RUNNERFREAK

They call me Runnerfreak!

2012-01-23T16:39:00.000-08:00

So today I needed to take a rest day. It has been 9 days since my last rest day. Last week I logged 70+ miles of running and 55 miles on the spin bike. In less than 2 weeks I am running the Rocky Raccoon 50 miler then pacing my friend Sherrie in the 100 for another 40 miles. So why is it I feel like I'm cheating on my girlfriend tonight. I came home did nothing, and looked at the spin bike and said "no you need a rest day and you need to start a taper". I still feel guilty, like I haven't done enough to get ready for Rocky and really fell good so who needs rest right? Everyone needs a rest day and I know that, but it doesn't make me feel any better about it. I guess that's why they call me Runnerfreak!

They call me Runnerfreak!

2012-01-22T15:41:00.000-08:00

So the other night while talking with my wife, about all these crazy ideas I have, I thought why not start a blog and share some of my crazy ideas and thoughts I have about running and maybe even life in general. Most people think I'm a little crazy and this blog may give some people insight into what drives me to do some of the things I do. I have a lot of ideas for blog posts on this subject running around in my head and plan to post at least one a week so check back often. If you enjoyed the post leave me a comment and any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

They call me Runnerfreak!
In early December after a run with some friends, they suggested I come and run the Athen's Big Fork Trail Marathon in Arkansas, on 1-7-2012. It is one tough marathon with 4000ft of gain out and back. So I add this race to my schedule and make it my first race of 2012. I looked at the results from previous years, and thought I can do that. So I set out to run this race and see what I could do. Most people would taper for a race like this, but not runnerfreak. Especially if they intended to race, and do well. But in the week leading up to the race Runnerfreak goes out and runs 105 miles. With runs of 30, 21 and a 50K (31 miles on New Years Day) the weekend before. And I still felt like I could go out and race. Runnerfreak then runs another 28 miles the week of the race. On the way to the race, I tell the wife I want to at least run a sub 5 hour on this course (never seeing it) and you take out the guy, Tom Brennan who has won like 8 times or something and has the course record of 4:22 (yes 4:22 for a marathon that has been run since 1999 shows how tough it is) there have been very few sub 5hr finishes. So anyway, I go out and run with the leaders the first 7 miles and let the leader go and nip on his tail all the way to the turn around at 13.1. He was ahead of me by a minute or two at the turn. In the second half I catch him at about mile 18 or so and he tells me it's not his day and let's me go without a fight. I run the rest of the race looking over my shoulder as there was another 4-5 runners who came into the turn within a couple minutes of me. I wind up winning the race in 4:49 and still felt like I could of run faster. Note: Tom Brennan did not show up this year. Most people would be tickled pink with that, but not Runnerfreak, he analyzes every mile of the race and determines where he could of run better and faster. That's why they call me Runnerfreak!

2011 Year in Review

2011-12-31T06:26:00.001-08:00

2011 year in review. I logged 3,543 miles of running and ran 7 races in 2011, and the Chicago Marathon with my sister. I helped my buddy Dave Wakefield on his attempt to break the Fastest Known Time on the 140 mile Kokopelli Trail. While I really wanted to run more races in 2011 especially 100 milers it just didn't work out. But, 2012 is going to be big if I can get it ironed out. Will make that announcement for 2012 soon. But here's the list of races, times and place of the races I ran in 2011:

2011 Races and Events

November 5th Ozark Trail 100 20:25 2nd

Sept. 24th Flatrock 50K 4:53 4th

June 25th Blackhills 100 DNF

May 14th Rock On Lake Perry 50K 1st 3:43 CR

April 23rd Freestate Trail Run 100K 1st 9:09.53 CR

April 2nd Rockin K trail marathon 3:36 1st CR

March 4th Nueses 50K 4:32 2nd

Chicago Marathon with my sister

Kokopelli Speed Record Attempt (Pacer, Crew)

Hawk 100 (Pacer, Crew)

Here's to a great 2011 and an even better 2012. Have a great 2012 running everyone.

