2025 Gravel Grinder National Championship Race Report

Well it has been a few days since I rode the 2025 Gravel Grinder National Championships 100 miler.  The race was held in Greencastle Indiana - about 4.25 hours from home.  I guess in other years they had up to 400+ people but due to timing and such this year there were, on race day, 93 entrants.  Not sure how many actually showed up as results only showed 36 finishers.  I know of at least three that called it a day at the 50 mile point rather than going back out for another lap so maybe others did as well.  Was a great course even if it did get a little warm on the second lap - for sure over 85F and when got to car it was 90F - but the good side was it was not as hot as it had been.  

Will have the race video link below as well but here is a recording of my race - Race Raw Unedited Video

Was hoping to have a good ride here even though I knew being this was only my second gravel ride and not having my usual number of long rides I was not as ready as in past races.  That said the couple weeks leading up to the race I was not sleeping all that well. Then when I got to the hotel it was one of those older style motels with the door leading to the outside and while older was pretty clean but for me just enough noise that I did not get any sleep - I mean none.  So went to the line feeling very tired and sleepy but still hopeful it might pass - it did not.  Don’t want this to sound like excuses - I guess they are - but just as something I need to work on.  While I know the night before a race sleep is not "as" important but by that if you only get 3 hours and the time leading up to the race is good you will be good.  But to go to the line with little sleep for the weeks before hat night's sleep is imortant - well let’s just say don’t do this.

The forecast had been for storms but most help off with a few showers to keep some of the dust down and  not leave things muddy.  It also made the morning a little muggy but when there was a breeze it was nice.  That said this was good as starting at 7:30AM the temps stayed reasonable before we had to start the 2nd lap.  The course went out of town about 1.5 miles or so then turned to start some gravel for 2 miles to get to the covered bridge and the start of the 2  approximately 47 mile laps.  The course showed on RideWithGPS as 55% gravel and the rest roads and while it may have been right it seemed a little more gravel than that.  This race is not far north from where the Dust Bowl is held but it is hillier out where this race was as Dust Bowl was about 3530Ft in 100 miles while this race was about 5300ft and some steeper hills than at the Dust Bowl.  In talking to some they thought this course was easier as less turns as the Dust Bowl has a lot of turns - saw someone say it had 169 - so lots of slowing and accelerating.  I think for me and with the gearing on my Orbea the turns are better than the hills.  As a marker Geoffrey Chandler who won my AG (65-69) rode about 5:23 at Dust Bowl and I was abbot 13 minutes behind but here was around 5:22 and I was 1:17 behind.  So likely sort of comes down to what you are good at.   

My plan was to try and hang with the front as long as I could but be smart and not blow up as knew would be hard to want to do the next lap if trashed.  Front got strung out even though start was neutral till first turn onto the gravel so when I got there had to make a big push to get onto the back of the group but still not at the front so working hard.  When got to the bridge got jammed up as some were over geared and almost had to put a foot down.  Once through the bridge it was chase time again and just was putting out more effort than I wanted to.  I know being tired affected how I was thinking as know I should have held on longer.  In looking at some of the climbing segments they would have lost me but would have been farther forward so maybe catch on flats with a group.  Once we hit the first significant climb I was already feeling it so settled in.  

Thankfully we slowly got a group together but as seems to happen people do not often work efficiently and take longer pulls than needed rather than short efficient pulls.  Then I tend to do the same to not lose time as we slowly caught others and got to a group of maybe 6 at most but was nice to have others around.  They did run the 50+ mile race (1 lap) with the 100 miler (2 Laps) so in our group we had maybe an even split of people from both races.  The basic way it seems to go for the lap was we hit the hills and I sort of went off the front then they caught up on the downhill.  I was not trying to roll off the front on the climbs but as my Orbea’s smallest gear is a 34/32 I have to get the revolutions up - especially on gravel - so as not to bog down and have to get off.  Most everyone else had smaller gears so working to spin my bigger gear may not be ideal it works when it does.

We got to the Bridge again at mile 50 and I stopped to refill my water bottles and it was here that our group shrunk drastically.  Only 2 of us went on and we lost maybe 3 that were in the 100 and 3 that were in the 50.  The one other guy doing the 100 did not stop so I lost time to him and even more as the aid station was right below the bridge so had to walk up the incline to get on in the bridge.  Once through I could see the other 100 mile guy ahead and also someone else out there so the chase was on.  Did not want to rush it as knew this was going to be a slog of a lap with it starting to get hotter.  There was one climb that on the first lap I barely got up as was pretty gravely and almost lost traction but made it up.  Thus, was sort of dreading the second time up being more tired and being hotter.  Funny part was I saw I was slower it was not by much and made it up with no issue so no worries.  Finally caught another rider and was with him for a bit then lost him when had to stop for a moment but caught him again on a climb and then was looking to catch the other guy I had ridden the first lap with.  Did catch him at about 20 miles into the second lap only to have him catch me maybe 15 miles later and then he dropped me on the last significant climb and we stayed close but I just could not muster the desire to chase hard.

I finished the race in 6:36:26 for 21st OA (20th male) and 2nd in 65-69 AG, well there were only two of us.  Had been three entered so not sure if the third person did not show up or DNF’d.  Will say Geoffrey who won our age group ended up 4th overall so nailed it.  Was interesting to see that  once you get to the 60’s the number of riders in an age group goes down.  It does depend on the race though as in looking back at last years Dust Bowl where I was 6th in the 60-69 AG there were about 38 people.  Again, this was not the race I wanted as should have been faster but just did not feel it today.  Yea I was tired, very tired, but was just one of those days where there was a level I could go at and faster just was not happening and that was today.  As I like to stress, every race has a positive even if it goes bad and that is it tells you something about yourself that you can build off of.  In this case, it let me see that I can finish even when things do not go as planned.  As easy as it would have been to skip the last lap I knew I could not as, at least for me, once I do such it is easier the next time.  When I ran marathons I only dropped out of two races - one with an injury and one because I was going for a time and was way off and knew I had another race I could do a week or so later.  The injury one was a good choice as pushing through an injury may be tough and make one seem bad ass it may not be wise as may affect your future racing.  The one I dropped due to not being on pace did pay off as ran a good race a few weeks later.  I try and avoid dropping out simply because I am tired and not winning.   

