June In Review

My plan for June was to refrain from running and continue with rehabbing my ITB but I still held on to the hope of running Wakely in July.  The lure of Wakely won out over common sense and I started training two weeks earlier than planned. I felt encouraged that running 3-4 miles every other day on flat surfaces did not cause any knee pain. I added a slightly longer 5 and 7 mile run on the weekend and still no pain.  Things were looking up!

June Re-cap
Total Miles: 37
Longest Run: 7
# of Runs: 8
Avg Run: 4.6

With Wakely only three weeks away I decided to test the ITB on a longer run with more challenging terrain this weekend.  I needed to know if I could handle some distance before driving 5 hours to the Adirondacks for the race. The good news is I covered 10 miles in the blistering heat.  The bad news is my knee was in pain by mile seven. I probably should have walked the last three miles out of the woods, but I didn't.  I can be stubborn at times.

I have to be realistic about my injury.  It's just not going to heal as quickly as I would like. Any thoughts of racing (or training) long distances have to be banished for now.  I'll rest and ice for a few days and go back to my boring 3-4 miles runs.  It's better than no running at all.   I'm sure you're sick of reading about this injury as much as I am of writing about it so I'll be signing off for now.  I won't be back until I have something positive to say. I hope it's not too long.

Have a nice summer....

April Review

The month of April was good and bad to me.  It started off poorly with a very bad run at the Northern Nipmuck 16M race.  The heat got to me during the second half of the race.  I cramped badly and walked quite a bit over the final four miles.  Following Nipmuck I ran three good races at Merrimack River10M, Traprock 50K and Blue Hills 10M. At Merrimack and Blue Hills I ran negative splits and at Traprock the last 10K was my fastest of the race.

The day after Merrimack River I awoke with moderate knee pain.  I ran through it for a few days but when it didn't improve I rested for two days and the pain disappeared.  I thought I was in the clear but the pain returned at mile 21 at Traprock.  Again I ran through the pain and raced again at Blue Hills the following week.   Looking back, running four races in four consecutive weekends was not very wise given the knee pain.  I may have injured myself to the point were I'll have to take an extended amount of time off.  I should know for sure next week when I go for treatment.

Here are the numbers for the month.  Not bad, but I was shooting for 150 and could have reached that if I stayed healthy.

Total Miles: 139
Best Week: 47
Longest Run: 31
# of Runs: 18
Avg. Run: 7.2
# of Races: 4
Race Miles: 67

I have a strong feeling the numbers will look much worse for May.

March In Review

My training didn't go as well as I had planned.  A severe head cold and a trip to Mexico cut into my training.  I only managed three short runs over the last 11 days in March.  A whopping 11 miles, all on the dreadmill to boot. At least I'm feeling rested.

Total Miles: 121
Best Week: 39
Longest Run: 18
# Of Runs: 19
Avg Run: 6.4

Looking forward to a better April and the start of the 2010 Grand Tree Trail Race Series!

February In Review

The weather in February affected my running during the month. Whenever it was overcast, raining or snowing my motivation sunk to zero. And there were many days like this in February. Compounding the problem was the lack of snow up north so I didn’t run any of the three GSSS snowshoe races I planned for and entered. I only ran 2-3 days per week instead of my usual four. I only managed to salvage the month to some degree by doing a 28 mile run on the last day of February. Of course running 24% of your total monthly mileage in one day is not a good training program.

February Recap:

Total Miles: 116
Best Week: 43
Longest Run: 28
# of Runs: 11
Avg. Run: 10.6

Yep, I’m ready for spring…

January In Review

My training in the first month of 2010 was split between trail and snowshoe running. Early in the month there was good snow cover so I focused more on shoeing. I ran two snowshoe races in the first two weeks. One went well, the other not so much. I broke the cleats on both shoes during the second race and didn’t get back on them for the rest of the month. Not that I could have if I wanted to. The rain came soon after my last race and washed most of the snow away.

Total Miles: 139
Best Week: 40
Longest Run: 18.6
# of Runs: 22
Avg. Run: 6.3
# of Races: 2 (snowshoe)
Race Miles: 7

I ran 52 miles more this month when compared to January 2009. I’m off to a decent start.

