Ricketts Glen

Spent the last few days at Ricketts Glen.  Some great times with family and some awesome trails. 

Karl Meltzer Wasatch Race Report

Great race report from Karl Melzer.  It is hard to fathom hurting your back and then getting the flu...and then running a 100 mile mountain race.  Let alone placing third in a competitive field.  It is a funny and good read to get you motivated.

Week of September 5th to 11th

It has been a stressful week (much less so for me than for so many in the area) and I didn't get enough sleep  or calories and this definitely effected me training.  My tendency is to forgo taking care of myself when I am super busy and this is a habit I have to quit if I want to continue with my level of activity.  At any rate, I have had over a month of solid training and I have lost almost 20 pounds since returning from my injury.  Last week was a great week of running, which why this week's hard runs were frustrating. On a positive note, I have eliminated sugar from my diet and greatly increased my fruit and vegetable consumption and I can really tell the difference in my overall health and well being.  I also got to hit the trails on Monday and I'm looking forward to logging many miles on the trails this fall.  I have decided to run the Harrisburg Marathon in November and it feels good to have something to train for again.
Total Miles for the Week:  47
Shoes this week:  Montrail Mountain Masochist, Saucony Kinvara, and Brooks Green Silence

Inconsistency

Well, it has certainly been a while since I posted on here and there are various reasons for this.  I have been injured for the about the past month due to my own stupidity.  I dropped a board on my right foot and bashed it up pretty good and instead of letting it heal, I just kept on running as usual.  I was limping a bit and this altered my gait enough that it my left ankle developed some pretty intense pain.  This pain kept me off the roads and trails for almost all of July.  I've just started back this past week and things seem to be going well.  What has not gone well is some unfortunate weight gain that occurred during my time off.  I really need to do a better job of taking care of myself on a consistent basis.  Plans are on hold right now as far as racing goes and I am just going to focus on losing the weight and getting a good base built up again. 

Great Radio Lab Podcast

Here is a great Radiolab Podcast on ultrarunner Diane Van Deren. 

Back from Injury

It has been quiet on the blog for a while because I sprained my ankle last month on a trail run and it had me holed for a few weeks.  The sudden inactivity proved to be a nasty shock to the system and I suffered from insomnia, headaches, and unfortunately put on a few pounds.  Last week marked my return to training and I got 43 miles under my belt.  This week has been an amazing training week and marks the return to my normal mileage.  I also signed up for my first 50 miler:  The Dirty German Endurance Fest.  Will update the week's miles soon, but now it's time to head out the door for a run.

Scott Jurek Making a Comeback

A really great and inspiring Running Times article on Scott Jurek.  Just finished reading it and now I'm about ready to hit the road for a snowy ten miler.

My Kiddos

My wife, Michelle, just started a blog where she'll take a picture of the kids every day of 2011.  I think it is a pretty neat idea.  Check it out here if you want to see what my kiddos look like.  I think they are rather cute.  Then again I'm pretty biased.

Week of December 27th to January 2nd

This is the first really quality week of running I have had in about a month.  I didn't get any runs in longer than 10.5 miles, but I still banged out 61 miles for the week.  I had a great trail run this morning, which focused on climbing, and I also did a speed workout yesterday.  I'm feeling really strong and I'm focused on building a good base over the winter months.  This summer I plan on actually having a race season and plan out some schedule, including an ultra.  The money situation here isn't the best, so that will have to be a consideration, so probably no races out west this year.  I'm currently researching the possibilities and will post them soon.

First Trail Run of 2011

Headed out to Stony Valley Rail trail early this morning and to climb up Devil's Race Course.  There was a light rain falling when I first got there, but the temperature was in the 40s and it felt great to set out on the trail.  It has been about two months since I have gone on a trail run.  Turned off the rail trail after about a mile or so and started climbing up the mountain.  Central Pennsylvania doesn't exactly have impressive mountains, but this one is still a slog to get to the top.  There's about three and half miles of climb  to get to the top and I power hiked up most of it, running whenever the trail briefly flattened out.  Got to the top and it was nice soft double track for about two miles before I had to head back.  I felt like going on, however had to get back to the family.  Headed back and tore down hill and got to the bottom in less than half the time it took me to climb up.  I got back to the car and reluctantly returned back to civilization.  I was only out there today for two hours, but the solitude and peacefulness of being out in the woods really has put my mind in a better place.  My body on the other hand is going to be mad at me tomorrow.  I need to work on descending down hills and these first few times of getting back into it are gonna be rough on my quads.  I'm going to have to get a pair of stabilicers, or something akin to them, so that I keep up the trail running in the next few months.  I'm sure some snow will be on its way in no time.  Well, time to hobble through the house and get some cleaning done.