I knocked out 2 more sections Saturday of the Mason-Dixon Trail leaving me with the just the 2 most western maps left to complete the entire trail. The temperatures were up into the mid to high 80s, but I had a great time. Map 3 Map 4 The next section of trail could have been…
FAQ: Can I Finish an Ultra?
I’m on Reddit’s r/ultrarunning regularly and it seems like not a week goes by that someone does ask a question along these lines. Typically, it’s someone relatively new and wants to know whether they can finish a 50k, 100 miler, or whatever race they’ve got their eye on. It’s a pretty supportive group on there…
M-DT Trip Report – Map 5
I got out onto the Mason-Dixon Trail Saturday and completed Map 5. This is an almost 30 mile section along the Susquehanna River from Otter Creek Campground to the PA/MD state line. I ran west to east so had my wife drop my off at Otter Creek Campground a little after 7am. The trail was…
Speed Work
I guess the title of this post should really be “Speed Work?!?!” considering how often I do it. Which is never. Last time I tried was back in 2016. I two workouts and hated them so called it quits. My dislike of speed in general goes back to when I started running. I never liked…
M-DT Trip Report – Map 6
I was able to knock out Map 6 of the Mason-Dixon Trail Saturday along with the beginning of Map 7 heading into Havre de Grace. This is the third time I’ve been out on the M-DT with the first being last summer with my son and then earlier this spring. My goal is to section…
A Shift In How I Approach Racing
My last race really highlighted to me how much my approach to racing has changed over the years. I still enjoy racing as much as I ever have. It’s just that the focus has shifted. When I started out, my goal was to run and complete the race as quickly as possible. I mean, it’s…
2020 Catoctin 50K Race Report
Last weekend was my second running of the Catoctin 50K or what I’m sure will become known as the COVID CAT50K. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the race was quite a bit different than last year’s race. Here a just a couple of the changes: No official start time. You could start whenever you wanted…
It’s Go Time
After almost 6 long months and three cancelled/postponed races, it’s finally time to pin a bib on again. Kinda. The Catoctin 50K is all set to go off Saturday morning. In order to secure their permits though, they were forced to make some serious changes to the structure of the race. Here’s the short list:…
Slaying The Mythical 100 Mile Training Week
The 100 mile week has always been this impossible idea for me. I’m a 40-50 mpw guy with the occasional peak of 60-65 miles. A hundred miles is elite-level training loads and I’m far from elite. Even though I’ve been running consistently for 8 years now, I’ve always just assumed that that volume of running…
Don’t Try This At Home?
Deep breath. I’ve decided to finally attempt my first 100 mile training week. I’ve never been a high mileage type runner. Thirty to fifty miles per week has been my sweet spot with the occasional peak week of 60-65 miles. I discovered relatively early on that I didn’t need to run a lot to complete…