New Type of Training

So, I have started training again. I am excited I am doing three different things than I have ever done before.

1. I am hitting the weight room 3 x a week using the stronglifts app. It is a super fun workout that my buddy Kevin Grabowski recommended. I am already deadlifting over 100 pounds!

2. I am signed up for the Tuscobia 75 mile race and I have started training pulling a tire. I have run 10 miles pulling a tire and 12 miles pulling a sled with a 40 pound bag of ice.

3. If I am not running with the tire, all of my runs are being done at MAF pace  this is running at your heart rate that is 180 minus your age. So my runs are all being done at 144 beats per minute.

I so far have loved adding the weights the 5x5 is a pretty simple program and uses all of the main body muscles that you would need to get stronger. I am a little nervous because I am a skinny fat guy. I have never truly done a weight system so I am pretty lean, but I have a pretty high fat percentage >13% and I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that I have never developed a strength routine.
I am interested in seeing the results.

The pulling the tire is a blast I love it and it is running really really slow but hard. Tuscobia is going to be a challenge because the trail ends up being more like an eighty miler and involves pulling all your own gear. THERE IS ONLY ONE AID STATION! (more on why I chose this race tomorrow)

Finally the MAF pace. My friend Mark and Jessica  has been telling me to run at this pace for base training for a while but it has felt like death. The first couple runs i have done have been super slow (8:30- 9 minute pace)  but it is something that people have seen success doing.

Call for comments: What do you think? Does this look like the plan of someone who is on their way back? What are your thoughts on these workouts/programs? Let me know!

200 mile of inspiration

"You have never lived till you have almost died. For those who fight for it, life has a flavor the protected will never know."

So I haven't returned to serious mileage yet. I have been rock climbing three times a week and doing my Glute Medius workouts. I am in the hunt of getting stronger and trying to figure out what I need to do to find my passion again. 

If you asked me if I would ever lose my passion for running, I could not imagine it. But last week, I was feeling the blues. I was feeling lethargic and done. I just wanted to eat Rocky Rococo's and watch my belly expand. 

Doesn't this just look carbolicious! 

Last weekend, I was able to witness something that turned that running misery around. I was able to crew my boy Lee Dalgety as he attempted to run 200 miles at the T-Bunk. 

Now what has gotten me down lately is just a lack of connection, I have felt a lack of connection with my job, wife and the world around me. I have felt like I am floating through life each day and not really feeling connected. There have been moments where I feel connected with people, but lately it has been few and far between. I feel these lyrics from Bruce Springsteen song better day really represent what I was feeling:

" Well my soul checked out missing as I sat listening

To the hours and minutes tickin' away

Yeah just sittin' around waitin' for my life to begin

While it was all just slippin' away

I'm tired of waitin' for tomorrow to come

Or that train to come roarin' round the bend"

I long to feel connected. I love running because it is one of the few sports were I feel truly connected to the world around me. Each foot step is a realization that I am one with the earth. Each foot pound is a realization that I need to remain grounded. But without running, what am I? 

When I am with my friend Lee, I feel connected. Lee is one of my few running buddies. When we run together the miles do fly by, if you do not know Lee Dalgety, let me introduce you. He is a South African expat that lives in Middleton with his wife, 2 kids, and 2 dogs. He has hurt Val Kilmer and has been chased with machetes. He has cleaned his tent of baboon dung and has been held by his ankles out of the window of a moving train. He is a man who lives life, he has experienced life, and he loves life. 

He also never talks shit. He hates nobody. He wants to make the world a better place. 

He is my kind of dude, or maybe he is the exact opposite of me. 

I paced Lee last April at the Potawatomi Trail Runs 200. He won that race with a time of 51:23 minutes. He has the course record there and I really doubt anyone is going to be able to break it because the course is a monster and the weather can turn nasty in a moment. We were lucky to have some beautiful days. 

T-Bunk started on Friday and I had to work, so I didn't get out there until he was on loop six. T-Bunk is a loop course and the 200 has you run the same loop 22 times.  I set up his ungodly old tent and sat and waited for him to come through. When he came through, I was feeling out of it, my hip was hurting and I was feeling sullen about some personal issues. Around mile 5, I started feeling better. I started running stronger and when you pace lee you run fast. 

