Ad Hoc Ultramarathon Training

I started reading Run Like a Mother: How to Get Moving–and Not Lose Your Family, Job, or Sanity by Sarah Bowen Shea and Dimity McDowell.  I will be doing a full review soon.  Quickly, I have to say it may be the best beginner running book I’ve read.  I’ll save details for the full review, but it is really good.

Anyway, Sarah and Dimity discuss training plans at some point.  This discussion lead me to a self-evaluation of my own Read More...

Workout of the Day… the advantages of barefoot running

Resiliency to injury is a major benefit to barefoot running.  Once you make a full transition and acclimate your body, you can tolerate some dramatic increases in mileage.  As I accelerate my workouts to prepare for Burning River in July, the ability to avoid injury is critical.  This is my workout routine for the week so far:

Sunday- Rectifier 5K trail race (20:26, 2nd in AG, 10th overall)
Monday- rest day
Tuesday- Five mile trail run + 1 ski hill repeat
Wednesday- Gym workout- Read More...

Burning River 100 Mile Training: a work in progress

Six weeks.  That’s all I have left before Burning River.  Would I ready if the race were today?  Probably not.  In years’ past, my 100 mile training went like this:

2008- too few miles, too much Crossfit and Crossfit Endurance.
2009- Too many long runs, cross-training was perfect, not enough speed work.

So far this year, I maintained a decent endurance base throughout the winter.  Speed work is okay… I managed a 20:30 or so 5k on trails this last weekend.  About a Read More...

A 5k training plan for barefoot runners

I’ve started working on the second edition of my book- “The Barefoot Running Book.”  Among the new information I’m adding will be a section on training plans.  This in an excerpt from that section:

 My Training Plans
Once you complete each of the stages covered in this book, you will be free to run faster and longer.  Many runners run races as a means of increasing their running abilities.  To help you achieve your own running goals, I am including several Read More...

Overcoming the Grip of Death…

In nineteen days, I will be running my second 100 mile race. The first time around (Burning River) resulted in a DNF. Many lessons were learned. I’m better prepared. I trained harder; I put in more miles. I solved many of the problems that arose the first time around. I have a better food strategy, better anti-chafing plan, better foot care plan, a larger crew with more pacers, and a more realistic expectation of Read More...

Vibrams versus barefoot….

First, I have to say I am a huge fan of Vibram Five Fingers shoes. I believe they are an excellent product! I personally own two pair of KSOs and plan on buying the new Treks when they become available. I highly recommend the shoe to anyone interested in going the minimalist route.

Having said that, I do believe there is a time and a place for ANY minimalist shoe. If you are interested in learning to Read More...

100 mile training

Here’s a brief update on my training. I have 26 days left until Hallucination. The training has went well thus far- no injuries to report. My training mileage has been pretty good- 45, 65, 81, 31, and 71 over the last five weeks. This week will likely be somewhere in the ballpark of 50 miles as I start a gradual taper over the next four weeks.

Mt crew is coming along. This last week, about Read More...