Weekly Training Update Nov 23- 29

Another less than spectacular week but I did have two fun runs this weekend. The first was a night run in Lynn Woods with RunninRob. The temperature was pretty mild but there were some very strong wind gusts. We came upon a large tree blown down across the road. We also took in a nice view of the Boston skyline from Steel Tower Hill. It was a blast to do some running in the dark.

Rob checking out the lights of the city.

Rob taking a Snicker's break.

Blow down

Dirt road darkness

This morning I returned to Lynn Woods for an 8 mile run with some of the Lynn Woods Crew. I haven’t run with these folks in several months and it was nice to get out there with them again. We took a detour to see the skulls. I saw this 20-25 foot high work of art in the woods once before but couldn’t remember how to get to it on my own. Pictures don’t do it justice but I included these (taken from the web) to give you an idea of the magnitude of this undertaking by an unknown artist.

Painted on the side of a cliff, the mural depicts hundreds of skulls and bones and carries the message: "Take the knowledge that you will someday be these bones and enjoy now all that is precious."

Life is fleeting....

Weekly Training Update - Nov 16 - 22

Without a major race looming on the horizon my motivation to train has been fairly low. The week following the Stone Cat 50 was meant to be a rest week so I only ran twice for a total of 9 miles last week. I thought I would be itching to get out there this weekend for a long run but a trip to the North End on Saturday for lunch and some chores around the house on Sunday left no time for it. Still, it wasn’t as bad a week as it could have been.

Total Miles: 33
Longest Run: 9.5
#of Runs: 5
Avg.Run: 6.6

October Training Update

October was my best month of training this year. It was the first time I've run 200+ miles in one month since June 2007. I had three training runs of 22 miles or more, raced three times for a total of 17 miles and did four, 5 mile tempo runs. Even though I’m still pretty slow, the short races and tempo runs have improved my overall speed. My long runs were a little on the light side for 50 mile prep but there’s no reason to worry about that now. The training is done and I’m in my final taper for Saturday’s Stone Cat 50 mile adventure. I have no control over the weather but I wouldn’t complain if the day turns out to be sunny and 50 degrees. Who would?

Monthly Recap:

Total Miles: 202
Longest Run: 23
# of Runs: 24
Avg. Run: 8.4
Trail Miles: 93%

Weekly Training Update - Oct 12 -18

This was my second consecutive week of 50+ miles and my 3rd in the past month. Training has been progressing well and my speed and endurance are improving, slowly, but improving none the less. The only thing I am not happy with this past month is my long runs. I’ve been doing them, but feel they have not been long enough for racing the 50 mile distance. I’ve run 22, 23 and 22 the past three weekends. I would have preferred to see something like 22, 25 and 28 or even 30 but I got lazy and/or tired and I cut the last two shorter than planned. Still they were loads of fun since I ran all of them with friends. Three weeks until Stone Cat so I be tapering down the miles slightly and running a few shorter races between now and race day.


I ran the Ravenswood Trail Race this weekend [results], the day after my long run.  The 4.3 mile course is a nice mix of technical single-track with enough rocks and roots to keep you on your toes and carriage roads where you can really fly without worrying about footing.  It was cold, wet and windy and my legs were a little stiff.  I didn't do a warmup run due to the pouring ran so I started out slowly until I had a chance to warmup.  After about 2 miles of easy running I loosened up enough to start pushing the pace.


I was picking off runners one by one, mostly on technical descents where everyone was being cautious and I was not. I almost wiped out one time and decided it was best to take the downhills a little slower. I didn’t want to sprain an ankle, or worse, with a 50 mile race looming on the horizon. I passed about 20-25 runners during the race and was never passed by anyone after the first ¼ mile.  It was another day of fun in the mud.


Total Miles: 53
Long Run: 22.4
# of Runs: 6
Avg. Run: 8.8
Trail Miles: 74%

Weekly Training Update - Oct 5 - 11

I've gotten lazy with my blog posting (and reading) over the past few weeks. I don't have a good reason for it, just lost my appetite. I’ll try to do better going forward.


Monday – got in a good 11 mile effort in Breakheart on what was to be “my” race course. I didn’t get permit approval from the state DCR so it never happened. Too bad, it’s a good run. This will remain my hidden gem.

Wednesday – did some tempo running on the stone dust trail along the banks of the Muddy River. I felt smooth and I think some of my speed is beginning to return. Track work is out for me now. My plantar fascia told me so.

Thursday and Friday – some easy runs at lunch time along the Muddy River.


