This is the original text from my flyer for my 30 mile run on my 30th birthday. It is completely unedited.
30 miles on my 30th Birthday
Umm, what?
Truth be told, this is greatly inspired by two people, Chris McDougall and Brian Ayers. The former is the author of the book Born to Run, which is how I got into running in the first place. Because of him, I was inspired by a story of people running great distances, one of which being Caballo Blanco, who also just up and decided to run 30 miles on his 30th birthday. Later in the book you find a group of super runners running amazing distances. When you read about people running 100 or 200 miles at a time, you begin to think that 30 miles is nothing. So, on June 8th, 2011, I will turn 30 in the midst of a 30 mile run.
The latter is a coworker here who I consistently hound about running. For better or worse, he seems to be running more and more. I am all about “Put Up or Shut Up” and I frequently try to convince him to run with me. The distances are always twice as far as he has ever run. Why? Because I think anyone with a little determination can run twice as far as they ever have before, given no time requirements to do so. So, to that effect, I have only ever run about 14 miles in a single run. So, Brian, here you go!
All training and information will be recorded on my blog at http://barefootstrength.blogspot.com. I am sure it will just be a wild recording of this whole journey. I will try to include pictures and hopefully some video as it all builds up. My training started officially on April 1st and recording information in preparation since March 22nd.
The Rules:
Why rules? Of most people I know, I am probably the least interested in rules and much of how I train goes against the conventional “rules” of strength and conditioning. The rules below are really guidelines to create an effective challenge. Given enough time and resources, most people could run great distances. But to run a great distance AND provide limiting factors up front creates a different story. Below are the rules and the reasoning behind each rule.
1. I can not train for more than 10 miles in a single run or over a single day.
Most people can go farther than they think. Most people also think that you need to have increasing mileage to prepare for a long endurance event. I do not agree with this (to an extent). I believe good form and good mechanics can create excellent results for the average athlete (this is surely not true to those competing in long distance events for time). Additionally, most of the training done will NOT be running but exercises that attack my running weaknesses.
2. I can not go down in strength. These will be defined as 1 rep max of the Squat, Deadlift, and Standing Press.
Some people believe that strength training is for body builders. I have found that strength and size are often two entirely different animals, although they do crossover at some point. The goal behind all this is to show people that they can do more than they think they can. Gaining distance but losing strength is simply a trade off and not really doing more of anything in particular, it just shifts your focus. By keeping both at high levels of performance, I will be adding to my overall abilities. The measures of strength used are the Squat, Deadlift, and Standing Press. These have been reviewed over and over in the sport world and are the foundation to any serious strength-training program regardless of sport. Any program lacking these basic lifts is not complete and is almost universally performed by the elite level athlete. Numbers are below, set on March 22nd prior to any training specific to this event. Reps and form meet the guidelines set forth in Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. The only modification I have made is to eliminate the use of any assistance (lifting belt, straps, gloves).
Squat – 245
Deadlift – 315
Press – 145
3. Nothing on the feet (but this should not be a surprise).
Anyone who has spent a few minutes talking with me knows that I am not a fan of shoes. But, beyond that, I simply feel awkward with anything on my feet. I also get a kick out of the reactions I get from people when they see me without shoes. It cracks me up!
4. I must complete the run in less than 5 hours.
Sure, this is not a blitzing pace, but it does force me to not just walk the whole thing. I also believe that this pace allows me to keep some form of overall strength beyond running. Going faster or getting better at any physical discipline demands a loss somewhere else and that is not really the goal here.
The Guest List
Yes, I am actually inviting people to participate in the madness with me. I already have a few people under my belt. I invite anyone and everyone (TCC member or not) to join me for all or part of this adventure. You can even join me by proxy by doing your own run on the big day (for those of you not in CT). Even half a mile of company will be a welcome break from what is sure to be a physically challenging experience. The run will start outside of Hartford, having several stations in Hartford for people to join, and then end back at my house in Windsor. Anyone is welcome to come to the finish at my home for some well-deserved drinks and food! See the course map to see where I will be running. Also, I will try to keep an updated guest list with the names of everyone joining me and their mileage commitment.
If you would like to participate, please contact me with a quick hello or at Michael.quasney@beproactive.com
Challenge Everything
