29 people registered for the marathon, 25 started. Of the 25, 6 did-not-finish for a total of 19 finishers.
Men's and overall winner finished the marathon in 3:31:15.
I finished 12th overall, 9th male.
As an added note, Chia was 1 of only 5 females to finish the full marathon.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Indian-Celina Challenge
My wife Chia and I ran the Indian-Celina Challenge trail (ultra) marathon on June 12, 2010 in the Hoosier National Forest, just north of Tell City, IN. The course was quite challenging and the weather a big factor later in the day. Here's how I saw it.
We got to the Hoosier National Forest on Friday evening about 7:00 pm and were greeted at the guard shack by the camp host. I had reserved a camping spot on line several weeks prior. The campground had numerous pit toilets similar to the ones at Berryman (I'm going to do a lot of comparing to Berryman here, so stand by for that) but also pea-graveled campsites, electric services and a central shower room with running water, flush toilets and shower rooms. Quite nice actually. We set up the tent in between thunderstorm cells and settled in with a beer to get set up for the next day. There was also a fishing tournament going on at the park that weekend so we had some different neighbors at the campground than we usually have the night before a trail run but everyone was reasonably well behaved and when I woke up at 11:15pm to make a trip to the outhouse all was dead quiet.
We awoke the next morning at 04:00 to rain and I immediately pictured another day of Berryman-like running in ankle-deep water but the rain stopped quickly and the rain from the day/night before had mostly soaked in. It would not do more than sprinkle intermittently the rest of the day.
We made a pot of coffee on our Primus Classic Trail stove (I LOVE that thing) and set about our morning routine. We drove down to the park entrance to get our "race pack" which included only a thin magazine about the trail series, a pamphlet on the park and the nice Brooks technical shirt. This race does not use paper numbers, which I really like. They just write your number on both forearms with a Sharpie.
We drove back to our campsite and finished preparations. We jogged the .75 miles or so from our campsite to the start (thus making the day's event an "ultra"!!!) and set off a little after the published start time of 06:30. There is an 8-mile, 1/2-marathon and marathon option so the first 1 to 2 miles were pretty crowded. After that it thinned out quickly and at the first aid station the 8-mile runners split off. I passed or was passed no more than 10 times the whole day and the last 13 miles I was almost totally alone.
The aid stations were a little spartan by ultrarunner standards and were manned by high school students mostly and runner from the Tell City community. Water, sports drink, trail mix and M & M's were pretty much it. I wore my Ultimate Direction Wasp with a Camelback bladder was very, very thankful I did later in the day. I would characterize the volunteers as helpful and cheerful but it was clearly not the same as seeing familiar and encouraging SLUG faces there!
The course was is pretty good shape despite all the rain. There were numerous muddy areas but almost all were complete navigatable and not really that lengthy. On the second loop it was a little sloppier in places and I did get a shoe sucked off once. There are 4 or 5 stream crossing, the deepest and widest one very similar to Brazil Creek and had to waded. The others you could mostly pick your way around/across with minimal soaking. The course itself is not particularly technical and there is very little rock or root dodging necessary. Long stretches of it are wide and soft with pine needles or dirt and there is not much in the way of switchbacks. What the course does have though is hills. Long, semi-steep, and did I mention, long. Most of the hills were exposed to the sun and grassy and necessitated walking even on the first loop, at least by me. Which brings me to my run.
I started off slow and let the 8-milers and 1/2 marathoners as well as the over-ambitious newbies go fast for the first couple of miles, and the packs quickly thinned out. It was hot and humid even at the 6:30 start, probably 80 degrees, so I had planned to take it easy on the first loop and really concentrate on taking fluids at the aid stations and supplementing with the water from my Camelback in between. As far as food goes I use Honey Stinger Gold gel and planned to take my first one at the 2-hour mark. I snuck trail mix or M&Ms at each aid station also. I felt a little low on sugar by the time I took that first gel at 2-hours but felt pretty good, although really hot already, by the time I finished the first loop at 2:38 (by my watch). I had a back injury a couple of months ago doing Crossfit in my garage and this had aggravated my hip problems which in turn seem to due to my flat feet, but I digress. What I mean to say is that the problems I was having with hip pain and quadratus tightness that led to my decision to drop at 25-miles at Berryman were not an issue at Indian-Celina. I think the arch supports and the chiropractic manipulations have really helped in that regard. Anyway, I was a little slower on the first loop than I hoped but still though I might be able to finish around 5-hours.