Happy Running, Darin

Ozark Trail 100 Race Report

2011-11-08T18:07:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend Nov. 5th 2011, I had the opportunity to run the Ozark Trail 100 in the Mark Twain Forest in South Central Missouri. The entire race is run on the Ozark Trail and is a point to point race. This race was absolutely awesome, 100+ miles on single track trail thru the Mark Twain Forest is well, a trail runners dream. Paul and Stuart (the Race Directors) have a gem in this one, and I must say it will be hard not to go back and run this race every year. The aid stations were great the volunteers were great and the trail was awesome. I couldn't of asked for much more (other than maybe a few less leaves) in a race. We arrived on Thursday evening and shared a cabin with my friend Brad Bishop and some other runners. On Friday me and my lovely wife and son, set out to drive the course and find all the aid stations where she would crew me. The driving directions were awesome and we had no problem finding our way between aid stations. A couple times I got out and hiked back in on the trail and knew right away I was going to love running on this trail. Footing was going to somewhat sketchy as the trail was covered with leaves and all the obstacles were hidden by the millions and millions of leaves. It also appeared there would be very few flat sections as the trail was either going up or down some gradual climbs and some good ones also. After finding all the aid stations and driving the entire course, we headed back to the cabin and attended the pre-race dinner and meeting where we got our final race instructions. Then back to the cabin to get everything ready for the race in the morning. Not soon after that my friends Sherrie and Henry showed up. They were going to help crew me as Sherrie is eyeing her first attempt at 100 miles. She was also going to jump out there and pace me from Brooks Creek to Hazel Creek. Dave Wakefield was coming down Saturday to help crew and pace me from Hazel Creek to the finish. We loaded the crew vehicle got everything situated and settled in for the night. Race morning came early as it was a good 1 1/2 hour winding drive to the start line. We woke at 3am and was on our way by 4am to the starting line. I gave my crew all their final instructions on the long drive and couldn't wait to get running. We finally arrived about an hour before the start and stood around talking and doing some final preparations. We then headed to the start line and stood around chatting with other friends and runners. Finally Paul yelled out 5 minutes to the start. I shed my sweats donned my waist pack and water bottles, gave my wife a kiss and thanked my whole crew for coming out to help me. Paul counted us down from 10 and we were off at 6am sharp. We would run the first hour plus in the dark. I settled in the first mile or two in a really comfortable pace in the front of the pack and chatted with Brad and a couple other runners. Kyle Gibbs and Tommy Doias took the lead and a few of us other runners were close behind. The pace stayed really manageable in the dark as we were all feeling out the trail and getting used to running thru all the leaf cover. As the sun started to rise Tommy and I ran together for several miles and chatted like we had known each other forever. We came into the first aid station at Grasshopper Hollow (mile 8) together and I made a quick stop and headed back out. I was now running alone as Tommy made a longer stop than I, but he was not far behind and Kyle was not far in front of me. The miles came and went and I tried to keep myself in check and running easy. I mostly ran this section other than a few steeper climbs where I power hiked. Eventually I caught up to Kyle and we ran and chatted before arriving at Sutton Bluff (mile 17.6) aid station together. This would be the first time I would see my crew and they were ready for me when I arrived. Everything seemed to be going as planned and I arrived here right on time feeling good and relaxed at this point. A quick stop to shove down some food, grab my waist bottle pack with Powerade and my handheld with Nuun, I was in and out in no time. Me and Kyle left at the same time and headed up the road and back onto the Ozark Trail. Eventually Kyle took off and left me behind as it was to early in the race I felt to chase him as I wanted to keep in check until I seen my crew again at mile 43. From here I just ran easy, enjoyed the time running in the wilderness and really had a great time with the solitude of being alone on the trail. I hit the Stillwell Hollow(22.8) Johnson Hollow (28) and Gunstock Hollow (34.8) aid stations. Pausing only long enough to refill my bottles and grab some food to go. This was a long stretch, 25+ miles without seeing my crew and I was looking forward to seeing them again at Brooks Creek (43.5). I was really enjoying all this single track trail thru the Mark Twain Forest. The miles were easy running on such a great trail in the middle of nowhere. It was hard to enjoy all the scenery as if you looked up to long you were going down and the leaf cover did not help matters. This last stretch is where I made my only mistake of the day. I had crossed a road and never really thought much about it. But soon I thought to myself, I have not seen a trail marker for awhile, so I ran on looking for a marker. The trail had been marked really well to this point and seemed like I ran a mile without seeing a marker and I didn't remember seeing one when I crossed the road. This freaked me out so I was running and looking back also hoping to see an OT marker on a tree in the other direction. Finally I thought I was off course and turned around running hard to get back to find where I went off or find a trail marker. Eventually I ran into the 3rd place runner Tommy and he assured me I was on the right trail. Shit, I must have waisted 10 minutes looking for markers and ran back at least 1/2 mile till I ran into Tommy. Man was I pissed, I had let my paranoia get the best of me and I had wasted a lot of energy running the wrong way hard and again when I turned back around to make up time. Tommy stayed right on my ass, and we ran the last 1 1/2 miles together to Brooks Creek (43.5). Here I sat down for the first time, my wife and now Dave took care of me getting me new bottles and shoving as much food as they could down me. I put on a new dry shirt and picked up Sherrie to pace me thru this next stretch. Tommy left right behind us as we power hiked up out of the aid station. Sherrie and I would put some distance on Tommy going uphill and he would catch right back up to us on the downs. We did this for miles and finally on a long downhill he blasted by me like I was standing still. This took a little wind out of my sail after thinking I was lost and working extra hard and then have him fly by me. This is the only rough spot I would have all day, I wanted to run harder and stay with him but felt if I did at this point I would pay later as we were not even to the 1/2 way point yet. So I let Tommy go and just tried to be smooth and steady. Sherrie and I ran and power hiked all the hills in this section till we hit the Highway DD (51) aid station. When we arrived at Highway DD Tommy was there changing shoes and I got a little shot of adrenalin when we left the aid station in front of him. From here I was back to my old self and Sherrie did her damndest to keep up with me. But I was on a mission now and she told me to go get em and leave her behind. I kept up a good steady pace thru Martin Rd. (59.5) aid station. When I arrived Paul was there and told me how good I was doing although he said the leader was 40 or so minutes ahead of me now. So I pushed as hard as I could to get as much as I could in what light was left. I was hoping to get close to Hazel Creek (68.5) before it got dark. I was about 3 miles out when darkness set in. The only time I got my feet wet was in Hazel Cr. right before I arrived at the aid station (68.5). When I arrived I was absolutely starving and was needing to refuel and change into night clothes and shoes and socks. So while my crew went to work getting my shoes and socks off I shoved down a couple Turkey roll ups and 2 cups of Potato soup a Rice Crispy treat, a couple cookies some coke and grabbed a couple Nutella roll ups to go after I got on some warmer clothes. It seemed like I was there forever, but with my buddy Dave now pacing me he told me not to worry we would get it back when we got back on the trail. We headed back out on the Ozark Trail and Dave soon had me running again. After the extended stop, I had got the chills and was a little stiff when we left. Dave and I have ran hundreds and hundreds of miles together and kept telling me we were just on a nice easy training run. We ran everything runnable, running and chatting like we have done many times before. With Kyle still 40 or so ahead was all we could do was run steady and keep putting time on those behind us, and if Kyle hit a rough spot we would be there. I ran nice and steady thru this section to Machell Hollow (76.1). Then to Berryman Campground at mile 81.5. My crew was there again and shoved some food down me and informed me at Hazel Cr. the 3rd place runner was about 8 minutes behind me. I didn't waste any time I grabbed my new bottles and headed back out alone, while Dave refilled his pack. There was a short out and back section here to the aid station then back to the trail. I wanted to get back to the trail and out of sight before the 3rd place runner arrived. To no such luck I seen him coming down the trail as I was heading out. This lit a fire under my ass, and I put the hammer down. Dave had to work hard to catch back up to me. I was no longer worried about catching Kyle just putting more distance on those behind me. We worked hard running everything we could and even running some of the steeper hills. I just shut my brain off and told Dave to run and I would follow and that's what I did. We stopped briefly at Billy's Branch (88) where Deb Johnson was working the aid station and made me the best damn Cheese Quesedilla I ever ate. This was the fuel I needed to push to the finish. I was starting to get a little tunnel vision running at night thru all the leaves and I must of tumbled a 1/2 dozen times since darkness fell. But each time I would pop back up and run on. At times we were running what seemed to me at the time to be crazy fast for 90 miles into the race. I just kept thinking don't twist an ankle now your to close to the finish. The last aid station was Henpeck Hollow at mile 95, my Garmin was already 3 miles past 95 and we still weren't there. But I knew my Garmin had been off all day and we ran until we arrived to see my crew one last time. This stop was fast, I took 2 cookies and grabbed some food from the aid station. I took off my waist pack and took only a handheld for the last 7+miles. My crew gave me some big cheers as I left, and I told my wife I would see her soon at the finish line. I took off out of there like I was shot out of a cannon. I could smell the finish, and I was ready to get this thing done. We were flying and I thought we were going to fly into the finish. Little did I know we had 3 big climbs ahead of us before the finish. Dave had ran this race in the first year when they had 1 big climb at the end then 3 miles of gravel road to the finish. After the first climb Dave kept saying "we should hit the road soon" then we decsended and could see the river and Dave said I don't remember that. Then we started the second climb, and was all I wanted to do was run. But instead we had to climb. Soon we realized they had changed the course from the first year to take out the gravel road. It was what it was and we power hiked up and blasted down. The last climb was a killer like adding insult to injury, putting the 3 toughest climbs in the last 3 miles. But it was what it was and we attacked the last climb. Soon the final decent and we could see the finish, the closer I got the harder we ran. We popped out of the trail and had less than a 1/2 mile of gravel road and field to the finish. This last 1/2 mile was run at a sub 7 min pace I'm sure. Not bad after 100+ miles. I was elated to be at the finish, still feeling good and running like I was. I now had 2nd place and 1st masters runner in the bag. As soon as my wife and crew seen our headlamps coming they cheered me in. I finished in 20:20 2nd overall. My wife, son, Sherrie and Henry were all there congratulating me. It was a huge relief to get a good finish for me after my DNF at Blackhills. Paul congratulated me and told me I had one hell of a run. This was a great run for me and I felt like I got stronger as the run went on. This was the best I have ever felt at the end of a 100, and was really happy with my performance. Here is what my pacer posted on my Facebook page after the race.

