Lake Sonoma Training 89 days

It's been a good week since running Yankee Springs. I didn't do much speed work since I raced last week but I did get in some good miles and plenty of vert to strengthen the legs. I have a little less than three weeks until the Groundhog Marathon so I will try and hit a couple good workouts this week. It's still pretty early in the training cycle for Sonoma so I don't need to be in peak shape for the Groundhog Marathon. The weather is still really good for a fast time though and I'd like to test myself a little on the road if the snow holds off.

Jan 7 - 13 Training

Mon: AM- easy 1.7 mi easy to warm up the legs + stretching

Tue: AM- 9.1 mi easy, Trail
        PM- Treadmill at the YMCA, 5 mi 30:45(1.5 ez, 5:39, 5:33, 5:27, .5 ez) + strength. Calfs a little sore so I didn't push it.

Wed: AM- 7.4 mi ez Trail

Thur: AM- 10 mi, pushed a little on the downhill first 6.5 miles then worked the up to finish, Trail
          PM- 6 mi easy, Road + strength

Fri: AM- 9.6 mi easy, Trail

Sat: AM- 20.6 mi easy long run, Trail

Sun: AM- 11.2 mi easy, Road + strength

Total: 80.7 miles, 8,192 feet of vert

If you happen to be interested in any of the specifics of my runs you can search my name at Strava.com for my training logs. Thanks for following along :)

                                                     Getting up early for the Long Runs!

Lake Sonoma 50 mile training -

LAKE SONOMA 50 MILE TRAINING


     Wow, it's been four years since I've written a blog post! I thought it would be fun to write a weekly training and race summery post about my training for the Lake Sonoma 50 mile on April 13th. Lake Sonoma is part of the Western States 100 mile Golden Ticket race series. The top two male and female winners receive automatic entry into the Western States 100 mile. If the top two decline the entry, or already have entry, the ticket can roll down to the fifth place finisher. The Western States 100 mile is the most competitive 100 mile in the USA which brings many elite runners out to chase the Golden Tickets at these races. I wanted to run Lake Sonoma for the challenge of the course and the competition. If I really want to take my running to the next level these are the types of events I need to perform at. After a not so stellar 2018 I've had some life changes that have allowed me to refocus my efforts to my family and my passions. The race is 96 days from now so lets get into it.
     After some planned down time at the end of October into early November I started to structure some training and build my mileage. This mini cycle included weekly speed work and strength training which has been long overdue. I worked up to two weeks at 70 miles before a slight taper for the Yankee Springs Winter Challenge 25k on January 5th. This is an awesome race put on by Switchback Endurance about thirty miles south of Grand Rapids, MI. As you can guess by the name and time of year, this can be a very snowy run a lot of years. This year on the other hand we had perfect conditions for January, thirty degrees and no snow! The course record for the 25k was 1:44:34 set in 2015. With the fitness indicators I had in training I knew it was possible to run in the 1:42 to 1:44 range.
     The Race:
I arrived to Yankee Springs State Recreation Area about fourty-five minutes before the start. I went to the lodge to pick up my bib before my warm up. I ran an easy two miles with a couple strides thrown in on the second mile. I finished my warm up and stretching about five minutes before the start and headed over to get in place. I really like to run my own race early on and not get caught up in the hype of the moment. I wanted to head out the first four miles around a 6:40 pace which would put me under course record and see how I felt from there. As we started one kid took off at a killer pace and I just let him go. I settled into a 6:30-ish pace heading into the woods with Trevor, Kevin and Jamie in a small pack. We ran this way until the first aid station around mile four where Trevor and I started to put a gap on the Kevin and Jamie. The mystery kid was still nowhere in sight but we were told he came flying through not long ago. After this aid station it's pretty runnable for a couple miles before hitting bigger hills again. I slowly started increasing the pace and wanted to see if we could catch him by mile eight. At seven and half miles we caught a glimpse of him as we started to get into the hills again. We caught and pasted him at the next aid station and he put on a big surge to pass us back immediately but he was visibly working hard to do so. Trevor and I hung back and about a mile later the kid(Julian) started to fall apart a bit in the hills and we moved past. I was starting to get a little worried about Trevor just following me for so long, at this point about 11 miles. Sprint finishes are not my favorite thing, I much prefer late race surges and breaking people before the line...when possible. I still felt really strong and noticed I was creating a small gap on the downhills. With about a mile to go I made my move on a down hill and just kept increasing the pace. I crossed the line in 1:40:47 for the win and a new course record. Trevor came in under the old course record nineteen seconds behind me. I'm very happy with how the race played out and it was a good fitness test while I start training for Lake Sonoma.