Lee ran each lap consistently, strongly and quickly. Most laps were completed in the 139-145 range and with the exception of the second night. He ran hard. He ran consistent and he ran without complaining. He talked the whole time. We talked about love, life and farts. We smiled as we watched the sunset and laughed at stupid things. We cried about our kids. He asked his wife how she was doing and was worried about my hip. This man ran smart, with compassion and with love.

He was so thankful to everyone. I was able to get a crew of Hank, Paul, Dwight, Jason K, and George. He was not alone from mile 50 on. Each person that finished running with him felt better and smiled harder than when they started the lap with him. I honestly never laughed so hard in a weekend than I did with Lee and his crew. 

I ended up running 5 laps with him, just over 46 miles. My hips loosened up, my spirits were lighter and I was feeling ecstatic. I was screaming every time we ran in and Lee finished with a 44 hour and 32 minute finishing time.

I can only find one faster time on trails in America. It is simply amazing. 

I left that race as I always do after running. I felt connected. Which to me is what running is all about. 

Forced Lee to smile!

Telling him to get going.

Who ran the 200 miles? I bet you can't tell!

Gluteus Medius

I went to the PT on friday. It was an interesting conversation. Looking at my gait and working through my muscles. We found out that I have no major tears in my hip muscles or that I have no serious tears in my leg muscles. So this is the good news, the bad news is that I am not engaging my glutes when I run. So when I run, I end up using my psoas muscles, which are a much weaker muscle than my glutes. While doing the screening I was found to have a really weak gluteus medius. I actually couldn't hold my leg up when my PT was pushing against my leg. I was given a bunch of excersices. Does anyone have any suggestions? I would like to hear what you think I should do.

I honestly do not really understand how I can run without utilizing my glutes. It does not make sense.

So, I really have not been running much because I am trying to strengthen the glutes and relax my psoas. I however did have the pleasure of pacing at the inaugural Milwaukee Running Festival. It was a great time and I really enjoyed running in Milwaukee. I jumped in at the halfway point and I actually rode my bike on the course. It was amazing riding my bike on the empty streets in a major city. My legs felt ok, however, I was a little upset that running at a 725 pace was so difficult for me. I should be able to run that easily.

It did give me the sexiest marathon finish picture ever.

Please give me suggestions about what you think I should do. Any and all will be accepted!

Failure...it is an option

So what now...

I have been struggling intensely since the summer. I never did hit 100 miles. I hit 80 frequently and hit 90 once, but I never did hit the illustrious 100 mile mark.

I felt like a fraud writing about how great I was doing, when inside I hated running. My body was beat up. I was struggling with electrolyte imbalances, cramping up in my sleep and running slower. But I did what most of us do,  I pushed through and said, "I will get through this. I will become tougher. I need to keep pushing forward."

However, it left me feeling frustrated and empty. Running became a job and once the school year started (I am a teacher.) I fell apart. I could move through the runs, but I felt hurt and broken.

I ran North Face 50k with a time of 447. It is about 25 minutes slower than I wanted, but while I was running it felt as if a ball pein hammer was smashing into my psoas muscles and I shortened my stride. I then paced the Chicago marathon and I felt sluggish and hurt. I got a massage afterwards and started to feel a little better. But every time I ran over 9 miles the hammer would enter my hips, and once it started the pain never ended.

So I lined up for the Fall 50, with modified hopes and expectations. I knew there would be pain, but that I wanted to finish. I wanted to prove I could run through pain and be a tough guy. But after 9 miles, the pain came back and my pace went from 8s to 9s to 10s to 12s. I was hobbling. I was in pain. I was in worse pain than at NF. I couldn't extend my stride. I was miserable. So, I dropped. It sucked, I hated to do it. Luckily my friend, Jessica Garcia's boyfriend, was waiting for me and he drove me to my phone. Jessica went to finish 3rd overall female. I wanted to be by her side when she celebrated victory.

So what now? My future in running feels bleak.

BUT NO!!!! Running has been a life force in my life. It got me off the couch, saved me emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Running has been there for me when I needed it. Through the cancer of my father, through the struggles of adulthood and through the ups and downs of depression, anxiety and addiction.

Join me as I fight back! Join me as I learn how to be a stronger and smarter runner. I have PT sessions lined up, I have gait analysis lined up, and I have a new commitment to strength. I will make it through and be a better runner.

I will be back.

An Ode to Running Buddies

I have been running with the Berkeley running company pretty regularly for the last two years and I have to tell you that if you have not run with us yet you are truly missing one of the best groups in Madison.