Will I do this race next year - well sort of depends as I want to do the Coast 2 Coast in Michigan that is a 200 mile race that was the same day this year so sort of depends on schedule but Coast 2 Coast is the priority.  This is for sure a good place to ride as good gravel and hills - bummer it is so far so as to make it hard to ride much here but may try to do so in the future.  Next up was supposed to be the All Roads Challenge in my area but it was canceled so next up will be back in Indiana in the same area for the Dust Bowl 100 the end of July.  The plan for the week after this race is a rest week to get sleep and rest as need to be well rested for Dust Bowl and then Gravel Worlds the 22nd-23rd of August.  Not too sore at all after this race except my back had an issue after sitting at my desk for a 2 plus hour meeting - yea I ride 100 miles of gravel in the heat and get tired - sit at my desk and hurt my back - go figure.

How about fueling for Gravel Grinder Nats.  I went in wanting to try to get 60g per hour so loaded up as follows to have around 300 as was aiming for 5 hours but if slower then not as fast so same amount would be ok - here is fueling plan and what transpired:

Pre-Ride Fueling:

About 1.75 hours before

• Cup of coffee with Cream and Collagen
• 1 Packet of Kodiak Maple Oatmeal W/Cream
• About 30 minutes before:
• UCAN Mocha Gel w/Caffeine 
• 1ea Vespa UC

Totals:

• Cals 374
• Protein 23g
• Carbs 74g
• Fat 2.5 

Race Fueling

Fueling Carried

• 2ea - 880 mil bottles of water and 70g Goodlife Carbs  in each and also 1 Goodlife Electrolytes each (5g carbs) - Ttl 1760ml Water and 150g Carbs
• 1ea - 150ml flask with 60g Goodlife carbs made into a gel
• 1ea 150ml flask with 66g SiS gels
• 2ea Sfuel Zone 5  pouch at 60g carbs each - Ttl 120g
• 2L bladder of plain water
• 3 Vespa UC’s  - one every 3 hours
• 2 500ml soft flasks with water and 1 Goodlife Electrolytes each - 1ltr water and 10g carbs

Totals Carried

• Ttl Water - 4.76Ltr 
• Ttl Carbs - 298g

So when done I just took note of what was left from what I took on,  All I took on during the race was to top up my bottles so added about 1.2ltrs of water so a total of 6ltrs.  At end I had 1 bottle left and nothing in the bladder and only took a small swig  out of the soft flasks.  So took in 4.12 Ltrs of water

As far as carbs I ended up taking in 236g of carbs so for 6.5 hours that was 35.5g/hr.  

Likely a little light on electrolytes as only had the two packets in my initial bottles so need to work on that and make sure to take S!Caps if need be as had them but just forgot.  I think the carbs I took in were fine based on my effort but if faster need to work to take them in more easily.  I did find the Sfuels was a little harsh, strong tasting, if took in too fast.  The SiS gels still work the best ingestion wise but would like them to be higher in carbs and am going to try, have not yet, the unflavored Neversecond gels as they are at 30g each and supposed to be flavorless, which for me is best.  Pretty sure the carbs were not an issue based on effort but likely too light on electrolytes and being tired/sleepy just added to that.  Pretty sure more carbs will not cover up not enough sleep but not enough electrolytes will exacerbate it.

So as I like to do the following are my “Take-Away’s” and “Plans Based on Take-Aways”:

Take-Away’s

• I really need to work on sleep as while the sleep the night before needs to be better it is not as important as the sleep the week leading up to the race.
• I need to work at being farther forward as got gapped and worked too hard too early to bridge and with as much time as it takes me to warmup using unneeded efforts is not good
• Work to better take in fuel as well as making sure to take in S!Caps if not getting in enough electrolytes fuel wise
• Really need to push through those down moments as they usually pass and I know that normally the second half is usually hard but better mentally.

Plans

• Take the next week easy to work on getting more sleep so no early rides
• Initially had a race i2 weeks after this one but as it was canceled will take it easy the second week but try and get a long ride in on the day the race was to take place
• Need to be careful to get in some rides but make sure easy days are easy
• I think the fueling set up for this race was good but may trade out the SFuels for the Neversecond gels as no flavor will be better
• Make sure the week of Dust Bowl I get plenty of sleep

Strava Data:  https://www.strava.com/activities/14946849732

Video - this is unedited so the full ride: https://youtu.be/Z_ujbK9r4YE?si=EZxDfwAg3Jgjn8TV 

Well that was long but as I have said before these reports are in some ways more for me as it makes me look at the race.  While not all races go as planned you can learn something from all of them and in truth learn more for ones that go not as planned.

  Click on images for more information and if you want more info on OFM check out this post: 

• What is OFM (Optimized Fat Metabolism)

To order Vespa you can go here and use coupon code - tkonvalin15 -   for 15% off.

Leviathan Cycle Shoes Review - Part 1

For years I have been trying to get a pair of cycling shoes that did not feel like my toes have been put in a  vice.  I guess in the past one just accepted this was the way as that was the way shoes were made.  When I started riding back in the early 80’s shoes were basically meant to be uncomfortable as the idea they would stretch as they were she form of leather.  The idea was if you got shoes that were comfortable when they stretched they would then not fit correctly.  Keep in mind the basic design was that of an Italian business shoe - think pointy toes.  On top of that, just to set up how things for me started, most shoes had wood soles of some time and you had to nail on the cleats.  I started when there were cleats that had a plate you nailed on then the cleats had some adjustment.  That said with my first shoes I had to ride them with no cleats in my pedals its toeclips to get a mark as a guide then hd to nail the cleat on - FUN! 

This idea that shoes were to be uncomfortable got a little better as synthetics came around but still the toe are was cramped.  Maybe the good, in some ways, was that running shoes also had cramped toe boxes in general so the cramped toes in bike shoes was not an anomaly.  In general for most of my bike shoe experience they were just going to be uncomfortable and I had to live with that - and did.    

As far as my feet - and know this is true of others - I have quite “low volume” feet.  If you have not heard this term before - “low volume” - it has to do not necessarily with width but that the area of the foot, usually in the arch/instep area, is not as usual.  The realist of this is many shoes, cycling and running, the laces come together over the instep.  Often leads to needing to get shoe smaller than optimal and thus cramping the toes even more.  On running shoes this is just as much an issue.  Add to this in the last 8 yers or so I have done some work with “toe spacers” to get my toes to splay more naturally.  In doing this it began to limit the running shoes I could use and was just as bad with cycling shoes.  I started in Altras which have lager toe box but over time they got wider/more volume and was not happy with them so moved to Topos. I have been running in Topos for maybe 7 years or so and even with them I have only a fe that the volume is best along with the right length.  As my toes spread more the worse my cycling shoes fit.  The best I was able to find were the Rapha Classic Shoes and for gravel the Explore Shoes.  Not great and do feel some pressure on my big toe but the volume was good and can get by even for rides as long as 200 miles.  I should add there is one company that seems to have the wider toe box - Bont - but as was not able to try them and they do seem to need to be fitted as they have moldable fit - can’t return if you mold them - but also heard they were wider.  Too often companies conflate the need or a wider toe box with needing the shoe to also be wider.  I have heard Lake has some shoes with more toe room and differing widths and volumes but there were so many choices, most not cheap, I just did not go that way.  

