The Road to Ultra

I guess it’s time to take a break for awhile.

Today I set out looking forward to a long run. I’d rested for several days and did not feel any issues with my foot. However, upon arriving at the mountain, I had only taken a few steps up the path when the pain came back. The pain is along the side of my foot (the outside) - it’s not in the ankle but below it. Not sure what it is.

At any rate my body is telling me I just haven’t relaxed enough to heel. This is extremely disappointing with a race coming soon. I’m definitely NOT ruling myself out of the race … I just need to make sure I rest appropriately and recover fully before tackling it. I made it to the top of the mountain and then limped my way back down. I actually had a good pace (the hill repeats have paid off) but I am just frustrated to not have had a quality long run in weeks now.

Perhaps the message is that I keep pushing too far, too much, too soon. I’m going to stop trying to force volume through frequency (i.e. lots of runs) and just focus on 3 quality runs (after taking AT LEAST a full week off to get rid of this injury). I’ll keep my hill repeats, have a pace run, then my long run. The fourth run just seems to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for me.

I also need to get more consistent with stretching and strength training. Something to focus on.

What was really nice was the time it took to head down the mountain. It was a pause to be in nature and "lost" on the mountain.

That’s when I was struck with a very acute realization: I’ve been burning the candle at both ends a lot, and haven’t taken much time to pause, slow down, and relax. I seem to keep thinking and hinting about it but not doing it. It’s really what my long runs should be but haven’t due to the stuggles I’ve been having lately with injuries, etc.

It is ironic because my latest video which I’ll post below relates to how thought is creative and our thoughts help manifest much of what goes on in life. If we allow our thoughts to randomly generate as they tend to, then we give up control but not focusing on intention. I haven’t "intended" much lately, instead I’ve set goals and gone with the flow but have let my thoughts run wild. It’s time to do a few things. First is to just pause and relax. It used to be a daily ritual to meditate and relax … it’s time to get back to that. Those moments are so important. In fact, if I were my own client, that’s the first thing I’d tell me to focus on … so it’s time to start listening to that inner voice!

The second is to start building a better routine. I wrote last week of dedicating the day to my family, and I had a phenomenal time this weekend. We went on a picnic, had a date, and it was great. I also need to carry that into the week. I’ve let some chaos creep in and it’s time to focus more on organization.

I’ve had a few people ask me if I felt God is telling me that I’m not meant to run the ultramarathon. I don’t believe this is the case. When I was training hard for a bodybuilding competition, I realized that I was only doing it for me. Not even as a positive act for me … I wasn’t pursuing the healthy benefits of training or achieving low body fat. I was in it for the vanity - here’s my muscles, now "I’ll show them" meaning the people who used to give me a hard time for being overweight and out of shape.

I realized this and prayed and decided that I would not pursue that goal. It was a humbling experience after committing so publicly and to so many people to stop and back out, but it was the right thing to do because I was pursuing it for the wrong reasons.

This goal, however, I feel is one I am called to. The issue is not the goal, it’s the way I’ve been approaching it. It is a journey to learn about myself and my limits … but instead I’ve been trying to force it, push it through, add mileage when I know I’m not ready or hit the long runs when I’m not fully healed. I’ve got to create more balance and I believe this is the lesson I’m meant to learn.

So I’m very much still in the game with the goal. What you’ll find with me is that I don’t mind if it takes longer or I have to try harder. That’s why I was successful with dropping fat. Failure isn’t falling down, it’s not getting back up after you fall down. I "fell" many times - tried dozens of diets and really lived in a "limbo" for 15 months as I struggled to shed fat and found all the ways not to lose it. But because I persisted, I eventually found the right combination (which turned out to be something inside of me rather than a nutrition plan or workout) and succeeded.

This is a similar journey. I’m learning a lot about what I’m missing, what I’m doing wrong, what it feels like to face defeat … but I’m getting back up, shaking the dust from my shoes and moving on. I will reach this goal but I also know all of the complications are part of the process and that I’ll continue to learn and grow as part of this journey.

How exciting!

That brings me to the next installed in the Weightloss Mindset Series, Weight Loss Mindset Part 2: Thought is Creative. I learned something myself listening to this seminar I presented two years ago.