David Wakefield "Nice race again brother! You were really digging deep from Berryman to the finish. Really impressed with your ability to get stronger and stronger the closer we got to the finish line. It's very rare for a pacer to not have to ask his runner to give him more during the closing miles. I don't think I asked you to run once the last 20 or so. I just ran and you followed without complaint. Very Impressive!!! I hope you realize how awesome that final 50km was. You did in the dark! Under those conditions with tired legs. What 80% of the rest of the ultra running population would consider a solid effort in the daylight!!!"

A huge thanks to my wife and crew babe, you did a flawless job and I can't thank you enough. Your support has been none short of amazing. Without your continued support none of this is possible. You allow me the time to train for these events and put up with all my craziness, from coming to find me when I take off on a 5-6 hour training run, to letting me go and run all night. Thank you honey you are my ROCK and I couldn't do it with out you.

Thanks to my son, Jarret for coming out and helping and taking pictures and video. Thanks to my good friend Sherrie and Henry for coming out and crewing for me. Henry for navigating my wife around in the Forest. Sherrie for pacing me. And last but not least, my best friend and training partner Dave Wakefield for all his support, encouragement and knowledge he has given me. For pushing me to a new level and for seeing potential in me I didn't even know I had. Thanks buddy, you have really helped me a ton, weather you want to admit it or not. I can't wait for you to get healed back up so we can resume our crazy training runs. And of course your wife Jess, who like mine puts up with all this craziness. Thank you Jessica! And finally to Paul and Stewart for all the time and effort for putting on this great race. 100+ miles point to point on some of the most awesome trails around. This is a trail runners dream and I will be back again and again.