Levathans Next to Rapha Shoes

So now to the start of talking about the Strong Feet Athletics ( https://www.strongfeetathletics.com/store/p/leviathan  ) and their new Leviathan cycling shoes.  I initially heard about these shoes in a podcast Colby Pearce with the Tyler Brenner the creator of the shoe at Strong Feet Athletics   I encourage you to listen to Colby’s podcast on the shoes and there is also one on Russ Roca's Path Less Pedaled video that covers the shoes at  the 5:30 mark - link should take you there.   

You can read the links to the shoes and with the video links you will get a good review of the specifics of the shoes.  Some of those along with the wider toe box is the shoe is they are flat and not with a rise like on a running shoe with stack and on basically all cycling shoes.  This flat position is a more natural position and likely may take some getting used to - more on this once I get to ride them - as most shoes put your foot in a position that is not natural but begins to feel the norm.  Also, and this is something I wonder why most shoes do not do -at least in the lower price range where weight is not as important, they use both 2 bolt (SPD) and 3 bolt (SPD-SL) patterns so can be used with whatever pedals you have.  One note, and I have not noticed this and the guy in Path Less Pedaled did not notice this, well did not mention it, is that if you use the SPD cleat you may need a the SHIMANO SPD-Cleat Stabilizing Adapter  to not let them rock - again I have not tried them so you may not need this so can try first.  I could use these in some gravel races but on others I could not as not the best for walking off road.

The one area that both Colby and Russ Roca covered is to do with volume.  These are for sure not "Low Volume" but are not exceedingly "High Volume" either but in talking with Tyler that can be helped by a number of means such as a spacer under sole as I often have to do any way on shoes.  The other is the shoes are not meant to be tourniquets so take come getting used to as Russ Roca of Path Less Pedaled stated.  Again I need to work on this and will do so over the next  month or so.  I will say as my Rapha Explore Shoes just are not all that comfortable for gravel I did get a pair of Pear Izumi Expedition PRO Shoes and while the toe box is far from the Leviathans it is much better than my Raphas.  My hope is, and I talked to Tyler about this as well, the Levithans will go over well enough for a gravel shoe to be added to the line.    

Comparison of Insoles: Leviathan Vs Rapha

The pictures in this post show the shoes as they came and a comparison next to my current Rapha shoes and an insole comparison.  I just got the cleats so will use them on my trainer to start to get used to them and get them dialed in.  They do come with a "Shoe Cover" that I am not sure of and as is white they will get dirty fast.  In taking to  Tyler it was not quite what they wanted but they did not want to hold up the shoes over them so I think in time they will change.  The goal was to provide something to wear in the cold as due to the side toe box regular shoe covers will not fit.

So, are these shoes for you - well if you are in love with the shoes you have - likely not.  Or, you do not want to fork over $600 for the new Specialized shoes I hear have more room in the toes and a good fit - well what I hear - then these may be for you.  I will add that for many racers the weight may be an issue but for me that is the last of my concern as when I ride a long race the comfort of my feet is paramount.  Also, if you have worked at getting your feet into the most natural fit running shoes and want a similar experience in riding shoes then these are for sure ones to try.Next is to install my new Speedplay cleats and start using the shoes on my trainer to get used to them and move on from there.  I will do Part 2 of this review once I have put some miles on these shoes.  Again, I would say to listen to the two YouTube videos linked to above - here they are again:

• Colby Pearce - Short Alignments: Strong Feet Athletics Leviathan Shoe Review 
• Russ Roca of Path Less Traveled (Starts at 5:30) - Rene Herse TPUs, Strongfeet Athletics Shoes, Ortliebs New Mount | Is it Any Good?

  Click on images for more information and if you want more info on OFM check out this post: 

• What is OFM (Optimized Fat Metabolism)

2025 Pistol Ultra 50K Race Report

Photo by Nick Morgan

The Plan:

You know how you make plans and they just do not work out - well that was basically the first 3 months of the year.  Last year when I signed up for the Tsali Trail 50K in January and Pistol 50K in March the plan was to get some good trail miles in early and then work on getting my legs ready for the asphalt of the Pistol 50K.  Well sickness - flu and then a stomach bug - derailed doing Tsalis so had to sit that out.  Was a bummer as had done the most trail miles in a while but then sickness came and missed a 1/2 marathon trail run and then just had to pass on Tsali.  Still figured I had time to get ready for the Pistol but as much as I tried to avoid getting sick after some descent miles in Feb got sick while traveling for work and missed some more time.  Even though I was able to get in a couple 21 mile runs and a 100 mile bike ride it was not good enough to get my legs ready for the pounding of a 50K.  Thus I lowered my goal from the low 4hrs, even under if a good day, to 4:30-4:40’s as seemed reasonable for my running shape.

The Race:

On race day for The Pistol 50k I was a little tired from lack of sleep as sort of let the race make me think too much instead of just looking as it what it was - training for my August Gravel Worlds Double - more on that later.  Never-the-less I did obsess on the up coming race - sort of how my brain works - so lost some good sleep.  Had a good day at the check in running the Vespa booth and talking to people and tried to rest as much as I could so don’t think that affected me.  In the morning of the race had the usual jitters but felt OK and weather was looking good as was about 43-45F and looking to go to 60’s which is good as did no need to start with extra clothing.  Did a short 2 mile warmup - needed a little more but just did not happen.  But got to the line ready to go even if a little apprehensive knowing my feet and legs were going to feel this.  I knew this as my two 21 milers I did while going well left my right foot sore and legs a little beat up and I had not done enough to deal with this.

