland the Monday after the race. I have certain obligations that require me to be certain places every so often. I can theoretically do the race and go directly to Maryland, but I don’t think it would be prudent to just up and leave after doing a grueling 100 mile run.

3) Despite some successful weeks, my training is still not there. I haven’t shed my body weight to 185 pounds and I was sidelined for nearly 2 weeks with a severe toothache that prevented me from training as well as just about everything else.

4) Cash flow problems. The root canal that I had to get for my dental problem was more than $1000. The trip to Ohio, the payment for the hotel for 3 people and the trip back costs money, money that had to be spent on the root canal. With all the uncertainty about the economy nowadays, I frown on breaking my budget in general, so sacrifices have to be made. If I knew I had a great shot at finishing the race, then I would borrow from my savings.

I regret this, but it makes sense to delay the 100 miler to the fall, when I have the right training under my belt and a crew to go along with me. I am eyeing the Grindstone 100 Miler in Virginia as a possible fall race on October 2, a good, challenging race that would be great to aim for.

The 50 Day Plan to Burning River 100 Mile Ultra

2009-06-08T12:16:00.003-04:00

Time to go postal with the workouts. I did not like what I saw the other day and have planned out a tough stretch of 50 days to get me to the Burning River 100 in great shape. Here is the plan:

1) Get myself down to 185 pounds, a 15 pound goal. Less weight=less wasted energy.

2) Get 2-3 sessions of 30 mile+ runs in on some weekends. I've been stringing 20 milers together, and it's worked for me, but I need to get some greater distances in on one session to really test the body.

3) Start planning what is needed for the actual race. I've ordered some lightweight ultra shorts as well as some first-aid supplies and some energy food for the race itself.

4) Document EVERYTHING, including weight so that I face my setbacks instead of turning away from them.

Swimming and cycling will be included with the training for cross-training effect and the exercising of complimentary muscles so I don't head into the race with muscle imbalances. Triathlon training, if done right, gives such a total body workout that leaves no weak spots on the body and should add to my endurance in the ultra.

Post-event thoughts...

2009-06-07T17:53:00.002-04:00

1) I definitely need a crew for point-to-point ultras. After I've drained all my blisters from my feet yesterday, I'm walking normally today and can actually run for a good distance today if I had to. Due to the length of the distance and especially time, there are so many factors that will befall an ultramarathoner over the length of the run, so many that one person with a Camelbak cannot cover. I am reminded about my time on the Appalachian Trail when I *had* to cover any and all factors on the long hike. The result was a 40 pound backpack, give or take a few pounds for extra food, which cannot possibly translate well into trail running. A support crew would have probably made a difference between going only 37 miles and doing the entire 64 miles.

2) Time for a wardrobe change. Upon close examination, the pair of shorts that I was using was falling apart at the seams. I'm going to need new stuff now for the ultra in August.

3) I'm going to try to lose at least 10-15 pounds before August 1. If I can lose these pounds, that is less that I can carry at the ultra, which is definitely fine by me.

4) The pinched nerve thingie is gone. I got it on the South Mountain 100k course last week, and it was cured on this run. What gives? Don't care; at least it's gone.

5) Planning a pretty grueling regimen that is leading to August. One thing I'm going to make clear to everyone here...I am NOT going to DNF on the 100 miler this year. If I only have my teeth to propel myself forward, then by God that is what I'll use.

Have a great weekend guys. Hope to see you around the trails.

Ultra: Next time, I'll get a crew.

2009-06-06T20:31:00.002-04:00

I am a fiercely independent person.

And sometimes that goes against my goals. It's just my nature but I find it hard to ask people to help me achieve certain goals and always feel that I can do it myself.

Well, this ultra basically slammed home the fault of my ways.

You see, this 64 mile run was a point-to-point affair, and I knew that if I went unsupported that I was very limited in what I had to take with me in the Camelbak that I had.

I had very limited first-aid supplies, couldn't find a way to provide a change of shoes and socks when I needed it, no change of clothes and a limited number of snacks. Even with the supplies that I had, the Camelbak had to weigh more than 20 pounds.

