#56: Final Stop 2011 Redemption Tour. Finish strong or limp-in?

Somehow last week got ahead of me.  I woke up Monday AM and realized "yesterday was Sunday" and I never wrote my blog....doh!  It's funny how twisted my brain gets when my calendar is thrown off.  Thursday Thanksgiving and the ensuing long weekend was enough to totally mess me up.......so my apologies to all of you who wrote emails to me to relay the stories of how, like a butterfly flapping its wings in another part of the world, your entire week was thrown into a hurricane with my lack of blogging, I am truly sorry.


OK, so there were none of those emails.....but I press-on.


If you HAVE been reading along (and BTW, thanks, I'm over 4500 reads, more than double my goal for this blog) you know that I'm coming up on the final stop of what has changed from my attempt to achieve the "Red-iculous" to one related more closely associated with an "attempt for Red-emption" for 2011......


Of course, the actual tour will continue until 8/12/12 when I'm hoping to be getting the better of an ultra-distance-triathlon and achieving the "Red-iculous"......but since May of this past year, when my first attempt at Ironman didn't pan out exactly the way I wanted it to (as in swim - bike - crash & burn - trudge), I've been committed to getting more serious and going back and besting those events (or distances) that have gotten the better of me in my (now 3 year old) endurance racing career.  



From the bottom....3 stops done, 3 to go.

• 5K redemption? Not sure this was a major goal for me, as 5K has never really been my focus......but having felt like I could do better, I put it on the radar.  In July I checked it off my list by taking a minute off my time at PSE&G Teterboro 5K and put myself within striking distance of cracking 19 minutes a personal goal.  Redemption Grade = B+

• Oly Tri redemption? This was definitely one I wanted to get the better of.  In 2010 was my very first triathlon and although I felt prepared, between a failed nutrition strategy, excessive heat and very limited understanding of how tired I'd be coming off the bike, I was not a fan of my performance.  A week after the 5K, and with very limited training (esp swim training) I took 22 minutes off my time at NJ State Tri and put myself within striking distance of cracking the top 10 in my age-group.  Still something to be desired here (shoulda, coulda if I'd trained) but relatively pleased with the improvement. Redemption Grade = B

• 1/2 marathon redemption? Having only done one 1/2 marathon (2009), I was primed to take a stab at this event this year.  Again, it being my first, I had the fitness but not the race experience......and it hurt me.  I blew up somewhere around mile 8 and coasted the rest of the way.  In Sept, I made my way back to Virginia Beach to see if I could redeem.  Again, training for this event left a little to be desired so I knew going in I wouldn't be at the top of my game, but figured I'd be in a position to redeem nonetheless.  Still felt like the race got the better of me some, just didn't feel great throughout, but managed to take 25 seconds/mile (+/- 5.5 min) off my previous time and put myself within striking distance of breaking 90 minutes, a big milestone (and would put me in the top 15 in my age group for this event).  Redemption Grade = B-

So where does that put me now?

Well, the tour is certainly not over.  The 3 "bigger" events are still to come.  The marathon, which I've yet to have a race that I've felt good about, is less than 1 week away.  My first marathon was OK, but sort of an environmental disaster.  Super cold (25 deg) day making for a long, lonely run.  Missed my goal by 17 minutes.  I followed that up with a second attempt 6 weeks later (generally a bad idea) and found a course that wasn't exactly setup for personal bests (narrow, lots of people, etc)......managed to do worse.   Followed THAT up with a super hot, dehydrated attempt in Utah as part of Ironman and did even worse.  Not exactly the trend one might hope for.  This is leaving me a little nervous because I know I'm in a ton better shape, and now have several races under my belt (the first marathon was my first race ever so I didn't really know what to expect), but I also know I'm going to have to stay patient and run a smart race....oh and there's this little hip thing.

The "limping-in" part.