Splits:

Sutton Bluff 17.6 - 2:57

Brooks Creek 43.5 - 7:44

Hazel Creek 68.5 - 12:42

Berryman Camp 81.5 - 15:57

Henpeck Hollow 95 - 18:57

Finish 102+ - 20:25

Blackhills 100 Race Report

2011-06-29T17:23:00.000-07:00

The Blackhills 100 did not go as planed for me. I had been looking fordward to this race for some time and had trained hard for it, and exspected to run well. The family and I decided to use this race as a vacation and spend the week in South Dakota and the Blackhills. This report is going to be a little different since I bailed on the run at mile 52.4 or the 1/2 way point. I knew after checking out the course in the days before the race that this was going to be tough with lots of climbs and descent's. Little did I know it would be tougher than I thought even after see some of the aid station stops. It was still nothing I couldn't handle. So on to the race.
The race started as normal, and I tried to go out a little on the easy side knowing that it was going to be tough. The first couple miles out of town were normal and flat and as soon as we hit the Centennial trail the roller coaster started and never let up. I power- walked more hills in the first 17 miles than in any other ultra I've run. By mile 17 and the first time I seen my crew, I was already having problems with cramping. The sun comes up at 5am in South Dakota and so does the heat. This course was nothing but up and down. And it felt like we were always going up. The big climbs to the ridge were steep and with the thunderstorms the night before also muddy. So not only were we climbing we were climbing with 2lbs of mud on our shoes. Once on the ridge there were little rollers along the ridge. Which made for some great views. From mile 17 till 29 where I seen my crew again, my calf's and the inside of my upper legs were cramping. I'm not sure why it was so bad, it was warm 80-85 degrees and sunny. But, I was taking my salt tabs and drinking about 30oz of water every hour. I did run out of water twice but, not for long before I hit an aid station. At Dalton Lake (29 miles) with the cramping I was already hurting. I drank a whole bottle there re-fueled and started the climb out of Dalton Lake, this is where things went away for me, I wasn't knotting up cramping but, it was like both my legs were ceased up from all the previous cramping, and I was working extra hard to keep up as several other runners went around me. At Boxelder Creek (37) both my legs were hurting bad, yes it was tough but, I felt like I had been taking care of myself and not pushing to hard. After seeing my crew there it all fell apart, both my legs were sore as hell and ceased up. I hiked everything up and had difficulty running flat and down. This 6 mile stretch took me almost 2 hrs. Sure there was a big climb, but also a big decent, and several more runners went around me and every time I tried to keep up with them but my legs were not willing. I became even more frustrated, and this is where I started to loose the mental side of this game. Running 100 miles is 1/2 mental and 1/2 physical. I started thinking of every reason I had to quit. When I got to my crew at Pilots Knob (43) I was frustrated as hell and asking myself why this was happening to me again (re: Heartland 100 last year). Note: when things don't go the way I think they should or I'm not running like I think I should be. It's easier to give up then go on.) My wife gave me the how come and what for when I got to Pilots Knob and was talking about how bad I felt. So she put me back together and told me to get my ass to the turn around at Rapid Creek. At this point I was still in the top 10, but was loosing ground quickly. I made a concentrated effort to turn things around during this last 7 miles to the turn. Other than the big climb and decent right before coming into the aid station, this section was the easiest section on the course, and still every time I ran my legs would cease up, and several more runners went by me. I was frustrated as hell and questing why anyone would put themselves thru this. I mean at this point it was not fun for me at all. However, in a 100 mile race your going to have some bad times. When I finally got to the turn, I started doing math. It took me 2:20 to do that last 7 miles. (Which I now found out may have been longer since every one's Garmin had 52+ miles at the turn) So that was 3.2mph and I got there in 11:26 and spent 20min deciding what to do and trying to regroup. Well the straw that broke the camels back was 3.2mph divided by 52.4miles was 15+ hours if I could keep a 3.2 average. And I came out to run 100 miles not hike it in from 50. Also, I didn't have a pacer, I knew no one on the course and at the time, and I was not willing to be out there alone all night hurting as bad as I was for a 27+ hour finish. That to me just was not worth it at the time. I went in to race let's face it, and just a finish was not good enough for me at the time. Had I still been running like I should have been things might of turned out different. My wife did everything she could to get me back out there. And even though she knew if I kept going she would also be out there for that long also. She is a real trooper when it comes to crewing and she does an amazing job keeping me going and having everything ready for me when I get there. And I could never thank her enough for being there for me! So I owe my wife and son both a huge thank you for all there time and effort. And for allowing me the time and encouragement they give me to even attempt these types of races.

The root cause of this failure is that I put to much pressure on myself to run well when I'm racing. When I first started running ultras and 100's I just went out and ran for fun and never worried about time or place. And after some success I've started racing every race, and put to much pressure on myself to preform well. When I just ran 100's for fun, I loved every minute of it and never once thought about quitting. And did OK just running for fun. In my last 2 100's I went out to race and had no fun, and both times when things went bad I just wanted to quit. I'm done racing, at least in the 100, and just going to go back to running for fun. For me running 100 is about seeing how far you can go and pushing the limits. Tearing yourself down and still pushing thru. Spending time on the trails, just me and my thoughts and nature. That's what I love about this sport and that is what I half to get back too. Get back to having fun and enjoying running thru the woods or mountains or wherever the next trail leads me. And it's time to go back and run for the love of running. I don't need to win or do well to enjoy running and it time to step back, and get back to what I love. RUNNING!

Yes I will be back next year with a new attitude and new game plan and I will get that buckle!

