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.