The second loop did not turn out so great, to say the least. The increased heat and occasional sun caused me to slow and I seemed to spend more time at the aid stations pouring water on my head in an attempt to cool down. I took a second gel at 3:30-mark and increased my water intake from my Camelback as well as at the aid stations. Unfortunately I had made a huge mistake and forgot to put S-caps in my pack. I had a big, brand new bottle in my duffel back in the trunk of my car, back at the campsite, but none with me. The aid stations had no potatoes and salt or even salty potato chips that I usually eat at ultras, and although I didn't specifically ask, I didn't see any S-caps at any of the aid stations or really have any reason to suspect the aid station workers had any. Subsequently I began to really struggle with hydration. My hands were getting puffy and my pee darker and less frequent as the second loop went on. I had not used all the original fill of water in my Camelback until about half way through the second loop, but then I refilled and drank it all with an hour after that, yet I was still crumping. I walked A LOT more of the slight hills than on the first loop and between the aid stations at 22.1 and 24.1 I drained a my full Camelback again. I began to have serious doubts about being able to finish and was actually passed by one of full marathon female runners whom I had not even previously seen behind me. I pulled out my iPod, which I rarely use, especially on trails, and began to mentally hunker down, trying to just make it to that 24.1 mile aid station. My water was gone and I was really feeling like crap as I walked hill after hill, hoping the aid station was around the bend at the top of each one, as I had remembered it from the first loop. I had no ideas how far I had gone or how far to go since my pace was so off and I really wasn't sure what time I had left the last aid station or precisely what mile maker the hilltop aid station was at.
I finally crested a hill to see find the last aid station which was manned by a couple of high school guys who were obviously bored and ready to be done for the day! I asked if they had soda since I had not seen any the whole day and they said they had 2 cans of Coke left in the cooler. Oh MAN, what a lifesaver!!! I downed one of those and took in as much trail mix as I could. I spent a few extra minutes savoring the last half of the Coke, obviously leaving the other can for the next poor soul, and refilled my Camelback for the last 2-miles or so to go. I headed out of the aid station feeling a little better, and within about 10-15 minutes felt a lot better. I kept hitting my Camelback but my hands were getting puffier and puffier so I was surely losing all my intravascular fluids now. I came upon another runner with about 1/2 mile to go, sitting on top of a large rock at the top of the last real hill of the day. He looked even worse than I had felt 20 minute prior. I stopped and offered him water from my Camelback which he readily accepted. There was still a lot in there and we were close to the end so I encouraged him to take as much as he wanted. I goaded him into walking with me a little ways then tried to get him to run but he was not having it. He assured me he was alright and I know the road was only about 50 meters ahead so I took off at a pretty good clip and broke onto the road at about 5:58/5:59. I knew there was no way I could break 6:00 and really didn't even care so I strode over the finish line at a reasonable pace to finish about 6:01. My splits were about 2:38 and 3:23.
I was about the 11th or so overall finisher and 8th or so male, and I learned there were a half- dozen or so people behind me still on the course and that a lot of people had DNFd or dropped down to the 1/2 marathon. The guy who took some of my water finished about a minute after me and the RD went out to sweep the course for the last hour or so of the official race. Of the 6 or so left, 4 or 5 dropped, one crossed about 1/2 hour after the course closed and one was still running when we left to head back to the campsite. I had two burgers and some more water and perked up a lot, but as I mentioned previously I was really, really dehydrated and had a lot of extravascular fluid on board. Some salty chili and burger at Wendy's did the trick and by the time we got back to my parents' house in central Illinois my hands were back to normal.
I made some big mistakes on that run, learned a lot, and did some really, really good mental suffering. It was a valuable training run and overall a good day for me, despite my crappy time and splits.
I would definitely recommend the race and the campground, and may do it again next year depending on timing.
Oh man, I forgot to mention the bugs! How could I forget?!? The horseflies and fly-flies were horrible all day! Ten times worse than I have ever, ever seen at Berryman. Just terrible. I guess the rest of my struggle sucked so much I nearly blocked that out, but they were really bad. I bathed in OFF! at every aid station and had reasonable luck keeping them away early on, but eventually I guess I sweated it off or they just became immune and I just accepted they were part of the deal, but they sucked.
I don't have anything planned until Howl at the Moon but I'm going to try to get up to McNaugton or over to Clinton Lake trails on the weekends I can't make it down to St. Louis and keep refining my strategy and building my endurance going into the summer and fall and hopefully I will have learned enough and built enough of a base to tackle the Ozark Trail 100 come November.
We got to the Hoosier National Forest on Friday evening about 7:00 pm and were greeted at the guard shack by the camp host. I had reserved a camping spot on line several weeks prior. The campground had numerous pit toilets similar to the ones at Berryman (I'm going to do a lot of comparing to Berryman here, so stand by for that) but also pea-graveled campsites, electric services and a central shower room with running water, flush toilets and shower rooms. Quite nice actually. We set up the tent in between thunderstorm cells and settled in with a beer to get set up for the next day. There was also a fishing tournament going on at the park that weekend so we had some different neighbors at the campground than we usually have the night before a trail run but everyone was reasonably well behaved and when I woke up at 11:15pm to make a trip to the outhouse all was dead quiet.
We awoke the next morning at 04:00 to rain and I immediately pictured another day of Berryman-like running in ankle-deep water but the rain stopped quickly and the rain from the day/night before had mostly soaked in. It would not do more than sprinkle intermittently the rest of the day.
We made a pot of coffee on our Primus Classic Trail stove (I LOVE that thing) and set about our morning routine. We drove down to the park entrance to get our "race pack" which included only a thin magazine about the trail series, a pamphlet on the park and the nice Brooks technical shirt. This race does not use paper numbers, which I really like. They just write your number on both forearms with a Sharpie.