105 people started the 50K but as there was also a 100K, 51 people started, and 100 mile, 57 people started, that would be running at the same time you got to see others out on the course so for sure not the lonely experience some trail ultras can be.  The course was 3 laps of the same loop.  As an aside there was a 50 mile race that started at 8PM that had 35 people start with some people actually doing the double of the 50K and then the 50 Miles - now that makes my feet hurt.  At the start I went out at a comfortable pace that was around 7:45/mile or so and that put me in about 4th or 5th for a bit.  While being with one person for about the first couple miles pretty much ran my own pace and for about 16 miles held an 8:01/mile average.  But that is about where I started to feel the pounding and started slowing some.  I still got to about 21 miles averaging 8:17/mile pace with basically 1 lap to go.  Got to 23 miles at 8;25/mile and then things slowed as the only hills, which were short but you felt them, were at about 25 miles and then slowed much more and as legs were pretty sore could not pick up the pace on the down hills so lost more time I would usually have picked up on when on a paved course.  From there it was basically run a mile or so then walk a little or stop at an aid station to refill and rest the legs some.  As average dropped my miles were getting slower but did pick it up a little in last two miles and finished in 9th OA in 4:39:31.73 and 1st in 65-69 AG.  Missed first place in the Grand Masters (50+) by about a minute.  In looking at the results I was only 8 minutes or so out of 5th and 5+ out of 6th.  I should add that while it did not count I did get a Marathon time of 3:49:53 so would be a BQ by 15 minutes.  I add this in that I have wanted to qualify for Boston every 5 years since I I ran in 2016 so in essence got that today for 65 years old.

Photo by Nick Morgan

As far as pacing I do not think I went out too fast as the basically 8:00 pace felt fine.  While I started feeling it when I got past 16 miles it was more the pounding that got to me.  I should add, and this was not my initial plan, at about 5 miles I started alternating over the next 12 miles 7:50/mile with 8:12 - 8:30 miles to just mix it up.  Whether that is a good pacing strategy it did take my mind off of things and seemed to work well as was not pushing hard on the faster ones but sort of let my mind think I got a rest mile after a faster one.  After the second lap I had planned to do this again to finish up but my legs said NO and when got to the hills at about 5 - 6 miles to go they said “heck” no:).  At least the mile pickups helped with making this a good workout.

If I am honest I am rarely happy with my races as I am pretty critical of my self and for this knew that the 8 minutes I was out of 5th was easy to find on the course.  That said as I shared above with how my training went I really need to be happy with my time. Let alone to realize that many my age (will be 66 in 5 months) don’t run at all let alone 50K so good to just be out there moving.  But, also need to see the positive in that with more specific training for the race I can, I think, pretty easily pick up 10+ minutes - if not more.  I am set to run Tsali next year and while after finishing the Pistol my first inclination was to pass on next year a few days later I need to go back and get it done.  

Strava Race Data:   https://www.strava.com/activities/13958479214/overview

Oh yea one more thing - Thanks to Gordon Turner and Brian Gajus, as well as all those that helped them, for putting on a great race and if you want a good Ultra to do for your first one plan on doing The Pistol in March of 2026

The Recovery:

As far as recovery after the race my legs were toast and as usual my right foot was sore.  Not sure the full reason for the foot soreness but know I need to get back into my Dynamic Triathlete stretching routine and also go back and do my Gait Happens foot strengthening exercises as sort of got lazy after getting sick and did not do them.  I did also get my usual blisters on my toes - usually on the end of them even though my shoes are the correct size.  I think, as with the usual blister/ callous on the side of my big toes, it is about my gait and need to work on that as they are limiting factors.  I tend to think the leg issues stem from my feet so just need to put in more effort to strengthen them.  As I write this a 3 days later while I still have some ankle swelling most the soreness is gone but will just ride some the week after and take a week off running so my feet all all healed up.

Photo by Misty Dawn

I really need to get on this preventive work as while I know I will move into a more riding centric period as have some gravel races in June, July and August I also need to be ready for the 50K run part of the Gravel World Double August 22-23.  I did try a 1 hour ride the day after The Pistol (https://www.strava.com/activities/13967719212) and feel pretty good once got going except really felt it when stood up on the pedals.  Thus I need to work to minimize these issues on the run in August as working to run 4:30 instead of just doing 5:00, my goal pace, will cost more in the 150+ mile gravel bike race the next day.  

The Fueling:

As far as nutrition I think it went fine as did not feel like bonking or anything - not a tone of energy but as I said the first half felt great so think not just the miles but the effort to run when legs go is more so felt that.  I did start with drinking 3oz cups of coke a little earlier than planned as took one at about mile 18 aid station then about every two miles had one as well as my other things that are below in the fueling recap.  I have been trying to work up to more carbs per hour - nowhere near what most do - as over the years of seeing what I could do mostly on endogenous fat and water/electrolytes my body seemed to not want to burn carbs as it should so working on that.  I did use the Mocha and Vanilla Latte UCAN’s with 75mg caffeine as temp was not too hot.  I tend not use as much caffeine when warm and while UCAN does not seem to bother me when warm have heard others can have issues.  If I missed anything is probably did not get enough electrolytes as forgot to take my S!Caps and should have taken then since when I got to the mile 27 or so aid station I took some electrolyte tabs there it was a little late.  Thankfully I did add some extra electrolytes to my SFuels drink so did get those in but that was about it.

Fueling for Pre-Run and Race

Pre-Ride

   - MBP Coffee

   - 30 minutes prior - 1 Vespa CV 25 

   - 30 minutes prior - Pre-load with 1 UCAN Orange

   - 1 hr prior - 1 AltRed

   - Right before start - 1 Vespa Junior 

Total:

    -  Cals - 735

    -  Carbs - 34g

    -  Protein - 19g

    -  Fat - 59g

Race:

    - Total of 3.5  16 oz water bottles

    - In water bottles total 

       - 2 scoops SFuels Zone 2

       - 2 Tubes Myoxcience Plain Electrolytes

       - 2 Tubes Tru Niagin

    - Starting at 1 hour or so - 1 UCAN Mocha w/Caffeine 

        - At 2.25 Hours - 1 UCAN Latte w/Caffeine

        - At 3.5 hours - 1 UCAN Mocha w/Caffeine

    - Total 2 Vespa UC’s at 2 hours and 3.5 hours 

    - Intra Chew Gummies - 3/4 packet (5ea - 2.7g carbs each) starting at 3 hours 

    - Probably 6  3oz cups of coke starting at 18 miles at aid stations

Total:

    - Cals - 689

    - Carbs - 171g  (38g/hr)

    - Protein - 8g

    - Fat - 8g

The Lessons Learned:

Photo by Nick Morgan

One is that when it comes to longer runs you really do need miles on the feet.  I know this but often to avoid injury do more long stuff on my bike so save the soreness during training but pay for it later.  Due to this I need to re-think how I mix riding and running as I like both and want to good in both so just need to figure it out.  I really do not have any runs schedule till august so the bulk of my efforts will be to get ready for some hard gravel races that I want to do well in.  I will likely try and get in some long runs and use them to get my legs ready instead of lots of shorter runs.  I will need to watch the pace but I think doing some longer runs less times may help but we shall see.  Might even try one high milage running week to just add some stress to the system to gain some adaptations I need.  The key for the Gravel Worlds Double is to finish the 50K with as little soreness as possible as the 150+ miles of gravel the next day is a Looooooooong day out!!

