African Runner Food - Recipe

This meal has become a staple in my diet as of late.  I've been feeling stronger and leaner, as it has good fats, healthy carbs, and lots of protein and fiber.   I call it "African Runner Food".   Why?  I'm not sure.  Africans probably don't even eat it.  But it makes me feel good to think that they do. 

Combine the following ingredients:

16 oz mixed vegetables
1 cup brown rice
1 can black medium olives
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can black beans
1 splash of hot sauce

I like to rinse the beans and olives to reduce the sodium content before adding it to the mix. 
The above makes about 3 servings.

Enjoy!

8k Road Race, 20 miles of Trails and Cow Shit

Today was a good day.  It started with an 8k road race in Silver Creek, New York called "The Laurel Run".  Great course, well-organized race, lots of good post-race food, volunteers, etc etc, all for only $15.  Awesome deal. 

I did this race two years ago and really enjoyed it, so I wanted to do it again and I didn't get the chance to do it last year.  Something different about this race is that there is a team element involved.  When I registered, I had the option of registering with a team.  Just like two years ago, I registered with the "Tri-State Runners".  We're the tri-state runners because we have runners from Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio.   Team results are calculated by taking a cumulative time of the first four finishers on each team. 

My goal for the race was sub-31:00.  This would require a 6:12 pace.  I haven't been running a lot of fast short road races lately, but my training (consisting of mostly long slow trail runs and an occasional speed workout) has been helping me get faster at a variety of distances, so I knew I had a shot. 

Many would describe the course as hilly, which is partially true. There's some decent uphills near the beginning, but it levels out for about 1.5 miles at the top, and then the last mile is nearly all downhill.  So anything lost on the uphills could easily be gained back on the downhills. 

My splits for the race were as follows:

1:   6:15
2:   5:57
3:   6:29
4:   6:08
5:   5:31

So coming into the last mile I was very near the 6:12 average that I wanted, and I shaved quite a bit off with the last mile and finished in 30:15, good for 7th overall.  This was a big confidence booster as I continue training for the Erie Marathon in September at which I hope to qualify for Boston with a 3:05 or better.

P.S.  Tri-State Runners won again!

me

Tri-State Runners! Jerry, Brooke, Judy, Adam, myself, Judy

----------------
I want to apologize in advance for not having any pictures to better describe the following. It was raining pretty good and I didn't want to bother.

So, after the race and the awards ceremony, I met up with my good friend Rob Kolodziejczak to run a planned 20 miles of trails. (Out 10, back 10) Not only was this training, but it was an opportunity to check out a trail that we've been wanting to run for awhile now.  We've been kicking around the idea of trying to stage a race on this trail based on the limited knowledge we had of it.

The trail is the Fred Cusimano Overland Trail that runs between Panama, NY and Mayville, NY for an alleged 24 miles.  And out-and-back with a couple extra road miles in the beginning to spread out the field would (or at least we thought previously) make a great 50 miler.

So we start on the trail, and the early section is as expected.  We ran a few miles of this trail quite some time ago, but it was during a time when the snow and slush were so bad that it wasn't worth going much farther.

The trail was runnable and smooth (though a bit muddy in certain spots) for about the first... 8 miles.  Honestly, it was pretty boring.  But that's okay.  It'll be a fast race! 

So anyway, we get about 8 miles in, and suddenly there's a barb-wired fence and a wooden step-ladder to get over the fence.  That was the first "WTF" moment.  Okay.. we so climb over the ladder and discuss ways to negate the use of this ladder during the race into an area of the trail that was apparently private property and on a farm. 

So a few hundred yards later, the trail turns into a muddy swampy quicksand-like bog.  Just ridiculous thick, shoe-robbing slushy mud that went above our ankles.  We were determined to get our 20 miles, so we pressed on. 

