JMTR

Well the Jemez Mountain Trail Half Marathon was interesting to say the least, I finished, not as fast as I had hoped, however considering I was limited to 1 run a week for the 3 weeks prior to the race, not a bad outcome. The first 3 miles were easy, gradual rolling hills alternating road and trail, the single track portions could be frustrating trying to get around people who took off way to fast and payed for it only 3 miles into the event. Around mile 4 the climbing started, well not really but there was some elevation gain. It is worth mentioning that this was a cupless event, meaning that if you are like me and thought you could by a HydraPouch the morning of the event you were mistaken and would be running with a water bottle in your hand for the duration. The first substantial aid station was around mile 4, I would soon find out why. The climb. Before I go any further let me be clear, I love a tough race, my fondest memories of X-C involved river crossings and mud pits with single track trail climbs in Jackson Hole, this will not rank among those fond memories. The majority of the climb took place between miles 4.5-6, if you like inhaling hot dirt while shuffling up switchbacks trying not to vomit, this place is for you. I know how bacon feels. Beyond the never ending climb the entire course is the the burn area from a few years ago, the surrounding area is beautiful, the course it self, not as much. Returning back to starting elevation was a relief, miles of rolling hills made for easy trucking on the way back, by mile 6 however I thought I had torn my hip flexors (yes plural), I could not stand up straight and the down hill pounding was not all together enjoyable. To make matters worse the course was long, only by 1/2 mile, but I was well ready to be done before 13.1 let alone 13.7. In all it was a great race, very well organized with a ton of support, it is part of the La Sportiva Cup, a brutal series of mountain races all over the west. It was a great day, my wife Anna supported me and was amazing, she fed me tried to stuff me with food, even stole a few post race Pilsners for me, thanks babe. With all that being said my goals have now shifted, I believe that I still have a few fast 5k or 10ks still in my legs (maybe not my back). Running a little shorter and faster will be my next M.O. for the next few months with trying to attempt a fast 10k in september. I feel good about that, I know it and I own that type of training, forcing my body to cooperate with me accept the sometimes brutal nature of 5 and 10k training will be a hell of a challenge. I'm up for it.

Black Box Running Group / Jemez Mountain Trail Runs

I'm pretty happy to announce that Black Box Fitness (Home of CrossFit Caliente) and Ellis Endurance have aggreed to start a running group. This group will be open to any/everyone, it's free and will meet weekly. Sunday, April 7th will be the first run at UNM North Golf Course (Law Library) @ 8:00AM, we will meet every sunday following, same time, same place. I hope this grows into a competetive club that will have a large, competitive and visible presence at area races and events.
Also I signed up to run the Half Marathon at the Jemez Mountain Trail Runs, and have been running more consistantly over the last few weeks, I've spent a lot of time and Black Box lately and am feeling a lot more fit, I just need to translate that to running fitness and put in a few more miles. Hope to see everyone on Sundays.

Starting Over

Well it's  been a long time since I updated this thing a lot has happened, I got into amazing shape, got married and got horribly out of shape in short order. This process is beginning again, I'm commiting my self to competing in the Corrida de los Locos race in Janurary. This may be a tall order but I'm confident that I can get to a respectable time with a lot of work, Black Box was amazing the first time around, I didnt keep things new enough and shyed away from running. I've attempted to lay the ground work for a loose assocation with Black Box, a relationship which is still in it's infancy. It would be a great way to get this club up and running, a new group of people to train with and a different look at running and racing. I'll be posting more info as it comes in.

Small steps

To say it's been an interesting few weeks would be an understatement, with a new dedication to my fitness and health I changed my diet and workout habits drastically. I joined CrossFit and adopted the diet that come with the territory, I was very sceptical at first, a diet that relies on meat based proteins and natural fats as huge staples definitely got my attention. But after some research and a little cooking I realized this a great way to eat if you are like me and love meat. It's already based on things I love to eat, meat, fat and rich filling foods, however removing cheese from my diet was a struggle to say the least. Eating more calories and filling up on red meat and basic vegetable combos like tomatos and avocados with homemade mayo is by far a better alternative to lettuce and protein shakes. But any way on the to workouts, CrossFit is unlike anything I've ever done before, Olympic lifting with flexibility and gymnastics type moves is a hell of a workout, every workout kills you in so many different ways, one day may be squats with huge amounts of weights to near failure, the next day maybe 1500 meters on a rower for time with burpees and scaling 6ft walls. It's never boring and competition is great.
I've continued upping my weekly mileage the last 3 weeks, starting with 3 miles a few times a week to test my shin splints out. 2 weeks ago I threw in a 4 miler to test the waters, last week was a big one for me.

Here is the break down

Tuesday 3 miles
Thursday 4 miles after a pretty killer workout at BlackBox
Friday another 4 miles
Saturday with Team in Training was 6 good miles, the last 2 were with a few rests to help out some other runners.
Sunday 4 miles. I had a great day, one of the first days I could struggle through the mid run fatigue and finish strong without everything going to shit.

Although this week didn't follow my normal "3 weeks before a 10% increase" schedule I'm fairly confident I can handle it no new soreness or tweaks. Other than being pretty drained I felt great, and I cant wait to get my mileage up to something significant and get a little speed under me. It's so long since I been able to go fast, to be able to find that fluid 6 min pace, lock it in and cruise for as long as you want. I miss that feeling more than I want to admit to myself. Well I'm probably going to get fired if I don't get back to work, time to end this. Cheers.

It begins

I took a big step towards my 2012 goals and registered for the Valle Caldera Half Marathon on June 9th. While this may not be a P.R. course (it has a nearly 1000 vertical ft. climb around mile 6) I'm definitely up for the challenge. I've been out running quite a few times since the new year, and wasnt real pleased with how my body reacted, my SI and hips have been bugging me for quite a while, not to mention my shin splints (getting old is a bitch) and I think it's time to get to the PT and put in the effort to finally kick this thing.
I first fell in love with running at my 2nd ever cross country meet in Jackson Hole, a true XC course with 3 river crossings and 2 mud pits, it was the simplest joy I can ever remember. Valle Caldera is a beautiful run, hopefully it will bring back some of that joy combined with the work and wisdom that comes with being an older man now. For now it's just getting back to the consistency that I need to feel like a runner again.

Welcome.

Ellis Endurance is fairly new endeavor for me. So is this whole Social Media thing. First off welcome, if your looking to run, race or train you've come to the right place. We're a small group now, I hope to grow and develop a racing team, a social running club and workouts for runners of all abilities. If your looking to be competitive, get into shape, or just meet some people to gather with and run, welcome.