ADELANTE!

Mo, 3/24-4/5/2014 Rest - Injured Soleus from Drive Su, 4/6/2014 2.0 mile progression at Hollifield with 575ft of elevation gain in 14:21 Total 2 Miles with 575ft of Elevation Gain

Mo, 3/17/2014 7.2 miles easy thru snow starting at Rockburn with 558ft of elevation gain in 1:08:44 Tu, 3/18/2014 6.1 miles with 10 x 1' fast, rec. 1' at Tide Point in 43:31 * 5:48, 5:48, 5:27, 5:53, 5:19, 5:33, 5:16, 5:44, 5:07, 5:17 We, 3/19/2014 7.6 miles easy thru Patapsco fire roads with 593ft of elevation gain in 55:10 Th, 3/20/2014 4.8 miles around Ft. McHenry in 25mph winds with 4 miles fast in 21:50 * 5:42, 6:03, 5:54, 5:35 Fr, 3/21/2014 5.2 miles easy at Patapsco with 657ft of elevation gain in 43:56 Sa, 3/22/2014 Haulin' in the Holler 50K in 4:10:27, Course Record * 3,123ft of Elevation Gain.. here was an awesome recap from Dayton McKivier... pretty funny. " Josh crushed the 2:04 course record by 13 minutes and he ended up running over 16 miles. Had he not tact on extra, he would have been sub 1:50 on the hard course. Travis came in right under 2 hours, also over 16 miles. If you don't know the mile to kilometer conversion, 16 miles i...

Mo, 3/10/2014 8.1 miles moderate thru muddy Patapsco with 630ft of elevation in 1:04:01 Tu, 3/11/2014 10.0 mile progressive out-and-back at Patapsco with 1,309ft of gain in 1:18:24 We, 3/12/2014 6.6 miles with 7 x 300m (r. 1') + 7 x 600m (r. 1') on dirt/road in 50:41 * 5:21, 5:32, 4:59, 5:34, 5:00, 5:19, 5:05 + 5:45, 5:05, 5:36, 4:56, 5:25, 5:01, 5:28 Th, 3/13/2014 7.0 miles moderate thru Patapsco off Landing with 910ft of gain in 57:59 Fr, 3/14/2014 7.3 miles easy thru Patapsco with 1,073ft of elevation gain in 1:04:26 Sa, 3/15/2014 6.3 miles with 4 x Rockburn Branch Loop with 626ft of gain in 55:04 * 6:30, 6:19, 6:12, 6:11 (rec. 3') Su, 3/16/2014 12.9 miles steady thru Patapsco North with 3,634ft of elevation gain in 1:45:52 Total 58.3 miles with 8,172ft of Elevation Gain

Mo, 3/3/2014 Winter Storm Titan - Recovery & Mobility Tu, 3/4/2014 4.1 mile regeneration in the snow at Patapsco with 661ft of gain in 42:28 We, 3/5/2014 7 miles at Tide Point with 5 x 1' (r. 2') + 5 x 2' (r. 1') + 4 x 1' (r. 1') * 5:11, 5:35, 5:01, 5:34, 5:13 + 5:18, 5:02, 5:16, 5:06, 5:24 + 4:57, 4:58, 4:45, 4:55 Th, 3/6/2014 6.2 miles snowy in Patapsco with 807ft of elevation gain in 53:45 Fr, 3/7/2014 3.8 miles easy at Garland Mountain with 436ft of elevation gain in 30:08 Sa, 3/8/2014 10 min warm-up, Assault on Garland Mountain in 59:29 * 1,042ft Elevation Gain. GAP- 5:51, 6:00, 6:25, 5:59, 6:52, 6:52, 6:15, 6:17, 5:53, 5:40 (avg. 6:15/mi) Su, 3/9/2014 House Hunting in PA Total  32 Miles

Mo, 2/24/2014 6.3 mile recovery around Patapsco in mud with 462ft of elevation gain in 54:31 Tu, 2/25/2014 Physical Therapy We, 2/26/2014 15 min warm-up, 2 x 2500m in 10:00, 9:59 (r. 3') with 821ft of gain in 44:55 * GAP - 10:00 (6:24/mi), 9:59 (6:15/mi)... ran in my Salomons in snow and mud with a bandaged up calf. Felt strong, never fatiguing, only limited by the trail conditions. Very impressed at my second loop. Could have run 15:00 at this effort, capped it at 2500m due to my calf. Future will be 4000m. Hopefully on the trail to freedom. Th, 2/27/2014 7.2 miles falling down around Rockburn trails with 529ft of gain in 56:07 Fr, 2/28/2014 6 miles with 15 min warm-up, 5 x 300m (r.1') + 5 x 600m (r.2') at UMBC in 40:00 * 56, 58, 57, 56, 56, 2:00, 1:56, 1:56, 1:57, 1:54... didn't feel great. Was more than likely yesterday's fall on ice. Just totally beat up (upper back, oblique, stomach). Ran the workout in the new Under Armour Speedform Apollo... did we...

