Wednesday, June 23, 2010

57 Reasons to Go Up

You turn 57 and you spend lots of time doing endurance sports... so when the day comes...you think of a wild way to celebrate another day on the planet....and of course to celebrate the Big Man upstairs who gives me the ability to always compete in an event to the end....never quit.



Saturday am......I went to my fav spot..North Chagrin Reservation and the trails. The trail behind Squires castle reaches up to the upper level of the park. There is a loop.... 3-tenths of a mile ...the first part is a healthy incline...and is an S- curve.. when you reach the upper part..the upper S.....the incline..according to my Garmin is very steep. My plan was to run this hill.... 57 times....yes.... 57 straight times..... It was already getting hot and humid at 8am when I began... I saw Mike, Suzanne, and Chris early in the trek... then Dave came by and ran about 5 of them with me... But I ran..and I sweated....and I ran... The total mileage of this???? 17.20 miles... With all of the elevation change...according to Garmin again...I went up approximately 11,000 feet ......of course I also descended 11,000 feet during the whole run... I never walked...I was steady the whole way... Played mind games to keep going. Saw several families trying to take walks and many wondered what this sweat drenched man was up to. But I did it and it felt great....Tiny blisters in two toes...but nothing bad... I had my cooler at the bottom of the hill and I could use water..or G2 or some Gu's as I went along. All told, I needed 4 hours, 25 minutes to accomplish the goal. Fantastic. Of course when I finished, I was soaked through....knees felt okay, even though all the descending can play tricks on your patella tendons...

So..I am now 57 and feel like a kid. I know the body is not as fresh as it was at 20...but in endurance sports, I will take my chances competing against people younger than me... Ice bath never felt as good...
Update....two days later...calf muscles very, very sore...one patella tendon (left knee tender)..ran 1 hour to get back)

Life's a Blast

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Tremendous Week Training

Sun is setting on a gorgeous Sunday night in Downtown Cleveland. My desk overlooks Lake Erie and it affords some spectacular sunsets... Tonights is a treat. Hope your week went well.
Heres what this late 50's ultra endurance goofball has been up to this week.
Monday
easy run of 40 minutes on trails
Tuesday
20 Minutes Rowing
40 Minutes on Treadmill
Light weights.
Wednesday
2 hour, 10 minute trail run, concentrating on attacking hills. Very strong effort
Thursday
Upper Body Weights workout, lots and lots of yardwork..gardening etc.
Friday
20 Minute intervals Treadmill
1 Hour workout led by my Son. Combination of Crossfit principles, Sprints..Squats till I cried...you get the picture. He pushes me to the max!!! Awesome!!
Saturday
3Hour, 30 minute trail run. Worked on my replacement fluids, goos..gels, etc..
developed a little strain in left shin...but have iced it and its responding.
Sunday
Day off..painted our dining room and now at work getting ready for the late news, which goes on after the Coca Cola 600 airs on Fox!. Prepared early shows in case it rained in Charlotte.
Monday is Memorial Day. One of the best days of the year. Our family always goes to the local parade..cheers for the soldiers and kids in the bands and the little baseball and soccer kids..its a fun time... Then a big cookout at our house for the family... Hope you have a great day too.!!!
Life's a Blast!!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

J.T. is still Alive

Greetings gang. Its been quite a while since I last posted. Would you believe just before Christmas!!?? 5 Months is a long time.
I continue to train as an ultra-distance trail runner and still cross train should I jump back into some triathlons this year.
Raced in the Fools 50k ultra in late March. It was the muddiest by far, that I have been involved in. The elite racers finish in around 4 hours...but for the back of the packers like me...you are talking about another 3-4 hours dealing with the rain and the muck.. We got it done and we move on. I hope to run a 100 miler this year but have yet to totally commit to one race. In the meantime, I love my time in the woods...free lancing some trails and clearing my mind.
The job has required a ton of mind-clearing, as our Cleveland Cavaliers were dumped by the Celtics in the playoffs..and now, we face, each day, a new rumor about LeBron James future and that has many Cleveland fans near suicidal!!!
My son, Patrick is now a personal trainer..and a spin instructor. That makes me very proud that he got into triathlons and working on his fitness. Lately, he has ditched his car (in our driveway) and commutes to his apartment in Ohio City on his bike.
The Bride continues to train clients..kick her hubbies butt and conduct boot camps and Pilates workshops.
Hope all of your training and racing is going well
Life's a Blast!!