The Quadrathon Podcast

QuadCast Episode 28; The Swim Thing!

quadrathon — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 06:08:09 +0000

Four weeks after the 100 in the Hood. I am still on the bench but I am getting better…thank heavens; next stop cabin fever central! I paid a visit to my Doctor 10 days ago and now all the swelling has gone down his opinion was that I managed to tear my quad muscle…ouch!

I’ve not been exercising but have been listening to a lot of podcast and thanks to KelownaGurl I am looking for my googles again…yes I am seriously going to the pool; well I will be!

While I am not training I am going to wind the podcast back the good old days when I had something to say other than what I am doing, so if you have something you would like me to talk about drop me a line, give me a call or hit me up on Twitter and I’ll see what I can do.

I have a new call in line 206-202-0349 so give me a call and leave me a message! If you follow my blog you there may be some cross over but the recording has it’s own flavor and there is a two part race report and a video of some photos there, you can find that at http://quadrathon.blogspot.com

As always you can email me with comments or questions please feel free to drop me a line a quadrathon@gmail.com

Please feel free to leave any comments on this shownotes site and I would really love it if you would post a review on iTunes.

Thanks for joining me!

QuadCast Episode 27; 100 in the Hood

quadrathon — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:34:20 +0000

In this episode I take you along on a 100 mile race. My race didn’t quite pan out as I hoped and I am sure by now you know what happened but if you don’t…well you’ll just have to listen to find out.

The audio quality is a bit up and down as I stripped the audio file from video taken using my little pocket camera (damn I am such a techno weenie at times) anyway load this episode into your iPod and depending on your pace it’ll be good for a slow 10k or a quick half marathon!

I have a new call in line 206-202-0349 so give me a call and leave me a message!

If you follow my blog you there may be some cross over but the recording has it’s own flavor and there is a two part race report and a video of some photos there, you can find that at http://quadrathon.blogspot.com

As always you can email me with comments or questions please feel free to drop me a line a quadrathon@gmail.com

Please feel free to leave any comments on this shownotes site and I would really love it if you would post a review on iTunes.

Thanks for joining me!

QuadCast Episode 26; Pacers, Cocktails and Voicemails

quadrathon — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 06:33:50 +0000

In this episode I talk about the last week tapering and think about my next and final week taper before race weekend on the 26-27th. I send lots of thanks to my new crew and pacers some of whom you can follow on twitter or through their blogs:

Lori @jensir her blog is at www.toughnoodles.blogspot.com Christine @solorunner she co owns a blog at www.runningchicksinPDX.blogspot.com Clover @cloverc and Robyn

I discuss some of my trial and errors with Perpetuem, Cytomax, Amino Vital and Nuun.

And I finally get a voicemail from Barb (KelownaGurl) and Mike (DirtDawg) so at their request I have a new call in line 206-202-0349 so give me a call and leave me a message!

If you follow my blog you there may be some cross over but the recording has it’s own flavor As always you can email me with comments or questions please feel free to drop me a line a quadrathon@gmail.com

My rambling writings are available at http://quadrathon.blogspot.com.

Please feel free to leave any comments on this shownotes site and I would really love it if you would post a review on iTunes.

Thanks for joining me!

QuadCast Episode 25; Accountability

quadrathon — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:57:03 +0000

A couple of bad long runs and a massive forest fire have me scurrying around rejiging my plans!

I need to get my game face on or more pertinently my game legs on, I need to taper effectively and efficiently, this means not just stopping which is kinda what’s happened over the last two weeks, dodgy-ish knee, new job, big commute all are excuses and so from today I am starting an 18 day taper plan that will get me to start line as ready as I can be.

The beauty of a podcast or blog is that it is like photocopying your diary and posting it on the local bus stop, you put things out there and then you have to deliver on them. And so with that in mind now is the time to be accountable to myself, my goals, my family and to you, so if you see me diverting call me out will you!

If you follow my blog you there may be some cross over but as always the recording has it’s own flavor As always you can email me with comments or questions please feel free to drop me a line at quadrathon at gmail dot com.

My rambling writings are available at http://quadrathon.blogspot.com.

Please feel free to leave any comments either on this shownotes site and I would really appreciate a review on iTunes and if you would like to cast a vote at podcast alley that would be appreciated you can do that here http://www.podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=73401

QuadCast Episode 24; TwoFa!

quadrathon — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 05:59:38 +0000

Buy one get one free in this TwoFa episode! Long Runs, short runs and hot runs! Sun sun sun in the Santa Monica Mountains and on the Las Vegas Strip! I run four half marathons in four days with a tapped knee which works really well, the tape not the knee! This episode is just over an hour so take me out for a quick spin around the block or two!