Mo, 2/17/2014 Planned Rest - Physical Therapy Tu, 2/18/2014 9.7 miles of road and hills up Church Rd. with 1,128ft of elevation gain in 1:06:47 We, 2/19/2014 8.6 miles steady road with Beck and 1,005ft of elevation gain in 1:01:26 Th, 2/20/2014 Physical Therapy Fr, 2/21/2014 Rest Sa, 2/22/2014 6.6 miles testing calf and exploring the snow with 1,087ft of elevation gain in 56:59 Su, 2/23/2014 12.9 miles steady thru snow and ice in Patapsco with 2,243ft of gain in 1:55:02 Total 37.9 miles with 5,456ft of Elevation Gain

Mo, 2/10/2014 6.0 miles easy on snow through Patapsco with 567ft of elevation gain in 50:20 Tu, 2/11/2014 5.3 miles easy thru Patapsco with 714ft of elevation gain in 44:34 We, 2/12/2014 9.1 miles steady thru Patapsco with Beck and 1,093ft of elevation gain in 1:14:11 * 8:06, 7:14, 8:03, 11:32, 8:53, 7:37, 7:04, 7:10, 8:02, 7:00 (avg. 8:11/mi) Th, 2/13/2014 5.6 miles on the un-plowed streets of Ellicott City with 403ft of gain in 40:23 Fr, 2/14/2014 7.6 miles hilly up Church St. with 894ft of elevation gain in 55:14 Sa, 2/15/2014 6.0 miles progressive down to Ilchester with 554ft of elevation gain in 42:03 * 21:00/21:03 Su, 2/16/2014 14.4 miles fast around St. Mary's River Watershed with 505ft of gain in 1:48:14 Total 53.9 Miles with 4,715 of Elevation Gain

And so, RunningTimes.com ran a nice NEXT WEEKEND article in their Trail section in regards to this weekend's Moab 55K/33K. It was tremendously insightful and mentioned me as one of the top entrants, The men’s race also features many past cup regulars. In Jordan McDougal (Linden, Va.), Jared Scott (Dolores, Colo.) and Ryan Woods (Boone, N.C.) three of the last four series winners are expected to race. Justin Ricks (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Jason Bryant (Elkin, N.C.) and Gabe Rodriguez (Ellicott City, Md.) are also among the top entrants. So, yes, this was my early season opener, but this is how life goes: 1) before booking my flight, I did not receive my full work schedule; and 2) before booking my flight, my wife and I did not look at our daughters's school calendar.  1) We have massive Planning meetings, an "off-site", Monday thru Friday of this week, so a Friday departure is not possible. 2) Howard County Public Schools is CLOSED on Friday,...

Mo, 2/3/2014 6.5 miles easy thru Ellicott City with 535ft of elevation gain in 47:35 * 7:09, 7:37, 7:19, 7:27, 7:00, 7:11, 7:10 (avg. 7:17/mi) Tu, 2/4/2014 7 miles with 8K Trails and 713ft of elevation gain in 32:32 * 5:56, 7:18, 6:16, 6:41, 5:46 We, 2/5/2014 6.4 miles easy thru Ellicott City with 523ft of elevation gain in 46:26 * 7:23, 7:29, 7:14 ,7:25, 6:59, 7:20, 6:46 (avg. 7:17/mi) Th, 2/6/2014 6.9 miles progressive thru Rockburn with 632ft of elevation gain in 54:34 Fr, 2/7/2014 4.7 miles exploring thru a sloppy Patapsco with 799ft of elevation gain in 48:49 Sa, 2/8/2014 Mid-Maryland 50K Relay - 20K+ Leg with 860ft of elevation gain in 1:20:55 * 6:05, 6:15, 5:56, 6:11, 6:31, 6:48, 6:40, 7:06, 6:34, 7:02, 7:07, 7:04, 6:45 (avg. 6:37/mi) Su, 2/9/2014 0.4 mile test at Patapsco in 3:41 Total  46 Miles with 4,052ft of Elevation Gain

