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Free Form Intervals

Posted by Eric Orton on January 13, 2010 at 9:03am
I thought I would share with you my Sunday run. Currently, I am not in a structured training mode, just running frequently and consistently. Over the last two years, I have not been putting in the long miles typical to my training schedule and have stumbled upon a great workout to keep the legs "alive" during your off season or to "wake" them up from always doing the same type of run. I call this run free form or free form intervals because you are including a few intervals within a short run. The key is to peform these intervals during a run of 30-40 minutes only. This way you are not tired at the end, and they are short enough so mentally you can run fast, not worrying about fatiguing prematurely during a longer run. These are also a must for ultra runners who are used to putting in long miles and never do many 30 minutes runs...they are refreshing and get your legs away from long and slow. Here is what you do: Get in a good warm-up of 10-15 minutes. Then perform 2-3 X 6-8 minutes runs where you just run as you feel, but fast. Just start out and run as fast as you feel like and respond by how you feel. If it feels good, speed up until you need to back off. Or continue to increase your effort throughout the 6-8 minutes. Speed up, slow down. Pick a pace and try to maintain it the entire time. The only rule is to just do what feels good on EACH interval and try to run between 5k and 400 meter pace. Again, let your pace respond to the moment and how you are feeling physically and mentally. What you will find is that since there are no expectations or set structure, you end up challenging yourself, but you also stay within your ability. Remember, train, don't strain. You might say well this sounds like a fartlek run. Typically fartlek runs are short and hard with short easy recovery. This could be part of a free form interval, but you may also find that free form intervals are progessive in nature. Start out easy and continue to progress your efffort until you need to stop. Or just a steady, hard effort, harder than if you were doing MANY more intervals. Free form are not as confining as a fartlek. And by doing only a few intervals, you keep the legs working hard one or two days a week during the off season that can really help you to maintain fitness, without needing recovery. They leave you feeling very strong. These are also a great way to work on building good form and technique if you are new to mid-foot striking. Running faster, helps create better foot strike and free form running could be a great way to train foot strike. Simply run faster than your normal endurance pace or your zone 2-3 HR until you feel your form falling apart. Slow down to recovery and then pick it back up with good form again. Structure is very important for long term growth and improvement, but so too is a little creativity and free form running. E
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Winter Trail Running in Jackson Hole

Posted by Eric Orton on January 6, 2010 at 1:14am
Hi all - I am in the process of finalizing my Summer Run Camp schedule and as my mind is on summer, I thought I would post a short slide show of a great run I had during the holidays for everyone to get a glimps of my world and the Tetons under snow. Unlike most of the country, we have had an unusually dry and warm winter thus far in Teton Valley and trail running has been awesome! Enjoy - E
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Anyone been using Newton running shoes?

Posted by J on January 3, 2010 at 2:49pm
I got a pair of Newton's and I have been running in them (forefoot/midfoot) for a few weeks and I wanted to see if anyone out there has tried them, and if so how long did it take for your calves to break into them? I used to be a heel striker but I switched as soon as I bought my Newtons.Thanks
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Dallas Turkey Trot

Posted by Shawna Kennedy on November 28, 2009 at 10:32am
I was one of approximately 37K runners/walkers taking part in the Dallas Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day. In spite of the way the return to Standard Time has adversely affected my running schedule, I finished the 5K in 35:07, about half a minute faster than I ran the Race for the Cure. Happy me! Although I didn't check out the feet of all 37K trotters, I was, as far as I could tell, the only person out there in FiveFingers. Being one of the few (only?) people running in FiveFingers had an interesting effect on my running. Every few minutes I could hear someone behind me say to his or her companion "Look at her shoes!" Whenever I heard that, I made sure that my running form was as good as I could make it; I didn't want anyone to blame my poor performance on my lack of "proper shoes". I think the scrutiny helped me complete the race faster than I had expected to.It was a fun race. I look forward to running it again year, and I'm really looking forward to running the Mayor's 5K with my sister Hillary in a couple of weeks.
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My First 50K Trail Race

