In February of this year I ran the Febapple Frozen 50k in treacherous, icy conditions in 6:05:31, shaving 9 minutes off of last year's time. I followed up a few weeks later, with an OK performance in the NJ ULTRA FESTIVAL 50k, running in 5:12:39, improving on last year's time by 17 minutes.
A few days after, my wife and I went on a fabulous European vacation to Spain and France, where I ate and drank a lot, only running a total of 15 miles in 2 weeks, but tragically gaining 8lbs.
The month of April I ran average mileage, 40-50 miles per week, but never going longer than 13 miles. My eyes set on the next goal of running the MOHICAN 50k in Ohio, on June 15. Have not had the chance or the time to get to the trails and train there. Instead I've stuck with the roads and the treadmill. (i am a big fan of the treadmill in my basement!) Not afraid to run a 20 miler on the treadmill. This may hurt my chances for a good Mohican race in June. In the last few weeks, I've experienced tendonitis in my left knee, not surprised that my knees are not able to carry the added weight of my vacation!!!! (fat ass)
I've managed to get the tendonitis under control, have slowed down my pace, avoided the hills as much as possible. After having a good week of logging miles last week, i pulled the trigger and registered for THREE DAYS AT THE FAIR (www.njtrailseries.com). 72/48/24/12/6 hour races. I registered for the 12 hour race.
The course will be run at the NJ state Fairgrounds, in augusta, NJ - 1 mile USATF certified loop course, FLAT. the 12 hour race will start at 9pm on Saturday, May 18th and finish on Sunday morning May 19th at 9am. I will use this as a gauge to check my strength, my endurance, and practice running at night dealing with the exhaustion and emptiness of night running. Will be satisfied if I can log 40-50 miles +. Not in top shape yet.
Had another good week: Monday 8 miles on the treadmill in 1:05, Tuesday 7 miles running around Cincinnati - Mt. Adams, Wednesday 7 Miles treadmill, Thursday, 6 miles treadmill, Friday 10 miles - Central park. I am planning to run again today and try to log additional mileage on the treadmill.
We'll see. I hope to blog about my training over the next several months as I prepare and train for my big race of the year the NORTHCOAST 24 HOUR Endurance RUN www.northcoast.org
