Go Green!

So I ran into a bit of a problem today. I promised my bosses that I would go into work to deliver 4 flower arrangements. Then I realized, I probably wouldn't even be working a whole hour because I only had to drive to two places for these 4 arrangements. Living 15 minutes (12 miles) away from work I realized the amount of money I would spend on gas getting there and back would be equal to or less than the amount of money I would make at work. DILEMNA.

The quick solution -

Thought 1) My sister and Mark are driving to town at 11 AM.
Thought 2) I have a ride to town.
Thought 3) I need a ride back from town.
Thought 4) I have 2 legs and a pair of shoes.
Thought 5) Run!
Thought 6) Go Green and less carbon emissions!
Thought 7) Stop global warming!
Thought 8) Save the world!
Thought 9) Utopian society where LOOOVEE replaces all the bad things in the world.
Thought 10) Lets be realistic, back to thought 6.

Ended up having an excellent run home from town which started out a bit rough but once I found my groove it was a breeze. The temperature was around 40 and I was drinking pedialyte and water to hydrate as well as wearing a long sleeve shirt and shorts. It couldn't have felt better!

Totals on the Day:
Miles - 12.07
Time - 1 hour 33 minutes
Shoutout - Lets give it up forrrr the inventors of canned dog food.

Seashore Nature Trail 50k

Caution: If you get uneasy about nasty weather conditions, please read no further.

Race Report:
It's Wednesday the 16th and the forecast for Virginia Beach says 46 degrees and sunny, perfect!

It's Thursday the 17th and the forecast for Virginia Beach says 42 degrees and rainy.

Its Friday the 18th and the forecast for Virginia Beach says 39 degrees and rain/snow.

It's Saturday the 19th, we have been running for 5 hours in the rain and mud, the temperature has dropped from 49 to 35 degrees.

Going into the Seashorne Nature Trail 50k I expected to be cold, I just didn't know how cold. Feeling slightly unprepared with the nature of my gear (such as a cotton shirt) I tried to stay on the positive side and use the cold to help me run faster to stay warm.

To emphasize a bit on the weather we can start with the sheer numbers of people that decided to race. The entry cap on the race was 250 people. 244 people payed seventy dollars to run. 190 people showed up to packet pickup. 160 people started the race at 7:30 AM. 148 people finished the race.

Getting out of Lisa's car was probably the hardest part of the morning, Alex and I stretched for about 5 minutes in the car until about 7:20 and with barely any warm up at all, we toed the start line. I started fast, as usual but due to a change in the course route the night before the race, none of the turns or trails were marked....so 0.5 miles into the race and leading the pack I missed the first turn only too see everyone running off into the woods about 20 seconds later so I had a slight adventure through the woods to get back on track. So....off to a good start.

The next 3.5 miles of the course was a trail through the woods.
The next 3.5 miles of the course was a muddy trail through the woods.
The next 3.5 miles of the course was a muddy, wet, dirty trail through the woods.
The next 3.5 miles of the course was a muddy, wet, dirty, spawn of satan trail through the woods.

Following this section we had 1.5 miles on the road which picked up the pace quite a bit with the solid terrain. At the end of the road section was the end of the first of six (5 mile loops). So back down the road and back through the muddy, wet, dirty, spawn of satan trail through the woods and we were done with ten miles.

Lets think, 160 people running down the same trail each 6 times = 960 people running across a given point. To answer your question, YES the trail did get worse, muddier, wetter, dirtier, and actually just turned into the devil himself.

It just so happens that the paved 1.5 mile section of road was right next to the bay. The first out and back on this section was great, getting off the muddy trail was a wonder and paces increased. The second out and back on this section got some people wondering, coming around the last bend before the turnaround there was a 100 yard section of the road covered ankle deep in water.....oh right....the bay....is effected by the tides. Looking forward to out and back #3!

20.5 miles into the race starting loop 3 (Race time= 2 hours 47 minutes) is when things started going downhill, the temperature had been decreasing steadily throughout the race, the rain was picking up, and ......then I got leg cramps. After multiple attempts at trying to run, I decided to just walk out most of the rest of the race. Was this because I didn't replenish my electrolytes?? Possibly, but after seeing that the first place guy was now walking and cramped up along with multiple others I concluded that it was a result of the cold weather and rain/not having the appropriate gear. Approaching the paved section on loop 3, I saw 5 runners splashing knee deep (waist deep on some!) through the 100 yard section of road. The tide had come in and now we had to make two passes of this ice cold water (ice cold to the point I thought I would cramp up just walking through it and fall over and have to crawl out).

I walked the last ten miles at about a 4.5 mph pace and finished up in 5:02:39. 18th pace in the 1-39 age group and 38th place overall. There was a professional photography company taking pictures at the race so take a look at them here. If you click on the blue link on the side that says Event Photos, then on 2009 Photos, then on Seashore Nature Trail 50k, you can type in a bib number to find photos. My bib number was 227.

Totals on the day:
Miles = 31.07
Time = 5:02:39
Shoutouts - Alex, for finishing his first ultra and being a trooper
Lisa, for being an awesome support crew, can't wait till you run one with us!

Oh yeah.....we have to wake up early

So the Seashore Nature Trail 50k starts at 7:30 AM. So I say last night, "I'm going to wake up at 6:45 and run for an hour before breakfast." Oh it all sounded so simple last night. Well I woke up and it was freezing, running to the gym was essentially shoe skiing across black ice.

So at the gym "alright lets run 9 miles an hour for one hour...ok...lets just do 8 miles an hour its early. Well...here we are 20 minutes in...lets just walk for a bit, its early. Ok 30 minutes, lets run again pick it up...40 minutes..ok lets walk, IT'S EARLY!

All in all I had a wopping day of 6.5 miles in 57 minutes. Next went do D2 breakfast, and fell asleep for thirty minutes with my head next to my plate of pancakes. So I learned my lesson, train your body to be awake for the time you are racing. We'll see how it goes on Saturday.

Totals on the day -
Miles- 6.5
Time - 57 minutes
Shoutout - The only other person at the gym at 7 AM, whoever you are.
Lesson - Wake up before you run.

Training Brek

Having a hard time looking at this picture, maybe breakfast this morning will explain why. . . .

2 cups OJ
2 sausage links
3 pieces of bacon
1 Blueberry French Toast Souffle
1 scoop cinnamon apples
10 hard boiled eggs (only the white protein part, don't worry health nuts!)

I suppose you could say...training has started.



Totals on the day:
Miles - 8.00
Time - 59:39

I'll take that!