Race GPS data: https://www.strava.com/activities/2057788965

Whats Next?
I'm signed up for the Groundhog Marathon Feb. 2nd, I set the course record two years ago at 2:50:xx. If weather conditions stay good I'm going to try and lower that time :)

I'll post a weekly training update moving forward and separate race recaps as they happen. Thanks for taking the time to read this. If there are any questions or things you'd like me to cover please reach out to me.
Twitter: @Jordanrunsfar
Instagram: @jordan_lafreniere83
Facebook: Jordan LaFreniere
Strava: Jordan LaFreniere

Gearing Up For 50 miles

   Well...its been awhile since I've written an update, so here we go. The last time I gave any kind of update I was gearing up for Mad City 100k in April. Tarryn and I traveled to Madison, Wisconsin for the 100k National Championship. The short story is Madison is a beautiful city and the race director Tim Yanacheck puts on a great event.  The course is 10 10k loops around mostly a park with paved bike paths and some roads. I went out at goal pace (6:50's) and felt very comfortable running in 5th place until the 4th lap when I stepped off a curb awkward and strained my achilles tendon. Half way through the 5th lap it was hurting very bad and I was starting to favor my right leg. At the 50k mark I decided the potential further damage wasn't worth finishing, if I even could have in that condition.
   I took three weeks of slowly returning to training after the race and began getting ready for Yankee Springs Trail Run. They have a 10k Friday night, Marathon and Double Marathon on Saturday and Half Marathon on Sunday. The original goal was to go for Max Kings' Marathon course record from last year, he ran all three days. A couple weeks before the race I found out my cousins open house was on that Saturday and I wouldn't pass that up. So...I signed up for the 10k and half marathon, with race entry provided by Wolfhound Racing, thanks Dave. On Friday my goal was to shoot for 37-38 minutes and go hard on Sunday. I felt that I ran a conservative effort and won in 36:52. Having had switched to 3rd shift a couple weeks prior I stayed up all night, and the next day! By the time I was tired it was time to get ready for the open house. We went and had a great time visiting with family. I finally went to bed around 8pm and was up at 4am to get ready for the half marathon. It was pouring ran that morning so I knew my shot at a "fast" time wasn't going to happen. We arrived a little late and I took off for a warm up. On my return I saw everyone standing at the starting line! I picked up the pace and joined the crowd. Three seconds later I was off again for the start. The race was smooth but I was all alone from the gun. I just ran my own race and tried to stay focused. The race quit around four or five miles in and I cruised in for win number two for the weekend in 1:24:34. I needed that for a confidence boost coming back from the injury.
   Currently I'm focused on Dirty Burg 50k on July 12th as part of my work up to North Country Trail Run 50 mile August 23rd. I'd really like to run sub 6:40 for North Country but we'll see how training goes. I'm still adjusting to working 3rd shift and doing long runs in the dark but its working so far. Other than being so scared by a skunk that I almost sprayed him and the occasional raccoon or deer its pretty calm at night, and much cooler. I'm excited for the rest of the year and am considering signing up for the North Face Endurance Challenge 50 mile championship in San Francisco December 7th. I'm sure I'll run other shorter races this year but those are the big ones. I'm grateful for my sponsors Wolfhound Racing and UltrAspire. I definitely utilize my UltrAspire hydration gear, Inov-8, and Recofit Compression. Thanks for reading and get out there and run!

Taper Time!

