Wednesday 4-29-09

O.K. I've been slacking on my blog. Let's see I don't think I've posted since Sunday, so let's get caught up. First, still working on my race report for Free State 100K, hope to have it up tomorrow. Sunday me and Gabe Bevan went out and pulled markers on about 6-8 miles of trail.
I'm not sure what was harder the last 10 at Free State or the 6-8 the next morning, man was I stiff and sore. On a good note we did manage to find a bunch of big fresh mushrooms which me and Jarret at for dinner Sunday night and they were good. Monday, me and Jarret went mushroom hunting at Melvern lake and hiked a couple miles for 1 measly mushroom. I did manage to get in 100 push-ups. Tuesday I got in 4.5 easy cardio level 10 on the elliptical in 60 min. and 100 push ups. The back is still giving me problems may need to see the chiropractor.
Today I hit it for a 7 mile easy run in 60+ min. and 150 push-ups. Still a little sore from the weekend and my legs and ankles are swollen a bit. Nothing like after Rocky but swollen none the less.

Free State 100K Race Report

This year since I started running ultras we thought we would camp on run weekends. Since every year we always say we're going camping and never do. So this year was going to be different, so every weekend I run we're camping no ifs ands or buts about it. We were going to meet the Gabe Bevan family there on Thursday night. We were both camping with the families for the weekend and it was a really good time. My back had been giving me problems all week after a fencing project the weekend before. So I decided to take all week off hoping it would heal. I woke up on Friday morning and decided to test it out and hit the trail from Campground 3 around the cactus ridge loop and back 3-4 miles or so. I went past the campground because I wasn't paying attention and ran right past the exit back to the camper. I'm guessing it was 6-7 miles by the time I ran to the start finish and back. It was a little more than I wanted. The back was sore and stiff and bothered me a quite a bit during the run but, it didn't get any worse. So I thought maybe I could struggle through it. Me and Gabe spent Friday mushroom hunting while the hens talked and the rugrats played. Not much luck the first time out, but hit a spot on the marathon loop in the afternoon and found a bag full of 35 or so. After dinner we made a camp fire and we all ate way to many smores, but man were they good, then off to the camper for a good night's sleep. When I woke up Saturday morning the back was really stiff, I had no idea how it would hold up to 60 miles. I ate some breakfast and we all headed over to the start. When we arrived we chatted with a lot of friends and I was really relaxed until the start. Me and Gabe had decided to run together for as long as it was feasible for the both of us, as he was just using it for a training run getting ready for Western States, other wise I could not have kept up with him. We started out slow and steady. Gabe, Keith Dowell and I all ran together through much of the first half of the first lap. John King ran with us for a bit also. We chatted and ran easy not stopping long at the Lands End aid station. From there to the Kansas Ultra runners aid station, I now refer to as the swamp section there was a lot of mud. The first time through was fun, but after the first lap it wore me plumb slick by the time I got through it. I tried to keep my shoes and socks dry at first but, gave in and just lugged through it. I took a tumble and slid on my ass on the first lap and was covered in mud. We kept moving towards the Kansas Ultra runners Society aid station where I would get to see my wife and kid ,who had volunteered to help at the aid station. I refilled my pack and grabbed a bite to eat and and chatted with the wife for a second and we took off. From there we ran at a good pace back to the Lands end aid station, with a couple 6-8 mushrooms we found along the way. Rick Mayo wanted to know why we were mushroom hunting rather than running, we told him they were growing right on the trail and we just couldn't run by them. Off again to the start finish where me and Gabe finished the first loop in about 3:27 min. We grabbed a bite to eat and some more fluids and were off for the second lap 20+ miles into the race. I was feeling really good and the back was not giving me any problems at all which was surprising. Gabe had a heel problem that was bothering him and he told me to go on, at the start of the second lap. I was running and feeling really good at the start of the second lap, and caught up to John King at the Lands End aid station, we took off together and ran together for a while till we got to the swamp section again, I was feeling great and was running really well and slopped through the swamp section again this time staying on my feet. My shoes were full of mud and thank goodness I had forgot my other shoes in the truck and my wife had them at the KUS aid station so I had her retrieve them when I got there again. With a fresh pair of shoes and a few PB&J's and a couple of Stacie Sheridan's cookies I was off. I ran alone for all this section back to Lands End. When I left Lands End all of the sudden I hit a brick wall, I was running great and feeling great then all the sudden boom I hit the wall. And I struggled all the way back to the start finish. I changed my socks and put my shoes back on and hit the aid station for a bite to eat before heading back out. I thought I needed more fuel so I ate a whole black bean veggie burger as I left. I was a little concerned I had not been drinking enough because I had not went pee pee all day, since the beginning. I had drank 4 liters at least in the first two laps but was now running on empty. I was still struggling, and walking more than I would halved liked when I left on the last lap 40+ miles into the race. When I got behind our campground I got a surprise, my son had ran up the trail from the campground about 1/2 a mile or so and he paced me back to the campground where my wife and parents were there also. It's always good to see your family and get a few words of encouragement when your struggling. I had got a second wind for a bit after seeing the family but, that soon went away and I was back to a run/walk with more walking than I would of liked. Along the shoreline the rocks were hard on the ankles this time and I walked most of this section to the Lands End aid station. After refueling there, I headed back out to my last time through the swamp section. I tried to run through it at first but was just spinning my wheels and wearing myself out even more. I sloped through the first sections and low and behold there was my son Jarret he had ran down the trail from the KUS station to meet me again. He paced me back to the aid station and I really appreciated him coming down to meet me as I had been running alone for quite a while and it was good to see him. I think he enjoyed pacing me and he was a sweaty mess when we got there. As I refueled and chatted with the family a bit, here came Gabe up the trail and he and Stewart Johnson were running together, and they had caught me. I waited for a few seconds while they got refueled and filled bottles, and the three of us and a pacer Gabe had picked up earlier all took off together. I wanted to hang on to them as long as I could so they could pull me to the finish. About 2 miles from the aid station the tornado sirens began blaring, and from the trail it didn't look bad out there and we just wanted to keep moving. We were all running as much as we could only walking the steep hills. The sirens would go off then quit and then go off again, I was never really worried for myself, was just hoping the family was safe. It rained a bit on us, and the trail was soon covered with water making the rocks slick. We all finally made it to Lands End where the was a little crowd gathered wondering what to do. We didn't hesitate at all at this point we were going to finish tornado or no tornado. We didn't stay long and took off for the last 3.9 or whatever to the finish. The sirens were a little eerie at times and the rain was coming down harder but we kept it moving as much as we could. Stewart had ran ahead of us a little bit and the finish was getting closer, and running became a little easier in the last mile or two. When we finally came out of the trail at the road we were glad to be there and ran to the finish in 11:46 min.

