Big two weeks

Starting Tuesday, Feb 17, I ran 13 straight days and accumulated 120 miles. The week before last my weekly mileage was 67 miles, the most weekly miles I have run since last summer. This is actually the most miles I think I have ever run in a winter week. For me, my weekly threshold is in the 70-80 mile range. With the stress of work and the care of two high energy toddlers (not to mention not enough sleep), my body just can not handle much more. All this is put into perspective when i consider that in just less than 12 weeks, I will run over 80% of my recent 13 day total mileage, non-stop in a bit over 24 hours. All this in mountainous terrain in the blue ridge mountains of VA.

Now if I really want to get technical and all inclusive, I need to consider the impact of the 3x a week workout classes I am doing into my run total. I am now spending 45 minutes, three times a week in the gym doing a combination of plyometrics, core, and weight training, which I have not done in any of my past running seasons. So I could convert the time I spend in the gym to miles I could have run during that time, and add them to an adjusted, or "fully weighted", mileage total, because those 2 hours and 15 minutes I spend in the gym do weigh on my running heavily, forcing my legs (and body and mind) to run more tired than I otherwise would if I wasn't going to the gym. So to put this theory into numbers, last week I ran 67 miles. My fully weighted mileage last week, assuming I would have run five miles in the 45 minutes I spent in the gym (this is conservative, since my typical training road pace is 7:15-7:30), was 82 miles. While this is all fun with numbers, I am definitely doing more than I did last year and my training is more effective than a couple years ago when I was training for my first 100 miler, so I am going to throw out there the statement that I should do really well this year racing. While I can guarantee that I will not break any course records or win any races, I would bet that I will be happier on my long runs and feel stronger from start to finish. That's the real point of all this, isn't it? Winning doesn't account for much in my mind (and not because I am not fast enough to do it). It's the trying and doing that matters.

Last week I was in a training down cycle (for recovery) and will start ramping the miles back up this week. This cycle of training will culminate with another Fat Ass 50K at Bradbury on Saturday, March 28. after that will be a slight taper for the Boston (double) marathon, where I am still planning on running from Boston to Hopkinton for the start of the official marathon, and running back into town for the official finish.

Trail Monster Fat Ass 50K, sort of

Yesterday morning I joined fellow Trail Monsters in Freeport for a Fat Ass 50K around Hedgehog Mountain. While I did run 50K+, I did not do it all with at the Fat Ass "fun run". I decided to get part of my run in during my "commute" from Cumberland to Freeport.

I left home at just after 6 AM in a very light drizzle which quickly changed to sleet and then snow. The temps were very pleasant at around 33 F but there was a headwind that stayed with me the entire run. Other than a couple bio breaks, the run went well. I followed the same route to Freeport that I have taken on all my past runs to Freeport: Rte 9 through Cumberland Center to Rte 115 into Yarmouth across Bridge Street to East Main Street to Old County Road to Webster Road and then Desert Road. Instead of turning right on Desert like I do when running to work, this time I hung a left and then the first right onto Merrill to Katy and Chuck's house, who hosted the run.

I arrived just as everyone was suiting up to head out, having already amassed 13.5 miles. The crowd was impressive, more than I expected. It was nice to see some running friends I had not seen for awhile. The course planned for the run had been adjusted from the original 7.8 mile loop due to the warm weather and rain that had visited the day before. The new loop was an almost exact 5 mile loop from Chuck's house out to Hedgehog Mountain, up the mountain, and back the same way we went out.

The group stayed pretty tight during the first loop with very little drama. Once on top of Hedgehog, we paused to take in the the beautiful day from the high vantage point. On the way back, the fun started. There is a field we crossed twice on each loop, once out and once back, that contained a number of tricky spots. First, there were a couple low spots where post holing was nearly impossible to avoid with cold water at the bottom. I deposited my feet in them on the way out, which provided a very frigid wake-up call to my feet. On the way back the group left the main snowmobile route in search of a better way across the field. This search was unsuccessful in every way, leaving the group strung out across the field post holing everywhere. The going was slow (and bloody) for some, but soon enough we were back on the main trail and did not make the mistake again.