So far this year has been pretty good to me. Starting off the year with a crazy 50k win at Yankee Springs Winter Challenge. The hardest Marathon ever at the Ground Hog Marathon in the beginning of February, and training for Mad City 100k has gone well. I've been working 50 hour weeks every other week, which takes 60 hours with the commute, so my mileage has been low. I've been floating around 60-65 mpw over five runs, which isn't much for an Ultra. That being said I feel pretty confident going into my taper. Since I have been unable to put in the mileage I want I've focused on quality. Speed work on Tuesday and Thursday with back to back long runs on the weekend. Since I've been working so much and on my feet all day ever run is on tired legs which I feel adds to the training. I've had all my best racing years running lower high quality miles and working a manual labor job. I feel like I have enough speed heading into Mad City but I always question my long runs. The last two weekends went pretty well. On the 15th I ran 16 in the am at a 6:54 pace took a six hour break and ran 14 at a 6:40 pace, woke up early and ran another 10 at a 7:00 pace. I felt good on Sunday morning but really low on energy which was good practice for the later stages of the race. I totaled 40 miles in 24 hours at a 6:50 average. This weekend I ran a hilly 10 on Saturday at a 6:29 avg to get my pace set for Sunday. On Sunday I ran a somewhat hilly 24 miles at a 6:28 pace and felt great. On the flat roads I was very comfortably cruising at a 6:20 pace without much effort. After having two good speed workouts this week I was happy with this run.

post run :)

Zach Bitter, Jim Sweeney, Chris Lundstom, Greg Crowther and Nick Accardo are all racing. Including myself there are six people with the potential to run the 100k World Championship qualifying time of sub 7:20 which is a 7:05 pace. I believe that Zach and Jim are the favorites to go 1-2. I also believe if I run a smart race and the stars are aligned just so, I have a shot at running somewhere around a 7:10ish. Its only a guess though, I've never ran this far on the roads. I plan on going out at what feels comfortable but not getting caught up in the hype the first three laps. I don't want to put "time in the bank" just run a steady pace the first seven 10k's then see what I can do the last 30k. I want to thank UltrAspire and Wolfhound Racing for there sponsorship and helping make training and racing so much better! Wish me luck!!!

Crunch Time Training

   Well I just wanted to give a little update on the training and general mindset. Originally I was signed up to run the Indiana Trail 50 mile but I found out recently that is the same weekend as Tarryn's graduation walk at school. So, instead I'm signed up for Mad City 100k which is also the USATF 100k road national championship. I'm pretty excited to get in a road ultra and see what I can do on fast terrain. Given that my last two races were winter races I'm not sure of my overall speed. I won both races and felt good during both races. Overall I feel my fitness level is decent considering the relatively low mileage that I've been able to put in so far this winter. Mad City is on April 12th,  enough time to get some quality but I'd be happier if I had another month to train.
   I've been working 50 hour weeks, which happens to be a manual labor factory job. I do believe that being on my feet 12 hours a day and getting in "strength training" while doing so is benefiting me. I've ran my best races on lower, high intensity mileage, while working manual labor jobs. The plan is to get in marathon specific speed work during the week and solid long runs on the weekends. I'll use the next two weeks for an example, the key workouts:
-Tue(yesterday) 8 miles 3mi warm up 5 mile progression run starting with 6:10 down to 5:38
-Thur 10 miles 3mi warm up 1/2mi at 5:30 pace, 1/2mi at 6:40 pace x 6, cool down
-Sun 20 miles at 6:20 pace, apx. 12mi at 6:30 pace, 8 miles around 6:10-15 pace
Next week
-Tue 9 miles 3 miles at 5:50 pace, 1mi easy, 3 miles 5:50 pace
-Thur 8 miles 3 x 1mi at 5:30 pace
-Sat 14 miles easy
-Sun 31 miles (I turn 31 on the 26th so its a good B-Day run)
I believe that these are the best style of workouts I can get in with my work and family obligations. I have about two months (so not setting a time goal yet) and a taper so I need to make the most of it. I feel strong and confident about my training and running in general at the moment. I'm grateful for my sponsors UltrAspire and Wolfhound Racing, check them out on Facebook! They have both been very supportive and great people to be involved with. I'm also very grateful for Tarryn and Dylan(mostly Tarryn) for putting up with my 4:30am-3pm work days and strange passion for running that I have :) Thanks for reading, and hit me up on Facebook, I'll chat about anything running related!