We drove back to our campsite and finished preparations. We jogged the .75 miles or so from our campsite to the start (thus making the day's event an "ultra"!!!) and set off a little after the published start time of 06:30. There is an 8-mile, 1/2-marathon and marathon option so the first 1 to 2 miles were pretty crowded. After that it thinned out quickly and at the first aid station the 8-mile runners split off. I passed or was passed no more than 10 times the whole day and the last 13 miles I was almost totally alone.
The aid stations were a little spartan by ultrarunner standards and were manned by high school students mostly and runner from the Tell City community. Water, sports drink, trail mix and M & M's were pretty much it. I wore my Ultimate Direction Wasp with a Camelback bladder was very, very thankful I did later in the day. I would characterize the volunteers as helpful and cheerful but it was clearly not the same as seeing familiar and encouraging SLUG faces there!
The course was is pretty good shape despite all the rain. There were numerous muddy areas but almost all were complete navigatable and not really that lengthy. On the second loop it was a little sloppier in places and I did get a shoe sucked off once. There are 4 or 5 stream crossing, the deepest and widest one very similar to Brazil Creek and had to waded. The others you could mostly pick your way around/across with minimal soaking. The course itself is not particularly technical and there is very little rock or root dodging necessary. Long stretches of it are wide and soft with pine needles or dirt and there is not much in the way of switchbacks. What the course does have though is hills. Long, semi-steep, and did I mention, long. Most of the hills were exposed to the sun and grassy and necessitated walking even on the first loop, at least by me. Which brings me to my run.
I started off slow and let the 8-milers and 1/2 marathoners as well as the over-ambitious newbies go fast for the first couple of miles, and the packs quickly thinned out. It was hot and humid even at the 6:30 start, probably 80 degrees, so I had planned to take it easy on the first loop and really concentrate on taking fluids at the aid stations and supplementing with the water from my Camelback in between. As far as food goes I use Honey Stinger Gold gel and planned to take my first one at the 2-hour mark. I snuck trail mix or M&Ms at each aid station also. I felt a little low on sugar by the time I took that first gel at 2-hours but felt pretty good, although really hot already, by the time I finished the first loop at 2:38 (by my watch). I had a back injury a couple of months ago doing Crossfit in my garage and this had aggravated my hip problems which in turn seem to due to my flat feet, but I digress. What I mean to say is that the problems I was having with hip pain and quadratus tightness that led to my decision to drop at 25-miles at Berryman were not an issue at Indian-Celina. I think the arch supports and the chiropractic manipulations have really helped in that regard. Anyway, I was a little slower on the first loop than I hoped but still though I might be able to finish around 5-hours.
The second loop did not turn out so great, to say the least. The increased heat and occasional sun caused me to slow and I seemed to spend more time at the aid stations pouring water on my head in an attempt to cool down. I took a second gel at 3:30-mark and increased my water intake from my Camelback as well as at the aid stations. Unfortunately I had made a huge mistake and forgot to put S-caps in my pack. I had a big, brand new bottle in my duffel back in the trunk of my car, back at the campsite, but none with me. The aid stations had no potatoes and salt or even salty potato chips that I usually eat at ultras, and although I didn't specifically ask, I didn't see any S-caps at any of the aid stations or really have any reason to suspect the aid station workers had any. Subsequently I began to really struggle with hydration. My hands were getting puffy and my pee darker and less frequent as the second loop went on. I had not used all the original fill of water in my Camelback until about half way through the second loop, but then I refilled and drank it all with an hour after that, yet I was still crumping. I walked A LOT more of the slight hills than on the first loop and between the aid stations at 22.1 and 24.1 I drained a my full Camelback again. I began to have serious doubts about being able to finish and was actually passed by one of full marathon female runners whom I had not even previously seen behind me. I pulled out my iPod, which I rarely use, especially on trails, and began to mentally hunker down, trying to just make it to that 24.1 mile aid station. My water was gone and I was really feeling like crap as I walked hill after hill, hoping the aid station was around the bend at the top of each one, as I had remembered it from the first loop. I had no ideas how far I had gone or how far to go since my pace was so off and I really wasn't sure what time I had left the last aid station or precisely what mile maker the hilltop aid station was at.
I finally crested a hill to see find the last aid station which was manned by a couple of high school guys who were obviously bored and ready to be done for the day! I asked if they had soda since I had not seen any the whole day and they said they had 2 cans of Coke left in the cooler. Oh MAN, what a lifesaver!!! I downed one of those and took in as much trail mix as I could. I spent a few extra minutes savoring the last half of the Coke, obviously leaving the other can for the next poor soul, and refilled my Camelback for the last 2-miles or so to go. I headed out of the aid station feeling a little better, and within about 10-15 minutes felt a lot better. I kept hitting my Camelback but my hands were getting puffier and puffier so I was surely losing all my intravascular fluids now. I came upon another runner with about 1/2 mile to go, sitting on top of a large rock at the top of the last real hill of the day. He looked even worse than I had felt 20 minute prior. I stopped and offered him water from my Camelback which he readily accepted. There was still a lot in there and we were close to the end so I encouraged him to take as much as he wanted. I goaded him into walking with me a little ways then tried to get him to run but he was not having it. He assured me he was alright and I know the road was only about 50 meters ahead so I took off at a pretty good clip and broke onto the road at about 5:58/5:59. I knew there was no way I could break 6:00 and really didn't even care so I strode over the finish line at a reasonable pace to finish about 6:01. My splits were about 2:38 and 3:23.
