Surviving Ultra

Because DFL is still an accomplishment

Category: Uncategorized

  • Pocantico Hills Marathon

    The Pocantico Hills Marathon is a trail marathon held in the very scenic Rockefeller State Park Preserve and it just celebrated it’s 5th year. This is my second time running this marathon and one I see myself repeating again in the future.  It’s a marathon that has a very generous cutoff that makes it feasible to hike the course if desired and is thus a great event for a first time attempt at a trail marathon.  The trails are gravel carriage roads with ~2500 feet of elevation gain over the course of the race. It’s a very runnable course. It’s a course I like so much that I took the gpx file from my Coros watch’s recording of the run and created a route in Komoot so I can run the course again in the future (https://www.komoot.com/tour/2678030551). It’s also the type of course I need to focus on more of as I tend to be more of mountain goat than a race horse.  I do really well in ultra’s that are very steep and technical (https://survivingultra.com/2025/04/28/nj-spartan-ultra/), but tend to be very slow at the flatter more runnable courses.

    While I was still towards the back of the pack in this event, I’m happy with my performance in the race as my training had been focused more on leaning out than running over the past few months and I had been in a caloric deficit up until a couple of days before the race.  My performance in the race showed I didn’t step backwards despite not being as focused on running recently and I feel I am well positioned now to start building towards completing a 50 miler over the course of the next year.  Of course, being back of the pack means there is a lot of work to do, but I think my now improved strength to bodyweight ratio has me well situated to start that buildup and eventually go faster and further than before. 

  • Rise of the Ultra Runners

    I recently completed the book Rise of the Ultrarunners by Adharanand Finn and really enjoyed the book.  The book does a great job of capturing the experiences of what an ultrarunner feels as they go through a race and many of the mental challenges that runners overcome to not call it quits.  Many of the stories captured in the book are quite inspiring and have upped my determination to conquer a 50 miler.

    I thoroughly enjoyed how it also touched on the history of ultrarunning and discussed similarities to sports from days gone by such as pedestrianism.  What I liked best, however, was the coverage of the various types of ultra-races in the book and what they entail (backyard ultra, multi-stage, etc) as well as many ultra-adjacent activities such as FKTs and fell racing.  The chapters where he focused on fixing his form were also quite interesting as were the coverage of some of the approaches he tried such as Anatomy in Motion. 

    The book left me full of ideas for ultra-related activities that I now can’t wait to try and many ideas for researching ways to improve my form.

  • Rucking Around the Boston Area

    I recently had to travel to the Boston area for an event in the suburb of Woburn.  Whenever I travel, I always try to find some time to see something interesting or explore something new and when checking out Woburn I couldn’t help but notice that Middlesex Fells reservation sat between Boston and Woburn when I did a quick search for trails in the area.  That’s when the crazy idea hit of why take a cab from Boston when I can hike it.

    I arrived in the Boston Back Bay station in the morning and divided my adventure up into two parts since I decided to meet a colleague in Boston for lunch.  I had all of my luggage and some water and snacks packed into a backpack that weighed about 20 pounds.  I spent the remainder of the morning rucking around the Charles River Esplanade area and enjoying the views of the river for a nice ~10 mile adventure.

    It was a rainy and misty day so the views of the bridges were not the clearest

    but it was great seeing many of the interesting looking trees in the park

    as well many of interesting statues throughout it.

    After a nice long lunch meeting I then set out (a bit too late) on my approximately 12 mile ruck to Woburn via the Middlesex Fells reservation.  The walk to the reservation did take me through parts of the Boston area that I had never visited before and there were a few interesting sites along the way like this footbridge across the Mystic River. 

    When I arrived at the nature reservation, I started down the Middle Road trail and headed towards the panther cave. 

    I was able to capture some pictures of the rock outcroppings that started to pop up as I approached the area of the cave, but didn’t get to capture any great pictures of the cave itself as by the time I arrived in the area darkness was starting to rapidly set in and I switched focus to getting myself back to one of the main roads that paralleled the park and to the hotel hosting the event as quickly as possible.

    While I was not without a small flashlight, there is a definite note to self to pack a headlamp next time so I don’t need to cut my adventure short.  From what I did see of the preserve, however, it’s definitely an area that I would love to explore more of if the opportunity presents itself in the future. Regardless the day made for a fun 22 mile trek that was much more fun than a cab ride. 

  • Grease the Groove Grip Training

    Given that I like to participate in ultra length OCR races grip strength plays an important part in successfully achieving many of the obstacles.  While exercises that utilize grip, such as dead hangs, farmers carries, and others make frequent appearances in my lifting routines one of things that has started to become a habit is getting in some extra grip work in grease the groove style.  I like to keep a pair of Captains of Crush grippers at a difficulty that I can close 10-12 times on my desk when I work.  Every time I get up and come back to my desk I can give the grippers 4-5 quick squeezes with each hand and can easily get at least 5 or 6 such sets in each work day.  For me at least, grip strength seems to require more frequent training to make solid gains and this has been a great way to get some of that extra frequency in.  It’s also an exercise that is workplace friendly in that it’s unobtrusive and won’t make you work up a sweat. 

  • AthleanX Monster Maker Month 1

    Adding Macrofactor to my training has been a game changer in that I see myself being able to reach a level of leanness that has eluded me in the past.  While I met my initial weight loss goals using Macrofactor and the Max Shred program I think it will be possible to continue on and increase my speed and decrease the effort it requires to cover an ultra distance by dropping a few more pounds.  While it’s a slight setback in running progressions, I’m trying to take a long term view of how I can best reach my goal and improving my strength to bodyweight ratio will definitely be a large step in the right direction. 

