May 21st, 2010 Update

May 21st, 2010 Update:

Map of Bent Creek (red dots is the 22.8 mile course)

I have 8 different courses that i run with 12 miles being the smallest and 36 miles being the longest.

Bent Creek also gives me the chance to take trail 5000 all the way down to Mill Creek and up to the parkway. This is a very tough run given the long down hill and then return trip of going up hill with no water supply along the way.

The course I ran today, 22.8 miles, is a good run. I used to mix some single track from the Shut-In trail but given the ankles no longer like single track i have removed all the single track except a small part near the start of the trail.

The goal this year is to try and get speed in before distance. If all goes well I hope to do 17 or 22 or there abouts on Sunday in an effort to push the week over 70 miles. However, if i notice that the weather is bad or i am starting late then i may just do 14 miles with speed being a key goal.

The new New Balance 876 shoe is working out ok. It is not as good as the 875.. but it is much lighter. The big challenge with shoes is moisture. I figure the weight of my shoes doubled after the run due to all the moisture from my body running into the shoes.

I spent the first few hours after the run today cutting the lawn and taking the dog for a walk. Now late at night i am eating pasta and getting ready for some sleep ..

enjoy

May 9th, 2010 Update

Running

When the year started my right foot was a mess and the gluts did not work at all. The Morganton 24 hour race had done me in as far as running was concerned so this is what I decided to do instead.

• January rode 300 miles on a bike
• Feb. rode 300 miles on a bike
• Worked out hard in the gym both months
• March, started to run just a little maybe 30 mile weeks
• Most important, worked on the gluts.. and it has paid off

By April my body was just starting to come out of the most insane winter ever. The legs did super well after the long winter of bike riding but my lungs had no real capacity.

The last week of April i managed to get above 55 miles for the week and the numbers started to look good. Today it is the 9th of May and my splits are amazing. I am running at least 30 percent faster then last year at this time.

Courses for the year

Bentcreek Forest

Course #1: (12 mile run-fire roads and some single track)

The personal best on this run is 1:53:50. This run is from the 491 parking area up sleepy gap and then all the way to the last gate of the 479m trail and then down 479 main road all the way back to the parking area.

Course #2 (14 mile run-fire roads and some single track)

The personal best on this run is 1:58:00. This run also starts at the 491 parking area but instead of going up sleepy gap it works its way up the hard times trail all the way to the start of the 479m trail. I then take 479m all the way to the last gate which connects me to the main road of 479. I then run all the way down 479 to the parking area. This is a good hill climber.. and good down hill run.

Course #3 (15 mile run-single track some fire roads)

The personal best on this run has not been established yet this year.

This run is on the Mountain -Sea trail walked on by the President and the First Lady a few weeks ago. I start at the 491 parking area and run up hard times to the 479M fire road. I then run all the way to the mid point of sleepy gap then up to the parkway connecting me to the trail. I then take the single track (amazing single track) all the way to the parking area of the arboretum and then back up the main highway to the 491 parking area. I love this run but the feet do not like it.. so i do it once in a while.

Course #4 (22.5 mile run on fire road only)

The personal best so far is 3:01:55. I enjoy this run because there is plenty of water. I start at the 491 parking area through hard times up to the 479m trailhead. I then take 479m all the way to the final gate then given insanity I then turn around and return to the start point of the 479m gate. I then re-join the hard times trail and run all the way past the arboretum parking area down to the road and back up to the 491 parking area.

Daily Diet

• Chicken Roasted (one entire chicken)
• Yogurt (48oz a day)
• Strawberries (2 pounds a day)
• 2 cups of coffee and a scone
• 3 plain cheese burgers.. nothing but bun and meet
• 5 bananas
• 2 quarts of ben and jerries ice cream a week
• 1 pound of block cheese a week
• 11 64oz apple juice containers per week

Diet while I run

• Hammer Gels both with and without caffeine
• River water
• 2 to 4 scaps
• 4 muscle relaxers 200mgs

Overall thoughts and goals

My feet are in pretty good shape and the gluts are doing well. I hope to get the weight down below 160 which is very low for me but important to keep up the speed. I hope to get the times down to the 8min mark if not lower by the end of the summer.

For May the goal is a total of 400 miles with at least 1 50 mile race. Not sure if the body is ready for that but so far it looks like it do ok.

Problem still exist with the lungs. After 3 hour long runs my lungs start to act strange, and filled up with fluid..

Right now I am as happy as a full pig..