Once back at Chuck's house everyone went about refueling and addressing other needs. The first loop and each subsequent loop was taking about an hour. Considering the mashed potato consistency of the snow, this was good going. After a brownie, half a boston creme pie donut and some caffeinated high fructose corn syrup, I was on lap 2. I spent a good part of the day running with my buddy Jamie, who has been suffering from some plantar fasciitis issues. Fortunately, it seems that he is becoming a success story of active release therapy and stretching. He is a source of great inspiration for me, and I am thrilled to see him improving. It is my opinion that he should vanquish from his mind any fear of not running the Western States 100 this year. He is all but there now.

Lap 2 and 3 went by pretty quickly and by the time I knew it I had logged 31.4 miles in just over 5 hours. I felt great this morning and knocked out 10 miles this evening on the treadmill. I think my body is coming around to the long stuff. Bring on the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100!

A final note on yesterday's run. I want to send a big thanks to Chuck and Katy, and Katy's mom, for the great hospitality. The food was plentiful and yummy. Big shouts out to Alan, Emma, Ian, and Floyd for running all six loops (5oK). Great job to Mindy for achieving her longest post-injury run. And two high fives to my boy Jamie. Great run to Danielle and Ryan, Jim "PBR" Dunn, Blaine, and everyone else. Spring running is almost upon us!

Atayne Test, Day 6: Passing Grade

Atayne Test, Day 6. The finale. This morning I headed out the door just after 6:00 AM for a long run to Freeport to start an even longer run. On me was my six day old Atayne shirt. No laundering, no rinsing, nothing. And yet when I threw it on right out of bed this morning I did not even take notice of it.

Without getting into the details of today's run, I will say I run 13.5 miles of roads to meet the Trail Monster's in Freeport to take part in the TMR Fat Ass 50K. I arrived in Freeport with minutes to spare before setting off on a series of five mile loops on snowmobile/snowshoe trails up and around Hedgehog Mountain (really a big hill). After 3.5 loops, I was done. I logged a total of 31.2 miles in just over 5 Hours.

With today's run, the final statistics on my Atayne Test are as follows:

6 Days
9 Workouts
11 Hours
No water or laundry on the shirt
Smell: Unbelievably Unnoticeable and Inoffensive

Throughout this week I fielded a ton of questions and hopefully tons of interest (well, in my small world) in Atayne. The shirt performed remarkably well. I even passed around the shirt today for independent sniff tests and everyone was shocked. I felt like I was in one of those laundry detergent commercials where clothing articles are being passed around to check out the grass stains and smells that are gone after a washing...but my commercial was without the detergent. There were actually people today asking to smell the shirt. How often does that happen?!?!

In summary, the Atayne shirt with the cocona treatment is the real deal. Not only is it natural and promises not to poison you, it actually works better than any shirt I have ever worn. So my hats off to the good people at Atayne. Thank you for giving us runners a shirt that is harmless and works. Even the Buddha approved. That's good enough for me. Now it is off to the washing machine to give my Atayne shirt a bath. It earned it.

Atayne Test, Day 5: A lot of huhs

Today was another two-a-day. This morning I threw on my four day, six workout old Atayne shirt for yet another day of incremental sweat. The shirt started making some news in the workout class when people started asking why I was wearing the same shirt every day and if it was a different one. When I provided the answer, that I was putting the shirt's odor neutralization to a test and that I had not washed the shirt for the past four days, I got a bunch of "huhs?". Needless to say everyone was interested to hear about cocona and the fact that it was keeping me from retching as I was wearing it on many consecutive days. I suspect soon there may be a gym full of Atayne shirts!

At noon I wore the shirt for a half hour run around Freeport with my buddy Jim, who is a product developer. While the run was short and easy, it did help me reach workout number eight in this test. While the odor is still manageable, it did start to get a little stiff from the salt, etc. that is the result of many hours in it.

Tomorrow morning I will head out at 6 AM for a run to Freeport to meet the Trail Monsters for some more miles on snowmobile trails. Total mileage hoped for tomorrow to finish my Atayne test is 30+. Final stats of the Atayne test will be provided tomorrow.

