Week 28 - Training Continues .... Going Strong .... Excited for August

It takes a long time to catch up on blogging 5 weeks of workouts! I don't want to wait this long again :o)  The group has been working hard and I can see improvements in every person - Leadville guys, pacers, and friends. It is impressive to go back and look at what we were doing in September and October for weekend distance and hill work on the stairs and compare it to what we are doing today - we have progressed a tremendous amount.  There are only 156 days until the Race Across the Sky. We have been training hard for 198 days. Since our training will essentially be done by August 1st, we really only have 136 days of training remaining and our training is really very close to being 60% complete. It feels good to know our training is well over 1/2 over - we have persevered through many dark and cold mornings. The weather is getting nicer and the race is getting closer - excitement continues to build. We have some significant, long training runs yet to complete but our bodies are adapting and we are more prepared than ever to take on longer runs and more intense workouts. My confidence rises with each passing week that the Quad City Leadville 6 (John DeDoncker, Rick Fountain, Curt Johnston, Pat Miletich, John O'Brien, John Byrne) is going to experience tremendous success on August 20th in Leadville. The confidence this group is acquiring is justified by the difficult workouts is enduring. We have a committed and knowledgeable crew accompanying us on our trip and I have no doubts they will take care of us throughout the race.

We are finalizing details on the charities that we will be raising money for with this race - you will be hearing more about this in the future but we are proud to be supporting the efforts of HAVLife and the Naval Special Warfare Family Foundation (NSWFF). HAVLife provides disadvantaged youths opportunities to participate in athletics and arts programs whereas NSWFF assists the families of Navy Seals who have been injured or killed while serving our country.



A summary of what we have been up to in the past 5 weeks is summarized below.....

2/9/16 - Indoor at YMCA. 2 sets of the following:
              Treadmill 5 minutes - incline 12, speed 4.2
                               5 minutes - incline 15, speed 3.5
              wall sits 45 seconds rest 15 seconds
              wall sits 45 seconds
              Indian Run around gym - 22 passes
              15 squat thrust jumps
              100 straight leg jumps - 25 two leg, 25 right leg, 25 left leg, 25 two leg
              10 slow squats 4 sec down, 2 sec hold, 4 sec down  (14 on 2nd set)
              10 sit outs - wrestling move
              planks - 2 leg for 1 minute, 15 sec rest, right leg up 30 sec, 15 sec rest, left leg up 30 sec, 15
                sec rest, 2 leg for 90 seconds
              leg lifts - 10 seconds of the following:  6" off ground, 12" off ground; 24" off ground; 24"  
                legs wide: scissor kicks, flutter kicks; 6" off ground
 Rick, Curt, Pat, Jeremy, Lyne, Billie, Troy, Emily, Phil, Mike



2/10/16 - Indoor at YMCA - Treadmill run - incline 2.0
               6.0 for 1 mile    - 10:00 pace
               6.5 for 1 mile
               7.0 for 1 mile
               7.5 for 1 mile
               8.0 for 1 mile
               8.5 for 1 mile
               9.0 for 1 mile   - 6:25 pace
Pat, Curt, Jeremy, Billie, Emily

2/11/16 - Indoor at YMCA - Irish workout
1 hour 4.2 miles - incline 15 - speed 4.2
17 minutes with mask
Pat, Curt, Billie, Troy, Mike, Jeremy, Lyne



Group gets crazy when I'm out of town!


2/14/16 - 2 hrs incline on treadmill - Wisconsin Dells
60 minutes - incline 12  speed 4.2 - 16 minutes mask on
60 minutes - incline 15  speed 3.5 - 45 minutes mask on

2/16/16 - Bettendorf HS Football stadium
2 sets of the following:
5 stairs x 3
1/4 mile run
100 straight leg jumps - 25 2 leg, 25 right leg, 25 left leg, 25 2 leg
40 lunges
10 slow squats
26 step ups on stone wall
Indian Run - 12 passes - 1/4 mile

Bonus - 90 buddy squats

Emily running in Germany!



Played intramural basketball at night fell hard on my back - took next day off :o(  Group photo without me on a 7 mile run - great job gang!



2/18/16 - Bettendorf HS Football stadium
5 sets of 9 alternating with 5 sets of 4 - 65 total
65 buddy squats
Curt, Billie, Mike, Andy B, Troy, Phil
workout felt good - helped workout some soreness


2/19/16 - 7 mile run



Our good friend John Lawler tearing it up at the Chili Chase - roughly 6:40 per mile pace - outstanding!

