El Scorcho Update

Well, I am less than 3 weeks away from my first ULTRA. Training has been decent. My mileage has been in the mid-80s the past 3 weeks, but my long runs have been really bad. Considering the short preparation time I had for this race, I thought it would be a good idea to do a long run every week. WRONG!! I have done a 17, 18 and 19 mile run thus far. It seems as though I get to about the 13/14 mile point and my legs just feel like jello. I think the high weekly mileage is taking its toll on my legs. At this point, just finishing the 31 miles will be a challenge.

Since the race begins at midnight, I am going to start doing some late-night training runs. Tomorrow night, I will do my long run on a 3.5 mile course starting at 10 p.m.

I have also discovered that running on the treadmill is really not that bad. Steph and I joined Gold's gym about a week ago, and I have done a couple of runs there. They have a media room that has a movie theater screen and about a dozen treadmills. Yesterday, I ran for 65 minutes while watching "The Dukes of Hazzard". It's a nice change of pace to do an occasional run there.

5K this weekend in Lago Vista with my VHS CC team. This should be a good test of speed. I have not raced in over a month.

The runner's toenail

The blackened toenail is a common occurrence among serious runners. Because of repeated friction between the toe and the inside of the shoe, the nail will often turn black and eventually fall off. A friend of mine recently called me to ask if it were okay for him to continue running on his black and swollen toe. I reassured him that it was perfectly normal and that the nail would probably fall off in the shower. I have lost the nail on my middle toe multiple times--to the point that the skin beneath the nail has formed a permanent callus.

After consulting with my friend, I wanted to check to see what the experts said about blackened toenails. Click here is what running expert Jeff Galloway had to say.

el scorcho

Well, I signed up for my first ultramarathon. It is a 50K (31 mile) race in Fort Worth on the Trinity Trail. What makes this race unique is that it begins at midnight, and historically is in the hottest month of the year (July), hence the name el scorcho. Oh, the entire race also takes place around a 5K (3.1 mile) loop--so, yes for all the math majors that means 10 loops. My friend Tod Tieszen is also running in the race--he encouraged me to do it.

I'm looking forward to the experience, but I'm not sure I have had enough time to properly train for an ultra. Last week was my best week of mileage in months at 78. I finished the week with 18 miles at Brusy Creek Trail in Cedar Park. This is was an awesome trail for running, biking, walking, etc. I highly recommend it if you are in the area--you can check out the park and map here. I should be able to surpass the 80 mile mark this week.

In other news, we have officially moved to Cedar Park, TX. I began working with my new cross country team last week. I have some good kids that are very dedicated. You can check out the school's website here--it is called Vandegrift High School.