Well a lot has happened over the last two weeks, so here's the cliff-notes version:

• Cranky R hip flared up, 
• rested & started rehabbing, 
• Turkey-trotted with my daughters, ate a lot, saw that Team Pro-Activity got robbed of it's team title.
• took my youngest for a minor (if there is such a thing) surgery, 
• attended the end of season PACER party, drank a lot, sang some Johnny Cash, 
• ate some more, started questioning if the hip would hold up for 12/10 Marathon, tried to relax & recover 
• traveled to south Jersey to eat some more, launched a glass of wine across the room at in-laws house (dumb-ass mistake), ate some more, washed it down with some pie
• woke up early & did some speed work, felt much better, 
• rested a day, worked a couple long days, hip feeling better
• did an evening 6-miler at race pace feeling pretty good, proclaimed victory over the hip (stupid) 
• Paid price for speaking too soon, felt terrible the next day, began seriously questioning if the hip would hold, replaced my shoes, rested & rehabbed some more
• saw that Team Pro-Activity's score was reconciled and we got the "win" after all.  NICE.
• admired the new sign at BaseCamp31 (progress)
• shaved the No-shave-November "soul patch" offering
• did a 7+ mile tempo run, felt 85%, had no-soreness the next day, felt much better although kept waiting for the other shoe to drop
• did some thinking and reflecting
• complained about people who complain (struck me as funny when I thought about it)
• got a little jealous that my wife's "shoe-tester" gig for Self Magazine has yielded yet ANOTHER great pair of shoes from K-swiss to test.  C'mon K-Swiss hook me up with some Kwicky Blade Lights!
• attended a meeting with some PT students and future leaders
• Did a race-sim 6.5 miler and pushed the pace.  Hip felt 85% (Woo Hoo!)
• Helped to set up the Christmas Tree (which ironically was worse on the hip than the run)
• Got some more rest and woke up feeling.....FINE! (YES!)
• Did some modeling to see what sort of time I can run in Delaware.
• .....and....well, this is where I sit.

Seem a little all over the place?  A little perhaps, but that's only by normal-person standards.....


The Finish Strong Formula?

It's finals-week:  What's in is in, so there's no sense in trying to "add to" my fitness.  My focus needs to be on making sure I'm doing the right things for the hip and (starting Wed-ish) packing myself full of carbs.  


I also need to make sure I'm deciding on a race strategy (including nutrition strategy) that I can stick with.  Right now it's looking like a start easy, build the pace for a while and hold-on approach might make the most sense.  I'm fully expecting the hip to fatigue and then start barking so a slow first half and then making up time in the second 1/2 (aka negative split) is likely off the table......however pushing too hard early on is only going to bring on the point of fatigue that much faster......much to think about.


I've been doing a lot of "tempo" work in my training which is sort of a warm-up, speed-up, cool-down approach so that has some comfort in it, however I think the key above all keys is going to be NOT to obsess about my pace and rather dial-in to my perceived exertion.  This will keep me from focusing on my own mental barriers for pace and also prevent me from stressing too much too early.  I guess if I get all of the stress out now, maybe I'll just "let go" next Saturday.


Hope to have a great story to tell next week, how everything went perfect and on my way to serious redemption, I ran a great race....but no matter what, I hope to relate that when I find myself in that trying, difficult part of the race, regardless of mile-marker that I will push on and find a way......because no matter what your circumstance, finishing strong is a choice.  Don't believe me?  Watch the video below!


FINISH 2011 STRONG!


Mike E.

#55 There's no time to slow down, it's Peak Phase

You gotta know when to hold 'em.....


To me, knowing the time to be patient and the time to push (and having the discipline to follow-through) are some of the key elements required for top-notch endurance racing.  It's so difficult to predict how much you'll have left "in the tank" and therefore how best to position yourself to peak at the right moment......


The bad news is, this is an antsy time for me......one which allows my relative inexperience as a racer shows through...I find this to be the confounding time when I start to question everything and try to put the final touches on many weeks of training in order to set myself up for that great racing experience so many go after and so few really obtain.  Lacking the experience to sit back and stay calm and not question every detail is a huge advantage, one I'm unfortunately not working with yet.....and so I press on.


