Preview
The summer if officially here, I successfully completed my “A” race and now its time for a little variety (see below) before ramping things back up for Silverman in the fall.
Recovery from SD100
It’s been two weeks since my "A" race and I’m happy to say that I experienced little to no soreness from the effort--testimony to proper training and conditioning. On the flip side of that, I’ve been totally drained of energy. It’s been tough waking up in the mornings and by mid-afternoon, my eyes feel heavy and it’s a struggle to stick-out the day.
I’m starting to do stuff again which is a good sign and this past weekend was the perfect summer weekend to be outside. Friday after work, I joined a group of friends and colleagues for a 1-mile swim out of La Jolla Cove sans wetsuit--68 degree water. The water was clear and it was the perfect way to start the weekend.
Marie’s training
Marie and I met Mindy at Mission Trails at 6am Saturday morning and I only made it 8 miles before my legs had enough. The girls went on, through the triple-digit heat, for 20 miles.
Marie and her girlfriends are registered for the Headlands 50 on August 9, so they have been dialing in their training. For Rebekah and Mindy, this is their first 50-mile ultra run with 50K being their longest effort to date. Marie’s debut 50 was in January at the Avalon 50 and she did great so she is excited for more technical terrain and to share the experience with her ultra running buddies.
New book
While I was waiting for Marie to pick me up after her run and head to the beach, I started reading Racing the Sunset: An Athlete's Quest for Life After Sport by Scott Tinley. I breezed through the first 100 pages and I’m really into Tinley’s writing style and the introspective nature of someone who was so passionate and dedicated to reaching their potential in the sport of triathlon when the sport itself was in its infancy. There’s a much deeper message that Tinley is offering as he recounts his struggle with the transition from athlete to the next stage in his life. I’m excited to dive back into this one again soon.
Summer training, travel and races
Sunday morning I joined Jesse and Emmy for a few hours on the bike. He rode north to Del Mar and climbed our way back south through Torrey Pines and over Mount Soledad. It was another hot day so length and effort of our Sunday scenic spin was perfect. Emmy is training for Vineman 70.3 and the three of us did an open-water swim tonight at La Jolla Shores.
Cross-training
Today was my first ActiveX Training workout since... last year? I’m really excited to be back out there and impressed with how many new folks have joined in the fun.
Today’s workout:
50/40/30/20/10 reps
• Double-jumps
• Push ups
• Sit ups
• 400 run
Travel
I’ve got a couple cool trips lined up in July starting with my birthday weekend getaway to Lone Pine, CA. Marie and I are going to camp at the base of the Sierra Nevada in the Alabama Hills, just two days before the start of the infamous, Badwater 135. The race travels from Death Valley, which marks the lowest elevation in North America at 280 feet below sea level, to the finish at Mt. Whitney Portal at 8360 feet. The Badwater course covers three mountain ranges for a total of 13,000 feet of cumulative vertical ascent and 4,700 feet of cumulative descent. The last 12 miles climb over 5700 feet and Marie and I are going to run this section while we’re in Lone Pine to pay tribute to these runners and also to preview this section of the course for the day I take on the challenge 
Badwater 135
Cruise
At the end of July, I’m joining my family for a week-long cruise from NYC to King's Wharf, Bermuda. I’ve never done anything like this so I’m stoked and I’m thrilled to have an entire week with my family in such a unique setting.
Race
My next race is the Accenture Chicago Triathlon (Olympic distance) on August 24. I’m excited for this event, the chance to travel to a new city and the opportunity to finally meet my teammate, Trish, whom I’ve been working with for a year and a half.
Recap
The summer is already off to a great start and I'm excited to shares these fun adventures with you all along the way.
All the best,
~Toby
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Active Toby's Adventure Blog
22 Posts tagged with the training tag 1 2 Previous NextBetween work, tapering for the SD100, preparing all the logistics for the race and the rest of my life, things have been very busy lately. As you'll see from this post, I've got nothing to complain about. Life is good and I've never been happier. Thanks again to everyone for the emails, phone calls and messages. I'll post more about the countdown to the race next week, beginning on Monday. In the meantime, check out whats going down here in SD:
Competitor Magazine and hosted an evening with running legend Dean Karnazes and filmmaker JB Benna last night at the historic La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas. There was Papa Johns Pizza for sale before the show and I loaded up on 5 slices. This reminds me; everyone keeps telling me how skinny I look--what’s up with that? It’s definitely something new for me to hear but I feel great and stronger than ever so that’s all that matters right now before the big race next weekend. It’s not skinny, its “lean” come on people, get it right Oh and now that I mention it, I went another hole smaller on my belt this morning…
...Now back to the show. The president of TCSD, Brian Long, publicly thanked the heroes who came to the assistance of club member, Dave Martin, who was tragically killed in the shark attack last month. They were called up on stage and met with a standing ovation from the sold out theater. It was a very special moment and I’m glad they were recognized for their brilliant actions under the most unfortunate of circumstances.
