After taking some time off through the Holidays, it’s time to get back on track. For the last month or two I have taken it easy. I’ve run a few 15 milers, and my longest run was 20 miles. Other than those runs I have been trying to get back into my weight training and boxing routine, playing basketball, and trying to run the stairs at work during lunch. Our building is 20 floors. So I go up and back down 4 or 5 times. That’s 80-100 flights up and down. My mileage goal is going to be 80 miles/week for the forseeable future.
The picture above was me trying to get a run in on a day when the high temp was –3 F (it was –40 F with the wind chill) and there was a blizzard warning. I made it 8 miles and called it quits. It can be very hard to stay on a good routine through the winter. So needless to say I am envious of all of those who live in year round warm climates.
Another Christmas has come and gone. I ended up getting a Garmin Forerunner 405. I’ve been quite busy lately, but I’m looking forward to using it soon, maybe even tomorrow morning.
Next up for me is possibly the Illinois Fat Ass 50k in McNabb, IL. I ran it last year. It’s a 10 mi out and back course, so that’s basically 3 trips back and forth. I’m not much for these types of courses, but if I’m going to run the McNaughton Park 150 miler, it’s time to start liking loops. McNaughton Park 150 mi is 15 10 mile loops. That’s mentally tough for me.
Well, I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Happy New Year!
TrailRunner Magazine recently published a story about my experience of going from a non-runner, to a 100 mile ultrarunner in one year. See below for the story. I am very thankful to them for their interest in my story. There were a few slight errors in the story. Hey – Nobody’s perfect! Anyhow, because I’m such a stickler for details – Here’s the corrections.
-“How Nolan Ming finished the Arkansas Traveller 100 miler with 12 months’ training”
-I finished the Kettle Moraine 100 miler with 12 months training.
-“Ming began training in February 2007 (what he considers the beginning of his “real” running career), and ran his first race, the Sunburst Hall of Fame to Notre Dame 10K in South Bend, Indiana, in June, followed by a half marathon, marathon and then a 50K.”
-I actually started running in February 2007. My first race was the Hall of Fame to Notre Dame Half Marathon. Here’s my full race resume –
’07 Races completed -
-Hall of Fame to Notre Dame Half Marathon (My first race ever) - 2hr 8min
-North Face Endurance Challenge 50k in Des Moines, IA - 5hr 30min
-Arkansas Traveller 100 mile - Paced for 20 miles
-Chicago Lakefront 50 mile - 8hr 57min
’08 Races completed -
-Three Days of Syllamo 100 mile Ultra Stage Race – 22 hrs 16 min – 15th place. (Got lost for 2 hours on the 50k course the first day.)
-Kettle Moraine 100 mile – 23 hr 23 min – 11th place, 5th place in age group.
-Pacer for 50 miles of Superior Saw Tooth 100 mile – Runner placed 7th with time of 29 hrs 45 min.
-Arkansas Traveller 100 mile – 22 hr 54 min – 15th place, 1st place in age group.
-North Face Endurance Challenge – Madison, WI – 8 hr 55 min – 30th place out of 180 runners.
-“As Ming’s coach and mentor, Humphrey carefully designed training programs that included running four times a week (reaching a weekly peak of 85 miles), swimming, boxing and weight training twice a week, and three rest days.”
-I was running 4 times a week and boxing and weight training on the other days. I pool ran after my first race because of a foot injury. I would take maybe 1 day off per week, if any at all.
-“One year to the day after Ming’s first race, he ran the LaGrange, Wisconsin, Kettle Moraine 100-miler, with Humphrey as his pacer dishing out practical, tough-love advice. “Ignore your inner wuss and deal with the situation,” he’d say when Ming’s energy waned. “The facts are that you are not hurt or sick, so you can run.””
-This advice was provided by Uncle Dale after the Arkansas Traveller 100 mile, not during the KM 100. During the KM 100 he was providing as much entertainment as he was encouragement. See my KM 100 blog entry HERE for details….
The full story is below -
Inside Dirt December 2008 brought to you by GORE-TEX®
Zero to 100 in One Year How Nolan Ming finished the Arkansas Traveller 100 miler with 12 months’ training
By Allison Pattillo
Transforming oneself from a non-runner to a 100-mile finisher is an impressive feat no matter how long it takes. But for Nolan Ming, 33, of Yorkville, Illinois, who did it in one year, it was an accomplishment beyond his wildest dreams. Meticulous preparation, a stringent training schedule, smart fuelling and powerful inspiration helped him succeed. “Achieving this running goal has given me confidence in myself that I had not known before,” he says.
Before embarking on his 100-mile goal, Ming occasionally pounded out a slow two miles. But when he announced to family and friends his desire to get in shape, his uncle, Dale Humphrey, suggested that Ming pace him for 20 miles at the Arkansas Traveller 100 in Perryville, Arkansas, in October 2007. Ming jumped at the offer.
Ming began training in February 2007 (what he considers the beginning of his “real” running career), and ran his first race, the Sunburst Hall of Fame to Notre Dame 10K in South Bend, Indiana, in June, followed by a half marathon, marathon and then a 50K. When the time came for the Arkansas Traveller, Ming was fit enough to run 20 miles alongside his uncle through the Ouachita National Forest. At aid stations he witnessed a dizzying array of emotions among the others runners, which motivated him to train for a 100-miler himself.
As Ming’s coach and mentor, Humphrey carefully designed training programs that included running four times a week (reaching a weekly peak of 85 miles), swimming, boxing and weight training twice a week, and three rest days. “I always focused on the next goal so there was little room to get sidetracked from training by life’s daily challenges,” he says.
One year to the day after Ming’s first race, he ran the LaGrange, Wisconsin, Kettle Moraine 100-miler, with Humphrey as his pacer dishing out practical, tough-love advice. “Ignore your inner wuss and deal with the situation,” he’d say when Ming’s energy waned. “The facts are that you are not hurt or sick, so you can run.” The verbal cues and support of family members kept Ming on pace, motivating him to an 11th-place finish in 23 hours 23 minutes.
Ming was one of only 37 people to finish the Kettle Moraine that day (from the starting field of 123) because of scorching heat, pounding rain, high winds and hair-raising lightning. During one especially rough patch, Ming thought about how his voluntary suffering was nothing compared to the involuntary hardships other people in the world deal with. “If I couldn’t handle [this race], then I was copping out,” he says.
Next on his tick-list was the race that started it all—the Arkansas Traveler 100. With a goal of finishing in less than 23 hours, Ming reminded himself throughout the run of a Martin Luther King, Jr. quote, “Run when you can. Walk when you have to. Crawl if you must. Just don’t give up.”
Thanks to a smart race strategy and his pacer, Chris, constantly reminding him to drink enough fluids, Ming crossed the finish line in 22 hours 54 minutes, and won his age group.
Through it all, Ming had the good fortune of remaining injury free. And he never lost motivation to stick to his meticulous training program, which had him starting workouts at 4 a.m. to fit around a full-time job running a construction company and spending time with his wife and three daughters. “I’ll keep running because it gives me a sense of accomplishment to keep raising the bar on distance, time and difficulty,” says Ming.
Next up for me is possibly the Illinois Fat Ass 50k in McNabb, IL. I ran it last year. It’s a 10 mi out and back course, so that’s basically 3 trips back and forth. I’m not much for these types of courses, but if I’m going to run the McNaughton Park 150 miler, it’s time to start liking loops. McNaughton Park 150 mi is 15 10 mile loops. That’s mentally tough for me.
