Olympus Sylus 850 Sub-Compact Digital Camera

I am thinking of purchasing the Olympus Stylus 850 camera. It is small enough to fit in a pocket and is waterproof to 15 feet. I think this could be the ideal camera for the avid outdoorsman / woman. It does not get the best review for picture quality and only has a 3X optical zoom, but at 8 MP I think the digital zoom could be used some as an option. Any opinions on this camera?

Promise Land 50K is THIS WEEKEND

I know it has been almost a month since I last wrote, but I have been really busy running, schooling, and being a family guy.

The PL is only a few days away and I am getting excited. I have felt better before a race. Yesterday I ran 10 miles, with 90% in grass or very easy trails. I really need to work on running endurance as most of my no walking-break runs have been 7 miles or less. I struggles sustaining my pace at mile 8. I think I should follow a marathon type program this summer for a few months before I start ramping up long runs prior to the Masochist. Hopefully this will help me get faster and stronger, while building up a long RUN to 16 - 20 miles. I know I could run without waling that far now, but I want to really increase my pace through this distance. I am thinking about following the Hansen program that Steve Runner talks so much about. Anyone have any opinions on this program?

24 Miles At First Landing

I ran at First Landing on Saturday. It was a beautiful day and I had a great run. The run was highlighted by a spirited sprint the last 2 miles as I was using another runner who had passed me as a pacer. This day was completely different than last week. The weather was perfect and I saw a lot of squirrels and birds in the forest. I was listening to a Steve Runner on the Phedippidations podcast talk about "who do you run for". I have been thinking a lot about that lately. Who do you run for?

Week Summary:This week was pretty disappointing. I missed 2 easy days of running and was 10 miles below my goal mileage. I did get my hill, fartlek, and long run in. I did not lift any weights, which was a priority.

Weekly Total: 38 Miles 3 Week Running Average Mileage: 32 Miles

Plans: We are going to Pennsylvania for Easter. I am planning on running the first 20 to 30 miles of the Laurel Highlands trail one day and the last 10 in the dark another day.

Promise Land 50K Preview

My next planned race is David Horton's Promise Land 50K. This is the second race in the Lynchburg Ultra Series. It takes place on April 26 in outside of Bedford Virginia. The Holiday Lake 50K++ was so well organized that I am now a huge of Dr. Horton's race directing abilities along with his ultra running accomplishments.

The Promise Land 50K is a much different style of race than the Holiday Lake 50K++. Holiday Lake is very runnable with not a lot of elevation change, where Promise Land is run in the mountains with a lot of elevation change, as you can see below.

 I have started to run at Mount Trashmore City Park once a week in preparation. There are no hills in Virginia Beach so my options are limited. I have been running hard up one side and even harder down the other. Most runners drop out of ultras from suffering from Dead Quads. This condition is caused by downhill running. The downhill part of the race is the best opportunity to "make up time" from all the uphill climbing. My training also consists of a weekly 6 to 8 mile Fartlek run, daily easy runs, and a 20+ mile long runs on the weekends. I like to do the long runs at First Landing State Park. I feel this race is going to be perfect preparation for the Laurel Highlands Ultra, which takes place on similar terrain, has less elevation gain, but is twice as long.

Is anyone up for a Saturday long run in beautiful Bedford Virginia the end of April?

Blue Ridge Mountain Sports Rocks

Blue Ridge Mountain Sports is great. I bought a pair of Montrail Hardrock shoes there last week. I ran in the shoes over the weekend, the signal knob run. They did not work out and my feet were hurting 5 miles in. Then I place a second set of insoles in them with the arches cut out and ran 3 miles in them again. My feet fell asleep. These shoes are not for me.

I called up BRMS and asked if I could return them. I felt kind of bad returning used shoes, but he said clean them up and bring them in for us to look at. The next day I returned them for a full refund. What makes this even more remarkable is the fact that I bought them on clearance at 50% off. This store rocks. I will be a lifelong supporter of them. I just bought a pair of La Sportiva Fireblades on sale form there website. Support Blue Ridge Mountains Sports!