Day 24

George now we are in deep trouble we are in the NEWSLETTER. Now I have to go out and run 25 miles tomorrow in my suicide weight vest!!! It was supposed to be my day-off.

Back to the Y and the treadmill. I keep trying to go longer while increasing the grade. Also trying to work on my stomach and upper body after I get done with the treadmill.

Freddy was out running with the weight vest said he is on his own quest. He was pretty funny running up and down the backyard. He does better then me. He is the fastest kid on our baseball team. I can't believe it is opening day already... Yanks got rained out. Maybe we can get Nikki to chearlead for us.

Day 23

Easy day... walked 3 miles in the weight vest. Helen will not let me walk with it unless I wear a jacket over it. The neighbors already think I am little odd she is afraid they will call homeland security on me. Also did my 2 push-ups and 3 sit-ups. I do not know how George ran for 1hr 10min in that vest. I have a hard enough time walking in it.

Having some blister issues otherwise I feel pretty good.

Day 22 Begining of Week 4

I know why they call it West WINDsor. Another cold windy run. Did my 10 miles and was able to hydrate at the 5 mile mark. It made a difference felt pretty good during the second half of the run. Hit a couple of hills but they are not very steep. I am on schedule...hoped to run 10 before the end of March. Up to 33 miles this week. Need to stay there for a couple weeks I think. I think I will try some interval training this week.

I have the Spring Lake 5 in May so I need to keep my pace up. Want to break 40 minutes. Plus my buddy Henry is going to be gunning for me since I beat him in the Belmar 5 last year by two steps.

I got some gear from Mountaingear.com. Bought a small backpack will run with it next week on my long run.

Mickey would be the perfect third stooge. I loved to come out to Dallas with you guys but June is busy for me. School and LL.

Week Three In The Books

Woke-up early went had blood drawn hoping it will show an improvement in Cholesterol levels. Especially hdl I have been stuck at 42 forever. 20 years ago while training for the NYC Marathon my hdl level was 80. I want to get off Zocor I am afraid of the muscle issues.

Thank God for my mid day work-outs at the Y. It keeps me sane working with 25 woman. Weather turned out to be great so I ran an easy 5 outside and did my limited weight work-out. Hoping to go 10 tomorrow...weather is not going to be as nice as today.

George do not stress about my pace you know me I am a rabbit. I need to moderate my pace no way I am going to be at those paces. Your the discipline runner which we are going to need to go 6 days 20 a day. I do have a plan though...Run 10 miles at a maybe 11 min pace that will take about 1hr 45 min...take a 1hr nap then run the other 10 mile!!! Total time 4 and 1/2 hrs.

Rick has been checking our blog he says we are motivating him to take a nap!!!! Actually he says he going try to start a walking program.

I came across a couple of websites about altitude training I'll post them for you tomorrow.

Team song suggestion: 24, 24 hours to go I want to be sedated.... I do not know who sings it though.

Day 20

Worked a half day took Freddy shopping for some baseball equipment and took care of some LL duties. Then went out on a run looking for some hills. I found a couple and ended up running 5.5 miles. Felt pretty good as the rain stopped long enough for me to finish my run. I need to get some better rain gear. I have been trying to keep up on my stomach work and push-ups. I think the core is as important as the legs. Finished the day with an hour and half BB practice the kids do NOT LISTEN!!!

Happy B-Day 19th Day

Officially 54 today. The kids at school got me a cake, the teachers chipped in and got me a gift card to a mountain gear store. Helen, Katie & Freddy got me Tiger Wood's Wii golf. Hopefully it will improve my golf game.

The weather was good today so I ran outside did 4+ a little hill and trail running at at 8min mile pace. Then into the Y for stomach work, upper body work and stretching.

George, we need a team song so I can play it on our Blog(if I can figure it out)...to get us pumped up.

How was the golf ?

Day 18

Day off did not even do my 3 push-ups and 4 sit-ups. I am going to start cross training like George... if the weather holds up golf looks good for Thursday but I will walk and carry my bag. That should net me 4-5 miles. I should have played today... the weather was perfect.

George they updated the training schedule...it the same as last year only moved up a month. The tough week is July 21 3 days in a row 18+ miles...Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Day 17

Woke-up this morning did not think I could run 120 feet much less 120 miles. Thought I should of called the doctor. But made it to work and then to lunch and then to the Y. Worked-out for about an hour and half. Ran 5 miles on the treadmill and did some weights and sit-ups. Had not seen my work-out buddy Carmen for 3 weeks he is 75. His 81 year old brother had passed away. Carmen is a real nice guy he keeps me going...he is in great shape and can leg press the full weight rack. He was a little down today.

Tracy saw our blog she got a kick out of it...Tracy has been on her own quest and has been for over a year.

Happy Easter Day 16

Walked 3 miles with wait belt before Easter dinner. Then stuffed my face with a bunch of Turkey and Chocolate. Spent some time on mountain gear .com bought a emergency blanket...check... looked at some light weight packs and technical running shirts( bought one)...check. Week totals ending Saturday 30 miles. Would like to maintain that for a couple of weeks. Big worry HILLS need to come up with a plan besides the treadmill.

George how long are you in Ct?