I was about the 11th or so overall finisher and 8th or so male, and I learned there were a half- dozen or so people behind me still on the course and that a lot of people had DNFd or dropped down to the 1/2 marathon. The guy who took some of my water finished about a minute after me and the RD went out to sweep the course for the last hour or so of the official race. Of the 6 or so left, 4 or 5 dropped, one crossed about 1/2 hour after the course closed and one was still running when we left to head back to the campsite. I had two burgers and some more water and perked up a lot, but as I mentioned previously I was really, really dehydrated and had a lot of extravascular fluid on board. Some salty chili and burger at Wendy's did the trick and by the time we got back to my parents' house in central Illinois my hands were back to normal.
I made some big mistakes on that run, learned a lot, and did some really, really good mental suffering. It was a valuable training run and overall a good day for me, despite my crappy time and splits.
I would definitely recommend the race and the campground, and may do it again next year depending on timing.
Oh man, I forgot to mention the bugs! How could I forget?!? The horseflies and fly-flies were horrible all day! Ten times worse than I have ever, ever seen at Berryman. Just terrible. I guess the rest of my struggle sucked so much I nearly blocked that out, but they were really bad. I bathed in OFF! at every aid station and had reasonable luck keeping them away early on, but eventually I guess I sweated it off or they just became immune and I just accepted they were part of the deal, but they sucked.
I don't have anything planned until Howl at the Moon but I'm going to try to get up to McNaugton or over to Clinton Lake trails on the weekends I can't make it down to St. Louis and keep refining my strategy and building my endurance going into the summer and fall and hopefully I will have learned enough and built enough of a base to tackle the Ozark Trail 100 come November.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
WOD Monday 050510
Joe, Chia, Steve and Janet served up a little Monday morning Tabata.
1. Air Squats
2. Plate thrusters
3. Crunches
4. Upright rows
5. Cross knee crunches
6. Burpees
Strong work everybody, especially those last 3 "burpees after the bell"!
1. Air Squats
2. Plate thrusters
3. Crunches
4. Upright rows
5. Cross knee crunches
6. Burpees
Strong work everybody, especially those last 3 "burpees after the bell"!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Double Chubb 50K and Richie Chiropractic
I'm pretty sure I did not deserve the beautiful weather, awesome volunteers and RDs, and outstanding course conditions at the 2010 Double Chubb 50K. I do know that Bill Richie at Richie Chiropractic does deserve my endless thanks and admiration for taking me from being unable to stand up straight to running a 50K trail race nearly ONE HOUR FASTER than I had run it previously!! Holy smokes.
I got into St. Louis early Friday and spent a leisurely day napping and studying at the Hampton Inn just one exit east of the race venue. I met Rudy Schwarz and his friend Joan at the wonderful Stellina Pasta Cafe for a little pre-race chow then stopped at the Pear Tree Inn to hug Victoria and get my race packet.
Raceday morning Rudy met me at the hotel and we rode to the race together. It was quite chilly at the start and I ended up wearing a long sleeve shirt and a light beanie from the start to the railroad tracks aid station. The course was completely dry and mud-free except for maybe a total of 100 feet. I made good time on all four legs, average 1:20 each with aid station and some GI-issue time included, I ended up finishing around 5:43 (unofficial). I was extremely happy with the time, my back felt great all day and the course and fellow runners were amazing beyond description!
If you want to see some photos or video of the course and some of the runners (but sadly none of me), check out Shannon Drohan's pictures, or Lee Hess' videos.
Can't wait for the Berryman 50 Mile trail run next month!!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Sea World and My Aching Back
So since my post 2 weeks ago, the day after the glorious Clinton Lake 30 Mile Trail Run much has occurred.
Firstly, I took some time off and headed down to Orlando where I accompanied my nephew Dakota and my parents to SeaWorld. We had a great time at the park and hanging around the hotel pool. Dakota and I got a little one-on-one time with a trip to Wonderworks for some Laser Tag. SeaWorld was extremely clean, well ran and staffed by lots of helpful, pleasant people. It was a little bittersweet of course with the recent death of Dawn, a good friend of Jill's. Like the friends and acquaintances I've lost to Naval Aviation, she died doing what she loved. I did not know her personally but still feel a loss and hurt for Jill.
I returned to St. Louis on Friday the 2nd and spent the night at the lovely (not) Pear Tree Inn and had dinner with dear friends Jim and Judy Stroup. The next morning I got in 16 miles on the awesome Chubb Trail with 3 other SLUGs before returning home to Springfield.
All was well until Tuesday morning when, on my first of what was to be many box jumps, I pulled something in my lower back. So the rest of my "vacation" week was spent alternately in front of my computer studying and squeezing dollars from the stock market, and lying in bed on a heating pad.
