The 12 Hour Treadmill Challenge

    


         Oddly enough, the idea for the 12 hour treadmill challenge came to me while I was running on a trail. Often referred to as the "Dreadmill" for it's mind numbing, boredom inducing repetition, it is often a last resort for most of us. Even on the best of days, I would only last about an hour on one without losing my mind. So as I ran along the trail that day I wondered if it would be possible for me to last 12 hours on a treadmill. If I could somehow recalibrate my brain to endure a 12 hour treadmill run, then a 1 hour run would feel like a piece of cake right? It was right around this point I began to question my own sanity.
  But the idea stayed with me. I began to think about what it would take to pull this off. If I tied it in with  a fundraiser and publicized it, that would put enough pressure on me not only to start it, but to finish it as well! I took the idea to my bosses at the gym, who had grown accustomed to my ultra running madness and always asked me every Monday what type of crazy running event I participated in over the weekend. They too questioned my sanity, but gave their approval. The next choice was to decide what charity to do this whole thing for. The choice was easy for me. The National MS Society. My friend Jen has MS, as well as some other folks that I know from the gym. Charity, check. Gym approval, check.  Date: Saturday, June 15th, 7am-7pm 
  Holy S**t!
   I worked social media pretty hard in the days up to the event, and also put up signs throughout the gym. The local chapter of the MS Society posted about it on their Facebook page as well. No turning back now!
  I got to the gym at 6:45am and was let in early to set up. I had a table, poster and some MS information that my friend Jen provided for me. Under the table was my cooler with hummus wraps, a few diet cokes and some fruit. I had some potato chips, raisins and peanuts and a generous supply of GenerationUCAN. Three water bottles, Nuun hydration tablets and some extra shorts, shoes and shirts. I also had my phone and Walkman W, which were both fully charged.

 I watched the clock strike 7am, and pressed the start button.

  As far as goals, it was mainly to survive 12 hours without breaking down physically or mentally. Physically, I knew it was not going to be a problem. It was the mental part that worried me. My main focus was to stay in the moment and take things an hour at a time. I would be doing a run/walk approach, as I was fearful I would go out too fast early and crash hard. I settled in, and focused on getting in about 4 miles in an hour. That would put me close to my mileage goal of 50 miles, which I thought was reasonable.
  The first few hours cruised by, the gym was busy and I was getting some good donations. I felt good, and was surprised that I was not bored. Lots of friends were stopping by to chat, so that made time go by. I was taking a GenerationUCAN shake every 90 minutes and keeping up with my hydration. I was also making a concentrated effort not to turn and look at the clock on the wall, which was a mere 5 feet away. Stay on the grind. Stay on the grind.

    12pm. 5 hours down! I was now starting to take in a bit of solid food, my homemade hummus wraps, which I must say were quite tasty! I had brought four pairs of shoes and the bulk of the miles so far had been in my Saucony Kinvara 4's. I was sticking to my goal of 4 miles in an hour too.

Grinding it out!

As the afternoon wore on, the gym began to empty out. My friend Tim, who has already ran 20 miles that morning, came down from Raleigh to join me for a few miles. Jen's husband Mark came by too, and the three of us ran and talked for a bit.
  Tim and Mark had left, and I guess it was around 4pm or so when I looked around the cardio deck at the gym and realized I was the only one there. I was still feeling pretty good, hydration and nutrition were good, although my pace had dropped slightly. My feet were a little sore, but I kept changing the grade on the treadmill to  alter my foot strike. I had switched to my Montrail Rouge and had broken out a diet coke to treat myself. Damn it tasted good! I was still doing quite well mentally, much to my surprise! Staying focused on an hour at a time and a mile at a time was working well so far. I kept grinding away. When I started to get tired, someone would come by and donate and thank me for what I was doing, which was a HUGE boost.
  5PM  Two hours to go!
 Several people had trickled into the cardio deck and were getting their workouts in. I was at a point now where I knew I could make it. Right after this revelation both my phone and Walkman died. Thank God the treadmill had a TV!
  6PM The final hour. I was still in the Montrail Rouges, and despite bringing nine different shirts, I had only changed shirts one time. I also had only taken three pee breaks, dashing downstairs to void then running back up before the machine reset. The treadmill did reset on me three times while I was running, but luckily I was able to scribble down the mileage each time so as to not loose track.
 Before I knew it, the announcement came over that the gym would be closing in 15 minutes. Home stretch!
    The gym was empty as the clock struck 7pm. I hit the stop button. I had made it! Mind and body intact! (well, for the most part!)
Total mileage:  46.25

DONE!

