I was so THRILLED to receive this in my email box on January 6th! Thank you God! I had a few alternate plans to try to get into this race if I hadn't been selected in the lottery but this was the best! It also meant that my team was all in - there are 6 of us tackling Leadville this year from the Quad Cities (John DeDoncker, Rick Fountain, Curt Johnston, Pat Miletich, John O'Brien and myself). We had been training together but on January 6th everything became so real and the camaraderie which had been established immediately intensified. We are very excited, very motivated, and full of purpose. The journey since September 1, 2015 has been great - we just took it up another notch.
We have had an incredible month of training for Leadville! It has been really cold and really dark but we have hardly missed a beat. Only 1 Sunday in January did we opt to go inside due to weather. We are winning the mental toughness game and the longer distances are getting easier. 7 mile runs on Wednesday, +60 stairs on Thursday, and +15 mile runs on Saturday or considered minimum expectations and are not very difficult - our training has come a long way! On top of that, I have personally been injury free and my body feels in the best running shape of it's life.
Some things I have learned from previous Leadville experiences - never get too comfortable, be confident but not overconfident, stay positive, train hard and take care of your body. I have been paying close attention to my advice. I have not been doing my body any favors with my late nights of getting to bed combined with my early morning risings. Other than that, no complaints. My body feels healthy and my eating has been quite good. I have practically zero soreness in my body and it has been sustaining longer distances and stepped up stair and plyometric type workouts.
Feeling lousy for not blogging as I do love doing these posts but I have established a pattern of moving from weekly blogging to monthly blogging. I will aim to rectify this bad habit I've developed. The good news is that I have been working my buns off
(literally - my waistline has been getting slimmer with all this running and stair climbing). I guess it is better that I've been working out and not blogging as opposed to blogging all the time and not getting my workouts in!
12/29/15 - last workout of 2015. Treadmill workout at the Y.
30 minutes (level 6, incline 6) - last mile cranked both speed and incline to 6.5, 7,0, and 7.5. Tough workout - hadn't worked out at this combination before.
Rick, Jeremy, Mike
1/1/16 - great way to start of the new year - a workout!
In Florida retrieving Michael from his Disney internship - what a blessing that experience was! He loved it. Bittersweet for leaving a company he loves and respects but wanting to be back with family and seeing his nephew John Patrick who went from 3 weeks to 6 months while Michael was gone.
2 mile run along Cocoa Beach, FL. Good pace
1/2/16 - killer stair workout at 14 story hotel. 15 sets stairs with my altitude mask. On set 9 and 14 I went single steps instead of doubles but vowed to keep my mask on - which I did! 70 minutes - Orlando, FL
1/5/16 - tough, cold, windy, snow and ice covered bleachers and track. So we opted for hills instead of bleachers. used mask
2 sets of ....
7 hill runs
squat sideways for 40 yards - 2nd time through buddy squats 1-10-1 (100)
8 steeper, shorter hill runs
100 squats - 2nd time through buddy squats 1-6-1 (36)
3/4 mile run
15 yards lunges
15 yards duck walk
10 step ups on stone wall
10 single leg squats - one leg backward
10 single leg squats - one leg forward
1/4 mile run
Pat, Troy, Billie, Emily, Mike, Jeremy, Phil, John O, Kyle Dietz
1/6/16 - 7 mile run from Gold's Gym
Rick, Curt, Billie, Troy, Jeremy, Emily
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| Pat working out in Rhode Island he is working out all over the country! |
1/7/16 - Stair ladder workout 1-8-1 (64 total)
Jeremy, Troy, John O, Mike, Billie, Emily, Curt
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| a sign in the stairwell at work - love it! |
1/9/16 - 19 mile run
Rick, Curt, John O, John L, Emily, Billie, Troy, Mike, Jeremy
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rFbsOcoV9tg
go to 4:40 to see my awesome friend Rick Fountain
my wonderful friend Pat Miletich is featured throughout the video from 60 Minutes
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| Pat's plan to move into longer distances - laminated on his bathroom mirror - he is doing it - so proud of him - we will conquer the rest of it as it comes! |
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| Two of the toughest girls on the planet Emily and Billie they push the boys tremendously - awesome runners! |
1/12/16 - BHS Track, used mask
2 sets ......
7 single stairs
3 times across top row - squats
8 double stairs
2 times across top row - squats
1/2 mile run
30 step ups on 3 foot wall
1/2 mile run
Mike, Billie, Emily, Troy, Rick
1/13/16 - 7 mile run from Gold's Gym
Emily, Troy, Billie, Jeremy
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| Pat Miletich training in Colorado |
5, 10, 15, 20, 15, 10, 5, 6 (86 total)
Mike, Jeremy, Curt, Billie, Emily
1/16/16 - 16 mile run
Rick, Curt, John O, Mike, Billie, Troy, Emily, Andy Besser
1/17/16 - inside treadmill workout
5 miles of climbing at incline of 15
1 mile at 3.5
1 mile at 4.0
2 miles at 3.5
1 mile at 4.0
9 miles running at 1.0 incline
4 miles at 9:13 pace
2 miles at 8:30 pace
2 miles at 8:00 pace
1 mile at 7:30 pace
Billie, Troy, Emily
1/19/16 BHS track - altitude mask for most of workout
2 sets of .....