A New Year

Well…hello again. Its been quite awhile since I've posted any type of blog so time for a little catch up. First a little review of 2013. In '13 I had big plans of really breaking into the Ultra world and seeing what I could really do. For the first half of the year I had the freedom to put in any kind of mileage that I wanted which turned out to be a curse. I did find out that I can handle 100+ mile weeks but I don't perform very well with them. I found it just leaves me feeling run down even on race day. I did have some real strong racing in '13 and it was when my mileage was lower and the race distance was no longer than 50k. Another thing that changed halfway through the year was starting a new job. It is a very labor intensive job and I work 4:30am-3pm most weeks. On top of that I gained sole custody of my son along with being a loving Fiancé my "free time" has changed a bit. Looking back at my training for the last couple of years I've noticed the higher intensity training regardless of overall mileage does well for me. I decided at the end of '13 that I would focus this year on being in the best marathon/50k shape I could possible be in for road and trail with a few key 50 milers in the mix. I started the year with Yankee Springs Winter Challenge 50k on Jan 4th. I really wanted to go after the course record this year but mother nature had other plans with a thick blanket of snow on the course, oh yeah Michigan in January. I won by 28 minutes and felt good the whole race. Next on the schedule is the Groundhog Marathon in Grand Rapids Feb. 2nd, tomorrow. Once again we are supposed to have snow dumped on us so "time" will not be a goal of mine just out there to finish as high as a can. I may run the Kal-Haven 50k+ on April 5th as a last long training effort for my goal race this spring, Indiana Trail 50 mile April 26th. I really want to go for the win and beat my PR of 6:24 for 50 miles. The rest of the year will include a lot of half marathon to 50k races leading up to the USATF 50 mile road championship on Oct. 26th. I am fortunate to have this passion and a little success with it. I am very proud and excited to say that I have two sponsors for 2014. I am once again part of the UltrAspire Elite Immortal program. I do believe that they make the best hydration equipment on the market and they are a great bunch of people. I also am happy to be a part of the Wolfhound Racing Team. They offer many great products for runners, cyclist, and crossfit folks. I have links for both of my sponsors on my blog, check them out. Looking forward to a stellar 2014, hope to see you out there running!

Almost time to taper

In June I really tried to push up my mileage and focus on hills with one "speed" workout each week.  My June totals were 390 miles in 25 runs and about 14,000 feet of climbing. The major difference in my high mileage training this time around was quality. Before I traveled to Texas to run at Nueces I was putting in close to 100 mile weeks BUT no real focus on hills and very little speed work. This time around my back to back long days were for the most part all run at Robinette's. I tried to but in at least 50-55 miles in every other week and on my "shorter" weeks do 40-45 miles at a quicker pace. That was my sun-mon routine. Tuesday was 6.5-8 easy miles. Wednesday was a 12 mile tempo run in the morning and 6 easy in the afternoon. Thursday 6.5-8 easy miles. Friday 16-20 miles at a good pace but not tempo effort. Rest on Saturday then start the week over on Sunday. I feel that coming from the injury I had at Nueces this is about as good of a plan that I could muster. This Sunday I'm do my last long run of about 5 hours(7 laps at Robinette's). After that I'm starting a slow three week taper. I have faith in my training and I'm excited to run Burning River 100 mile on the 27th. I had a great race running Hurt the Dirt but was too scared to finish at the Yankee Springs Double Marathon. I felt I had plenty to go the distance but my IT started burning starting the third lap so I called it a day after the third lap. It was a great training run to start off the month, 41 miles at an 8:33 pace. I feel like I'm over the injury and ready to redeem myself. I already have it in my head to run my own race at Burning River. 100 miles is a looong way no matter how good of shape your in. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I had a time or place goal set but the most important thing here is to FINISH. I'm excited to have my new Pearl Izumi N2 Trail, Pearl Izumi Ultra Short Tights, UltrAspire gear, and Fluid hydration products. Solid training is all but done and great gear, the rest is all mental. I'm excited and optimistic! I'll let you know how it goes, wish me luck!

