2014 Falmouth Road Race

I was trying to register for the Falmouth Road Race lottery the other night at the very last moment and registration closed before I hit submit, but thanks to the race committee I was given a lottery bypass number :) so I am officially in! I first ran Falmouth in 1975 and last ran it in 2010 a year before my hip surgery (and the very full last month of racing I had before I was sidelined by a hip labral tear). I will race it on mostly ElliptiGO training to see how that works, but I will have do a small bit of weekly mileage, at least more than the  2 miles of running I have done since the last snowshoe race!

When I bought my ElliptiGO last July, I gave myself a year of riding in hopes that I could get my running back on track. I have already gone over 5000 miles on the ElliptiGO, but have done limited running (about 125 miles since July). I ran the snowshoe races this winter basically on my ElliptiGO training. The one year mark for using the ElliptiGO is approaching and I am loving training on it. It will be interesting to see what I can do running wise come July and to see if my heavy duty ElliptiGO mileage will translate into being able to race Falmouth. I can't wait to see what happens and to do Falmouth again.

It was a lot easier to register for Falmouth back in 1975.
Check out the top right corner. Morning of race entries were only $2.00 back then!

Pole Vault Tricks vs. Finish Line Antics

I don't know why, but here you go: a short video of silly pole vault tricks.

1. Vaulting double back off a 10 metre cliff in Mt Gambi 2. Vault over high bar, catch into giants with dismount3. Vaulting double back4&5. Football mark over the bar6. Vaulting backsault full twist7. Hopping pole vault - 7 hops, 3.60m8. Two person vault on the one pole (with Blake Lucas)

I guess those are better tricks than the premature celebration that London Olympic 1500m gold medalist Taoufik Makhloufi performed before crossing the finish line in the 1500m at the Shanghai, China, IAAF Track and Field Diamond League earlier this morning.

ElliptiGO Every Day in May Challenge

ElliptiGO is running an Every Day in May Challenge this month. The goal is to ride every day for one of three challenge levels: at least 5 miles a day, at least 10 miles each day, or at least 20 miles each day. I chose the 20 miles per day challenge. At first I was a a bit hesitant thinking I might burn out, but now I feel strong and am enjoying doing all the miles and extra miles. So far the weather has been kind, but I am ready to go out and ride even if there is heavy rain. This week I set a new personal record for miles ridden in one week on my ElliptiGO. I hit 254 miles and every ride was over 30 miles. My total for May so far is 357 miles.




May 1- 25.7 miles (Cape Cod Marathon/Falmouth Road Race courses)
May 2- 23.2 miles
May 3-  24.0 miles
May 4-  30.1 miles
May 5-  30.1 miles
May 6-  33.0 miles
May 7-  36.3 miles
May 8- 30.2 miles
May 9- 30.0 miles
May 10- 52.3 miles
May 11- 42.6 miles

Here are a few photos I took of Hollis, NH while I was out riding one day this week.

Actually this old dead tree in is Pepperell, MA. 

The Ibera Clip-On Quick-Release Bicycle Handlebar DSLR Camera Bag with All Weather Rain Cover
on the front of my ElliptiGO is an excellent camera bag. It snaps easily onto the front handlebars and can be just as easily clipped off and used as a shoulder bag. It holds my camera and a telephoto lens securely with extra room. It has easy access zippers and pockets as well as a clear window to put maps under. I think I will use it not only for days where I just want to relax and takek photos, but also for food and drinks when I am doing a century. Now, I just have to be willing to stop and take pictures when I ride.

Clipped onto the cover of the bag is a Nathan Strobe Light I got for under ten dollars at the Boston Marathon Expo. I have been finishing some of my rides at dusk and if it starts getting dark, I just clip this to the back of the collar of my shirt or jacket and hit the button (once for solid LED lights and again if I want them to blink). The lights are quite bright and I feel a whole lot safer coming home with this blinking a warning to cars that may not see me.

How Meb Keflezighi used an ElliptiGO to win the Boston Marathon

I think that Meb won the 2014 Boston Marathon mostly on training, heart, and brains. All the elite runners do the training, but Meb knows exactly what he needs to do to race to his best and his does it. During last few miles with Wilson Chebet gaining on him rather quickly, I believe he ran with so much heart knowing he "had" to win Boston. Meb is very attentive to details and one of those details is training on an ElliptiGO. No, he doesn't just pose on one for pictures! In this Runner's World article: How Meb Keflezighi Trained to Win the Boston Marathon we learn some of the many details that led to Meb's success including how he used the EllipitGO in his training before Boston.

“I know I have to have my body prepared to handle the pounding of the marathon. You can’t ignore that. But I also have to stay healthy,” says Keflezighi, who has a history of injury. “I do my main run in the morning, but then for my second workout I often would rather be on the ElliptiGO than take the risk of a 30-minute run in the afternoon.”
Keflezighi typically rides between 10 and 20 miles on his ElliptiGO, which is one of his sponsors. “I ride at a pretty good effort,” he says. “I wear my heart rate monitor just for fun. It’s usually around 117, 118,” compared at 118-122 for a typical easy run. On days when he runs twice, he rides the ElliptiGO around noon, a couple of hours after finishing his main run of the day. During his peak preparation for Boston, he rode the ElliptiGO most days in a 9-day cycle.

Here Meb goes into more detail into his cross-training on the ElliptiGO for his buildup to Boston.



From Meb Minutes an 8 video series on Meb and his buildup to Boston.

I am happily using my ElliptiGO to help me recover my stride!