There were two other people who took a different approach to doing 60+ miles on the trail. They had 2 people support them throughout their run. They would up changing their socks and shoes multiple times, had plenty of water when they needed it, and didn't have to carry a heavy bag with them on their run. These things factor in HUGE when going long. I give them a lot of credit for what they accomplished. It's still takes a lot of persistence to achieve that goal and they successfully did it. I tip my hat off to them.

As for me I had gained a partner for my jaunt as well. If it wasn't for CL, it would have been very tough to get myself through the night. We shoved off from Frenchtown at around 9PM and kept at a leisurely pace. The weather was misty and quite cold-throughout the run; there were times when we were shivering through certain sections (here, support would have been critical with a change to cooler weather running gear). Walking had to be limited because we would cool down too much, so we ran longer than we could to keep warm.

Once we gained Lambertville at 15 miles in, the sky did grow lighter, the clouds got thinner, and we had a little moonlight for the next8 miles or so. It turned out to be a more enjoyable run at that point.

Hitting Washington Crossing at mile 22.5, things got a little more colder and bleaker again. We were going through endless puddles provided by yesterday's rain, and blisters were starting to form on my feet (support would have provided a critical service of addressing blisters, wrapping the feet, and changing to drier shoes and socks). We started to do a little more walking than running, and finally got into Trenton and the end of the Feeder section of the canal at 4:10AM.

We hit the 7-eleven store in between the two paths and quickly restocked on food, but I was shivering uncontrollably when we left the store to get to the second trail. At that time we met the crew for the aforementioned runners. I quickly knew that they did the right thing and I didn't. Sometimes lessons are learned the hard way.

Hobbling from blisters and cold, we started to walk the Main Section of the Canal. I was in a world of hurt then. Each step I took felt like stabbing pain with the blisters. We managed to hobble to Route 1 before we were picked up and returned to our cars. All in all, I did 36.7 miles of the trail, nowhere near the 64 miles I wanted to accomplish.

I am now swallowing my pride and assembling a crew for my Burning River 100 Ultra in August. It'll be much easier for me to finish if I had a crew. So now, I'm going to reach out to everyone I know and ask people if they want to come to the Akron/Cuyahoga Valley region of Ohio. I will need a daytime crew person, a nighttime crew person, and a pacer or two. Rooms will be provided by me and, if in the NYC area, transport to the race (by car). If any of you are interested in experiencing a 100 mile ultra first-hand, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. Let me know via e-mail, ironpete@ironpete.com if you are interested.

Final Preparation for the 64 Mile Train Run

2009-06-04T12:14:00.002-04:00

So, what do you do when you have a 64 mile run ahead of you, going from point to point, and you will be without support for much of the way...

One of the best things I've ever bought on times like these is my trusty Camelbak. I have 2 sizes that I use, depending on the type of support that I need. With 64 miles ahead of me, I'll be going with the largest one available, with 100 oz. of water and ample space to fit a lot of extras in, including energy foods like Shot Blocks, Twizzlers, and Pop-Tarts. I'll be also carrying an extra pair of shoes in case I get into trouble with the first pair. Toilet paper and Body Glide will also be in the Camelbak and, dare I say, some Ibuprofin in case my back (sciatica) acts up again. I do not like Ibuprofin for many reasons, one is that pain is the body's warning sign that there is something wrong, but if I get a lot of annoying back-pain during this trip, then I'll take it as a last resort.

Will 100oz. of water get me through the run? Definitely not. Tomorrow (Friday), I'll be driving to some selected spots where I will stash some extra water. There is also a convenience store in Trenton where I can also replenish food and liquids, so I'll also bring some money with me.

The plan is to start out on the D&R Canal Towpath in Frenchtown at around 10PM. The ideal time to make it to the Main Section of the Canal in Trenton is 4:30AM to 5:00AM, about 60-90 minutes ahead of the official train. This gives me 6.5-7 hours to finish the first 30 miles; since I'll be going slow, that is fine by me. The head start on the official train is also needed because the train does go very fast (7:30-8:30 mile pace) and can easily overtake me (10-11 min/mile pace). Hopefully the main train will catch up between Bound Brook (5.5 miles from the finish) and Demott Lane (2.2 miles from the finish) so that I can finish with the group. Anyway, that's the theory. Who knows what might happen in reality?