So as soon as I vouch to stop running on the treadmill so much, guess where I end up today? On the treadmill, ohhhh you know just for a quick little jog. It was one of those days that I woke up and felt like I had to run very far which is great because those are the days that you go running and your 12 miles in and you feel like its been 10 minutes.

The first hour all I listened to was my newly discovered song claiming Billboards Number 95 in the year 1996. Back for Good by Take That. Next hour, listened to the Black Eyed Peas - Where is the Love on repeat. So 2 hours in and at 14.7 miles I was feeling great and kept going without any breaks until 20.7 miles with a time of 2 hours and 37 minutes. Well the last few miles were the roughest and I decided to stop at 25 on the day.

As nervous as I'm getting for the upcoming Seashore Nature Trail 50k, today reinforced some confidence that I can meet my goal of having a sub 4 hour finish.

Totals on the day -
Miles = 25
Time = 3 hours 27 minutes
Song - Take That - Back for Good
Shoutout - The girl who helped Alex and I out by getting us some water when we ran out, she saved us!

Huckleberry

First time running down the Huckleberry in a while and I almost forgot how great it is. Alex and I ran out to the mall and then back down 460, stopped the run a little short to eat. Oh yeah...I almost forgot the race is in ...16 days....boom goes the dynamite.

Miles on the day: 11.2

Time: 1 hour 45 mins

Shoutout goes to everyone who can do the googly eye

I'll be back

Today I think I decided I'm done running on the treadmill so much and that I'm going back to the Florida Keys this May for a second go.

Miles on the Day: 10 miles

Time - 92 minutes

A Little Side Trip

So on the way back from a most triumphant Thanksgiving dinner at Alex's moms house in Newport News I was dreading the drive back to Blacksburg, until I got an idea. My old boarding school, The Miller School of Albermarle, was right about halfway. Being a day that I needed to go for a run I stopped in and it was beautiful out, not to mention all the kids and faculty were on break so it was completely empty!

After fueling up on some Crozet Pizza, I thought it only appropriate to attack what I consider one of the hardest yet most beautiful cross country courses in Virginia after all this was the grounds where all of my running madness started. It was no easier than the first time I ever did it in Buz's famous Steak Race. I'm pretty sure I only did one mile at a a time and when I got to the two mile mark (where this photo was taken) I layed on the grass for about 5 minutes.

So maybe my little side trip was more of reminiscing time than training but regardless, what a perfect stop. Oh...and for you folks that come down 64 west to get to VT, get off on the Miller School exit one time and check out this great little store about 0.5 miles off the exit (to the left if your going to VT, to the right if your going back from VT). It's called Greenwood Gourmet Grocery . My last trip there i bought Dandelion and Burdock juice!!! AHHH ..i wouldn't recommend it but one drink that is really good is the Cricket Cola w/ Green Tea!

Miles - 3.1

Time - Who even knows

Shoutout - Mr. Spivey!

Town limits

So two weeks ago Alex and I decided to train for the Seashore Nature Trails 50k in Virginia Beach. Needless to say my race schedule has changed a bit and now we are on what might be called an "excelled" schedule to running 31.1 miles by December 19th. We laid out a training schedule that consists of two long endurance runs a week with three shorter speed runs in between totaling 5 running days per week.

Our two endurance runs this week are 16 milers, nothing you can do inside the town of Blacksburg without doing multiple loops. So we decided to venture out into southwest Virginia. We got a start around 5:30 and headed out down Mt. Tabor Road to do an 8 mile loop in the country around town. This first half of the run went a bit smoother and also had quite a bit of elevation change, overtraining us for a race that will essentially be flat.

In Alex's words, "everything was poetic" during the first part. The last 4 miles of the run for us was essentially a battle to stay alive. I guess thats the difference between 12 and 16 miles. In the running world you could say, we hit a WALL. A great accomplishment to break through it not having stopped once and finishing in just about 2 hours and 45 minutes. Lets be honest though, we had the motivation of rehydration at Tots Tuesday to keep us going.

Total on the day - 16 miles

Time - 2 hours 45 mins

Shoutouts - Alex for doing something he's never done

- The guy that always runs by us with blinking lights going absurdly fast

Rain

Back from Atlanta last night and today is the big endurance day. I decided to go to the gym in hopes that it would be more realistic of race day weather than the 40 degrees and monsoon style rains that we are having in Blacksburg right now. The treadmills were excited to see me again, they creaked and groaned as always. I set out to do 12 miles and started out going way to fast but kept the pace as to not kill the point of the day (working on endurance).
Typical of my past days at McComas, I found myself getting in a race against the treadmill. About 30 minutes into the run I decided I wanted to be under 1 hour 30 minutes for the run and I was potentially just about right on track. As I passed the hour mark, it became apparent that I was about 3 minutes behind my goal time. With the treadmill already set at 8mph, things started to get fun. All in all, by the end of the run I had the machine up to its max speed barreling along to come in at 1:29:52. A small achievement in the long run but definitely something to feel good about on the day.

Miles on the day - 12
Songs - Billboard Top 100 from 1998
Shoutout - Sam McNett, the running queen

Atlanta

Down in Atlanta this weekend with family and decided to go out for a run to get some fresh air. My sister had been talking all day of a place named Piedmont Park that is a fun place to hang out so I decided to run there and check it out, everyone thought I was a little crazy. With quite simple directions I set out on foot at a very fast pace, as today is a speed training day. Well, lets just say I'm not ready to run a 50k YET. With a little walking I eventually made my way down past the W hotel and down to the park. Pretty park, nothing extravagant though so I took a little rest, did some thinking, took two laps around the park and headed back.
On the way back I started out walking and listening to some tunes. "Goo Goo Dolls - Name" came on just as I was looking up at the clear blue sky and the impressive buildings...and just as I was starting to think "well maybe this is just one of those days that I felt like just BEING OUTSIDE and not really doing any running", a small little chinese man ran by me top speed. Well it must have looked like a music video or something because I got the urge that all those people got when they followed Forrest Gump. I watched him for about 5 seconds and when he was about 30 yards away I just started sprinting after him. The chase was on and the little kid in me was alive more than ever. Whenever he would slow down for an intersection I would somehow have to veer off and pretend I wasn't chasing him...this got interesting a few times, trust me. I chased him for a good 2 miles and finally subsided after he almost ran into a car coming out of some restaraunt parking lot, little did he know, he would have had help right behind him.

Miles on the day: 9.67 (run 6, walk 3.5)
Lesson of the day: Chasing someone random without them knowing = FUN
Shout out of the day: 2 people that were running counterclockwise at the park
Song of the Day: Goo Goo Dolls - Name

Here starts the madness. . .

