The 2 Types of Ultramarathoners

The idea of running a very long distance isn't something that someone just decides to do one day.  You have to have a certain amount of experience that tells you a.) this is not completely insane and b.) this is something for you.  So runners who chose to exceed 26.2 miles typically fall into one of two categories - or a combination of both.  To find an ultramarathoner who does not fit at least one of these two categories is highly unusual.

Coming Back from Your Running Offseason

Photo by Tim Patterson

A couple months ago, I wrote about why the summer makes a good off-season for runners.  Last Wednesday I came back from my fall off-season after recovering from the Oil Creek 50K, including over two weeks completely off for a missions trip to Cambodia and some bad weather when I got back.  After this break I thought of more reasons breaks should come in the summer and a few other thoughts on off-season breaks.

The Runner's Christmas List

Black Friday is just two days away, and you may be wondering what to get the runner in your life for Christmas.  Some things require a personal fit - like shoes - so they don't make great gifts, but here's a few ideas that just might work.

The Stick Little Stick
The stick is a self-massage tool great for loosening and working the toxins out of tired calves (or is it "calfs"?  Somehow I think that "calves" may just be for glaciers and cows.) I typically prefer a foam roller for my quads, hamstrings, glutes and back, but somehow it doesn't quite work right on my calves.  Also using "the stick" helps you work all the angles and really get your muscles loosened up.

What's the Perfect Running Cadence?

Photo by Peter Fristedt

It's well known that in cycling, to conserve energy for the long-term you need to have a high cadence.  That is, you need to turn your pedals at a high rate in a low gear.  This places the burden on your lungs, rather than your legs.  Experts say that you need to pedal as fast as possible and still maintain good form for the proper effect.

Lance Armstrong was known for an uber-high cadence of 110 beats per minute (bpm).  This means that each pedal turned 110 time in 60 seconds.  Most professionals land in the 85-100 range.  So there is no "ideal" cadence, since most cyclists can't maintain form at 110 bpm.

Marathon Medals and Participatory Trophies

One of the things I love about running marathons is finisher's medals.  I love a medal with a good design that will look attractive hung in my bonus room.  Medals have even become a bragging point of certain races, with the Little Rock Marathon boasting "the world's largest marathon medal" - which quite frankly makes me intrigued enough to consider a trip down to Arkansas for the event.

It's strange though that I'm so into marathon medals, when at the same time I thought the participatory trophies I used to get for soccer and tee-ball as a kid were the lamest things ever.  And I still think they're pretty lame.

Gear Review: Altra Instinct

This summer when I felt that I got enough miles out of my Brooks Green Silence, I knew that I needed something a little different.  The Green Silence just didn't have quite the right fit for me.  I considered several options, including the New Balance Minimus and the full line from Newton.  I ended up selecting the Altra Instinct, for it's unique zero-drop sole and foot-shaped last.

Racing Well Without a Training Plan

I'm a subscriber to both Runner's World and Running Times.  There are a lot of differences between the two magazines, because they are aiming at two different audiences.  Runner's World is targeted towards the social runner, someone who's in it to get fit and maybe run their first marathon. Running Times is for the more serious runner, someone who wants to get faster.


This difference is also shown in their training articles.  Typically, Runner's World shows a full 16-week training schedule, telling you exactly what days to do hills and what days to do repeats.   Running Times, on the other hand, gives you workouts.  "Try this progressive workout to boost your stamina."  "Build speed with these stepladder intervals."  I think this is why I've grown to prefer Running Times more and more.

Get Up Those Hills Faster!

Last weekend, I had the cool experience of meeting a blogosphere friend in real life.  Through mutual friends I met Chris of Trail Musings and had the opportunity to talk with him a bit about the Oil Creek 100 and compare experiences.  (Chris had run the race in 2010.)

The one thing that stood out to me was that he said that he wasn't ready for the hills and had lots of people pass him when hiking up hill.  Chris lives in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and there is no shortage of hills there - so he felt like he was well-prepared going into it, but there was just no comparison to the hills he had trained and raced on and the hills of the Gerard Hiking Trail.

Before I go on, let's be clear about one thing.  Chris is clearly a faster runner than me.  He won the Mahlon Madness 75K and finished the JFK 50 in 8:51 a year after I finished with just 13 minutes to spare from 12-hour cutoff.  (Clearly, I could finish JFK faster now than I did in 2008 - but I'd be thrilled just to get that hour number into single digits.)

Gear Review: Sport Wash Laundry Detergent

I've been aware of detergent specifically for technical clothing for some time now, but I've still always just washed my workout clothes in with the rest of my laundry - usually because I never really had enough to justify a single load of just running stuff.

In my race packet for Oil Creek there was a single-load sample packet of Penguin Brands Penguin Sport Wash.  Over the years, many of my technical shirts have acquired an odor to them that doesn't go away with a normal wash cycle.  So I decided to give Penguin Sport Wash a try.