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.

First 50 Down!

Well I didn't have much to say the two weeks leading up to Des Plaines River Trail 50. On Monday the 18th I started my taper. I ran 14 miles easy but felt a strange twinge in my left Achilles. I took the next day off to be safe but was only able to put in 3 miles on Wed! I'm not gonna lie, after all the miles I was putting in I was scared of an injury. I waited until the following Monday to run again as suggested by several co-workers at Gazelle Sports. It felt better but not 100%. I jogged another 3 on Wednesday and had some confidence back after that. Tarryn and I traveled down to Illinois on Friday for the race. Saturday morning was perfect weather 40 deg at race start. I didn't really do a warm up considering I was going to run 50. I hind sight not a great choice. Todd Braje was at the race along with Oswaldo Lopez a phenomenal Ultra runner. Everyone took off much to fast at the start and I threw my game plan of starting easy out the window. I averaged 6:41 pace for the first 20 miles(CR pace), much to fast. Original plan was 6:50-6:55's through 50k then just hold on. At the marathon turn around I was about a minute behind Oswaldo and found out that Todd had dropped out. I changed shoes at that point which put me about 2.5 minutes behind. According to all the aid stations that's where I stayed for the next 10 miles or so. Around 33 miles in the fast start caught up to me, I was starting to hurt. I just told myself to go slow and steady. With bathroom and aid station breaks I averaged a little under an 8:50 pace the last 16 miles. With 4 miles to go I was passed which put me in 3rd place. I was dead and just wanted to finish by this point. I ended up in 3rd place 6min 53sec behind Oswaldo in first. My time was 6:24:57 7:42 per mile. If the two weeks before the race had gone better and I stuck to my race plan I would have finished better for sure, BUT a great learning experience. I'm pleased with it for my first 50 miler. My future plans are to run Yankee Springs Winter 50k January 5th then travel to Texas to run the USATF National 50 mile Trail Championship on March 2nd. I'm a little sore but feeling good. Can't wait to start training again!