Posted by Robert Wagner on November 12, 2009 at 3:08pm
On Nov. 7, I ended Eric’s 20-week trail marathon-training program, which culminated in running the Rocky Raccoon 50k trail race and I wanted to say THANKS Eric! The course was much tougher than I had anticipated, more hills with sandy trails and LOTS of roots. Most of my training was done on less hilly gravel and asphalt roads and trails, so my training runs were quite different than the racecourse. That said I am very happy with my results.I finished the race in 5:45, which placed me in the 34th percentile of race finishers and 4th among those my age (55) and older for my first trail race and my first 50k, which is the longest I have ever run. But what I am equally proud of is that I didn’t fall during the race and that I felt remarkably good at the end. People were falling throughout the race due to the sandy, root-laden trail, but Eric’s training plan apparently gave me the skills to stay upright during the race and end the race with both feet in good shape - no stubbed toes - in spite of having no experience on a similar course.I have been running since I was about 30, “peaked” speed-wise at about 37, and began to get progressively slower and run less thereafter. The downward progression ended when at 53 I quit running completely due a torn meniscus and knee surgery, which left me believing that my goal of running a 50k was over. Reading “Born to Run” made me want to be a “runner” again and helped me believe that it was possible, and Eric’s training plan gave me the tools. My previously diagnosed arthritic knees have never felt better, even after running a hard 50k.I hope that this encourages at least one aspiring runner out there to believe in yourself and your training and go for your goals.
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Training With Eric - Custom Camp in the Snow!

Posted by Eric Orton on November 9, 2009 at 9:34pm
I just concluded my last Run Camp of the year and thought I would post a few pictures. You never know what Mother Nature will throw at you in the mountains, especially in October. Eliza and Kate flew in from The Bay area for a 2 day custom run camp and we had a great time. The weather was rainy, snowy, sunny, and cold - but Kate and Eliza had a great adventurous spirit and we made the best of the weather. Our plan was to have breakfast and then hit the strength training facility to do some biomechanic analysis, strength training instruction, and some muscle activation for our long run. Kate and Eliza learned a great deal about how their body "operates" while running and found that their aches and nagging pains made sense once we analyzed what their body's were doing while they ran. Once we were able to activate some dormant muscles, they could feel a big difference in just the little we did and this also acted as a great dynamic warm-up for our run. After our two hour strength session, we hit the trails. The plan for the first day was to get in about 3 hours of mountain running. Since Eliza and Kate live in The Bay area, they were used to running hills, trails, and mountains - but the altitude got them a bit during the first 30 minues as we started a gradual climb, which included many short, steep rolling hills. This allowed for great conversation about their training, racing, and a lot of Born To Run questions.

Eliza and Kate at the turn around point - 8,500 feet

We were also able to work on good form and run technique, allowing some of the strength issues we discovered earlier to be addressed on the trail.

Eliza working on her downhill running technique

Kate working on her downhill running technique

There they go!

Day One Stats: 13.85 miles 6,297 total ascent Day two brought blue skies and cold temps. We had to get an early start and was able to get in a great 2 hour run before Eliza and Kate had to depart to the airport. It had snowed over night, so we hit snow soon into the run, which made it fun and we were finally able to get a glimps of the mountain peaks and great views from above.

Kate and Eliza were very strong, as we did some major climbing today and found it very hard to make that decision to stop and turnaround.

"Do we have to turn around?"

View of the "Hole" from above

With the snow fall and wintery weather, wildlife was hard to come by so it was a great treat to spot this bull moose on our way back to camp headquarters.

Thank you Eliza and Kate for a great two days of running and I will see you in San Francisco in the Spring for my Running With Eric California Run camp.
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Run and Dinner with Caballo

Posted by Thomas Orf on November 4, 2009 at 8:15pm
Caballo Blanco has been here in Austin at least for the past 3 days. On Monday, he was going to be out running and people could come run with him. There was about 18 people and we ran about 5 miles. Afterwards, we went and had dinner with Caballo at one of Austin's iconic mexican places, Chuys. I got to sit next to Caballo during dinner and it was great. I heard lots of good stories. It was really an awesome night. I felt like I was with a rockstar.Caballo was totally down to earth and was totally not caught up into any sort of stardom. He was a regular guy and he didn't see himself as famous or anything.I didn't talk to him much, just listened, however, I did mention Eric Orton to him. He asked how I knew him and I told him that I used a training plan from him to get ready and completed my first 100. Caballo had great things to say about Eric. He told me that Eric is "the real deal". He truly had nothing but great things to say about Eric. So, if for some reason you hadn't figured out that Eric is quite a great guy, I hope this is enough proof.I didn't have a camera with me, but someone took this from their iPhone and emailed it to me. I only wish I had a copy of my book so I could of had him sign it, but hopefully one day I'll do the Copper Canyon race and I'll get him to sign it at that time.

