Jennifer Pharr Davis AT Speed Record

UPDATE: She Did It! On Sunday July 31, 2011 at 3:26 PM she reached Springer Mountain setting the new AT Speed Record. I recommend taking the time to read through her blog. Her husband Brew Davis did a wonderful job of bringing the adventure to us all. I really enjoyed his writing style (humor) and pictures. Check it out at http://jenniferpharrdavis.tumblr.com/. 


A few weeks ago I was reading through Karl Meltzer's Hardrock 100 odds. After the odds I saw a paragraph on Jenn Pharr Davis's speed record attempt on the Appalachian Trail. Pharr Davis already owns the women's record at 57 days 8 hours and 33 minutes (2008). This time she is after Andrew Thompson's record of 47 days 13 hours and 31 minutes (2005). You can look up these records and read about them and others at the Fastest Known Time web site.

She is traveling north to south. At the time of this post she has completed 1257 miles in 28 days. She is somewhere in Shenandoah National Park. This puts her at an average of 45 miles per day. The last few days she has been logging over 50 miles per day. She will need to average around 47 miles per day the rest of the way to break the record.

I remember first hearing about and seeing Jennifer at the pre-race briefing for the Holiday Lake 50k. David Horton introduced her and told us about her planned AT record attempt. She was there to run the race and promote her book "Becoming Odyssa". I remember thinking how great it would be if she could pull it off and one up all the guys out there.

You can follow her progress on her blog. Her support crew is posting daily updates (I believe they are a few days old when posted for safety purposes).  Follow her on Twitter @JenPharrDavis. You can also check out her progress on Whiteblaze.net. Type her name in the search box to find the discussion on her attempt. The blog and the discussion boards are great reads and will give you some insight into what goes into such an endeavor.

This ultra runner is pulling for you Jennifer. GODSPEED!

6 Reasons to use a Treadmill

Treadmills have been around for a long time. There is nothing polarizing about them. The "I hate treadmills" camp is strong, but I have a hard time finding anyone in the "I love treadmills" camp. There is also a strong opinion that running on treadmills is easier than running outside on pavement. I am not here to argue this point one way or the other. I for one am on the opposite side of this and think running on a treadmill can certainly be harder than running on pavement outside (given the conditions outside are similar). It is fine if you disagree and I will not say you are wrong or right. What may be harder for may certainly may be easier for you.

There are some major advantages to treadmill running:

1. Uphill Training - Unless you live in the mountains you probably do not have access to a hill that theoretically never ends. A treadmill gives you this. If you do have access to long hills you will have to run down after getting up. This may not always be ideal if you are going for just an uphill workout. I am an ultra runner and love mountainous races. I live in an area with 0 hills. The treadmill is essential to prepare me for the long 1000+ feet climbs of most of the races I run.

UPDATE: Yurbuds Ironmad Earbuds Review

I have been through a lot of headphones. I listen to music or podcasts 100% of the time I am running on the road and probably 75% of the time I log on trails. It is very discouraging to pay big $$ for headphones to have them sound poor or fall out repeatedly while running. The Yurbuds Ironman headphones are “guaranteed” not to fall out. The looked pretty cool the first time I saw them at the store, but at $50 they were pricey. I had been running in and loving the Nike Sport Flow headphones, but after wearing out 2 pair it was time to try something new.

The Yurbuds come in an impressive package that includes a storage pouch, the headphones, and a set of replacement ear pieces. I tried them on and they fit well. I took them out for a short run and as advertised they did not fall out. At first they felt a little weird and I could hear a noise almost like they were making some microscopic movements in my ear. After a while it went away. I am not sure if I just zoned it out or it stopped all together. That is really my only issue and after I have used them a few times the noise is non-existent.

I established they worked well for shorter runs, the next test was a 50k race. If I could wear them for 5 plus hours while pushing hard they would be a winner in my book. The Yurbuds worked flawlessly and I did not touch them once during the race. They stayed in place and after a while I forgot they were even in my ears. At one point I turned off the music for some silence, but just left the buds in.

$50 is a lot of money to spend on headphones, but for me the Yurbuds Ironman series are worth every penny. I am not sure how durable they are and will report back once I get some more time in them. If I can get 6 months out of a pair of headphones I am happy and will gladly pay for another pair if they last that long.