My wife, son, and parents were all there waiting on me and was glad to see we made it out OK. It was my parent's first ultra and I they thought it was cool experience seeing all us ultra runners finish. They began to tell me how they had to stay holed up in the bath house while the sirens went off and that it looked pretty eerie out there. I think it was easier to be on the trail then holed up in the bathhouse. Soon other trail nerd friends came over and congratulated me, some of them had got pulled because they had to call the race due to the weather. I felt bad for them not being able to finish but, I'm sure Ben made the right decision. It was another notch on my short ultra belt and I felt like a learned a lot in the process this time. Can't wait till the next one! See you all there...

Sunday 4-26-09

We'll I back from a weekend of camping and running at Free State at Clinton Lake. I did manage to finish the 100K coarse, despite the tornado sirens blaring the last 8 miles or so.
More later. Check back for my race report coming soon.

Wednesday 4-22-09

Last post till after Free State 100K. Back feeling a little better hope to be back to normal by Saturday. Looking froward to a good long run in the woods. Heading out tomorrow to camp all weekend really looking forward to that also. See you on the trails.

Tuesday 4-21-09

Not much to report again today. Took it easy again today, no workout no nothing. Back is a little better but still not good. Hoping for a big turnaround in the next couple days, or 60+ miles on Saturday is going to be really tough. Still have the cough and congestion also, but I can deal with that. Still looking froward to Saturday, but wish I had a couple more days to get this back problem better.

Monday 4-20-09

This is great less than a week till Free State 100K and I have all kinds of problems. My back being the biggest problem. I knew I should of rested yesterday but ran anyway, thought it was O.K. at the time but afterwards it got very painful. This morning was terrible I couldn't hardly get my pants and shoes on. The fencing and running after I injured it did me in. And if that wasn't enough have had this cough and chest congestion since helping the in-laws burn pasture last week. This crap is like glue and I half to cough it up to get it out. Going to take the week off and try and get healed up by Saturday. Hopefully my back will get better before then and maybe I could get in a little run before Saturday. No push-up or anything today. Was going to skip the squats and lunges this week anyway and let the legs rest.

Sunday 4-19-09

Woke up this morning with a terrible back ache. The fencing did my back no good yesterday.
Was going to go out for 12-15 today but with the back problems I had to scrap that idea. Not that disappointing though need to start tapering for Free State 100K anyway. Ran to Ottawa and got some groceries and supplies for camping at Free State next weekend. Came home and
did manage 7.25 easy miles on the treadmill in 1:10 min. Starting to get thing together for next weekend looking forward to all day on the trails.
Week totals:
44 miles
1,105 Push ups
170 Squats and Lunges L&R

Saturday 4-18-09

Well had a productive day today, got all the fence put up and the holes in the fence repaired.
Now the wife can get her horse and it won't be free range. Fencing is hard work I found out had to string the wire by hand man what a bitch. It got easier when the roll got smaller but still strung about 2,ooo ft of wire. Got a back ache from caring that spool around today. Wanted to go for a run but settled for an hour on the elliptical and 4.75 miles the most I have gotten on the new machine in an hour. Going to get out for a good run in the morning without overdoing it
since Free State is next weekend.