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my first x race!(2009 x-trail asics)

Posted by J-F lemay on November 1, 2009 at 7:30pm
One word WOW!!! I just did my first trail+mountain race and that was an incredible experience. It was a 6 miler with 1650ft of elevation in the last mile! that was REALLY HARD but i can't wait next year to do it again. I finished 53th out of 246 runners (1:16min) so I'm very proud of myself and I want to say a big thanks to Eric and his good advises! I think I'm hooked to this kind of events, all I think about is the next one i'll do! I just wanted to share my experience with you all and suggest to anyone who never did a trail race to do so cuz it's VERY FUN!

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My First 100 Completion Summary

Posted by Thomas Orf on October 18, 2009 at 6:36pm
Let me first say that the race was difficult, even with all the training. It was much harder than I anticipated. I figured since I had done the training, and did it to the "T", then the 100 miles wouldn't be that difficult, but was I ever wrong. I didn't really train for my first attempt, so I chalked up all the pain and agony I went through to my lack of training. Now that I was trained, I certainly didn't expect to go through any hard times, and for the most part, things would be failry easy, but was I ever wrong. I totally under-estimated what 100 miles is and can do to the body, whether you're trained or not. I tell you what, a 100 miles will humble the strongest of people.The weather was damn cold. With the wind chill, the weather never got over the mid 30's, and it finally dropped into the 20's. They were calling for a chance of rain or snow, but thankfully it never hit.What got me early on was the mental side of things, and stayed with me the whole time. This race was a mental battle like I've never experienced before, and I wasn't sure I could pull it off. I don't think there's any real way to train for it, other than to keep doing these races. See, during training, the longest you go is 50 miles. Well, when you do this run, somewhere in between mile 30 - 40, you're getting tired and ready for the run to be over with, and you realize you only have 10 - 20 miles left, and that's fine, and they tick off pretty easy. But, during a 100, when you start getting tired, you realize you still have another 60 - 70 miles! Uugghhhhhh!!!I tried breaking the race into 4 chuncks, but I just couldn't shake the fact of all the miles I still had left to do. Although I was physically feeling fine at mile 30, I was a little tired, but feeling good, the thought of another 70 miles and it was freezing was just consuming me. This caused me to sink into sort of a depression. I just couldn't shake it and I wasn't sure I could make it. I thought of all the time I've spent training, all the hours my family sacrificed so I could be here, and now I'm not going to be able to finish. This just kept swirling in my head and tearing me down further, but I did keep going.Let me say that my wonderful wife and fantastic 10 year old daughter met me at every aid station they could be at, and they were ready to do anything I needed, although I'm a pretty low maintenance runner. Them just being there made all the difference. If they weren't there, I wouldn't have been able to finish. Most of the time, I was just running from aid station to aid station so I could see them. When it was going to get dark, they were going to go back to the hotel room and get sleep and I'd call them later on when I was several hours from finishing so they would come back. Thankfully, they decided to stay and not leave. I needed them during the day, but they were my lifeline at night. They would basically just sit in the car and have the heater cranking. My wife knew how fast I was going so they would sleep and she'd wake up about when she expected me to roll on in, and there I'd be.My wife could see that I was mentally going downhill, and she kept urging me to get my head right about this. She also wouldn't let me sit long or stay at an aid station. When a couple minutes had gone by and I wasn't really doing anything, she'd be pushing me off.When I got to the mile 36 aid station, I asked what place I was in. I was currently in 42 place, out of 61 starters. This really upset me because I was much further toward the back than I thought I'd be, although I hadn't been racing this yet. I had walked most of the uphills. I was always watching my heart rate and my goal was to not let my heart rate get passed zone 2 like Eric mentioned. I also would walk anytime I felt like I was working hard.Since this was a 50 mile out and back, once I hit the mile 50 turn around, my spirits immediately lifted. I was heading back and I now felt like I was knocking off the miles. I next saw my wife at the mile 58 aid station, and I was smiling and she knew I was happy now. I told her that I have good news, and some bad news. The good news is that I'm mentally feeling better. She asked what changed, and I said, I only have 42 more miles to go. She looked at me like I was a little crazy, like why is this guy happy about that, but having 42 miles left didn't seem like a lot. My bad news was I was starting to feel some small aches in my body. Nothing major, just aches from going for 12 hours now, but you never know what's going to turn into something worse later down the trail.From mile 58 to the end was all done in the dark. The rest of the race