Following a recent bicycle accident and two weeks of healing time since my last post, I'll mark today as the first day of training. Went out for a run with Alex, and we just kept going on sort of a wandering run around campus. Turns out we wandered for about 7.5 miles! It felt great after topping out at about 4 or 5 on any other runs previous to this. The general game plan will be to use the next month and a half to build up endurance to around 35 or 40 mile distances and then start speed training in late December in preparation for the Cheaha 50k in February.

Distance = 7.46 miles

Time = Approx. 90 minutes

2010, looking ahead

Today marks the start of training for the 2010 race year. Here is a proposed schedule of the races that I'm looking at competing in, not finalized yet and I probably won't get to do a few of them like the Keys 100 (same weekend as graduation, so its either stay for my 11th year of college and go to the keys OR graduate.........Go to the Keys!!). I want to encourage anybody that is a runner or wants to become a runner to join in some of these with me! Also if anyone would like to serve as a support crew for any of them I may be needing a crew in a couple. It would be fun to have a training partner as well. If the distance seems overwhelming some of the races have shorter races that coincide on the same day so thats an option too. The Terrapin Mountain race is a good example of one of these, there are two races one is a 50k(31.1 miles) and the other is a half marathon (13.1 miles). The Keys 100 is another good example, it has a relay version where you do the 100 miles with a team of 6 people. Hope I hear back from a lot of you! You all have to at least read the past entry form for the barkley. http://www.mattmahoney.net/barkley/bark-ent.txt

Races in bold I have pre-registered for.

December 19th - Seashore Nature Trail 50k Location: Virginia Beach, VA
http://www.tidewaterstriders.com/docs/races/seashore50k09.pdf

February 16^th – Holiday Lake 50K* Location: Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest, VA http://www.extremeultrarunning.com/hlakeinf.htm

February 27^th – Cheaha Mountain 50k Location: Cheaha St. Park, AL http://www.pinhoti100.com/mountcheaha50k/

March 28^th – Terrapin Mountain 50k* Location: Sedalia, VA http://www.eco-xsports.com/terrapin.php

^{March 28th} – Barkley 100 Location: Frozen Head State Park, TN
http://www.mattmahoney.net/barkley/

April 25^th – Promise Land 50k* Location: Bedford, VA http://www.extremeultrarunning.com/promise_land_appl.htm

May 15^th – Keys 100 Location: Key Largo, FL http://www.keys100.com/

October 2^nd – GrindStone 100* Location: Swoope,VA http://www.eco-xsports.com/grindstone.php

November 7^th – MMTR 50 miler* Location: Lynchburg,VA http://www.eco-xsports.com/mmtr.php

December 8^th – Hellgate 100k* Location: Natural Bridge Station, VA http://www.extremeultrarunning.com/hellgate_100k.htm

Race Log!

Haven't had too much time to update the blog recently! 1 day until the race. It starts at 6 am on Saturday (5/16) and here is the link to the race log that Hannah will be updating!

Click Here to go to Race Log!

Total on the day -

Distance - 9.4 miles

Total on the day -

Distance - 10 miles
Time - 76 minutes

Just a few more steps . .

This week life's events just come together into a big ball of madness and its one of those times where you're not really sure how everything gets done but somehow it just does, and then you realize you haven't slept for like 3 days. Exams, running, projects, work will rule my life this week and once 10 AM on May 12th rolls around there will only be one things left to think about, the keys. In fact, there will be 2 things to think about, the other one being Carol Lee Donuts.

I got my last shipment of race gear in the other day, 3 blinking LED lights that were on back order. Just one more reason to run fast in the race, I tested JUST ONE of them out and it really makes concentrating on anything just that much harder, in fact with all three of them turned on its going to be like some european rave out there on the 7 mile bridge.

This week the last aspect of the training will be getting my body used to being up at 6 am. However with exams and all the other fun exciting school things that happen within the last week of school I think it might be more accurate that 6 am will be my bed time but we'll see what happens.
Wanted to give a shout out to Lisa, Bohon, Gretchen and Evan for getting me some good songs! I like them all and I'm getting excited about this playlist!!

Heres what we've got so far!

The Decemberists - O Valencia
David Bazan - How I Remember
John Butler Trio - Funky Tonight
Toto - Africa
Tone Loc - Funky Cold Medina
Coldplay - Fix You
Third Eye Blind - Motorcycle Drive By
T Pain - Church
and 2 cd's full of jam packed goodness!

Total on the day -

Distance - 10 miles

The faster you run the harder it is for the mosquitoes to catch you . .

We went down to Gainesville, Florida this weekend for my sisters graduation from grad school. Cheers to Hannah for becoming a doctor! After being stuck in airports and having canceled flights for almost 12 hours on the way down, I finally arrived with a fever. Slept it off that night and participated in all of the graduation activities on Saturday! After the food coma from lunch started setting in and then following the watching of the sensational win by Mine That Bird in the Kentucky Derby, I figured it was time to go out for a little run. It had been a few days, as this past week I had lots of exams and projects due and what better time to do it then actually being in Florida!

Figuring it was about time I try out all my gear for a longer run, after taking about 10 minutes to get it all on I was ready to go (or go find my camel as Mark might say). Heading out the first mile or two was like trying to make homemade ice cream, the gears were just not turning so easily. After getting a little loosened up I was cruisin though. Felt great to be outside, felt great to be running by things I had never run by before, felt good to explore the city of Gainesville. I stopped about 5 miles into the run and walked for 1oo yards, at this point covered in sweat. When I started again I felt cold? This new material I was running in is amazing, granted the sun was going down so it was getting cooler, it was still 77 degrees, and I was cold. Sauna training is paying off big time.

If there's one thing I can't stand from all the camping trips and hiking explorations I've been on, it's that high pitched buzzing sound of a mosquito in your ear. Maybe thats why I started running fast/hiking fast, who knows. Well I figured out right quick that in Florida, mosquitoes do not fly at 8.0 miles an hour, so if I just keep running, well thats enough motivation for me.

The hardest part about the run, as I had guessed, was the flat/straight/boring pitch that I was running on. As much training on the treadmill as I've done, its still a whole different ball game looking out there in front of you and all you see is sidewalk, for miles, and miles. This being said, I can only imagine whats going to be going through my head once I get to mile 53 of the race and have to cross the 7 mile bridge without support crew help.

