Race Update and Weekly Summary for 8/15 - 8/21

Iraqi Goat Skin Art

-UPDATE ON IRAQI WHITE RIVE 50 MILE-

Product & Support: 

-Thank you Gabriel Rodriguez & Under Armour for your generous donation to the troops out here!
-Thank you Fleet Feet Boulder Colorado for you support and donation!
-Thank you Marcus Allen Massage Therapy for your support, encouragement and getting me interviews with Runners World & Trail Runner!
-Thank you Levi Severson & Brian Dumm for your support and encouragement!
-And thank you Maggie Schlarb for all of your endless support, encouragement and love!

-Thank you for spreading the word and encouragement:

Lyle Weese
Jeremy Wolf
Ken Coop
Emily Thompson LaGiglia
Chris Zepeda
Krissy Moehl, 1st Endurance



More information on the race, how to support, etc... at the bottom of this post

Bradley

-Weekly Summary For 8/15 - 8/21- 25% Taper Week


Monday-
AM 1:00, 7.4M, 123Av Hr;
Felt nice to run a little shorter. Av Hr was 123!
PM :30, 4M, 1,050Ft;
Afternoon Treadmill



Tuesday-

AM :56, 7.5M, 700Ft;
Decided to sleep in.  Ran on treadmill. 

PM :30, 4M, 844Ft;
Afternoon treadmill.

Wednesday-
AM 1:00, 7.55M, 130Av Hr; 
Easy morning run.


PM :28, 4M;
Tired this afternoon, so I did a flat treadmill run instead of the regular climb.
Thursday-
AM 1:02, 8.3M, 1,000Ft, 149Av Hr; 
Woke up well rested and felt good during my warm up and general mobility drills. Today I did 11 intervals vice the standard 15 as I am tapering for the big race just 9 days out. Ran an average split on the hill repeats of 1:12, 1:13. The first and last interval was 1:09 and after rolling my ankle on the 8th interval (had to take a minute and walk it off too) I ran a 1:16.

At the half point check (8) for the regular 15 interval day, I was 20 seconds faster than ever. My heart rate average was lower this week as well. Things are shaping up well!
PM :30, 4M, 1,050Ft; 149Av Hr;
Regular 4 mile treadmill run, 1K of climbing.


Friday-
AM 1:00, 7.41M, 126Av Hr;
Cooler weather (high 80s) felt great this morning. Nice easy run with a low heart rate


PM :22, 3M, 400Ft, 132Av Hr; 
Easy 3 at 2.5% grade 400ft climbing
Saturday- 
AM 2:22, 18.38M, 1,700Ft,146/136Av Hr; 
"Slept in" until 4am for this long run. Did 4 miles on the treadmill at 8% grade for 1,700ft of climbing at around 8:15-8:20 pace with an average heart rate of 146. I am confident I can hammer out 8:20 pace at 9.5% for two 10 mile sessions for the race.
Headed outside and did a 14.35 mile loop around base. Felt good, but thought my watch was broken as I felt as if I was running faster than it said for the first few miles. Heart rate was at an average of 136, average pace of 7:35 for the loop, which I'm happy with. I am confident I can run 7:40 pace for the two 15 mile loops next week.

Sunday-
AM 1:23; 10.16M, 130Av Hr; 
Scoped out half my route for the first 15 mile portion of my race this morning. Felt good.

Picture I took last winter while on a long run in Laramie WY

This week went pretty much as I hoped.  I wanted to reduce my mileage from last week's 111 by around 25%, which I did.  What I didn't plan on was getting as much climbing as I did and having such a good workout at the Pit after last week's tiring week.  I did decide to skip speed and just do one focused workout.  
As normal, I feel a bit tired and off when I taper and I attribute this to the body finally recovering and rebuilding after working so hard for weeks and months before.  Sleeping well, feeling well and confidence is building about my race in 6 days.  The race, splits, fear and confidence about running all occupies my mind more and more.  
The support for the race has been awesome and will make the difference.  The donations, support and encouragement has been awesome.  Marcus has really gone out of his way to get running publications like Trail Runner and Running World involved. Levi has been a real enabler with our "virtual training partnership" his emails and even letters.  Finally, my wife is amazing... she has done the little things to keep me going and smiling, she is the best.  I'm ready to meet my goal of running under 6:49 (Uli's winning time from this year's White River 50) 