The current status of things is good but not great.....I had a super busy work-week which really limited my training time and I only managed to get 3 workouts in.  After my 2-a-day session last Sunday, I decided (based on my trashed legs) to not recover on the roads, but rather to hit the pool......short swim did me wonders, I felt pretty good by Tuesday.  Tuesday evening, I did a 1200m repeat "ladder" workout (1 fast, 2 faster, 3 fastest, 4 faster, 5 fast) with a mile warm-up and mile cool down......and then nothing.....Wed and Thursday were super crazy days and with an only slightly less crazy day on Friday and my last "long" planned for Saturday AM, I just decided to go to bed early and be ready for "22" in the morning.


The 22 miler went fairly well......for the first 18.  I was just about where I wanted to on pacing and things were feeling pretty good.....and like clockwork, I started to get real tired.  I decided to allow myself to let my pace drop a bit (something I always regret a little b/c I wind up thinking I could-a, should-a) and finished up with some very very tired legs.....hmmm, enter the "questioning":  

• Did I push too hard in the early miles?  Possibly.  
• Should I have taken some different nutrition? Possibly.  
• Should I have taken in more fluid?  Likely.  
• Different clothes to adjust for a cold AM and then more warmth by the end?  Perhaps.  
• Was my pain appropriate for the distance and pace?  I guess.  
• Should I start slower and push harder later on?  Almost always.

Well, there's no changing it now....it is what it is....and now it's time to work toward a peak. So I've decided to really try to focus on this phase to make sure my legs are fresh and pain is controlled (the hip and R lower extremity were pretty tolerable, but not great on the 22) and my fitness level is at it's top.


3 Pronged Plan: Intensity, Nutrition, Recovery

In general this means crank up the intensity and down the volume, to give my legs some time to repair and "refresh" themselves, but at the same time work on that top gear a little......that's the theory anyway.  Most people look at this phase as a "taper", which sounds so much better b/c it implies a slow reduction.....however, I find that mentally, I do much better at staying focused in this part of the plan if I think of it as "peaking", which is a concept often used by triathlon coaches.  


This week I'll be trying to get in at least 4 and possibly 5 workouts, a couple of short-ones (30 minutes or less), a couple of pace sessions (speed work or the like but not more than 1 hour) and one tempo run (not more than 8 miles).

In case you're wondering, I'm NOT on his diet plan

On the nutrition front, I've been increasing my percentage of calories from protein, to help with the repair from the increased pounding.   I probably need to make sure my micro-nutrients are in check (vitamins & minerals) too. 

As the volume decreases, even with the increased intensity, I'll likely lower my caloric intake a bit to get toward race weight which translates to about a 3-5 lb weight loss over the next three weeks (doable).










In addition to speed work and nutrition, the final leg of my 3 pronged peaking plan will be REST.  I need to get some badly.  I can feel my semi-annual cold coming on (which says the seasons are officially changing and the air is drying out some) and, let's be honest, I'll be really pissed if I worked this hard to only be rundown walking to the starting line.


And on that note......there's a foam roller calling my name.


To the summit,


Mike E.


P.S.  Shout out to my PACER teammates who completed the Philly 1/2 and Full Marathon.  Chris, Gina, Linda and Wandy.....great job!  Glad the race went well.  Thoughts and prayers to the racers and families who suffered losses today.  Heard the unfortunate news that 2 men suffered fatal heart attacks at/near the finish line and as many as 10 others were taken to the hospital.

#54: Life on the run can't always be glamorous

What wild week it's been:  


It started on Monday with a visit by Marshall Ulrich, endurance machine, to BaseCamp31 to talk about some of his adventures, run with a few of us and sign some copies of his book "Running on Empty" for those in attendance.  For most folks running from coast to coast or achieving the "7 summits" (mountaineering) or competing in ALL of the eco-challenges just sounds crazy.....but to me it was inspiring.  The guy is not only a very accomplished athlete, he is a cool person, often raising money for good causes while fighting battles against personal demons on the adventure-trail.  It was a great connection for all of us.  I was able to sneak a 7 miler in before that event and then the 3-ish I ran with the team who went out with Marsh, I was happy to get in 10 on Monday......20+% done with my mileage goal for the week.....cool.


Tuesday was a bust from a training perspective.....too much going on work-wise to fit in any training......