Rock On Perry Lake 50K

2011-05-16T16:40:00.000-07:00

The Rock On, Lake Perry 50K, 1/2 Marathon and 5K was this weekend at the Branded B Ranch on Lake Perry. Put on by the Kansas City Trail Nerds. As with any Trail Nerd event, it is always top notch. And of course Dick Ross (www.seekcrun.com) was there taking FREE photos of all the runners. You know your at a great event when you see Dick Ross. Thanks for all the great photos Dick.
I had signed up for this race kind of last minute and was just going to go out and have some fun, and enjoy some time on the trails. I wanted to run a race without all the stress of trying to race. Something I've not had any success with in the past. And this race was no different. As the race got closer the more I realized that this, while it sounded good in my head, was probably not going to work out as planned. Something told me that when the gun went off, I would be racing. However, I didn't really taper for the race, so was just going to go out and see how I felt. My buddy Dave was running the 1/2 marathon and I lined up right beside him at the start. With a few pre-race instructions from Bad Ben (race director) we were off down a short road section to the single track trails. I tucked in right behind Dave and we were in the lead right from the start. We put some distance on the rest of the field in the first 5 or 6 miles to the first aid station. No drawn out stop here just a re-fill of the bottle and a Nuun tablet plopped in and off again. Dave had decided to just tuck in with me and run the first loop as long as no other 1/2 marathoners got close. The pace was good and it felt like I was running on auto-pilot. We ran hard on all the flats and downhills and coast thru the rocky technical sections and uphills. It was just like a training run we bullshitted and just ran like normal. Maybe a little faster than a training run, but we were still chatting. The miles went by fast and soon we were only a couple miles from where he would cut off and finish. The last few miles together thru here were some nice flat and smooth sections and we chatted about how if someone was going to try and catch us they would do it thru here. So, we just kept the leg turnover going and picked up the pace thru here. Before long we were back at the road where Dave would peel off and finish, and I would run on thru for another 2+ miles of trail. I decided then to just keep running with the same effort and intensity as I had been with Dave and see how long I could keep it up. I finished the first loop 15 miles in 1:50. After a re-fill of the water bottle, I was off on the 2nd loop. Much like the first loop I was running a little faster than I would have liked, but I was still feeling good, so I just went with it. I was really enjoying the run and the time on the trails. Really nothing eventful, just kept the effort consistent and ran. Soon I was back to the aid station and Dave was there with a fresh Nuun bottle and a couple gels and back down the trail. I kept thinking the wheels were going to come off anytime now, but I still felt surprisingly good. I just stayed focused and ran. The sections along the lake are some scenic views, to bad you can't take your eye off the trails long enough to really take them in. It felt like I was getting stronger and stronger and I just went with the flow. My pace was gradually getting faster and faster the closer I got to the finish. I never really looked at my Garmin all day or obsessed about every split I just put the hammer down and ran. The last 6 miles I ran really hard and it felt good to be running that strong at the end of a 50K. When I got to the aid station at the bottom of the road, I knew I only had a couple mile loop and the finish. I blew right thru there pausing only to say hey to my good friend Jessica, who was working the aid station and cheering me on as I went thru. When I got back around Dave and John were there cheering me on. I remember Dave yelling at me "3:40 are you f'n kidding me" as I headed up the road/hill to the finish. I was about ready to blow when I got to the top, the longest hill of the day is the one up to finish. And I crossed the finish line 3:43 and change. A great run for a 50K! No one was expecting me so soon and my wife and kid missed me finish. But the crowd that was there all came over to congratulate me. Bad Ben handed me my finisher metal a bag full of goodies, and the winners glass trophy. I couldn't believe I had just run a 3:43 50K and as Dave said "are you F'n kidding me." It was another great run and a great event, on the perfect day, with perfect weather and trail conditions. How could you ask for much more. This is why I love trail running even with a hard effort it just doesn't seem like work when you out there running in the woods in nature. Thanks to everyone, you all know who you are, my wife, son, the Kansas City Trail Nerds, Bad Ben, Sophia all the volunteers, my friends Dave, Jess and John for all your support and encouragement. And a special thanks to Dave for making that first loop fly by and keeping me company when he could of ran faster.

Freestate 100K

2011-04-25T16:40:00.000-07:00

The Freestate 100K is one of my favorite races, put on by the Kansas City Trail Nerds. This was the race early in the year I had set as a goal race to see where I was at coming back from a hip injury that plagued me much of last year and that I finally got under control in the last couple months. For whatever reason I was determined to come back better, faster and stronger. I seem to have this obsessive compulsive disorder that makes me take everything to extremes and this was no different. My friend and training partner Dave Wakefield and I, had trained hard for this race. And I was really looking forward to seeing how it would all play out. We had run the course numerous times over the couple months leading up to the race and each time we got faster and faster. (Dave was running the 40 miler) We had hatched a plan for the race and I was excited to get going. I had kind of set 3 goals for myself. 1.) What I wanted to run. 2.) What I thought I could run. 3) What I would be happy with. The plan was simple if I ran what I thought I could run, I would be right in there with the front-runners. Everyone runs for different reasons and I'm no different, I enjoy the competition and I also enjoy getting the most I can out of myself. Pushing myself to limit is part of what drives me. But even if I was dead last I would still run, I just enjoy it that much. For the people who know me, know how dedicated I am to training for and running these races. So to expect nothing but my best would be a waste of my time and effort. Racing is hard, to put out max effort for sometimes 10 to 20 hours at a time. The feeling I get from running to complete fatigue and then running more is part of the fun in this sport for me. You just can't get that feeling in a training run. The last few miles of a race are always hell and you just can't wait to be done. And sometimes I ask myself why the hell I'm putting myself thru this. I've even said to myself after this one I'm done, never to push myself that hard again. But every time that goes away as soon as I cross that finish line. Sorry I got a little off subject here, but I thought this may explain to others what drives me to do these things. The best part about this sport is everyone can compete, and I don't care if you are first or last if you have run one of these races you have accomplished something. And you have something to be proud of!

The plan was to train hard for this race and put it all out there on race day. With Dave's help, my training for this race was really good, and I was training harder and running faster than I ever had training for a race. I was feeling confident going into the race, and was in great shape and ready to see what would happen.

