My jaw still drops watching that video, Campbell is a goat trapped in a man's body.

I hope no one is discouraged or feeling overwhelmed right now, the point of all this isn't machismo chest pumping (not that anyone is doing so), rather encouragement and accountability in training, whatever that is to you. It is motivating to see what you all are doing in your part of the world and how you guys are progressing. If in the event things don't pan out for anyone here, myself included, there is only good that comes out of getting up daily and getting out there and pushing yourself towards a goal. In this case, there is no failure for anyone involved, we will all be spit out the other side stronger individuals whether that means running R2R2R in April or not.

Keep at it all, enjoy the process, push yourself, and stay consistent.

just need to train one step at a time.

Edited by asandh on 02/13/2012 20:27:13 MST.

"Art- there is, it's a nice old school stair master :) I don't know how to run it, but it can't be too complicated

it gets very little use, but the few times I've seen it in use, looks like a dandy- looks similar to this"

+1 big time. If you can't make it to the mountains, or hills, there is no better machine around to simulate a hill workout, for the simple reason that you lift one foot off the surface with every step, instead of having both feet glued to the pedals of the machine as is the case with all the others(Stairmaster, Elliptical Trainer, etc). Picture yourself on an escalator-same principle. You can vary the step rate from snail pace to throw-you-off-the machine when you're setting up your workout parameters, and modify it on the fly, or go with one of the machine's preprogrammed workouts. You also set the workout duration. Once you get used to the machine and want a different kind of workout, try it with a pack.

Tom- good deal :) I know I'm going to get nixed out of some running due to weather, sounds like I better familiarize myself w/ this machine. I hope to mitigate some of the missed runs w/ x country skiing and snowshoeing as well- a mild winter (unlike last year) would be most welcome

got a great run in this evening (just about had to pull out my lamp- got dark in a hurry!), my longest run @ ~ 8 miles w/ a few jim dandy hills thrown in for good measure :)

Mike

Old school stair machine: Stairs!!!

I knew I wouldn't have time for an afternoon run today so I ran on the track at the high school I teach at this morning...20 laps, going up and down the bleachers 2 times on either side of the track on every lap. I threw in 2-3 high hurdles each lap for fun as well (imagine: downed trees). I began to feel like I was actually trail running.

Eugene is right on...this is all for fun and hopefully this just helps keep everyone motivated until April. I think the worst thing anybody here could do is turn this log into a numbers competition. I, for one, am not going to the Grand Canyon to try and set a personal speed record...just want to have fun running all day.

...

Edited by asandh on 02/13/2012 20:28:28 MST.

so, if you remember my mileage last week was all of 2.
on that 2 mile run, i felt some pain in my left ankle and walked it home. It was sore for a couple of days so i thought i'd take it easy. well on thursday i twisted the same ankle a little weird on a curb, OUCH. Then last night a stupid dog came chasing my little girls (not something I have any tolerance for). So i chased it away at a full sprint. just imagine a 165lb man in a down jacket chasing a 10lb, off his rocker, jack russell terrier down the street by the christmas parade. Now that the dog was scared of me it left us alone, but.....

today i can barely walk and the ankle is all swollen, SUCK!

looks like my training is probably going to be held off till after christmas.

that does suck- sorry

funny you should mention ankle though, went for my run this morning and turned my ankle a little- didn't feel like much, I stopped for a second to put away a layer and suddenly it really hurt just putting my foot down. I'm about 3 miles back thinking this is going to be a long hobble out. started walking and every time I put my foot down it hurt, but slowly it started hurting less, although if I stepped on a rock or other hard object just right it gave me a crisp reminder. Eventually I started slowly (very slowly) jogging on it, then a little quicker, eventually I was near my normal speed (which is slow :)) to finish the run.

it's still sore, I've got it wrapped w/ some ice, hoping it's just a short lived injury (fingers crossed) as this would be my first weekend where I was going to get two runs in.

"I'm about 3 miles back thinking this is going to be a long hobble out. started walking and every time I put my foot down it hurt, but slowly it started hurting less, although if I stepped on a rock or other hard object just right it gave me a crisp reminder. Eventually I started slowly (very slowly) jogging on it, then a little quicker, eventually I was near my normal speed (which is slow :)) to finish the run."

Given that it was a minor sprain, you did exactly the right thing, Mike. Keep moving, slow at first, then gradually back to normal speed. It happens fairly often if you are running on uneven surfaces. One thing you might consider is taping it before your runs until it's completely healed, because if you go over on it a second time before then you will very likely end up with some serious damage.

