Changing Things Up

Where to start? Unfortunately I will not be doing the Burning River 100 this year. I started a new job early last month which was taking a lot of my time but still had time to train. Then I got Mono. I've been laid up for the past 3 weeks not able to run at all. I've also lost between 20 and 30 pounds in that time span. So now that I'm feeling better I need to get my weight back to where it belongs, get back into some weight training and start rebuilding my mileage.

Now my goal through the Spring race season is to do the Mini Heart half marathon in March and the Flying Pig Marathon in May. With the ultimate goal of setting a new PR at the Pig. I'm sure I'll also end up doing a few other smaller races along the way also.

Maybe come fall I'll be ready to try a 50 miler then try Burning River next spring.

Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.
King Whitney Jnr

If Life Was Easy....
Where Would All
The Adventures Be?

Training and Race Schedule Spring 2011

Week	Mon	Tue		Wed		Thur		Fri		Sat						Sun	Total
1	x-train 1 hour	4		2		4		rest		5						5	20
2	x-train 1 hour	6		2		5		rest		8						5	26
3	x-train 1 hour	6		3		6		rest		10						5	30
4	x-train 1 hour	6		3		6		rest		10						5	30
5 recovery	x-train 1 hour	4		3		4		rest		8						5	24
6	x-train 1 hour	7		3		6		rest		10						10	36
7	x-train 1 hour	7		3		6		rest		10						10	36
8	x-train 1 hour	7		3		6		rest		10						10	36
9	x-train 1 hour	8		4		7		rest		15						10	44
10 recovery	x-train 1 hour	6		3		6		rest		12						10	37
11	x-train 1 hour	8		4		7		rest		15						10	44
12	x-train 1 hour	9		4		7		rest		15						15	50
13	x-train 1 hour	9		4		7		rest		15						Heart Mini	50
13 recovery	x-train 1 hour	7		4		7		rest		13						13	44
14	x-train 1 hour	9		4		8		rest		18						15	54
15	x-train 1 hour	9		4		8		rest		18						15	54
16	x-train 1 hour	9		4		8		rest		18						15	54
17 Taper	x-train 1 hour	8		3		8		rest		16						12	47
18 Taper	x-train 1 hour	8		3		6		rest		15						Flying Pig ?	57
19	x-train 1 hour	9		5		8		rest		50's for yo Momma						0	57
20	x-train 1 hour	9		5		8		rest		20						15	57
21 recovery	x-train 1 hour	8		5		8		rest		18						12	51
22	x-train 1 hour	10		5		8		rest		25						15	63
23	x-train 1 hour	10		5		8		rest		25						15	63
24	x-train 1 hour	10		5		8		rest		25						18	66
25	x-train 1 hour	10		5		8		rest		25						18	66
26 recovery	x-train 1 hour	8		3		8		rest		20						15	54
27	x-train 1 hour	10		5		9		rest		30						20	74
28	x-train 1 hour	10		5		9		rest		25						15	64
29 taper	x-train 30 min.	10		2		8		rest		10						10	40
30 taper	x-train 30 min.	4		2		4		rest		10						x-train 30 min.	20
31 race	4	3		2		rest		rest		Burning River 100							109

Mediterranean Quinoa

I made this delicious recipe last night and loved it. It would make a great dish winter or summer. It's very easy to make only takes about 20 minutes to prep and 25 to cook.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 cups vegetable broth or stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• 3 tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped
• Italian seasoning or Summer Savory with Basil to taste

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and red, green and yellow peppers; cook and stir for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for about 2 more minutes. Stir in the quinoa, vegetable stock, and tomato puree.
2. Return to a boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, or until quinoa grains are soft. Stir in the diced tomatoes and season with Italian seasoning. Cook until heated through, then serve.

The Best Christmas Gift

This year Christmas came about a week early for my family. Last Friday, Greg and Dusty blessed me with my first nephew. I can't wait to go see him again later today!!

!

100 Miles????

Yeah so I'm not sure if this will be the greatest idea in the world, but I'm actually thinking about attempting my first 100 mile race next summer. You read that right 100 MILE RACE! Derek from State to State and Stone Steps signed up for the Burning River 100 the other day. First I asked him if he would need a pacer sometime in the second half. After reading more info on the race I started getting excited, and began to wonder if I could do the entire race.

I've decided to start a 100 mile training schedule next week. The next registration bump up is at the end of May. Pending on how things are going come then I might register. I will have 32 weeks till race day. It should be possible. Here is a link to the training plan I will be using. It's a very basic lowest suggested mileage plan. I may alter it a little as I go.

My First Ultra Marathon

This past Sunday I ran my first 50k, (31 miles) and I LOVED it!! It was Stone Steps 50k located in Mt. Airy Forest, down in Cincinnati. I had no clue what to expect not only was it my first ultra but it was also my first trail race. The weather was nice partly cloudy and upper 60's low 70's most of the way.

During the State to State Half Marathon 3 weeks earlier I met another runner named Derek who was also going be running Stone Steps. We managed to hook up at the starting line and stuck together for about 26 miles keeping each other company along the way. Made it nice to have somebody to pace with and share stories.

I really liked how the pressure was off to keep running full blast and to finish with a good time, like you do at a traditional road race. The coarse made a figure 8 shape. We had to cross the center 7 times along the route, which is where the aid station was located. When you came into the aid station most of us would stop for a minute, chat, grab a drink, something to eat, change shoes or socks if needed, etc.... It was a very laid back environment.

I ended up coming in, in 6 hours 28 minutes. Little longer than I had expected but this course was very hilly. We had to climb the "stone steps" 4 times. I couldn't believe how long and steep they were. They had to have been over 100 yards long and more than a 45 degree angle.

To sum up though, I think I'm now hooked on Ultra Trail Racing. My body felt better after this, than any of my previous road marathons. I also recovered much quicker. I did hit the wall around mile 21, but a pb&j and Coke solved that problem and I finished strong.

State to State = New PR

State to State 2010 has officially come and gone, and it couldn't have turned out any better. After having one of the hottest summers on record in the Miami Valley Region and record breaking temps last week, a cold front moved in 24 hours in advance of the race dropping the temps by over 20 degrees. Sunday morning started off around 50 degrees and sunny. 7:58am everybody is in the starting corral about 15 feet behind the starting line. 7:59am, Spencer, Jessica, and I are about 3 feet from the starting line. (A lot closer to the front of the pack than where we usually line up) 8am gun goes off and we all lunge forward, nice thing about being that close to the front is you don't hit the wall of people stumbling over each other. 8:52am at the half way point, turning around and feeling great. 9:45am crossing the finish line. A new PR 1 hour 45 minutes. I beat my previous course record by 18 minutes.

As always State to State was fun. It's nice having a larger/small race in our town. It looked as though the sponsorship was down this year. The starting/finishing chute wasn't done up as much as years past. There also weren't any gels this year. For some reason there was only one band this year along the course, 2 years ago we had a band about every mile. Even without all the bells and whistles, we still had our awesome mobile cheering squad, at 4 different locations along the course pushing us on.

Next year 1:30...............maybe?

worry less. smile more. accept criticism. take responsibility. listen & love. don't hate. embrace change. & feel good anyway

Glenn