Yankee Springs "race" report

This Friday Tarryn, Dylan, and I went to Yankee Springs for the race weekend. There were races all three days. Because of just getting over my IT injury about five or six weeks ago I originally signed up for the marathon . I switched to the Double Marathon about two weeks ago thinking it would be better training for the Burning River 100. Friday night I volunteered to help with the 10k race. Another added bonus was the opportunity to meet and chat with Montrail stud Max King. Tarryn and Dylan left just before the 10k start and I was staying the night in a cabin because of the 6 am Double Marathon start time and they would come in the morning. I didn't get done helping out until around 10 pm then headed to the cabin to get ready for bed( about 11:30pm), 4:40 am came pretty early but I felt ready to run. Part of the reason I chose to run the Double was an article I ready on Irunfar.com about using "B" races as practice runs working your way to your "A" race. Bryon Powell signed up for a 100 mile and just planned on dropping at 50, great way to have a fun long training run. I've never done this in the past because if I'm in a race I want to race. So I went into this with the mindset that this was only a training run and to not destroy my legs. The next month or so is the peak of training for the 100 mile, so I couldn't afford to be laid up for a week because I pushed too hard. There were only about 23 of us signed up for the Double so no big crowd to force me into the race mindset. The course was four 13.1 mile loops of technical single track and rolling hills but no major ones. In the first loop I started with another runner for the first two miles, then I was alone. I rolled through the first lap not feeling very smooth but no issues. I came through in 1:45 for the 13.5 mile loop(GPS). I felt smoother the second lap and other than day dreaming past a turn adding about 4-5 mins and stepping over a turtle laying eggs on the trail it was uneventful. Coming into this race I was doing a lot of shorter, hard back to back runs. 12-16 mile tempo runs Sunday night and 19-26 mile trail runs Monday morning. So the longest single run I had was a 26 mile run in 3:27. Starting off on the third lap I still felt alright but I could tell that the lack of "time on my feet" in long runs would be an issue. I slowed the pace down quite a bit and just enjoyed an easy lap. About half way through the lap I was starting to realize that if I run the full Double(55 miles for me) I'd be out there for 8 hours and do what I said I wasn't going to, destroy my legs. So even though it felt tough to do I decided to call it after three laps. I ran 41 miles in 5:53 an 8:33 per mile pace with 2800ft of elevation gain and equal loss, it was a great workout. It was 15 miles farther and 2 hr 26 mins longer than my longest run since my injury. I accomplished what I wanted out of the "race" with a solid training run and a good time. Staying injury free and working my way back up to 100 mile weeks is the goal. I believe it was a wise decision and I stand by it. I don't feel beat up and I'll probably run tomorrow which is what I wanted moving forward in training for Burning River. I tested a new piece of gear on this run also. I wore the UltrAspire Quantum race belt with my gel flasks and electrolyte pills and it felt great. I'm happy and excited to bump up the mileage and get in great shape for Burning River!

Feeling Good

I've feel the best that I have in a long time. I think the IT band injury I got at Nueces in Texas may have been a blessing in disguise. I'm no longer getting wrapped up in the number of miles I'm running per week and focusing on quality. I have been slowly but steadily increasing my mileage with the focus on quality. I've been doing my long runs on the hilliest trails around G.R. and getting in hard tempo runs. I'm currently running about 75 miles per week over five days with plenty of quality. I ran Hurt the Dirt trail half marathon a few weeks ago where I won by six minutes in a 1:22. It was mountain bike trail with tons of snaking around and rolling hills. There where three races going on at the same time which did make it tricky to pass and get in a good rhythm, along with all the twist and turns. I felt like it was closer to my marathon pace than half marathon but a great fitness gauge. I was fortunate enough to meet up with Jeff Browning for a couple trail runs this week, Patagonia and UltrAspire sponsored Ultra runner. I was able to chat with him and get some good insight on training and racing 100 miles. He was an awesome dude and very laid back, gotta love ultra runners. I'm feeling confident about Burning River 100 on July 27th. In two weeks I'm running Yankee Springs Double Marathon for a hard workout/ B race. My goal is to work on pacing for Burning River and give a solid effort without destroying my legs. The course does have some short steep climbs but overall a runable course. I'm going to shoot for sub 7 hours but just listen to my body and run how I feel. I am grateful that I have UltrAspire and Fluid as sponsors. I have great hydration gear with quality product to put in it!

