Trail News

CPT Credentialing       August 19, 2023

Happy to announce that I am now offering personal training as a certified personal trainer by the American Council on Exercise. This doesn't change anything for remote clients, but opens the door for future in-person training & coaching opportunities!

Running in VA Podcast         June 22, 2023

Run Coaching, Human Elements, and Let's Give Away Some Prizes!

It's episode 7 of the Running in Virginia Podcast, and guess who has gotten to come on for a guest appearance? It was a lot of fun to talk about common goals, barriers, and experiences in the running community. If you want to chat in more depth about anything that we mentioned on the podcast, feel free to reach out! You can take a listen on their website or wherever you get your podcasts.

Mill Mountain Mayhem          April 1, 2023

The rain was heavy. Skies were dark. Then the gun went off and the clouds parted! Roanoke's wildest 10K lived up to its name this year as we tromped through the mud and rocks of Mill Mountain. Nathan Green offered to start from pole for MMM's unique time-trial format, and it didn't take long for me to figure out why. We knew that the two of us would be dueling for the win today, and from previous experience, we were both aware of what the other was capable of: Nathan could climb - I could descend. And climb he did. A suicidal first mile to the summit of Mill Mountain had me holding on for dear life, and post-race talks with Nathan confirmed my suspicions that he intended to drop me then and there. He nearly did, and what was left of my legs was jello. Another mile of descending and I went down HARD. Nathan immediately closed the small gap that had formed and we stayed together for the next couple of miles. I knew that the ball was in my court when we turned onto the road, and with a 5 minute split for the paved mile, I was able to open up a safe enough gap to cruise to the finish. A first win for the 2023 season!

Update: When I went down, I cracked my knee pretty bad. Looks like I won't be back running until after Trail Nut, but I'm looking forward to watching everyone slide around! 

If you're curious about ways to improve your training for events like these, I'm happy to chat! Feel free to shoot me an email (preecenf@gmail.com) or text (540)425-1693.

Images Courtesy of Jay Proffitt Creative Media

Explore Your Limits 10K Recap          February 26, 2023

We explored our limits and found them to be wet and cold! A brief downpour at the start made for some extra mud and extra fun on the single track bits. As per tradition, Darwin took off at a dead sprint and maintained it until he was out of sight. The rest of the race involved plenty of sliding around, cold noses, and comradery. See y'all at Montvale in 2 weeks!

If you're curious about ways to improve your training for these events, I'd love to chat! Feel free to shoot me an email (preecenf@gmail.com) or text (540)425-1693.

Images Courtesy of Jay Proffitt Creative Media

Forever 10 Miler Recap          January 28, 2023

Race 2 of the 2023 RNUTS boasted great weather and high spirits for all. Hellgate's "forever section" did not disappoint and the relentless climbing/descending made us all question our own sanity. We comforted ourselves with the fact that others chose this stretch of trail to finish their 100Ks, so surely we couldn't be that crazy!

The opening minutes of the 10 miler were reminiscent of a high school cross country race - a mad sprint for positions with no thought to the metabolic consequences that might follow. I don't think I met a single runner on the trail who wasn't incredibly courteous and prepared with plenty of encouragement. It always fills my heart to take part in these events and I'm forever (get it?) grateful that everyone involved is in it for the right reasons.

I always find myself wishing for more time to connect with folks after the race, but despite not being able to talk with everyone, I did see some super standout performances that I feel deserve highlighting:

Joseph Darwin - A course record, humble demeanor, and downhill skills that would rival Walmsley's, Joseph took care of business in the 10 miler. All of this on leftover Frozen Toe fitness maintained not by running, but swimming.

Mattie Radford - Winning the master's category wasn't enough for Mattie this year, nor was winning the 5 miler outright. No, Mattie averaged sub-11 minute miles on the steep and technical trail to set the women's course record by nearly 2 minutes!

Nathan Lovell - A future star and inspiring personality, Nathan won his age group in the 5 miler by half an hour. Even as he was blazing towards a killer time, he displayed the best trail courtesy of anyone on the day, stepping off trail and encouraging the *very* few 10 milers that caught him in the final mile.

Tim Miller - Despite having a tooth knocked out on the very same trail only weeks before, Tim rallied to re-conquer the forever section and finish the 10 miler in under 2 hours. A shining example of how to withhold blame and fear, and one of the many reasons why I love our trail running community.

From left: The Lovells, Joseph Darwin, and Tim Miller. - Images Courtesy of Jay Proffitt Creative Media.

As for my own race, Darwin, McLane, and I had formed a reckless break off the front by the second mile. By mile 3, we were hiking many of the steeper hills instead of running and I was beginning to worry that our breakaway was doomed. The third climb saw a diesel effort from Darwin which I desperately clung to, and despite gaining separation from McLane, I came up short against Darwin's terrifying downhill pace as we approached the turnaround. Once he was out of sight, I knew that chasing for the lead would be futile. The rest of the race consisted of minimizing time losses and praying that I could stay out of McLane's line of sight. The stars aligned and I managed to keep him just out of sight until the final stretch, by which time it was too late for the gap to be closed. 2nd was the best position I could ask for today and I'm super happy with the performance.

My Training leading up to this race was consistent but involved significantly lower volume than I would have liked. Being only 4 weeks back to running from a heel injury, I continue to surprise myself as cycling fitness translates to running fitness. If you're interested in seeing what my training is like, check out my Strava. I log everything there except for resistance training (which I'm currently doing twice per week) and things relating to health/injury. If you're curious about why I train the way that I do or how you can change your own training to get the most out of your time & effort, I'd love to chat! Feel free to shoot me an email (preecenf@gmail.com) or text (540)425-1693.

That's all for now. I look forward to seeing everyone at Explore Your Limits!



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First Update          December 15, 2022

Hey folks! This is the first of what I hope will become a regular installment of newsletters. The goal is to highlight updates, opportunities, and accomplishments by your fellow athletes! Let me know what you think and if you'd like to include anything in the next issue. Keep up the great work, Noeltra Crew - let's climb the next mountain!

Roanoke Non-Ultra Trail Series

I'm thrilled to announce that Noeltra Coaching will be partnering with the awesome people at Mountain Junkies to sponsor the 15th installment of RNUTS. If you aren't familiar with the series, RNUTS is a series of 7 trail races ranging in distance from 5K to the Marathon in the greater Roanoke area. And if you are familiar with the series, I hope to see you there!

https://mountainjunkies.net/

Baker Unified Fitness: Weekly Running Club

Looking for a fun, supportive group to start running with in Richmond as we head into the new year? Look no further! Starting on January 1st, we'll be offering weekly group runs on Sundays at 8am. Baker also offers group fitness classes and other training options, so go check them out! Stay tuned for more details.

https://baker-unified-fitness.com/ 

Andy at the Kiawah Marathon

The plan was to have fun and get a solid workout in, but things don't always go to plan. Despite a couple of hiccups during training, Andy stuck to his heart rate based race plan of "165 bpm or bust" and dropped an unexpected PR (5 minutes!). Because who wants to leave all the speedy fun to the roadies?

3:49:30

Elite Athlete Program, Spearheaded by Jacob Barker

Not many of us have the time, motivation, or durability to continuously train 80+ miles per week, but now and then a superhuman comes along. I'm super excited to be working with Jacob to plan an assault on the Boston Marathon in April. Look out for big (and fast) things from Jacob in the coming months.

If you or someone you know feels that you fall into the "elite" category  and are looking for a coach but don't have the resources, lets chat.



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