to mile 82 was pretty much me running whenever I felt like I could run and for as long as I could hold it, and take 5 to 10 minute walking breaks in between. I was easily coming up on people and passing them. Everytime I was able to come up on someone and pass them, gave me a bigger boost and made me feel better. I said, this is what Eric's training had done for me. In between all this, I kept seeing my wife, and daughter and I was having a good time with the aid station people. There would be people in the aid stations hurting with stomach issues, or whatever, and I was pretty much feeling really good. I started feeling like I was going to finish this thing, although there still was a long time left, and the temperature was dropping, and that was sucking the life out of everyone.By mile 82, I developed pretty severe shin pains in my left leg. I don't know if they were shin splints or what, or what I could have done to avoid them. I could feel something coming on with my left leg around mile 70, and it just kept getting worse. I had to alter my running gait to avoid putting too much weight on my left foot, and because of this, my right calf ended up cramping up, so at mile 82, my left leg hurt pretty bad, my right calf was killing me, and all I was able to do from this point to the end was walk. I couldn't even get into a run to run through the finish. Oh well, I did finish. From mile 82 to the finish, because I couldn't do any running, time felt like it stood still and this was a really long way to go in the cold.Here's some stats and highlights: 61 racers started, 41 finished, and I finished 20th place in 25:27. From mile 36 to the end, I was able to move up to 20th place. From mile 16 to the end, I was never passed by a single runner, not even during the 18 miles to the finish where all I could do was walk. While I tried eating things, nothing ever really sounded good to me or that I wanted to have. I ate a couple quarters of PB&J, but I was forcing myself, so I stopped trying. I would get a cup of soup here and there, but it was so hot and I didn't want to take the time to finish it, so I never did. I could have carried it with me, but they didn't have trash cans on the trail, so I would have had to carry that cup to the next aid station, and I wasn't going to do that. I pretty much lived off Hammer gel and Honey Stinger gels. I would also drink a cup of Coke at every aid station, and I had some Starbucks double shots in my drop bags, so I drank 4 of them during the 100 miler, and I also drank 4 ensures. I would take 2 or 3 Saltsticks every hour. My feet were perfect. I never developed one blister, had any toe nail problems, and actually my feet didn't even swell up. After I finished and took off my shoes and socks, my feet pretty much looked like they didn't even run. I did tape the bottom of my feet as mentioned here, http://www.backcountryrunner.com/articles/blister-free-running.phtml, and I reapplied Hydropel at mile 42 and put on a new pair of Injinjies, which is what I run in. I did the first 25 miles in trail shoes, but then switched to my road shoes for the next 75 miles and I felt that was fine. The finishers buckle is amazing. It is very big and beautiful.The majority of the race wasn't very enjoyable to me, and I think basically because I put so much pressure on myself to finish it. I dreaded another DNF, and the thought of not finishing just wasn't an option for me. On the upside, what I did enjoy was the other runners that I met, some that I got to run with. The people are what made this race such a special thing. Also, the race directors were amazing. Great people that really cared about putting on a great race. They also had amazing volunteers at the aid stations and had great food. This is the best ultra I've been to and I would highly recommend it to anyone.I have created a gallery of this race at http://www.runners4jesus.org/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=945 if you wanted to see some pictures.In summary, there's so many people that were key to getting me to that start line, and to that finish line. I'd also like to add that I truly believe that 100 miles is possible for anyone, I mean anyone, to do, if they really have this as a goal, and if their committed and dedicated to reaching this goal. Let me remind everyone that I just started running two years ago, and 11 months ago, I completed my first marathon. From the time I finished my marathon, the thought of completing a 100 mile race burned through me, and I worked hard for it. I didn't really feel like a different person after this race, like I thought I would, but about 4 days after the race, when it really sunk in, what I accomplished, I started feeling "it". My life suddenly feels different. I truly feel that I conquered one of the hardest things, and everything else around me seems small in comparison. I feel I can be up to any task, regardless of the size, and I'll do just fine.It's been a week since my race. During the race, and for about 4 or 5 days afterwards, I swore I'd never do another one of these. For the past couple days, I've been trying to think of when my next one will be. :) What can I say, I'm hooked, and I can't wait for my next one. By the way, since I finished this, I qualified to enter the Western States 100 lottery, which I did. Who knows, maybe I'll get picked and I'll get to run that one in July.
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First Race, First 5K

