My Active Adventures

Well, it's been a week now since the epic adventure of the Psycho Wyco Run Toto Run snowy insanity. It certainly took its toll on my body, so this week has been interesting. When I woke up Sunday morning (the day after the race) I was quite sore. Ironically, my left ankle (the one I twisted countless times during the race) felt perfectly fine, but my right ankle was quite painful. My quads, calves, shins, hamstrings, hips, back, and shoulders all felt the strain of the beating they took in the race. Seriously, that 20.7 miles in the snow took a greater toll on my body than any 50k I've ever completed. Luckily, I'd had the foresight to set an appointment with my chiropractor and ART specialist, Jared Wisner at Wisner Chiropractic . Jared is an accomplished marathoner and a good friend. His knowledge of what distance running does to us has been beyond helpful to me. He did an excellent job straightening out my issues and really helped with my recovery. He even fixed the ri...

Well, this was certainly one of the more interesting races I've ever been a part of. I started training for the 50k 26 weeks ago and it went amazingly well. I got thinner, I got faster, I got stronger. I really felt quite strongly that as long as conditions were good I'd be able to set a new 50k PR. Conditions were not so good. About a week before the race we got a big sleet storm that left everything icy, but runnable because it was not smooth ice. Then, just 4 days before the race, we had the first big snow storm of the year. At first I thought it'd be a good thing. The course is hilly and rocky, so I thought a good, packed down layer of snow would help make sure the rocky hills weren't too slick. Not so much how it worked out. It turned out to be about a 12-14 inch deep, light, powdery dry snow. There's no packing down that kind of snow. It was going to be an interesting race indeed. Leading in, I had high hopes and a great plan. I was going to run the race with ...

My final long run for the Toto 50k is done. I'm through with the core of my training and I'm on to taper. Wow. It honestly feels like I just started training, but it also feels like I've been doing this training forever. It's been a pretty positive experience training for this race. I've gotten faster, I've gotten stronger, I've gained better endurance, mental toughness, and discipline. I feel, for the first time in a very long time, quite confident in my running and my fitness. When I decided to sign up for the race, I set out a plan for my training and I've followed it. I started with training for 13 weeks for the Pilgrim Pacer Half Marathon, then another 13 weeks of training (starting the day following the race) to train for the 50k. Why do it this way? Two reasons. First, I hadn't decided to run a 50k yet, my goal was to run the half. I wanted to train well for the half marathon. Second, I hadn't run further than 13.1 miles since Nov. '12...

What can I say about 2013? It was an interesting year. I ended 2012 completely burnt out from too many races I didn't really run for myself, so I pretty much took a lot of 2013 off from organized training. I decided I wouldn't run anything more than a half marathon this year, and really couldn't see myself running anything longer than that ever again. In 2012 I had come to hate the long distance races. Sometimes you need a rest day, sometimes you need a rest week, sometimes you need a rest year. I was in desperate need of a year not running every race anyone suggested to me and just enjoying life a little. I took things pretty easy as the year started, basically working out when I felt like it and not working out when I didn't. No set training. I was working out most every day, but my workouts were generally shorter distances, weight training, and unstructured. I just mentally wasn't into it and the more time went by, the more I felt like I had no interest in runn...

Katya & me pre-race Right now, my activities are singularly focused on preparing for the Psycho WyCo Run Toto Run 50k on February 8, 2014. To that end, I signed myself and my Husky, Katya, up for the Alternate Chili Trail Run on December 14, 2013. This race is one loop (10.35 miles) of the Toto 50k course, so it is an excellent chance to get a training run in under race conditions. I've been running the loop each weekend, often both Saturday and Sunday, so although it is a tough trail, it is becoming more manageable for me. The first time I ran this loop this year I did it in 2:39:52 and over the weeks I'd gotten that time down to 1:58:04.  Another shot of Katya pre-race I was hoping to finish the race in less than 2 hours, but the day before the race it rained all day then the temps dropped drastically and it turned to snow overnight. That meant that more than likely, the trail would be icy and slick. Well, at least it's not knee deep mud! The fastest tim...