In addition to the Ultramarathon man himself, there were so many endurance athletes in attendance; the energy in that room was uncanny. I especially enjoyed from our beloved Marine Corp Marathon online community. He’s in town for the San Diego Rock n’ Roll Marathon on Sunday and we sat together during the movie. Jimmy has run tons of marathons and from the sounds of it; he’ll be crossing over to the ultra marathon scene pretty soon. We both agree, the film is great and even better news; the film has been selected for national syndication.
Dean is truly inspirational and his values of inclusion of others and the promotion of health and fitness on a national scale make him a hero in my eyes and you'll see from the movie that he has a growing number of loyal followers who have all been inspired. After the showing, Dean Karnazes and JB Benna the filmmaker were on stage for a QnA. Dean actually ran from Sonoma to San Diego for the movie premier, traveling the coast from Mission to Mission along the way to raise awareness for their delapatated condition. He covered 700 miles in a week and a half and he's running the San Diego RnR Marathon this Sunday. Next week, he’s' off to run across the Gobi Desert as he attempts the 2nd race in the Desert Grand Slam Series. Dean keep's a that gets a little bit more attention than mine but maybe one day I'll get comments like he does
Here's the trailer from the film but keep a lookout because it will be in theaters this summer. Check the JourneyFilm website for updates. Without further adieu:
Tomorrow, I'm going to fit in a quick 13-mile run and head over to Barnes and Noble to finally meet Active Expert Matt Fitzgerald and film his Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Pre-Race Clinic called "The Art and Science of Marathon Pacing." Matt will speak for 30 minutes and then answer questions. Copies of Brain Training for Runners will be available for purchase and signing. For more information including time and directions, check out the Endurance Sports Blog.
Best of luck to Jimmy and the rest of you all running the marathon on Sunday. I'm playing chauffeur, super-fan and photographer for my friends who are running the marathon to help repay my debt for their support next weekend as my crew team at SD100. I'll be out at the start on the east side of 6th street, on the little bridge above the band when your heading south on Park blvd., then down on the west side of the 163 and over at the finish line taking pictures and video.
Make it a great weekend everyone!
~Toby
Last week marked the peak in my training--20 hours of running. I’ve slashed a full 50% off my training volume this week. The idea of cutting back this close to a race can appear counter-intuitive but in the endurance world, it’s a well-known strategy called tapering. I turned to Active Expert, Gale Bernhardt for guidance in outlining my remaining schedule to ensure I fully benefit from all my hard work done to date.
Gale: “There are lots of ways to structure the workouts in your taper weeks. One way is to apply the percentages above to your long runs and fill the remaining hours during the week with whatever is left. I'd keep the Friday, Sat., Sunday structure that has gotten you to this point and just scale those runs back. Run commuting may become a problem just due to distance and time. Fill in with the bike to keep your legs from too much pounding.”
Week 5/12: 8 hours preferable, no more than 10 for sure.
Week 5/19: 14.8 hrs (80% of max)
Week 5/26: 9.25 (50% of max)
Week 6/2: 1.8 hrs (10% of max: Run 30-40 minutes Monday, Bike 45-60 Minutes Tuesday, Run 20-30 minutes on Wednesday with Thursday and Friday off. The run, bike, run days are mostly aerobic and can include a few 20 second accelerations (not all-out fast) with lots of rest.)
I’m following Gale’s advice and structured this week around a SD100 group training run on the second loop of the race course Saturday. Plus, it’s supposed to be a scorcher this weekend so I can get more exposure to heat training.
This week is National Bike to Work Week and it’s been good getting back on the bike and the short break from the run comes as a relief after last week's volume. Here’s the week breakdown:
Week 5/12: 8 hours preferable, no more than 10 for sure
Mon: OFF
Tues: Bike, 1hr15
Wed: Bike, 45m
Thursday: Yoga, 1hr
Fri: Bike, 1hr15
Sat: Run, 6hr (Cuyamaca State Park)
Sun: Swim, 1hr (La Jolla Shores)
Month-to-date:
My peak training session for the SD100 began Friday with a 16-mile run-commute and then I purposely stayed up all night to simulate race-day conditions and started a 39-mile trail run at 3AM Saturday.