Posted by Shawna Kennedy on October 17, 2009 at 10:38am
I started running in June at the age of 43, with no athletic training ever. Today I ran my first race, the Dallas Race for the Cure, in 35:36, and if the directors hadn't closed off the starting line from the finish, I could have run it again because I was feeling so good and happy. I wasn't fast, but I did complete the race and squeaked in under my goal time.I noticed a couple of things as I ran. First of all, a lot of people have purely terrible form. And those that I noticed with terrible form at the beginning of the race looked even worse by the end. Second, I was one of the few midfoot runners I could see (I ran in FiveFingers). I didn't pay much attention to it until the last K or so when I noticed that I could hear the people around me really slapping the pavement hard with their feet, but I could barely hear my own feet touching the ground. I think it made a difference in how not beat up I felt at the end of the race.I had such a good time and I'm looking forward to my next race eagerly. I give Eric and his 6 week Beginner Course the credit for getting me off on the right foot (so to speak) with my running.
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Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon training blog

Posted by Kevin O'Rourke on October 17, 2009 at 3:30am
After 2.5 years of mixed training for marathons, triathlons and ironman events I have decided to actually follow a plan. I subscribed to Erics 20 week Ultra plan and am due to start on Monday 19th October 2009. I am currently on a rest week after smashing my PB for the marathon by 25 mins and finishing in 3.51.I read and then re-read the fabulous book Born to Run and was so inspired by it that I started to run barefoot a little at a time, just 1 mile to begin with. I then found my way to Caballo website and asked him about Chia recipies. Amazingly he was taking entries for the 2010 CCUM and I felt the hand of destiny touching me. I entered and was accepted and am about to take on one of the biggest challenges of my life.As I said I only started training in 2007 after a lifetime of alcohol and work. I was born into the pub and restaurant trade and so alcohol has always been in my life. I got to be overweight and unfit. I was nearly 16 stone and looked and felt awful. i had done a number of Bill Phillips Body for life challenges and yet I lapsed back into bad habits after the challenges and put all the weight back on and more!So it was on the treadmill in 2007, running next to my wife with me complaining about how much I hated running (after only 5 mns) when I saw a poster for the Milton Keynes Half Marathon and it was on our wedding anniversary! I said to my wife Julie " I'm gonna do that race for you for a wedding anniversayry gift". She looked at me in disbelief and calmly said, "you're overweight, you hate running and besides I would rather have a ring!"It didn't matter in my mind I had committed to the race. I started small walking to the local lake and attempting to run around it. Soon I made it the whole way round the lake in one run! I was so pleased with myself. I didn't know the lake was only 1 mile in total!I entered a local 10k with TeamMK the local triathlon club which was 3 laps of another local lake. The first lap was great fun, the second very hard and the third was a nightmare. I had to dig soo deep that day just to finish. The feeling of finishing that race gave me a small amount of hope that i could actually finish this haf marathon. In the end I did it and felt amazing if a little sore.I did the classic and stopped training secure in the belief that i had conquored this running lark. I put weight back on and after a while I relaised that that far from hating running I actually missed it. I resolved to run a full marathon and entered the London marathon in 2008.With about 6 weeks to go my loving wife informed me that I was definately crazy and that i was not ready and I should pull out of the race. I had resolved to run and had a charity hoping that i would raise a large amount of cash for them so I had an extra motivation. I finished in 5 hours and once again thought that was it. But I kept on running, a half marathon here and there, 10k's, 5 k's and then i discovered Triathlon. I had been a sucessful swimmer when i was younger so entered a sprint Triathlon. I finished it and enjoyed the process so entered an Olympic distance and once again enjoyed the experience.The madness then took over. On my long runs I found i had lots of time to think. In Triathlon you cannot use MP3 players so I started to train without them to get used to having just my mind and the scenery to entertain me. This lead to many internal conversations and lead to the masterplan for 2009, a triple challenge.I would run the London marathon again, then a half Ironman (madness) and then finish with a full Ironman distance Triathon (complete Lunacy!).Somehow I managed to do all this and documented the experience in my website www.triplechallenge.co.uk This year 2009 was about racing for fun and to improve speed. To have time for family and myself without the committment needed to race these huge challenges. The problem is that as my times have been smashed each week I found myself drawn more and more to greater challenges.I must say that joining the local Triathlon team was the smartest move I have ever made. When you train on your own you pace yourself according to the pain threshold you have at the time. When you train with others you HAVE to raise your game. I got fed up of being the last one in every training run, being dropped in every ride, being good at swimming was the only saving grace I had.I showed others how to improve their swim and they in tunr helped me with my poor running and bike. I went from the nickname "Captain Slow" to the new one of just "Captain"So it's now I find myself here typing away and ready to take on the next challenge. The CCUM will be an amazing experience and I'm now looking for 2 other events to complete the Triple Challenge for 2010, just don't tell my wife!
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100 Mile... Ready or not, here I come!