Here is my solution and I'm going to leave it up to those of you reading my blog to help me here. I've asked a few people already in person, and gotten some great responses and even a few cd's already :-) For anyone who wants to participate I want to know everyones favorite song (now I know for some of us its hard to pinpoint one, so if you can't make up your mind between 2 or 3, go ahead and let me know them all!). It can be your favorite workout song, or just your favorite song in general. Collectively I will put together a mix of all the songs on my mp3 player and play that during the race while I am running. Probably the easiest way to do this would be just send me an email at mccoyan@vt.edu with the title as Favorite Song or something along those lines, don't leave out your name either! I'd like to know who they are all from because thinking about my family and friends is one of the things that keeps me going so when your song comes on during the race you know who ill be thinking about! Looking forward to hearing all the different tastes!

Total on the day -

Distance - 8.21 miles
Temp - 82 degrees at 45% humidity (Temp is about the same as keys, humidity will be double)

Race Gear is Here!

This is the day...this is the day...this is the day THAT ALL THE RACE GEAR COMES! So for the last 3 days I haven't been able to stay off the UPS.com "Track my Package" feature watching my race gear come across the country from California. The most exciting part that I just managed to find out yesterday is that you can call UPS and they will actually send you a text message about where your package is at! It's like knowing where Santa Clause is or something, unreal!
Having 2 exams today I tried to tell myself that I would not open my race gear until they were over but when the man in brown showed up around 11:00 I just could not help myself, I immediately put it all on and went for a run. Wow, everything felt so light and the Cool Max shirt was so breathable I felt like I had a fan blowing on me the whole time. This is happening. The race is just over 2 weeks away. Excitement, and nervousness sets in big time now. The training will continue but in small increments, no more long sessions, and most of all mental preparation. I'm ready.

Total on the day -

Miles - 5

VT Relay for Life

Relay for Life night! I got off work, went home and immediately packed up my things and hiked over to the drillfield. WOW, there was 5,200 people walking around a track that was 1/5 of a mile, it was packed!
After checking in and looking around a bit for my team I decided it was about time to get started. Being 7:30, at this point I only had 10.5 hours left.
The run started out a bit hectic I must say trying to weave in and out of walkers. It was hard not to get frustrated but I just had to remember that most people were not there to run so I would have to suck it up and just do my best until things settled down later on into the night. I kept a running log throughout the night so here is how things carried out for the next 10 hours . . .

Start ---------- 7:35 PM
50 Laps ------- 9:24 PM
110 Laps ------ 11:45 PM
Rest ---------- 11:45 - 12:15 (Met up with my team during this break, Woot!)
155 Laps -----1:49 AM
Rest ----------1:49 - 3:40 AM (I should have never brought a sleeping bag)
200 Laps ---- 5:32 AM

To emphasize a bit on the run. It was so great running with all those people and seeing so many people out for a great cause. All of you definitely helped me keep going to finish the run whether it be from the spontaneous "go Henry!" shouts, to generous water and food donations, to my new friend Zak that did a bunch of miles with me.

However all this encouragement started getting me thinking a bit about the upcoming race in the keys: there are 50 people in this race, not 5,000. There won't be a live band and the encouragement of seeing cancer survivors out there on the track with you. We will be running in a straight line on a road with cars flying by, not running around a track with cheery friends and people trying to sell lemonade and throwing footballs. There will be NO SMILING ALLOWED in the keys. Haha, ok so thats a bit extreme and I will most definitely be smiling, perhaps crying? throughout the race and definitely as I cross the finish line but it started to make me nervous about keeping that motivation throughout the race because you all made it so easy to keep going!

However; I won't be alone in the keys and if there are two people that I look up to, that know me thoroughly and know darn well how to get me excited and motivated, that would be Hannah and Mark. To an ultra runner, the support crew is your backbone. They keep you going, keep you hydrated, keep you fed, and most of all just seeing them at that next stop keeps you motivated. The support crew is just as much a part of the race as the runner, after all, both of their races end at the same time whether it be 16 hours or 32. So I wanted to say thanks to my sis and "bro" for all the time they are committing because I couldn't have a better team!

So those of you on my team should get a kick out of this picture. For those of you that don't know, I met my team about 3 days before Relay for Life while they were downtown late night selling Doritos and snacks to fundraise.
Well I didn't have a team and wanted to participate so they graciously took me under their wing and gave me this napkin because well, I was having a little trouble remembering the team name. Thanks yall!






Some shout outs from relay!
-Zak, the mining engineer, thanks for running with me, I'm impressed that your'e not a runner
yet pushed yourself to do 16 miles anyway
- Team Ateht Ahpla Ihp, even though we didn't get to hang out to much at the race thanks for
reaching out and letting me be on your team, oh, and when I came back to the mountain of
water bottles it was like a little oasis!
- Jess Quick,Caitlin, Jill, Bryon, and the competitive cheer girls, it was nice meeting those of you that I didn't know and I thoroughly enjoyed my 2 hour break with you all and the many conversations we had during it. Oh! and thanks for the food, not gonna lie the cookies are almost gone!
- Jessica Daniels, for every shout out!
- All the girls out there from Sigma Kappa, you guys always put a smile on my face :-)

For those wondering how I kept track of my laps, I worked out a little system that goes as follows. I carried a water bottle, so starting with my right hand after the first lap, I would move one finger to the side of my water bottle, after the second lap I would have two fingers on one side and three on the other. After 5 laps (one mile) all my fingers would be on the same side of the bottle and I would start on my left hand. After completing two miles my my left hand would be done and I would go back to the right and do the right hand water bottle one more time. After 3 miles or 15 laps I would make a mark with a pen on my wristband, as you can see from the picture below. If you count them, there are 13 marks. 13 x 15 = 195 and then I finished with 5 laps that aren't marked.

Lastly! Thank you so much to everyone who helped donate to my fundraising page! We just hit the goal of $1,000 yesterday and we still have 3 weeks to keep going!

Total on the day -

Miles - 40.0
Time - 10 hours
Friends - Awesome

Total on the Day -

Sauna - 47 minutes

Total on the Day -

Sauna - 48 minutes
Miles - 10
Time - 66 minutes

There are the good days and the not so good days of training. . .

Well, once again being Tuesday I decided to gorge myself at D2 once again.

2 servings of Hunan chicken with white rice
2 glasses of cherry coke
1 plate vegetarian macaroni and cheese and corn
1 plate of whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce
1 bowl chinese broth soup
1 bowl low fat granola cereal
1 plate of spinach leaves, tomatoes, cucumbers and broccoli
1 creme brulee
1 bowl of peaches
1 apple
0 motivation to sit in the sauna at the same time as trying to digest all this food

I learned that having a huge meal and going to sit in the sauna for 45 minutes, just is not going to work as part of my schedule. What an uncomfortable feeling, trying to digest and sit in a room that is 160 degrees Fahrenheit. If every day of training was a good one though, it wouldn't be training. So after 20 minutes in the sauna I couldn't bare it any longer and went home and layed down. No run today, I needed a break. However, learning from your mistakes is what training is all about so from now on I will try to make breakfast my big meal OR run in the morning and then make dinner my big meal.