It was pretty spooky running solo because I was in a nature preserve and there were creepy sounds in the woods and brush. At one point, I saw 2 sets of really large eyes staring at me from the underbrush--I was running on the flight or fight response the whole time!
I made it alone from 3-6AM and the cool part was at 5:15AM when it was light enough to turn off my headlamp and flashlight. It felt really good to have the sun back and I'm glad I will have a pacer with me for the entire night portion of the SD100.
At 6AM, I met Carrie Smith and her friend Paul and we ran another 13-mile loop, 15 minutes faster than my first loop. I was really happy to see them and have their support.
At 9AM, Carrie and Paul left and Airey arrived. So did the heat. The last loop took longest; my feet were sore but not much else. We finished at lunchtime Saturday. I got to sleep by 2PM and slept until 7PM, woke up, went to an amazing sushi dinner, stayed up until midnight with good company, good beers and finally got to use the fire pit in the backyard.
I got up Sunday at 8AM with no soreness and met Jesse and his girlfriend at Mission Trails Regional Park. We ran a 7-mile loop together and then they left and I ran the same loop 2 more times. I was great having these guys come out to support.
Total weekend mileage, 60.
I've run for more than 80 hours in the last 6 weeks.
The hard part is over and my taper has begun!!!
The week is well underway; I've recovered properly from the weekend mileage with rest both Sunday and Monday and a bike commute yesterday. Today, I’m back to my run-commute and Friday, I’ll do the same. Saturday, I’m planning on another 30 miler in Cuyamaca State Park. We’ve had high winds, hot temperatures and low humidity since the end of last week but we’ve seen a quick change and its cooling off which will make the long run Saturday less of a drain.
The race is in 37 days and I'm still feeling good about where I'm at. It's hard to feel "confident" because 100 miles is such an unknown but I do know that I've been responsible about increasing my volume without risking overtraining or throwing off the balance in the other areas of my life.
The loss of SD triathlon club member, Dave Martin, has been on lots of people's minds this week. It's been surreal as it was such a blow to the local community but locals were out in the water all weekend with the hot temps and many have resumed their routines of open-water swimming and of course, surfing. There have been some interesting reports released from shark experts like in this interview with Marine Biologist and shark expert Jeff Graham from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. They were able to recover shark teeth from Martin’s body and measured the distance between the bit marks to determine the size of the Great White at a minimum of 15 feet.
Also, part of the Los Penasquitos Canyon that I ran in 3 weeks ago burned in a brush fire on Sunday. It's right below the Active Network headquarters and we can see the whole affected area from the office. The spring is off to quite the start!
On a more positive note, the Triathlon Club of San Diego published a little blurb about my half-Ironman race in Oceanside in the May club newsletter which I've attached. It's on page 3 and 6.
I hope you all are having a great week,
~Toby
It was great to meet/run with new folks during the SD100 group training run on Saturday. There were 9 of us to start out, 7 of us went 20 miles and 4 of us went 28 miles. Run time was 5:34 a swift 12-minute mile pace, 20-mile split was 3:58 and 25-mile split 5:06. (Thanks for the data Jill)
I added 9 more miles after the group left for a total of 37 miles on the day. My final out and back effort was slow but steady as the trail climbed from 4000’ to 5000’ in 90 plus degree temperatures. I’m glad I pushed myself for the extra distance.
Running in new shoes was a relief and so was taking yesterday off to rest 
4/25: 14M Run-commute
4/26: 28+9= 37M Cuyamaca State Park
4/27 0M
Next weekend:
5/2: 14M Run-commute
5/3: 30M Cuyamaca State Park (Second Loop)
5/4: 9M Mission Trails Regional Park
April training log
6 weeks to go!!!
My long training session this weekend marked the end of another 70-mile week in preparation for my first 100-mile ultra marathon. I’ve been training on the SD100 race course in Cuyamaca State Park frequently so for a scenery change, Marie and I got on the Noble Canyon trail located 45 minutes east of San Diego in Pine Valley, California. From the top-down, its one of the most popular downhill mountain biking trails in southern California so running up it is perfect for my training. The trail climbs over 11 miles to the Sunrise Highway for a vista of the Anza-Borrego Desert.
My beautiful view
At the top of Noble Canyon, we crossed Sunrise Highway, connected to the Pacific Crest Trail and traveled south for a gorgeous stretch on the PCT with the desert in full view. Instead of looping back on the Big Laguna trail that reconnects to Noble Canyon, we opted to run on the road for a few miles back to meet the trail. The lollipop-shaped route then descended back into Pine Valley for a total of 31.5 miles.