Posted by Thomas Orf on October 7, 2009 at 9:02pm
I have my 2nd 100 mile attempt this Saturday. I failed my first attempt, only making it to mile 76. Two things are different now, than before. I now have Eric, and his training. I'm getting excited.Eric, I hope I can do you and your training the proper justice it deserves by bringing home a finishers buckle. Thanks again for all you've done for me.My marathon coach and friend, Shaughn, rented me a GPS device from, www.myathletegps.com, for me that I will be wearing, and it allows anyone to be able to track them from a website. From the website, you should be able to see my location, speed, distance, and my elevation.My race starts Saturday at 6:00am. The device was supposed to have been configured to update every minute. Below are the links that you could go to and see my progress.You can bet that while I'm on this long trip, I will be thinking of Dustin doing his long journey. It's probably as close as I can get to fully comprehend the monument task Dustin has taken on.Link for web Browsers & iPhoneshttp://www.mapmyathlete.com/vemap.aspx?name=024096Link for PDA/Blackberry/Palmshttp://www.MapMyAthlete.com/pda.aspx?name=024096Note: Certain versions of the Blackberry browser do not work. You can download for free the Opera-mini browser on your blackberry at http://www.opera.com/mini/download.While I’m moving, there should be a blue arrow on the map. If/When I stop moving, a bullseye pattern will appear on the map (let’s hope there’s not too many of these).
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Update

Posted by Dustin Hucks on September 23, 2009 at 10:30pm
I'm in Bernalillo, New Mexico, about forty miles from Santa Fe. I should have something in the neighborhood of three weeks left on what is now a very long hike, which will most certainly turn back into a run the closer I get to Texas and support.Click here for a video update via youtube.I've appreciated all of the well wishes from you folks more than you know, and I sort of feel like an ass for not getting on here more often and saying hello. I really like the vibe on this site. I'm happy everytime I log in. Runners are something special, and it's nice to be a part of that community.Everyone stay safe, healthy, and keep stinkin' running.All the best from the Highway Man.-Dustin
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Pain free running

Posted by David Murphy on September 21, 2009 at 5:07am
I was telling my running story to my brother Bill and he recommended that I post it to Eric's website. It was not until after reading 'born to run' that I finally, after 12 years of calf pain, can run injury free. My calves, as some of you may have experienced, did not enjoy running. It sometimes took two or three days for them to recover. After shortening my stride, focusing on a mid-foot strike, pulling back on my extention, and raising my knees, I am now running hard and long anytime I want too. I just ran a 4 miler @ 5:30 pace with hills throughout. The more impressive detail, for me, is that I was able to run 6 miles the next day without calf pain. . . It's the greatest feeling in the world - I feel like a new runner.
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$500.00 - What have you found during a run???