 I gathered up my gear and staggered to the car. 12 hours on the treadmill had seriously messed with my proprioception! I got home, took a glorious shower and ate some dinner. My friend Tom, who owns the local Italian restaurant, was kind enough to stop by the gym with a order of linguine with garlic, oil and grilled veggies. I destroyed the pasta, slipped on my ProCompression socks, then promptly passed out.
  I had met the challenge and broke through some mental boundaries, but the best feeling was handing the donations over to Jen on Monday and getting a hug!
Thanks to everyone who stopped by to offer encouragement, ran a bit with me, donated onsite or online and kept me on the path for 12 hours!

12 Hours, 46.25 miles completed
Over $350.00 dollars raised on site
Please consider donating! Here is a link to my friend Jen's MS Fundraiser Page. Please note "Treadmill Challenge" when you donate! http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=2383055&fr_id=19790&pg=personal
 
Equipment used:
Freemotion Incline Trainer

Gear:
Shoes:
Saucony Kinvara 4
Montrail Rouge
Salomon Speedcross 3
Innov8 F Lite 195

Socks:
Balega
ProCompression

Brooks shorts, Runworx Tech shirt, Klean Athlete Tech shirt

Nutrition:
GenerationUCAN Packets (Lemonade)
Corn tortillas with homemade hummus
Peanuts and raisins
Potato chips

Hydration:
Nuun Hydration tablets Citrus Fruit Flavor
Diet Coke 
 
 Media Distraction:
Sony Walkman W
Cell Phone
Thanks to MTV for airing a "Ridiculousness" marathon that kept me laughing and entertained!

   
    


   
  

Road Trippin'

I was out in Bristol Virginia this past Saturday for a Salomon Shoe Demo/Trail Run put on by my friend Jennifer. I had not been out to the Bristol area before and as I am always looking for new places to run trail, this was a great excuse to hit the road!

  I drove out to Virginia on Friday, in some serious rain! Once I got into Va. from North Carolina the weather cleared up and by 4pm I was sitting at the hotel looking at a clear blue sky. I went into town to check things out and find the park where we would be running the next day. Jennifer had already marked the trail, so I ended up exploring about a mile of the six mile course. I had forgotten how much Virginians love their long ascents!  The trail was nice and muddy and looked like it was going to be fun to run on  and a great testing ground for trail shoes!

  Saturday morning I got up and headed to the park to meet Jennifer and help set up. The run was starting at 10am and it was going to be quite humid. The Salomon rep was there and I was going to be trying out a pair of the SpeedCross 3, which had what Jennifer described as a "Gnarly" tread, which would be great to test along the rolling, muddy single trail sections of the trail.
  The trail was awesome! Some great hills with nice downhill sections to bomb down. The SpeedCross gave me plenty of traction and felt super comfortable. Here is some video of me running along the single track section:



After the run we went back to the Mountain Sports Store for refreshments and food. It was awesome to meet the local trail runners and talk about the upcoming Iron Mountain  50 miler I will be running on Labor day weekend in Damascus, Va.!
 I got home early evening on Saturday, after a much more uneventful ride home. I was rather impressed with the Salomon  Speedcross 3, so I gave in and got myself a pair!