4/18: 14M Run-commute
4/19: 31.5M Noble Canyon Trail
4/20: 9M Mission Trails Regional Park
I was strong all day, legs never got tired and training is on right track. 7 weeks until the SD100!!!
Friday I did the run-commute to-and-fro making sure I began Saturday on semi-fatigued legs. Plan was to run 24 with the SD100 training group and an additional 19 on my own for 43 on the day. I was stoked for a solid pace because this crew of ultra runners is legit--some are training for WS100, SD100 and AC100.
I was on the road by 6 am to Cuyamaca State Park and 49 miles into my 50-mile drive I realized I forgot my running shoes. During my long drive back to SD, I was really upset with myself for making such a careless mistake, especially since I had to run solo all day because of it.
I stopped at my house to find my shoes, drove to Peñasquitos Canyon and started running at 8:30 am. It must have been 80 degrees down in the canyon and temps continued to rise. My legs were solid, but I barely managed 26 miles because I was nauseous from the heat.
Sunday, while Marie was at tearing it up at the San Diego Mud Run, I warmed up with a few miles in Lopez Canyon and then stopped by to watch Airey race in a criterium. After that, I returned to Peñasquitos Canyon for more punishment. I was happy to get 13 more hot miles in and called it quits with 16 on the day, 70 for the week and only 10 shy of my original goal.
4/11: 14M
4/12: 26M
4/13: 16M
It was good for me to go back-to-back-to-back and its a great sign that my legs never got tired or sore. The conditions from the weekend took a lot out of me but it was a firm reminder of the challenge that I’m committed to for the next 8 weeks.
Updated Training Schedule:
4/18: 14M Run-commute
4/19: 33M Noble Canyon Trail
4/20: 9M Mission Trails Regional Park
4/25: 14M Run-commute
4/26: 26+24= 50M Cuyamaca State ParkCuyamaca State Park
4/27: 4M (Marie--La Jolla 13.1)
5/2: 14M Run-commute
5/3: TBD
5/4: 20M Lake Hodges
5/9: 14M Run-commute
5/10: 52M Peñasquitos Canyon (PCT?)
5/11: 18M Mission Trails Regional Park
5/16: 14M Run-commute
5/17: 30M Cuyamaca State Park
5/18: 20M Lake Hodges
5/23: 14M Run-commute
5/24: 24M Pacific Crest Trail
5/25: 13M Peñasquitos Canyon
5/30: 14M Run-commute
5/31: 9M
6/1: 0! (Marie--SD Rock 'n' Roll)
6/2: Memorial Day
6/5: Steve arrives
6/7: SD100
6/8: SD100
Will I get the Silver Buckle for a sub-24 hour finish?
The Bronze buckle for a sub-31 hour finish?
Or DNF?
Stay tuned for updates as I continue to train my body and mind for the San Diego 100 Mile Endurance Run on June 7-8.
Along with the extra mileage on the trail, I've been "kickin' it up a notch" in the kitchen because of a noticeable increased in my appetite for quality grub. Thus I've been in search of relatively simple meals that pack a whole lot of power (efficiency) In addition to upgrading my go-to Rocket Fuel, now featuring Quinoa instead of brown rice, this mouth-watering Salmon dish has become an instant favorite.
Surfing Magazine presents...
Mango Cilantro Salmon
What you need:
2 pounds fresh, wild salmon
1 white onion
2 cloves garlic
1 lemon
1/2 cup cream or half/half
1 ripe mango
1 tblespoon butter or olive oil
What you do:
Combine onion and chopped garlic in a saucepan with butter, medium heat. Saute till the onion is caramelized; add mango and lemon the stir in cream. Reduce heat, simmer for a minute or two, then cover and turn off heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Now, in a separate sauce pan, add 1/2 tblspoon butter over medium heat. Add one clove garlic, chopped. Cut salmon fillets into 4 pieces and add to sauce pan, Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook three to five minutes per side, thicker takes longer. Don't overcook! Rare is better than dry. Fish will flake when done. Add sauce from other pan, serve with couscous/Quinoa/brown rice and veggies. Bon apetit!
Your turn. Hook us up with something tasty!
Check out Cookin' Up a Storm: Healthy Recipes By Melissa
Weekend:
I met my friends Carrie and Jesse, who were my teammates in the La Jolla 10-Mile Relay Swim, for a 2-mile open-water swim on Saturday. It was our first of the season because temps are still below 60 degrees. I thought it was going to feel colder than it did which was a nice surprise. The swim went well and I'm glad we got out there at least once before the Ford Ironman California 70.3 on March 29, in Oceanside, CA.