Have a blessed weekend,

Jeremy Likness Originally posted: Humbled on the Mountain

Today’s Run: 5.16m
Run Time: 51:15 (9:56 minutes per mile)
Total Miles to Date: 539.0

Thoughts on the Run:

Again it was a busy day.

Again I was tempted by the idea that "I’m too busy, I’ll skip my run." But again, the hunger was there … the desire to succeed at this next attempt. My foot/ankle were not hurting and on the schedule I found I had a reprieve from hill repeats and it was just a nice, easy 5-miler today.

I decided to set out and get it done. I came home, visited with my daughter, then changed and headed out the door. In the past, my excuse for not running late at night has been that I’m hungry. I’m prepared now, however, to do what it takes to get in a snack or whatever so I have the fuel and just get out and do it.

My foot hit the pavement at 8:07pm and I had a great run. Near the end of the run, my foot was hurting again but not bad, certainly not worse than before. Tomorrow I’ll rest it again.

I was excited to review my schedule and see I made a mistake. I had thought my run for last weekend was supposed to be 20 miles but it was really only scheduled for 16. So the 11 I made was closer to the goal than expected. It is THIS weekend that I tackle the 20-miler. I’m excited because even with the foot injury, my feet seem to handle the hills well. It’s only the pavement that seems to bring out the pain.

I also adjusted my schedule. I’ve been doing a lot with my main focus in life (building the company Wandering WiFi) and of course have my second business and training, so I felt it was important to carve out a special time for my family. I’ve been running "ad hoc" on the weekends, usually working my butt off on Saturday then spending hours on Sunday running.

No more. The new schedule has shifted so Sunday is a rest day. I’m moving my long runs to Saturdays. And I’m doing all of my extra work on Saturday, too. Sunday is not just a "day of rest" for me, but a day of family. I’m devoting 100% to family and giving them the full 24 hours.

It feels great to have set those priorities straight.

I also am enjoying going through some older material. My audio collections have been sold to a company that is working on re-releasing them and I’ll have the details when that happens. I have some audio from some seminars and interivews, however, that did not make it out of the recording stage.

The first piece I’m putting together is based on an all-day seminar I conducted in 2005 in South Dakota. The first part of the day I focused on the power of thought and how it impacts physique transformation. I’ve turned that into a 4-part mini series. The first part has been mastered and released. I apologize that I don’t have a lot of footage to share, so it may get repetive with images, but the images are really there to illustrate what the audio is sharing.

Here is the first part of the series … I do hope you enjoy and are compelled to share with others if you find it provides value.

Warmly,

Jeremy Likness

Weight Loss Mindset Part 1: Power of Thought

Originally Posted: Gimping Along and Power of Thought

Today’s Run: 11.3m
Run Time: 2:21:13 (12:41 minutes per mile on average)
Total Miles to Date: 533.8

Thoughts on the Run:

I’d like to think the mountain was lonely and missed me. But perhaps that’s going a little far. Does it really care if I’m there to brave the 800 foot bluff? I’m confident there was a great showing today … the weather was fantastic and there probably were dozens, if not hundreds, of tourists and locales enjoying the weather and hiking up and down the various trails of Kennesaw. But me? I didn’t make it.

This week wasn’t the best week. After a great hill workout, I missed my other two workouts. And it wasn’t due to injury, although perhaps the fact I missed them was not all bad, and gave me some extra room to heal. Just a lot going on, busy schedule, etc, so the excuses crept in and the runs crept out.

Don’t get me wrong … I’m still hungry, but obviously I need to kick it up a notch and make it "willing to run 8 miles in the middle of the night" hungry instead of just writing it off. But, next week is a new week and new opportunity.

I DID run today. The reason I didn’t go to the mountain was because my daughter had a great ceremony at church today that I wouldn’t miss, and she wanted to spend some time at the park. So, I needed to cut out the commute time, run something that I could pace myself faster than a 15-minute mile and actually have some energy to play. I wasn’t able to hit the run until afternoon which is why Kennesaw was out of the question … it would be 45 minutes of drive time plus 5 hours on the mountain to reach my goal of 20.

Instead, I did something like this:

Just click it for the full-sized version.

As you can tell, it was only half of the promised distance. So what gives?