Tom- thanks for the tip, I'll give that a go- I want to get in a run in tomorrow if at all possible, I was hoping this would be my first week w/ four runs (well 3 1/2 counting today :) )

Mike

My goal for the weekend was to do 12 Saturday followed by 8 today. But, I had a great long run up on the AT yesterday and ended up doing 17 miles with 4k in elevation gain. I am sore today but not in pain. :) The question: given the extra mileage yesterday how should I think about my run today, my body is telling me to rest. I have never trained using the back to back long runs, are you supposed to be spent for the second run or should this run only be done when you have built yourself up enough to need the second day to get further improvement?

PS: I am getting much better at trail running, I only kicked one rock, one rolled ankle and two close calls on rolled ankles. It is also getting much more natural.

Great job doing 17 miles.
I would recommend an easy 3 or 4 miler the day after, simply as a rejuvenation run to help get the toxins out of your muscles.

Edited by asandh on 02/13/2012 20:30:25 MST.

Good advice Art.

Back-to-backs are tricky in my book; sometimes I wonder if they're harder on the body than a single, longer push. For example, compare running a 15 mile in the afternoon, followed by a 10 mile the next morning. That scenario, personally, sometimes feels harder than running, say, a single 20 followed by a rest day. It's hard for me to say which gives the better training- the single 20 helps learn to push longer, but the back-to-backs seem to be ultimately beneficial in building stronger joints, connective tissues (basically learning to recover from a beating faster)....though it seems you're potentially flirting with injury unless you're already a little seasoned at doing medium to long back-to-backs. Make sense?

Such a subjective thing...

to me, rest is the key ingredient to getting stronger, and not getting injured.

Edited by asandh on 02/13/2012 20:31:22 MST.

does anyone have a clear, concise method (pictures please) of wrapping an ankle? if it matters, am guessing it would, the sprain is in the front of the foot and outside of the ankle.

I've made quite a mess of things w/ my taping :)

TIA

started out decently- this was the week I was going to bump my running up to 4 days; got a good first run in 8 miles- my longest, 2nd run was good as well (cold though 11 degrees!), 3rd run started good, but turned an ankle so it was about 50:50 run and walk

hit the old fashion stair master today- no doubt designed by Marquis de Sade himself! :) I was on an hour, varying the speed- it kicked my butt pretty good- I can see this as a definite life saver when the weather is unbearable- it didn't hurt my ankle at all either

Edited by mtwarden on 12/04/2011 15:15:04 MST.

I ended up doing a simple 3 mile road run this afternoon. It was amazing...... I felt better at the end of the run than I did before. I think this will have to be part of my next day routine after a tough run.

Mike,
That look seriously cold. After your post about the stairmaster I ended up finding one in the gym that I work out in while I'm traveling to CA. It was a great work out.

Edited by gg-man on 12/04/2011 18:20:06 MST.

"does anyone have a clear, concise method (pictures please) of wrapping an ankle? if it matters, am guessing it would, the sprain is in the front of the foot and outside of the ankle."

Mike,

Google "ankle taping". There are at least 3 video demos and numerous written descriptions, with pictures. They should give you a pretty good idea of how to go about it.

unfortunately there is a whole slug of them and all different :)

I think I found a nice simple one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGPWfuMiTtg

"unfortunately there is a whole slug of them and all different :)

I think I found a nice simple one"

Yup. The one you selected is bare bones and hopefully will do the job. The 2 I watched were overly elaborate, IMO, but one thing they they both had that your selection doesn't is the vertical "stirrup" the wraps under the arch and up both sides of your leg, followed by the crossover taping that secures it and adds a bit more stability.

I'd appreciate if you let me know how it turns out, as I haven't seen this one before. Best of luck.

I am not a big fan of taping ankles and continuing to run. A sprain is an injury and IMO you need to let it heal enough until you can run without pain.

I am familiar with taping. When I was in high school I played on the basketball team for 4 years. The first 2 years we wore low top canvas shoes (this was a long time ago). Then my junior year the coach made us wear high tops to reduce injuries... and we had a lot more sprains. This is just a side note on high tops, which I know you probably were not wearing.

If you decide to tape your ankle and run, just do it for you runs. Take the tape off afterwards so you get full circulation. Oh and make sure you shave your foot first :) We used to use some sort of spray on our feet that made it less painful to take the tape off.

Good Luck.