Getting in a groove

Finally my IT issues are over! I took it really easy for a few weeks and babied myself. I'm getting excited to hit the training hard again, just a little smarter this time around. I was getting caught up in the numbers game with my mileage and not focusing on quality or listening to my body. I've signed up for Yankee Springs Trail Marathon June 1st, Max King attending, and Burning River 100 mile July 27th. Burning River is the USATF National Championship and my first 100 mile so this will be my main focus. I've only been running five days a week with back to back long runs and a combination of two speed, hill, or tempo runs. I figured I'll get in great Marathon shape for Yankee Springs then switch my focus over to Burning River. I'm doing my speed work at 5:30-6:10 pace depending on the workout, and my long runs have been in the 7-7:20 range. I've only been really running for the last two weeks but I feel my strength and speed coming back. I put in 60 miles last week and I plan on staying in the 65-80 range until after the Marathon. Then I'll ramp up my long runs and be in the 85-100 range over five days. I'm so blessed that I have this passion and ability. I've seen several things over the last few weeks, including the tragedy in Boston, that really brings out the gratitude. I'm rocking my Team Red, White& Blue shirt and saying my prayers. God Bless.

Listen To Your Body

Listen to your body, lesson learned. After my rough falls at the Nueces 50 mile I didn't want to loose my fitness, I felt I was still in great shape. I took five days off from running but when I headed out to get in some easy runs I still felt banged up. I chalked it up to just being sore. I jumped right back into training and put in a 95 mile week one week out. I struggled with several of the runs but wanted to be ready for the Indiana 100 mile. All this did is aggravate my IT band and force me to drop from Indiana 100, booo. I took an easy week of cross training, foam roller, and rest. I am running again this week but easing back into the mileage. I've had some pretty good runs but am keeping them short(4-10 miles) for the next week or so. I've been stretching and introduced strength training into my routine. I believe I got caught up in the mileage game and wasn't focusing on quality and listening to my body. I believe for me if I stay around 80 miles per week and focus on quality workouts I stay injury free and feel faster. Thanks to Fluid I have hydration and recovery mixes that I believe really work. UltrAspire allows me to have great products for my training and racing. I am also teaming up with Team RWB to help support out veteran's. My new focus will be the USATF 100 National Championship July 27th, Burning River 100. I'm going to do several local races in my build up to the 100. I had to learn the hard way to listen to my body but I feel I will be a stronger faster runner because now that I have refocused my training.

Nueces Race report

Driving from San Antonio to Camp Eagle it was hard not to notice the hills in "Hill Country". I knew before heading to Texas that I was going to be on bigger hills than anything we have in Michigan. What I wasn't prepared for was the rocky footing there. Camp Eagle is on a 1400 acre reserve miles from any city. The area was absolutely beautiful! We arrived Friday night with the race starting Saturday morning at 6am. I had the opportunity to mingle a little and chat with Paul Terranova, cool dude. We started the race in the dark and at a quick pace considering the terrain. At around the 3 mile mark I tripped and fell on my hands and elbows, I blamed it on the dark. The sun came up after about an hour and I thought I'd be fine with the footing in the sun. I was running with Jason Bryant, Cody Moat, David Brown, and at about 10 miles Brian Rusiecki caught up with us, I fell again shortly after. Paul went off by himself from the gun and was moving at a good pace. Brain dropped back a little and Jason, Cody, Brian and I came through the first lap in 2:05, the course record was 6:28. A quick refuel and we were off  on the second loop. I fell...again, and it was starting to take a toll on my right knee and hip. The four of us stayed fairly close on this lap as well still running strong. I felt like I could keep moving pretty strong but wanted to take it a little easier on the big hills this lap. My final fall I didn't catch myself at all landing on my right knee and hip and doing a full summer salt on the rocks, ouch. I came through the second lap in 4:19 with Brian, Jason and Cody had 3 minutes on us. My knee and hip were hurting but I was still on a great pace. I started the third loop and got to a smaller climb and my hip just wouldn't let me climb. It was a tough decision but I decided to pack it in. That is my first ever DNF and it was bitter sweet. I had a great experience and ran great for a 50k. I feel I was/am in great shape but wasn't prepared for how technical the course was. My Garmin had about 3000 ft of gain and loss in the 34 miles I covered. I feel like I could have easily set a PR (6:24) on a less technical course. I'm happy I had the opportunity to race with some great guys and roll over my fitness for the Indiana Trail 100 in about six weeks. During the race I wore my Montrail Mountain Masocist which worked very well on the rocks. I also wore my UltrAspire Cell and Twitch combination. I was very comfortable and I think the Cell is the perfect amount of storage for a long race. Thanks UltrAspire. I ran this morning and will again this afternoon, eager to redeem myself. See ya on the trails!