If you follow my blog you there may be some cross over but as always the recording has it’s own flavor

As always you can email me with comments or questions please feel free to drop me a line at quadrathon at gmail dot com.

My rambling writings are available at http://quadrathon.blogspot.com.

Have a great week or two or three racing, training and running.

QuadCast Episode 23; Missing Trails and Man Hole Covers!

quadrathon — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 06:16:09 +0000

Holy smokes it’s a short one! I yak on a bit about supplements and also a little about Amino Acids, I record some from the trails after a frustrating trail run; couldn’t find the trail! And then give the low down on my exciting midweek run!

I seem to have jinxed myself with comment about remaining injury free, clearly not the case right now so I am going to restrain myself from prophetic statements and give it to your on a done rather than doing basis.

As always you can email me with comments or questions please feel free to drop me a line at quadrathon at gmail dot com.

My rambling writings are available at http://quadrathon.blogspot.com.

Have a great week’s racing, training and running.

QuadCast Episode 22; Catching Up and Moving Forward

quadrathon — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 02:39:47 +0000

In this episode…well firstly an apology for my absence, however I am back and so in this episode I cover three weeks, somewhere around 150-170 miles, of training! There’s a long bike ride during which I discuss the book Born to Run by Chris McDougall which everyone is raving about; my opinion is, well you’ll just have to listen but suffice to say I am not a convert but then I never read the DaVinci code either!

There are two long runs; one where I get kinda lost and another where I run out of water. It’s always an adventure around here!

I am also product testing for a fab company called the Wilderness Running Company and have arranged some great discounts on a raft of items that they sell! So listen for all the details.

Music this week; opening track; Dirty Devil by The Outsiders, mid track; How Near How Far by….and you will know us by the trail of dead and closing track; Invaders Must Die by The Prodigy

As always you can email me with comments or questions please feel free to drop me a line at quadrathon at gmail dot com.

My rambling writings are available at http://quadrathon.blogspot.com.

I now have a call in voicemail telephone line, feel free to call in and leave me a message! The number is (001) 206 339 0783

Have a great week’s racing, training and running.

QuadCast Episode 21; Night Running & Mindfulness

quadrathon — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:31:00 +0000

In this episode I have recorded the top and tail of my night run on the AC100 http://ac100.com course. The run covered the last 26 miles of the course, we started at just after 7:30pm and I finally finished around 2:30am I say I as despite the run having started with 30-40 runners were got strung out along the course, this is usual for ultra races, I finally crawled into bed around 4:00am.

The second half is from a weekday training ‘push’ run around the local area and talk about some thoughts I have had this week about my diet, mindfulness and some interesting conclusions I have reached; where parallel roads cross.

Zentri & Holisticguru

QuotidianLight & ZenRunner

Music this week is Find Your Way Back Home by Dishwalla…it seemed appropriate enough!

As always you can email me with comments or questions please feel free to drop me a line at quadrathon at gmail dot com.

My rambling writings are available at http://quadrathon.blogspot.com.

I now have a call in voicemail telephone line, feel free to call in and leave me a message! The number is (001) 206 339 0783

Have a great week’s racing, training and running.

Episode 20; Running with LA Runner

quadrathon — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:50:05 +0000

In this episode I hit the trails with LA Runner http://larunner.blogspot.com/ a.k.a. Billy. Billy has agreed to be one of my pacers for the AC100 http://www.ac100.com/ in September. I’ve known him for over a year now and we met through the blogsphere, he’s a great guy and we got on common ground very quickly.

During this episode we discuss Dean Karnazes, barefoot running, the AC100 and Billy’s recent experience at Skyline to the Sea 50K in April! You can read about it here http://larunner.blogspot.com/2009/04/race-report-skyline-to-sea-50k.html

Music this week is Wild Boys by Duran Duran.

As always you can email me with comments or questions please feel free to drop me a line at quadrathon at gmail dot com.

My rambling writings are available at http://quadrathon.blogspot.com.

I now have a call in voicemail telephone line, feel free to call in and leave me a message! The number is (001) 206 339 0783

Have a great week’s racing, training and running.

PS sorry this is a week late…you know, life and everything!

Episode 19; A Long Bike Ride & Short Book Review

quadrathon — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 05:41:49 +0000

In this episode I bring you home at the end of my first long bike ride, I had 50 miles scheduled, managed to get lost and wound up with 55 on the clock, no biggie – although my wife got a bit worried!

I have had a bit of a sore throat all weekend so no ‘runcast’ but I give you a follow up on the weeks training and general stuff. I also talk briefly about a book that I have just finished reading called Running Within: A Guide to Mastering the Body-Mind-Spirit Connection for Ultimate Training and Racing, written by Jerry Lynch Jerry Lynch and Warren A. Scott, its an interesting read and presents a series of tools and techniques for improving your mental game. It’s a bit of a dry read but there is some good stuff in it…try your local library; you never know!