Wednesday was....well.....an awakening, of the worst kind.  I was able to plan my day in such a way to line up my first "race-simulation", a 22-mile flat and (fingers crossed) fast, course.  There's a lot to tell....so here's the short short version:  It started with a little hitch in my step, the cranky R hip was there.....but (like an idiot) I was determined to ignore it and get my run in.  As I got to the 1/2 point, I was tired, but not more than I expected, and my pace was a little better than I expected.  Usually by now, the hip has loosened and "let go"....not this time.  Oh well.....if it hung on like this, I'd be stiff, but fine.....so on I pressed.  By mile 12, it was starting to hurt.....but hey, there's bound to be some pain involved right?  B/t mile 12 and 13 that pain went from there to stabbing and pretty much shutting me down.  It was intense and my entire R leg was feeling it somewhat.  I debated with myself and with 30 days out from race still, decided there was very little value in a "push-through" attempt and so I did the 3 mile walk of shame back to my car.  In general, I feel like this shouldn't happen to me.  I know enough to recognize body-issues arising (after all I do this for a living) and deal with them appropriately.  


So after limping back to the car, it was time to put my wife to work.  Must be that Northern European descent, b/c with a little coaching "Olga the masseur" was really able to find those tender points and "massage" (I use this term loosely b/c there are very few massage techniques that are designed to have lightning shoot from your eyes).....but who's complaining.....it worked like a charm...and it provide some entertainment for the evening (for Lindsay).  


After a little stretch & strength based-rehab session on Thursday, I was ready to roll.  The pain btw was because I failed to take my own advice a few months back and maintain my flexibility......and I've not shut down long enough to heal......Dumb-ass.


Friday I gave the hip a test and did a +/- 6mile tempo run.  It was solid and I was glad to be back in the game.


Saturday I decided to head North to meet a few gents from a client site who had invited me to tag-along on their annual "Ride through the Catskills".  The title (they told me) was a misnomer b/c it was really a ride through the "foothills" of the Catskills.  Hmm.....a 40+ mile ride with a lot of climbing on a very cold part of the season......sounds dreadful....I'm in.  So with Lindsay handling kid coverage for the better part of the day, I went and rode the "foothills"......as it turned out, there were a few steep sections and on SERIOUS climb of about 1300 feet over 4.5 miles (in cycling they categorize their climbs with 4 being the easiest and 1 being the hardest, based on the definitions, this would have been either a LONG category 3 or a category 2)....it was the real deal and I had to work hard.  Since every major climb has a name and this one was without, I decided to name it "Gary's Scary Lung-buster".  My fitness was generally up to it (all the running was a bonus for sure), but not having done it before and therefore not quite knowing when it would end made it a challenge.....that and the 10-15 mph headwind.  A nice touch.....all-in-all it was a really fun ride with a good variety of athletes/ages/abilities, which to me always makes it fun.  There was a 15 year old who worked hard to claim the "finishers" title (I suspect he took a nap when he got home), the 50+ year old who calls the course "home" and organized and the 30-40 something stud who gave the rest of us a chance and road a fixed/single-speed (i.e. no gears, despite crazy hills) mountain bike.....and still out climbed the group.....impressive.  But the best part was it was a relaxed and humble group.....refreshing as there are so many snooty cyclists out there.....If I don't have any major conflicts next year, I'll be there again.


Which brings me to today:  In order to make my run-mile goal of minimum 45, (I was at 26, I would need 19 miles today).  Not that I get too caught up in having by-the-book training, especially getting the solid cross-training fitness-session on the bike, but I did want to get some add'l miles in to keep nudging the hip since I had to bag on Wed so badly.  The only trick was it was another kid-chasing weekend with my wife heading to a baby shower and me having to juggle a Chuck-E-Cheese birthday party (whoa buddy!) and a soccer game for kid #1.  I decided the only way to pull it off was to do a double session.  7 in the AM and up to 13 in the PM.  The 7 started a little stiff, but I loosened up and felt good.....no ill after-effects, a good sign.  Then after a crazy-exciting soccer game (I had NO IDEA U-10 soccer could be so exciting) that ended in a 1-1 draw, I geared back up (including goofy reflector vest, goofier headlamp and some goofiest? bright white compression socks) and hit the road.  I started (as planned) quite easy over the first 3 miles and slowly picked it up over the next 4.  The next 2 were quite hilly and then just kept my pace steady for 3 more and wrapped up at 12, pretty tired.


