5 Miles More Podcast-Episode 9 "Run For The Sun 2014"

In this episode I talk about the upcoming 2014 Run For The Sun Challenge created by my good buddy Coach Jeff. I also ramble on about Sammy the Super Running Dog!

Have a great day and ride that lightning my friends...

2014 Run For the Sun

   

   If you haven't heard yet starting tomorrow is something that you need to be part of. It's called the Run For The Sun 2014 and it's serious fun! The first RFTS was started around 2009 by my good friend Coach Jeff in Australia. I became involved with it last year while completing my 366 Project. I managed to finish the challenge that year and then some.

   The rules are very simple; you must email Coach Jeff at Coachjeff@coachjeff.com.au and provide your name, contact info, a little background information and where you live. He will register you for for the cheap price of zero dollars. Then starting on June 1st you have to walk or run at least one mile (1.6 km) every day for the entire month. Every week you'll have to email him your weekly mileage stats. This year Coach has created a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/coachjeffrunforthesun?ref=br_tf. On the page you can post about your RFTS journey. Prizes will be awarded by Coach for interesting pictures. 

   I'll be participating again in the year's RFTS. I can't wait to get started! Challenges like this are easy for us streakers. I'm not like other people. I don't care if my mini-SUV is clean most of the time, I don't care if my weedy lawn needs mowing and could care less about what people think of me. I'm cut from a different cloth. I'd rather go out for a long run on my weekends than spend money throwing back beers in my local bar. I've even convinced my wife and little man to get into the action this year! Why not make it a family affair? 

   I hope you consider doing this year's RFTS. Don't hold yourself back. Be epic and ride that lighting...  

5 Miles More Podcast-Episode 8 "Happy Memorial Day"

In this episode I chat with you after a quick speed workout on this beautiful, sunny Memorial Day. Please take a moment today to remember those men & women who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom!

Ride that lightning my friends...

The Road Less Traveled

   When you run for 12 years you develop routines, habits and get to know your body so well that there aren’t too many surprises. Unless you’re doing something crazy like running your first ultra-marathon (hey, don’t judge me), racing an Ironman or trying to survive a 24 hour adventure race there’s very little that you haven’t seen and experienced before. I guess that’s why I did my 366 Project last year and trying to go further than ever before this year.

   It’s no accident that our sport tends to attract people with OCD. We like to know what’s around the next mile, how we’re going to get there and exactly how long it’s going to take us. Our obsession with detail can help us achieve many great things. We outrun our former PR’s, take first in our age groups and run hundreds or thousands of miles every year. But it can also hinder our progress too. Sometimes it’s good to break out of the same old mold.

   I had one of those moments this week. We’ve been living at our house for almost two years. During that time I’ve run thousands of miles out of and back to my front door. But only in one direction; always to the east side. I know every crack, hill and pothole on that side of my neighborhood. But, the west side of my neighborhood was a completely different world.

   So to keep up with my new found quest to try new things I did something different for my run and went west. It’d been a very long day and I wasn’t feeling very well. I needed something other than my usual route.

   An hour and almost seven miles later I finished my run feeling ecstatic! I’d had a great run exploring a whole new part of my neighborhood. The unfamiliarity of the new route made the weariness of the day disappear and I found myself yelling at myself in my mind to slow the heck down the entire distance. It was a great experience that taught even someone as well versed in running has much to still learn.

   So, let’s take a look at some of the benefits of running routes and locations that you haven’t tried. Different scenery. I know that many of us non-professional runners de-focus on the experience when we run. We listen to our favorite music, enjoy running podcasts and focus on the scenery, wildlife and exterior world around us. It’s fairly easy to download new music and podcasts. Changing the environment isn’t as easy. But, if you try a new running route you’ll find yourself delighting in the new sights and sounds. Boredom will become a thing of the past and before you know it, you’re run will be over.

   Different elevations. Up until that west side run I’d been feeling a little stagnant with my workouts. My typical east side route is very hilly. Which is really good when I need to train on hills. But, not so good when it’s a scheduled easy run day or speed session day. On the easy days I was killing myself unnecessarily on the hills and running speed work up hills is counterproductive. I found that after running the flatter west side route that my fitness is really much higher than I thought. I felt much better during that run and was able to hit the mile paces that I wanted to without fighting any hills. Running on different elevations will help you become a more well-rounded. It will also increase flexibility in your feet and legs. Running is a repetitive movement sport and that’s why we often sustain running related injuries. Anything that you can do to vary that repetitiveness will go a long way to keeping you injury free.

