UltraRunning Podcasts

As any who follow this blog know, I listen to podcasts almost exclusively. I generally have anywhere from 50 to 125 podcasts waiting for me to listen on my Ipod. Some are sermons, some are about finances, some on fitness but the vast majority have been on running. One thing that has changed over the past year is that it seems there has been a huge growth in the ultrarunning podcasts.

Here are a few that I enjoy, check them out if you get a minute.

Ultra Runner Podcast
Great interviews - recent examples - Julie Fingar, Sunny Blende, Marshal Ulrich, Don Freeman, Ellie Greenwood, Jimmie Dean Freeman, Mike Wardian plus quite a few more.

3 Non Joggers - 2 runners, 1 mailman, 3 microphones, all discussing the crazy-ass sport of long distance running. A very entertaining podcast and they occasionally talk about running and ultras. Also you can find them on Facebook.

100MileUltraRunning Listen to the TrailSlammer's reflections as he works through the Grand Slam, the Barkley and other runs from the trails. It was very interesting to hear how he prepared for the events. I also enjoyed hearing how his day went, he is a good runner who had some struggles which make his podcast even more interesting to listen to. Also you can find him on Facebook.


Running Stupid Coach Ken is a back of the packer so I can definitely relate to his podcast. He lives out in California and he has attempted many ultras over the years. His challenge is making the cut-offs. His show has a kazoo occaisionally and always if he mentions Dean Karnaze. Also you can find him on Facebook.

Running in the Center of the Universe
Join Ashland Dave as he runs in the center of the universe, which happens where he lives, Ashland, VA. He is an average everyday runner who does marathons and ultras and his podcast always ends with the National Anthem. I think is a bit like me, a larger runner who does it simply because he enjoys it and he likes the challenge.

I love that podcasts on ultrarunning are appearing although I would like to say this is good, the truth is I am not sure I want more ultrarunners. I like the solitude of my trails, where else can I listen to all of these podcasts. I even left off a couple more ultradad and ultramarathinrunning that you might check out too. Oh well, time to share what I love and these podcasts may inspire you or motivate you to check out the trail running and ultra scene.

If you want to listen to runs on running in general there is a blog that has a great list of running podcasts, if you get a chance check them out as well.

Turtle Trot Race Report - a bit overdue

Well year 6 of running the Turtle Trot Triathlon was not a great time but as always it was a great time yet again.(ok, this was from back in July but I forgot to post it oops)

We again did the run first, then the swim followed by the bike. As a reminder it is a 5k, 1/2 mile and 10 mile respectively.

The run went ok, the calf tightened up during the first mile but I was able to keep running, I did slow down each mile as I had to take a couple of short walking breaks. I wasn't sure if it was going to break down or not so I didn't push it as I didn't want to have go into a spasm. I ended up with my second slowest 5k (at the TT) but I was still happy as I had no ankle pain and the calf wasn't as bad as before.

The swim, well I didn't drown, that is about as much as I hope for. It was harder this year then past years as the lake was up and there were times I couldn't touch so I had to swim more than normal :-).

The bike, first though I should give proper credit as during the swim Karyn caught and passed me but we ended up getting out of the water still fairly close together. I did a slightly faster transition which allowed us to bike together. I thought about trying to pedal away but the truth was I am not sure I could have. Karyn had a good day, if not for a huge puddle, she might have PR'd. The huge puddle was fun they got a few inches of rain before the race and the street was flooded out so we peddled through it, it came up to my gear train.

We were both happy we did it and I am sure we will look forward to doing it again next year.

Double Red Blood Cell Donation

Last Tuesday I donated blood actually I did a double red cell donation. If you are not sure what that means, here is the definition:

Double Red Cell Donation
What is it?
Double red cell donation is similar to a whole blood donation, except a special machine is used to allow you to safely donate two units of red blood cells during one donation while returning your plasma and platelets to you


During your double red cell donation, blood is drawn from one arm and drawn through a sterile, single-use needle set to a machine. The machine separates and collects two units of red cells and then safely returns the remaining blood components, along with some saline, back to you through the same arm.

Why am I posting on it, well I ran over the weekend and I got tired quickly during my run, my original intent was to get in a run up to 16 miles. I barely got through 3 miles before feeling exhausted with dead legs. The 3 miles felt like 12 miles, I muddled my way through 8 miles on Saturday and then tried again this morning, same issue almost immediately so I again just did 8 miles. So my question to myself  was, is this just related to the blood donation or do I have something else going on? Normally after giving blood, I take it easy for a day or so and have never noticed anything like this.

So in doing some follow-up research per the Red Cross, I can't give blood for 112 days versus the normal 56 days beyond that they don't say too much. In looking around the web, I saw that others seem to have said that they have had similar issues so I am guessing it is just a by product of the donation. In order to understand this better, I figure I will monitor my upcoming training and see how long before I feel normal on my runs. My guess is I will be back to normal within a few weeks.

Do I regret doing so, absolutely not. I have O+ blood, it's always needed, I have always been able to donate and there are many people who can't donate so I always will.

Will I do the double red blood cell donation again? Absolutely.

Camping in Lebanon Hills

This past weekend we met some old friends for our annual camping weekend. This years location, Lebanon Hills. Normally we go north, not this year, which it made it really easy for my family. Great camping, hard to believe we were in the middle of a city.

We stayed in the east loop, some of the sites are fairly sheltered by trees and a few are in the open I think all of the sites have electric even though we were camping. A couple of our friends had large trailers and the others camped. The west loop is RV central while the north loop is tents only (no power). For those not familiar with the campground it is located on the western side of the center section of the park just across from the Zoo off of Johnny Cake Ridge Road.

On Saturday morning, I got in a 6 mile run and stopped to take a couple pictures from the trail. If anyone recognizes this section of trail, feel free to post the location otherwise I will keep it hidden away as it's one of my favorite sections in Lebanon Hills even though it's not a real long section. It was raining lightly when I left the campground, it picked up as I went but running in the trees kept me mostly dry and besides I love running in the rain. All in all a great weekend.

Odds and Ends

I was able to get through the 25k loop at Afton this weekend. I ran with Wayne and Karen and am surprised that I made it through. We ran the loop backwards and there were times where I felt really good and times I felt pretty bad. So all in all a normal longish run and for me completely pain free from my long plaguing injuries. I wore my calf sleeves which I think helped protect the calf  both internally and externally as the snowshoe section was a bit thick in places. By the end of the run, my hamstring had gotten tight and I was very close to cramping up everywhere but I think that was nothing more than the distance combined with the heat.

I ran today and was very sore in mile 1, less sore in mile 2 and felt good in mile 3 and was able to even push it a bit. For the week I ended up getting in over 30 miles, the first time for that since McNaughton.

Now I just need to find some fall races to sign up for to get me to Surf the Murph where I am planning on running the 50k. I thought I would be running the 13.1 Minneapolis as I received the email about a free entry but alas I have heard nothing back. She probably read through my blog and figured out that I am not worth giving an entry to :-). Giving my desire to do the 50k at STM, I would love to find a marathon in late September or early October not too far from home.

The goal for this week is to continue to get in my runs and have another 30+ mile week.