Posted by Thomas Orf on September 20, 2009 at 12:57pm
I knew this title would get everyone's attention. This title is what I found on a run yesterday morning.I had already run 11 miles, and I met up with our little running group at 6:00am and I was going to run 14 miles with a girl who's training for a marathon. We were running in the emergency lane along a highway, and between mile 8 and mile 9, I looked down and saw a roll of something. I leaned over and picked it up. I thought it was some play money. It was rolled up with a rubberband securing it, and it looked like it was used to snort something. Anyway, after looking closely at it, it looked like real money. We continued running and I took the rubberband off. I fanned out the money and there was 5 $100.00 bills!!! Me and the girl high-fived each other, and spend the next 5 or some miles laughing about this, and thinking what a huge blessing this was. Since she was with me, I gave her $200.00. I am going to keep $100.00 or do something with my family with, and the other $200.00 was given away to other people.I spoke with a person who heads a marathon training group and told her my story. I told her she could use it as motivation for her runners. You never know when you'll be out running and find $500.00. She said she once found $100.00 dollar bill, and she once came up on a pile of quarters.Because I do my long runs on highways and heavily traveled areas, I normally always find at least .20, and I pick whatever I find up and when I get home, I show my daughter what her dad found on his run. I've found a baseball hat pin, still in it's plastic, I've found a screw driver, a socket wrench, a knife, a dollar bill, a $10.00 bill, and I once pasted a little bag of white powder. I didn't bother picking that up. Two weeks ago, I found an imitation iPhone, a SciPhone. I was able to call people in the address book, find out who it belonged and return it to them.What kind of stuff do you all find on your runs?
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Training Done!!! Taper, Here I Come!!! Eric, I need A Race Strategy

Posted by Thomas Orf on September 20, 2009 at 12:30pm
First let me say, the that I don't consider the couple taper weeks as training, which is why I named the blog what it is. I realize the taper weeks are just as important, but they are so much easier and when you get to them, the running is so much less and so insignificant to the months that you've been through.I have just completed Erics 24 week 100 mile training plan. To end the training, I had a 20 miler on Friday, then a 30 miler on Saturday. The next two weeks are my taper and I have no runs longer than 2 hours, so I'm a happy man.The past 5 weeks have been really tough and I questioned on if I could complete the training as outlined. I was getting physically tired and emotionally drained. It took days worth of talking to myself to get me out to do my long runs and even some of my weekly runs. I'm very happy and proud to report, that with running 6 days a week for the past 24 months of this plan, I only missed maybe 3 or 4 days and they were light days during the week. I hit all long runs and everything else, even though there were a few days where I didn't want to run for 1 minute, let alone for 40, 1 hour, or more. I also know how important it is to stay with the training plan and the success of the race depends on this. Most importantly, I could not have completed this without the great support from my wife and daughter, plus our own little group of runners, www.runners4jesus.org, that is also huge support for me and they keep me accountable with what I'm supposed to do. They are your everday people doing incredible things. They love running, and they run with a purpose. I've watched them set goals, work toward them, then push past them and go beyond what they ever thought they could ever do. When you can witness this type of greatness, it can only be inspirational and motivating.Eric, I've been waiting to come to the completion of the training before I asked you this question, and now the time is finally here to ask it. Can you give me a race strategy? How should I start and what do you recommend for me to hopefully have a good race? Should I try and stay with the 40 run/20 walk plan? Or should I do more walking during the first 50, then do something else during the last 50? My 50 mile training run was completed at an 11:20 average pace. I will say that after my 50 mile training run, the thought of doing another 50 miles was frightening to think about. You once said mile 80 was the half way point. Should I stay easy on things to mile 80? Any advice and words of wisdom you could provide would be greatly appreciated.Eric, I can't think you enough for all you have done, and all that you continue to do for us.
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inspiration

Posted by Joan Laughlin on September 19, 2009 at 9:02am
I just posted a note on my Facebook page about this beautiful thing that I saw this morning when I was running and then I thought perhaps it should be shared with other runners.I live in Houston and do my long runs at Memorial Park. This morning I saw a man who was about in his early sixties or late fifties. He was running with a younger guy who looked to be in his thirties. The younger guy was obviously blind and had his arm wrapped inside the older man's arm who seemed to be guiding him. Despite the handicap, they were running along at a pretty good clip. It was obvious that this was something they do regularly.I just found this sight to be so profoundly moving and inspirational and wanted to share it. It definitely gave me a different perspective on any weaknesses I think that I have.
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First race...