   Different surfaces. I’m a creature of habit and typically prefer to run on roads versus other surface types. But, starting last year I branched out and began running on the trails near my house. After supplementing some of my normal road work with trail work I found that my feet and legs felt much better. When running on the trails they got a break from the relentless pounding they took on the asphalt and concrete.

   Well, those are some of my thoughts on my new discovery. I can’t wait to do even more exploring this season. I received my two new hydration vests this week. I’m really looking forward to trying them out my future long runs. I’ve never used vests before and I’m sure there’ll be a learning curve with them. I’m tired of using my Amphipod fuel belt. It’s really versatile and worked well for most of my marathons. But, it just can’t hold enough for my upcoming 50K.

   I hope that all of you are doing well, are healthy and do some exploring of your own. There’s so much to see out there, so many places to run, so many new sights. Why not enjoy yourself when you train?

   Ride that lightning my friends…    

5 Miles More Podcast-Episode 7 "Do Epic Shit"

Happy Saturday everybody! In this episode I talk about not waiting to do the things that you want to do in your life! 

Ride that lightning & do \some epic shit...

5 Miles More Podcast-Episode 6 "Trying To Catch Up"

In this episode I return to the world of video podcasting from the land of the dead. I catch you up on what's been going on lately, talk about new shoes and my craziness!

Ride that lightning my friends and have a great day!

500 Days

   Today is a pretty cool day, 500 days of running. I look at that number and to be honest, it's a little scary. The miles have gone by so fast. It seems like just yesterday that it was New Year’s Eve and I started my 366 Project.

   Truth is, I never meant for it to go on this long. I remember thinking that 366 days was more than enough of a worthy challenge. During that first year suffering through peroneal tendonitis and hamstring strains I swore that on day 367 that this obsession would most definitely end. Why continue on?

   But, as dawn broke on January 1, 2014 I found myself not the same runner that I was before. Not the same person. Through that 366 day journey I overcame those nagging injuries, resurrected what was left of my training year and went on to destroy my previous marathon PR by more than five minutes giving me my second 26.2 mile race finished in less than four hours. I accomplished something that didn’t make sense. Something that I thought I could never do; I became someone who wants to run everyday.

   Some experts say that running every day is bad for you, will wind up giving you nothing but injuries and make you hate the sport. Being the obsessive bunch that we runner types are, I could certainly see the truth in those statements. Sometimes too much of a good thing can be bad for you. I know that those fears were in the back of my mind when I started this journey.

   But, as I look back on the past miles I smile to myself. I did have my fair share of injuries that first year and continue to fight others even now. But, I continue to overcome them. There were days when the thought of running just a single mile was the last thing that I wanted to do. But, just like now, at the end of those runs I don’t have a regret in the world.

   While talking to a good friend the other day he told me that training every day wasn’t what normal people do. I asked him if that meant that I wasn’t normal? Running for 500 days isn’t something that normal people do. So, yes I fit the bill.

   While on my 500th run tonight I marveled at the strength that I felt surging through my legs, the ease at which I climbed the hills that tortured me last year and the serenity that surrounded me. Running everyday has awakened something inside me that I've been desperately searching for my whole life, peace. By doing it everyday I've found my own way to center myself, put aside the negativity of the day and prepare myself for the challenges that lay ahead.   

   I realize that running may not be for everybody. It won't save even the most dedicated of us from all of our problems. All I'm offering up here is some friendly advice that took 500 days of running to realize. Life is too short to worry about how you may fail at your pursuits. You are stronger than you think. You can overcome more than you think that you can bear. If you want to do something, then go out and do it. You may fall, you may get be horrible at it at first, you may even get hurt. But, if you get up off the ground, dust yourself off and try again you will find that eventually persistence will lead to success.

   I used to think that I had my life figured out. But, much to my chagrin I was wrong. Life is something nebulous. It's constantly changing. If you aren't able to adjust you'll be left behind as a relic. I'm learning to let go of my rigid thinking and be more flexible. Running everyday is a lot like a test. Everyday I try to gauge how fast, how far, how hard I can push my limits, how flexible I can be. I'm even planning on running my furthest distance this Fall, 50K. I don't know where this journey will lead me. I don't know when it will end. All I know is that I'm looking forward to the next 500 amazing days.

   Ride that lightning my friends...

Catching Up

   All right. I know what you're thinking. Time has gotten away from me and I dropped off the face of the Earth for a little while. But, I'm finally back to tell you what's been going on during all those miles in between.

