20 Miles - Divine!!!

My last long week before my Bear Mountain 50 miler on April 12 featured a 12 mile run on the roads of Staten Island, an 8 mile trail run on tough trails in the Staten Island Greenbelt, and, to end this great week, a 20 miler on the path around Manasquan Reservoir on Saturday (March 22).

Manasquan Reservoir was the ideal site for this run because:

1) Each lap of Manasquan Reservoir was 5.1 miles long. Hence, 4 laps in total.

2) At the end of each lap, I have the chance to use my car as an aid station to replenish energy and liquids for the coming laps.

3) The path was gentle enough for a long run at the end of a gigantic week of running.

So how did it go? Total time for the run was 2 hours 46 minutes and change. About an 8:24 pace. I was figuring on a 9 minute pace to sustain me. So this was WAY ahead of expectations for me, and was tremendously pleased with the run. Regarding the run, my first 3 laps were tremendously easy at this pace. The last lap was a tad more sluggish, but I kept the pace up until the end.

I end the week capturing 55 miles of the 60 miles scheduled. Fantastic!

The day after the run, I ran an easy 5 miles and felt fine! So the bottom line for this week is positive, but cautous. The sluggishness on the 4th lap of the long run reminds me that I should NOT start the Bear Mountain race at this pace. My initial strategy for this race is to start about 10 minutes per mile pace on level ground, and walk up the initial mountain climbs at even slower that pace. I intend to make this race feel easy for the first 20 miles so that I have the energy to sustain it to the end.

What will be the schedule for next week? 40-45 miles of running. On lots of trails, ending with 13 miles in Bear Mountain this Sunday (March 30). I'll post the highlights soon.

20 Miles - Divine!!!

My last long week before my Bear Mountain 50 miler on April 12 featured a 12 mile run on the roads of Staten Island, an 8 mile trail run on tough trails in the Staten Island Greenbelt, and, to end this great week, a 20 miler on the path around Manasquan Reservoir on Saturday (March 22).

Manasquan Reservoir was the ideal site for this run because:

1) Each lap of Manasquan Reservoir was 5.1 miles long. Hence, 4 laps in total.
2) At the end of each lap, I have the chance to use my car as an aid station to replenish energy and liquids for the coming laps.
3) The path was gentle enough for a long run at the end of a gigantic week of running.

So how did it go? Total time for the run was 2 hours 46 minutes and change. About an 8:24 pace. I was figuring on a 9 minute pace to sustain me. So this was WAY ahead of expectations for me, and was tremendously pleased with the run.

Regarding the run, my first 3 laps were tremendously easy at this pace. The last lap was a tad more sluggish, but I kept the pace up until the end. Well, I did 5 miles today, the day after the run, and felt fine!

So the bottom line for this run is positive, but cautous. The sluggishness on the 4th lap reminds me that I should NOT start the Bear Mountain race at this pace. My initial strategy for this race is to start about 10 minutes per mile pace on level ground, and walk up the initial mountain climbs at even slower that pace. I intend to make this race feel easy for the first 20 miles so that I have the energy to sustain it to the end.

What will be the schedule for next week? Lots of trails, ending with 13 miles in Bear Mountain this Sunday (March 30). I'll post the highlights soon.

Transcendence, a more detailed description.

I like to begin the blog with some examples of fitness transcendence...

1) Running 100 miles in one day.
2) Completing a triathlon well over the Ironman distance. There are those who have completed the equivalent of 10 Ironman races at one time.
3) Swimming the English Channel.
4) Cycling across the US or Canada without much rest.
5) Running across the United States. Run Forrest, Run!
6) Completing 4 of the most difficult 100 mile ultramarathons in 4 consecutive months. Take a look at the Grand Slam of Ultras link I provided.
7) Thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail (or Pacific Crest Trail).
8) RUNNING the entire Appalachian Trail (or Pacific Crest Trail).


These are just small samples of superhuman feats that have been done already by a handful of humans. A creative mind can create hundreds of other feats. And I have been creative. But I will not publish them here until I am definitely sure that I will try it. Why the secret? So that I can be the first to do it, of course! Most of the items listed above I would love to attempt in the future, as well as the ones I keep secret.

Why transcendence? A person who has transcended can only do these feats by living and enjoying the fitness lifestyle. These people will spontaneously go for a long run when they feel like it. They will get on their bike instead of a car to do everyday errands, and they will stay away from the potentially harmful foods that abound in the US today. While I do enjoy working out, I don't always find it easy to get up and work out everyday, and I rarely do any workout spontaneously without planning for it. And I am definitely not a saint when it comes to nutrition. Although I haven't had fast food for over 3 years now, I am a notorious soda drinker and tend to pick on some unhealthy snacks often. It is the small things here that I feel I need to improve to accomplish the impossible.


As for my posts, I will regularly update my progress on this blog at least 4 times per week. I've read that Blogger has mobile capability; if I can use my cell phone on the days I travel to post a blog, it'll be more the better. My next blog will show my current tentative schedule for the rest of the year. Until then, stay strong!