updated racing schedule

Well, the McNaughton 100 trail was was canceled and moved to Vermont, and I was going to move up my 100 mile race to February, but I think that is a bad move. I am going to stay with my plans to run the 50 mile race in February at Rocky Raccoon. I wanted to run all 50k's this year, and I think that is still a good plan. I want to improve my speed, my strength, and my endurance, as well as my hill running capabilities before taking on the 100 mile race.

So, in light of this fact, here is what I think will be the final schedule for me this year, finishing up with two races in 2010, the 60k as a warmup and training run at Bandera in January to get me ready for the Rocky Raccoon 50 miler in February.

March: Prickly Pear 50k (completed)
July: El Scorcho 50k
August: Dark Side Series, 60k
November: Louisiana Trails 50k
January, 2010: Bandera 50k
February, 2010: Rocky Raccoon 50 mile race.


While the 100 mile race is a goal, I will try and run a couple of 50 milers first. So, 2010 will be a year to run nothing but 50 milers.

Going for it!

Ok, this blog is about to change in scope and intensity. I have finally decided to attempt the 100 mile trail race. That is not the most unusual scenario for me, as I have had that as a goal since I started running ultras. But after my first failed attempt at 50 miles (missed cutoff time at 37.5 miles), I was worried that I might not be capable of completing a 50 mile race, nevertheless, a distance twice that far.

However, I have set up a series of races that I will be running to help train myself for the 100 miler. I am running a series of 50k races, and another 50 mile race with no cutoff times, and will be using those races as confidence builders to train for the 100. Here is the racing schedule I have chosen to set myself up for the 100 mile race:

Prickly Pear 50k (March 6, 2009): completed @7 hours in the heat.
El Scorcho 50k (July 20th): Midnight run in the heat
Traverse Trails; Capt. Karl's Dark Side Series 60k (all run in the dark)
Louisiana Trails 50k (Shreveport, Louisiana) November 14th
Bandera 50k race, January 9th
Rocky Raccoon 50 mile race, Hunstville, Texas, February 6, 2010.
McNaughton 100 mile race; Pekin, Illinois, April 9, 2010


McNaughton Park 150/100 mile race

The McNaughton Park Trail Runs are firmly established as a premier ultra event ... the 2008 run had in excess of 200 entries from all over the United States and Europe.

"Easier than Barkley.Cooler than Badwater.Lower altitude than Leadville.Warmer than Yukon Artic Ultras."

Here is the description of the course from the website: "How about the view? One of our 2005 participants described it this way: “It’s one of the most scenic courses I know: Mostly singletrack, forest with some meadows, hills with beautiful valleys in between. Lots of flowers and wildlife. At dawn, when I came to the 3rd creek crossing, thousands of birds were singing, frogs were ‘talking’ everywhere, wild geese above me were chatting, and several Whitetail Deer crossing the trail.”

However, here is another quote from the website: "Do you think Illinois is all flat cornfields? Wise ultra-runners will get some serious hill training in before coming to McNaughton Park! We don’t have mountains in Illinois ... just a few rolling hills with elevator shaft downhills guaranteed to warm your quads on a chilly April evening. Here’s how one satisfied customer described the terrain: ‘I now know why Illinois is so flat. They took all the hills that are supposed to be there and put them ALL into one spot in Pekin, IL ... and called it ‘McNaughton Park’.”


I am not fooling myself into thinking that this course will be an easy one, but it will be scenic and challenging. However, from what I can tell, it shouldn't be any more difficult than Bandera out in the Texas Hill Country, so I am training for that environment...the hills and the rocks of Bandera should be good training for McNaughton.

On this blog, I will be continuously updating my training on a week by week basis on the way toward the McNaughton 100. I will report on the races I have scheduled, and my crazy emotional feelings as I go through this endeavor. Incidentally, my wife has given me the green light and has decided to even accompany me on this trip. Pretty cool.



Jerry

All Ultras all the time...

This year, I am concentrating on running all ultras. I'm stepping up the intensity level of my running in general, with the idea of running a 100 mile race sometime early next year. I am gearing up to run a 100 mile race. I have already run the Prickly Pear 50k in March, but here's a list of the rest of the races I am going to complete this year:

2009

El Scorcho 50k--Fort Worth, Texas (July 20th)
Capt. Karl's Dark side Series 60k--Inks Lake State Park, Texas (August 29th)
Louisiana Trails 50k--Shreveport, Louisiana (November 14th)
Bandera 50k--Bandera, Texas (January 9th)

2010

Rocky Raccoon 50 mile race, Huntsville, Texas (Feb. 6th)
Grasslands 50 mile race, Decatur, Texas (March)
100 mile race (?)

Back to Blogging

Well, it's been a while since I last wrote anything, and things have been going pretty well. My running is definitely such a big part of my life, now, with Ultra marathons becoming central to it all. Since my last blog, I attempted a 50 mile race, but missed the cutoff at 8:40 of running. I missed the cutoff by 10 lousy minutes. My feet were like hamburger, though, and since then, I have made some drastic improvements that I feel will help my long distance running. First, I finally got some trail shoes, along with some gaiters. At Sunmart, my feet were like hamburger, because of the dirt and the rocks that ended up in my shoes and even in my socks. I think that will help a great deal. I know the trail shoes have helped with my propensity to fall, as well, and that is a big deal.