Monday:
The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour is making a stop at the San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park this week. I scored Marie and I tickets for tonight’s showing. Check out this epic preview:
Tuesday:
TCSD track workout
Wednesday:
TCSD master’s swim workout
Thursday:
I’m meeting Tara Coleman, CCN for a Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) test. Tara has been a long-time Active Community moderator with an extensive nutrition knowledge-base. Check out and be sure to ask her any of your sports nutrition related questions.
Tara is going to help me devise a nutrition strategy for my 100-mile run in June. The RMR test will provide a baseline to help us determine how many calories I will need to ingest during the 31-hour race. Tara is going to analyze the foods that I use during training to determine how much I will need to have prepared for the race. It is critical that I relay this information to my crew team so they can monitor my food intake throughout the race. I’m really excited to gain this knowledge because it’s going to make me that much more prepared to step into the unknown.
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Inspiration
A few weeks back, I randomly met a local endurance athlete who is also training for the SD100. Jill Childers joined me and my SD100 crew team out in Cuyamaca State Park for a 20-mile trail run. We chatted with her during the run and Jill was really cool and super fit. I asked her about her experience in Kona in 2007 but it wasn’t until reading this interview from Competitor called Bouncing Back, when we learned of her truly inspirational story. Check out how Jill recovered from a life-threatening bike accident to compete in the 2007 Ford Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
Make it a great week!
Saturday morning, Marie and I made our third-straight weekend pilgrimage to Cuyamaca State Park for our last long trail run this month. We got on the second portion of the SD100 race course for seven hours. There are still lots of downed trees blocking the trail from last year’s firestorm. No way will these be removed before the race which will be quite the surprise for runners who haven’t previewed the course. They got the best of Marie on several occasions. Her sexy legs still look sexy, but were badly scraped by the end of our 27-miler—ouch!
We’ve now scouted the entire race course and I’m feeling optimistic. I’m confident in my support crew, even more so now that it includes my brother—making a guest appearance from the east coast. Secondly, I’m stoked because my fitness level is right where it needs to be. This became more evident when the alarm sounded at 6:30 am Sunday--my legs were fresh and I crushed an 8-mile recovery run, followed by 2.5 hours on the bike like it was nothing. Training at altitude is amazing!
Monday, I spontaneously took the day off from work to capitalize on a mountain bike trip with my good friend Tim. He got us full suspension bikes for the day because he is scouting trails out near Idyllwild for a trail running event he is directing in October. The route we took was by no means suitable for this type of running event but we still had blast.
Training for my first 100-mile run is exciting and throwing a half-ironman in the mix has made it even more fun. The Ford Ironman California 70.3 on 3/29 is almost here. I’m going to hold off on any more long runs until April. Once April hits, I’m going to peak with some serious mountain running sessions (including night running sessions) into the beginning of May and then taper down to harness the energy for 6/7-6/8.
It’s been a bit since my last post and it’s not because I didn’t want to post--it’s because I got hit by a car while riding my bike and we needed to see if my injuries were going to be permanent for legal reasons. It was pretty scary at first because I was really beat up. After a bunch of trips to the doctor and lots of rest and proper nutrition, I got the “ok” to resume physical activity last week.
This setback could have been much more serious and it’s an important reminder of how precious life is--things can change in an instant. This has brought my girlfriend, Marie, and I even closer in the past weeks as she was there for me when I needed her most.
Marie’s friends Rebekah, Mindy and Meg have volunteered to be my crew team for the San Diego 100 Mile Endurance Run on June 7-8. We all met in Cuyamaca State Park last Saturday and this Saturday to run sections of the race course together and discussed our race strategy. They’ve run 8 ultra marathons between them and crewed for Active Expert Joe Decker in last year’s race so they have a solid base of experience.
I’m starting to get excited as the race is less than 100 days away. My base fitness level is solid so I’ll be introducing some more challenging distances and terrain in the near future. Much of my confidence at this stage comes from knowing I have such an awesome crew team organized already. They will be my brain during the race. When it comes to running for 24-31 hours without stopping, I need to be concerned with as little as possible besides placing one foot in front of the other. They will be meeting me at check points throughout the race, feeding me, making sure I switch my shoes and socks and most importantly, taking turns pacing me from mile 50 to 100. This stretch takes place through the night and into the next day, when things get “interesting.”
Your continued support here in the Active Community is very much appreciated as well. I can’t begin to tell you how helpful it’s been for me to interact with you all on a regular basis. On Monday, I’m always excited to come back into the office and check in with you guys, to read your stories and to share mine. Thank you all. Your friend, ~Toby
