Hike: Tunk Mountain

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 A short Hike on Friday in Hancock County, Maine. Tunk Mountain

A fun 3.8 mile hike with some good elevation gain that we've missed in Michigan. Good to see some friends as well.

Standing still, but still flying

Oh look at that time just flew right on by.  Another couple months just gone in the blink of an eye.

After Kalamazoo and Martian Marathons I took a step back and made it a point to recover and mentally rest from hard training. I think it's vital to take a step back (not forced) in order to take a couple of steps forward.

With only a 132 miles in April and 125 in May I felt ready to go come June. As stated earlier I wanted to focus on some speed this summer with primary intentions of breaking 16:46 at some point. Ambitious? Maybe, but some speed on the track can't hurt marathon training. 

During June I introduced some track workouts. Primarily 400's and 800's with some 1000's sprinkled in. All at or near goal 5k race pace. In order to run fast you need to practice running fast. Fun time really.

With the introduction and steady influx of speed work on a weekly basis, mileage has dropped for sure. I went from peak marathon training 50-65 mi/wk to 30-45mi/wk. You really start to feel fat and lazy...I sure didn't though.

In late May I started on crew with 3Disciplines. What a blast that's been! Among one of the top management companies in the country: As of January 2014 They have produced 460 events and timed and consulted on another 450+ events; including Regional Championships, World Junior Qualifiers, the best state series around. They were the first to start the triathlon revolution bringing triathlons to Tempe Town Lake in Tempe, AZ. in the spring of 2001 right in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the U.S. Hosting what was then the largest and fastest growing events in the country, Tempe International Triathlon and SOMA Half Iron Triathlon; both attracting well over 1800 athletes each year. In addition creating another incredible mecca venue in Austin Texas hosting over 1000 athletes each year. They have hosted events in 11 states including running, mountain biking, road racing, triathlon, duathlon and adventure races.

I have the opportunity to travel to far reaches of Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois, with opportunity to travel the country soon enough! How the heck and I supposed to train!?

It's venues like this in Ohio. It's a blast waking up at 5am, running totally lost but exploring every inch of road. It's brought some new adventure to running that's for sure.

I've only raced once, and it was just a 5k. The results?

17:00 (16:59.7 chip time =0 )
2nd Overall

I was ecstatic to break 17 even though it was by the smallest of margins.

Next up Moxie Days 5k! Past results indicate some excellent depth (10+ Sub 18 finishers) so hopefully some fast kids show up and make my day.