WEEKLY TOTALS:
85.7 Miles
6,744 Feet Climbed
11:03 Total Time Running

IRAQI WHITE RIVER 50 MILE 

On Saturday the 27th of August I am going to run a 50 Mile race in Iraq.  
The "course" will be based off the White River 50 Mile that took place on the 12th of June in Washington.  I hope to get in a good race and remind people of the sacrifices US Service Members are still making daily for our country. 

This is how the race will go down:
-12:00AM Iraqi Time/3:00PM Mountain Time Start
-10 Miles on a treadmill set at 9.5% grade for a total of just over 5,000 feet of climbing
-a 15 mile loop on the dirt and sand of Iraq
-another 10 Miles on the treadmill at a grade of 9.5% for 5,000 feet of climbing
-a second 15 mile loop on the dirt and sand 

 My goals and purpose in running the Iraqi White River 50 Mile:

-Get a 50 Mile race with 10,000ft of climbing under the belt this summer while in Iraqi

-Run faster than the winner, Uli 6:49, at The 2011 White River 50M
-See if I can help support troops/veterans or at least remind people of the sacrifices US service members are making for our country today

-SUPPORT-       What YOU can do!!

-If you, your sponsor, or company would like to send Air Force and/or Army Enlisted troops deployed here in Iraq fitness product, contact me and I'll give you my APO address in Iraq.  It is no more expensive shipping to an APO than shipping elsewhere in the US!
-Spread the word about the race/cause to other runners who might be interested in supporting the troops
-Donate to "Wounded Warrior Project" http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/ , mention the race and feel free to post on my blog that you donated

Iraqi White River 50 Mile & Weekly Summary 8/8 - 8/14

IRAQI WHITE RIVER 50 MILE 

On Saturday the 27th of August I am going to run a 50 Mile race in Iraq.  
The "course" will be based off the White River 50 Mile that took place on the 12th of June in Washington.  I hope to get in a good race and remind people of the sacrifices US Service Members are still making daily for our country. 

This is how the race will go down:
-12:00AM Iraqi Time/3:00PM Mountain Time Start
-10 Miles on a treadmill set at 9.5% grade for a total of just over 5,000 feet of climbing
-a 15 mile loop on the dirt and sand of Iraq
-another 10 Miles on the treadmill at a grade of 9.5% for 5,000 feet of climbing
-a second 15 mile loop on the dirt and sand 

 My goals and purpose in running the Iraqi White River 50 Mile:

-Get a 50 Mile race with 10K of climbing under the belt this summer while in Iraqi

-Run faster than the winner, Uli 6:49, at The 2011 White River 50M
-See if I can help support troops/veterans or at least remind people of the sacrifices US service members are making for our country today

-SUPPORT-       What YOU can do!!

-If you, your sponsor, or company would like to send Air Force and/or Army Enlisted troops deployed here in Iraq fitness product, contact me and I'll give you my APO address in Iraq.  It is no more expensive shipping to an APO than shipping elsewhere in the US!
-Spread the word about the race/cause to other runners who might be interested in supporting the troops
-Donate to "Wounded Warrior Project" http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/ , mention the race and feel free to post on my blog that you donated



-Weekly Summary For 8/8 - 8/14-

Monday-
AM 1:15, 9.46M, 139Av Hr;
Didn't sleep well last night and decided to risk running at 6:15 vice 5:15... It wasn't that hot, but the last two and a half miles were into a 20mph headwind. Still tired, heart rate a bit high too.

PM :30, 4M, 1,050Ft, 147Av Hr;
One of my more tired days. First mile and a half went fast on the Treadmill then I had an epic battle fighting off a #2. There are no bathrooms at the gym. Usually I lose these battles and have to stop, but for once I managed to finish the run.