Also, I am, as mentioned, going to be working on making sure I get in the extra work of mobility and stretching and foot strengthening.  These will be key to a good Double in Lincoln

That’s about it for now and time to rest some and then get back at it.

While I am sure will add more here is my race, and Century Ride, plan as of now so see you out there if you are at any of these events:

  - Red Bud Century, London KY - April 26th

  - Horsey Hundred Century (100 Saturday and 75 Sunday), Georgetown KY - May 24 - 25

  - Gravel Grinder National Championships  (100 Miles), Greencastle IN - June 28th

  - Forkland All Road Challenge (60ish), Gravel Switch, KY - July 12th

  - The Dust Bowl 100 , Eminence IN - July 26th (Sold Out)

  - Gravel Worlds Double (50K run Friday/150+ Mile Gravel Race Saturday), Lincoln, NE - August 22-23

  - Ragnar Bourbon Chase Relay, Clermont KY to Lexington KY - October 3-4

If you have questions about Vespa or OFM you can comment/contact me or check out https://vespapower.com/ and https://ofm.io/ .

For a discount on Vespa you can use this link - https://vespapower.com/?ref=TonyK and use this code for 15% off - tkonvalin15 

While you can find lots of stretching and mobility excersizes online it takes time and effort to put them all together.  Well I have found Dynamic Triathlete, Dynamic Runner and Dynamic Cyclist do a great job of making them all easy to access.  Click on any of the three links and use this code to get 10% off - BLUGRASS10

If your feet are an issue - and they are for most even if you feel the issue elsewhere the Gait Happens Fit Feet Program is well worth the price and if you use the link you get 10% off.  They also have other tools for strengthening your feet and if you go to the page with the link you shoudl get 10% off of those items as well.

Photos by Nick Morgan and Misty Dawn

  Click on images for more information and if you want more info on OFM check out this post: 

• What is OFM (Optimized Fat Metabolism)

Is Age Just a Number??

I want to write more on this so moved this post over from my old blog that I wrote in 2017.  Being almost 8 year since I wrote this I will expand on this soon.  I have done a lot of other races and for sure riding more since this time so have more to expand on as well as with my Fat Adaption journey.

Wrote in August of 2017:

You hear it all the time, often accompanied by an inspiring video or story of someone in their later years doing some, often, athletic feat with the proclamation that “Age is Just a Number.”  After we agree that what was viewed, or written, was indeed inspiring we need to ask if age is really just a number.

Well if you are speaking of tipping the stereotype cart that tends to go with age then age is for a sure

just a number as many put restrictions on assumptions based on stereotypes.  While there are many today that seem to defy the norm when it comes to aging the vast majority buy into the “your too old to do that” mantra and often should not.  However that said, those of us who are getting older can attests, if we are honest, age in deed is a number and has its affects.   Maybe not as the world depicts but there are changes that mean we cannot do as we once did.

A little about me for those that do not know me:  I have been running, with a stint racing bicycles competitively for about 10 years, since I first ran in High School in 1973 after not making the tennis team.  After high school I ran for the University of Arizona for 3 years as a walk on, or is that run on, but as we had a very strong team even though I ran 5k’s in around 15:00 I was still probably the slowest guy there.  I had some good workouts but probably left my best times and efforts in those training sessions.  During that time I also ran some marathons with my best being 2:30:52 when I was 19 in 78’ and pretty much stayed at the 2:30 range for a number of years.  I share these times because as we age and look back often our times from days gone by it can be an issue if we do not keep things in context.

Let me add here if you are one that started running later in life you will have avoided this possible road-block and that is a good thing.  You will also not deal with some of the trials of seeing yourself slow down as being new to sport later in life you will still progress but age even for you will come into play at some point.  For me I do not see this as negative but as a challenge to meet and deal with.
Running, as much as I enjoyed and did well at cycling, is just one of the things I enjoy and want to do as long as possible and to do that I need to make sure I heed many of the things I will mention in the rest of this post.  If one does not live in reality, reality will often jump up and bite you to get you to notice it.  I also want to add that I have to admit to people they need to do as I say not as I often do because I still struggle with many of the topics covered and often fail to follow through with what I know needs to be done.

What I want to do in the rest of this post is to look briefly at a number of areas where I, being 58, have seen the affects of age on myself, and others: Training, Mobility, Racing, Shoes and Diet

Training
First lets look at training as that is often where issues crop up as one has to adjust intensity, quantity and expectations among other factors when it comes to how we prepare for whatever ones goals are.  If you are new to running some of the trials of adjusting to age are not as apparent as you start with a somewhat clean slate but still have to be aware of your physical limitations presented by age.  Having run for many years I have had to realize I needed to lower miles and slow down on slow days – including having more slow days – so as to recover.  If I in training for a particular race need higher miles I look at weeks in chunks so that I up my mileage and then back off in a wise manner.  I often look at my mileage and see 40-50 miles and it just seems low when I think back to my days of 100+ but in truth back then I ran 7 days a week and now run 4-5 so in some ways the mileage is closer when looking at daily mileage but I just have more rest days.

Speaking of rest days, they become even more critical because as you age you do take longer to recuperate after a long and/or hard run.  Runs that are to be restful need to be slowed down and I have found using my heart-rate as my guide for slower runs is the best decision I have made.  While not really new, as it is based on the principles of Arthur Lydiard, I use the MAF (Maximum Aerobic Function) formula of 180-age with some additions, and subtractions for some, as a baseline.  This helps make sure that my easy runs are just that, easy, and also my easy weeks are easy.  I work to train in cycles so that I will have months of MAF runs alone with other months using MAF for the easy days only.  I have found that this has helped greatly to allow me to be fresher and have less injuries.  Now injuries are not negated as one can still run too many miles even when running slowly, and I have done this, so running slower does not negate a need to know your body and see your
limitations, yes we do have those.