 

Black Mountain Monster 24 Hour

 June first I ran the Black Mountain Monster, a 24 hour run along the trails and grounds of Montreat College in Black Mountain, NC.  http://www.raceofawesome.org/the-black-mountain-monster-5k-61224-hour-relay/the-monster/

The course was a 5K loop, consisting of a mix of single track, grassy field and a half mile of pavement. Some nice rolling hills thrown in there as well. I originally had planned to go out to Black Mountain on Friday night, but I wound up staying in town Friday to help work the GenerationUCAN booth at the Raleigh Ironman Expo. So, we left at the ass crack of dawn on Saturday morning. The 24 hour individual run had a very user friendly start time of 10am, so that certainly helped as far as making the four hour drive on the same day as the race.
 We arrived around 8:30am and set up our little staging area in "tent city" where the start/finish line was. My friend Hannah accompanied me on the trip to help crew for me and maybe run a few loops to keep me company as well. We noticed we were one of the only people not to have a canopy or tent. I seemed to recall the forecast was calling for a chance of rain, but not until Sunday, so we should be fine, right?
 We could feel it getting warm already at 9am, so I knew it would be a long day (and night). At 9:30am I had my Generation UCAN shake, some Klean Electrolytes and got ready for the start. My friends Andy, Beth and Kelly were also running the 24, so I would at least be able to see some familiar faces along the way.
 True to form, the race started and I immediately went out too fast on the first loop, jacked my heart rate up and became a sweaty mess. Only 23 hours and 30 minutes to go, you *&^%$% idiot!
  Lap number 2 was slower, and I was already struggling to find a rhythm. The first six hours were just a struggle for me. Nothing was in sync. When my heart rate was good, my legs were tired. When my legs felt good, my breathing was crappy. The heat was taking it's toll and I knew that would have a bigger effect further on into the night.

Perking up!

  Things finally seemed to get better by late afternoon, when a nice breeze had picked up. I was getting in some good laps, walking the hills and running the downhills and flats. I was doing good with hydration, keeping my hand held full and drinking often. I had changed into a dry shirt, switched out of my Altra Lone Peak 1.5 and into my Saucony Kinvara 4 and stayed on the grind. It was slow going. I kept thinking about that old Aerosmith song "Chip away at the Stone". That phrase became my mantra of the day.



 I finally hit the 50K mark after about eight hours. Ughhhh.  I was taking a lot of breaks at the start/finish area, mainly to grab a UCAN shake or a bit of Hummus, fill my water bottle and towel off a bit.
  Hannah had joined me for several laps at this point, and that was a huge boost. Now it was getting dark, so Hannah took a break to get some sleep. I put on my headlamp and headed back out. I was walking quite a bit at this point, but I was still moving, tacking on the miles. I knew I would not beat my PR of 86 miles at Hinson Lake 24 from last year, so I set my sights on 100K. Things were going okay thru the early part of the night, then around 1:30am somewhere near my 50 mile mark, it began to rain. Just a few drops at first, then it picked up to a steady rain. I immediately thought of Hannah, who can sleep rather soundly, laying out there in the field, along with my gear, getting soaking wet.
  I picked up the pace and rumbled into the start/finish area to find Hannah already evacuating herself and the gear to a spot underneath a canopy where the musicians had played earlier in the day. While not completely soaked, pretty much all my gear was depressingly moist. I hung out under the shelter waiting to see if this rain was going away. It did stop, only to pick back up  minutes later. I was three laps away from 100K, but I was done. 17 laps, 85K, 52+ miles.
 We schlepped our gear up the hill to the car and decided rather then try to drive back home at 3am, we would grab a nap in the car and head out first thing in the morning. What followed was three hours of restless rotation, trying to find a comfortable spot in the car. By 6am I had enough, and we drove into town to get gas and grab a cup of coffee before the trip home.
  Several of the local police officers were in the convenience store drinking coffee when we strolled in. We looked rough! It probably looked like we has just come off a Meth bender. I am surprised we were not held for questioning!

Coffee Please!

  The ride back home was an endurance challenge in itself, but we made it home safe and sound. Although I was somewhat disappointed not to get more miles in, I didn't get injured and I learned a few things. There are worse ways to spend a day.  I will be back at the Black Mountain Monster Next year, shooting for 100K and beyond!

