Surviving Ultra

Because DFL is still an accomplishment

Author: Christopher Frenz

  • Frances Reese Woodland Trail of Discovery

    This is a short one mile loop trail that overlooks the Hudson River and is a bit of a hidden gem found within the grounds of the historic landmark Boscobel House. While most visitors visit the landmark for the gardens and the impressive views of the Hudson River this trail can be found off to the side of the grounds and also boasts some interesting views of the Hudson Valley such as this view of West Point from the trail. 

    The trail is too short for any form of serious training/hiking but well worth checking out if you ever find yourself visiting the grounds of Boscobel House. 

  • Tracking Time during Circuit Training

    Circuit training is a mode of training that I typically respond really well too and something that I tend to turn to a lot in my training.  One of the minor but annoying issues that I tended to encounter was that tracking the time for various sets and rest periods using my phone was a bit difficult with the built-in time app, especially when different timings were involved (e.g. 30 seconds of burpees followed by 15 seconds of rest). 

    Screenshot

    For the past 2 years, I’ve solved that issue with the TimerPlus app which easily lets me set different timings for different elements of the circuit, including variable rest periods between sets and a complete run of the circuit.  It’s proven to be highly customizable and I also appreciate the audio cues it gives between elements as depending on the exercise it’s not always easy to reposition yourself to look at a clock or watch.  I prefer a GPS watch for timing runs and hikes, but have found this app really useful for tracking gym-based circuits.

  • Leon Levy Preserve

    While well-known regional nature preserves like Minnewaska State Park, Harriman Park, and other popular destinations can offer amazing scenery to take in, they also often come with overcrowded parking lots and lots of people on the trails.  Sometimes it can be nice to explore in more local preserves that while smaller can still contain unique sights worth exploring.  One such local preserve I visit periodically is the Leon Levy Preserve in South Salem, NY.  While the trails are not lengthy they are very runnable and allow for the easy planning of routes that form a loop.  It’s a great place for a 5K or 10K length training run. 

    I’ve also always been partial to trails that contain a bit of history and the preserve checks that box as well with the ruins that are now known as the Black Mansion – a summer home built by the renowned organic chemist James Mason Crafts (discovered the Friedel-Crafts reaction) that burned down in 1979.  The Freidel-Crafts reaction is a key component of processes used to make certain pharmaceuticals, many polymers and resins, as well as industrial chemicals.  While that particular reaction predates the building of the Black Mansion, one can’t help but wonder what chemical breakthroughs were made as Crafts traversed many of the very same trails. 

    It’s a great local preserve that also contains a small gorge and stone bridge that spans it.  

  • North East Ultra 8

    I was searching for some interesting new trails to hike and ran across the North East Ultra 8 Challenge.  It consists of hiking/running the 8 most difficult trails in the North Eastern US in less than 24 hours each.  The 8 hikes consist of:

    The Mahoosuc Traverse – Maine/ New Hampshire

    The Cranberry 50 – New York

    The Pemi Loop – New Hampshire

    The Taconic Crest Traverse – New York/ Massachusetts/ Vermont

    The Saranac 6 – New York

    The Presidential Traverse – New Hampshire

    The Great Range Traverse – New York

    The Devils Path – New York 

    While I have done parts of a couple of trails on the list, I have not yet done any of them end to end.  The list of trails has definitely inspired some ideas for some future adventures.

  • Max Shred Month 2

    Over the course of the summer I decided to run the AthleanX Max Shred program as a compliment to all of the hiking and other outdoor activities I find myself involved in and have been combining that with use of the Macrofactor app to lean out a bit.  So far, the pair has been a great combination. I’ve managed to shed a few pounds and I’ve noticed work capacity improvements from trying to complete the program at alarm level 4.  More importantly, with the use of the Macrofactor app, I’ve been able to drop weight at a rate that I am able to preserve muscle at and actually think I may have even made some gains from the large number of inverted rows present in the program so far. 

    Month 2 nicely builds on the foundation laid out in month 1, but pushes you harder by adding a second lift to each day’s workout and changing from 3 to 4 strength training workouts.  It’s a nice way to progressively add difficulty to the program.   The hundreds of reps of bodyweight squats and jumping exercises that are programmed each week have also been a great way to enhance muscular endurance in the legs. 

    I’m getting ready to close out month 2 and move onto month 3, which ups the difficulty again, by replacing the bodyweight movements entirely with lifting based circuits.  I really like the way the program has phased in an increased amount of lifting starting from just bodyweight in week 1 and then having the user perform one lift per workout in weeks 2-4.  In weeks 5-8 it progresses to 2 lifts per workout, and finally in weeks 9-12 is composed entirely of lifting in a circuit-based fashion.  For an experienced lifter the bodyweight elements provide a nice break for the joints and tendons while still getting results and for a novice it’s a nice way to gradually ease into lifting.  A great program so far.

  • Rainbow Falls

    While most visitors to Minnewaska Park seem to favor the gravel carriage roads and the major sites like Lake Minnewaska and Awosting Falls, some of the more interesting sites are found on the much less used footpaths that are found throughout the park.  One such footpath I recently explored is the Rainbow Falls footpath, which contains the Rainbow Falls waterfall in the section of the trail found between the Upper and Lower Awosting carriage roads.  The trail was not as clearly marked as it could be in spots, which led to some searches for the next marker at a few points, but was nevertheless a great experience overall. 

    For those that just want to view the waterfall and avoid most of the technical aspects of the footpath it is most easily approached by starting the Rainbow Falls footpath at the point where it intersects with the Upper Awosting carriage road and then taking the same path back to the carriage road. 