    I therefore decided to keep doing enough running and hiking to maintain my ability to complete a 50K at my current ability level and focus instead on getting a bit leaner before scaling up to a 50 miler attempt. I tend to find weight loss easier when my priority shifts to strength and thus was seeking a more lifting centric training block.  I settled on AthleanX’s Monster Maker program for several reasons.  The program is based on the conjugate training method and, while total body focused, it allows you to choose a muscle group you would like to prioritize for a little extra love.  I chose the back focus.  The muscles of the back and posterior chain are critical to maintaining proper posture as a race progresses and are a muscle group that most could stand to focus on a little more.  My idea is to use the duration of the program to lose some additional weight while making myself more durable for when I start scaling up the mileage later in the year. 

    I’m in the final week of Month 1 and really enjoying the program.  I’ve never done a program with an Anterior/Posterior split before but am finding that I really like it.  I’ve also really liked the dynamic lower days which contain speed work and other movements designed to build explosive power.  I’m looking forward to the next 2 months and coming out of this block with a more favorable strength to bodyweight ratio. 

  • Mario Cuomo Bridge Path (Tappan Zee Bridge Path)

    While I much prefer to explore in forests and other natural settings, I’m not opposed to the occasional bit of urban exploration and have found the pedestrian crossings on some bridges rewarding for their unique viewpoints.  A bridge crossing that has been on my to do list for a while, but that I never managed to find time for until recently was the Mario Cuomo Bridge Path that crosses over the Hudson River.  The trail runs about 3.6 miles which, if you run the full length out and back, makes for run of just over 7 miles. 

    The path did offer up some great views of the Hudson River at each of the multiple observation decks that you pass as you travel down the path.  Moreover, I really appreciated how they had separate lanes for pedestrian and bicycle traffic as on other bridges, like the George Washington Bridge, I’ve often found myself needing to play a real-life game of Frogger with oncoming cyclists.  The path and facilities at each end were also well maintained and parking ample enough. 

    I don’t regret the experience of running the trail but, despite all the positives, this is not a trail I see myself repeating with any kind of frequency. When I run I like the solitude and quietness of nature and being in close proximity to a major interstate highway made for a noisy 7 miles. 

  • Kaaterskill Falls

    Kaaterskill Falls is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the Catskills and a hike I have made many times over the years.  The trail to the base of falls is a little under a mile and consists largely of stone steps once you begin your descent.  It is worth noting that on the trail down to the base you do have the option of stopping at the middle stage of the waterfall and it is well worth it as it offers an impressive and unique view of the falls. Kaaterkskill Falls is a location in the Catskills that every hiker who visits the area needs to explore at least once, with the best time to visit being in the early spring where the recent snow melt maximizes the flow of water over the falls. 

    With that being said, the beauty of the location combined with its relative accessibility has led it to become an extremely popular destination for visitors of the area.  The parking lots are difficult to get into on the weekends unless you get there very early, and even on a weekday it can be quite crowded.  These crowds can often include inexperienced hikers as well that are trying to navigate the often muddy trails in footwear like flip flops, which can be something to watch out for.  It’s a trail I recommend checking out but on weekday and early in the morning before the crowds arrive. 

    The posted picture is from the bottom of the falls but does not do the falls justice.  It was a crowded day and my attempts to find an angle where the view of the falls would not be filled with people was not successful.

  • Ashokan Rail Trail

    When visiting the Catskills, the Ashokan Rail Train has become a favorite place to get a run in and was a perfect way to get some easy miles in this week.  The trail is a well-maintained path that is covered with crushed gravel most of the way.  It’s an approximately 11.5 mile trail (map here) that contains a parking lot on each end and one that is roughly in the middle.  The trail is relatively flat and provides a very scenic way to get a 10-20 mile run in depending on which lot you choose to start from. 

    The parking seems to be ample enough, and I’ve never struggled to find a place to park in any of the lots unlike a few other hiking sites in the area.

  • AthleanX Max Shred Month 3

    Month 3 continues to build on Month1 and Month 2 of the program and consists of circuit training with weights.  It was an enjoyable month that in conjunction with the Macrofactor app helped lean me out even more.  I lost the bit of weight I put on during my build up to the Spartan Ultra in April as well as a couple of additional pounds. The leaning out a bit also helped improve my speed a bit when I tested myself towards the end of the program.  My overhead press, bench press, and squat also saw some modest gains over the course of the 3 months, which was a welcome surprise given the calorie deficit.  It was a fun and well laid out program and one I see myself repeating in the future. 

    More importantly, I really liked the pairing of the program with Macrofactor.  While I was slowly and steadily seeing my trend weight go down, at no point did I really feel my performance in any of the workouts or any of the longer hikes and runs I did suffered.  I think I may even be able to shed another 10 pounds or so over the next few months with the guidance of Macrofactor and reap the speed benefits of that.  A one week deload with a lot of hiking and then back to it. 

  • Clarence Fahnestock State Park

    Fahnestock park is a 15,000 acre preserve that house miles of trails to explore, including a segment of the Appalachian trail.  It’s also the home of the annual ultramarathon Fabulous Fahnestock.  This is a great place to hike and train for lengthier trail runs as you can create routes that will cover longer distances without having to repeat the same section over and over again. The trails are also very runnable and tend to be well marked with an example below from a recent exploration of the School Mountain Trail:

    It’s a place I’m planning on using again and again in the coming months for some lengthier trail-based training runs.