My Endurance Hummus Recipe:
1 15oz can of Chick Peas, drained and rinsed
Juice of a Lemon
2-3 Garlic Cloves, minced
3 Tbls. Tahini
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
Water
Place first 5 ingredients food processor and pulse to blend. Then with machine running, add small amounts of water until desired consistency  is achieved.
You can also add in half an Avocado in final stage of blending.
Sprinkle with Paprika or ground cumin.

I usually spread this on corn tortillas and keep them in my pack for a quick snack along the trail!   

Meet my friends at Kindrunner.com

If you are into running, and like me, especially trail running, you are more than likely into the environment, being green and helping others.  My friends over at kindrunner.com share these very beliefs and more and are ready to show the world at their new site www.kindrunner.com !

  I am excited to be working with these folks as a Kindrunner Ambassador. Here is a little info about them: 

They have just officially launched their site today so be sure to swing by! The first 500 customers to buy a pair of shoes from Kindrunner.com will receive free socks for the rest of their life!


Here are a few things that make Kindrunner so unique:



    -Confident Runner Pricing – An option presented upon checkout which rewards those who know exactly what they are looking for. This option waives the Free Return Shipping but offers the shoe at a below retail price. Shipping of product to customer is still free, as is the return shipping of donated shoes for Kindness Cash Rewards Program.
    -Free 3 Way Shipping – Free shipping of your order to you, free shipping of any returns for any reason, free shipping of your donated shoes back to us for re-purposing with Soles 4 Souls or The More Foundation Group.
    -Kindness Cash Rewards Program – This is what turns your old shoes into credit towards new ones or any product on our website. KCR are available to the customer after any footwear purchase (the idea behind this is to replace your old shoes with new ones, and keep the old ones out of the garbage, landfills, or ones closet… thus why it is available after footwear purchase). Upon receipt of their footwear order, customers have the option to place their old shoes into the KindRunner shipping box and place the pre-paid return label on the box for shipment back to us.  Upon receipt of the label, we will scan the bar code and place the KCR onto the customers account for future use.  Each return label (whether it contain one pair or 4 pairs of shoes) is worth $10 KCR per new shoes purchased (5 pairs purchased on that order, you can earn up to $50 KCR) or credits towards future purchase. The KCR can be used to purchase ANYTHING that kindrunner sells and will never expire.
    --Expert Product Reviews – Some of you may have seen some of these on our youtube page, www.youtube.com/kindrunner. Each and every product we carry will come with an expert product review video on the same page that the product is listed on.  These videos are done by individuals who have worked in the running industry for a number of years either as shoe reps, store owners, or expert shoe fitters at one of the oldest running stores in the nation. We bring the knowledge of your neighborhood specialty run shop to the comforts of your own home!
    -Easy 365 returns – A customer has 365 days to return any product, so long as it is in its original packaging and in its original condition.  If you are injured and unable to use the shoe, if your doctor wants you in a different model because of orthotics, no worries… no questions asked!

So instead of feeling guilty about that next running shoe purchase, buy a pair through kindrunner! Get expert advice, free shipping, send in your old shoes for Kindness Cash Rewards and feel good knowing you are helping people and the environment!
 Now THAT is pretty cool isn't it?

Website: www.kindrunner.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/beAkindrunner
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Kindrunner?fref=ts

What to do with those old running shoes? Kindrunner.com has the answer!

Hey Guys, I hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day weekend and is looking forward to a summer full of running fun!
 I'd like to take a moment and tell you about my friends over at Kindrunner.com.  Kindrunner is the only place on the web where runners can trade in their old running shoes for new shoes.  Runners receive ‘Kindness Cash Rewards’ for every shoe they send in. In turn, they give those old shoes to their shoe donation partners, including Soles 4 Souls and the More Foundation, to benefit people in need. Now that's pretty cool! But it is more than that!

  Kindrunner also plans to change the way running shoes and products are purchased online.  Their goal is to bring the knowledge of a local-running shop to your fingertips online, with a group of runners who have a combined 40+ years working in the industry.  They also realize that there are millions of running shoes that go into the trash yearly, and think we can do something better with those shoes.  There are tens of millions of people around the world who would get years of use our of the shoes that most of us consider to be trashed... they also think that people should be rewarded for helping others, hence the kindness cash idea!