The week leading up to the race I was a mess, stressing about the race and wondering how I would do. I really wanted to do well at this race and it added to my stress level. I'm not sure why I always do this but it seems like a pattern with me before big races. Dave and I had both made a plan for this race and it was about time to put this plan into action.

The day before the race, I had heard they were changing the course some and this added to my stress level as I had trained on the old course and knew every inch of it like the back of my hand. The old course was always said to be short of the 100K distance and as we found out they had added some 3 miles to the course for the 100K bringing it to right at the 100K distance. Not a big deal as I had still ran every inch of the North Shore Trails and everyone would half to run the same course. We arrived at the race an hour early and I spent the time chatting with friends and other runners. Before long it was go time and I could hardly wait to get running. At the start line my buddy Dave told me to stick to the plan and have fun, no problem I thought. My wife was helping at the Kansas Ultra runners Society (KUS) aid station about 1/2 way thru the 20+ mile loop and she would crew me thru there every loop. Was all I had to do was run 3 - 20 + mile loops be consistent and run strong.

The gun went of at 7am and we were off, down a short gravel road to the single track trail we would run on all day long. I really tried to hold back at first, but found myself running right behind Dave and Rick Mayo(who were both running the 40). Going out to hard is something I really have a problem with and in the first 5 miles Dave had yelled back at me to stick to the plan, and every time he did I tried to dial it back some but was still keeping them in my sights. At mile 5 or so I could no longer see Dave in front of me so I felt like I was running in my comfort zone. At the Lands End aid station (mile 7) I had caught Rick who was already having a blister issue and left Lands End before him. From here I just settled into a rhythm and ran at a pace that felt comfortable, which was probably faster than I would have liked. Coming into the KUS aid station the first time my wife was ready for me with a new waist pack and water bottle ready to go. I caught a glimpse of the 2nd place runner and a couple others on this 1 mile out and back section of the new course. The miles kept clicking off and my pace stayed steady for the first loop. Once I got back to Lands End, another running buddy Norman filled my bottles and sent me on my way for the final 3 miles to finish loop 1. From Lands End to the start/finish is some of my favorite part of the trail behind all the campsites and along the lake, relatively flat and fast. I came into the start/finish for loop 1 in 2:45 min. a little faster than I would have liked but not far off my plan. (However my plan was for the shorter course) I got some cheers from the crowd at the start/finish area as I came in and went back out for loop 2.

I made a real effort to dial it back some on the second loop to save some energy for loop 3. As I knew if I kept this pace I would pay dearly on the final loop. This loop was really uneventful, I just kept my head down and stayed focused and ran. At this point I was still feeling good with 20+ miles under my belt. Back thru Lands End again, and back down the trail I went. I was keeping up with my hydration, calories and electrolytes and everything seemed to be going as planed. I just enjoyed the time on the trails and ran hard on the flats and down hills and coasted on the uphills. Before long I was back to the KUS station and my wife was ready for me as always. In and out in a flash, at this point I knew I had a cushion on the field as I did not see another 100K runner on this out and back section. Once I hit Lands End again. (you hit the Lands End aid station twice per loop at mile 7 and 17 or so) Here Brad informed me my that my running buddy Norman would pace my the final 13 miles. (I had talked to Norman about pacing me the final 20 miles but he has been struggling with an injury also and didn't think he could go) A pacer is really nice in a long race like this to get the most out of you. Once I knew Norman was going to pull me thru the last 13 I picked up the pace back to the start finish area. Coming back into the start/finish to cheers from the crowd and my buddy Dave (who won the 40 mile) waiting on me to give me my final instructions for the final loop. I finished loop 2 in 3:08 and was 5:53 elapsed time and 41+ miles into the race. At this point was all I had to do was be steady and keep up on my calories and hydration. But, 20 miles is still a long way at this point and anything can happen.

With 40 miles down I was still feeling as good as you can after running 40 miles. I knew I only had to run 7 more miles alone and pick up Norman to get me to the finish. My pace stayed steady at a 9 to 9:15 pace till I hit Lands End where Norman was there waiting and ready to go. They filled my bottle and I grabbed some food and shoved it down and told Norman to take off. And take off he did he set a blistering pace. (or at least what seemed like a blistering pace for me at the time) At this point I was trying to do some math and thought I still had a shot at a sub 9 hour finish. (Plan 1 was what I wanted to run was a sub 10 also on the old course) So Norman kept out in front of me a good 15-20 yards and really made me work trying to keep up with him. Then I kicked a stump and flew off the trail into the weeds and all the muscles in my left leg cramped, especially my calf. It took what seemed like forever to get the cramp out and get back up and going again. For the next 3 or so miles I was cramping and it was really hard to get back into a rhythm. It all finally worked out and the last 2 miles to the KUS aid station went much better. My wife was there again and I received a lot of cheers and encouragement from the crowd there as I came through. Some more calories and Norman shot back out and down the trail. Here is where the miles started to add up on me as I had been pushing hard all day and I was starting to feel it. Every mile seemed to take forever now, and I was working really hard to keep up with Norman. We didn't talk much, we didn't need to he knew what to do, get the most out of me he could and that he did. Every now and then he would encourage me to leave it all on the trail and I felt like I was doing a pretty good job of that. With 5 or so miles to go I knew a sub 9 was now out of the question and that took a little wind out of my sail. But, no matter what happened now I was still going to have one hell of a finish, and just kept pushing as hard as I could. I had not walked all day but now the hills were getting me and I was forced to walk some. I was hurting when we came into Lands End for the final time and I did not even stop. I just gave my bottle to Norman to fill and I kept right on running. Was all I wanted to do was finish now and it was all I could think of. Norman soon caught back up with me with my bottle and a gel. My legs were toast but only 3 miles to go. I just kept telling myself to run as hard as I could my mind was still there but my legs were not. When we finally hit the road leading up to the start finish all the pain went away and the adrenalin kicked in. Everyone was waiting on my and as I crossed the finish line in 9:09.53 (3:18 loop 3)it was shear jubilation. I could hardly believe what I had just done. Not only had I won but I broke the old (shorter) course record in the process. My wife, son, Dave and Jess, Ben, Sophia, Norman and a hoard of others were all there congratulating me. It felt great to have ran so well, and have all my friends there to celebrate with me. It was an epic run for me, and where it came from I'm not sure. I do half to thank my training partner and friend Dave Wakefield for pushing me, motivating me, and helping me reach my full potential. And Norman for also kicking my ass on some training runs and for dragging my ass in, in such a great time. My wife and son for all there support and for crewing for me all day, and for always allowing me to do what I need, to run these races. To Ben and Sophia for putting on this race and many others, and for always supporting me. Thank you! I really don't know what else I can say except it was a great day for me, the trails were it the best shape ever, the weather was perfect, and everything went as good or better than planed. If only every race were like that. LOL
Until next time I'll see you on the trails.

