Sick & Tired

   Greeting fellow runners! What the hell? Where have I been you ask? Sick, sick, sick! For almost two weeks now I've been fighting my way through a bugger of a chest cold. Picked it up somewhere at work. Went to my doctor and thankfully, it's not the return of the bronchitis that plagued me all last summer. I ran through all those coughs and difficult breathing once before. I really don't want to repeat that ever again. Unfortunately, there's research that's shown that my chances for getting it again the same time this year are extremely likely. Apparently, it repeats itself twice and then you're free of the stuff. Fun.

   Anyways, just because you're sick doesn't mean that life doesn't go on. I've been hitting the gym hard putting in some serious time doing my cross-training. I'm already feeling stronger. I'd really like to be able to complete three full sets of 10 pull ups by the end of the year. We're already halfway there! Rock on! Cross-training sounds like it would be something that'll work against my running goals. But, on the contrary, it's made me better than just running alone ever could. Starting to switch my focus away from mileage to length of time on my feet. Building endurance, not speed is the name of the game this year.

   Out of nowhere, my mom surprised us by getting us a late Christmas gift, a new treadmill. You'd think that as a distance runner, that would be the one piece of equipment that I'd already own. But, I never got around to buying one. I've always had a gym membership somewhere and I thought it was a waste of money. Well, with the march of time my son has gotten older and my wife's work schedule has now changed to midnights. That means I only have a very small two hour window in which to get my training in on most days. Not whole heck of a lot of time when you've gotta drive to the gym and log some serious miles. So, the addition of the treadmill means that I don't have to drive my truck around town like I stole it or log as many miles out there in this cold winter weather we've been having. A huge bonus! I'll be reviewing it's performance in the weeks to come!

   Other than that, things have been pretty quiet. I've been trying to do a lot of extra sleeping to kick this chest cold. Hopefully with some of the medicine that my doctor gave me and the comfort of not having to run outside in sub zero weather I'll be feeling better in no time. Sorry for the long delay in getting something out.

   Have a great night and put some miles into your life! 

5 Miles More Podcast-Episode 2 "Consistency & Screwed Shoe Review"

   In this episode I take my trail shoes for their sheet metal shakedown on the local trails near my home. I also talk about the key to successful running, consistency! Get some miles in your life & have a fabulous day my friends!

The Ultra Marathon

   

   Hello friends! Hope all of you are doing well and that 2014 is being kind to you! After a couple of crazy weeks, I think that I'm finally getting back into the swing of doing some decent training. Sometimes the holidays can be a real pain in the ass. Personally, I think that anyone who believes the last two months of the year should be spent limiting yourself with regards to food and drink is a complete idiot. Now, don't get me wrong. It's not a time to eat like a monster either. But, it is a time to enjoy some of the finer pleasures in life like pumpkin pie, Christmas cookies and a glass of red wine waiting for the fat man to come down the chimney. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I try, the time between Thanksgiving and New Years becomes one of overindulgence! Even at 40 I still seem to have a huge problem with portion control. The workouts go out the window. At the end of the year the running season is pretty much done with here. I'm also a huge romantic when it comes to celebrating with my family. Trust me, it's not pretty. With a glass of scotch, warm fire and White Christmas playing of the TV, I almost ball like the Irishman that I am!

  

   I was looking forward to doing the whole cliché thing and rebooting in January. But, my 96 year old grandmother passed away. It wasn't sudden. We all knew it was coming. But, that didn't make it any easier. More relishing the good times and memories with my family. Attention to the diet continued to go out the window! Now though, I've managed to log almost three solid weeks in the books! I'm sore from all the cross-training and my hamstrings are outright screaming at me. But, it feels good to get physical again!

   I'm starting to do some basic research with regards to 50K training plans. Found some stuff that I like. I'm definitely going to shoot for the Can 50 scheduled for October 11th. It's short for the Canandaigua Lake 50K and 50 Mile Ultra. It's really close which means that I can spend race eve at home, eat my own food and sleep in my own bed. Bonus!

