I give you: Scott Jurek

Running might be one of the few, if not the only sport where you can compete, be coached and ask for advice to the best ones in the sport!!  If you were a tennis player, could  you be playing with Federer or Nadal? could they be coaching you ?? could you even have the opportunity to take a picture with them?  Runners get to do all this and more with the elite runners and we love it!! We feel inspired!  

I have been posting on my facebook and speaking about  Scott Jurek a lot! I know...I am kinda obsessed :)

I met Scott last year even before knowing I was going to run an ultra and without really knowing who he were. I am not easy to amaze but I am sure you will understand why I admire him after reading this post. Actually I have this fascination with him that I can't even explain :)

Scott is not only a fantastic runner, he is also very approachable and kind with other runners.  During Saturday and Sunday he was "stalked" by hundred of runners, including me :) , asking for pictures, advice, etc and he was always available and with a huge smile in his face.  His accomplishments are huge, nevertheless he seems to be a very down to earth person. 

On Saturday he spoke at the Running Show where he found out about the Easter Marathon and decided to go!! no, they didn't pay him to do it, he didn't win any award, his sponsors didn't ask him to attend...he did it because he thought it was fun! 

Here a little about him:

Scott focuses primarily on trail runs, including some of the most difficult courses on earth. He has won the Badwater Ultramarathon twice!!  Bad Water is considered one of the world's most difficult races, with averages temperatures of 120 °F (49 °C). On the conference on Saturday he said that he dealt with the heat by periodically stopping to lay down in a cooler full of ice!!!

Do you think that running 35/40 miles week for a marathon training is tough?

Scott follows an intense training regimen, running a minimum of 140 miles a week while training and frequently eating 5,000 to 8,000 calories a day!! and he is a vegan!!

Not impressed yet??  Take a look to some of  his accomplishments: 

• Won the Spartathlon 152-mile (245 km) race from Athens to Sparta, Greece three consecutive times (2006-07-08).
• Won the Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run, and held the record time for one year until Kyle Skaggs set a new record in 2008.
• Won the Western States Endurance Run seven consecutive times (1999–2005), and held the record time (15:36:27 in 2004) until 2010
• Won the Badwater Ultramarathon twice (2005, 2006), and held the course record for two years (2005).
• Finished first three times (2002–2004) and second three times (2001, 2005, 2006) in the Miwok 100K Trail Race.
• Won the Leona Divide 50 Mile Run four times (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004).
• Won the Diez Vista 50K Trail Run twice (2000, 2003).
• Won the Montrail Ultra Cup series twice (2002, 2003).
• 2010 - United States record for 24 hour distance on all surfaces (165.7 Miles)
• Ran with Claudia 2 consecutive years!! ...oh wait...this goes to my accomplishments list ;-)

are you impressed now?

 

I think I haven't mentioned that he used to "hate" running and veggies!! so he always says  " never say, never"!! He said he is not a "fast" runner and he will never win a marathon but he is able to run  a trail 100 miles at 9:20 pace!!  This is my kind of guy!!!  

If you want to read more about him, this is his website: http://www.scottjurek.com

I forgot to mention that he is also very CUTE!!!! :)

ps. I will  have another post with tips and advice from his conference on Saturday that not only applies to ultramarathoners but to any runner!! really very helpful advice...coming soon!!

Paying my dues: Training Report

 I want to start this post with the quote I have as the quote of the month :

 " Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it..." (T. Alan Armstrong).

This is just so truth!! Training is the toughest part of a race, you need to put a lot of yourself to accomplish your goals and even though you do, sometimes the outcome might not be what you were expected and you will start all over again, you will keep training and traying  because you are a RUNNER that is what a RUNNER does!! You race against yourself...you want to improve, you want to beat yourself, you want a PR (personal record) you want a medal, you want to qualify, you want to say "YOU TOLD ME I WAS CRAZY BUT I DID IT".

As many of you know I have been working crazy hours for the last 4 months and just the last month I have reached almost 70 hours per week!!  You have no idea how difficult is to train when you are working this much. It wasn't a good idea to sign up for these ultras during my busy season, I know it now! I really thought it wasn't going to be this tough this year but  it has been worst than last year. This is also the reason why I have been so lazy writing the blog, I have almost no spare time and if I do I just want to rest! 

I have been able to do all my long runs starting at 5:30 AM on Saturdays and heading work afterwards but during the week I haven't run as many miles as I did last year for the 50 miller, I couldn't reach the miles I was supposed to run. Anyway, my long runs have been stronger than last year and I guess that is a good signal.

For the last 4 weekends I have done very long runs 22, 24, 26.5 and finally today with a marathon in Van Cortland Park. I felt strong in all the long runs but the North Face races are really challenging and I am starting to be concerned. During the last 2 weeks I have met many ultra runners  and all of them have mentioned to me how tough those races are :( and that scared me a little.  I know I have run the distance before but the course was much easier and these ones are very technical (many rocks, huge up hills).


The countdown has started!

Today was my last long run before Bear Mountain, the clock is counting down now and we will see if my poor training is enough to conquer the Mountain!!

I only have 1 more week of crazy work and after that I will go back to a more normal schedule...no more 12+ hours work days!!! Can't wait!! really!!!

I will write about Scott (don't you  know who he is?? OMG..how come?? I will tell you all about him!!)  in a separate post.....oh yes he deserves his own special post but I am too tired  to do it now!! and of course I will also write a complete report of the marathon....how come was so hot today??? I was not ready for this hot weather!!

As Scott told me "Run Long and Run Strong"