Tuesday- Fastest Speed Yet!
AM 1:34, 12.23M, 145Av Hr;
Had a decent night of sleep, but the wind was up so I decided to run my quarter mile repeats on the roads around my new residence.

The first 4 repeats were on the dirt and gravel roads, but the last 8 were on the pavement with the recovery jog on the dirt. The wind was around 12-20 mph. Most, with the exception of the second interval, was with the wind at my back.

Splits:

1) 4:57 on a gravel road
2) 4:59 into the wind on pavement
3) 4:53 on dirt
4) 4:47 on dirt mostly
5) 4:44 pavement for the remainder of W/O
6) 4:50
7) 4:45
8) 4:38
9) 4:37
10) 4:32
11) 4:22
12) 4:23

Average pace was 4:42 or 70 second quarters. Last two were 65s!

This was a good way to finish my speed training sessions: nice and fast. I certainly know I have re-developed my speed. I think it is essential to have a dedicated speed workout once a week for around 6 weeks every 6 months or so. 


PM :30, 4M, 1,050Ft;
Afternoon on the treadmill.

Wednesday-
AM 1:19, 9.49M, 125Av Hr; 
The recovery run after my fastest speed workout of the year... VERY slow.
Only ran one mile under 8 min pace, but the heart rate was the lowest it has been too, 125 average.  Hope the legs recover for tomorrows work at the Pit.


PM :30, 4M, 1,050Ft;
Regular afternoon treadmill run.

Thursday-PR AT THE PIT!
AM 1:11, 9.1M, 1,450Ft, 154Av Hr; 
Screwed up my alarm this morning, drove over to my start point a little late.  Started at around 5:30am. Felt pretty good on the warm up and general mobility... a little nervous and anxious as I ultimately wanted to finish this last focus week with my best performance at both my speed workout (done!) and at the Pit. Being that I have been exhausted for the last 3 days, I didn't know how it would turn out.

Things started well with a 1:12 and I managed to maintain splits under 1:15 out and pretty much under 1:30 back, but it was no cake walk. At the half point I checked my watch and I was nearly 30 seconds ahead of last weeks times, but I was having to give a lot to keep things fast.

I managed to hold on and ran my last two intervals in 1:12 and a record 1:08 to finish with a new overall best of 38:47 for the workout... 16 seconds faster than my best time at The Pit. My average HR was 154 this week vs 150 last week, 171 last week for max, 175 max this week... I worked for the PR.

It felt great to kill this workout.   

PM :30, 4M, 1,050Ft;
Felt good on my afternoon run.


Friday-
AM 1:14, 9.44M, 131Av Hr;
Slow recovery run with a low heart rate.

PM :30, 4M, 1,050Ft, 150Av Hr; 
This afternoon's run was a little more challenging than normal with a AV HR of 150.

Saturday- The 10M Diving Board and Longest Long Run
AM 3:33, 27.9M, 3,086Ft, 145Av Hr; 
Sleep was not great. Woke up confused a few times thinking I slept in and wouldn't be able to get in my long run. I also had a horrible dream about missing the pool and landing on the cement when I jumped off the 10 meter high dive. Both my ankles were broken, but I was OK. My parents then took me to check out apartments where I crawled around with my legs broken. Wow.

Got up at 3:30am and headed over to the USACE mini-gym where I set up my laptop and ran 7:30 pace at 6.5% grade for 9 miles and 3,086 feet of climbing. I enjoyed listening to music from my laptop and skyping with my wife. I decided to take off my shirt as no one was in the gym. My sweat was overwhelming... it got my laptop wet and eventual soaked my shoes like I had crossed a creek, good simulation!

I headed out for the sunrise and just short of 19 miles. Once again, I meant to run a bit shorter on the loop, but miscalculated. My legs were heavy, slow and stiff, but I managed to keep the pace around 7:30. The last 3 or 4 miles I was really hurting, I was feeling the last two workouts and the big mileage. Looking forward to a nice taper to the Iraqi White River 50 Mile. I wore the compression sleeves the rest of the day to help recover.