Nueces 50K race report

2011-03-06T06:53:00.000-08:00

I don't even know where to begin with this one. I was originally going to go down to Texas with my friend and training partner Dave Wakefield to the USATF 50 mile trail championship. I was looking forward to running with the big boys. Then I started physical therapy for a hip injury that nagged me for most of last year. My PT said no can do on the 50 miles and cut my running way back leading up to the race. I decided to go along and keep Dave company on the long drive (738 miles to Rock Springs TX). Once we got close and I seen the hills and and the course layout I got to telling myself, you may never be able to come down here again. So last minute, and I mean last minute, like 10 hours before the race I singed up for the 50K. With limited miles and no runs longer that 10 miles in the last 5 weeks, I decided to just go out have some fun and see what happens. The course was hilly, rocky, and I mean rocky, and one of the most technical courses I have ever ran on. Race morning began with a early morning wake-up at 3:15 when the wind blew my tent away with me in it. I got it staked back down and started prepping for the race. We hung out in the pavilion and chatted with other runners till the race start. I was so excited to be going to run long again and on some new trails. The race started with a big climb out of the canyon to the top of the ridge right out of the box, this got my heart and blood pumping right from the start. Once on the ridge, I settled into a nice pace in a group of 4-5 runners, a little faster than I would have liked, after all I was just going out to have some fun. The first few miles came and went to the first aid station along rocky single track trails up and down. After hitting the first aid station there was a big climb up the side of a hill where at times there really was no "trail" just a flag or ribbon to know you were on course. I ran up until my legs and lungs were on fire and then had to hike the rest of the way to the top. From there you hit some rocky ass jeep trails and the views were just awesome. This is the reason I run trails out in the middle of nowhere Texas on a trail running along a ridge overlooking the valleys down below on both sides. It just don't get any better than this my friends. Then back to the single track trail winding back and forth to the bottom and running thru dry creek beds along large washed uneven rock. Then a section along some bluffs where they do some rock climbing. It would of been nice to be able to look up and check it out but on this trail if you looked up for one second you were going down. Here I hit aid station #2 refilled my water grabbed some cookies and was off again. Next you run along some more uneven wash rock along a river and across a suspension bridge. It is extremely difficult to run across a suspension bridge as I have found out. Then along the bluff on the other side before starting to climb again. From here we climbed and climbed along a fence row on what I wouldn't call a trail but rather a mowed strip thru a rocky pasture. My lungs and legs were on fire again up and up. Then a steep loose section you could do nothing but hike up as you just trashed your legs on the earlier less steep climbs. It levels out but continues to climb to the top where and old windmill stood. From here it was a mile plus of some much needed downhill, however it was hard to really open it up on the loose rocks and you had to break yourself as you went down. Back in the canyon bottom and around a shooting range thru a low watter crossing, along the river and bluff on the other side of the camp where the race started. Across the river again and along the other side up a steep hill with steps and across another suspension bridge to the gravel road and a short loop back to the pavilion to complete lap 1. I came across with 15.4 miles on my Garmin in 2:09. At this point I knew I was running well and thought I was in first place. I didn't linger long here just re-filled my bottles and grabbed some cookies and a hammer jell and took off. At the start of lap 2 I missed the exit to the trail along the road at the cabins. I kept running along the road finally until realizing I had not see a flag or trail marking for a bit. I stoped and looked around and immediately knew I had ran by the exit to the trail as I did not remember running along the road that long on the first lap. It took what seemed like forever to get back to where I missed the trail. Here I ran harder than I wanted trying to make up lost time. If you can't tell here is where just going out to have fun really went out the window. I knew I had lost a spot or two while I ran down the road along all the cabins. I won't bore you with all the details of the second lap as it was much the same as the first strong and steady. Once I hit the low water crossing with about a mile to go I knew I was going to have ran one hell of a race. The last mile is always fun running in knowing you are in the front and that mile was the easiest and fastest mile of the race. I came into the finish to cheers from the crowd in 4:31+/- official results not posted yet in 2ND place in the 50K. Wow, that was awesome! I signed up last minute, was just going out to run for fun and had the best race on an extremely tough course and limited training. I think there is something to this no pressure racing. I did not have time to stress about the race, plan prepare or run the race over and over in my head. I just went out and ran and ran I did! Not to mention I had fun and loved every minute of it. This was a great way to start my race season. But lets keep this a secret, my PT doesn't know yet. I won't tell if you won't.