   First and foremost, nothing's wrong. I'm healthy, the family's good and the world that I run on continues to spin as it should. Overtime at work has opened up after a long dry spell and I'm trying to get as much as I can stand. Unfortunately, due to my little man's schedule that means working on many of my days off. Doesn't leave much time for anything else. Don't worry everything else in my busy life has been ignored just as much as my poor blog!

   So, what's new? How's everybody doing out there? Easter was wonderful. I had to work that day. But, we managed to pull off yet another successful holiday having everyone over to our house. Mainly because of my amazing wife! The woman can host a party and is an incredible cook! I ate too much and drank a little too much too. But, it was a great time.

   Springtime has finally made its way to upstate NY! The heavy snow of the winter that seemed to last forever has melted and been replaced with endless rain. The temperature has been about ten degrees cooler than usual for this time of year. But, the sun has been shinning often enough to lift everyone's spirits and make treadmill woodchucks like me poke our heads out from our holes and take a few tentative steps out there on the roads.

   Running my new treadmill most of the winter kept me in some really good shape during my off season. But, there's no substitute for running on real roads. Over the last few weeks I've been putting in some serious training time outside. I've got to get my legs used to hills, trails and pavement again. The cross-training at the gym has been a must and I've made some good movement forward there too.

   Somewhere along the way I managed to tweak the hell out of my right shoulder and it just isn't going away. My elbows have been really sore from a lot of pull up work. So, I've decided to cut the free-standing pull ups back a bit and use the weight assisted pull up machine a little more. I've also been using a tennis ball to attack my nagging left hamstring. It's painful. But, it's slowly working. It sometimes seems more like damage control versus training. But, I carry on.

   Even if you're not a runner I hope that you had a chance to witness history in the making on Patriots Day in Boston. For my all time favorite running idol Meb Keflezighi to win that race on that day was just amazing to watch. It was almost magical to see someone who's considered an older runner to win THE marathon of marathons as an American. I mean the last time an American won Boston was in the early 80's! Just an incredible race and day of healing! I basked in DVR glory watching the coverage!

   Now that the weather's broke my wife and I have begun taking the new puppy out for his first short runs. He's a running natural and thanks to some good training from my wife doesn't trip you or behave badly at all. Just the other day I watched him closely while we ran a short mile. Every now and then he would glance over at me, tongue hanging out with a big dog grin across his face. So hilarious! I think I've found a great new running partner. I'll make a distance dog out of him yet!

   With all that I've accomplished recently over the last two years, I'm finding that breaking out of my self created barriers is really working for me. So, with that in mind I did something that I NEVER do, I bought two different pairs of new running shoes. I've been religiously wearing the Brooks Beast going on 12 years now. It's a great shoe and has worked extremely well for me. So, I'm not trying to replace it with something else. But, I do need something more dedicated to trail running. So, I picked up a pair of Brooks Cascadias. I've only done a six mile run on the trails with them so far. But, what I've seen I like so far. I've been intrigued with the whole minimalist running craze since it's started. So, I also picked up a pair of Brooks Pure Connects. I've only done one short mile run in them so far. I didn't expect it to feel as different as it did. It really changed the whole feel of the run. I'm looking forward to future runs with them. But, am going to be cautious and not overdo it. More complete reviews of both of these new shoes coming in the future!

   If buying new shoes is crazy for me, then I did something completely insane earlier this week. As I've mentioned before, I was an idiot and waited too long to register for the Can 50K which is the ultra marathon that I'd like to break my cherry on. As a result, I'm number 10 on their dang waiting list. Not where I want to be. So, I'm now registered for the Mendon Trail 50K. This race's registration wasn't closed so I have a guaranteed entry. I'm most likely going to be able to get in for my original race. But, I just didn't want to gamble. If I do get into it I know what's going to happen. My personality won't let me run just one race and cancel the other. So, it looks like I'm going to be running a total of 100K total in two races that are a month apart. I never jump into it slow! I'm looking forward to the challenge!

   Had a nice chat the other night with my friend, Coach Jeff for his Running Podcast. He's just an amazing guy! Knowledgeable as hell about running and a huge inspiration. He reminded me of how great this run-net community is and how much fun it is to be part of it. Hence me getting of my tired butt and writing again! Thanks Coach!

   As I close in on a little over a month before I start the real ultra training I'm getting everything squared away. My 16 week training log is all set and I know what I have to do. Right now I'm just focusing on staying healthy, enjoying time with my family and friends and figuring out the best way to not kill myself while cross-training. Enjoying those last few cold beers, warm glasses of wine and somewhat unhealthy food for a while longer too. Then it's time to start a journey making history to go five miles farther than ever before.

   Until then I hope you get out and enjoy this wonderful spring weather. Ride that lightning my friends...