As of today my back seems a little better, but I'm only cautiously optimistic I'll be up to running the Double Chubb 50K trail race next Saturday. I'm going to try to weasel into an appointment with a chiropractor friend on Monday and see if he can "snap" me back into shape. At this point I'm willing to try anything to get back on those wonderful trails!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Clinton Lake 30 Mile Trail Run
Doug and I ran the Clinton Lake 30 Mile Trail Run yesterday and to say it was an awesome day is a gross understatement! The weather was 40's-50's, some sun but mostly cloudy. The wind was whipping on the ridge on the southeast side of the lake but otherwise not an issue. The course was in fine shape with minimal shoe-sucking mud. The aid station and volunteers were world class!
Ella provided a good luck duck and it definitely helped. Doug finished in 5:33, 38th overall, and I ran a 6:07, 50th overall.
I felt strong most of the day and ran a little easy on my sore left calf until about 22 miles when it seemed like it really was not an issue and I stopped trying to favor it.
After the race the Fat Tire Doug brought really hit the spot as did the Domino's pizza.
Overall a great day, a great course and a great race! Kudos to Chris for his swan song event. He's leaving big shoes to fill.
Next event for me is the Double Chubb 50K. Next event for Doug is the birth of he and Leslie's baby! Wish us both lots of luck!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
One Week Until Clinton Lake 30 Mile Trail Run
So I've been crappy again about staying up to date on the blog. I'm not going to apologize anymore because we're at the point now where it would probably seem insincere anyway!
So I've been laying off a bit due to a sore left calf muscle or perhaps an aggravation of an old Achilles's tendonitis. Anyhow I'm going to take it easy this week and concentrate on getting plenty of rest and eating well going into the race.
Chia and the others have been hitting the Crossfit pretty hard, with a "bridal shower" 21-15-9/burpee extravaganza in my absence yesterday. Today she and Doug ran in the early morning drizzle for a little 10-miler.
Yesterday my dad cranked out a nice 10K time in the Bayou Hills Run down in Pensacola, FL. Finishing in 1:02 for about a 10 minute-mile pace. Strong work, Dad! He's plotting the Kennekuk Road Runners Mountain Goat, I think, and it sounds like the hills around the Bayou were a good training opportunity.
Check back for more. I can't promise it will be more exciting posting, but I will honestly make an effort to be more consistent!
So I've been laying off a bit due to a sore left calf muscle or perhaps an aggravation of an old Achilles's tendonitis. Anyhow I'm going to take it easy this week and concentrate on getting plenty of rest and eating well going into the race.
Chia and the others have been hitting the Crossfit pretty hard, with a "bridal shower" 21-15-9/burpee extravaganza in my absence yesterday. Today she and Doug ran in the early morning drizzle for a little 10-miler.
Yesterday my dad cranked out a nice 10K time in the Bayou Hills Run down in Pensacola, FL. Finishing in 1:02 for about a 10 minute-mile pace. Strong work, Dad! He's plotting the Kennekuk Road Runners Mountain Goat, I think, and it sounds like the hills around the Bayou were a good training opportunity.
Check back for more. I can't promise it will be more exciting posting, but I will honestly make an effort to be more consistent!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
030610 and 030710
So I took off Wed-Fri last week partially due to the need for rest but secondarily to my OR schedule.
Saturday Chia and I headed over to Clinton Lake to run the 10-mile loop course that the Clinton Lake 30-Mile is run on. Unfortunately, Chia was feeling under the weather and we turned around about 2.5 miles into the run, for a total of 5-miles of trail running.
Sunday I got up really early (didn't I Chia?) and did a 500 Workout in the garage by myself then did the 5-mile park/Tophill loop with Steve Depooter.
My nutrition has been kind of all over the place as has my chewing, but I feel like as of right now I'm getting it dialed-in. So we'll see about that as the week plays out.
Saturday Chia and I headed over to Clinton Lake to run the 10-mile loop course that the Clinton Lake 30-Mile is run on. Unfortunately, Chia was feeling under the weather and we turned around about 2.5 miles into the run, for a total of 5-miles of trail running.
Sunday I got up really early (didn't I Chia?) and did a 500 Workout in the garage by myself then did the 5-mile park/Tophill loop with Steve Depooter.
My nutrition has been kind of all over the place as has my chewing, but I feel like as of right now I'm getting it dialed-in. So we'll see about that as the week plays out.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
WOD 030210
Once through for time:
50 pushups
5 burpees
50 upright plate rows 25#
5 burpees
50 plate thrusters 25#
5 burpees
50 DB skull crushers
5 burpees
50 cross-leg crunches
5 burpees
50 Supermans
5 burpees
50 lunges
5 burpees
Steve, John Michael, I cranked it out in less than 10 minutes then I ran to work, after cleaning the litter boxes.
50 pushups
5 burpees
50 upright plate rows 25#
5 burpees
50 plate thrusters 25#
5 burpees
50 DB skull crushers
5 burpees
50 cross-leg crunches
5 burpees
50 Supermans
5 burpees
50 lunges
5 burpees
Steve, John Michael, I cranked it out in less than 10 minutes then I ran to work, after cleaning the litter boxes.
Monday, March 1, 2010
WOD 030110
1 minute each, 3 rounds total:
kettlebell swings
leg lifts
DB squats
DB push presses
box jumps
Hats off to the Possum Corner crew who turned out in force this morning. The only regular who was missing was her-honor! Steve, Janet, Mary, John Michael, Doug, Chia and Joe packed the place. I think we probably violated the occupancy limit for the fire code!