Check out their video for more info!

Kindrunner video
 
I am very excited to be working with these folks as a Kindrunner Ambassador! Their site officially launches on June 3rd! Here's how to learn more about them:

Facebook:  http://facebook.com/kindrunner
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/beAkindrunner
Instagram:  http://instagram.com/beakindrunner
Youtube:  http://www.youtube.com/user/Kindrunner

Weekend in review

After the successful suck fest with hill repeats last week, I once again joined my friend Mika last Thursday for more half mile hill repeats.This round was even more challenging due to the fact that my dumb ass forgot that I had already scheduled speed work with a client that same morning, just a few hours before. SO, after running 3 minute repeats at 8:15 pace six times with 3 min recoveries, I got to rest a few hours before our lovely hill workout.
  It was warmer than the week prior, which just added to the fun. The hill is just a tick over a half mile, with about a 5% grade. Our goal time to the top is around 5minutes 10 seconds. I felt okay on the first three trips up, but the last time was a struggle! We stayed fairly consistent. Four repeats: 5:15, 5:02, 5:04, 5:08. Here is a pic of the aftermath:

  Friday morning started with teaching a spin class at 5:30am, then followed with a 5K run at 9:30am. I could definitely feel the previous days workouts in my legs on that 5K run! I enjoyed a delightful nap Friday afternoon in my ProCompression socks and drank lots of water the rest of the day. Bedtime came early Friday night! 
  Saturday morning I took a group of runners out for a practice run of the local "Quay 5K" route. We had a good turnout, and after a slow start I picked it up a little and did 5K in 28:45.

Me and the 5K Crew!

I spent Saturday afternoon getting my mountain bike ready as I was going to be lead biker for the North Carolina Road Runners Club Invitational Half Marathon on Sunday morning. Needless to say, Saturday night was about as exciting as Friday night was.
 The Half started at 7am and it was crazy humid with rain in the forecast. The race wound through Umstead State park, along the hilly bridle trail and ended with a short section along a greenway. The count down started, and I was off, with several hundred runners chasing me down the road. The first mile was paved, until we got to the entrance gate of the park, where it turned to crushed gravel. There was a lead pack of about five guys who sprinted out ahead of the pack early. By the first aid station at mile three, it was just me and the lead runner, and this dude was flying! We cruised through the next AS, then past AS #3, and before I knew it, we were at the turn around. The lead runner had a nice gap on the rest of the field now, as we could see who was behind us now.This guy was making me work hard on the bike, and I was a tad nervous about climbing "The Corkscrew" hill and "Cemetery" hill on our way back. We started to see the main field of the runners on our way back, and I was making sure folks stayed to their right to leave a lane for us. I made it up corkscrew fairly easily but really started to feel the burn in the legs going up cemetery hill. The lead runner behind me seemed unaffected by the hills or humidity, as he methodically pounded through the course. We leveled off after the airport overlook and flew down the trail back towards the exit of the park. There was also a 10K race, which started at 7:15am. We were now beginning to pass folks finishing up the 10K! We exited the park and got onto the greenway. The greeway was much more narrow than the bridle trail, so I had to really watch folks and keep shouting "on your left!" and "lead runner!" to clean a path for us. The section on the greenway was short. and before I knew it we were done!  Congratulations to Derek Fenton on a great race. He ran the half in 1:18:53. That's a 6:02 min/mile pace. No wonder I was tired!
  Not content with that thrashing, I met a client for a run immediately after the bike. We ran 4.3 hilly miles. I was now shot for real. Thanks God the rain held off for both workouts.
  Needless to say, Sunday afternoon was not very productive.

Fitness Friday How was your week?

Happy Friday! Got the morning off to an early start by teaching a spin class at 5:30am. Had 19 people in the class too! Back to the gym at 9:30am to teach a boot camp class, then I will squeeze in a run for myself. 5 runs and two spin classes so far this week for me, group run tomorrow after spin class and a long run on Sunday! How was your week so far?