Total on the day

Sauna - 20 minutes

If you're goin through hell, keep on goin . .

24 days till race day, and last night I already had my first weird dream about running and those horrible letters DNF (did not finish). My stomach feels like the race is tomorrow morning.
Being a new week it was time to take a step up in the sauna training so today I took in a pen and paper to write a bit to try to take my mind off the heat. I learned two things.

1) Pens work really well in the sauna because the ink is hot and flows smooth
2) Pens do not work really well in the sauna because your paper is drenched with sweat

Anyhow, writing a bit did help to take my mind off things for the first 30 minutes and then I moved from the top shelf to the lower shelf for the last 17 minutes which mentally was very relieving. For anyone not familiar with sauna, there are generally two rows of seats, one is high and one low. The high seats are much hotter than the lower ones.
Following the sweat, I headed to McComas and did a run walk run combo of 4 miles, 1 mile, and 5 miles respectively. The first 4 miles I ran at an 8.5 mph pace, walked the 5th mile at a 4 mph pace, ran the 5-7 mile at a 7 mph pace, 7-9 at a 9 mph pace, and finished the last mile at 10 mph.

The pace changes were not a pre-thought out schedule yet I ended up getting into a race against the clock on the treadmill. I got to the hour mark on my run and was at 6.9 miles, my goal for the day was 10 miles. Knowing I can finish a 5k in 20 minutes, I challenged myself to finish under 80 minutes. About mile 8.2 rolled around and I hit a wall, "oh just walk for a minute", "the gym doesn't close for another hour, you'll definitely finish your 10 miles", "legs are feeling pretty tired right about now, this is a quick pace, you deserve a rest", "it's not the race, this is training, so why try your hardest right now, just take a little break", GET OUT OF MY MIND SHEDEVIL! I kept up, thought through it for a second and broke right on through it on the premises of whats another 13 minutes running, at least its not 13 more minutes in the sauna. Sprinting through the last mile with the treadmill at top speed ( I think at least 3 people were waiting for me to trip and sail right off the thing) I finished in 79:54, satisfaction.

Total on the day -

Sauna -47 minutes
Distance - 10.0 miles
Time - 79:54
Calories - 1405

Don't fart in the sauna please . . .

Excitement struck again this weekend as I finalized all the plans for the Keys 100 race. I booked our hotel about a mile from the start line and ordered all the remaining gear I will need for the race! Check out the list to the left (If you click the picture it will make it bigger and easier to read), I'm gonna end up looking pretty goofy after I get all that stuff on! Now that all the big pieces are in place, it's time to start getting down to all the small details like what types of foods i'll want, music selection, coolers, etc. The planning is unending!
Once again taking it easy over the weekend and recovering a bit from my miles on Thursday. I did go out today however and do my sauna time and get in a few miles. I finally realized as well that the sauna training is doing is starting to kick in. Why?
1) Mentally it is growing easier and easier to go and sit in there.
2) I'm starting to get goosebumps in 65 degree weather.
3) I start sweating much earlier into my runs because my body is getting used to this being a way of cooling down.

The most rewarding thing that I noticed this weekend is how much simpler and fun every day tasks seem after running so much, just a hint that the repetitive treadmill training is working as well. Just every day activities, going to class, eating, wearing flip flops!, even just sitting outside on a nice day. They all are so much more enjoyable now, simply because, its something other than running on a treadmill, hopefully the 100 mile run in the keys will have this same effect.

Total on the day -

Sauna - 30 minutes
Distance - 4.5 miles
Time - 35 minutes

32 for 32

Knowing today would be a big day going to bed at one o'clock after the lighting of the memorial candle was probably not the best idea, knowing that I had to be up at 6 in the back of my head. Well needless to say I got up around 6:30, delivered some flowers till about 7:15 and ran over to Shultz for the 3.2 for 32 Memorial Run. All in all, what a cool event. Over 4,000 runners circling the drillfield all at the same time, we should do that every weekend.
After running the first run with Andrew we finished up in a solid 20 minutes and I had an hour and half to rest before the big chunk of the day. Come 10 o'clock, probably about 30 people showed up to do the 32 laps around the drill field and I can't say how much it helped me to keep going having some other people out there doing the same thing so thanks to those of you that came and participated! Not to mention meeting some new friends along the way Kirsten, Lauren and Ashley, you guys did a great job!
Completed about 10 laps and the parking services and police were really starting to wonder what I was doing. "How far have you run man?" "It's killing me just watching you" were among some of the comments. Well I finished 20 laps just before the noon ceremony so I stopped to watch that. Following the ceremony there was a picnic on the drillfield, something I did not take into consideration. On the next 12 laps, student afters student kept walking by with styrofoam containers full of pizza and i'd get a wiff here and there, my stomach was yelling at me. Well after about 29 laps my legs were feeling like jello and I had to walk a couple before hustling out the last one to finish in just about 4 hours. I'd have to say that the most touching part of the day however was when one of the students who had been wounded during April 16th approached me and said "thank you." I didn't even really know what to say I was just overwhelmed that I may have had even the slightest impact on him on a day like that.
Well after finishing 32 laps, I went and got my OWN styrofoam container full of pork BBQ, ate it and immediately fell asleep on my back on the drill field, to wake up to none other than a majorly sunburnt face and a wicked farmers tan. I did a little more running/walking throughout the day but did not finish the full 60 miles, we'll have to save that for another time. Also wanted to give a big shout out to Aynsley and Hayden, I really enjoyed my time with you all throughout the day!

Total on the day -

Miles = 34

The hard part . . .

Took it easy today but its funny how sometimes you learn the most when you don't think you will learn anything. Sitting in the sauna, I realized that it is not the running part of things that is going to be the hardest part of this race. (Now before anyone yells at me, notice how I said hardest...I know the run will be hard!) I've been running my whole life. I was obsessed with running the mile in elementary school. My mom brought to my attention the other day that she used to tell me to "go run around the house ten times" when I had too much energy. I am ready to run.
The hardest part about this race will be diving out of the way of the Florida drivers down on Route 1 through the keys. No really though, just about everything other than the running. Eating the right amounts at the right time, drinking enough water, dealing with the heat (I can't stand being hot). Most of all, the mental game, keeping my head focused on the next step and not how many steps I have left. I don't even think I'll have much time to think about the running with all the other factors playing in.
Anyhow, no running for today because I'm resting up for tomorrow. The goal will be 60 miles. 34 before work. 26 after. The part before should be quite easier because 28 of it will be in the Run for Rememberance 3.2 and then running 32 laps around the drill field starting at 10.
I can't tell all of you all who have been supporting me about my blog how much it means. I had no idea people were even reading this really I just started it so people would believe I was going to do the run. It gives me a new fire every time someone brings it up. On that note lets all give thanks for our friends and family tomorrow, I know mine are a blessing to me every day.

