Tuckerman's Inferno Training - Day 1

Bob torments a contestant on Biggest Loser. I'm so happy they've started summarizing a lot of the weigh-ins on the show this season. Holy crap, that takes up a lot of the show! Boop - boop - boop - boop - boop - boop - go to commercial

It's really hard for me to get motivated to exercise first thing in the morning when I'm stressed about work. I work freelance and co-run a festival that's coming up soon, so I feel nervous about getting on the treadmill before achieving what I need to do in business world. Probably a great way to not get workouts in everyday. However, today I was determined to start my training today while watching back episodes of Biggest Loser On Demand. Just watching all those people sweat and get yelled at is highly motivating for me. It's almost like virtual reality.

I must say, for those of you who watch Biggest Loser, neither trainers Dolvett (new from last season) or Bob (since the beginning) are nearly as terrifying as Jillian Micheals (who left two seasons ago), so I think I wouldn't be nearly as freaked out having them as trainers, BUT, I find exercising on my own so much more pleasant than having a trainer, although I'm probably not burning as many calories or doing enough work with weights on my own. I think the two worst exercises I've ever been subjected to are the thing where you have to crawl across the room and back on your hands and FEET. Way worse tan one would imagine, and similarly, the one where you have to pus a weight across the floor. Horrible. Also, what happened to Anna Kournikova? She's just gone.

Also, why to te seemingly most conniving people not get voted off that show? Weird. Do the producers tell the contestants not to vote them off so there will be more drama?

So I ran on the treadmill at varying but moderate speed. Tomorrow I'll do speed intervals.

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Distance run: 5 miles at moderate pace between 5.5-7.0 miles per hour.

Days until race: 89

I'm Training for Tuckerman's Inferno 2012! And This Time It's Personal!

The "hike" up the mountain during Tuckerman's Inferno. Luckily, this falls to the hiker (looks like he's running, though, huh?). The runner gets to run on the road. I consider myself lucky. Last year, after I completed my run and my husband complete the bike leg, we hiked up the mountain and met our hiker on her way down. I couldn't imagine doing that hike fast.

This is the first post in my blog dedicated to training and participating in the Tuckerman's Inferno in 2012.

For the uninitiated, Tuckerman's Inferno is an epic pentathalon revolving around Tuckerman's Ravine on Mount Washington in New Hampshire, and run by the Friends of Tuckerman's Ravine. It consists of an 8.3 mile run, 6.2 mile kayak, 18.2 mile bike ride up to Mount Washington, a 3 mile, 2,268 ft hike up to Tuckerman's Ravine, and a ski down Tuckerman's Ravine. Whew, and some people do all five legs by themselves, and have to hike up carrying their own equipment. You can enter as an individual (Tuckerman or Tuckerwoman), duo, co-ed team, or all female team.

My husband did the ski portion of Tuckerman's Inferno a few years ago with some friends and told me all about it. I couldn't imagine doing any of those things. Fast forward to post baby number one and only, and I decided to take up running to get back into shape. I was doing well and feeling cocky so I got my husband, one of his former teammates, another friend of his, and a very game friend of mine to sign up last year. I slacked off a lot during the winter because I got really busy with work, and so I was quite unprepared for the 8.3 mile, which featured a mile of hill, .5 miles of which was incredibly steep. Somehow that shocked me. Duh, it's on a mountain.

Anyway, I came in dead last, by eight minutes, with the pace car right behind me for most of the race. The upside was I had no fear of getting lost with the car right behind me. The downside was, every time I'd slow down my already glacial pace, the car would rev it's engine. Embarrassing but motivating.

This year, I have three months to change this horrible fate. This log will be dedicated to documenting my training and the race itself. Last year It took me 1 hour, 32 minutes, and 40 seconds to complete the run. The next closest runner finished in 1:25. You can see all the results here. This year, my goal is to finish in the middle of the pack, with a time around 1 hour and 10 minutes.

I will be reporting my training techniques every day leading up to the race and will report on the actual race as well. Exciting! For me anyway.

If you're a runner interested in doing a race like this, I hope this blog will be helpful.

- Michelle :)