As always you can email me with comments or questions please feel free to drop me a line at quadrathon at gmail dot com. My rambling writings are available at http://quadrathon.blogspot.com. Please feel free to leave any comments either on this shownotes site and I would really appreciate a review on iTunes and if you would like to cast a vote at podcast alley that would be appreciated you can do that here http://www.podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=73401

Have a great weeks training and running.

Episode 18; AC100 Training Starts

quadrathon — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 03:48:14 +0000

In this episode my training for the Angeles Crest 100 mile race starts. The first 20 minutes are recorded during the very first training run; a 15 miler. Due to putting in my time on trail maintenance and not wanting to disrupt the whole weekend for the family this run started around 9:00pm on Sunday evening and finishes around 11:15pm. I was tired and you can tell!

The second half or 45 minutes are recorded on my bike. I seem to have overcome the wind issue, except at high speed and so I talk about using my Forerunner 305 on the bike, cadence and pedal.

If you want to check out my training plan you can see it at http://quadrathon.blogspot.com/2009/06/path-to-start-line.html

I am putting together a Q&A episode so if you have any questions feel free to email them to me at quadrathon at gmail dot com, if you could create a sound file and email me that then that would make for a great episode

Have a great weeks training and running.

Episode 17; Trail Tumbling and Trimming

quadrathon — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:22:10 +0000

In this episode I take you on a section of the Backbone Trail that runs (no pun intended) the length of the Santa Monica Mountains from Pt Mugu in the north to Pacific Palisades in the south. I will be running it its entirety in August, this section is in the north and connects Kanan Dune with Corral Canyon. I also have a first on the run and go apex over tip on the trail, no harm done; more shock than pain!

The second half of the podcast covers my trail maintenance day on the AC100 course, which is a requirement of entry into the race in September, I took my camera along and got some great photos which you can see on my blog.

Have a great weeks training and running.

Episode 16; Pushrun

quadrathon — Sat, 23 May 2009 00:50:45 +0000

In this episode I take you on a pushrun! What the hell is pushrun you ask, well sit back or lace ‘em up and come on one with me. A bit of a funny episode as my voice recorder filled up during my long run last weekend, unknown to me so there was 20 minutes of actual recording with only 10-15 minutes of me talking so I ditched the lot and recorded the whole podcast this morning…nothing like doing it last minute!

And so in no particular order I talk about: my week, my training plan, my pacers, the AC100, P90X, diet, detoxing, music, new podcasts and a few other things. As it is recorded in one take there are a few pauses; hang on in there I do come back!

Sit back and enjoy…it’s a long one!

Have a great weeks training and running.

Episode 15; Things that go bump in the night!

quadrathon — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:48:31 +0000

In this episode I take you on the trails at night. The entire episode is recorded during a night run in the local hills. I recorded the first half and then left the recorder running to see if actually espoused any wisdom…I didn’t but I did manage to freak myself out with a couple of critters and a stupid bird that was sat in the middle of the path.

I have a lot of night running coming up during the AC100 somewhere between 7-10 hours depending on the sunrise/sunset so it’s all good practice. I also posted about this on my blog and there is a link to some photos etc at http://quadrathon.blogspot.com/2009/05/night-running.html

Be warned there is a bit of a jump in volume right at the end…I am still trying to polish my Audacity skills!

Have a great weeks training and running.

Episode 14; Half & Half

quadrathon — Fri, 08 May 2009 05:57:58 +0000

This episode was recorded pretty much half on the trails and half on the roads…hence the title. Given that I am in a downswing trainingwise there is nothing scintillating to report so I am pretty much just rambling on for an hour! Hey I can’t be the center of attention all the time!

In the first half I am running on the local trails, I am just following my nose but I do make and attempt at following some structure to the route and despite the best efforts of the little maps that litter the place I just end up geographically challenged. I met a hiker who had a lot to say about the trails and because I was in no real hurry I stood and nattered with him for 20 minutes or so, it was a great conversation but unfortunately the wind picked up and blew out the mic!

In the second half I ponder some of my wife’s concerns over the AC100, what she describes as “disappearing of into the woods”, I suppose there is some merit in what she has to say.

As always you can email me with comments or questions please feel free to drop me a line at quadrathon at gmail dot com. My rambling writings are available at http://quadrathon.blogspot.com.

Have a great weeks training and running.