Total on the Day -

Sauna - 30 minutes

Time to buy new pants??

With a focus on maintaining weight I payed a visit to D2 after work today. Knowing I had a big run coming up this Thursday, it was time to start loading up. I ate for about an hour and could barely walk out of the dining hall following
1 plate General Tsao's and Vegetable Stir Fry
1 plate whole wheat pasta w/ chicken sauce
1 plate corn, sweet potato fries and vegetarian nuggets
2 pieces of pizza
1 tuna melt on wheat bread
1 bowl of tropical fruit salad
1 plate spinach leaf, carrot, tomato, and cucumber salad
1 piece banana bread
and 2 glasses of powerade.
I drove home and fell asleep for an hour immediately and woke up and forced myself to drive over to the sauna. Well if the sauna isn't uncomfortable enough as it goes, having a stomach ache in the sauna really doesn't cut it for comfort. Oh and note to readers, taking an extra pair of underwear and leaving it outside the door doesn't always work either. A Chinese man who was studying electrical engineering came in for a few minutes. He was quite interested in my camel back and what I was doing so he really helped me forget about the time asking all sort of questions about the race. 31 minutes and done.
Time to head over to McComas, however it was already 10:30 so I knew I wouldn't get in a very long run today. The stomach ache and my lower back were really getting to me on the treadmill so I ran a few miles at a time between short walks and ended up leaving at midnight.

Oh! And the real zinger for the day. I went home, took a shower, put on a pair of pants and drove downtown to play some pool for the last hour of my night. Getting out of my car to walk into the pool hall, I stood up and POP. The button flew right off my pants. How could I possibly be running 60 miles a week and not fitting into my pants?? I guess that makes it a successful day on the aspect of maintaining weight, hah.

T0tal on the Day

Sauna - 31 minutes
Distance - 8.1 miles
Time - 1 hour 6 minutes
Calories - 1,150
D2 - Ouch

Mama said they was my magic shoes . . .

Waking up this morning felt like Christmas, I was super tired due to lack of sleep and I knew my shoes were coming! The anticipation of putting them on my feet, taking that first couple strides and feeling like I was floating was to hard to deal with through class!
Today also marks the 1 month date from when I will fly down to Florida to prepare for the race with my sister and Mark which means training has just taken another huge step up. Part of this step up will not only being increasing weekly mileage but sitting in a sauna once a day for the next month. Sauna training will go as follows. I will start out sitting in the sauna for 30 minutes for the first week and every week following add 15 minutes to that time. This way by the time I am ready to leave for Florida I will be up to an hour and 15 minutes.
Anyway, back to the shoes! So I anxiously sat through Organic Chemistry thinking about what type of polymer or molecule my shoes might be made out of. Then I went...ok no...I definetly was not thinking of what molecule my shoes were made out of, probably something more simple like "I wonder if the laces are neon green?" So I left ochem, ran a quick 5k in McComas, snagged pizza from West End, went to Plant Taxonomy, hurried home and looked on the porch, no shoes yet. Well off to work and back and there they were, 3 pairs of yellow Go-Lites. I immediately put them on, nervous about my knees hurting again.
The first sauna session today was a little tough. Rightly so though after reading that saunas average between about 150-200 degrees. The hardest part is the lack of things to do, you can't take in electronics, too hot. You can't read, your sweat would drench your book. I guess i'll just have to get creative with it, maybe I can find some of my old batman action figures to play with. Oh, and I figured out one thing, if you want to be in the sauna by yourself, take an extra pair of underwear with you and leave them outside the door on the ground.
Following the 30 minute sweat, I headed to McComas to finish up the day with a 1 hour/8 mile run AND . . the shoes felt great. I felt like a brand new man.

Total on the Day -

Sauna - 30 minutes , 40 oz of water
Distance - 11.1 miles
Time - 1 hour and 25 minutes
Calories ~ 1,350

A quick punch . .

After starting out the day with two Debbie Downer exams it was definetly time to turn the attitude around. Running straight out of my last test I hustled to McComas and decided this was gonna be a Wally Haywood type day.
For those unfamiliar, Wally Haywood is an ultra distance running legend. He holds the world record for the 100 mile on a track, in 12 hours and 47 minutes. Well last night I did some calculations, this means he ran approximately 7.9 miles/hour for 100 miles! Wow. So then I figured out what it would take to run the first sub 12 hour 100 mile run. 8.4 miles/hour for 100 miles or in other terms covering 10 miles every 72 minutes.
I ran up to the gym all excited about checking out what this pace would feel like and the treadmills were full, that just means I got a good stretch in today though. So I hopped on the first free mill and took off, 8.5 mph, wow and it took me a minute or two to even get my stride in pace with the treadmill which maxes out at 10 mph. The first mile was horrible, stride constantly changing, and I felt like I was sprinting. Then the groove hit...and I was fine. I could pinpoint the one moment when I said, "I could get used to this." Well no headphones today but the pace and my endorphins kept me entertained for at least 30 minutes. I asked a girl what her favorite workout song is, she wanted nothing to do with my question. Maybe she thought I was hitting on her, in the gym, as I was running 8.5 mph?? Who knows. Well up came 60 minutes and there I was sitting at 8.5 and I decided I wanted to finish in under 70 so I slowly moved the speed up to 10 where I maxed out and finished in 69 minutes and 40 seconds. Success.

Now, do it for 100 miles.....

Total on the day -

Miles = 10.0
Calories = 1550
Time = 69 mins 47 seconds

Ants Marching . .