Drank 2 servings of EFS lemon lime with 30OZ of water on my treadmill portion of the run. Drank about 60 oz of water with 4oz of EFS Liquid Shot Berry on the trail loop. Finished with the daily Ultragen; you can't imagine how good it tastes after running a long run in August in Iraq.


Sunday- Efficiency
AM 1:17; 4.46M, 126Av Hr; 
I felt different this morning running. The legs began stiff, but a few miles into it I felt no one muscle or area that was particularly un-happy... after such a long run yesterday and epic week?  HR was at 126.  My body is really adapting.  Time to put the body to the test.

PM :30, 4M, 525Ft, 133 Av Hr;
A little afternoon jog on the Treadmill at 2.5% grade.

WEEKLY TOTALS:
111 Miles
10,311 Feet Climbed
14:23 Total Time Running 


I'm ready for a solid 50 mile!

 

Weekly Summary 8/1- 8/7 & Support the Troops Via The Iraqi White River 50 Mile

1920s Italian Tankette

Monday-
AM 1:11; 9.38M, 137Av Hr;
Felt good this morning. Sub 9 on the first mile and by the end of the run I was down to 7 pace. A couple beets per minute fast on the HR, but overall, I can tell my fitness is coming along.


PM :30; 4M, 1,050Ft, 145Av Hr;
Was tired from lack of sleep Sunday night.

Tuesday-Super Speed
AM 1:33, 12.63M, 148Av Hr;
Woke up this morning well rested and with morning temps a few degrees lower than the last two days (92 vs 97 or 98).
I was excited to do this workout.

The wind, unfortunately, was a bit up this morning, maybe 10mph.

12 X 400 meter repeats with a .37M jog recovery across the desert fields. 2 mile warm up, general mobility drills, 2.5 mile cool down.

Here are my splits (pace for the 400 meter intervals):

1) 5:20
2) 5:07
3) 5:00
4) 5:05
5) 5:08
6) 4:57
7) 4:35
8) 4:42
9) 4:48
10) 4:40
11) 4:43
12) 4:40

Average Pace: 4:53
Avg Hr was 149 (with cool down), 178 max.

I felt pretty good on the way out, but the wind was challenging. Felt really good on the way back, the best I've felt on the 4 speed workouts. The last two were pretty much all out. Great day!

PM :30, 4M, 1,050Ft,
Felt better than I expected after my morning speed. 

Wednesday
AM 1:17, 9.37M, 128Av Hr
Certainly flat from yesterday's good speed session. Effort was super easy, but things went slow due to legs... my heart rate reflects this.

PM :30, 4M, 1,050Ft, 146Av Hr
I moved to a new place and used the other gym today. Good news, the treadmills are in the middle of the gym and the gym is packed, thus entertaining. Bad thing, the treadmill I used was old. I think the % grade may be different as I was dying on 5%...

Thursday-New Best Pit Record

AM 1:13, 9M, 1,425Ft, 150Av Hr
Poor night of sleep in my new CHU. Contemplated going back to sleep, even stopped just after a I began my warm-up and thought of not doing the workout...

Good thing was that it was in the lower 80s for the first time in weeks this morning, so I went for it. Felt OK after doing general mobility.

Despite the rough start, today I fount that next gear at The Pit today!

I felt strong on every repeat, running between 1:11 to 1:17 on each interval for a total time and best of 39:03.
Things are coming along.



PM :30, 4M, 1,050Ft
Found out the Treadmill I used yesterday is totally screwed up. I ran on a different treadmill and today's run went well and I felt great.

Friday-
AM 1:15, 9.79M, 134Av Hr
My first run from my new room. Did my regular loop backwards with a modification on start/finish. Felt pretty good, windy a bit but cooler than the last few weeks.

Forgot I usually do 11M today with 2 on the treadmill... just decided to run extra this afternoon.