Nice work everybody. Happy to be back at it with all of you!
kettlebell swings
leg lifts
DB squats
DB push presses
box jumps
Hats off to the Possum Corner crew who turned out in force this morning. The only regular who was missing was her-honor! Steve, Janet, Mary, John Michael, Doug, Chia and Joe packed the place. I think we probably violated the occupancy limit for the fire code!
Nice work everybody. Happy to be back at it with all of you!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
CATCHING UP
Yikes! Another week gone by and no blog entries! Here's a quick recap.
Last Saturday I did the KRR 28-mile Fat Ass trail run in miserable conditions. Only 4 of us, out of 137 runners, chose to complete the whole 28.4 miles. Awesome mental training and good experience overall.
I recovered with an hour of spinning on Sunday then took Monday off.
Tuesday I simply ran to work.
Wednesday I did a Tabata workout in the garage and then ran to work.
Thursday I did our 10-minute abs routine, ran 5 miles and then ran to work.
Then on Friday I snuck in an hour of spinning at Memorial Medical Center's resident's gym while I was on call.
Saturday was an off day for me and today I did 5 miles worth of loops around our block, lugging my pager and cell phone, while on call.
Chia churned out a great finish time at the Hustle Up the Hancock in Chicago this morning. 93 flights of fun! I'll let her tell you about that herself!
Tomorrow will be a Crossfit day at 0530 at Possum Corner and I'm planning to run to work every day this week, barring any on-call catastrophes!
My paleo diet quest has been crap since I came back from Key West. Maybe Ed's gut made me think I had some room to indulge! Anyway, I've been getting too many carbs while still controlling my total caloric intake. This means of course (robbing Peter to pay Paul) that I'm not getting my goal of 150 gms of protein regularly. The last 4 days have been under 100 gms of carbs though so I'm hopeful that's in hand again.
Since most everything else is going well, of course I've fallen completely off the tobacco wagon and have a week of on and off dipping. It started after the Fat Ass and my post-race gut stuffing re-feed. I always want a dip after a big, hot, cheesy pizza or D'arcy's pony shoe and feel like I deserve it after a hard-day's run. Gotta change that mindset somehow!
Last Saturday I did the KRR 28-mile Fat Ass trail run in miserable conditions. Only 4 of us, out of 137 runners, chose to complete the whole 28.4 miles. Awesome mental training and good experience overall.
I recovered with an hour of spinning on Sunday then took Monday off.
Tuesday I simply ran to work.
Wednesday I did a Tabata workout in the garage and then ran to work.
Thursday I did our 10-minute abs routine, ran 5 miles and then ran to work.
Then on Friday I snuck in an hour of spinning at Memorial Medical Center's resident's gym while I was on call.
Saturday was an off day for me and today I did 5 miles worth of loops around our block, lugging my pager and cell phone, while on call.
Chia churned out a great finish time at the Hustle Up the Hancock in Chicago this morning. 93 flights of fun! I'll let her tell you about that herself!
Tomorrow will be a Crossfit day at 0530 at Possum Corner and I'm planning to run to work every day this week, barring any on-call catastrophes!
My paleo diet quest has been crap since I came back from Key West. Maybe Ed's gut made me think I had some room to indulge! Anyway, I've been getting too many carbs while still controlling my total caloric intake. This means of course (robbing Peter to pay Paul) that I'm not getting my goal of 150 gms of protein regularly. The last 4 days have been under 100 gms of carbs though so I'm hopeful that's in hand again.
Since most everything else is going well, of course I've fallen completely off the tobacco wagon and have a week of on and off dipping. It started after the Fat Ass and my post-race gut stuffing re-feed. I always want a dip after a big, hot, cheesy pizza or D'arcy's pony shoe and feel like I deserve it after a hard-day's run. Gotta change that mindset somehow!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
021710
50 minutes on the stationary bike while watching the Canadian women spank the Swedes in ice hockey. Cold is still kicking my butt and I'm taking it easy because of the 28-mile Fat Ass run on Saturday. Maybe back to running outside tomorrow. We'll see.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
WOD 021410
So I squeaked out a little 5-miler on the treadmill in the residents' gym at Memorial Medical Center in the afternoon. I've been nursing a head cold the last 4 days so laying low on the workouts. Doug and I were talking about that the other day (working out when you're sick) because he's got the germ factory at his house, though she's a cute germ factory. I've always thought or been told I guess that as long as the cold is in your head and not your chest you should work out/run. I'd be interested in hearing any other thoughts, pro or con. My feeling, I guess, is how I feel on any given day. I mean I think I run or work out enough that if I'm sick and need a day off there's no harm done. Right?
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
WOD 020910
(Joe and Doug)
Tabata #3
Crunches
Pushups
Upright plate rows
Leg lifts
Plate Thrusters
DB Curls
X-knee crunches
DB push press
Chia knocked out her usual Tuesday Cyclefit (and then ran?) and I continued after the Tabata with my run to work through the new-fallen snow. Very nice! Doug meanwhile skipped the last set of the Tabata and went to shovel snow! Another great day of workouts in our quest to NUT UP!
