2012 and Beyond

I am going to start this post with a very brief “race report” as there isn’t much to comment on.  I ran the Dick Meighan Memorial 5K for the 5^th consecutive year on Thanksgiving.  This year, my wife, sister, her boyfriend and a good friend of mine all joined me.  The weather was beautiful, perfect for racing.  It was very crowded though as there were 2,000+ there for a 5K run through local streets.  I was never able to really get going and I ran a net time of 24:21 and had a ton left in the tank when it was all said and done.  I did however sign up for a “Reindeer Run 5K” on December 10 so I plan on going for a fast time in that race.  But now, on to bigger and better things!

Me & The Fam!

It’s that time of year where we begin to start planning for the New Year; Races & Goals, PRs & New Distances.  A few weeks ago I was feeling quite ambitious and I purchased some raffle tickets for the 2013 Western States 100M race in California.  The raffle goes off on December 10^th.  If I fail to get in through the raffle, I will still try to get in via the lottery next year.  If I do not get into Western States at all, I am looking toward the Keys 100M to be my “fallback” race.  I have been eyeing up a 100 miler and I feel that a year and a half should be enough time to prepare.  Part of the Western States process is qualifying.  In order to qualify, you must run one of the following: 1) a 50 miler in under 11 hours 2) a 100K in under 14 hours or 3) a 100 miler within the official cutoff.  I have my sights set on 3 races.  I plan on running one of two north face races, either Bear Mountain 50 or Washington DC 50.  Bear Mountain appears to be more difficult as well as a month sooner however it is also more local and I am still undecided.  The Second attempt at qualifying will be at the Vermont 50 in September.  For both races I will follow a basic mileage based training plan however I will have to get out to the trails a lot more.  This will be difficult as they are not exactly in my backyard however I understand the importance of specificity. 

The Goal

Another goal of mine is speed.  I have never been a big fan of speed work however I know that it can be very beneficial.  I recently joined the North Jersey Masters Running Club and I plan to take part in their track workouts beginning next spring.  I am currently running high 21s to mid 22s in the 5K.  My 2012 goals will be a sub 21 minute 5K in the spring followed by a sub 20 minute 5K in the fall.  I also plan in partaking in the NJ Track and Field Road Running Race series which will be comprised of multiple 5ks throughout the year.  Once the schedule comes out I can work the races into my training schedules.  I will post my training schedules and dates once I get them set in stone.  I will also attempt to post my weekly training as well as various race reports from my various distances.  I look forward to improving both time and distance and I appreciate any advice and tips along the way.

SPEED BUMPS!

The past two weeks have been rough training wise.  My runs have been limited due to the weather as well as work.  Two weeks ago I only got a single run in during the week as the Thermometer was reading single digits and we had another snow storm.  I was however able to get out that weekend and get in my longest run to date, a 15 miler.  The run was good with the exception of all the ice from the rainstorm the day before and sub freezing temperatures.  I took a spill at mile 6 however no one saw me so it wasn’t too embarrassing. 

I am thinking I should start getting used to these falls if I want to run Ultras!  This past week I got the luxury of traveling to Tulsa, OK for work.  I got one good treadmill workout in however that was all as I despise the treadmill.  Rather than getting back to Jersey on Friday ready to run, I was instead sick and decided to take the weekend off as I didn’t want to further complicate things.  Luckily though I was able to maintain my weight through the limited training.  I am however still running at much too heavy of a weight.  If I ever expect my legs to hold up for an ultra it is imperative that I shed some pounds.  I am planning on really fine tuning the eating next week (That is of course after Valentine’s Day Dinner with my lovely wife).  This past week while sitting sick in front of the computer, I found a race to add to my schedule, the Turkey Swamp 50K.  This should fit nicely into my race prep as the race occurs in August, about 2 months shy of the CanLake 50M.  It’s going to be a hot one, however that will also have some added benefits as I am still undecided on whether to attempt Umstead 100M in April or the Keys 100M in May.

12/28/2010 - 225.4 lbs
01/10/2011 - 224.0
01/16/2011 - 220.6
01/23/2011 - 219.2
01/31/2011 - 223.2
02/07/2011 - 220.0
02/14/2011 - 220.2

The Beginning

New Years day I will begin a 15 month long journey in which I will build myself up in hopes to run the Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run in 2012.  Being a “runner”, I have always been intrigued by going long.  Long gone are my days of 20 minute 5K’s and at this point in time I probably could not even go out and run a solid half marathon.  I have completed two marathons a few years back and have since let myself go.  I don’t want this to turn into one of those New Year Resolution things as those seem to always be doomed to failure.  This will be more of a change of lifestyle rather than a quick fix as I set out to rid myself of my bad habits and form new ones which will aid me on my path to run 100 miles.

Why Umstead?

Through my reading, this seems to be a good race for beginners.  I like the fact that it is a loop course.  I do not have easy access to trails and a lot of my daily miles will be run on pavement.  The loop course lessens the chance of me getting lost out in the woods, especially at night which is one of my biggest concerns!  Also, the timing is nice as the weather shouldn’t be too extreme (either hot or cold) in early April in NC. 

The Plan

The plan is to use 2011 to work my way up the distance ladder through various races throughout the year.  It all starts with a “Hangover 5K” on New Year’s Day which I can assure you will be very unimpressive!  From there, I am looking to run various races as short term goals as I build up to 100 miles.  Being I live in the Northeast, some races I might plan to target are as follows:  Running with the Devil 6-Hour, Mountain Madness 50K, Vermont 50M, NYC Marathon.  These are all in the 2^nd half of 2011 so I might try to get in a spring marathon, possibly the NJ Marathon in early May.  The progression would look like this: Spring Marathon, Summer 6-Hour Race, Fall 50M (Maybe I will try and find a winter 100K).  This should have me up to speed for my ultimate goal in 2012.

Going forward I will be tracking my mileage, weight, Body Fat (Using a scale, not an exact number however it will be consistent) as well as posting my progress on this 15 month adventure.  You can also follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mwest815 for daily updates on my training.