   So, let's talk about what the heck an ultra marathon is. Basically, it's any race longer than the distance of a marathon, which is 26.2 miles. They're typically more low-keyed events run on a trail course versus the open road. The most popular distances are the 50K (about 31.2 miles), the 50 mile and the 100 mile. I'm not crazy enough to try my hand at running a 100 miler! Well, not yet. I've always been a huge believer that anyone can do anything that they put their minds to. But, any length distance race requires preparation and training. I just can't see being able to squeeze additional time out of my daily schedule to honestly train for anything longer than a 50K.

   One of the first documented ultra marathons in North America was held in 1926 as part of the Central American Games. Tomas Zafiro and Leoncio San Miguel, both Tarahumara Indians from the Copper Canyons in Mexico, ran 100K from Pachuca to Mexico City in 9 hours and 37 minutes. The Mexican government petitioned to include a 100K race in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam that year. But, it was deemed too long of a race. Too bad!

   In 2009 Chris McDougall's published the now famous book, Born to Run. In the book he focuses on those incredible Tarahumara Indians and how by studying and running with them he overcomes his own running related injuries. He makes a strong case for minimalist running and outright slams the running shoe industry. He puts forward the "endurance running hypothesis". Which asserts that humans developed their long distance running ability to chase prey down on the plains of Africa. It seems that humans can regulate our body heat much better than most animals. That's why we can run the distances that we do. Lots of interesting facts. I personally believe this hypothesis to be dead on. I've read the book. It's quite compelling. Many other Americans thought so too. The "Barefoot Running" boom was born and more attention was devoted to ultra running and racing. Great book and if you're not even interested in ultra running, you should read it. Rumor is that a movie is coming out! Can't wait!

   Ultra marathons require a different approach. Runners don't get the luxury of cleanly paved roads. I've experimented with trail running now for about two years. It's freakin fun. But, just as hard as it is fun. You've gotta have a good pair of shoes, with good treads. The trails are full of roots, rocks and other little evil things that can send you flying. I've tripped on more than one occasion and have impaled myself with a stick or two. You need to pay attention and watch where you're running.

   There are as many flat marathons out there as there are hilly. But, most ultra marathons are hilly. That requires runners to develop almost a race walking technique when climbing inclines. Also, the distance man! For the average distance runner like myself, there's just no way that I could not walk during a race of that magnitude. It's just too long to be running. Unless you're a Tarahumara Indian of course.

   The other issue is calorie replacement. Gels may work for half and full marathons. But, over ultra distances the human body needs real food. That's going to be a huge challenge for me. My stomach is usually a mess when I throw real food into it during a race. But, as with something like speed work, I'm going to have to get used to it and figure out what works the best for me. Severe dehydration is more likely to occur during an ultra too. The one thing I keep getting from every ultra runner that I know is, to eat and drink like it's going out of style. Even if I don't want to.

   In the 50 and 100 mile races gear and clothing can also be a factor. Clothing and socks need to be changed and maybe even your shoes. I don't think that I'll have to worry much about this though. I should be able to get that extra five miles in what I'll be wearing.

   Doesn't ultra running sound like a blast? Yeah. I know that even those of you who are runners shudder at the thought of distances beyond the marathon. I can explain my decision this year. I could probably continue to improve my marathon PR time. Even at 40, I know that I'm not done getting faster. Not just yet. For me though, it's never been about speed. I've never been all that fast. It's always been about the distance. I've wanted to try ultra running for such a long time. But, it just scared the hell out of me. In 2012 I broke the four hour marathon barrier. Last year I ran those 366 days in a row. In doing those, I proved that fears are just fears. I managed to break out of a mold that I fell into a long, long time ago. Complacency. Who doesn't like feeling comfortable? For far too long I settled into a pattern of train, run a marathon in longer than four hours. I got stuck in that stupid pattern for like nine years! Well, no more stupid patterns. Starting in 2012, I decided that comfortable isn't where I want to be anymore. Form that point on, I decided what smarter people have been telling me for a long time was true. What good are goals if they don't scare you?