Mo, 1/27/2014 Physical Therapy Tu, 1/28/2014 7.8 miles down US-40 to Patapsco with 1,216ft of elevation gain in 1:05:49 We, 1/29/2014 6 miles total at LRHS Track - 2400m/1600m/3 x 800m in 8:31/5:24/2:37-2:35-2:34 (r. 3-3-2-2') Th, 1/30/2014 4.8 miles sloppy around Patapsco exploring with 518ft elevation gain in 53:29 Fr, 1/31/2014 6.8 miles around Patapsco and up Gun Rd. with 995ft of elevation gain in 1:03:02 Sa, 2/1/2014 18.2 miles hard with Signal Knob and Meneka Peak Summits with 4,229ft of gain in 2:49:59 Su, 2/2/2014 Well-Earned Rest for the Super Bowl Total  43.6 Miles with 6,952ft of Elevation Gain

So what's the goal for 2014? That's a good question. I've never been one to follow the path most traveled. I am also not one to remain on the current trail. I respond to inspiration... so one day I may be wanting to maximize my talents on the track, another day it's roads, and another day it may be trails or ultras. I started out 2014 wanting to compete at the WMRA World Masters Indoor Track Championships in Budapest, Hungary, with goals of sub-8:40 for 3000m and sub-4:05 for 1500m. However, my everlong recovery from this recurring calf strain didn't allow for me to train in spikes or flats, so I made the call about a month ago to preserve my newfound health for the sake of my soleus and gastrocs... and get back on the trail. However, nature has been against me. Snow, upon snow, upon snow. It's been a crazy winter in the Mid-Atlantic, but it's allowed me to learn my limitations and push my comfort zone. Hopefully the weather will shift soon and I can e...

Mo, 1/20/2014 Rest Tu, 1/21/2014 8.2 miles in snowstorm at Patapsco with 1,456ft of elevation gain in 1:17:27 We, 1/22/2014 3.0 miles figuring out how to run in 12-degrees and snow at UMBC in 25:01 Th, 1/23/2014 5 miles with 4 x 1000m (rec. 2') road at UMBC in 3:37, 3:24, 3:22, 3:24 Fr, 1/24/2014 4 miles easy around Ft. McHenry in 28:17 Sa, 1/25/2014 6.1 miles steady thru Patapsco with 729ft of elevation gain in 51:12 Su, 1/26/2014 18.5 miles opening-up thru Patapsco with 2,292ft of elevation gain in 2:43:05 Total 44.8 Miles with 4,970ft of Elevation Gain

Mo, 1/13/2014 AM: Physical Therapy PM: 4.3 mi easy and sloppy around Patapsco with 373ft of gain in 43:46 * 8:53, 13:24, 12:07, 7:44, 5:55 Tu, 1/14/2014 6.6 miles sloppy around Patapsco with 1,061ft of elevation gain in 1:01:15 We, 1/15/2014 4.3 miles steady around Ft. McHenry in 30:01 Th, 1/16/2014 5.3 miles trails with 6:30-4:00-1:00-3:00 fast (3'-1'-3' rec.) and 684ft in 47:56 * 6:48/mi up 7% grade, 6:58/mi up/down, 5:50/mi flat, 8:13/mi up 9% grade Fr, 1/17/2014 6.6 miles easy at Patapsco with Beck w/ 655ft elevation gain in 52:52 Sa, 1/18/2014 9.5 miles steady around Bunker Hill with +789ft of elevation gain in 1:14:50 Su, 1/19/2014 16.0 miles easy around Patapsco North with 4,330ft of elevation gain in 2:16:01 Total 52.6 Miles with 7,892ft of Elevation

Mo, 1/6/2014 Physical Therapy Tu, 1/7/2014 7.8 miles with 554ft elevation gain at Patapsco in -13 degree windchill in 1:14:04 We, 1/8/2014 6.1 miles with KOM test with 854ft of gain and a nasty fall at Patapsco in 1:00:24 Th, 1/9/2014 7.0 miles fast w/ Chris Beck at Patapsco with 1,117ft of elevation gain in 55:28 * GAP - 9:05, 6:34, 6:29, 8:34, 7:23, 7:37, 6:33 (avg. 7:23/mi) Fr, 1/10/2014 4.8 miles easy, stop-and-go, around Ft. McHenry 34:02 Sa, 1/11/2014 Rest Su, 1/12/2014 11.8 miles in muddy conditions at Patapsco Woodstock with 1,837ft of gain in 1:44:27 Total 37.6 Miles (5h28') with 4,344ft of Elevation Gain

Mo, 12/30/2013 PT Tu, 12/31/2013 5.2 miles with 15 min easy, 15 min of 30/30", 15 min easy with 370ft gain in 42:23 We, 1/1/2014 3.6 miles easy with 542ft of elevation gain at Patapsco in 32:35 Th, 1/2/2014 6.6 miles fast with 1,558ft of elevation gain at Patapsco Woodstock in 55:55 * GAP - 6:29, 7:25, 7:00, 7:37, 6:33, 7:41, 8:14 (avg. 7:12/mi) Fr, 1/3/2014 4.1 miles on the Treadmill with first 15' at 7mph/1% and last 20' at 7mph/3.5% in 35:00 Sa, 1/4/2014 5.1 miles with 6 x 2' fast uphill, rec. 2' on Bonnie Branch w/ 713ft climbing in 39:29 Su, 1/5/2014 Polar Vortex Total 24.6 Miles with 3,183ft of Elevation Gain