As for the possible sciatica, there was some discomfort last night, but it was more like a pressure on my lower back than a pain. That is definitely an improvement. I'll be going out for a small bike ride and possibly a small run this afternoon to see if it flares up again. If all goes well, then I'll be ready to start out on this run tomorrow night for real!

64 Mile Run on Saturday, and I suffer...

2009-06-03T08:33:00.003-04:00

...a setback last night. With 20.7 miles on Saturday and 10 miles yesterday, I think I just stepped across the line here. The result was a pain that kept traveling throughout the quads and glutes and kept me up for the better part of last night. A pain that travels like that is usually a pinched nerve. It just knocked the living crap out of me last night, and putting my body into different positions just made the pain worse. After fidgeting around for 2 hours I finally broke and took some ibuprofen to help dull the pain so that I can go to sleep and deal with my condition the next day.

Checking online for symptoms I narrowed down the possibilities to a couple. The most likely condition is sciatica, which has the uncanny ability to affect the thighs. Severe muscle strain could be another, although I don't think it is muscular in origin and that muscular pain doesn't really travel. Whatever it is I'll be looking for signs that it'll get better over a day or two. If not, then I'll have no choice but to ask a doctor for help (I don't trust doctors much anymore since they tend to be wrong on these types of diagnoses as well).

The 64 mile trail run this weekend is still on, but if this condition persists, I'll have to maybe reconsider it. The Go-No Go Decision will be tomorrow (Thursday) since I have to put the finishing touches on the logistics on Friday. Wish me well for Saturday!!!

Some Bad News...And Some Good News on the Race Organization Front

2009-06-02T13:35:00.007-04:00

It is quite interesting how things that worked before do not work now due to the economy that is coming and the new paradigm that it provides. One such example is race organization.

Several years ago I embarked on a series of trail races in various parks and forests in NJ. The costs of obtaining a Special Use Permit in these parks ranged from about $50 to $150 dollars (except for Morris County, which was $450, a definite hose job if you ask me). They were relatively easy and fast to obtain, and the races went swimmingly.

Fast forward to today. Now the park officials circle like prey, ready to feast on whatever profit I may make and getting a significant chunk of it. One I submit a proposal, they then call me in to discuss the race. They then tack on overtime to rangers and maintenance crew to my Special Use Permit Fees. By the time the process is done, they are asking for about $500-700 upfront for a small trail race. And this is in addition to the $150 insurance that I must get.

So guess what? I have to pass the cost on to the runners. $25 for a running race is quite expensive, especially when people are trying to watch their expenditures carefully. I'm sorry to say that I will not be the one here who is going to soak my runners on behalf of the cash-strapped NJ government.

The bottom line is this...in order to make a race work for everyone today, it must be really big or really small. And that is what I plan.

REALLY BIG...Ultramarathons. I would love to put one on next year. I got a great course in mind. It'll be fully staffed, with aid stations, pre-race and post-race meals, T-shirts, belt buckles, the whole works. The cost would tentatively be from $75 per runner, considering the distance (50 mi. or 100 mi.). The budget would have extra $$ so that I can put back into the race for the following year, making it even better than ever.

OR really small...10-12 mile trail races with a cap at 75 people. This number will help me avoid the cost of the permits and the insurance altogether and can help me knock $10 off of the regular cost of the race, making it only $15 to enter. People also have the option of entering the race for free if they forego the officiality of being in the standings. Awards would be nice...silver pieces to all runners who finish overall and those who come in first in their respective age groups. T-Shirts and food would be provided as well. And since I'll be luring those from NYC as well as those who want to take public transportation, there will also be carpool service provided from the nearest train station to the race venue. And since this would be a trail race series, we would have Series Awards for the King and Queen of the Trails.

One other benefit for small races is that we can race virtually anywhere. There are some very scenic and challenging areas in NJ that the intrepid trail runner would love to try to conquer. Places like Worthington State Forest, Pyramid Mountain, and even the Appalachian Trail come to mind. It would be a small enough race so that these trails would not be abused, yet large enough to have a great competitive event.