Bottom line here is there are many ways to train but I have found that making MAF the central philosophy of my training has worked the best and was integral to working to be fat adapted, more on this under diet.  The main point with training as you get older is to make sure when you rest you rest and that mileage, or time on your feet, is watched closely and monitored with how you feel and how your body reacts.  When you are younger often you can get by if you over do it but as you get older that is not as possible.

Mobility
This should actually be included in training but recently I have noted more issues that stem from a reduction in mobility.  For me the mobility issues are in my ankles and hips but for you it may be other areas.  As we age our mobility decreases and while being active may slow the reduction of mobility it does happen unless we are proactive.  There any number of mobility exercises you can find on YouTube so just search and find what works.

I like to run trails, when I can, and often I hear people say they need more mobility in their ankles so as not to twist them on trails.  For me, while I do work on my ankles, I have found the best mobility exercise for my ankles is to run trails.  As we age we need to be honest that extra exercises need to be done even if you have to sacrifice some time running since maintaining mobility may in the long run allow you to run more and maybe even farther.

Racing
This is a hard one for me because even though racing can be stressful due to me being very competitive I still enjoy it.  Also, as you age if you are competitive you may find age group racing
being an increased draw that can lead you to race too often.   With so many 5k’s available to run often that is the choice of many and one of the nice things about a 5k is that you can indeed run one most weekends.  That said just because you can do something does not make it wise to do so.   For me I race about once a month and use that race as a speed day so that I am not overdoing speed work.  When it comes to Ultra’s, which I have started running, I have run 3 ultras in 60 days and that is the maximum I can do but even when I did the 3 runs the first one was a workout time-trial to ready for my first 50 miler so I only really “raced” two of them.  As with training you have to be aware of your body and this applies to racing as well.  My advice is that as you get older be careful and make sure the racing you do fits into a larger picture.  If you do races as a way to meet with other runners then make sure you run easy for some races so that even running every weekend is then not an issues since some races actually end up being simply training runs, albeit ones you pay to do.

Shoes
First I want to say that I realize some people may have particular issues that require extra support or some other feature that comes in many shoes.  However, often these added “improvements” in shoes instead of helping your feet prop up issues and in the end weaken ones feet and make them reliant on your shoes instead of the shoes simply being there to allow your feet do what they were designed to do.  As I stated often all the new features added to many shoes can work to possibly weaken ones feet to a point of increasing the chance of injury.  When looking at shoes make sure you differentiate between buying due to hype and actually needing what is hyped.

An alternative is to work to strengthen ones feet by exercises, just check out YouTube, and even moving to more minimal shoes.  To do this while not moving to minimal shoes solely you might begin by using minimal shoes on a minimal basis but even that can work to strengthen your feet.  Now the warning on using minimal shoes, as you get older many things you do can have negative affects if done too much too quickly and moving to a more minimal shoe is one of those things.  Thus if you want to look at using minimal shoes later in life use wisdom and move forward slowly.

To be upfront I am a Carson Footwear ambassador but I share the following to illustrate what I have been saying.  Over the last 6 months I have begun running in Carson’s which while not as minimal as some “minimal” shoes they are still a minimalistic design.  I have gotten to where I could go up to 19 miles in the shoes but in doing that I may have gotten there too fast.  Not so much due to the Zero Drop as I have been in no-drop shoes for a few years but in moving to more minimal support I may have gone there too quickly and in doing so have had some issues that has moved me to be more aware during this transition time.  I am still working to make minimal shoes my go to shoes but need to allow more time and as mentioned previously have added mobility exercises to help in this move.  As an example I still run long trail and road runs in my Carson’s but then also do some other runs in other shoes so that my feet get a rest as they transition.  If I was younger I think the transition would have been OK but at the age I am I should have gone at it more slowly.

I would suggest at a minimum, even if you have no desire to run in minimal shoes, that you work to strengthen your feet as in the long run, pun intended, it will benefit you.  As your feet strengthen so will your legs and the rest of your body.  This is critical especially as you age and can only be a good thing.   Just as having a strong core is critical to other areas so having strong feet as your base affects all else in the system.  Also, as I said I am a Carson Footwear Ambassador, if you want to try a pair of Carson shoes you can get 10% of using this code: Run2017tonyk.

Diet
This is one that I had not really looked at till recently.  Over the years since I took up riding then went back to running I slowly gained some weight.  Now part of that gain was when I moved to racing bikes as I built more muscle.  The rest of the weight that came on as I went back to running and at times not running much came slowly and in doing so was not noticeable till I realized I was up in the 230lb range from the 175lb I was at when I was racing bikes at 30 or so.  The weight came on slowly and in some ways not all that noticeable.  That is till I started running more seriously again and noticed the weight and the extra tire I was carrying around the waist.  Initially with more running and working on our farm I did lose some weight and got down to the 200 range but could not get under 200.  I ate well and worked to reduce garbage food but sort of stagnated at 200.

Upon investigating what to do and also looking to see what might best help my running I looked more into the MAF approach I spoke of earlier and in doing so came across talk of Low-Carb High-Fat (LCHF) and fat adaptation.  While I had heard of being fat adapted and high fat diets from back in the 80’s the information was not as easy to find as it is now.  My recent investigations led to trying Phil Maffetone’s Two Week Test which while used for discovering any carbohydrate intolerances is also a gateway to work on reducing carbs.  After looking into things more I decided to give a LCHF diet, diet is probably not the best word, a go and see how it went.

What I found for me is I fairly quickly went down to 175 while still running in the 30-50 mile per week range and also noticed becoming more fat adapted so that on runs of 2-3 hours I could actually do them without extra food.  Now what is Low Carb for me?  For many Low Carb is limiting carbs to 50grams/day or under however for me after a number of trials and seeing what worked best with my health, work and life I found that I did best at 100-150 grams per day.

One other very important thing I have found was that reducing carbohydrates not only helped with weight it also helped in reducing inflammation and recovery was much quicker.  Was I still sore the next day after a long run or a hard workout, yes.  But nowhere near the extent I was before changing my eating habits and the amount of time to getting back to normal was greatly shortened.

The point here is that how and what one eats is important in all of life but as we age it can become even more important.  If you want the best place to start with diet, diet here referring to how you eat, aim to hold to JERF – Just Eat Real Food – if you have not already.  From there I can tell you it is well worth your time to try a LCHF diet.  You may find you need to tweak things but you will never find out till you try and please give it time.  Take it from me many any years of consuming carbs does not make it easy to change but it is worth it, well it was for me.