After taking it easy over the weekend and getting out to do some biking and canoeing, it was time for another large run. This one I want to dedicate to my friend Vinnie Thomas for a good talk we had Friday, thanks again bro for the motivation, inspiration, and support. I got myself super psyched throughout the work day and went straight to McComas after work. Shooting for 40 miles as a goal I got on the treadmill at about 6:20, McComas closes at midnight so this would be pushing it.
Mentally, it is very straining to think about running for 5 and a half hours straight. Knowing from past experiences that this thought would probably overtake me at some point during the run I decided to try to split the run up into hour segments. At this point in the game, running for an hour is typically no big deal. A big deal is running the treadmill to 99:59 minutes and then seeing it reset to 00:00 and saying.."ok, now lets do that one more time."
Well I set the treadmill on about 7 mph and started up. The first hour flew by and I looked down and was at 64:50, and just pushing 8 miles. I ate a Clif Bar, and started the second hour. Towards the 40 minute mark of this hour I started playing the time game in my head. 20 minutes left, 19 minutes left, 18 minutes left. Then the music changed pace completely and Dave Matthews - Ants Marching completely saved me and keeping it on repeat 4 or 5 times got me through this hour. Another bathroom break. Another Clif Bar. Hour 3 was difficult but easier than the 2nd hour because I knew I was passing the halfway point of the run. Having committed to running 32 /24 miles around the drillfield on April 16th I forced myself to finish this hour because that would be 24 miles total nonstop running. I walked the next 2 miles to complete a full marathon.
It was getting to be about 10:30 and the gym was beginning to clear out as well as the wierd looks I kept getting for being half fatigued. I decided to pull off a run walk combo for the next hour and a half and completed a total 8.2 miles in that time.
I had been to the doctor earlier in the day to get antibiotics for a sinus infection I've had for the last 2 weeks and they weighed me in at 163.2 so on the way out of the gym as a little experiment I thought I would weigh in again to see what type of weight I was loosing on these big runs. 157.5 . . . . holy smokes, 6 pounds?? Granted I was dehydrated and most of that was water weight, this explains why multiple people saw me sitting in D2 the next day with 8 plates and 3 bowls of food stacked up around me gorging myself from 5-7.

Total on the day
Miles = 34.2
Time = 5 hours 40 minutes
Cals = ???
Weight = 6 pounds

If only wheat penne tasted like strawberry banana smoothies. . . .

So with some external motivation this morning I got up super early and ran over to the gym by 8:00 AM. Needless to say, McComas is like an empty department store at 8 AM. Luckily there were a few construction workers and 1 or 2 people on the treadmills to help somewhat. I didn't really go to the gym with a set goal today and was just going to sort of wing it.
Ends up winging it turned into 2 full hours of running without one stop, an accomplishment for me on the treadmill. I think it is the longest I have ever gone without stopping at least to walk for a minute. The song Switchfoot - Meant To Live got me through about the last 20 minutes real strong. Although they strongly recommend not using mp3 players in the Keys race, I think it will be necessary.
Directly after running I felt like it would be good to get used to eating and then try to run again so I went to West End, and ordered 2 smoothies, half basket of fries and some wheat penne with alfredo sauce. The smoothies went down real easy, the fries were a little harder to eat, but the wheat penne was just unbearable. I felt like I was chewing on stones I was eating so slow. Some of this had to do with the taste of the sauce being quite undesirable but it is also just HARD to eat right after you run. Well it took me about an hour to come anywhere close to finishing it and I started the run home. Pains and cramps everywhere, and by the time I finally got the 1 mile home, things started to buff out. It was probably one of the hardest time I've ever had running in my life.

Total on the day

Miles = 16.2
Calories = 2,200
Time = 3 hours and 45 minutes with meal time included

Pump it . . .

So I ordered 3 pairs of new shoes today online. They were all about 80% off their regular 95 dollar price and I ended up getting them all for about 100. Now lets just hope they fit and perform well. They are Go Lite shoes and each pair weighs 1 lb 10 oz, this should help with not feeling to heavy when running down in the Keys.
As far as running goes my legs felt replenished from Sunday, so after a full day of class and a 5 plate, hour and a half all you can eat session at D2, it was time to go to McComas. After running outside yesterday, going back to the treadmill felt sort of like coming back to school from spring break. So to help with the repetitiveness of the treadmill I've decided to start asking people next to me what their favorite workout song is, and by the chance that it might be in the 10 GB's of music on my mp3 player, trying to work out to that and see if I can relate. The girl next to me today said Pump It - Black Eyed Peas, and I agree and especially like the part at 2:42 - 3:10. This part of the song really threw me for a loop. It has a slight buzzing noise in it and something about the volume level or frequency of the buzz would make my tonsils start buzzing. I played the song over 4 times, and it happened every time, so weird.
I had recently looked up an article on running on treadmills vs running outside and it made a good point about how you can generally run faster on treadmills because there is no wind resistance, so they recommend a setting of 1 incline to make up for the wind, so this will now be incoorporated into all treadmill runs.
The run went rather smooth and I actually started to feel the rewards of what I've been training for, I ran 13.7 miles and at the end of it I felt like I was just getting started. Eating the huge meal about 30 minutes beforehand definetly probably played a role in this.

Total on the day

Miles = 13.7
Calories Burned = ~ 2,100
Time = 2 hours even

24 hours . . is a long time

So I woke up today, a tad bit sore from the Sunday Run and then it hit me...if this was race day, I would still be running right now and not have slept any of that time. This is all that went through my head for the rest of the day . . "right now, I would still be running" . .all the way up until 6:00 pm which was 24 hours after the start of the Sunday Run. It was gorgeous in the latter part of the day and immediately after work at 6:00 I finished the other half of the pokey sticks and jetted out onto the streets of Blacksburg. WOW, it felt good to not be on a treadmill, proof that this aspect of my training was effective.
What I am referring to here is the reason I have been training on the treadmill. Besides the fact that the keys are flat, like a treadmill, I have a feeling it will get, I don't want to use boring because this race will be anything but boring, but sort of repetitive. Running on the treadmill, is uber repetitive. After running a marathon on that thing I could have watched golf or even poker on TV and gotten really excited about it.
So I headed out at 6:30, and ran a big figure eight around campus totalling 6 miles. I felt spiced up in the last mile of my run but about 15 minutes after arriving home I fell straight asleep. Hopefully there are no beds on the side of the road in the keys, or vans named Helen with beds in them for that matter.

Total on the day

Miles = 6

Chocolate milk and Salami??