Then we come to another ladder and a field.  The trail basically disappears completely through this field (except for the occasional blue blaze on a fence post).   The field is uneven and basically too dangerous to run for fear of a twisted ankle.  So we walk through this field for probably 1/4 mile, and we get to another ladder if I recall correctly.  And then another field with a trail that really isn't a trail at all.  And there's cow shit everywhere.  And it's a muddy (or perhaps it's not mud) mess.  We're still not at 10 miles, so I insist that we press on.  We laugh loudly at the absurdity of this, and I state (as I often do to encourage stupidity), "It's good training!"   More field, more cow shit, more mud.  And then we get to a section with even more cow shit.. and we both make it through the minefield unscathed.  We come out to a road, almost to 10 miles, and as soon as my watch reads 10 miles we see a sign for the continuing portion of the trail that reads "Trail Temporarily Closed".   The timing of reaching 10 miles exactly as we saw this ridiculous sign that was really representative of the entire day on this ridiculous trail was rather humorous.  So we turn around, back through the minefield of cow shit, but this time I make a wrong step and SPLAT.  So a few feet down the trail I hop into a stream and wash off my muddy shitty shoes and socks and keep going.  Through more cow shit, more fields that are allegedly trails, more ankle-breaking fields, more ladders, more barb-wire fences (don't grab the fence if you slip in the mud!), more mud bogs and swamps, and finally back to the smooth runnable trail.

But in all seriousness, it was good training.  Our legs were pretty fatigued after hiking through that mess.  The feeling was similar to a "run" I did over the winter where I basically trudged through foot-deep snow for 12 miles. 

Once we're on the smooth trail, we run about 9:30/mile for 7 miles or so and finally get back to the trail head.

Tomorrow, we're off to Oil Creek State Park for another 27 miles of trails, and I'm sure they'll feel like heaven after today!

Thanks for reading. 

Freakin' at the Mohican! 2014 Mohican 100 Mile Race Report

Well, I accomplished my goal of a sub-24 at Mohican!  23:39 to be exact, good enough for 15th overall out of 108 finishers.  Not sure exactly how many started, but there were about 195 registered.  I'm guessing the humidity contributed to quite a few DNFs.  I've wanted a sub-24 for awhile now.  There's just something about being able to cover 100 miles in less than a day. 

My girlfriend Allison and I stayed at Mohican Adventures campground right near the start/finish of the race at Mohican State Park.  It rained pretty much all week leading up to the race, including a downpour the night before the race, so we set up a giant tarp over the tent for extra protection.

In advance of the race, I received an email from a nearby university that was doing a research study during the event on the effect of nutrition and glucose on fatigue and soreness.  I volunteered to participate for two reasons; #1, as a Health & Physical Education student, I'm aware and appreciative of the value of research.  And #2, I figured it would be interesting to see my glucose levels during the race and how they were affected by what I ate or did not eat.  So after we arrived at the campground and set up our tent, I went down to meet the research team and get a baseline blood glucose test.  To make a long story short, they pricked my finger three times, and couldn't get enough blood to get a reading.  Apparently I don't bleed.  Oh well, I guess that's a good thing.  They decided not to include me in the glucose tests, but I still participated in the research to some degree (rating my fatigue and soreness after each loop on the course, as well as pre and post race surveys). 

So a couple hours later we went to the pasta dinner and ate pasta.  Duh.  Then the RD gave his little spiel.  He also mentioned how littering is frowned upon (well, also DUH, only idiots litter, especially in the woods).  He even went so far to say "placing your trash next to a course marking sign does not make it non-trash.  Pack it in, pack it out.  I don't care if you gel wrapper is sticky, put it in your pocket."   I'm really glad he spent a few minutes on that.  I really hate seeing trash in the woods, especially trash that is obviously from other runners, such as gel wrappers, tops of gel wrappers, clif-shot wrappers, etc. 

In spite of all of that, on my last loop, on the last section of the course, I saw a decent amount of trash, including a pile of it near a course-marking sign.  It was probably put there by one of the many idiots talking the entire time the RD was speaking.  Ugh.   However, overall, the course was pretty darn clean and I noticed very little trash during the greater duration of the event.

Okay yada yada, you want to hear about the race, right?