Conclusion
I did not write this post to be a bummer by saying age is a real thing.  I wrote this post to make sure we take a realistic look at aging and running.  It is when one takes a realistic approach that one will make strides, pun again intended,  in not only improving in your running but working to stay healthy so you can run for years to come.

If you are starting running late in life or you never ran seriously in your youth you may have PR’s to look forward to.  If you have been doing this for years after you readjust your perspective you to can look forward to PR’s relative to your age.  If running faster is not your goal, no problem,  then having a healthy view of aging and being aware that your body does indeed change over time will allow you to run much longer.

With the correct mindset and goals you can indeed defeat the aging serotypes while at the same being realistic to know you are not what you once were.

2024 Ragnar Bourbon Chase Relay - Race Report

Just got done this past weekend (Oct 4-5) with a great event - The 2024 Bourbon Chase Relay.  While it is nice to run in my home state what makes it even more fun is the camaraderie of doing a relay with 12 others and even more so with the 6 people you spend - in our case - 27+ hours with.  If you did not know what this race is about here is the basic run down.  The course is a 200 mile relay from The Jim Beam Distillery in Clermont KY, where it started this year, and winds it way over some great countryside - albeit hilly - and ends in Downtown Lexington Ky.  

Teams are made up of 12 people who are grouped together in 2 vans of 6 people each - by the way there is an Ultra category that I want to do in 2026 where you have one van of 6 runners who cover the same course.  The Vans cover 6 individual legs and then after the 6th runner - I was number 6 this year - hand off to the first running in Van 2 who takes over for the next 6 legs while Van 2 rests.  Then this is repeated until all 36 legs have been run and goes straight through the night to do so.  The time between running legs all depends on the speed of the runners and the distance and for me it was about 6 hours from my first leg (Leg 6)  to my second (Leg 18) and then  about 7:30+ for my start of Leg 30.  For our teams we reserved a couple hotel room in a central location teams could go to to rest and eat - we had it great this year as out team captain, along with is wife, set us up with homemade food that looked like a Chipotle Bar but way better, I mean way way better.  After our second transfer, from leg 18 to 19, we went back and a few people slept I did not as just could not and as you only get  - well for us - about 3 hours or so till have to leave for the next exchange so just relaxed.  I will tell you the running is a challenge and then you add to that being up for quite a few hours.  We had an early start and as I had to drive about an hour to meet my team I had to get up at 3AM Friday morning by the time I got home Saturday and relaxed and got to bed  - yea I should have gone to bead earlier - it was 10PM so was up for 43 hours.  While as I get older it hard to stay up that long but after a bit it just happens and really not a problem - well till its over then I started to feel it:).  Reminds me of the days back building Carbon Masts for the Americas cup and having to work 36 - 48 hour shifts to get it done - there is no late with the Americas Cup.  

So, that is the basic run down of the format but to this you also factor in the run legs range from the longest of 12.25 miles to the shortest of 2 miles - often driven by exchange zones.  This also adds in some work to figure out what works best for the runners you have.  Then you have to be ready for the unforeseen such as injuries as we had.  One of our runners at the end of his first leg hurt his knee so we had to adapt as for the next two legs he would have run were connected to the person running the previous leg for the first change and to the leg after for the final change.  I can tell you the person who got hurt really was upset he could not do his legs but as we told him - damaging his knee more was not worth it - yea no one wants to stop but there is a time when that is the best decision.  Same thing happened when I did this 2 years ago and I filled in by doing the extra leg at the end.  Just makes it more exciting.

In the race there are a number of categories for Standard (S) and Ultra(U) with Mixed, Women and Mens teams - we were in the Standard Men’s Masters (over 40) - you can enter.  This year at the BC there were a total of 212 teams that finished and we (Souther Express) were 24th overall and 4th in our division. The team that won our Division averaged 7:09/mile and was 4th Overall.  But places 2-4 in our division were very close as over 200 miles we were only separated by 12 minutes

Here was our Southern Express team in order, 1-6 in Van 1 and 7-12 in Van 2:

1 - Arnie Tempel           7 - Nathan Frey

2 - Paul Kiser                8 - Gordon Turner

3 - Matt Cook                9 - Jeffery Golden

4 - George Corder.       10 - Cliff Jasper

5 - Eric Burton             11 - Jason Braegelmann

6 - Tony Konvalin.       12 - Adam Gullett

A big thanks to Paul Hoffman and Alton Blakely Ford in Somerset Ky for supplying us vans to use and to Prairie Farms who suppled a cooler of chocolate milk - not my thing but some like it:)

The following are overviews of each leg with fueling, what I can remember, and such.  Titles of legs are linked to Strava data:

Run Down of Leg #6 - 12.25 Miles  (Listed as Very Hard) - Started at 2:11PM EST (Oct 4, 2024)

For me, running legs 6, 18 and 30 I started with what The Bourbon Chase lists as the hardest with a hilly 12.25 miler, you even get a special medal for this leg.  Also, the way it works out the next two legs for me were short.  I think the leg just before mine, #5, may have been about as hard due to hills but a little shorter at 9 miles.  That said with the heat (82F), hills and length this was a hard leg.  It starts out with a generally uphill first 4 miles - first a 1.3 mile up then rolling up to about mile 4.5 where I averaged about 8:12/mile. I may have run a little harder than I should as did not want to lose time.  From mile 4.5 to 7.0 it is mostly downhill with shorter climbs and by Mile 7 I was pretty close to an average of 8:00/mile.  About now, for me, the heat was making life miserable and at the same time turned to run on a main road that was uphill for the next 2.5 miles and just started slowing before a small downhill and then backup hill to mile 11.7 where I made an error and turned right and not left and went up hill a little more.  Thankfully I caught this fairly quickly so only ran about 1:30 farther but added some uphill.  Once back on track got to the finish in 1:43:31 officially for an official pace of 8:25 but on my watch with the extra distance it would be about 8:21/mile.  While pace was much slower than my 1/2 marathon about 3 weeks before and having a similar elevation of 837FT it was much hotter and legs were just not feeling it so all in all not bad.  Also, with the way the race works there were few runners around as passed 4-5 runners, one passed me, so not much to chase.  I would agree it was a tough leg but the heat to me is what made it even worse but all the the legs during the day were hot and I did holdback some as did not want to dig a hole I would not get out of for the next legs.  Having done this before and having done the Hood to Coast race in Oregon a few years ago the hard part after a hard run is not getting too tight when in the van.  Being the last leg before we rested helped as only had a short ride back to the hotel to rest and eat.  Was not sure how the next legs, #18- 4.2 miles and #30 - 3.8 miles, would go as they needed to be quicker.

