As I transition into a more structured training program, I need to modify how I think about certain things. First up: Steps Garmin does an amazing job putting step metrics front and center in their app. I can easily see how many steps I’ve taken on a given day (with a nifty graph sloping up…
The Revolution: Why Go Public?
I mean, it’s not the smart thing to do. Announcing 11 months ahead of time that I’m gunning to win the 2027 Vol State race puts a huge target on my back. Everyone’s on notice. I’m not sneaking up on anyone. It’s out there. Dozens and dozens of people now know about this. It’s officially…
Chasing10K – Now With PI!
Congratulations my dear follower! You will be excited to learn that Chasing10K is now being brought to you by PI (Phil’s Intelligence). Or (lower case) intelligence if I’m being truly honest. Or “intelligence” if you listen to my wife/son/cat. You may now return to your regularly scheduled AI generated social media scrolling.
2026 Eastern States 100 Race Report
Turns out my patent application for the Eastern States YOLO race strategy does not need to be sent in after all. Sigh. Everything went exactly according to plan for the first 5 miles: I got to the top of the climb in probably the top 60-70 runners, however realized I was working too hard. The…
2026 Eastern States 100 Mile Preview
Eighth time is a charm. If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, then you know this is my favorite race. And it’s not even close. I love everything about ES100. The course is drop dead gorgeous. The volunteers are amazing. The community is awesome. The race organization is world class. If…
Overthrowing The King (Viva La Revolución)
I’ve spent the last 7-8 years mostly treading water from a fitness standpoint. My improved race performances have been driven by better execution of all the little things (pacing, nutrition, hydration, mental focus) and a general conditioning to the excessive pounding of long ultras. I got a little burned out from the relentless grind building…
Time For A Tune-up
I have a confession to make. I don’t really train for ultras anymore. My first 3-5 years were composed of a 20 week training block followed by a race then a month of downtime/recovery. Rinse and repeat. It was a pretty epic grind to build up my endurance base. Once I had finished 10-15 ultras…
Spice Of Life
Despite almost breaking a foot on a dozen separate occasions during Ironstone, the race successfully reignited my desire to run sub-100 mile races again. My focus will always be on the longer ultras because that’s what I truly enjoy, however there is a place in my schedule for races that can be completed inside a…
Ironstone 100K Race Report
Ironstone 100K is a trail race across 100,000 iron stones. There are big rocks. There are small ones. Most are solid, however some are not firmly anchored in the ground with no warning as to which is which. Many, many of them are sharp and pointy (oh, so pointy!). There are invisible stones and ones…
Ironstone 100K Preview
Excluding the half marathon I ran with my wife last fall, this will be my shortest race in almost 3 years. Which is just crazy. Early on in my ultra career, I would run three hundreds per year with a shorter ultra either as a lead up or out of season. This slowly transitioned to…