Since my last posting, I have run several races for fun, like the San Angelo series trail run. But my favorite trail race has been the Prickly Pear 50k, which I ran in March. That was a blast, despite the heat and the humidity, and the dry conditions of the course, itself. I ran it in 7 hours, which is not that fast, but it was a great run and I enjoyed the company of others, the trails, and the weekend.

I am preparing now for El Scorcho 50k, which will be held in July 17th, at midnight. I am putting in some good hill training, tempo runs, and longer runs, which I am hoping will keep me at least competitive. Looking forward to that race, as well as others I have scheduled. So far, my schedule is as follows:

El Scorcho 50k in July
Louisiana Trails 50k in September
Rocky Racoon 50 mile race in February.

Looking foward to the training and the races!

Sunmart 50 fast approaching

Well, I only have a few weeks of training left before my first 50 mile race...or should I say...run! I doubt I will be racing. I did have a great week of running this past week, though, culminating in a long, comfortable 23 mile run on saturday at Redbud. It was feeling pretty easy, and I am feeling better and better about my first attempt at 50 miles.

This weekend, David and I are going to run Steamboat Mountain again. It's an excellent workout, and we are going to run it, and then turn around and run it the other way...so it will be a 26 mile run with some pretty good hills!

Running the Mineral Wells Trailway

This has been an interesting week of running. I started out on Monday wanting to run the trails and cross country course over at Sherrod Park at ACU, however, it had rained the night before, and I didn't want to run in the mud. So, I went to Redbud and ran an easy five miles. Tuesday, I went back to Sherrod Park and ran my hill circuit. It turns out to be a pretty tough run as I made a loop out of the Cross Country course, the trails there, and back out onto the pavement for a run down to Washington street, all the way to Highway 80 and back. It's about 6 miles of nothing but intermittent hills. Wednesday was a rest day.

Thursday was an interesting day, as I ran another 6 mile run down Industrial boulevard, all the way out past the airport and back to my home. Friday, I did a recovery run of four miles, just taking it easy.

Saturday, I got up at 5:00 a.m. and drove to Weatherford, Texas to run the Mineral Wells Trailway, a trail that used to be the railroad tracks from Weatherford to Mineral Wells. It's a 20 mile trail. I ran a 10-mile out and back, and the trail was beautiful and peaceful. I took a 20 oz. bottle of gatorade with me, and it started getting warm right about the midpoint in the run. I ran out of fluids around mile 13, which was not good. I made it back alright, but was thoroughy dehydrated when I was done.

It was a good week, leading up to the Palo Duro Canyon 20k this weekend. I'm looking forward to this run...it should be an adventure.

Heading for Palo Duro Trail Run

Well, my running the last two weeks has been intense. I have been training mostly in the hills and trails around here. Trust me, if you look in the right places, there are some good training hills. I have made a nice training loop out near ACU. Sharrod Park has some trails...they are not very long, but really interesting to run through. I run the established cross country course that ACU uses, go through the trails, and then move out onto the streets like North 11th Street, I believe it is...which brings you to another pretty good hill or two. Then, if you go farther on, you can hit Washington Street which is also a good course for some hills. You can get about 10 miles of rolling hills that are fairly challanging if you do it just right.

Nothing can top Steamboat Mountain, though, and the run we all did out there a few weeks back was great. I have been going out to the State Park and running through those trails and hills, and then running down the highway toward Lake Abilene where there are a number of good hills that I combined with some long distance work. That whole area offers some nice surprises as far as training goes....if you don't mind the occasional "road kill" on the side of the highway.

This week, I will go out toward Coronado's Camp and run through the hills out there, including a 20 miler that should be pretty interesting. There are some tough hills, especially out there where all the windmills are sitting.

Another run David and I were talking about to get prepared for the 50 mile race in December at Sunmart, is to go out to Steamboat Mountain, and run the 13.2 mile course, and then turn around and run it the other way. I may actually attempt that before the Sunmart 50.

I have gotten hooked on running ultras, but am looking forward to the spring, where I am going to try to really "up my speed," by running some 5 and 10k's, as I would like to get my marathon time back down close enough to qualify for Boston.

The 10k at the Balloonfest was a really cool, well done race that I enjoyed. I was just using it as a speed workout, mostly, and wasn't prepared to enjoy it as much as I did. Next up for me, is the Palo Duro 20k Trail race in Canyon. I'm really looking forward to that. I have heard it is a tough run...but I love trails more than anything. AFter that, the Sunmart 50 is getting closer and closer. Only 9 weeks left! I'm doing a 20 miler this week, then after the Palo Duro run, I will be upping the mileage on the long runs...and will begin training on the trailways between Mineral Wells and Weatherford. It's a 20 mile trail, one way, which allows for some really long, trail runs, with no traffic, no dogs, and practically no people.