I have been running marathons since 2006 and I have been looking for a true group of running buddies since then. I ran with the DC Roadrunners when I was in Northern Virginia and the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club when I started running ultras. But when I moved to Madison, I expected to find a bunch of running groups and I didn’t find one. So I created a group, Madison Ultra Distance Runners (MUDRS (https://www.facebook.com/groups/303869722963958/) and struggled meeting people to come run with me (although I have met a core group of friends from the group). Then I heard about the Berkeley group runs from BJ at a mutual friend’s wedding. I was intrigued and started running with him and the redsocks pretty regularly.

What I love about the redsocks is the diversity of the people. We have pure marathoners, ultramarathoners, triathletes (world class ones to boot) and xc skiers. The diversity also is represented in what we do: teachers, professors, it workers, bankers, contractors and electricians. Some of us have run super-fast marathons; some like me are still puttering around.

But what I love is that we have each other’s back. We support each other when each other are having a rough period or injury. We wait for each other at finish lines. It is what I have been missing in my running and it makes me a much stronger runner. Thanks guys!

Reminder, I am still running 10 miles each Monday from Berkeley East (Olbrich parking lot) and would love to meet some new running buddies!

UPDATE: I haven't made a 100 mile week yet. I hit 72 last week (I was sick on the day of my long run) and 70 the week before. Things are going well this week and I should hit 99 miles and I am still injury free and feeling strong. My weight hasn't dropped and I am feeling a little bit more tired (been going to bed super early at night). I can really feel the difference in my running when I eat well and when I eat poorly.

20 inch tires and 85 miles a week

My wife is in France meaning that I am left with my 2 lovely children, a 6 year old girl and a 2 year old boy. My wife, Becky, is a great supporter of mine. She lets me travel the country, run up and down mountains and on trails. Aside from these yearly adventures, running is a distant third to being a present dad and loving husband.

When my wife told me she was going to France for a wedding, I was happy.  She rarely takes time for herself; I am glad that she gets to take a trip with her friends.  But honestly my next thought was, “How the heck am I going to get my runs in?” I usually run early in the mornings at Berkeley on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturday, and Sunday mornings.  (I run with the Redsock group, it is a really radical group of runners. Check it out if you can: http://www.berkeleyrunningcompany.com/Community/GroupRuns/tabid/156/Default.aspx )

My daughter recently learned how to ride her bike and she loves to ride her bike. So I decided that this week I would run with her while pushing my son in the jogging stroller. My daughter is fast with her new 20 inch bike! She can really cruise, I was running sub 8 minute pace and she still was ahead of me the whole time and actually had to stop and wait for me at several points. But as much as I love running with them, I also know that they will not want to hang out with me if I push them too far. So I have been running with them 5-6 miles; after lunch while my son is napping and she is reading, I will run the remainder on the treadmill. This week if everything goes as plan, I will hit 85-90 miles.  (My daughter will hit over 35 miles on her bike!!!!) 

Update on the group run! Berkeley East will meet at Olbrich Garden at 7 AM next Monday 7/6 for a seven mile run. I will have my kids in tow. We will run on the capital city trail and run towards the Capitol and back. Please bring your kids! It will be a light and easy run.

Next Wednesday 7/8 I will be there ready to do a tabata workout after the run to get some strength done! Hope you will join me!

Question of the week?

How do you manage your personal life and your running life? Family responsibilities with a running life?

Email me with any questions!

Jasonpenticoff@gmail.com

Takeing it up a NOTCH!!!

I decided this summer that I wanted to take it up a notch, I wanted to take it to another level, I wanted to give it all I've got and other various cliches. So what can I do? Do I run more hard workouts? Do I up my volume? Do I add more strength workouts (maybe throw in some crossfit type workouts)? The answer to those questions are undeniable YES. It has been close to 3 years since my last BQ and my last strong marathon, and I want another one! I am aiming for Sub 3 at Fox cities and sub 6:30 at the Fall 50.  So in this quest, I am asking you Berkley Friends for help. Starting July 6th, I will be holding morning runs from Berkley East on Mondays and Wednesday (meeting at the parking lot of Olbrich park) and I would love the company. As well, each week, I will write a blog post about my experience. Some topics include: balancing miles with family, strength work outs, diet and recovery. I will also ask you for some help by asking questions and would love your answers. You can email me at jasonpenticoff@gmail.com Here is the first one, How do you stay hydrated in these hot and humid months? Let me know!!!