  • Macrofactor

    One of the things I encountered over the course of my last two training blocks is that the additional running really upped my appetite and I suspect I was at times over compensating in the calories I was consuming as I gained a few pounds.  While some of that weight was additional muscle mass from the max strength days in both the Tactical Barbell Base Build and the MTI Max Strength + 6 Mile Run programs (my lifts went up a bit in both) not all of it was.  Furthermore, my speed and endurance would probably benefit from a bit of a cut, but in cutting I’d like to ensure that my macros are on point to minimize any muscle loss. 

    In order to achieve this, I decided to give the app Macrofactor a try.  When you first set it up you fill out a questionnaire that it uses to estimate your TDEE and from there you “weigh-in” periodically to track your progress.  Based on your weight changes it learns how your metabolism works and updates your TDEE.  Your learned TDEE is than viewed in the context of a cut, bulk, or maintain goal and the app gives you a breakdown of the macros and calories you should be consuming to meet that goal.  It readjusts these targets every week to account for any changes to your TDEE. I like the way it calculates a trend weight for these calculations that smooths out the noise seen in scale weights from the daily weigh-ins. 

    I’ve been using the app for a couple of weeks now and seems to be working well.  Logging food is less painful than I thought it would be and the act of logging alone I have found extremely informative and beneficial.  Seeing the nutritional breakdown of certain foods has definitely helped to pinpoint some unexpected areas for improvement and I find seeing the numbers makes me more likely to hold myself accountable when I’m pondering that extra cookie. 

    The recommendations on calorie intake seems to be in a sustainable range as well and performance has not suffered when following their recommendations so far. I’ve also managed to drop about a pound (trend weight) in my first two weeks of using the app.  I think this app was a great find and I’m looking forward to using it keep nutrition in line to support my strength and endurance goals. 

  • AthleanX Max Shred

    I’ve been a fan of AthleanX programs for a long time and have successfully run a number of them over the years in conjunction with ultra prep.  I tend to pick programs that have a mix of strength and conditioning training in them and will typically replace the general conditioning workouts with running, rucking, or hiking sessions as they are more sport specific. I’ve also been able to run them in the past with a few two-a-days mixed in here and there and still managed to recover well. 

    As such, I think an AthleanX program will be more suitable for me to run in conjunction with a summer full of exploration.  I still want to prioritize building my aerobic base, but will hold off on running another MTI program until I can give it the attention and focus required to perform well in the workouts and recover well from them.

    The AthleanX program I have chosen to run is Max Shred.  It’s a conditioning centric program that uses circuit training for the strength days mixed with a couple of conditioning workouts each week.  While not everyone benefits from the same exercise techniques to the same extent, circuit training is something that my body traditionally responds really well to. The strength circuits when run with minimal rest also turn out to be quite the cardio workout and will contribute to my aerobic and, probably even more so, anaerobic endurance.  I’m nearing the end of the first month of the program and have seen definite work capacity and endurance improvements.  I’m also finding myself starting to lean out a little more which will also help with my running speed.  Really enjoying the program and looking forward to seeing the further improvements I can make as the difficulty scales up in months 2 and 3. 

  • Minnewaska State Park

    The long summer days provide a great time to explore and run/hike trails that require a bit of travel to get to them. Even with a couple of hours of driving, there is still more than enough daylight hours to get a nice adventure in.  Minnewaska State Park is one such destination I like to frequent.  It’s a park in upstate NY on the Shawangunk mountain range that features three lakes, a plethora of cliffs and ledges with panoramic views, and several waterfalls.  Besides the great natural beauty of the park, it is also an amazing place to train as it features trails of diverse difficulty levels.  The park has an extensive network of carriage roads which are gravel covered manicured trails that are easy to run on, but also contains a variety of more technical trails if roots and rocks are more to your liking.  This park will continue to be a frequent destination for me as I continue to train this summer. 

    The pic attached to this post is from the Upper Awosting trail which connects Lake Minnewaska to Lake Awosting.  Taking the Upper Awosting trail to the lake, circumnavigating the lake with the Lake Awosting trail, and taking the Castle Point trail back is a favorite route of mine.  Although, the Lake Awosting trail is currently closed for the 2025 season as they restore it.

  • MTI Max Effort Strength + 6 Mile Run Finishing Thoughts

    I enjoyed the program and it worked as advertised in that I was able to make a modest improvement to my squat and maintain strength in my other lifts.  For the bench press, the reps were coming easier towards the end of the program and I’m at a point where I can do more reps with the same weight but probably not quite ready to add more weight to the bar yet.  I was also able to make improvements in my run times and my 10K time started to improve by the halfway point in the program.  The chassis integrity days were awesome and I found them a great way to train the core.

    The training was effective, but I admit that I did have to put a focus on proper recovery to perform well in the program and I had to keep my sleep and nutrition on point.  I often like to go hiking on the weekends and using a couple of rest days to hike and not just focus on recovery combined with the need to wake a bit earlier than usual for a few days did have me feeling a bit fatigued toward the end.  While this is not a fault of the program, it is a training consideration in terms of when to run a training block like this as training often has to be balanced with other activities. 

    I see myself using MTI programs again in the future, but given I have an active summer of adventures planned, I may modify my plan to run the MTI Max Effort Strength and Aerobic Capacity plan as a next step and opt for a training regimen that has a bit less intensity in it so I can better pair my training with other physical activities I enjoy without burning out.  Next steps will be laid out soon.