All-said, it was a solid training week and besides the little nagging thought in the back of my mind ("what if the hip doesn't hold up on race day?"), I'm feeling pretty good about things.  I got 45-ish running miles in and 45-ish cycling miles and as I sit here, the hip is sore but not terrible.  I'll stretch it before bed and tomorrow AM will tell me a lot. And so, I enter the last couple training weeks before taper/peak-weeks and then.....race.


But enough of this nonsense.....bring on the nonsense


OK....remember, you asked for it.  I think I would be remiss if I did not share two incredibly motivational quotes that found their way to me; one on the backside of my Magic Hat #9 bottlecap (and one from Linds' cap):


The first is something I think we can all agree on:  Sharp Cats Wear Cool Hats - There's so much truth there....they do.


The second I thought was pretty funny.....albeit a bit crude:  
Condoms prevent Mini-vans. OK, crude......but funny.


I think you've had enough for now.  Hoping for a pain free week around the bend,


Mike E.

#53: 278 days until Ironman Red-emption!

I started getting my head together and planning out (high-level) the next phase of training moving toward Ironman US Championships in NYC next August.  Never too early to start planning right?  Well, when it comes to Ironman, because of the limited choices and the growing popularity of the sport, this holds true.  In a sense, I've been planning this out (loosely) since May 8th (the day after St. Geo), but now it's getting time to get serious.


Phase-1 was to get some additional racing under my belt this summer and fall.  I did a 10K, an Olympic Triathlon, a sprint-Duathlon, a 1/2 marathon and am getting closer and closer to another marathon.  I've felt pretty good about this so far improving on each of my times.  If I stay focused, I'm confident I can do the same with the marathon as well.


Phase-2 is to plan out a 6-8 month training plan which will include a not-entirely-off season component, an aerobic + general strength component, an aerobic-build component


Phase-3 will be some build and power phases and then race-day with hopefully a top-notch performance and possibly even a Red-iculous effort.


In order to achieve all of this, I've got to find a way to keep it fresh and exciting, to push myself hard (but not too hard) and to steadily build over another long period.  Whew.


To do this, I'll likely need a few races mixed in with all of the training and right now, I'm looking at a few that will be tough, but that will keep me focused in training:


May = NorthFace Trail Running Festival, Bear Mountain, NY:  I'm SERIOUSLY contemplating signing up for a 50 mile trail run.......in general this is stupid.....but I'm contemplating anyway.  I'm thinking the technical terrain would FORCE me to take it slow and it would put something very challenging on my calendar early in the season.  The only drawback here is that I would be knowingly going in a bit under-prepared.  It wouldn't be wise for me to bring my mileage up that far that fast on the run while still training for the bike and swim (which should be my focus in the winter)......so I'd be testing the theory that cross training can be almost as good as run training for running.  Hmm....


June = Blackbear Olympic Triathlon - a new race for me, but I've heard it's a good one.


July = Amica 1/2 Ironman in Providence RI - again, a new race for me, but puts me in a good spot to ready for the NY August heat.


August = Ironman take 2.


But let's not get ahead of ourselves......I still have a little jog on 12/10 (Rehoboth Beach Marathon) to be ready for.


2-3 more hard weeks prior to final redemption stop 2011

OK, so this is actually Soledad O'Brien's knee,
but you get the idea.

This week I set out to get a little healthier: to get the left knee back in-line, to make sure the cranky here-and-there right hip didn't get too out of sorts and to make sure I could recover a little during this down-week and come back strong for my last couple of build weeks before taper and 12-10-11 marathon.


At Pro-Activity we talk about "recover" as one of our core human-elements and this was my week to put it into play.  From a training perspective, there was nothing special about it....I traded intensity for volume, which allowed me to recover some, but still move things forward.


