18.4 miles in the bank!

Longest run ever so far!!! Great 15 mile trail run in South Boulder/Superior. I think this course will be similar to what I'll be running in Pine, CO come June 29th so I'm sure I'll be back. Right foot blister came back so need to figure that out before the race. Legs felt a little more tired given this was not only my longest run but also the most technical so far. I look forward to ramping it up even more in the coming weeks. Recover, recover, recover is the name of the game now. That said, time for a little self massage and movie. 

Meridian Training Race

Last ride outdoors was 3.5 weeks ago so I figured why not start with a training race as my first ride back?  It was a brutal effort and one that I'm very happy with given my training the last few weeks. Although my last ride was a long time ago I have managed to jump on the trainer a number of times to give my legs a break from running.  Legs felt okay but I was never comfortable in the pack and was lacking that racing rhythm so critical in staying with the strong guys.  The pace was a lot faster compared to when I last did it in March but I hung in there with the lead group until the finish.  It was nice to see all the guys at the top of the climb who got popped the lap before waiting to jump back in our group.  It gave me confidence that the pace was in fact hard and only the stronger guys are actually hammering away.  I think this ultramarathon training is really helping with my weight lose and ultimately my power to weight ratio.  With a few more hard training races and a few more pounds lost I think I'll be okay in the Pro 1/2 races coming up.  This weekend...back to ultra training. I have a 17 mile loop I'm eager to run. GAME ON.

Runner's Feet

8.2 mile run today. Felt great running at a little harder pace. Next run will be a long run this weekend.

Recovering Well

Feel pretty good this morning given that I did my longest run ever yesterday.  Some good Pho, 1 hour nap and a 45 minute spin on the trainer all helped out.  Knees are a little sore from the pounding and I can tell from cycling that my quads are not of equal strength.  The inside of my quads are definitely more sore this morning.  Next planned run is Wednesday! Game on.

Gettin' It Done...sort of

First long run of my training and I felt great. Legs and heart rate were fine but feet...not so much. Blisters took me out. I honestly felt like I had 5 more miles in me but stopping was a good decision. Now I just need to recover and do it again next weekend.

Two goals
Continue to increase "time on feet"
Not get injured

No Room For Error...WOW!

Only Dork's Wear Their Heart Rate Monitors To Sleep

Because I don't wear my heart monitor enough everyday when I workout I decided to wear it to sleep last night.  I have officially confirmed I'm a deep sleeper with my heart rate getting down to as low as 36 beats per minute (bpm)!!! My average throughout the night was 42 bpm so it looks like I'm getting fitter?  I think the idea is that when you become fitter your resting heart rate drops because your heart is more efficient and requires less effort to support your body.  I plan to do this again a few times between now and the North Fork 50 ultramarathon June 29th.  It will be interesting to see the impact if any with me being 15lbs. lighter and a lot more training if my resting heart rate changes.  I can't imagine it getting any lower but I guess we'll see.

Recovery Tools

I'm a big fan of self massage tools and compression socks.  This new self massage tool will help melt away knots and work trigger points. It's a good self inflicting pain!  Although you can pay an arm and a leg for compression socks these days I stick to the medically proven compression socks from Walgreens or CVS.  Way cheaper and just as good...I think.  

Official Trail Shoe For North Fork 50

Brooks Cascadia 7 Trail Running Shoe

Excited to train and eventually race in these shoes! My girlfriend and some friends swear by Brooks so I had to try them. They fit great so hopefully they'll be great mile after mile. 

176.6 lbs.

That's what the scale showed me this morning. It has been tough getting down to this weight from the 200 lbs I saw back in January. Still looking to shed 15 lbs. and line up for the North Fork 50 at 160 lbs. More salads, more miles, more sleep.

Breakfast

Fuel for North Fork 50 fo sur!

Mini Finish Lines

It's a bit overwhelming to think of this race in its entirety. So I've decided to breakdown the race into mini races with each aid station as a finish line.  It's going to be a long day of racing!

Vlog Numero Uno - Training for North Fork 50

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” - T.S. Eliot

Good Friday Skiing W/ Ze Nephews

It's getting harder and harder to keep up with my nephews. They're getting so good and that day is coming when they'll be better than me and I'll be trying to keep up with them. And I still remember them doing the pizza.

Ski Day from MarkSimon on Vimeo.