Saturday- met Emily, Michelle, Kevin and Steve at Willowdale for a preview of the Stone Cat 50M course. I did a poor job of reading the map so we stopped at several trail intersections to determine if we were heading in the right direction. That slowed our overall pace but kept us from getting totally off trail. There were several low areas underwater so we ran with wet feet and happy hearts.

Michelle, Steve and Emily wait for Kevin to "gear up"

Total Miles: 50
Long Run: 23
# of Runs: 5
Avg Run: 10
Trail Miles: 69%

September Training Update

September was a recovery month for me and I ran about 10% less than I did the previous month. After competing in the GLER 50K the last weekend of August I needed a break. I thought my recovery would only take a week but it took nearly the entire month before I started to feel “normal” again. I didn’t race or do any really long runs during the month. I don’t think I could have even if I wanted to. Two weeks after GLER I went out for a 20 mile run but stopped at 12. I was just too tired. I was able to close out the month with a good run at the Vermont 50 (18 mile relay leg) and feel like my running legs have finally returned.

September Recap:

Total Miles: 166
Longest Run: 18
# of Runs: 20
Avg. Run: 8.3
# of Races: None
Trail Miles: 61%

Weekly Training Update - Sep 21 - 27

Last week was fairly productive but still not what I hoped to accomplish. I had to skip my track workout due do some lingering plantar fascia pain from the previous week’s mile repeats on the track. I substituted a tempo run on the stone dust path along muddy river but I forgot my Garmin and don’t know what pace I was running. I just know it was faster than normal training. My long run wasn’t as long as it should have been but I did manage to fit in two 18 mile runs. On Monday I did 18 in Bradley Palmer and then ran the last 18 miles of the Vermont 50 course on Sunday.

Still, I feel woefully unprepared for the Stone Cat 50. I have been running consistently but feel I am lacking in long runs. Not only have I not done enough of them, the ones I have done have not been long enough. Since running a 50K in August I have done a 16 mile and two 18 mile long runs. If I don’t get in two or three 20 – 30 mile runs in October I stand little chance of finishing 50 miles.


I’m not exactly sure what went wrong. My training was going well until running the 50K. That race took more out of me than I expected it would and that negatively impacted my training in September. I’m strongly considering skipping the Mountain Madness 50K on October 17th. That race is only 3 weeks before Stone Cat and I don’t think I would have enough time to fully recover for the 50.


Total Miles: 50
Long Run: 18 x 2
# of Runs: 5
Avg. Run: 10
Trail Miles: 72%

GAC Fat Ass Loop and Weekly Training Update

I've made several attempts in the past to run the GAC 10K loop in Bradley Palmer State Park only to go off trail and never run more than 2-3 miles of the course. Today I overlaid my Motion Based data onto a BP Trail Map and made another attempt. Success! I manged to follow the entire 10K loop without missing any turns. I'm not sure why I didn't think of this sooner.

My first loop was slow (12 min pace) as I stopped at several intersections to check the trail map for directions. I felt more comfortable with the course on loop number two and brought my pace down to 11 min pace for the second 10K. My final loop was run at slightly under a 10 min pace with the last mile at 8:40. I felt strong for the entire 30K run. I was a little surprised how well I felt considering I ran 40 miles in the past three days. That's a lot of running for me. The only issue I had during the run was pain in my left knee. Three weeks and counting. It doesn't seem like this pain is going away any time soon.

Last week didn't go exactly as I planned. Although I did get in a good track workout, I was under my weekly mileage goal and totally bonked trying to do a long run in Middlesex Fells on Saturday. It's been a long time since I've run on trails as technical as the Skyline Trail and it showed. My planned 20 mile run ended far short at 12 miles. Lack of sleep and calories in the days preceding the run may have contributed to my demise.

Total Miles: 43
Long Run: 12
# of Runs 6
Avg Run: 7

With 18 miles in the bank and the VT50 mile relay coming up on Sunday, this should be a big mileage week for me.

Weekly Training Update - Sep 7 - 13

I finished the first week of my nine week Stone Cat 50M training schedule very close to plan. I went a little over the planned weekly total and long run mileage. I also missed my schedule track workout when something came up unexpectedly and I had to be somewhere when I should have be on the track. To make up for the skipped track session I did a 6 mile trail run at an 8:06 pace. The trail run was harder than my track workout would have been so I feel OK about missing it. I know I'm still not fully recovered from the 50K I ran two weeks ago. I'm still feeling a general sense of fatigue most days. No time to rest though. That will have to wait until taper time.