Monday = 10.5 mi tempo run:  I pushed the pace for the first 6-7 mi and then eased across the last few as a test of the knee.  It was stiff by the end, but it held up and I was happy with the result.


Tuesday = I took off completely from training.


Wednesday = joined in with a group of runners on the Columbia Trail for 8 headlamp miles and got to test my knee.....and ankle......and hip.....and reaction time, perhaps a little more than I had hoped.  Sticks and stones may break my bones anyone?  Well, thankfully they didn't, but they didn't go down without a fight.  Within a 1/2 mile one of the guys had to pull up and send us on......about a mile later runner #2 of our 4-person group rolled his ankle.  He was able to keep going and so we did.....by mile 4 (the turn around point) runner #3 turned his ankle and so the odds were not looking good for me.  They assured me that it was an "old-guy" thing (I'm the junior member of this 4-some by +/- 15 years).....but I wasn't buying it.  Ankle sprains were a weekly thing for me up through my senior year in college, but I was able to be my own first PT case and get them strong......about 1x/year I roll one of them.....With 6 of 8 miles in the books, I stepped on something and SNAP, my left ankle rolled hard.  "F##K" I yelled but hobbled through. It took about another 5-6 minutes but the pain let go and I was able to consider it a close-call.


Thursday = I went out for another hard tempo run, this time 6.5 miles.  I pushed the tempo portion harder than is comfortable, but it went well and I survived.


Friday = Took the day off

This shoe looks a little too clean for the leg inside doesn't it?

Saturday = Needed to get in a longer run and was able to sneak a couple of hours after two kid soccer games.  Started out with some rolling hills and then hit the trails for something different.  A little bit more muddy than I had hoped, but was able to get almost 15 miles in at a decent pace and felt pretty good.....don't know if it was the hopping associated with avoiding the uglier parts of the trail (a common thread I've picked up in Nick's Blog) or the higher-intensity, lower duration runs I did during the week, but my legs were cooked by the time I got back.  My right hip and left knee were barking and I was glad to be headed for a shower.


Sunday = I contemplated getting a swim in today, but with an additional two kid soccer games on the docket, it didn't leave a ton of time.  If I get inspired after I finish this, I might go head that way......my "moving parts" feel so much better after a swim.....but I'm not feeling super motivated.....so we'll see.


This coming week, I've got my work cut out for me.  It's my second to last "big mileage" week with a 22 mile long run as well as at least another two mid-distance runs and possible some easy miles mixed in as well, but it's also going to be a little hectic with some meetings and such....so we'll see how it goes.  I probably need to get up to around 45-50 miles total (8+10+5+22+5 or something?) without over doing, so planning is going to be important.  I also have a planned 50 mile-ish bike ride thrown in there, more for fun than training, but that'll take the better part of Saturday.


______________________


So much to do and so little time.......and this is just the hobby-related-stuff.  I should probably fit in some time for real life too.


Still searching for that 28 hour day....


Have a great week,


Mike E.

#51: I've committed (no, not "been committed")

Last week I totally blew it.  I realized on Monday that the "thing I was forgetting to do" (don't you hate that feeling?) turned out to be my weekly blog.  Oops. So I'm going to condense 2 weeks into one here.  Soo much going on....so much to cover.....


3 down, 1 scheduled, 46 to go.....OK, this could take a while.

Will these guys be at the finish line?  I sure hope so.

I finally did it, I registered for my next race, the Rehoboth Beach Marathon in Delaware on 12-10-11.  I've been talking about doing it and been notching up the training a little to see how my body would respond and overall, I'm feeling pretty good.  So I decided enough talking about it....I've been loosely targeting a 50-in-50 (1 marathon in each state) and although not an aggressive target by any stretch, this gives me state number 4 (PA, FL, UT, DE).  Next year with Ironman US Championships (NYC) I'll pick up state 5 and be 10% of the way there.....clearly this is a slow-steady goal.


