my roots/ the inspiration to move to colorado (pt1)

when i moved to Illinois(as a 6th grader) i had no plans to run whatsoever. the summer after 8th grade my best friend's mother suggested that the two of us join the cross country team and, since i was still considering West Point at the time, it seemed like a solid enough idea. i hadnt run for the sake of running since grade school when i ran cross country(1 mile races i think), but i have always admired the relentless effort involved in any endurance sport, even when i was very young.

i still remember the first day of practice, a few weeks before school started. it was hot, Illinois-hot, like 90 degrees and 75% humidity or worse. and the workout was an 'easy distance' run: a five miler on the country roads near Oswego East High School (ive since run the route about a billions times and i no know that its barely over 4 miles). as the run started, i stuck with the upperclassmen (the school was too new to have a senior class, but we atleast had juniors) on the way out. its not that i was intentionally trying to prove anything, i just felt like if they could do it then so could i -trained or not.
the run itself was fine, except the fact that i felt like we were running into the middle of nowhere. "if the older guys leave me i probly wont make it back to the school and ill have to spend a few days in middle-of-nowhere Illinois with the corn."
while i wasnt the first person back, and while i definitely didnt want any more miles for the day, the seed was planted: the glow of satisfaction i had knowing that i had done a "real distance run" of 5 miles (ignore the fact that it was closer to 4 -i didnt know so i still felt good!) was something that made me excited to get back a few days later to get back at it.
so many new feelings, and i loved it. something just clicked that day, but that was only the first step.

during the next two years, learned that not only can i run pretty much indefinitely, but i noticed that i could actually push hard that just a jog -i found my gears. i began to love, not just survive, 400 meter and hill repeats. the pure effort and soul of distance running got me looking deeper and deeper into myself to try to figure out what was slowing me down, why couldnt i just sprint forever? what stopped me? what was i afraid of?
on a spiritual level, i felt it was impossible to answer those questions for sure, but if i could learn what my body was going through, then i could atleast understand on a physiological level, whats holding me back. and hopefully over time, i could apply what i learn to break out and train my body to run effortlessly forever.
from that pursuit (involving 50 or more books about runners, physiology, biology, and psychology's effect on the body), i also found my career calling. i realised that one of the best things about running is setting and achieving goals. doing something today that was "impossible" a few months ago is one of the best feelings in the world. what if i could get that feeling for other people? how great would it be to help someone else achieve something thats "impossible" for them? -after high school i went to the National Personal Training Institute(NPTI) in Lisle, Illinois to get certified to become a personal trainer.

during the time between fall sophomore year and the start of my junior year i found out how far i could go. i did my first (measured)8 mile run, then my first 10 miler, then my first half-marathon-distance(13.1) run, then on a random tuesday in the summer i did 15. i realised that while people might be faster than me genetically(more type I muscle fibers, higher VO2 max, etc), i could probly outlast anyone if we went long enough.

by senior year i had found out that there were other people that thought like me: ultra runners. it had never occurred to me that people would/could do just what i wanted to do. -there were people out there that ran for hundreds of miles and for more than 24 hours at a time. and in november 2009 i met one that helped me develop not only my training program, but who i am as a runner and a person.

...more in a few days, along with some pictures of my new training grounds...

Good Advice

someone i look up to quite a bit told me that the best way to get good at ultra running is to stop talking/blogging about running and actually run.
for the past three weeks ive taken that advice.
Week 26:
this weekend marks the halfway point of this year. i still have to think about it to avoid writing "2010" as the date and 2011 is half way gone.
for the first half of this year ive focused solely on the quality of my workouts, and as a result have averaged just under 30 miles per week. however, during that time i managed to run 2 races past marathon distance and soundly break 1:30 in the half marathon on two different occasions (and with less-than-perfect conditions). also, ive had no major injuries to speak of, and my body has never felt so strong. possibly most important of all is the fact that ive been dreaming of getting back to high mileage.
when every workout is high intensity, even running in the sauna has become something to look forward to -simply because i dont have to maintain a certain pace. so the idea of just 'going for a run' sounds amazing. and since my intensity was through the roof, ive made a very quick and easy return to real running: going from 30 easy miles (to recover) during week 23 to 40 miles in week 24, then to 50 in week 25, and now to 60 in week 26.
conventional wisdom says that doubling your weekly miles in three weeks after months at low mileage is insane and will get you injured, but the science says otherwise. and so do i. marathoners and ultra runners alike feel like complete garbage when theyre building base miles because theyre pushing how far there legs and metabolism can go day after day, week after week. once you settle into 50 or 60 (or 200) miles a week for a while, you start to feel better. but what if you could start high mileage training directly after your low mileage weeks with minimal delay and not get hurt/injured? -you would feel great since youre body (and mind) isnt used up by months of building... -thats what ive done.
by getting my lungs and legs as strong as possible with intervals and lifting, i think ive managed to do something that runners everywhere strive for: the ability to run high mile weeks while loving every minute of it, and without feeling drained in the slightest. plus the chances of getting injured are greatly reduced by the fact that my anabolic hormone levels (no i didnt get a blood test; im going by feel and recovery time from workouts) arent out of whack like 90+% of the distance running community.*
im still planning to resistance train two to three times a week to maintain as much power as i can in my legs (and im also training my core so i can front lever again), but the main focus for the second half of this year is to talk about running a bit less and actually run a bit more -im goin for 80 miles a week(average) for the second half of this year. my plan as of now is, after another month or so of building miles, to hit a week at 60 then a week at 100, then again at 60, and so on. during 100 mile weeks the focus will be on slow miles, and during the 60 mile weeks ill do my lifting and my speed work.

i just wanted to check in with an update and get my goals for the next few months in writing

*this link isnt perfect, but its in plain english, and shows that running decreases testosterone, and it shows more than just a chart with decreased numbers in runners. and if you run and are planning to have a baby, check this one out for sure