Hows that for thinking outside the box? Would it be successful? I hope so, and I will put 100% effort into making it so. Details of the King and Queen of the Trails races will be out by next week on this blog. Until then, happy trails.

Unfettered...

2009-06-02T08:13:00.006-04:00

I've heard the word "unfettered" before, but I've been named that this week by a woman I got to know recently. I was "completely unfettered", according to her, while showing some concern. She didn't even know if it was a compliment or not; so I went over to the dictionary to get the definition of the word:

Unfettered:
1)Not bound by shackles and chains, 2)To set free or keep free from restrictions or bonds.

She is right, in a way. When she did say it, I do break some of the more "traditional rules" for dating and wasn't even concerned about it. I don't really compromise much with pretty much anyone as in traditional relationships, as well give gifts during "traditional times" like birthdays and holidays (I do give gifts when it feels the right time though, which I feel is the more honest time to give), and do things without asking for other peoples' "consent".

Aside from the potential downside issues of being "unfettered", it carries some huge benefits:

1)I tend to challenge and question the "status quo" from the mundane to the incredible. One such example is to challenge the belief that more cushioning in shoes prevents running injuries. If this is the case, how come I see more and more chronic injuries from runners than in the past? If the Tarahumara can run long distances without shoes and without injuring themselves, then a lot really has to be said about wearing overbuilt shoes.

2)I am always skeptical about findings in the newspaper and in research. I just wish people weren't too trusting with everything these days. That is why so many scams work nowadays. People NEED to question things constantly or they will fall prey to a lot of the lies and exaggerations out there.

3)Someone cannot tell me what my limits are. I've found out that humans are built with the amazing capacity to do things that many believe are impossible to do. If someone tells me that I cannot run 1000 miles at once, I ask them, "why?". "How do you know?" It's challenging these so-called limits that really define my existence. When I first heard of the Ironman Triathlon, I couldn't believe that people were capable of going long distances. Since then I've completed the distance 6 times.

4)By not "going by the rules", I am capable of thinking outside the box. Yes, I am a certified USA Triathlon Coach, and there are many good methods USAT gives to triathlon coaches in their seminars to teach triathletes. But my methods are quite unorthodox, and I find they work for a lot of people I train. I don't think any other triathlon coach would favor putting three high-mileage workouts on three consecutive days to train for an Ironman, but I've never had anyone suffer an injury on my watch and the benefits are enormous.

Unfettered doesn't mean that I break all rules though, It means I challenge them. I've always been a scientifically minded person, and the basis of science is to ALWAYS QUESTION EVERYTHING. By challenging the rules set in place I wield a great power of either 1)giving the rules further support and enhancing them with new findings, or 2)invalidating them and coming up with new rules that support my findings. As a benefit for being unfettered I am always constantly learning new things every single day. And that is a benefit that I can really believe in.

What's been happening the last month...

2009-05-07T07:10:00.004-04:00

So what have I been doing the past month? Lots of things. Unfortunately, getting everything done intrudes onto my training a little; I've had to cut back on my training to accommodate a lot of things, some good, some very bad. I'll talk about the good here and leave the bad for later.

I've been busy, very busy. Designing courses. I don't consider a "flat and fast" course worthy of my attention anymore, and I don't design courses with "flat and fast" in mind. I love challenges, so when I design a course, the more rocks, hills, and mud I see on a trail, the more likely I would use that trail for a race.

The race in Round Valley is nearing its final process with the rangers there. Just a couple of small things to address and everything looks peachy for this race. The MOST CHALLENGING 10 MILE RACE IN NJ will be done on Saturday October 4, and it features a lung busting climb of Toboggan Hill in the first mile of the race. The rocks on the course are capable of turning an ankle or two and the hills just keep on coming after that. There will also be a smaller race for those who have doubts about their trail running and for those beginners who want to find out what trail running is all about. This will be the second race in the series.