Well, first, a few NICE things about the run. I got to run my neighborhood which is notoriously hilly. It’s no 800-foot climb in the first mile, but has it’s share. The other thing was that it was hot. The race report shows 77 but I know it was in the mid 80s on parts. That was good because I need the experience for the run running up as it is smack in the middle of May when it will be HOT.

I loaded up my pack with 4 gels, 4 sodium pills, then filled the hydration pack with 60 ounces of fluid, naively thinking this would last me the full run. I had my wife and daughter drive me out to Canton Highway (5) and drop me off. Then I was on my way.

The first 5 miles went surprisingly well. I felt great. Despite the heat, I was taking plenty of fluid every 15 minutes or so and just nailed the miles as if they were nothing but an easy warm-up. 20 miles didn’t seem so bad after all. The second 5 miles were more hilly and the sun was hotter, so it slowed me down. Didn’t take me out, however. I did start to swell quite a bit and had some stomach pains. I was taking an S-cap and gel shot every hour and drinking lots of fluid so now I’m still confused whether I was drinking TOO much or NOT enough and if the salt was too little or overkill. I’ll figure it out … just when I had it right for the cold, I have to switch it for the heat. I suspect it was “not enough” due to the large salt stains on my pack and shirt.

I hammered out 10 miles and felt like, yes, this is a little more slow but I can definitely do 20. The plan was to make a huge loop, then come back onto Towne Lake Parkway that runs past our park, and call my ladies when I reached the park.

As I came out to start the big (final) loop, however, my friend from last week hit. It was on almost the same section of road so now I suspect the combination of running with shoes that have 500 miles under their belt and the camber of the road are what the problem is … anyway, I got the same pain in my ankle and foot.

I didn’t even think twice about trying to push it. I just stopped right there, started walking, and called my wife. “Surprise! Let’s do the park sooner.” She showed up with a fresh shirt and shoes. We went to the park and had a blast … I know I had it in me to do another 10 because I had plenty of energy, just couldn’t walk well on my foot. So, more ice tonight!

Afterwards we came home and I emptied out my pack. Guess what? I was down to only about 6 ounces of fluid left. So it would have been a tough 10 miles with no fluids … next time I’ll be prepared. I think I was drinking the right amount because a post-run weigh-in had me right the same weight as when I started (210 … seems I’ve hit a plateau and maintained for two weeks … that’s the fun of the “tens” … seems like most people, myself included, erect a psychological barrier over 200, 210, 220, etc … 200 is a big one too but I intend to be there soon).

So … great run considering, now my foot hurts so I’m glad I didn’t push it.

I’ve had a blast this week creating and posting up extra videos to the site (there is a new category in the articles section). I think I’ll start recording a few new audios or perhaps even videos to pair with some articles, etc.

Now it’s time for a nice dinner, bath, and some more family time!

Warmly,

Jeremy Likness

Originally posted: The Lonely Mountain

I’m very excited to share this dialogue and video of my transfromation:

The Power of Losing Fat, Not Faith

Jeremy

Today’s Run: 4.89
Run Time: 51:31 (10:32 minutes per mile)
Total Miles to Date: 522.7

Thoughts on the Run:

Two nights of ice, one day of rest, and I was ready to beat the hill into submission today. My foot is still a little stiff but getting better. I was actually excited about the opportunity to get out in the heat and tackle a few hill repeats.

I jogged down and began my repeats. Apparently I’m improving a bit because my average pace including walking downhill between every repeat was 10:30 for this run. It was tough but definitely not impossible and I’m looking forward to the next workout that increases the number of repeats. There were a lot of people out and about.

I pushed hard up the hill and focused on breathing and pace. I found that when I feel like my legs will turn to jelly and I feel like I am breathing underwater, I can still push a lot farther and come out fine. I believe pushing through these "sticking points" is what is going to ultimately improve my fitness overall. I’m certainly finding that I recover (heart rate down, catching my breath, etc) much more quickly after the repeats, when just a few months ago hills would render me "out of commission."

I think a real test will come on Thursday when I do a pace run at the local park … I did 5 miles at 9:30 two weeks ago, now I’m shooting for 8 miles at 9:30. Will be tough but not impossible and the course is relatively flat. I’ll play my 5 mile "recovery" run by ear because I don’t want to cut into my most important run, the long 20-miler at Kennesaw Mountain that I have scheduled for this weekend.