The night before the race, I went to "sleep" at about 10 pm after chillin by the fire a bit, and woke up at about 3 am.  I wasn't sure how much I actually slept.  Maybe a couple hours.  Does it matter?  That's why I slept well the previous night.  Plan for the worst, hope for the best!  So any sleep I got the night before the race was just bonus. (not to mention I had Starbucks DoubleShots, Redbull, and my special custom concoction of 4C Energy Rush and Gatorade all ready to go in my drop bags)

For breakfast before the race I had a ClifBar, Ensure (actually, Equate Nutritional Shake Plus aka liquid awesomeness), and a SB DoubleShots.

5 AM, and we're off! 

I take it nice and easy from the start.  My plan was to run smoothly, efficiently, and comfortably for about 60-70 miles, and then push a little harder for the last 30 or so.  I kept telling myself "smooth and efficient, like a steam-powered machine" (yeah, it's weird, I don't care, it works!)  

The race started on the road, and we ran about a mile on the road before hitting the trail and the inevitable conga line.  Oh, it's fine, I love walking down hills.  MOVE PEOPLE!  Geez.  "but but but but it's dark" Give me a break. 

Okay, calm down, it's okay.  Just warming up, no big deal.  Relax, bro. 

Finally we hit some fire-road/double-track and I can finally pass the culprits holding up the parade.  The trails at Mohican are great.  Definitely not as tough as the trails I'm used to at Oil Creek State Park, but beautiful and very fun to run on.  Or, very fun upon which to run.. or something.    Fun trails!

The format of the race is as follows.  There is a a 26.8 mile loop, and a 23.2 mile loop.  We do the long loop twice, and then the short loop twice.  Both loops are pretty much the same, except the 23-ish loop cuts out a small section of trail and replaces it with a smaller different section of trail.  This difference in the loops comes in the middle of the loop, not at the beginning or the end.  I hope that makes sense.  So to aid station one, its about four or five miles.  Then another four or five to AS2.  And then about five miles to AS3 (Covered Bridge).. except on the short loop, it's 2.5 miles between AS2 and AS3. 

The trails are more runnable than the trails at Oil Creek.  And less technical too.  And less camber. There are some technical areas, some rooty areas, some rocky areas, but all very fun.  There were a few decent climbs, but nothing epic.  Much of the hills were rolling.  A lot of up and down, up and down. 

There's a certain section of trail that is only on the long loop that I found to be especially interesting and scenic.  After going down a bunch of stairs (stairs suck), we came out in a creek gorge underneath a waterfall.  It wasn't a real big waterfall or anything, but it was pretty cool because it was falling directly in the center of the gorge opening.  It's kind hard to explain without a photograph.

Oh wait.  Google exists.  Here ya go:

photo credit: whoever's page I took this from

So I stuck my head under the waterfall (it was very humid, and I often also poured water on myself to stay cool during the race.  It never really got very hot, just very humid).  Then I moved through the gorge, along the stream, over a bunch of logs and rocks and more logs and log rocks and rocky logs.  And then up a fun little root-climb.

Google saves the day again.  Sorry, I'm not a camera-carrying runner.

Thank you Mr. Picture-taker

I started the race with a single handheld bottle, and I picked up a second bottle from my dropbag at the Covered Bridge aid station at about mile 15.  I'm glad I did, because it started getting pretty humid after that. 
 
Everything was going to plan.  As I mentioned previously, I wanted to finish in under 24 hours.  I ran the first long loop in almost exactly six hours.  If I could maintain that pace, I knew I would be fine since the last two loops are a little bit shorter.  I really wanted to be done with the second long loop (mile 53.6) at the 12-hour mark.

The second loop felt a bit tougher than the first.  I figured I would be faster on it since I didn't have to deal with the conga line, but I was feeling a bit tired and my right knee felt a bit sore.  The closest I came to a mental low spot was on the second loop.  For a couple seconds I thought "eh, I don't really feel like running all day. I could go sit in the pool instead".  When I realized I was having such a thought, I immediately sprang into action and downed a gel.  Mental low-spots are always due to low blood sugar.  Within seconds, I was back in the game! 