Feeling Good

Nueces is only 10 days away and I'm enjoying my taper. I put in a hard(for me) last two weeks before the the taper running 195 miles in 12 runs. I think the taper helps just as much mentally as it does physically, this week anyway. I know next week I'll be anxious to run and have a hard time keeping the miles low. I feel strong, injury free, and confident. I'll  keep this post short since I'll have a race report in about two weeks. I'm excited to run in a USATF championship race and meet some other like minded nuts. I train alone 99% of the time so some social interaction is welcomed. I'll be wearing my UltrAspire Twitch and Cell combination along with a 20oz handheld. The MBS system UltrAspire has is the first one I've ever used that doesn't bounce and annoy me. I'm happy I have such great gear, there are plenty of other things to focus on during an Ultra than gear malfunction or irritation. Wish me luck!

Good News/ Bad News

Its been a strange last two weeks of training. At the end of my second 80 mile week my right knee started feeling a little tender. I've ran every step outside this year no matter what the weather. I believe this is what caused the soft tissue damage in my knee. Doing back to back 20 mile runs in 4" of snow, slippery sidewalks and roads, and negative temperatures may have been a little ambitious. I've been running in the Montrail Bajada and Mountain Masocist, both have a sticky rubber outsole and great lug pattern. That said, I was slipping a bit on the hills and I think that's what caused my knee tenderness. I just finished a easy week with two recovery days in a row. I've ran on the treadmill the last two days since we've gotten over 20" of snow in 48 hours. I did a tempo run yesterday with 6 of the 11 miles at 6min pace(max for my treadmill). My knee felt much better and I felt that I could hold that pace forever. Did an easy 9 today with no tenderness or pain, good thing since I'm running 30 miles in the morning. I have two more weeks to kill it in training then a two week taper leading to Nueces 50 mile. I did get some exciting news on Friday...I was accepted as an Elite Immortal for UltrAspire! I am really excited about this since hydration and storage are always really important. I feel they are making the best hydration products on the market right now and I'm privileged to be a part of their company. I'll update my training on here in two weeks...getting really excited for a great 2013 racing season!

Nueces Training

I'm back in the swing of training after Yankee Springs 50k. I took the week after Yankee easy (54 miles) so I didn't carry over any fatigue for Nueces training. I'm shooting for about 450 miles over five weeks, six runs per week with Sunday off. I've never ran higher mileage during to winter but I have great footwear, Montrail Mountain Masocist, for snow conditions. As of now I have no aches or pains and am really looking forward to racing in Texas March 2nd. I ran 80 miles last week and didn't feel to taxed. Life constrains my mileage more than the will or ability to run more. This week is mostly single digit temps. but I'm still excited to increase the miles. I'm not going to do much speed work in this cycle but throw in as much hill work as I can handle. 