Tabata #3
Crunches
Pushups
Upright plate rows
Leg lifts
Plate Thrusters
DB Curls
X-knee crunches
DB push press
Chia knocked out her usual Tuesday Cyclefit (and then ran?) and I continued after the Tabata with my run to work through the new-fallen snow. Very nice! Doug meanwhile skipped the last set of the Tabata and went to shovel snow! Another great day of workouts in our quest to NUT UP!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Saturday & Sunday 020610 & 020710
Saturday: Did 1-hour on the Mag Trainer while watching the DVD "District 9". Did OK on nutrition until we hit Lonestar for chili and I had a cheeseburger, fries and 2 Amstel Lights to wash it down! No Skoal though, so there's that!
Sunday: Did 20 mile run with Chia going along for the first of 4 loops around our usual 5-mile Tophill trail loop. A couple of decent hills and some good cold, pain-type suffering. The best part was actually running by my house 3 times, and even going in to use the bathroom and down a Stinger Gel and still persevering in the cold and snow. You just can't buy that kind of mental training.
Speaking of mental training, while on my little excursion to the Keys last weekend I read "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell. It's a great book, easy to read and a great story about great Americans. I highly recommend it. Anyway, while running and suffering today I couldn't help but think about the SEALs in this book and what they went through on that mountain in Afghanistan and even what it took just to become a SEAL, as Luttrell so eloquently details in the first half of the book. I just could not quit today while thinking about all those guys did.
Sunday: Did 20 mile run with Chia going along for the first of 4 loops around our usual 5-mile Tophill trail loop. A couple of decent hills and some good cold, pain-type suffering. The best part was actually running by my house 3 times, and even going in to use the bathroom and down a Stinger Gel and still persevering in the cold and snow. You just can't buy that kind of mental training.
Speaking of mental training, while on my little excursion to the Keys last weekend I read "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell. It's a great book, easy to read and a great story about great Americans. I highly recommend it. Anyway, while running and suffering today I couldn't help but think about the SEALs in this book and what they went through on that mountain in Afghanistan and even what it took just to become a SEAL, as Luttrell so eloquently details in the first half of the book. I just could not quit today while thinking about all those guys did.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
WOD 020410
(Joe and Chia)
2 minutes each of:
pushups
crunches
plate thrusters
leg lifts
renegade rows
flutter kicks
narrow pushups
crunches
Back to the Paleo thing, the no-Skoal thing and the working out religously after a 5-day bender in Key West. Great time with Ed and Rob and good to see all the old places, some old faces and some new crap. But now, down to serious preparation for sailing(?), return to Key West in June (?) and of course the OT100!
2 minutes each of:
pushups
crunches
plate thrusters
leg lifts
renegade rows
flutter kicks
narrow pushups
crunches
Back to the Paleo thing, the no-Skoal thing and the working out religously after a 5-day bender in Key West. Great time with Ed and Rob and good to see all the old places, some old faces and some new crap. But now, down to serious preparation for sailing(?), return to Key West in June (?) and of course the OT100!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
WOD 012810
(Chia, Joe, Doug)
1 minute each, 3X through
Dumbbell pushpress
Box Jumps
Versaclimber
Kettlebell swings
Squats
1 minute each, 3X through
Dumbbell pushpress
Box Jumps
Versaclimber
Kettlebell swings
Squats
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
WOD and Run to Work
Back to running to work and back. A little breezy with the blowing snow this morning but the run home was quite comfortable. Screw-shoes served me well this morning but not really needed in the afternoon.
Chia and I did a late-in-the day Impromptu 500 Workout at Possum Corner:
50 pushups (wide)
50 air squats
50 crunches
50 supermans
50 leg lifts
50 dumbbell pushpresses
50 (more) crunches
50 pushups (narrow)
50 dumbbell alternating curls
50 dumbbell skull crushers
Tomorrow Doug has promised to bring a killer workout to Possum Corner and I'm running to work again. Except for a couple of Amstel Lights I've done a pretty good job at sticking to the Paleo plan the last couple of days and I've been putting away the sunflower seeds in lieu of the Skoal.
Chia and I did a late-in-the day Impromptu 500 Workout at Possum Corner:
50 pushups (wide)
50 air squats
50 crunches
50 supermans
50 leg lifts
50 dumbbell pushpresses
50 (more) crunches
50 pushups (narrow)
50 dumbbell alternating curls
50 dumbbell skull crushers
Tomorrow Doug has promised to bring a killer workout to Possum Corner and I'm running to work again. Except for a couple of Amstel Lights I've done a pretty good job at sticking to the Paleo plan the last couple of days and I've been putting away the sunflower seeds in lieu of the Skoal.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Back at It (Part 2)
I will apologize once again for being a poor correspondent and resolve to be more dedicated to posting on a more near-daily basis. Here's what you've missed:
My nutrition has been marginal. I sort of extended the holiday eating period from the Saturday before Thanksgiving to last Friday night's pork roast and mashed potatoes at Randy and Susan's. Not to even mention an entire week last week of Mexican food in somewhat-sunny San Antonio, TX.