The second loop took a little bit longer than the first, hitting the 53.6 mark at about 5:25 (12 hours, 20 minutes.. so about 6:20 for the second loop).  However, I knew I would finish at this point. I always tend to create a certain mileage threshold in my mind during ultras, and once I pass that point, I know I'll be fine. The format of the race made it easy to make the point after the completion of the second long loop.  Now I just had to do two short loops!  Piece of cake! (mmmmm, cake)   And, I got to see Allison after my second loop! An unexpected surprise and icing on the cake!

Piece of cake

So I started on my third loop at about 5:30.  My right knee was pretty sore, and my quads were getting sore as well.  I picked up two acetominophen at the first aid station, and it made a huge difference.  I was getting adequate calories throughout the race, and my hydration seemed to be spot on.  For the third loop, I kept moving smoothly, efficiently, and strongly.  When I walked, I walked hard.  When I ran, I ran comfortably, within myself, sustainably, but hard enough to make a difference. 

On the third loop is when I started passing people, as planned and expected (insert evil Mr. Burns laugh).

mwahahaha

And on the third loop, the aid stations started having pizza.  Magic time!!!

I kept pushing, kept moving, kept passing people.  A couple miles from the end of the third loop, I got to see Allison again since the race goes right through the campground!  She always provides me with a great boost and positive energy to keep pushing!  I finished the third loop at about 11:00 pm, so it must've been about 5:30 for the third loop. That gave me exactly six hours to finish the last loop.  I think I spent a good portion of the race doing time and pace calculations in my head!

So I head out on the fourth loop, and I was a little nervous.  I knew I could definitely finish in six hours, but I also knew I had to remain strong and consistent, and that nothing could go wrong.  My knees were still sore and my quads were definitely not 100%.  I also felt a twinge of a cramp in my hamstring when I was pounding down a technical downhill on the third loop, so I was afraid that it might pop back up.  Regardless, I pressed out and stayed positive. 

On the fourth loop I passed quite a few runners.  Not a single runner passed me on either the third or the fourth loop (except once at an aid station, but I quickly caught up and passed them back).  That was a huge mental boost.   Some of the runners looked really bad.  One guy was groaning to himself as he stumbled through the woods like a zombie.  I asked him if he needed anything and he just groaned some more.
Okie dokie, see ya later dude.

It was fun chasing down the runners at night because I would catch glimpses of their headlamps in the darkness.  And sometimes they were farther off than I thought because of the meandering of the trail, but I kept catching them.  Woot woot!

When I left the final aid station, I still knew it was going to be close to the 24 hour mark, so I ran really hard for about 1.5 miles.  There's about a half mile of smooth wide double-track coming out of the aid station, and I kept pushing a hard pace for a little while after that just to give myself some breathing room.  Finally I get to a point that I know is about three miles from the finish, and it was 4:00 AM (23 hours in).   I was really excited because I knew the hay was in the barn at the point.  I could walk 20 minute miles and still make it. 

Finally, I come strolling in toward the finish.  I turn off of a sidewalk, go under a bridge, and through a path of tiki-torches to the finish in 23:39:13!

Random thoughts:

Despite the huge amount of rain that fell in the area in the days leading up to the race, the course was actually very dry.  It apparently drains extremely well, and there were only a few slightly muddy areas.  Kudos to whoever maintains these trails. My feet stayed dry all day. 

I feel like I was better trained for this race any previous race, but also an easier course than the other hundreds I ran.  So perhaps a combination of the two contributed to my success at this event.  I also feel like my pain threshold has gone up a bit, as I'm beginning to realize that pain in a joint or muscle doesn't necessarily mean that the joint or muscle is no longer capable of what you want it to do.

The race went exactly as planned.  I often hear "something will go wrong in a 100-miler, it's not a matter of IF but WHEN).  That was not true for me.  Other than some real bad chafing toward the end of the race, everything went to plan.  Ughhhh the chafing was so bad.  And I don't want to blame it on my shorts.  I always wear RaceReady shorts, and never had an issue, but I've also never run this far in this much humidity. 

The itchiness of mosquito bites can be quickly rectified by spreading mud on the area!

The Firetower aid station was the best because they had really loud techno music playing throughout the night, and everyone there was super helpful.