I’ve pulled some old audio programs from my previous company from the archives. There are several that I sold the rights to and look forward to sharing once the new company, Achieve Fitness, comes out with them. There was a weekly teleseminar I had where there is some content I still own. Some of it is interviews with industry professionals and I may put those together, but some were monologues related to the mindset of losing fat, one that focuses on the technical aspects, etc.

It is ironic because there are dozens of websites that allow free video uploads and hosting but almost nothing in the way of MP3. What I’ve found from some advice from others online is that people are making static images and uploading audio tracks as video with those static images. Interesting!

I created a mailing list that is accessible from the main side or in the navigation to connect with visitors and share things like these audio programs as I remaster them and make them available. My focus on this site is 100% free resources … I’ll continue to fund it simply through advertising and sales of my book.

Warmly,

Jeremy Likness

Originally Posted: Beating the Hill

Today’s Run: 6.49m
Run Time: 1:11:52 (11:04 minutes per mile)
Total Miles to Date: 517.8

Thoughts on the Run:

You can blame the rain for me not going to the mountain. I had no desire to trudge through sludge in the cold.

You cannot blame the rain, however, for me not working out. Because I did! I set out to do at least 12 in my neighborhood. I was toying with the idea of doing more just because the hills aren’t quite as severe (although I do have my fair share).

I woke up feeling sore and stiff and like I did not want to run. After some breakfast and waking up, I still felt a little "under the weather" but had the energy to run. I was determined to make an effort. The weather was nasty: overcast, in the 40s but closer to 30s with wind chill, slight drizzle and plenty of gusts.

I loaded up and started running. I think my first mistake was assuming that because it was so cold, I wouldn’t need as much fluid. I brought plenty, but just wasn’t drinking as much. Hydration is such a science … too much and your stomach sloshes and you have stomach pain, too little and you get dehydrated and lose performance.

The run actually felt phenomenal. After warming up over the first mile our so, I was in a nice rhythm. While it was cold, it wasn’t freezing, and I was dressed perfect for the weather. I warmed up but did not get too hot and actually welcomed some of the gusts, when they weren’t trying to blow me off the sidewalk into traffic.

I tackled the hills with a steady pace and managed to conquer even the longer ones without compromising my average pace of about 11 minutes for every mile. I like the run near my home because in my mind I can divide it into neighborhoods. I pick up a few miles in my neighborhood, another few in the next neighborhood, then another three, etc. There is a main road and then each subdivision has two entrances so I go into the south entrance, loop through the subdivision, and come out in the north entrance and continue on the main road.

I had just completed about six miles and felt confident I’d end up doing more like 13 or 14. I turned by a library near my house and headed down another road. Here, I’d veer off into the hilliest neighborhood of them all. I was actually looking forward to it, having missed tackling the 800 foot climb at the beginning of my Kennesaw run.

Suddenly I noticed my right calf muscle was aching. I decided I didn’t have time for this and that it would go away. I focused on having a nice, consistent stride and form, and pressed on. The ache stayed there, however, and while it wasn’t a sharp pain and wasn’t getting worse, it wasn’t going away. Ironically, it seemed to disappear for a few moments, and then suddenly came back and this time a shooting pain radiated from my calf down to both sides of the ankle of my foot. The pain subsided, but there was still some discomfort..

I didn’t press it this time. I know when my body is tapping me on the shoulder saying, "Hey, enough!" The last time I "ran through" some pain, I ended up out of commission for a few weeks. So I stopped and began walking. It was rapidly becoming more stiff, so I called my wife and asked her to pick me up.

She was there in a few minutes. Running in the cold is a catch-22. If you keep running, great. The instant you stop, however, look out. I was drenched in sweat and no longer running, so I began to slowly freeze. Fortunately, my rescue crew arrived and had my seat pre-heated!

We rode home and just that short ride caused my leg to become completely stiff. I could barely walk on it. The pain is by my ankle and in my lower calf. I’m sure it’s an issue from me adding so much volume of training … but I’m also confident I stopped soon enough and didn’t push it too hard, so if I rest, I should be able to recover fine.