Atayne Test, Day 4: The Kids' Sniff Test

Day 4 of my Atayne test dawned a little smellier than the previous day and much more so than three days ago. But all in all, the shirt that greeted me in my locker this morning was a shirt that really didn't smell all that bad. Kudos to activated carbon from the coconut shell! Now 45 minutes later was a different story. After a hard core and plyometric workout led by the trainer, Josh of the Woodlands, that found me blacked out after the first 15 minutes and sweating to death the next 30, there was an aroma from the shirt. My first thought at this discovery: it's about time. This shirt has continuously impressed me and still does, albeit with a bit of a smell. But what can you expect from a shirt that was just submitted to ungodly amounts of sweat for 45 minutes, much less used for almost four hours over four days? I would hypothesize that if I would have tried this with any of my chemically altered polyester shirts, I would have been asked to leave the gym this morning. (Picture to the right taken after first workout today.)

This evening I wore the shirt for a run on the treadmill. Six miles in a little over 46 minutes in a basement with a 550 lb. soap stone woodstove cranking the BTUs left the shirt a little "damp". Hopefully the thing dries well before the morning when I am back at it at 7 AM. (Side note: 30 minutes later it is dry.)

Before this evening's treadmill run I presented the shirt to my kids and wife, Kelly, for a sniff test. Kelly was reluctant at first but joined in after both Riley and Quinn gave it a shot. Quinn's response to the question, "Does is smell okay?", was a hesitant "Yes". Riley first said "No", but then reassessed her opinion when asked "Does it smell really bad?", to which she replied "No". Kelly's response was a bit more thoughtful, and she thought that while the shirt did have an odor, it really was tolerable considering the sweat that had been created in it. I chalk that up to a victory either to Atayne's ability to create a truly odor resistant shirt or to my superhuman ability to produce "unsmelly" sweat. I will lean towards the former. Two thumbs up for the team at Atayne. (Bottom picture at right taken after workout two.)

Atayne Test, Day 3: Like Roses, Almost

The first thing I did today upon arrival at the locker room was grab my Atayne shirt and put my nose to it. The outside of the shirt smelled remarkably fresh; not out of the laundry fresh but remarkably unremarkable. The inside, where the carbon is present, did contain a bit of a smell, but nowhere near the state of repulsiveness that some of my other shirts would have achieve by now. So two thumbs up for Atayne at the start of Day Three.

For Day Three I headed out on the roads of Freeport for a run just shy of 6 miles. I had a post-lunch meeting that I needed to be back for so time was short. The temps today were excellent and the roads excellently cleared of snow and ice, providing a very pleasant running experience. I felt strong today and the shirt finished as well as I felt. No funny looks (except for having a camera in the locker room taking pictures every day). Tomorrow might be a different story when I hit the workout medley class in the morning. The true test for my moss colored "4-R's" Atayne shirt will come when it is asked to perform in the close proximity forced by the gym, surrounded by other freshly laundered shirts!

As for Saturday, I am getting a bit jazzed up for 30+ miles. The Trail Monster Fat Ass 50K is Saturday in Freeport, and consists of 4 loops of a 7.88 mile trail run. Because of family commitments, I have decided that I am going to run from home, leaving around 6 AM, and running two loops of the course with the group, for a total of just over 30 miles. This will enable me to get home earlier and back to my second job of dad to two toddlers!

Atayne Test, Day 2: Doubling Up

Day 2, Atayne test. I hit the shirt for a double workout today. First up was my morning workout medley class which consists of a non-stop 45 minute plyometric/core/strength training butt whipping. As this was the second day in my Atayne shirt I was a little worried about offending my workout mates. But alas, the activated carbon worked wonders and no malodorous off gassing was present. That might have to wait until the next class Thursday morning.

After the morning's workout I set the shirt back in the locker and four hours later I was wearing it again. While there may have been a slight hint that the shirt had been worn before, it was minor. After a 45 minute run it was back to the locker for tomorrow's run. Up next, workout number four and day number three in my moss-colored, "4-R's" Atayne shirt!