All of the aid stations and volunteers were great, and all were very helpful and supportive.  Watermelon is delicious.

I ran this race with no pacer and no crew.  However, Allison became my crew halfway through the race, and provided me with what I realized is the most important thing a crew can provide: moral support.  Everything else is either in the drop bag or at the aid station.

Sleeping in a tent after a 100 is difficult and painful.  

This is a great race on an awesome trail and I highly recommend it to everyone. 


Nutrition/Hydration/Supplementation:

here's what I remember...

GU gels and Hammer gels.  (about 20-25.  One or two between each aid station)
Watermelon (a 1/4 slice or two at each aid station)
one bottle of Equate Nutritional Shake Plus
one Starbucks doubleshot
one Redbull
one secret concoction (3 packets of 4C Energy Rush / half scoop of orange Gatorade powder / water)
about six S-caps
three or four endurolytes
six acetominophen
1/4 cup Great Value Mountain Mix trail mix
pizza.. maybe 5 or 6 slices
salted baked potatoes.  Probably the equivalent of a half of a potato
about 4 cups Coke
about fifteen 20 oz bottles of water
about ten 20 oz bottles of diluted Heed
some candy
about six quarter-sandwiches (usually turkey and cheese, maybe one PB&J)
about 10 orange slices
cup of potato soup
two brownies
one Stacker2 energy shot
one ClifBar


Gear:

RaceReady LD Easy Running shorts
UnderArmour HeatGear Flyweight singlet
Injinji Trail 2.0 midweight mini-crew socks
Saucony Peregrine 3 shoes
Buff UV Half-Buff
Black Diamond Storm headlamp
Amphipod insulated 20 oz handhelds
$8 Walmart watch


More pics:

Hundo Weekend!

I will be attempting my fourth hundred miler in two days at Mohican State Park in Loudonville, Ohio.  Yes, the Mohican 100 is what they call it.  I feel better trained for this race than I have for any other past 100, and I'm feeling pretty confident about reaching my goal of a sub-24.  My plan is to just flow through the first 60 or 70 miles, and then race the last thirty.  Earlier this year I ran the Glacier Ridge 50 in 10 hours and change on very little training leading up to it, and I felt pretty damn good doing it too, so I think a sub-24 is definitely doable.  Anything beyond that is just icing on the cake. 

I've been training pretty well.  Definitely not to my potential, but I've been somewhat consistent putting in miles on the trails.  I had a nice few weeks of peaking, hitting just over 100 miles for one week, and I recovered nicely during all of it. 

I also feel very excited for this weekend's race.  It's been awhile since my last hundred.  I attempted to finish Oil Creek for the second time last October but dropped out 30 miles in because I just felt like crap and wasn't having fun.  So my last 100 finish was Western States, almost a year ago.  Needless to say ("So don't say it asshole!"), I'm just itching to run this event!  There's nothing I enjoy more than a day on the trails with a bunch of other crazy people.  And, there's a buffet every 4-6 miles!!!  Running and eating are my two favorite past-times, so it should make for a good weekend.

Just hanging out

Looking quite svelte with my beautiful lady

I was out of town over the weekend for a friend's wedding.  It was a good time. I was the best man so I had to give a speech/toast, and though I was nervous, it went pretty well!  I ate a ton of junk food (I mean, I ughhh, fueled for running and stuff). 

I still managed to get a couple runs in.. about 5.5 miles on Saturday - an out-and-back from the hotel. And then on Sunday, on the way home, my girlfriend and I stopped at Cook Forest and put in about seven easy miles on the trails.  Some running, some hiking, some walking (is there a difference between hiking and walking?).  It was nice. 




I'll go out for an easy 60-90 minutes today, a long run tomorrow, and then I'll take a couple easy days with the hopes of doing well at the Lead the Way 5K this coming Friday in Minerva, Ohio.  It should be fun, it's been awhile since I've done a 5k. 

Random Thoughts and an Update about STUFF

This'll be a quick post just for the sake of making a post because I haven't had one lately.  There will be no editing or revision, so just deal with it!