Was planning on heading to McComas starting at about 4 pm and running until close (midnight) but once again just like any running race things didn't go just as planned and it turned out to be a fairly nice day so I had to take advantage of that and go on a little motorcycle adventure. Following Liz and I's purple toed escapade to scout out some of the big wig houses of Blacksburg, I was ready for the Sunday Run.
I got to McComas around 6:45 pm, prepped my treadmill with the essentials (camelback,mp3 player,clif shots and roctane, and my cell phone just incase things got real boring) and started out. After a mile or 2 of beer perspiration I was in the groove and then came mile 6, this soon really? Yes, bathroom break.
Downstairs and back up and ready to rock again but after listening to Tracy Chapman - Give me one reason and the Black Eyed Peas - Where is the love for 50 minutes collectively, it was time for a new jam. My Music>Albums>Billboard Top 100 from 1998, perfect. The next 20 miles was a walk run mixture and i successfully calculated the amount of time that I can walk in between runs without my legs getting cramped up, 8.5 minutes. This was a good thing to know. Also tried a Roctane gel shot for the first time and it worked great so I'll be switching from Clif ShotBloks over to those now.
A marathon later, legs feeling dead and SUPER hungry I headed out of the gym at around 11:15. The Sunday Run was over and I had kept a running list of all the foods I craved throughout my run.

1)Salami
2) Chocolate Milk
3)Yogurt
4) More chocolate milk

10 minutes later I found myself ordering Pokey sticks from Gumby's, going to Kroger and buying chocolate milk, yogurt and orange juice, then going home to indulge in all 4. Gross.

Total on the day -
Miles = 26.4
Time = 4 hours 18 minutes including bathroom break
Calories burned = 3,300

5KD

Today was the 5KD Road Race. Woke up around 9:15, had a bagel and cream cheese and ran over to the Virginia Tech cross country course. I wasn't really sure how many people to expect to be there, as most races in Blacksburg are fairly small. I reached the crest of the hill of Smithfield Plantation and there was 500 people in the field! The course was quite a wreck from the couple days of rain we've had so it was an interesting start with people sliding all over the place. Finished in about 19:10 in 10th place so pretty good overall! Cheers to Kappa Delta for having such a great turnout.

Total on the Day

Miles = 5

Homewrecker

Trying to integrate some longer runs into the weekdays now to bump my training up to around 60-70 miles a week in the next 2 weeks or so. Today I went down to Moe's before my run to support the VTTV fundraiser. I ordered the Homewrecker burrito. For those of you not familiar with the Homewrecker burrito, it as about the size of 2 softballs fused together. This thing is no joke. Well I can honestly say never again will I go running 15 minutes after eating one of these bohemoths. I could taste the thing the whole hour and a half and looking in the mirror in front of the treadmill all I could imagine was this huge burrito wrapped in aluminum foil bouncing up and down in my stomach. Lesson learned, but on the positive side, I had PLENTY of energy.

Total on the day

Miles = 10.34
Calories = 1254
Time = 1 hour 38 minutes

Relief

So I decided at the wedding to spend the time with my friends which I hadn't seen for a year or two and put off the running until we all split our own ways. Well we got back to Blacksburg around 7:15 pm today and I headed over to McComas at 8:15 to start running. All in all it was a successful trip, the inserts are working! My knee was still hurting a little bit but I ran much farther than last time and it didnt hurt as much afterward so that is a good sign. The downside of the inserts is they put pressure on my feet where I am not used to so now just about every part of my foot is sore.

Total on the day -
Miles = 20.15
Calories Burned = 2,500
Time = 3 hours and 40 minutes

I actually remembered to eat before running today. 5 soft bean tacos from taco bell and a full foot long sub before the run. After I have had a couple glasses of chocolate milk, a yogurt, and now im breaking into a pizza as i type, so I think I'm gonna concentrate on that now!

Designated Driving

Designated Driving on Thursday night was successful! I raised $32.69 so thanks to all of you all who were responsible and donated! This weekend I'm down in North Carolina for a wedding so I called ahead to make sure that the hotel has a treadmill and they do so hopefully I will be getting some running in later today. Thanks again to all those who have made donations to the website, cruising right along to hit that goal of $1000!

Orthodics

So I went searching for inserts for my shoes to straighten out this knee problem and found a great little store out in Christiansburg. The name was something like New River Valley Orthodics right across 460 business from Montgomery Regional Hospital. I only took about 3 steps into the store and started looking at inserts before I was greeted by a man named Phil. I told Phil what I was looking for and what my problem was and he must have been watching me walk those 3 strides into the store or something because he described exactly the same thing that I thought was going on with my foot. I knew the guy wasn't lying because he said I drag my heel and then my foot rolls inward. Well, I just happened to look at the bottom of my running shoes the other night, and guess what. They were worn down very heavily on the outsides of the heel. Phil, was on the ball. Well I went ahead and took his suggestion for which pair of inserts to buy and talked to him slightly about custom orthodics as well, which would cost $300 but he said would be a good idea. Maybe we'll save that for a later date.
Tonight I'm going to try out DDing for a St. Patricks Day party that is going on in town to hopefully raise some money through donations for the fundraiser. I'm hoping maybe to get about 50 on the night but we'll just have to see how it goes.

Problem solved!

So after my Monday run my IT band was starting to feel all locked up again and I figured immediately it was time to get to a specialist. Being late, going that day wouldn't be an option so I started researching more online about this ITBS (Illiotibial Band Syndrome). Well come to find out that one of the causes of it can be overpronation of the feet, which is basically just having flat feet. I do have flat feet and when people with overpronated feet walk, their knees tend to move towards the inside of their leg. So if the IT band is on the outside of my leg, and due to overpronation, my knee moves inward, then it must be pulling my IT band where it dosen't like to go! No wonder it hurts!! So problem solved, ice the knee and rest up a few days while looking for a new pair of running shoes or finding some solid inserts to save my arch!

Lesson learned

Running to McComas I felt my IT band starting to act up going up stairs and what not so took it easy on the way over. Treadmill started out great but gradually I felt my knee starting to act up a bit again and ended up having to stop at about 12.1 miles after 1 hour and 40 minutes. In this 100 minutes, I listened to 3 songs, each on repeat for about 30 minutes. 1) Black Eyed Peas - Where is the Love 2) Candlebox - Far Behind 3) Mariah Carey - One sweet day. I dont know if i'll ever do that again.

Lesson Learned: Don't try to run 26 miles when all you've eaten on the day is a pear, a piece of cheese and about 30 ounces of chocolate milk.

Immediately hiked over to west end and demolished 2 pieces of pizza and an entree of whole wheat pasta.

Goal = 26-30 miles Reality = 12.1 miles

Training begins . .

Two weeks after the Cheaha Mountain 50k, 6 deep blisters, 1 swollen IT band, and plantar fascitis in the right foot have all finally healed up and it is time to continue training for the Keys 100. The fundraiser page reached $500 yesterday which is the half way mark for my goal of $1000 so heres a pat on the back and a thanks to all of those that have contributed. The plan for training today will be to jog over to McComas and do some treadmill work to simulate the flat terrain that I'll be running on down in the Keys. Goal for the day.... 26-30 miles.