The reason I feel it’s probably a classic case of overtraining is because after cleaning up and having a meal, I felt nauseous. My heart rate hadn’t slowed much and it almost felt like I had a fever (we checked it, and I didn’t). So, I took about a three hour nap.

Now I feel much better and recovered. My leg is still sore - it’s interesting that it is a combination of what feels like simply a strained/sore muscle (my lower calf or soleus) and a stiff/twisted ankle. We’ll ice it and see where we go from here. I probably have pushed it a little hard this week and just needed to take a break and catch some rest.

So that’s exactly what I’ll be doing right now!

Jeremy

Originally posted: Blame it on the Rain

Today’s Run: 8.07m
Run Time: 1:24:26 (10:28 minute mile)
Total Miles to Date: 506.3 (hey, I cracked 500!)

Thoughts on the Run:

Today was a nice, pleasant run. I don’t think eight miles ever felt so good.

I was too tired this morning to think about running, and with the longer mileage didn’t think it would fit well with my schedule. So, when I arrived home, I was out the door at about 7:30. The sun was just setting and temperature was perfect.

I started out steady. I did not pay attention to pace at all - this was a fun run, getting in some midweek mileage, not pushing hard, but not forcing myself to go slower like on tomorrow’s recovery run, either. I ended up maintaining a fairly consistent pace with splits like this:

9:48 / 10:24 / 10:43 / 10:17 / 10:27 / 10:37 / 11:14 / 10:15

What was really nice was that I had lots of energy and did not struggle at all. I just brought 20 oz of fluid because I knew it was late and cool. Running up Kennesaw and the hill training are already paying off. I did not have to stop once during the run. I can’t recall a longer run in a long time that I was able to get up all of the hills without slowing to a walk.

In fact, at the end of the run with six miles under my belt, I hit "Goliath." There is something about having done 4 repeats on this hill earlier, doing just one run to the top seemed trivial and I pushed up it no problem. I felt great and finished strong.

Dinner was a nice bowl of pesto pasta with some bread dipped in olive oil. My drink of choice lately has been 3/4 glass of Peligrino with a splash of all natural orange juice. Delicious!

I made a new gadget as well. I have a book I was working on that has well over 200 questions and answers. So, I decided to load these and have a Question of the Day. I greated a gadget that shows a new question each day with part of the answer. You can add it to your Google homepage here or put it on your website by grabbing the code here.

Have a blessed evening,

Jeremy Likness

Originally posted: Easy Eight Running Late

Today’s Run: 4.83
Run Time: 55:20 (11:27 minutes per mile)
Total Miles to Date: 498.2 (oh, so close to 500!)

Thoughts on the Run:

Today was my first set of hill repeats.

Now, listen carefully, because there is a miracle at work here. While this was not the fastest, longest, or hardest run, it was part of a process that I want to share.

I woke up this morning and was feeling stiff and tired as usual. However, I had no doubt in my mind I would work out.

It’s part of that amazing process. You can tell from my logs that I struggled for months and skipped workouts and made excuses. Then, I had the ultimate lesson on the pavement at the ING Georgia Marathon. This transformed me and created a hunger for pushing forward and pursuing excellence.

That hunger pushed me to a point where it was no longer about "if" I would workout.

It’s difficult to "create" those moments. I know, because when I lost my weight, I spent 9 months doing an "almost good enough" job. I wasn’t confident, and each day was a toss of the coin whether I would actually work out or not.

Something gave me the hunger and a switch flipped on inside of me. I had a perfect 12 weeks, not deviating from the plan, lost over 30 pounds during that period and placed as a Top 2000 Finisher in the Body-for-LIFE competition.

That same switch flipped on when I experienced a DNF (did not finish) at the marathon. When it happens, you have truly made a choice. That’s where people fall short. In fact, the first chapter of my book deals specifically with making the choice. Not just saying, “I am going to do it.” Not just thinking, “I’ll try to do it.” But having a choice that is made on a level so deep you could not possibly fail to stick with the plan.

That choice was made for me after the marathon, so it has been no problem sticking to my nutrition plan or exercising. It’s so easy when we truly DECIDE and don’t just “try” and leave ourselves excuses and “outs” to fall back on old habits.

I received a call from my friend, Shane, about an hour before I was going to hit the run and he agreed to join me. That’s great because he’s a strong runner and would be a lot of motivation.