No hanging out in bars during the Quest you need to conserve energy.

day 15

Did an easy 3.5 felt pretty good could have gone further but did not want to push it after the 9. The key for me was a good long night sleep. I felt like a new man and I had another nap this afternoon. Right before LL practice also took down a large bush. Energy levels up. I probably will crash tomorrow. Happy Easter ! I can start eating chocolate again!

Day 14

Two weeks into the quest. A very windy run this morning but I got it up to 9 miles some of it on a dirt trail. Need to find the right pace. All in all not bad for two weeks in. I think I have to be wary of pushing it to hard before I build up the base. My arms were getting tired near the end of the run. Need to do some reading on what to eat and drink. Have not hydrated on any of my long runs. Right now I am going to hydrate a Bud!!!

Day 13

Went to the Y did 5+ on the Treadmill felt much better today. Hope to do my long run tomorrow...no work and weather should be Ok.

Day 12

50 mins on the treadmill=5+ miles with a grade. Tough run... thought I was going up Pikes Peak and the grade was not that bad. I am up to 2 push-up and 3 sit-ups !!!! Tomorrow another day at the Y not sure if I will go out or stay on the treadmill. Depends on the weather.

Day 11 of training

Day-off. Sit-ups, push-ups and stretchering followed by a lunch time nap!!!! Back to the treadmill tomorrow. Looked at the photos from last year race. We can do this and have some fun doing it.

Day 10 of training

There is a reason why we chose the name Teamknucklehead. Got to the Y got undressed and forgot by running shorts at home. Not good!!...So I panic I need to workout Transrockie run 5 months away can't miss a day. I hurry-up get dressed drive home and run in the house get on my running gear and run a quick 31/2 miles . Rationalized it to be Aerobic/speed work-out. Now I am down a 1 1/2 miles for the week. Need to make it up in the next couple of days. Trying to schedule long runs are getting difficult with Little league getting underway.

Day 9 of Training

Walked 3 miles with 20lbs vest. Not as easy as I thought. Plus I was a little tired today. It was a grey chilly day. I lost 2lbs since training started down to 168. Tomorrow back to the Y and the treadmill. Hope to increase the grade.

Day 8 of Training

Ran 8 miles today...weather was perfected a little breeze. Right around 9 min miles. Legs feel ok. Week total Sun--Saturday 26 mile. Would like to get to 30 by the end of March.

Day 7 of training

Ran 4+ on trail/grass not as easy as pavement. Good workout though. Finished up with some weight lifting and sit-ups. Bought 2olbs vest that George recomended. Will try it out on Sunday. Trying to get a base of 30 miles per week before the end of March. Right now at about 25.

Day 6 of training

Day Off Got this e-mail from Jenn. Explaining the task ahead.

Hi George & Fred
My apologies for the delay in getting back to you. A large percentage of our participants from 2007 were not ultra runners. Many of our participants were comfortable trail or road runners with some experience in longer races, but not necessarily seasoned veterans. There is the elite field of marathoners, ultra runners, etc. but it's safe to say that the majority of competitors were of an active but not competitive demographic. That said, you should keep in mind that each day is essentially a full off-road marathon, running at elevations averaging about 10,000 feet, and as high as 12,600 feet. We did have some elite competitors last year from NYC, at sea level, but they were pretty seasoned ultra runners. If you have run at higher elevations in the past you might want to gauge how you will feel running 6 days in a row based on your prior experience. I think it's safe to say the altitude is hard on everyone; how it may affect you individually is really something only you can decide.
If you plan to run in the 80+ category you'll likely find yourself amid runners who are generally fit, love to run, and will just be happy finishing the race. Most people make it to the control stations before the cut-off times with no problem. It's really the people with no prior distance running experience that we deter from entering; it doesn't matter so much what running discipline you come from (road, trail, marathons, Ironman, etc) as it does the number of miles under your shoes.
I hope this helps. You may also want to post something on our online forums, and see if you get feedback from any of last year's participants. The forums are generally slow this time of year but interest should pick up soon as the warmer weather approaches and we get closer to race time.

Jenn
GORE-TEX™ TransRockies Run
info@transrockies-run.com
Phone: (403) 668-7537
Fax: (403) 206-7553
www.transrockies.com

Day 5 of Training

Wednesday Y day...5+ on the treadmill. Trying to increase the grade up to 4%. Need to find away to train on hills. To flat here in NJ. Just got E-mail from Jenn of Transrockie says we should be ok if we can run 10,000ft. George do not forget the golf clubs....I hear the ball travels further at 10,000ft.

Day 4 of Training

Day Off.

Day 3 of Training

Went to work today feeling pretty tired lost that hour did not sit well. Went to the Y at lunch ran 5+ miles on the treadmill trying to increase the grade. Did some weight work after the run. It is amazing how well I felt after the work-out.

George confirmed we are officially in. We have a back-up plan...we are going to bring our golf clubs in case after day 1 we want to quit we can still get 5 days of golf in.!!!!

Day 2 of training

Walked 3 miles today. Did not feel bad.

The Quest Begins

March 7th we registered for the TransRockie 6 day 120 mile race. George's 55th b-day.

The training begins...March 8th George's run 8 miles. I run 7 miles in a monsoon here in NJ. Do not feel too bad. I was totally soaked trying to get mentally tough. Day 1 on training complete.