Back On Line:
So much happened in "g's" UltraWorld the past 18 months. It's been as good as it's been frustrating. Fortunately... I haven't lost sight of my UltraRunning philosophy: It's all about the adventure...

July '08:
I ran the VT100M and completed 77 miles in 22 hours. With near 100% humidity, temperatures in the 90s around the clock, torrential rains, and winds strong enough to demolish our tent, you'd think the weather would have done me in. Oh, no... it was the hills. I miscalculated the course because I (incorrectly) used running the VT50M as the litmus test for what the hills would be like in the VT100M. (Ugs.)

August '08:
After a couple of weeks of R&R post-VT100M, I implemented a new training program to run the VT100M in '09 - I'm runnin' a mountain a week! Unfortunately... after two weeks of this new strategy, my groin strain was louder then ever. (No duh?) Time for another plan? I think so...

September '08:
Given my chronic and worsening problems with groin strain, I cautiously trained and ran my 3rd, Reach the Beach Relay Race (NH). In the two months that followed, I ran a couple of short races, bagged the Stone Cat 50M (again) due to injury, and ate my way through the Christmas Season to the tune of +10 pounds.

January '09:
My gradual re-entry into running proved two things. First, after a diet of no-running for two months... my groin strain had never went away. It was back and louder then ever. Secondly, with a limited running schedule to heal my self, losing the Holiday 10-pounder became it's own challenge!

In the context of needing to run without pain, 2009 became the season to get well. I would only run one or two ultras in '09 and would focus on achieving a no-pain running season. (OK. I could do this...)

In mid-January, I (finally) took the advice of everyone who had been relentlessly subjected to my chronic whining. (Oooh... my groin still hurts...) I began to cross train. Twice a week at the Y, I rode a stationary bike and/or joined a SPINNING class. I noticed immediate improvement!

February '09:
I closed out February with weekly SPINNING classes. Feeling no groin pain, I ramped up my long-run mileage. Life was good... for the first time in 2 years.

Feeling physically confident, I built a a training schedule around a handful of ultra-runs for 2009; I postpone the VT100M until 2010 (maybe).

In the mean time, I began to train and planned to run races that would prepare me for my fastest-ever, Wakely 50K in July (7-hours or better)! This would include plenty of hill training and mountain races. My '09 race schedule:

1) April: Sybil Ludington 50K (Carmel, NY);
2) May: Prospect Mt Road Race (5.6 M; Lake George, NY) ;
3) June: Whiteface Mt Road Race (8M; Lake Placid, NY);
4) June: Mt Washington Road Race (8M; NH);
5) June: Adirondack Distance Run (10M; Lake George, NY);
6) July: Boiler Maker 15K (Utica, NY);
7) July: Damn Wakely Dam 50K (Adirondacks, NY);
8) September: Ragnar Relay Race (183M; Cumberland, MD to DC) - I'm already in the process of building a 6-person ultra relay team to run this race; and,
9) November: Stone Cat 50M (MA) might be revisited.

March '09:
I've been running long runs (20M) on Saturdays and long hills on Sundays. I've started to notice a little burning in my left knee. I think I've been over-doing it in SPINNING class.

April '09:
TRAIN WRECK... Due to aggressive SPINNING, I injured both knees and stopped exercising for 2 weeks; I received chiropractic care from Dr. D.

At precisely the moment my knees were ready to rock... I contracted a miserable head cold and then a sinus infection... and, before I knew it... I had coughed my way into not running for 5 weeks. The bottom line... I bagged the Sybil Ludington 50K and the Prospect Mt Road Race.

May '09:
I'm back in the groove... I crash trained and began to run about 55M per week. I'm now running 8M 3-4 times during the week, 20M on Saturdays, and 10M of hills on Sunday. I also SPIN 1x a week... just not as aggressive as before.

Long Shots and I didn't win the lottery to run Mt. Washington Road Race (NH). I really thought the third time would be the charm! Next year...

The Screaming Geckos are ALIVE: I've assembled a 6-person ultra relay team to run the Ragnar 200M Relay Race (9/09) from Cumberland, MD, to Washington, DC. After running Reach the Beach (NH) the last 3 consecutive years as a 12-person team, I'm totally jazzed to run a similar race as an ultra team. The next step... team registration.

A bonus to running this Ragnor race will be having a sister team on the course. Margarita Jeannie plans to recruit a 12-person women's team (Victory Vixens) from a cast of running characters where she lives in VA. There's also the widely anticipated post-race party merger between the Geckos and Vixens! Oh, yea...