Yurbuds has a lot of pictures and technical specs on their website. If you are considering buying a pair you should check it out at http://www.yurbuds.com/.

UPDATE:

I have now been using the yurbuds for 3 months. I have used them on 7 mile mid week runs and on 20+ mile mountain runs. They have held up well and sound quality appears to still be the same as when they were new. I cannot recall any time when they fell out of my ears and overall I am happy with them. At first I was not very impressed with their perceived durability, so far they have not let me down. I really think the jury is still out on this one. I have inadvertently pulled them out of my ears with no ill effect. Will they last for 4 months or a year or more? Time will tell. For the cost I am hoping I can get a year out of them. Well see………

I Hate Strength Training, But Its Important

I consistently lifted weights from the time I was 16 until I was in my late 20s. Then I started training for Ultras and my passion for throwing around iron quickly transitioned into covering miles. I have tried time and time again to get back into strength training as I believe it could make me a better runner. Time and time again I have pledged to do better and take time from running to cross train. The problem is I always fail. I LOVE to run. I can wake up at 5 am to run in the dark and watch the sun come up, no problem. Getting up pre-dawn to lift weights, no thank you. I will take my sleep any day over that. Maybe my problem is rooted in the lack of progress I see when lifting. If I run consistently I see measured improvement in energy, endurance, resting heart rate, body fat, and the list goes on. When I would lift consistently I did not see any real improvement. So what if I could bench press 10 more pounds this month than last month. Big deal, what does that get me in the real world, nothing. Covering miles, now that is something useful in the real world. 

It is not my intension to get scientific here. I am going to go on the assumption that strength training can make you a better runner. There are many extreme cases of this. Here is an article on a guy who only did the basic crossfit workout each day (with no additional running) and was able to run 80 miles in 24 hours. On his blog, http://ultratraining101.blogspot.com, ultra author Neal Jamison has written about and shared others experience with crossfit and ultra running numerous times (here and here) including Adam Eidson's 5:19 finish at Holiday Lake after running only 7 miles in the prior 3 months. Those are some pretty amazing feats for non runners and there has to be something too it. I am not about to go and take up crossfit. No time or desire for that, but I think we can learn a lesson from this. Strength training is important.

Backing up that notion is an article written by Dr. Bill Henderson over on irunfar.com. Dr. Henderson sites some studies where strength training of the legs made the subjects better at running. This is attributed to better running economy. I think we are on to something here.

So where does that leave us runners who despise lifting weights? I am a firm believe that to be a better runner you need to put in the miles. So we must find the balance between running and strength training. The balance where weights do not interfere too much with running and everything else we all have going on. This is a question we all must answer. I am taking the approach of more is less. My main strength workout is based on research presented by author and Master RKC Kenneth Jay in his book Viking Warrior Conditioning. Kenneth lays out protocols for increasing strength and VO2Max using the kettlebell snatch. Unless you have trained with Russian Kettlebells in the past this may not be a good fit. You must be proficient in the RK style of snatch or you will get injured. I am also going to do some basic movements, including pull ups, pushups, and squats. I will count this a success if I can get these workouts in twice a week. Ideally you would do the VO2Max 3 to 4 times.

I will keep you posted on how this goes for me. Hopefully it will work out and I will not fall off the strength wagon as my mileage and time on the road/trails increase.

Fun With Numbers - Analysis of my Average Weekly Mileage

I have been battling a calf injury for the past 2 months. This has left me with a little extra time to look at some mileage data. I started training for my first ultra in the fall of 2007. Since then I have kept track of my weekly mileage. I decided to produce some charts based on my 16 and 32 week averages. Below are those charts.

16 Week Average

32 Week Average

As one can quickly see my average mileage per week is at a low point right now. Part of this is due to some time off from injury, the rest is due to taking most of last summer and a few scattered weeks last fall off. On the contrary my race times are getting better. The last Ultra I ran was the Holiday Lake 50K and I cut off around 25 minutes from 2 years ago (also the catalyst of my injuries). Maybe if I can stay healthy and get my mileage back up I can make a run at a 100 this fall. Injury is going to dictate this. The first part of 2011 is lost, but God willing the rest of 2011 will be better.

If your interested - I produced these charts and keep my weekly mileage log in Google Documents. This "cloud based" service works well for non-technical spreadsheets and allows me access from any web-enabled computer or device. Drop me a comment if you want to know more about my setup.