First thing, I changed the name and URL of my blog.  The old name ("Run Through the Woods") was too long and difficult to remember, and I'm not always running through the woods.  Sometimes I run on the road, or even on a treadmill.  Imagine that!

So the new name is "The Ultra Dude".  This nickname was sort of just handed to me by my good friend Sean, and he'd always use it while referring to me on his Facebook posts about our often-epic runs.  "Ran with the Ultra Dude today, yada yada".   I like it.  Hence, the new blog name. 

I've really enjoyed running lately.  And, clearly my training has been paying off.  Evidence:  There was a project for my Exercise Physiology class in which we had to come up with a personal development goal, something fitness related.  I wanted to increase my running efficiency, and my running pace within a target heart zone (the fat burning zone.. which is where I'll want to be doing most of my running during ultras and long runs). 

So back in February I ran, on the treadmill, within my target heart zone of 139-152, for five miles.  I had an average pace of 8:08.   I did the same test again two days ago, and had an average pace of 7:29.  Extrapolating this increased efficiency over 100 miles turns into 65 minutes.  Of course, that's very theoretical and assuming that all other factors remain equal (they never do).

I'll be done with my semester soon at Edinboro, so I'll have more time to run.  And this means more miles.  ("More Miles, More Fun" - Kilian Jornet).   So, I decided to buy a GPS/HRM watch.  I had a Garmin Forerunner 305 that crapped the bed on me, and I still have it with the HRM strap, so I didn't need a new HR strap.  So, I ended up purchasing the Garmin FR220.  I got a good deal through DC Rain Maker's GPS watch review pages using his affiliation with Clever Training.  10% off, woot woot.

I also think the GPS will help with marathon training, since I am doing the Erie Marathon in September and I'd really like to BQ this time!

So, I anticipate some high mileage weeks coming up!  And this is good, because Mohican 100 is on June 21st!  Fast approaching.

Okay, gotta go! 

Keep running!

Run. Live. Die without regret.

Ultramarathons are like life.  Life has a beginning and and an end and everything in between.  It's what's in-between that counts.  A race has a beginning and an end.  Perhaps the beginning starts months before the race.  Perhaps the beginning starts the day you decide to sign up for a race, or start training for a race.  Or if you're like many ultrarunners, training never stops.  Running becomes a part of life.  Intertwined within this life of running are events that are often described as races.  For many of us, the middle and back of the packers, these are more spiritual experiences that serve to increase our wisdom and maturity by great leaps over what would have happened if we simply remained sedentary, by ourselves, watching tv and waiting for the day to be over.. for our lives to be over.

A local radio station has a little jingle they often play.. "helping you get through your day!".  I don't want to "get through" my day.  Today is not an obstacle, but a blessing.  I wish tomorrow would never come.  I wish today would last forever, so I could enjoy it and cherish it and do everything I could ever possibly want to do with no regret that "I should have done that yesterday".  Without tomorrow, there is no yesterday. There is no regret.  Regret can be okay though, as it helps us grow and make better decisions in the future.

Running allows all of this to drift away.  Running brings our mind and our presence to the forefront of our consciousness and allows us to fully appreciate the awesomeness that is life.  And when you run for hours upon hours, 20-40 hours at a time.. it's truly an amazing and ultimately indescribable experience.  I could try and try to explain the feeling that washes over me when I finish a 100-mile race, but it would be fruitless.

I read a book once.  The book is titled "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking", by Alan Carr.  I smoked for about 3 years.  I read that book on a Saturday in about 5 hours.  I threw out my cigarettes halfway through the book and haven't had a craving since.  I often tell smokers about this book.  I get the same response every time.  "What did it say?", they ask.

And I simply say "I don't know.  Just read it".    It's amazing that people will choose to not spend five hours on what could save them five decades of life.  Perhaps they have yet to possess a passion for life and all that it offers.   You can lead a horse to water, but you can't force it to drink.

Don't wonder about 100 miles.  Don't read endlessly about it.  Don't ask yourself if you can do it.  In the words of the greatest corporate slogan ever created:  Just Do It.

Run. Live. Die without regret.

Oh, and of course, LOVE along the way.