Posted by eric p mccarty on September 17, 2009 at 4:24am
50k this Saturday!Any last minute advice, wisdom or encouragment is appreciated!No time prediction - I will be happy to cross the line and not make any of the volunteers late for dinner1
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My Long Running Weekend

Posted by Thomas Orf on September 6, 2009 at 6:38pm
This is a report of my weekend of running. I don't share this in any way to brag about myself. I'm only sharing it so it can be proof that Eric knows what he's doing, and that it might encourage someone else to do something more than they ever thought was possible.Last year, I was just a person who had only been running for a year after smoking for 17 years. I finished a marathon and felt like I wanted more. I then found out there's people out there called ultrarunners. An ultrarunner is someone who runs more than 26.2 miles and they have 50, 100, and beyond mile races. Hearing this, I began to do research and try and fint people that did this sort of stuff.I can remember the first person I read about. He was a local runner from a local Austin runner's group and he had completed many 100 milers. His email address was given to me so I could contact him. Among all the advice and information he emailed me back with, the biggest thing that stuck in my head was he could actually go out for a 50 - 55 mile training run, in one day, then run the next, and keep on training. This was crazy to me. It's one thing to do 50 miles, but then you're supposed to take a couple months off from running so you can recover, aren't you? Apparently all the advice that marathoners had passed off to me about taking time off after a 26.2 mile race, didn't seem to apply to these men, and ladies of steel. I also had lunch with a guy who actually did a 10 mile run the next day after completing a 100 mile race in 19 hours. How is this possible???I began to dable into this world without any real training. I lucked through a 100k, barely, and figured if I can do 62, then what's another 38 miles. So I tried a 100 miler in February, but my body shut down and I couldn't move 1 inch after mile 76. I was on crutches for a week and I missed work because I couldn't get in my truck and drive. I figured if I really want to do this, I need to get smart and find someone with the right knowledge to get me there.I came across Eric Orton, and got his 100 mile plan. After emailing him a few times back and forth, I was pretty confident that he was the right person for me. I remembered looking through the training plan and seeing that 50 miler to be done in one day, then have a 1:30 run the next day, then only have 1 day off, then go right back into a week of training. I looked at this and thought, wow, would I be able to make it that far and survive that weekend!!!With great news, I can say that I made it through it. Because this was such a big run, my wife was going to crew me. I had prepared ice chests of everything they have at a 100 mile aid station, and she would drive and wait at every 5 mile point. Knowing that she was going to be there and help me through it made the day less scary.I began my run at 4:00am, and told her that I would be fine until 8:30am. She was going to come meet me at 8:30am and we'd be off. At 8:30am, she wasn't there so I borrowed a phone from someone and called her. My daughter was very sick and my wife wasn't feeling well either. Panic came over me and I realized that I wouldn't get crewed and I was going to have to finish this by myself. I almost wanted to quit and give up, but I took a deep breath and said, I'll be fine. I can do this. I'll be home around 2:00pm. I saw this as just something out of my control and I could either give up, or I could keep moving forward. I've come this far, and I'm not a quitter. This was just an obstacle that I'd have to overcome. In these long distance races, there's so much stuff that comes up, that you didn't plan for, and you need to be ready to adjust and get the job done.I lef where I was at to complete 30 miles. The actual run was uneventful. I used convenient stores to get ice and water from, and for that 30 miles, I carried 2 PBJ, 8 ounces of Hammer gel, and 1 Red Bull. I also stopped along the way and got a Starbucks coffee. I was under nutritioned for this, but I still made it. My body held up, and there was no aches or pains. I was getting sore and tired at about mile 42, but I'm sure this is to be expected, especially since I wasn't eating right. My marathon coach actually found me at mile 48, he didn't know the route I was running, and he had been out looking for me for over an hour. He ran me in the last 2 miles, which was great and needed.I felt great afterwards. I went home, showered, then went to a surprise party and amazingly felt great. I even woke up this morning, a little sore, but felt fine after a little stretching, and ran for an hour and a half. This morning's run was difficult, mentally for me, because I was feeling really tired, but I made it through it. I then realized that after all of this, I can still walk, I even went grocery shopping today for my wife since she's still sick, and while I'm ready for a recovery day tomorrow, I'm physically in shape to do another week of training.I'm now just like that guy I received an email from last year. Me being able to do this, to me, speaks volumes about Eric's training plan, and his philosophies. Besides his training, I was also able to do this because I have a great group of friends and runners that support me and keep me encouraged. I also believe that my running is a gift given to me from God.By the way, did I mention that it was on this day, two years ago in 2007, when I went out for my very first run and did 1.5 miles.
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