1-14/1-20

M- 24 miles 7:28/mi pace

T-  6.6 10/mi pace with friends on hilly trail at night

W- 20.2 7:29/mi pace to work

Th-5.2 7:35/mi pace home from work

F-  16 7:14/mi pace

Sat-8 7:14/mi pace

Sun- Rest

Total- 80mi

Yankee Springs Race Recap

Yesterday I ran the 50k at Yankee Springs Winter Challenge. It was in the low 20's at the race start and 1"-2" of pack snow(some ice) on the trail. The course was a double 25k loop with steadily rolling hills but no  big climbs. I went out at an reserved pace with Jonathan(met at race) we held at a 7:17 pace for the first 8 miles then I picked up the pace. I felt good and steadily gained a lead. At the 14 mile mark my GPS beeped and I glanced at my split. After another half mile I noticed I didn't see any foot prints from the 10k runners, which worried me. I decided to run just a bit further before turning around. Once I hit 15 miles I reached a road and knew I was lost, I quickly back tracked. I was averaging a 7:10 pace at this point and lost for 2 miles. I just tried to hold my pace and move back up in placing. I found out I was in 5th place and quickly passed into 4th. I was told at an aid station that first was 6-7 minutes up and 2nd was about 3 minutes. I was  20 miles in at this point and kept pushing. I passed into 3rd place around 22 miles. At about the 24 mile mark(for me) was the next aid station, I was still about 3 minutes back from 2nd. I hit my Marathon mark at 3:11 and shut down the effort. I knew there wasn't enough time to catch 2nd and I had 3rd in the bag. I ended up 9 minutes behind first place. If I hadn't gotten lost the win was mine, live and learn. My legs feel fine today and tomorrow I start training for the USATF 50 mile National Championship in Texas March 2nd.  I have a great base going and I'm going to train harder than ever for this race. Nick the Montrail rep was cool enough to give me a pair of Bajada's for this race. They felt great and they are a company I'm very interested in apply for a sponsorship through. Keep training and racing hard and I'll be a sponsored runner by the end of 2013.

Training continued...

The last couple weeks training has been going well. I've been floating around 70 mpw with a hilly long run and two quality speed work sessions. I've even made it to the track for repeats, not a normal part of my Ultra training but my next race is a 50k. I feel pretty confident going in to Yankee Springs but it is a winter race in Michigan. There is no snow yet but that could quickly change. I'm getting a pair of Montrail Bajada from our Rep from work to try out. If they work well I'll be using them at Nueces 50mi in March as well. I feel I confident that I can roll through the 50k and up my mileage into the 80-90 mpw range and keep the quality up. The most important thing is to stay injury free and feel strong. I could put in 100+ mpw but feel the quality would suffer, maybe when I do my first 100 mile race. I'll put a race report on here and hopefully start adding some pictures as well.

A little Update

After Des Plaines I was suffering from some knee discomfort. I was able to work my mileage back up slowly  and my knees weren't getting worse but not much better either. I decided to get out of my Kinvara's and Cadence and wear a more traditional shoe. One week and the knee pain was gone....I believe that running in the more minimal footwear helped me improve my stride but I handle the higher mileage better with some cushion. Maybe there is something to the Hoka's. Because I work at Gazelle Sports I have the opportunity to run in many different types of footwear, which is nice. I think its helped me dial in what I prefer for training and racing. As of now I'm floating around 70mpw with two quality speed days and training for Yankee Springs Winter Challenge 50k Jan. 5th. Training is going well and Old Man Winter has stayed away from Michigan so far. Hoping to run a solid time and win then roll into higher mileage training for Nueces in March.

Back to Training

After a few weeks of aching knees I'm back to training. The last four weeks mileage were 8,37,50,60. I feel whatever the issue I was having after Des Plaines 50 mile is resolved. The plan is to put in 65-75 mpw with plenty of hills and speed work to get ready for Yankee Springs 50k Jan. 5th. Then ramp up the mileage a little bit into the 80-95 range with a little less speed work and back to back long runs for the USATF 50mi Trail National Championship in March.

Recovery to Training

As expected I was pretty sore for the first two days following the 50 mile. I just tried to take it easy but keep moving. On Thurs I did an easy 3mi and an easy 5mi on Saturday to asses the legs. My muscles healed at a nice rate but my knees were achy. I have a 50k planned Jan 5th but I don't want to push things to soon. My priority is getting the rest I need and running a great race March 2 at Nueces in Texas. I did get in a few workouts this past week, 37 miles running over five runs and 21 miles biking. My right knee feels fine now put my left is still bothering me. I'm just going to take it as easy as needed the next week or two then start working my mileage back up. If all goes well I'd like to get in 400 mile months in Jan and Feb. One little thing I've realized since the race is I only feel comfortable in my shoes with 4mm drop. It makes me concentrate on my form a little more and it feels better on the knee. I just started working on a higher cadence this summer, progress not perfection.