So, I set out and jogged to the start. The segment I’d be running was on Goliath, a large 1/2 mile hill. For my repeats, I’d be doing just over a 1/4 mile segment between two subdivision entrances. It was mostly uphill to get there so I was good and warmed up by the time I met Shane. We jogged to the base and plunged up.

My goal was a 10 minute pace, but I think I was doing better. We plodded up and I felt like my legs were dissolving and my lungs were going to explode and I couldn’t possibly keep moving but I made it the distance and we walked back down.

Walking downhill was at a 14-minute pace … not bad. I felt fully recovered at the bottom and we set out for our second repeat.

That finished. Again, I felt like I had plenty. Came back down, did it again.

The third time I felt my breath struggling a bit more and my legs started to ache really bad near the top. But, I still made it, and I knew I had enough left for the fourth and final repeat.

We walked down, then kicked it into high gear. It seems we were averaging about a 9-minute pace and we slugged it up the hill.

What was even more fun was the “active recovery” when we finished. Shane jogged back to his house and I had a good mile (mostly downhill) to mine.

My mile splits never exceeded 12:23 so with walking down that meant our repeats were at a pretty good pace.

Okay, here’s the part I wanted you to look out for:

I FEEL TERRIFIC.

That was a tough workout. To push with everything you have to make it to the top and then know you have several more waiting for you isn’t easy. The hills caused my lungs and legs to burn. But I knew the entire time I’d keep pushing and something interesting happened …

Earlier my runs were struggles. I’d take a ragged breath and think about how difficult it would be to keep moving.

This was different. Each ragged breath made me feel like, “GREAT … NOW I’m pushing myself, NOW my body is going to improve.” I felt the substance of the workout. It no longer was a painful struggle to finish, but I welcomed the challenge and pain because I knew I am getting in better and better shape. I could feel how much easier the hills will seem next time … and my hope to challenge the steep course of the Twisted Ankle increased.

Jogging back, I felt phenomenal.

And then it clicked. THIS is the zone. When you first start out, sometimes it’s tough to stare down that piece of chocolate or slice of pizza or donut in the office. It just tastes so good, right? And what’s a little here or there.

But if you have faith and stick with it long enough, suddenly you get that from your workouts, not your food. This workout just felt SO GOOD. I ended it craving the next one and feeling confident that I won’t falter … because I endured the tough part: fighting through the pain of creating a new habit, balancing this with other things, etc. But now that I’ve been consistent and really focused, I can see the pounds melting off again. I feel lighter. My heart rate is improving. The hills are getting easier. And I’m hungry … hungrier each time to do more, improve, beat the hill, log the miles, and live fit.

How exciting is that?

It’s good to be back.

I finished the run and jogged home to swig down a nice electrolyte replacement drink. I just loaded a new article that includes a calculator to estimate your necessary fluid intake. Read about it and use the calculator at The Long Haul.

Warmly,

Jeremy

Originally posted: Hill Repeats: Taming Goliath

Today’s Run: 16.41m
Run Time: 3:52:47 (14:12 minutes per mile)
Total Miles to Date: 493.4

Thoughts on the Run:

First, Happy Easter everyone!

On July 13th, 2003 I accomplished a personal goal. From my blog posting on that date:

The hike was incredible. I was very nervous, I have no clue why, probably just coz I was leaving the house for so long, but when I got there, I knew I was ready to do it. I had toyed with a lot of ideas throughout the week … So Friday night I just decided … yes, I will do the hike .. and the rest was history.

The goal had been to hike the entire trail system at Kennesaw Mountain, and I did it in 5 1/2 hours.

Today, four years later, I returned to tackle the same feat. Only this time, I did it running.

My goal was to average a 15-minute pace and finish in just over four hours.

I came to the mountain well prepared. I’d already tackled the main, steep climb last week in 18:22 so had a definite time to beat.

A company called Enervit had contacted me prior to the ING Georgia Marathon and promised to send a “race pack” for me to try out. It arrived two days. Too late for the marathon, but perfect for my run this weekend.

The race pack included pretty much everything I’d need on the run:

A powder to mix for electrolytes and calories during the run,
Several “shots” (like Clif Shots) for added calories and energy,
A “cheerpack” (hey, cool name, huh?) which is supposed to provide a burst of energy without caffine,
And a post-workout mix to replaced branch-chain amino acids.