Training


The last couple of weeks have been about getting my running base up and stretching out my total weekly volume.  I'm using a up-3, down-1 plan, which is a bit more traditional to long-course triathlon (i.e. step up in volume or intensity each week for 3 weeks and then use week 4 as a recovery week) than marathon, but I find that I respond well to this type of training plan b/c I'm able to push a little harder in my build weeks....but the pushing has its price and I welcome the recovery week.  Two weeks ago I started to build and got 36 training miles in (including a 16 miler and a recovery swim); This past week I kept the overall miles about the same (37), but brought my long run up to +/- 19 and inched up the intensity with a hard 10 miler and 8 earlier today as part of a brick (i.e. immediately following an 19-ish mile bike ride).  The good news is, I felt really strong on most of the 19 miles; got tired and lost some pace near the end, but overall I felt solid.  I was pretty dead-legged on the 10 miler two days later, which is somewhat to be expected, but my pace didn't suffer too badly, a good sign; and my brick went surprisingly well......maintained a solid pace throughout the run and although I was working, I never felt like I was laboring.....this is great.


Fuel

I've continued to search for the right combination that's going to keep me strong and pushing without EVER running into the stomach debacle that occurred in St. George.  It is so important to have this right, it's literally the fourth discipline (Swim-Bike-Run-Fuel) b/c you can be great at all 3 and be completely derailed if the fueling is off.  So, not unlike the philosophy that got us to opening the Fuel Good Cafe' as part of BaseCamp31, I am actively searching and learning.  A few weeks back Eric turned me on to a product that he himself was turned onto by Julie who was turned onto it by another super-runner from the area (not sure he wants to be mentioned, so I'll leave him anonymous, but for now just know the guy is thoroughbred.....has placed top 10 American in the marathon)......it's a bit too early to mention the product quite yet, but I've now tested it x2 and I'm impressed.  The concept is slow release energy (as opposed to the fast-acting sugar based products) which means it can last longer before refueling and is liquid based which should help with stomach clearing.  So far I'm a fan.  I ran for 2 hours and 30 minutes last week without taking ANY supplemental calories or sugar.  If I tried this with my traditional fueling methods I'd be at minimum "bonking" and more likely a dazed and confused hypoglycemic mess......more to come as my n of 1 study results continue to come in.


Mindset
Been feeling pretty good lately.....my R-hip is still barking here and there, which is a bummer, but overall I'm not yet at the part in the training where I start questioning the value of this whole thing.  That's a good thing.  Workouts have been strong and the body is recovering well.  Would like to add more swimming and cycling when I can, but right now running is king.  Adding to my mental-fuel lately is without doubt the time of year and all the "amazing" that comes with it.  Whether it be Lindsay getting ready to do her first marathon in 10+ years, Eric making a serious claim for a sub-3 hour marathon, Nick completing his first "ultra" despite a few hiccups along the way, Michelle & Wandy doing the Koman 3-day 60 miler, the NJ-NYTC athletes training hard chasing their dreams, the great feedback we received on OhFar-2011 our corporate wellness screening team performing at a very high level, our clients & friends who are achieving or just the positive vibe that BaseCamp31 is starting to generate, it continues to be a wild, yet wildly-inspiring ride for me.  I know that I am lucky to be surrounded by so many passionate people and even when life is tough.....and it often is......there is so much energy to draw from.....mindset is frazzled now and again, but on the whole, good.


More inspiration on the menu

In addition to training ramping back up and committing to Rehoboth Beach, I'm really pumped about the event coming to BaseCamp31 on 11/7.  Marshall Ulrich, the ultra-endurance phenom is coming to run with a few of us, tell his story, sign (and hopefully sell a few)  books and put his mark on BaseCamp31.  In an effort to prepare I've started reading his book "Running on Empty".  I'm only 50 or so pages in so far, but this is a pretty amazing guy, literally fulfilling my personal mission: be a doer of extraordinary things and I can't wait to meet him and hear his story.


So until then......I leave you with a quote I was told by a guy who started as a client, but has become a friend......he is a passionate guy and someone who I think will do great things.....one day this quote just arrived as a text....he must have known I'd love it.  When I asked him about it, he simply said:  "This quote should be on the wall at BaseCamp".....and although he's never been in the place.....he was absolutely right.  Thanks Brian.


"Today I will do what others won't.......so that tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't" - Jerry Rice


Mike E.