Fueling:

   -Breakfast (3AM) was usual Modified Bulletproof coffee (Coffee, Collagen, Coconut Oil, Ghee, Egg, 1/3 pack of LMNT, small square of 85% Dark Chocolate)

   - On way to race start (8:00 - small chicken wrap)

   - 1 Hour before - 1 Sur AltRED

   - 1/2 Hour Before - Vespa UC

During race:

  - 1/2 Hour in 1/2 SIS Gel

  - 1 Hour in 1/2 SIS Gel

  - 1 Hour in 3/4 bottle KetoneAid Shot

  - Some water and electrolytes

  - 1.5 hours in1/2 SIS Gel

After Race:

  - 1 Can of LMNT Seltzer

  - 160z water

Between Van Exchanges

  - Small portion or rice, black beans, Chicken, Steak

  - Small cookie

  - Water

  - Coffee w/cream and a little sugar

Run Down of Leg #18 - 4.2 Miles (Listed as Moderate) - Started at 11:51PM EST (Oct 4, 2024)

The question when it came to running my second leg - Leg #18 of the Bourbon chase - was how had I recovered and after a 6 hour or so rest would I be ready to go.  After the long Leg #6 my legs were sore and had a blister on my big toe.  The positive was that while hard to get up and out of the van was that once I got moving was better.  That said this leg was starting at almost midnight so had been up by then for almost 21 hours.  I had not eaten a lot at the break but did get something in and had hydrated so was not hungry.  Got to the start, not far from where we stayed and while not getting much warmup I did get in some short strides to get a feel of how I was moving and while it took effort to get going once I was moving felt pretty good.

The key for this leg was to get out quickly as was downhill for the first 1.6 miles and went down about 100ft.  After that while there were a few downhills it was mostly a gradual rise for 100ft or so as leg had a total elevation of 144ft.  Once I got the hand off there was a good initial drop off and got out quick and then pushed the flat and got to the next downhill section and got the first mile in at 6:51/mile and legs felt good.  As was not sure about how I would feel further in I did control the pace but wanted to keep it up.  After a little more downhill once I got to 1.6 miles the route started a gradual rise to mile 2.9 miles with mile 2 at 7:04 pace with mile 3 at 7:31 pace.  With the more down and up done I worked to keep pace as best I could over the next mile and thus mile 4 was 7:07 pace.  This led to a path around the park and other than a small miss on a turn I worked to pick it up some and did last 1/4 mile at about 6:29/mile pace.  My milage came up a little short on my watch but at that milage my pace average was 7:06 but at the advertised dance of 4.24 my average was 7:00/mile.  Was pretty happy with the recovery and able to get close to sub 7:00/mile.  Now time to get back in the van and get back to the hotel for a shower and some rest.  While some got some sleep I did not as I just cold not do so but did get some rest.

Fueling:

Between Van Exchanges

  - Sausage Egg and Cheese Sandwich

  - Water

  - Coffee w/cream and a little sugar

Before race - nothing during

  - 1 hr before, 1 Sur AltRED

  - 1/2 hour before - 1 Vespa UC

  - Right before leg - 1 Vespa Jr

  - 2 Bonk Breaker Gels

After Race

  - 16oz water - forgot to get the LMNT Seltzer

Run Down of Leg #30 - 3.8 (Listed as Easy) - Started at 8:08AM PST (Oct 5, 2024)

With the gap to this last leg a little longer, 7.5+ hours, than the last one my legs while sore were not any worse than they had been even after a good second leg.  This leg started, after a short false flat, down hill to about 1.5 miles before a 1.2 mile climb that went up 286ft - total vert of this leg was 302ft - and then was flat for about a 1/4 mile before descending 69 feet to the finish over the final 0.8 miles.  Due to the initial flat then downhill I worked to gain some time and get in a rhythm so after working out the kinks over the first 1/2 mile I got into a good pace and averaged 6:54/mile for the first mile split.  Then at 1.5 miles started up hill and while it was not easy it was a good grade as while hard I could get in a rhythm without getting bogged down so with a mix of downhill and up I wavered 7:28 for mile 2.  I had caught a few people on the way to the hill and at about 2 miles caught anther runner which gave good incentive, once caught, to keep up the pace to increase the gap and maybe catch someone else - did not catch anyone as next time I saw someone they were too far ahead to catch.  Mile 3 which was all uphill but for the last flat for 1/4 mile my pace was 8:08/mile.  Once I hit mile 3 it was mostly downhill I worked up the pace to get the best average I could and my final 0.8 mile split was 6:36/mile - in hindsight should have pushed it a little harder but in the end am happy with the leg.  Do find it funny this leg was listed “Easy’ when it had more climbing than leg #18 and while shorter was only about a 1/2 mile shorter.  

Fueling:

Before race - nothing during

  - 1 hr before, 1 Sur AltRED

  - 1/2 hour before - 1 Vespa UC

  - 2 Bonk Breaker Gels

After Race:

  - 1 Can of LMNT Seltzer

  - 16oz water

Overview

While I did not run as fast as I wanted to or think I could have leg #6 was acceptable with the heat and training for that length run.  While I did the 1/2 marathon 3 weeks before and had run a 20 miler in the last months my running is decidedly better for shorter distances.  My speed may not be where I want it but I would say it is good enough when tired as running my last two legs at a good pace on sore and tired legs bares out.  If I would change anything I may have gone out a little slower to start as may have burned some matches I needed later.  That said with the heat and my training after the Lake Cumberland Half this may have just been where I was at.  I do know I wish I could have done what I had planned as would have helped up place in the top three - maybe next year.  

Now it is time for a really easy week then get back to training for the Tsali Trail Race in January.  I will get in a week or two with low milage and some short rides just to get back into it.  I also have 5 races left this year with all but one being 5Ks and the one other is a mile race.  These will be good speed work as want to up that even for a 50K.  Also, have 8 week left in my Foot Strengthening class which I am hoping will hole minimize the chance of injuries as that is the main thing to avoid in the year ahead.

  Click on images for more information and if you want more info on OFM check out this post: 

• What is OFM (Optimized Fat Metabolism)