2013 was bitter-sweet, to say the least. 2013 followed the ascent of a mountain peak, with a stellar summit, only to be scattered back to basecamp holding onto dear life. I started the year rehabbing from the worst injury of my career - a chronically recurring calf strain in my right calf. It started due to my own negligence: I opted to try out a new pair of trail shoes on a long run, and that wrecked havoc on the right calf. A week later, after attacking my morning New Cut Rd. ascent religiously with a headlamp, my calf finally had enough. That was November 2012. I finally broke free of the downward spiral by February 2013, by running on a grass loop at my daughter's school park (below). Building up to an hour on a semi-flat surface with  undulating terrain started the healing process. Worthington Park - My Training Ground Rehab But I was anxious to get racing again, and the Trail Running Magazine Trophy Series provided the great opening event - the Patuxent River Trai...

Mo, 12/23/2013 5 miles steady up Bonnie Branch with 379ft of elevation gain + 4 x 100m uphill in 34:49 Tu, 12/24/2013 20 min easy, 5 x 1200m in 4:07, 4:02, 4:07, 4:05, 4:05 with 400m jog rest We, 12/25/2013 5 miles easy thru Patapsco Reverse at Landing with 536ft of elevation gain in 42:02 Th, 12/26/2013 5 miles steady thru Patapsco at Landing with 687ft of gain + 4 x 100m in 40:46 Fr, 12/27/2013 20 min easy, Centennial Park 2.5M Loop in 5:49/mi pace + .5M at 5:56/mi pace * 5:52, 5:40, 6:16 (avg. 5:56/mi) Sa, 12/28/2013 5 miles easy at Worthington Park in 36:34 * 8:08, 7:25, 7:09, 7:02, 6:41 (avg. 7:18/mi) Su, 12/29/2013 9 mile easy long run down to Patapsco and up Bonnie Branch in over 1hr Total 42 Miles

Mo, 12/16/2013 3.5 miles easy around Ft. McHenry + 4 x 100m strides in 24:14 * 7:16, 7:10, 6:58 (avg. 6:50/mi) Tu, 12/17/2013 20 min easy, 2400m in 8:00 (78.3, 80.1, 80.7, 80.6, 79.3, 81.7; avg. 80.1) We, 12/18/2013 6 miles steady thru Patapsco with 590ft of elevation gain in 49:10 * GAP - 8:55, 7:48, 7:31, 7:48, 7:19, 6:54 (avg. 7:41/mi) Th, 12/19/2013 Physical Therapy - Dry Needling on Left Gastroc/Peroneals Fr, 12/20/2013 Rest Sa, 12/21/2013 20 min easy, 12 x 200m in :33.5 * :34.0, :32.9, :33.7, :33.3, :32.7, :33.6, :33.0, :33.2, :33.7, :33.9, :34.9, :33.9 Su, 12/22/2013 4 miles easy around Patapsco with 533ft of gain + 4 x 100m strides in 36:59 Total 24 Miles

Mo, 12/9/2013 4.5 miles easy aroud Ft. McHenry + 4 x 100m uphill in 32:07 * 7:18, 7:14, 7:05, 6:55, 6:30 (avg. 7:03/mi) Tu, 12/10/2013 5.5 miles around Locust Point with 15-min Tempo at 6:05/mi in 35:02 * 20 min easy with Ealy, 15 min tempo at 6:05/mi We, 12/11/2013 Rest / Off-Site Th, 12/12/2013 3.5 miles easy on Treadmill + 4 x 100m strides in 30:00 Fr, 12/13/2013 5 miles total with 10 x 300m in 56-58, with 100m jog in 38:00 * :56, :48, 1:00, :42, :56,  :55, :56, :56, :55, :56, :53, :56, :52, :57, 1:03, :56, 1:04, :56, :59, :58 (avg. :56) Sa, 12/14/2013 4 miles easy at Grist Mill Bike Trail + 4 x 100m strides in 28:50 * 7:57, 7:52, 7:36, 7:35 (avg. 7:46/mi) Su, 12/15/2013 7.5 miles steady through Ellicott City on River Rd. with 533ft of gain in 51:40 * 6:47, 7:06, 6:51, 7:16, 6:57, 7:24, 7:10, 7:04 (avg. 7:04/mi) Total 30 Miles