   Now you know what an ultra marathon is. I am scared and it is good! Put some miles into your life my friends and get scared... 

5 Miles More Podcast-Episode 1 "Screw Your Freakin Shoes"

   Hello friends! Here's the 1st episode of the new podcast! Screw those freakin shoes & screw them good! I'll let you know how they work out in a few weeks! Have a great day and put some miles into your life!

5 Miles More Podcast-Trailer

Hi everybody! Hope you're doing well and getting a long-distance run in this weekend! I know that I had a blast today doing mine. Even though, it was inside on the "treadmill of death"! Here's a link to the 5 Miles More Podcast's trailer. It's a little over the top. But, I had a blast making it! Enjoy and please subscribe to my YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/user/Run366Project! More great videos to come!

The Beginning

   Happy New Year! 2014 is here my friends! That means new hopes, new dreams and new challenges. The 366 Project is now officially H-I-S-T-O-R-Y! But, I've got a dirty little secret! I know that it was going to stop after the 366th day. But, I just didn't want to! There's a certain amount of pride when you have that many days running in a row under your fueling belt. I guess that I just wasn't ready to give that up. At least not yet! So it continues on until I don't know when? Yes, I'm crazy!

   

   For those of you who've continued on through the 366 Project to follow me into this new blog and podcast, welcome back! You guys rock! Amazing that there's any of you left! Hopefully I can continue to improve my writing and recording skills to make sure that you stay here.  

   For those of you who are new to the blog and podcast, howdy! I'm glad that you're here! Let me tell you a little about myself, what this new blog and podcast are going to be about and what I hope that you'll get out of it. 

   My name is Mark and I'm a 40 year old amateur distance runner living in a small little town in upstate NY. I've been running for over 12 years. My wife, Sara was the first person to ever make me realize the distance running potential inside me, spurning me on to complete my first marathon in 2003. Since then I've been fortunate enough to put many miles in out on the roads surrounding my small town and have run over 60 different road races. My favorite race distances are the half and full marathon. After trying for about 10 years, I finally managed to break that 4 hour marathon barrier in 2012! I'm not fast. But, I am persistent. It's not about the speed, or number of miles that you run. It's about being out there. To say that I love to run is an understatement! 

   Running has become something extremely special and important in my life. It's hard to describe just how much to people. It's given me so much over the years. Better mental clarity, increased physical strength and my sanity to name just a few. My eight-year-old son thinks that I'm the coolest running dad on the planet too! Not bad!

   I've always been a huge fan of running blogs, podcasts and the run-net community. It's absolutely amazing what's out there! Great people, great motivation and running related knowledge up the ying yang! Last year I decided to try my hand at blogging and video podcasting. I ran at least a mile a day for 366 days in a row and had the time of my life recording that journey. I learned so much about myself and set some new PR's in the process! It's a great story! Check out my first blog, which can also found on Blogger at Run366Project@blogspot.com and it's accompanying podcast, the 366 Podcast, on my YouTube channel, Youtube.com/user/Run366Project!

   At the start of this year, I wanted a new challenge. Last year I finished my 11th marathon feeling better than ever before, recovering even faster all while smashing my old PR by more than five minutes! At the end of the race I felt like I could've kept going forever. I never felt like that before after a marathon. So, I thought why not  take the leap and try my first ultra marathon? 

   This new blog and podcast will revolve around my life, my training for this new challenge and the journey from start to finish as I try to go farther than ever before. I've never done a race this big. Quite frankly, it scares the shit out of me. I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. Not really too much different though from my first marathon! I'm going to train hard and try my best. It'll be interesting to see if I can do it! This year I'm going to try to put out more video podcasts and offer up some helpful running related tips and tricks on the blog. I'm also going to prove to you that if you have the dedication, put in the work, that you can do ANYTHING! 

   So, once again welcome to my new little project for 2014. More good stuff to come. I promise that I'll try to make it worth your while! You guys are awesome! Go put some miles into your life...