Episode 13; Post Race and Training Thoughts

quadrathon — Fri, 01 May 2009 23:52:03 +0000

In this episode I follow up on Leona Divide; some thoughts post race and some observations on things I need to consider when I start my training plan later this month for Angeles Crest 100. I am still trying to figure out exactly what went wrong on race day but my conclusion it was just one of those days! I posted my race report on my blog a while back and unfortunately my Garmin Forerunner has a partial malfunction; mostly the data that is missing is the elevations which is annoying. Anyway life goes on and the temperatures go through the roof, yeah I am British and we love the weather…well we love to talk about it at least!

The episode is a cut and paste job with several recordings taken throughout the week and then pasted together ironically backwards!

I’ve also plonked down some hard earned dollars and committed to the P90X program. Many of you will have heard of it and even being participating in the program. I am trying to even out the fitness between my upper and lower body and this program should go a long way towards that…at least that’s the plan! I’ll keep you posted on how things go as the 90 days progresses!

I am putting some thought into my next training plan cycle which is a little daunting and I touch on that.

I am putting together a Q&A episode so if you have any questions feel free to email them to me at quadrathon at gmail dot com

As always you can email me with comments or questions please feel free to drop me a line at quadrathon at gmail dot com. The written race report with links to photos and video is available at http://quadrathon.blogspot.com.

Please feel free to leave any comments either on this shownotes site or on iTunes and if you would like to cast a vote at podcast alley that would be appreciated.

Have a great weeks training and running.

Episode 12; The Leona Divide 50 Mile Run

quadrathon — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 06:36:47 +0000

In this episode I take you on the trails with me as I run the Leona Divide 50 Mile Run. Completing a 50 mile race is a requirement of the Angeles Crest 100 race that I will be running in September so there was some pressure to complete especially given what happened at Twin Peaks last December; I DNFd in 30f degrees!

It was an early start and we were off just before sunrise, a cloudless blue sky was in store for most of the day and temperatures reached the 80s.

I was making good progress up to mile 25 where I started to experience gastric issues that accompanied me for the next 15 miles. I caught a second wind after vomiting at mile 40 but it was too little too late! I pushed through the last 10 miles and completed the run in just over 12 hours.

You can read more about on my blog which has links to some photos etc http://quadrathon.blogspot.com/2009/04/leona-divide-50-mile-run.html

Episode 11; Funk and Mojo!

quadrathon — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 05:29:24 +0000

In this short episode I talk about my recent training and taper which has taken a turn for the unusual. I am quite frank about where I am mentally and I discuss my expectations and aspirations for this weekend’s (April 18th) race; Leona Divide 50 Mile Run. I’ve been listening to lots of podcasts while unpacking over the last week and I talk about several of them that are really good and have both helped me in re-finding my mojo; Zen and the Art of Triathlon and Running Stupid.

For every race I tier out my goals over three levels and this race is no different. This week I’ve scurried around grabbing the usual bits and pieces that I need for my drop bags etc and doing exciting things like getting my haircut and trimming my toenails!

I plan to do some recording from the race so stand by for the next episode!

If you would like to email me drop me a line at quadrathon at gmail dot com, you can follow my blog at quadrathon.blogspot.com and catch up with me on Twitter as quadrathon, finally I am grateful for any comments, reviews or feedback you may have.

Episode 10; Moving boxes and Drop-Bags

quadrathon — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 06:17:50 +0000

In this episode I talk about my training following the PCTR Sycamore Canyon 50k, my ankle was sore so I took a few days off and iced it. From then we went into “move house” mode which took its toll on my training.

I discuss Drop-Bags. Drop-Bags are typically used in ultra races, from my experience, of 50 miles or more; they are designed to contain the things you anticipate that you need at that point in time during the race. Personally my bag(s) contain; a full change of clothes, shoes, basic first aid kit, blister kit and a cool bag which has a replen of drink, gels etc

The recording of this episode was somewhat broken up by moving and we got hosed by our ISP and connecting to the internet, so I apologize to everyone who dropped me a line, made a comment or tweeted me. If you would like to contact me you can email me at quadrathon at gmail dot com, follow my blog at http://quadrathon.blogspot.com or follow me on Twitter; quadrathon

Episode 9; Anatomy of a 50k

quadrathon — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 04:47:36 +0000

This entire episode was recorded while running the Pacific Coast Trail Runners Sycamore Canyon 50k on March 29th. The race is located on the border of Los Angeles and Venture Counties within Point Mugu State Park and is nestled at the northern end of the Santa Monica Mountain range. Starting at sea level the course takes you over five hills each of which has an elevation gain of about a 1000’.

My expectations for the race were to treat it as a long supported run and finish feeling good both physically and mentally; it was my penultimate long run before I start my taper for Leona Divide which is on April 21st.

I’ll spare you all the gory details and hope that you enjoy this episode.