The first race of the series looks promising also; the date is tentative right now, but the race is set to go on Saturday Saptember 12 at Cheesequake Park. For those who are familiar with the Hashathon races in November, this is NOT the same course. Not by a long shot. The course will be a 10 miler and would utilize both the regular trails and the multi-use trails on the other side of the park. There is also a bushwacking section (no trails) and a hill so steep that we will have ropes ready for those who have trouble traversing it. Again, there will be a shorter introductory race for those who doubt their abilities.

The third race would likely be at Wawayanda State Park up north in November, and the fourth race would be in Watchung in the first Saturday in December. Both will be at least 10 mile races with smaller intro races preceding them. Again, both will be challenging courses worthy of my approval.

Organizing an epic 100 mile ultra, among other things.

2009-02-14T07:40:00.003-05:00

One of the things I liked to get back to doing is organizing races that are central to my interests. The ordinary trail races and the formation of a club dedicated to trail running were first.

I have organized 4 free events in the spring, with several more slated later on. I have gotten with touch with 2 parks in terms of organizing 4-5 full-scale trail races this fall (King of the Trails). I hope to get a club organized around both the free races and the King of the Trails races so that they can be easily expanded to the full year in 2010. I think the interest in trail running is very high in NJ and I hope that we as a group can get trail running on the map by next year.

Secondly, I hope to institute an epic 100 mile ultramarathon in 2010. I just finished plotting a course from Newton to New Brunswick, with the course winding through 8 scenic parks along the way. It would be beautiful and challenging crew and pacer friendly course and I hope to make it real by next year. A 50 mile race could also be added to it as well.

Next, I hope to develop a 200+ ultra relay between High Point and Cape May. I've always hoped to run the entire thing solo, but the idea of a two-day relay would be awesome and would add to the adventure!

Other things I would like to plan are night trail races, a 5 mile-1200ft. hill-climb, some triathlons. I know this is an ambitious endeavor, but I know that by talking to runners that there is a lot of interest there.

I have always loved this type of running. The challenges to oneself are so numerous and so varied that it is hard not to get addicted to adventure running. If you are that way also, let me know, because all this plotting and planning is not easy to do with just a few people. The more people we have, the more ideas we have, the better races we have.

The perseverance of ultramarathoners

2009-02-02T07:17:00.004-05:00

Ultramarathoners are a breed apart from other runners. They might not break the speed record, but they can outdistance anyone else on any given day. Even on their "bad days", they can easily run off 25 miles if given the chance. They are a tough breed and can get themselves through any bad predicament and finish their run.

There are so many examples to give of mental toughness, but the one that stands out is the film Running the Sahara. This is a must see if you want to see what mental toughness really is in achieving goals.

So here I am yesterday in Allaire. The day was still cold in the morning (28F), I'm all bundled up, and ready for 2 laps of the 9 mile course that I laid out several years ago for a race there. The mountain bikers were there in force, so I would have a lot of company on these trails. Several parts of the trail were a "skating rink", meaning I had to be very careful in negotiating the ice without falling.

In the usual ultramarathon mode I start out by running 8 minutes and walking 2 minutes; this usually equates to 1 mile of running given the pace. I'm easily negotiating several large sections of ice until I get to mile 5. What I didn't notice about this section was that the path was tilted toward my right. As my left foot hit the ice, the foot slid to the right, cleanly taking out my right leg. I hit my left side HARD. My neck whipped down with my head hitting the ice hard as well. I saw lots of stars and was lying there feeling groggy. After a few minutes I assessed the damage. Hip: stiff, head: remote possibility of concussion but doubted it; Neck: very stiff. I got back up and waited a few minutes to become alert enough to run my way back to the car.

So as I complete my first lap, instead of going back to the car, I actually headed out for the second loop. I was still not in the best frame of mind and everything hurt all over, but I figured I would deal with my injuries later when they are stiff and sore. I have a 100 mile race in August and I have to make sure that I am mentally tough for it. This was the perfect opportunity.

The first few miles of the 2nd lap were tough. I had to continually focus away from the pain and focus on my footing. With about 5 miles to go, the pain finally started to subside and allowed me to complete the 18 miler on a positive note.

