I have seven weeks between ES100 and Buckeye 200. It’s long enough to get some work done, but not really long enough for a full blown training block. I think of these periods more as maintaining rather than training. Not like I normally do a bunch of structured training even if I have 3 months…
A Mt. Everest Month
There are many different ways to track training load. As the years progress and technology improves, there are more and more methods to quantify this. Most people look at overall mileage or time. I’m a mileage guy. Whether that’s 8 miles, 20, or my typical mid-week 7.5 miler, that’s how I think of my runs.…
My Ultra Origin Story
Even though I’m no super hero, I figured it was time to recount my ultra origin story. As with most good stories, mine begins with a pretty woman: my wife. She had run Broad Street a couple times and was interested in moving up and doing a half marathon. As the supportive husband, I told…
Hill Repeats, Reimagined
I think I’m done with speedwork. I ended up doing three workouts last month, which is longer than I’ve managed to last in the past. This time I tweaked my hamstring on the 7th of what was supposed to be ten 800 meter reps. It wasn’t enough to keep me from running and was completely…
Laurels Preserve Long Run In Pictures
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…
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…
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…