I mixed the drinks in my hydration pack, loaded up the shots (added a PowerShot I had left over) and added some CLIP2 because I knew that the 1 liter of drink wasn’t going to last me the entire run.

To be quite honest, I was trying to talk myself out of the run this morning. I woke up just feeling tired and run down. When I went to take the dogs out, my right knee was throbbing in pain, forcing me to limp. It just didn’t seem like it would happen.

A few hours later, however, I felt fine. And no, just because a few weeks have gone by, I haven’t lost my desire or drive. I’m still hungry. So I packed it all up. I wore a CoolMax type long sleeved shirt with a thin pull-over over that, long running shorts, wore my New Balance cross country shoes, threw on my bandana and was set to go.

When I arrived at just after noon, it was terrific. It was freezing cold but the sun was shining and the skies were clear. I didn’t waste much time … just a quick trip to the restroom to relieve myself and then I hit the trail.

Here is my mile-by-mile breakdown of the run:

Mile 1: 16:52

This mile is part of the infamous climb up Kennesaw. I’ve included the profile view for you below (just click on it to see the bigger picture).

As you can see, it’s easily 600 feet the first mile.

I felt like I was struggling but I pushed farther than yesterday.

Mile 2: 15:37

I reached the summit during this mile. It took me 17:40 total, or a full 40 seconds faster than last week. REAL PROGRESS! I had already taken a few swigs of my liquid. I’ve settled into a pattern of 3 - 4 swallows every 15 minutes, but that strategy will have to change - I’ll explain later. At the top of the mountain, I had my first shot of the Enervit product. I must say, I enjoyed it better than any shot I’ve had … the reason is it is not as thick as Clif or Power shots, so it went down a lot easier. This one was Cola flavored. Yum!

This climb mostly went down the back of Kennesaw. It is very technical with lots of boulders. I LOVE TECHNICAL. I had forgotten how much I enjoy running extremely rocky trails with lots of roots. I think it has to do with the mind always looking ahead and anticipating. I bound here and there. Most people are afraid and pick their way through these sections (and for good reason, they can be dangerous) but I’ve always felt sure-footed and bound down.

Mile 3: 13:51

This mile climbed up Little Kennesaw (much smaller) and then down a series of highly technical switchbacks. I just kept thinking to myself how much fun this type of terrain is, then my knee started getting tender and reminded me it doesn’t enjoy it quite as much as I do. At the end, I descended rocky Pidgeon Hill and crossed Burnt Hickory Road.

Mile 4: 12:27

Mile 4 was over the rolling hills of Burnt Hickory loop. There is a nice, wide path and not too many steep hills. I veered off a side trail that is more technical but still fairly easily and packed with pine and leaves so the ground was soft.

Mile 5: 13:54

This mile is a fun one. You follow a creek for a bit, cross over on the “bouncy bridge” and then follow the creek again to finish the technical side of the loop.

Mile 6: 12:52

Mile 6 crossed over to Cheetham Hill. This is a long out-and-back path that follows the road to the Illinois monument. Nice, easy run.

Mile 7: 12:53

Kolb’s farm is another splendid run if you don’t like steep hills. It follows a fairly rolling terrain. The scenery gets interesting because part of the trail is over a marsh on a boardwalk. I crossed over Dallas Highway.

Mile 8: 12:01

I was picking up speed on the easy terrain. More of Kolb’s farm loop.

Mile 9: 13:45

Mile 9 was a great mile. I knew I was halfway done, and at the furthest point from my car in the run. This loops past a copse of native bamboo. There was a nice drinking fountain and I followed Power Springs Road in direct sunlight and warmed up a bit.

It was here that I began to realize I had a chance of beating my goal. While my pace had been over 16 minutes the first part of the run due to the steep climb, the pace kept creeping down and was faster than a 14-minute mile at this point.

Mile 10: 13:25

In mile 10 I began looping back. I had another shot but began feeling a little tired. My spirits were lifted, however, knowing I was heading back. I had to walk a few hills but always picked up the pace and ran strong on the flats and downhills. At one point I slammed into a root. I stubbed my toe but felt like I also rubbed the bottom of my toe and worried that I might have gotten a blood blister (I didn’t).

