I headed out last Saturday for a 20 miler at Laurels Preserve. This was long run #217 for me. This was also the 43rd straight month where I’ve done at least 1 run of twenty miles or more. Yes, I keep close track of my long runs. My belief has always been that if you…
100 Mile Shrine
A couple years ago my wife got me a nice display case for my 100 mile buckles. I decided to add my bibs and additional items that I’ve received for finishing 100 miles. This includes a license plate (NJ One Day), a certificate of completion (Greenbrier), and two medals (Cloudsplitter, Olde 96er). While I’ve grouped…
Speedwork
The title of this post should probably be “Speedwork?!?!” considering how much of it I incorporate into my training. Ever since I started running, I’ve shied away from running fast. Partly because I’m, well, not fast. Partly because I’ve always equated running fast with increased injury risk. And I also realized that I just don’t…
NJ Devil 100 Mile Race Report
In this race report: At some point, I will be able accurately predict an ultra finish time. Last weekend I ran the inaugural NJ Devil 100 Miler. After many years of planning, the Beast Coast Pro team and their amazing volunteers were finally able to put on this race. It starts and ends at the…
2023 NJ Devil 100 Mile Demographics
I’ve always been interested in who signs up to run an ultra. Below are some stats that I pulled from Ultrasignup. While it’s not completely comprehensive (US and trail/ultra centric), I think it’s pretty representative of most runner’s background. This is a fairly normal distribution from what I normally see. The M40-49 age group has…
How To Plan Out a Hundred Miler
I typically go through a similar process heading into each of my hundred mile races. I’m a spreadsheet guy so this is tracked in an excel file. The benefit of planning out my races in spreadsheets is that I can just copy/paste my last race’s plan and tweak as necessary. Aid Stations For me, everything…
Lifetime Mileage Guidelines For Aspiring Ultrarunners
I feel like the ultra community doesn’t do a very good job of communicating what it takes to run ultras. I see people ask if they’re good to go for the race they’ve signed up for and the typical response is either “yes”, “maybe”, or “stop reading Goggins”. The general theme is if in doubt,…
The Sixty Mile Week
I’m in rarified air this week. I added some miles to my schedule and am now planning on hitting 65 miles over six days. How rare is this? Here’s a list of all my 60 mile weeks since I started running. So basically I average not quite 2 sixty mile training weeks a year. A…
Why Bad Runs Are Good
I have a theory. After years of trial and mostly error, I’ve come to the belief that bad runs are good for you. It’s not that good runs are bad, it’s just that you don’t get much training stimulus from them. A workout is supposed to stress your body and if you feel great after…
The Mid-Week 11 Miler
Math sucks. As you increase your weekly mileage, you eventually reach a point where your mid-week run crosses the double digit barrier. There are lots of ways to add miles (extra long long runs, doubles, no off days), however these tricks will only get you so far. Once you’ve hidden miles in all the nooks…