PM :24, 3.2M, 845Ft

Great first run in the small gym located right next to my room. I am very happy to have found this magical spot... very nice Nautilus treadmill, AC right behind the treadmill, bathroom just feet away, combo lock on the door that only the few residents around me have, a fridge just a few feet away too and finally... an outlet for my laptop :)

This location will be where I do my treadmill running for my Iraqi White River 50.


Saturday-Long Run with Skype

AM 3:06, 25.27M, 2,566Ft, 146Av Hr

Essentials: EFS and Ultragen by 1st Endurance

I woke up at 3am having dreams about the morning long run... a little anxious I suupose.
I used the mini gym which is a stone's throw from my room. I set up my netbook, listened to Pandora and talked to my wife Maggie and son Felix WHILE I ran on the treadmill. I also used the toilette located right next to the treadmill and stored my Nathan water pack in the mini fridge right behind the treadmill. The mini gym is really just a converted trailer, but it is absolutely awesome for my situation.

Did 8.1 miles at 7:30 pace, 6% grade, 2,566ft of climbing. I drank 32oz of EFS lemon lime drink.

Went outside and rolled the dice on figuring out a 16 mile loop from my new location. Obviously it is the same area, but still I wasn't sure how the loop would work for mileage as I ended up running a bit further, 17.17M.

Felt pretty good on the treadmill, average heart rate was only 147 for the 8 miles with 2,566ft of climbing (6%).

Once out running the loop, the legs were a bit flat/tired and I thought it might be a slower run that the last few long runs. Low and behold, things turned out better than I thought they would and I kept a good pace.

Here are my splits:
1-8) 7:30
9) 7:48
10) 7:38
11) 7:35
12) 7:30
13) 7:47
14) 7:21
15) 7:15
16) 7:23
17) 7:06
18) 7:04
19) 6:59
20) 7:00
21) 7:10
22) 7:14
23) 7:21
24) 7:28
25) 7:30

Average Pace: 7:24

The last couple miles were rough and, again, I ran out of water a little over a mile out. I drank 82oz of water during this run, 2 servings of EFS lemon lime, 3.5 servings of EFS liquid shot berry.

Sunday-
AM 1:22, 11.23M, 633Ft
Woke up to a sandstorm. Joined the guys headed to the gym for a spin class and ran 11.23 miles on the treadmill.

Did a 20 minute warmup then 2 miles at 6% grade for 633ft of climbing at 7:30 pace followed by 15 minutes of 6:45 pace at a -3% grade to work the downhill running muscles, then the rest of the run at just under 7 pace.



-Weekly Summary and Iraqi White River 50 Mile Update-

My running came together this week.  I managed to have a successful speed workout Tuesday, hill repeat workout Thursday, a good long run with 2.5K of climbing at a good pace and distance and lastly the weekly totals representative of a solid week of ultra training.  The plan from here is to get one more solid week of training followed by a week and a half taper before "The Iraqi  White River 50 Mile".

Every season of every year is dynamically different and as I mentioned last week, my last year has been all over the map.  While I have a hard time comparing it to the last few seasons, I feel I have managed to get in shape, for this regiment and now it is time to test myself.

Mileage: 106
Feet Climbed: 9,669
Time Running: 13:21

THE IRAQI WHITE RIVER 50 MILE

The Iraqi White River 50 Mile will be Saturday the 27th of August!
I challenge all to support The Iraqi White River 50 by supporting the troops: Army and Air Force Enlisted or Iraqi Cadets at the Iraqi Air Force Academy here at Tikrit Iraq.   Let me know if you, or your organization  will help support.

"Supporting" can be all sorts of things:

-posting the race on your blog, facebook, twitter, website, etc...
-sending running product/stuff to give to enlisted Airmen, Army or Iraqi Air Force Cadets
-a skype call while I run the 20 mile treadmill portion of the race
-money donation to an organization supporting wounded warriors or veterans in need
-whatever you want



I'll make a post this week with more details on the race and opportunities to support.


LCD Soundsystem is one of my favorites.  James Murphy kept me going strong 4am Saturday morning.