Friday 4-17-09

Feeling a little bit better today, might have had some smoke inhalation from helping the in-laws burn off the pasture. Got in another 54 hour week at work and took off from home after work toward Melvern lake. My wife was going to meet me out there for a short run on the horse trails while looking for some morels. Got in 9.8 miles in 1:15 on the way out then went for another easy 2 with the wife while mushroom hunting. Hit several of my honey holes and found one patch with 3 little morels. Need some more warm weather and they'll be up. Also did 250 push up and 40 Lunges and Squats. Have a full day planed tomorrow so hope to get in some miles tomorrow at least. Looking forward to Free State next weekend. Need to start tapering but for some reason I don't taper very well.

Thersday 4-16-09

Down and out!! Woke up this morning with a sore throat and feeling like shit. Still got up and headed to work at 4 am. As the day went on the worst I felt. Was all I wanted to do was go home and lay down. Somehow I made it through 11 hrs at work and went straight home and
took a 2 hr nap. So needless to say not much to report on the workout front today. Did manage 125 push ups this morning. Hoping for a new day tomorrow. I hate missing workouts.

Wednesday 4-15-09

Went to help the in-laws burn off their pasture. Took off from home and ran to Melvern to burn.
Got in 10.5 miles in 1:15. Then got in a good workout trying to keep the fire from jumping into the neighboring pasture. Other than that got in 280 push ups and 40 Lunges and Squats, and
30 Calf raises. Hope to get in a few miles tomorrow after work if the rain will hold off long enough.

Tuesday 4-14-09

Not much to report today. Hit the elliptical trainer again today 5.25 miles in 1:10min.
Been trying to cross train on the elliptical at least a couple times a week to save some pounding on my knees from running. Got in 250 push up and only 40 Squats and Lunges today.

Monday 4-13-09

I was going to take the day off today, but I was feeling guilty for eating all the Easter candy, yesterday and today. I think I ate 6000 calories of candy, very unusual for me, I'm not really a chocolate or candy eater but for some reason it was very addictive yesterday. Hit the elliptical for 4.6 miles in 60 min. on cardio max level 14. This new elliptical I got is a workout, not sure the miles are right, or my old one was way off. I could get 7-9 miles on the old one and it's all I can do to get 4.5 on the new one in an hour. The tension is way way better with the magnet rather than the break, the old one once you got it going it would loose the tension. On level 14 it is all I can do to keep it going with arms and legs. Got in 200 push ups and my reg. 50 Lunges L&R and Single Leg Squats L&R, threw in 30 Single Leg Calf raises also, something I picked up from P90X. Also kept all the push ups from P90X also, and alternate from wide, narrow, triangle and staggered push ups.

Week totals

Total miles this week : 75.19
Total push-up: 1135
Lunges, Squats each leg: 240

Saturday 4-11-09

Woke up at regular work day time of 3:30am. It sucks getting up at 3:30 all week let alone on the weekend. Couldn't get back to sleep so got up and hit the treadmill for an easy 6.75 miles in 1 hr followed up by 10 min power walk at 10% grade for a total of 7.5 miles in 1:10 min. Got a full day of honey-dos to do today, building fence and laying out the horse shelter. Hopefully after all that Darcie will still want to go for a 4-5 mile run, it is great that she is showing some interest in something I have become so pasionate about. And I think she enjoys it even though she may not admit it.

Next race is Free State 100K at Clinton on April 25th.
Darcie and Jarret have voluntered to help run an Aid Station, so that will be fun getting to see them once a lap at the aid station. We will also be camping all weekend so that will be fun also.

Friday 4-10-09

Thank God! Today was finally Friday, sick of work this week been swamped at work only got in 54 hrs this week in 5 days, but at least I don;t half to work this weekend. Went for a quick 8 mile county road run tonight. Ran 8 miles in 58:24. Looking forward to my weekend long run on Sunday, think I will shoot for at least 20 maybe 25-30 if I can make it work. Darcie has me busy building fence for her horse tomorrow going to try and get 8 in the morning before she gets around, then I told her I would go ant and run 4 or 5 with her, after we get some fence built.
Any way got in another 50 lunges L&R and 50 Squats L&R 40 Calf raises L&R. 310
Push Ups on max out Friday. If all goes well I'll have something to post tomorrow, otherwise it will be a lovely rest day as my friend Gary would say.

4-9-09

Thursday 4-9-09
Windy windy windy today
50 Lunges L&R
50 Squats L&R
30 Calf Raises
9.0 miles on treadmill in 1:10 min
225 push ups

4-8-09

Wednesday 4-8-09
Beautiful day today went for a good run today.
4.75 miles on Railroad tracks to county roads for 7 more miles.
Total miles 11.75 3@7:00 2@6:15 remainder 8 and 8:15
50 lunges Left and Right
50 Squats Left and Right
30 Single Leg calf raises Left and Right
225 Push ups

4-7-09

Tuesday 4-7-09
40 Lunges Left and Right
40 Single leg Squats Left and Right
30 Single leg Calf raises
4.8 miles on Ellipical Trainer Cardio Level 12 in 1:00hr
200 Push Ups

4-6-09

Monday 4-6-09
My workouts today were:
50 Lunges Left and Right
50 Single Leg squats Left and Right
30 Single Leg Calf raises Left and Right
6.0 miles on Elliptical Cardio Level 12 in 1:20
175 Push-ups