Mile 11: 13:54

I began looping back. Quite a few hills so more walking led to a slower mile.

Mile 12: 14:26

Mile 12 brought me back to the main road leading to Cheetham Hill. I was getting tired and slowing down but also knew I had one more segment behind me. I pushed on and crossed over back to the Burnt Hickory Loop.

Mile 13: 12:27

A good bit of downhill helped on this route. This time I didn’t take the side trails that were more technical, but headed straight down the main fire path. This is very wide and covered with gravel. It was an easy, pleasant run and I was able to pick up some speed.

Mile 14: 22:46

There were several reasons why this was my slowest mile. The wheels did not come off, but I did face a technical challenge. I had run out of fluid, so I went to mix my CLIP2.

Challenge one: the wind was blowing and my hydration pack was wet so the sides were sticking together. I had trouble getting the powder into the pack and ended up covered in it. People were staring, wondering why I was standing in a cloud of pink dust.

Challenge two: I then went to pour water into it. The drinking fountain shoots a high stream. The wind turned this into an ineffective spray, so again it took some time to actually get liquid back.

I finally got it. The next challenge was that the climb across the street is very vertical up Pidgeon Hill (about 300 feet over 1/2 mile) and my legs were burning.

This is when I decided to take advantage of the “cheer pack.” It tasted like cough syrup, but I must say, I did feel like I had a boost of energy. Placebo? Anyway, no ill side effects and 100 extra calories in my system.

Mile 15: 12:55

I began picking up the pace because I knew I was on my return loop. This was challenging with lots of rolling hills so I did a bit of walking but kept going strong. I was conscious of the time I lost at mile 14 and was set on finishing in under 4 hours, so I stubbornly pushed hard to trim off the time and get some solid speed in. I was elated to get 12:55 after already running 14 miles.

Mile 16: 14:23

This mile was frustrating because I was getting so close but there was a long uphill. I walked part of it, then realized I was losing time so I jogged it (albeit slowly).

Mile 16.4: 4:20

Then I could see the parking lot and kicked it into high gear. I cannot tell you how happy I was to come in at 3:52 - almost 8 minutes under 4 hours and almost 15 minutes ahead of my goal. My overall pace was a 14:11 minute mile when my goal had been 15-minutes.

The Aftermath:

How does one feel after climbing 2,374 vertical feet over the course of 4 hours, and burning more than 2,000 calories? Pretty good. My legs were jelly but not dead and I knew I could have gone further if needed. I brought a dry shirt, socks, and new pair of shoes. I inspected the damage to my feet. Just a small blister on the side of the ball of my foot, and some rubbing on the tops of my toes, but nothing major.

So far (knock on wood) no black toenails!

With all my electrolytes, shots, etc, I had consumed nearly 1,200 calories on the run and ingested about 64 ounces (4 pounds) of fluids. I then drove to Starbucks and rewarded myself with an Espresso Brownie and a Caramel Macchiato.

After arriving home, even after all of that, I was still down 2.5 pounds (207.5 from 210) or over 1 percent of my total weight. That means I need to step up the fluid ingestion … probably 6 swigs per 15 minutes, and in the heat that may go up to 8.

I’m doing a 12 mile run next week to “rest” and then after that will tackle the mountain for 20 miles (doing the Kolb’s farm loop TWICE .. right now I don’t even want to try to conceptualize that).

Here is a satellite scan of my run (again, click for the larger picture):

The main mountain is on the right, and Kolb’s farm is on the left.

After finishing this run, I’ve also logged my highest volume week to date at 31.6 miles. It’s substantial for me but a far cry from the 60 - 80 miles many ultrarunners and even marathon runners do on a regular basis.

Here is the progression of my weekly mileage since September 2006 when I first started tracking this:

The only other thing to mention is a little hobby of mine. I have been having a blast using Google Gadgets so I decided to try my hand at making a few. The result is a new calculators section at my website. I’ll add more but the fun part is that you can syndicate them easily onto your own web page.

Okay, now it’s time for a massive dinner and some relaxation to start the recovery process. Take care and again, Happy Easter!

Warmly,

Jeremy Likness

Originally posted: Kennesaw Mountain in Under 4 Hours