It's amazing how much I can still learn from life's lessons after so many years. Yes, the 18 miles were nice, but I feel that the grit that I showed to finish it was an even greater achievement than the 18 miles itself.

P.S. As far as my condition is concerned, I have a huge ugly bruise on the left side of my hip and is stiff. My neck is also stiff and is sore to turn. My head is OK; at least I don't have a concussion. Concerning my neck, I will monitor things day-by-day; if there are no improvements, then I will go see a doctor.

A Measurement of the Sierra Trail in Watchung

2009-01-27T18:21:00.005-05:00

Due to some adventure runs I had with RVRR in past years, there is a nice course along the Sierra Trail that has been the subject of a friendly debate on how long the Sierra Trail really is. A consensus among the club is that if we take out the section near Sealy Pond and concentrate on the rest of the trail, that this would equal 10 miles. Other people states that it was more than that, some say less.

Several weeks ago, the Watchung Fat Ass 50k was held on this very same trail (but with the Sealy Pond section included) and that got me really wondering exactly how long the trail really is. So finally, I took my trusty surveyor wheel and headed out this morning to measure the course. I know that there are GPS devices that can calculate the course, but I think the surveyor's wheel close to the ground gives a tighter deviation than a calculation from several satellites miles away. Plus, I don't have to worry about a lost signal in the woods and the chance that batteries might die on the device (which happened twice on the Appalachian Trail).

I parked the car at the Seely Pond parking lot and started to measure the distance from the lot to the start of the loop, measure the full loop, then measure the distance back to the parking lot. Here is what I got...

Distance from parking lot to start of loop - 0.154 miles
Distance of Sierra Trail loop (sans Seely pond section) - 8.581 miles
Distance from loop back to parking lot - 0.153 miles
--------------------------------------------------------
Total miles for loop - 8.889 miles (or round up to 9 miles)

And here I was putting 10 miles in my log the whole time! My times are going to suffer for this once adjusted. Oh, well. I will measure the Seely pond section in the spring, but my hunch is that it is close to 2 miles.

So, the more accurate distance for the Watchung Ultras are as follows...

For the marathon: Two Sierra loops + the shortened loop (my calculation is around 6 miles) = 11 + 11 + 6 = 28 miles.

For the 50k ultra: Three Sierra loops plus the extra mile loop = 11+11+11+1 = 34 miles.

A little off the mark, but acceptable in the grand scheme of things. In the ultra world, the miles aren't really very accurate anyway.

Nutrition During an Ultramarathon

2009-01-22T20:22:00.002-05:00

A very interesting article came into my lap today...something that is of huge importance in finishing long distance races such as the 100 miler that I will do in August. One of the factors I did experience that day was excessive cramping and I felt that whatever I ate didn't get through to the muscles.

Here is the gist of the article:

Well, almost no one can stand that much sugar for that many hours even if you finish with a fast time. And the best choice is not simple sugar, even though depleted glycogen levels are most obviously restored with glucose, a simple sugar. The reason has to do with the osmolality of our bodily fluids. Osmolality is a measure of the total number of particles in a solution and the human body likes to maintain its body fluid osmolality at a constant level. If we ingest solutions that are too concentrated, such as products or foods that contain monosaccharide simple sugars (glucose, sucrose, dextrose) or disaccharides (maltose, fructose, lactose), our body will pull fluids and electrolytes from other areas and tissues of the body that may critically need them just to aid in the digestion of these highly-concentrated sugar mixes. This can result in loss of tissue fluids that are used in our body’s cooling mechanism -sweating. It can also create further problems with gas and cramping, not to mention dehydration, rather than adding to sustained energy for running.

The gas and cramping were very familiar to me during the 100 mile race last year. And it makes sense that since the blood carries more concentration of sugars (therefore less concentration of water), this would essentially pull water from the hard-working cells, leading to conditions of dehydration. The suggestion?