5 stairs
squat across top row
1/4 mile run
5 stairs
25 box jumps on 3 ft stone wall
1/4 mile run
5 stairs
25 yards of duckwalk
1/4 mile run
buddy squats - 77 first set; 80 second set
1/4 mile run
Emily, Jeremy, John O, Mike, Pat, Billie, Andy B, Troy, Curt, Rick
1/20/16 - 7 mile run
Andy B, Jeremy, Curt, Billie, Emily
1/21/16 BHS track
13 sets of 5 stairs
1 set of 10 stairs (75 total) - altitude mask
Mike, Emily, Troy, Jeremy, Billie, John O
1/22/16 - 4.5 miles
Billie, Troy, Emily
1/23/16 - 30 mile run - mask for 1/2 of the time
Rick, Curt, John O, John L, Mike, Andy B, Billie, Troy, Tony Huegel, Mark Theracoff, Phil
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| Our running buddy Emily in China - personal picture of the Great Wall! |
1/24/16 - 14 miles at the Farm Ghetto (Miletich residence)
Pat, Rick - Pat actually did 18 miles
1/26/16 stairs at BHS - mask 100%
2 sets of....
10 stairs
20 lunges
20 1 legged squats (10 with 1 leg forward, 10 with 1 leg back)
1/2 mile run
20 high knee circles
20 step ups
1/2 mile run
at the end of the 2 sets
100 buddy squats 1-10-1 - John Byrne leader
100 buddy pushups 1-10-1 (did not do well!) - Pat Miletich leader
Pat, Lyne, Phil, Mike, Billie, Curt, Jeremy, John O, Rick
1/27/16 - 7 mile run from Gold's Gym
Curt, Andy B, John L, John O, Troy, Billie, Jeremy, Nicole, Pat
1/28/16 - BHS track
109 consecutive stairs (50 with mask
9 stairs - 118 total)
Troy, Billie, Rick, Mike, Jeremy, Andy B, Phil
1/30/16
20 miles
John L, John O, Rick, Curt, Andy B, Troy, Billie, Emily, Tony, Phil, Mike, Jen Wikan (mask on and off)
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| Curt's foot after Saturday - he made it back on Thursday. Leadville training can be tough but Curt is more than tough! |
Pat, John O, John L, Rick, Jeremy, Nicole, Emily, Billie, Mike2/1/16 - 5 mile run from Emily's house
Emily, Billie
2/2/16 - BHS track - mask 100%
2 sets of .......
5 stairs
20 high knee jumps to chest
1/4 mile run
5 stairs
10 slow squats (4/2/4 - down, hold, up)
1/4 mile run
5 stairs
20 alternating lunge jumps
1/4 mile run - 2nd set - backwards run
after 2nd set - Boston Special
45 second plank
15 second rest
45 second plank - right foot off ground
15 second rest
45 second plank - left foot off ground
15 second rest
120 second plank - people were dying!
2/3/16 - 7 mile run from Gold's Gym
Billie, Troy, Pat, Emily - insideAndy B, Jeremy, Nicole, John - outside
2/4/16 - stairs at BHS stadium - mask
10 stairs
80 squats in circle
10 stairs
10 sets of 5 stairs (50) - total of 70 stairs
Lyne Miletich sent donuts over :o)
Pat, Rick, Curt, Billie, Emily, Jeremy, Mike, Phil
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| Emily's daughter Ella - scored one of our donuts! |
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| Pat, Rick, Billie, Curt, Mike, Jeremy John |
2/6/16 - 4:30 am start. 35 mile run - saw a whole lot of Davenport from many different perspectives - completed 5 different loops usually going 7-9 miles each. People jumped in and out throughout the morning so that was cool. We had people going anywhere from 4 miles - 35 miles.
Rick, John O, Curt, Jeremy, Andy, Mike, Billie, Troy, Emily, Tony, Phil, Jay, Renae
At 10 pm a few of us met at Pat Miletich's house to help him get a long run in. Since Pat's MMA commentating schedule is on Friday nights and he can't make Saturday mornings, we try to do some Sunday runs (or in this case a Saturday night run). Billie and Troy did 20 miles with Pat - I did 10 miles. A good day for me - logged 45 miles :o)
One heck of a month working out - I sort of became tired typing and reading this!
Dig Deep - Train Hard, Train Long, Train Up!
