Sunday, January 8, 2017

New Website!

The time has finally come where I decided to make a new website.  This one will remain up for older posts that people want to view, but nothing new will be posted here.  Please visit me at my new site

www.UltraStateOfMind.com

I will be posting more frequently and in the near future, adding product reviews as well as videos to my content.  Make sure to click the Follow button on the new site so that you can stay up to date with new posts.

Thank you for all of your past and continued support.

Saturday, January 7, 2017

2017, the Year of Redemption

So it's been a while since I posted an update.  It was a rough 2016 for me due to several injuries and unfortunately two DNF's.  In May I attempted the Ice Age Trail 50 miler.  It was my first attempt at the distance and I went into it very unprepared.  Myself and two friends, Matt and Chris, attempted it together.  They both finished in a little over 11 hours.  It was, in my opinion, a tough course.  Lots of hills and elevation that unfortunately, I was massively unprepared for.

After that DNF, I recommitted to my training.  I started working with Chris on weekends when we were both available to do hill work.  The training paid off and my trail running was getting better.  I decided to sign up for the North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Miler as a redemption race for myself.  That race went much better, but the result was the same.  DNF.  I was pulled from the course after 42 miles.  I dug deep and gave it everything I had but it wasn't enough.

This was my third DNF, all on Wisconsin trails, and it hasn't gotten any easier to accept.  If anything, it bothers me more.  I am determined to finish the 50 mile distance.  I am now signed up for the 2017 Ice Age Trail 50 miler.  Wisconsin trails have not been kind to me and I refuse to take this race lightly.  After being down with a calf injury for 2 months at the end of 2016, I am just now getting back into real training and will be starting a 16 week training program on January 23rd.  In the mean time, I'm working on re-building my base.

The training program I'll be using can be found here:
http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/50-miler-training-plancom

It is an aggressive program that will have me running over 50 miles per week for a total of 915 miles of training over 16 weeks.  That is more mileage than I ran in all of 2016 so I will likely be tweaking the program a bit.  Adding in extra rest days here and there, cutting mileage on weekdays a bit.  But the long runs on the weekends must happen.

I have been toying around with the idea of starting a YouTube channel to share my adventures in running with the world.  If and when this happens I will announce it here as well as social media.  In the meantime, keep training and never stop moving.