Scientific studies show that complex carbohydrates are the fuel of choice for the ultrarunner. The gels offer an advantage by providing more calories per hour than sports drinks and by being easier to absorb than sports bars or solid food. For the back-of-the-pack runners who will be on the trail for many more hours than the elite runners, this can translate into more energy without going into a caloric deficit state. For the lead pack runners who are pushing themselves at a very high intensity (above 90 percent), the advantage can be less stomach distress and more calories can be absorbed for more energy. For those who are just using the ultra as a training run or are taking it easy, go ahead and enjoy the smorgasbord at the buffet table. But if you want to have an even better time, try some complex carbohydrates and watch the simple sugars.

So I will concentrate on sucking up more gels than solid food this year, during practice and during the race. Even though I still think that solid meals should be eaten during race day, it should be supplemented by gels in between the solid feedings.

About Barack Obama - An Aside

2009-01-20T23:11:00.009-05:00

I know it is off the subject of fitness, but I just have to comment on the important happenings of today. Yes, we have a new president, and the majority of people are celebrating his inauguration in the message of hope and change. He is certainly a charismatic man, and I do wish him the best intentions in a very challenging economic environment.

But I usually judge people by what they DO, not what they say. When Obama was elected back in November, I kept an open mind, but, like everyone else who talks up a good storm, SHOW me the change. Let me see if he really means it by his ACTIONS, not by his words. Well, let's see what he did during his transition...

1) His economic team is basically the same as Bush's. That's right, these are the people who got us INTO this mess in the first place, and they are prescribing the same policies as Bush, which is MASSIVE GOVERNMENT SPENDING. Uh, excuse me, but that is the very heart of the problem right now, and you propose this to get us out? It's like throwing gasoline on the fire to try to put it out. Mathematically, it will not work. And mathematics is always right. If you are holding Citibank, Bank of America, and other troubled banks' stocks, get out now. These banks will be essentially nationalized which means that these stocks will be essentially worthless.

2) He indicated putting more forces into Afghanistan. Now wait a minute! I thought he got the antiwar vote for promising to get the troops out of the Middle East. Whoops, looks like he flip-flopped on that one. About Afghanistan and in Iraq. When the US is building an embassy that is larger than the Vatican City inside Iraq I guess this really tells you that we will be there permanently. At a cost of billions of dollars per day, this just puts a lot more strain on the economy, right?

I am not Republican nor Democrat, but I've studied economics for the past 5 years and I picked up and agreed with those who KNEW that we would be in this crisis 3 years ago. I disagreed at what Bush and his cronies have done the past 2 years. And unlike those who lost 50% of their money to this crisis I actually gained a small percentage last year thanks to keeping my eyes and ears open to those people. People like Ron Paul, Karl Denninger, Jim Rogers, Mish Shedlock and others who actually KNOW what should be done to get us out of the crisis. These people are what Obama SHOULD listen to.

And right now, if Obama proceeds at what his economic team proposes, it will spell nothing but disaster for this country and the economy in general.

Now back to your regularly scheduled fitness blog.

High Point to Cape May Relay Anyone?

2009-01-15T20:57:00.006-05:00

So here I am, looking at my e-mail when the RVRR groups start talking about the River to Sea Relay. I've participated in this relay for a couple of years and had a lot of fun with it. It's different than a normal 5k or 10k race where you race solo, then go home. In this case you are part of a team, you make a day of running, and celebrate on the beach that night. All in all, it's you and your friends in an overall celebration of fitness, and that is the best part of the relay.

Which brings me to one of my endeavors. To run from High Point to Cape May. There is already an official High Point to Cape May Route in PDF form listed. It is a 225 mile route and should take Saturday overnight to Sunday to finish the route. Solo, it should take me about 3 days to complete. But here's an idea. How about a relay? I figure 10 hardy people should be able to make a team here. That would average 22.5 miles per runner. Yes you would sacrifice a weekend of cleaning your laundry, fixing that darn leak, paying your bills, cleaning your house, and other exciting things to do this event; I understand that you live for that stuff, but this would probably be a weekend that you might actually remember for a long time afterwards.

If I have enough for one team, that would be great. Of course, if there there are more people who want to do this, maybe we can get several teams and have a small friendly race together.

Anyway, if you are interested, let me know. My e-mail is ironpete@ironpete.com (I really should put this somewhere permanently on my blog, right?). I'll keep you update on whether this is feasible or not and whether it is a go or no-go.