2/23/16 - Cardinals Workout
2 sets of the following:
7 stairs x 3
10 slow squats
50 lunges
100 straight leg jumps - 25 2 leg, 25 right leg, 25 left leg, 25 2 leg
26 step ups on stone wall
Indian Run - 1/2 mile

bonus round - 60 squats
Billie, Curt, John O, Mike, Troy

  

2/24/16 - 5 mile run
Billie, Curt, Nicole, Pat, Troy, Jay, John O

2/25/16 - Bettendorf High School Track
15 sets of 4 = 60 total
toward end - did 20 in a row
buddy carries up the stairs (carried Rick and Pat)
23 push ups
Rick, Curt, Billie, Pat, Andy, Mike



2/27/16 - 20 mile run
Rick, Tony, Andy B, John L, Troy



Awesome interview with an amazing guy - Pat Miletich!

http://informedcompetitor.com/2016/02/27/pat-miletich-interview-part-i/

 Pat Miletich the Competitor - Interview Part I - The Informed Competitor

3/1/16 - Barracuda workout at Bettendorf High School Football Stadium
2 sets of the following:
4 stairs - squat across top row
4 stairs - 30 second deep squat
4 stairs - 75 second plank
1/4 mile run
100 yard dash
25 yards lunges
25 yards duck walk
25 yards high knees
25 yards straight leg kicks
1/4 mile run (1/8 mile backwards, 1/8 mile forwards)

bonus - Wichita State Shocker
Karaoke Indian Run - 12 passes facing one way, 12 passes facing opposite way

   

Pat, John O, Emily, Jeremy, Mike, Troy

3/2/16 - 7 mile run from Gold's Gym - altitude mask for 2 1/4 miles - moved to 15,000 feet
John O, Curt, Emily, Jeremy, Nicole, Billie

3/3/16 - 76 er workout - Bettendorf High School Football Stadium
5 sets of 7 and 5 sets of 6 - 65 total stairs
altitude mask entire time!

Jamaican surprise - 70 buddy squats, 60 buddy squats



3/5/16 - 22 miles - altitude mask for 11 miles
John O, John L, John D, Andy B, Curt, Emily, Billie, Phil, Tony, Troy, Jen

   

New wristbands came in today - I'm so psyched! Loved the old ones too but bummed that the lettering blended into the wristband. The black ink makes it very readable.

3/8/16 - Clover workout - altitude mask entire workout
2 sets of the following:
100 straight leg jumps - 25 2 leg, 25 right leg, 25 left leg, 25 2 leg
3 sets of 7 (2nd set 6, 5, 5, 5)
25 lunges up, 25 lunges back
20 slow squats
12 push ups
planks - 45 seconds - 2 leg; 15 seconds right leg up, 15 seconds left leg up, 45 seconds - 2 leg
1/2 mile Indian run
Pat, Lyne, Billie, Emily, Jeremy, Mike, Jay, Phil

   

Great memories of the most amazing Leadville runner ever - Matt Carpenter - 2005 all time record

http://skyrunner.com/story/2005lt100.htm

3/9/16 - 7 mile run
Pat, Isabella, Billie, Troy, Emily, Jeremy, Nicole, Andy, Curt

             

3/10/16 - Bettendorf High School Football Stadium
80 stairs - altitude mask entire time
10 sets of 5; 10 sets of 3
Core workout - 15 crunches; 15 sit ups - elbow to opposite knee; 15 supermans, 15 back extensions, 5 side planks each side - raise arm and pull through under body
Mike, Jeremy, Billie, Emily, Troy, Phil


3/11/16 - 9 miles - fast 2 miles at end

3/12/16 - 6 miles
Rick, Curt, John D, Billie, Troy, Phil

3/14/16 - 7 miles - fast 2 miles at end

3/15/16 - Bettendorf High School Football Stadium

  

March Madness workout
2 sets of the following:
6 stairs
1/4 mile run
25 yards lunges
2 minutes of planks - 30 seconds 2 legs, 30 seconds right leg, 30 seconds left leg, 30 seconds 2 legs
6 stairs
25 jumps on stone wall
1/2 mile Indian Run

Play In Bonus
30 mountain climbers
20 crunches
60 seconds leg lifts
60 seconds right side plank
60 seconds left side plank
60 seconds plank
Billie, Curt, Emily, Mike, Phil, Troy

Phil Pancrazio - MVP of the day - awesome workout - he killed it!

3/16/16 - Gold's Gym



7.2 mile run
Billie, Emily, Troy

A great month of training - looking forward to reporting future progress!
Stay strong, stay positive!

Week 23 - Where the H*** have I been? Destination LEADVILLE!

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

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

a sign in the stairwell at work - love it!

1/8/16 - 4 1/2 mile run

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

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!

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

Pat Miletich training in Colorado

1/14/16 - stair ladder
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

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)

Curt's foot after Saturday - he made it back on Thursday. Leadville training can be tough but Curt is more than tough!

1/31/16 - 7 1/2 mile run from Bettendorf Y. Great run from State St up 23rd St hill
Pat, John O, John L, Rick, Jeremy, Nicole, Emily, Billie, Mike

2/1/16 - 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 - inside
Andy 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

Emily's daughter Ella - scored one of our donuts!

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!