Run With Garrison

Aloha Everyone,

This is the first time I have really had the chance to sit down and write a little bit about my 2013 running to date. I am finally starting to feel decent again and I am starting to get my groove back. Thru January 18, I have run 154.48 miles so far (averaging 8.58 miles per day) and I have run 2 races, run 1 fartlek workout, and made 1 trip up and around Tantalus.

I started 2013 by heading over to Hawaii Kai and running the Bosetti 10k. I planned on using this run as a nice Steady-State effort and it turned out just about exactly how I planned. Some of the fast guys at the island showed up and did their racing at the front. The course was an out and back thru a very hilly neighborhood in Hawaii Kai. The course featured 438 feet of elevation gain—welcome to road racing in Hawaii! I ran 41:43 and felt totally in control the entire way–7th overall with a 2nd place finish finish in my age group. Happy New Year!

Next on the agenda was the New Years Resolution 12hr race at Kualoa Ranch. Sweet P posted the race details during the race, so I will spare you all those details. Here are a few key details in my opinion…
1) I had an absolutely AMAZING support crew–Pauline, Kris, Martina, Quetta, Jenn, and Ryan were absolutely incredible! They hung out in the darkness and made sure that I had everything I could ever ask for every time I completed one of the muddy, hilly, and at times rocky laps. Ryan also shot some sweet pre-race photos that I will post as soon as I get a chance. Thanks Team—No way I could do what I do without your support!!!
2) Race Director Jen and her team did a great job running off their first ultra. The course was challenging and they adapted to the needs of the racers throughout the race–Well Done!
3) As far as my performance goes…I think I ran very well thru 20 miles. Plenty of hills, mud, rocks, and dark along the way. I am stoked about my effort during that portion of the race and I think my fitness will start to feel the benefits of that specific effort soon. I would describe my final 12 miles as a nice hike in the dark. Big Mahalos to Jeff for walking the last lap with me. It was great hanging out and I hope we can get together to train soon.
4) This is the crazy one—the course was very slippery and rocky at times. Once the race was over and I got home to finally sleep, every time I closed my eyes, I felt like I was either slipping and jostling around or I felt like I was about to trip on a rock. Totally weird feeling and I have never had that kind of experience before. It lasted for about 10-15 minutes and then I was sound asleep.

The 2 workouts so far this year were a fartlek workout consisting of 5×6:30 ON with 1:30 OFF. This is one of my favorites and it went better than I thought it would. The other workout was a nice, controlled run around tantalus. It was a round trip effort up round top road and down tantalus. My lap time was 81:13–right about what I expected.

This weekend, I am racing twice. on Saturday, I will run my first road 50k at the Hilo to Volcano 50k. As the name implies, we run from the town of Hilo (at Sea Level) to the town of Volcano (elevation around 3900′). It is a pretty straight shot and I am hoping for a nice, consistent effort. If I can run well for the last 8-10 miles, that would be great. Other than that, it will be a great opportunity for a 4-4:30 long run. Kris is heading to Hilo to help out and maybe we can get him to post a few updates along the way. We will fly home after the race and then I will run the Chapson 8k in Honolulu on Sunday morning. I am very interested to see how my body reacts to the back-to-back efforts. If nothing else, my fitness will continue to improve after this weekend for sure!

Well, it is time to go jump on my flight to Hilo. I will write more and reply to the NYR comments this weekend!

Keep on Running

Michael

Michael finished the 7th lap (28 mi) at 7:14 and turned right around to head out for lap 8. It’s a rainy, muddy mess out there but the runners are hanging on!

Aloha all,

Finally a week where I was able to get in a run every day–and it felt great!
I was able to get in 61 miles this past week and I hope this is the start of new trend in my training. Saturday I ran my longest run of the week with Kent–we put in a chill 13 miles that included a nice long climb up into one of the beautiful valleys here on Oahu. I also ran my first workout in months–10×2 minutes ON with 1 minute OFF. I was able to run 4.25 miles in the 30 minutes of the workout and I was very pleased. This week I was able to squeeze in 2 runs under 7:40 pace.

Moving forward, I am going to separate my training weeks into the following mileage groups:
A=45-60 miles per week
B=61-75 miles per week
C=76+ miles per week

The upcoming week should be very, very fun with a few racing opportunities here on island. I am planning on jumping into my first ever New Years Day race by running the Bosetti 10k in Hawaii Kai. I am very curious to see what sort of effort I can put together now that I am feeling comfortable running again. Then, on Saturday night and Sunday morning, I will run my first 12hr race over at Kuoloa Ranch on Windward Oahu. The Resolution Ultra and Relay will be mostly run at night on a hilly 4 mile trail loop. It will be great to get out and just have a nice, relaxed & fun race. Sweet P and a few other friends will be out crewing for me at the race and we are looking into buying a small camping stove so Sweet P can cook me up some of her yummy homemade pierogi to eat along the route.

I am looking forward to a great 2013 and I think this week is the perfect start!

I hope all of you have a Happy and Safe New Year

MG

Aloha,

This week I am finally starting to feel recovered from the illness that knocked me out for a bit. I also finally made it back to my amazing massage therapist Barbara for an awesome 2 hour massage (I need to make sure I keep up with these every 3 weeks). The week consisted of 5 runs for a total of 36 miles. My long run for the week was 11 miles and I only need 48 miles to hit 2500 miles for the year. I think I can manage that over the next 8 days.

Right now I am just focused on relaxing while I am running and I am not very concerned about my pace during the runs. I will likely run the Bosetti 10k on New Years Day to see where my legs are so far. Then on the night of the 5th, I am going to run a 12 hour ultra here on Oahu and I am very excited to see how that goes. I know my fitness is not great, but I am hoping to use the lessons I have learned racing 100 miles and 100k to have a successful run.

I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate Sweet P. She is starting to run and today knocked out her longest run ever–7 miles and she felt great! I am super proud of her and we will likely keep you up to date on her training in 2013 as well.

Something new that we would like to start on the site….I think it would be great for people to post their weekly training or thoughts in the comment section of these weekly updates. I have individual conversations with many people who read the site and I think we could all benefit from the added accountability of posting a little bit about our training. You guys all inspire me to try to be at my best and I think we could all help each other as we chase our fitness goals in 2013. Please let me know what you think. No goal is too big or too small. I don’t think it matters if you are training for your first 5k or your 25th Ultra. We are all on the same team.

Have a safe and happy Holiday
Mele Kalikimaka

Michael & Sweet P