My battle with the Skoal brotherhood has had it's ups and downs also. It mostly began with a screening of "The Hurt Locker" over at Nate's house a week ago last Friday. I can't seem to watch a movie about grunts without dipping. Anyhow, I'm off the Skoal again and back on the seeds. Stay tuned.
I have been doing some running and did a few nice runs around the Riverwalk while in San Antonio last week. I stopped at Fleet Feet St. Charles and Josh helped me get into a new pair of Asics to replace the New Balance 851s that have been discontinued. I did a little 7-miler around the Glenwood Hood yesterday while on call and they felt "OK". He also suggested some insole inserts to correct the rotation of my foot and I didn't run with those in yet, so we'll see.
David Kimler, an ultrarunner from Memphis posted on the SLUGlist he is looking for someone to share driving expenses to Leadville this year and I may take him up on that. More to follow.
In the immediate future I'm planning a 25 to 30 mile run this weekend. Either going down to St. Louis to hit Greenrock or hit up the Yours Truly 50K, or I may trek over and try out the Riddle Run in Mahomet, IL.
Lastly, I'm endeavoring to get back at the Crossfitting. As you know I really believe that the cross-training played a big part in my success in Heartland 100-Mile and the OT100 is going to be all the more challenging. So we (Chia, Doug, Mary, April, Janet, JM?) need to get back at it!
Stay tuned............
My nutrition has been marginal. I sort of extended the holiday eating period from the Saturday before Thanksgiving to last Friday night's pork roast and mashed potatoes at Randy and Susan's. Not to even mention an entire week last week of Mexican food in somewhat-sunny San Antonio, TX.
My battle with the Skoal brotherhood has had it's ups and downs also. It mostly began with a screening of "The Hurt Locker" over at Nate's house a week ago last Friday. I can't seem to watch a movie about grunts without dipping. Anyhow, I'm off the Skoal again and back on the seeds. Stay tuned.
I have been doing some running and did a few nice runs around the Riverwalk while in San Antonio last week. I stopped at Fleet Feet St. Charles and Josh helped me get into a new pair of Asics to replace the New Balance 851s that have been discontinued. I did a little 7-miler around the Glenwood Hood yesterday while on call and they felt "OK". He also suggested some insole inserts to correct the rotation of my foot and I didn't run with those in yet, so we'll see.
David Kimler, an ultrarunner from Memphis posted on the SLUGlist he is looking for someone to share driving expenses to Leadville this year and I may take him up on that. More to follow.
In the immediate future I'm planning a 25 to 30 mile run this weekend. Either going down to St. Louis to hit Greenrock or hit up the Yours Truly 50K, or I may trek over and try out the Riddle Run in Mahomet, IL.
Lastly, I'm endeavoring to get back at the Crossfitting. As you know I really believe that the cross-training played a big part in my success in Heartland 100-Mile and the OT100 is going to be all the more challenging. So we (Chia, Doug, Mary, April, Janet, JM?) need to get back at it!
Stay tuned............
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
WOD 1/5/10
21-15-9 For Time
(Joe and Doug)
Air Squats
Box Jumps
Crunches
Burpees
The running to work in the bone-chilling cold is awesome. I've layered up and stayed toasty warm the last 2 days. The only hitch is the cold makes my eyes water and then my eyelashes freeze together so I try to blink fast.
The Paleo Pursuit is so-so, but I've done a reasonable job staying off the Skoal. I'm trying to moderate my caloric intake because I know I've got a big pizza-and-beer night coming up on Saturday!
(Joe and Doug)
Air Squats
Box Jumps
Crunches
Burpees
The running to work in the bone-chilling cold is awesome. I've layered up and stayed toasty warm the last 2 days. The only hitch is the cold makes my eyes water and then my eyelashes freeze together so I try to blink fast.
The Paleo Pursuit is so-so, but I've done a reasonable job staying off the Skoal. I'm trying to moderate my caloric intake because I know I've got a big pizza-and-beer night coming up on Saturday!
Monday, January 4, 2010
COLD Running!
As I gird my loins to head out into the cold, dark, windy morning I thought I would share this link my dad sent me regarding winter running:
The Winter Runner
I'm doing up 4 layers on top, 2 on the bottom and 2 pairs of gloves, a fleece liner and a Goretex Winstopper glove over that. Topped off with a thick stocking cap and a neck/face gaitor, the only real exposure is my eyes. I guess we'll see if my eyelashes freeze together!
The Winter Runner
I'm doing up 4 layers on top, 2 on the bottom and 2 pairs of gloves, a fleece liner and a Goretex Winstopper glove over that. Topped off with a thick stocking cap and a neck/face gaitor, the only real exposure is my eyes. I guess we'll see if my eyelashes freeze together!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Happy New Year!
I apologize for being a poor blogger and not posting regularly over the holidays. We were amazingly busy at work and 4 of the 5 days last week the only workout I got in was my 5 mile round-trip run to work!
I resolve to be more disciplined about posting on a nearly-regular basis in the New Year!
As for today and the near future it's awfully cold and ice-slicked out there. I've been running to work in my "screw shoes" as originally described by Matt Carpenter. But these don't work as well on ice-slicked asphalt as they do on concrete or dirt packed with snow. So for the weekend I'm staying off the ice and cross-training, but come Monday it's back to the screw shoes and running to work!
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