Total Miles: 42
Long Run: 15.6
# of Run: 5
Avg Run: 8.4

Weekly Training Update - Aug 31 - Sep 6

It's been a week since I finished the Green Lakes Endurance Runs 50K. I didn't do any running the two days following the race. My quads were a little sore but they starting feeling better on Wednesday so I went for a short run during my lunch break at work. My legs felt tired but otherwise OK. On Thursday and Friday I ran a little longer and was still feeling tired but the soreness in my legs was completely gone. I was thinking my recovery was going well until I ran in Breakheart today. About an hour into my run I started to get some pain in my left knee. The same pain I experienced during the race due to the camber of the trail in some parts of the course. I'm guessing it's my IT band but I don't know for sure. I'll just have to monitor it and hope it doesn't get any worse.

Total Miles: 20
Longest Run: 8
# of Runs: 4
Avg Run: 5 miles

Today is such a great day to run. I'm thinking about my friends running the Wapack Trail Race [results] today and wishing I was there now. It was wise for me to past on it, but still can't help feeling like I'm missing out on something good.

August Training Update

August was my high point for 2009 in terms of training and racing. I topped out at 182 miles in August, my highest monthly total since June, 2007 (the month before my long-term health/injury issues started). I also completed my first ultra, the GLER 50K, where I finished 9th of 25 in my age division. I'll be recovering this week and then slowly building up the mileage for a possible 50K in mid-October or a 50M/Marathon in early November.


Total Miles: 182
Longest Run: 31
# of Runs: 20
Avg Run: 9.1
# of Races: 2
Race Miles: 42
Trail Miles: 74%

Weekly Training Update - Aug 17 - 23

This was an easy taper week for me. No hard running except for a few miles in Lynn Woods Wednesday night. I didn’t do a long run either, just 10 miles at the Moose on the Loose race on Sunday. I’ll do two or three short, easy runs this week and wont do any running beyond Thursday. I want to be well rested going into the GLER 50K on Sunday.

Weekly ReCap:

Total Miles: 33
Long Run: 10
# of Runs: 5
Avg. Run: 6.6

I not a big fan of the taper….

Weekly Training Update - Jul 10 - 16

No running for me today. Too much yard work to catch up on while my wife lounges at the beach! I got in a quality tempo run mid-week and a decent long run yesterday. I will be backing off slightly over the next two weeks, doing a semi-taper for my upcoming 50K on Aug 30. I hate tapering!

Total Miles: 46
Long Run: 15
# of Runs: 4
Avg Run: 11.5
Trail Miles: 89%

OK, back to the yard work....

Another Galloway Run And Weekly Training Update

Today I did my fourth long run using the Galloway training method. My first three runs were done using a 10:2, 8:2 and 5:1 run-walk ratio respectively. Today I tried a 4:1 ratio and have to say this one worked the best for me. The first 5 miles, like all of my long runs, were rough. It seems to take me a good hour before I start to feel good and get into a comfortable running grove. Maybe it's my tired old bones and muscles!

After my 5 mile "warmup" I felt strong and ran negative 5 mile splits the rest of the way.

Miles 1-5: 1:03:00
Miles 6-10: 59:42
Miles 11-15: 56:33
Miles 16-20: 53:37
Mile 21: 10:08

My legs weren't exempt from fatigue but much less so than on any of my other Galloway training runs.

I hit another "high" for 2009 by running 6 days and 51 miles this week!

Weekly ReCap:

Total Miles: 51
Long Run: 21
# of Runs: 6
Avg Run: 8.5
Trail Miles: 86%

Next weekend I'm racing at Oxford Dam. Yeah, no long run!

July Training Update

July was a very good training month for me. I ran my highest monthly total for the year (174) and also tied my longest distance run in a day (24). It was a very slow race month for me as I only ran one race. Although this helped me hit a high for mileage, I did get a little bored with all training and no racing. August will be much different with 4 races planned for the month. Two 10 milers, one 22 mile race and one 50K.

July ReCap:

Total Miles: 174
Longest Run: 24
# of Runs: 21
Avg Run: 8.3
# of Races: 1
Race Miles: 7.6
Trail Miles: 74 %