Prairie Spirit Trail Run 51 miles

2010-11-07T05:01:00.000-08:00

This weekend I had the pleasure of running the entire 51 miles of the Prairie Spirit Trail. The trail starts in Ottawa, KS and ends in Iola, KS. After a whole year of training for and running races, including 4 100 milers, and a handful of other races. I was looking for a long trail in Kansas to just go out run for fun, with out all the stresses of training and racing.

The Prairie Spirit Trail is an old rail trail and in my own back yard so to speak, only 25 miles or so from my home. I knew of the trail but never realized it was that long. I contacted the director of the Prairie Spirit Trail to see if anyone had ever run the entire length of the trail, and found out to any ones knowledge no one had ever done it. So that became my motivation for wanting to go out and run the entire trail.

If you have never ran on rails to trails these trails are smooth, flat and fast. I have 13 or so miles of the Flint Hills Trail a mile from my house that I pound on a regular basis. I want to start by saying I highly recommend the Prairie Spirit Trail to any runner or bicyclist looking for a place to get in a good run or ride. This trail was the most up kept trail I have ever run on. And with water at all the trail heads, no more than 7 miles apart, make this a perfect trail for getting in a good long run or ride.

My run started at 7am in front of the Old Depot Museum in Ottawa, KS. It was a cool morning start at 27 degrees. Not bad, as it would warm up nicely when the sun comes up and make it a perfect day for running. The first 3 miles or so through Ottawa are paved through town, then turning to a nice wide limestone trail. I was so excited to be running the first 9.4 miles went by really fast as I enjoyed the scenery with a fresh frost on the ground and farmland on both sides of the trail. I seen a couple deer, a bunch of turkeys and 3 of the biggest coyote's I have ever seen. My wife meet me at the Princeton Trail head mile 9.4 to refill my water bottles and restock my supplies. From there it was another 6.4 miles to the Richmond Trail head. These first few miles were some of the most peaceful miles I think I have ever run. It was so nice to just be out there running for fun in nature. My next stop was the Garnett Depot mile 24.9, and to my surprise there was about 15 friends of the Prairie Spirit Trail there to cheer me on. It was a nice pick me up being about at the 1/2 way point to have all these people there to see me for a few minutes. This was also where I picked up my pacer for the final 26 miles. Sherrie Klover of Bashor, KS had graciously volunteered to spend her Saturday running with me. Sherrie is an accomplished marathon runner and one tough cookie when it comes to running. And it was a pleasure to have her there running with me. From here me and Sherrie chatted and enjoyed each others company and before we knew it we were at the Welda Trail Head mile 33.1. And our crews were there, my wife Darcie and son Jarret, and Sherries husband Henry, to re-supply us with everything we needed. From here the temps rose and the wind also picked up, I'm guessing we were running into a 15-20 mile headwind for the final 20 miles. From here to Colony mile 40.9 the trail parallels Hwy 169 and is mainly in the open with no trees to block the wind it was tough going and our pace was somewhat slowed through here. Once we arrived at Colony our crew was there to once again re-hydrate and re-fuel us and send us on our way. From Colony to Carlyle mile 46.5 we were both feeling a little fatigued a typical happening that runners refer to as "hitting the wall". This stretch seemed to go on for ever and we couldn't wait get there to have out crew put us back together for the final leg. I seemed to remember from the trail map it was 6+ miles from Carlyle to Iola, so when we arrived and Henry informed us it was only 4.2 we were relieved, and re-energised to finish this thing. From here we were both ready to see the finish and the closer we got the more energised and talkative we got. When we hit the paved trail in Iola we knew it wasn't far and we began to congratulate each other on an amazing run and reminisce about why we both run. When we finally seen our crew waiting for us at the Iola Trail Head cheering us in it's always nice finish. As I crossed the finish line my time was 8:12.48 not to bad for 51 miles and running into a headwind. Sherrie was at a little over 26 miles on her garmin so we had to run an extra .2 miles so she could say she ran a marathon. I have to say I would of done the same thing. It was a moral victory for us both and I am proud to say I'm the first person to run the entire Prairie Spirit Trail. Thanks again to the Prairie Spirit Trail, our wonderful crew, Darcie, Jarret and Henry without them this is not possible. And a special thank you to Sherrie for coming out and running a tough 26 miles with me. I hope to do it again someday soon.

Leadville Trail 100 Race Report

2010-08-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

Well the don't call this the "Race Across the Sky" for nothing. For being a flat lander and having crewed and paced at Leadville last year. I have a lot of respect for this race and the altitude. Going into the race my only goal was to finish. My plan was to go out easy to Twin Lakes (39.5) get up over Hope Pass to Winfield. Then drag myself back up over Hope to Twin Lakes and then if I was still feeling good and had a shot go for that big sub-25 hour buckle go for it. The time had finally come and it was time to see how I would do in this altitude, and if all my hard training had paid off. I had my stellar crew my wife, my sister, and my day crewing for me all day. I had Ben Reeves to pace me back from Winfield to May Queen and my sister, Darcy to pace me the final 13.5 to the finish. I was feeling good and confident going in and the morning was cool and brisk. Waiting for the start took forever and I stood around talking with my crew as we waited for the start. With about 10 min to go all the nerves started to get to me and I was as nervous as I have ever been before a race. Once the gun went off all that went out the window and we were finally running all 700+ of us.

Start to May Queen (13.5)

When the gun went off at 4am we were off. I was never so glad to be running all the worrying and apprehension was gone and it was now time to do what I do best and run. The first 5 or 6 miles went by really fast and I was running right behind the lead pack of 10-15 runners. This pace was a little faster than I would have liked but, I was feeling good and having not run for 4 days I had a lot of bent up energy to blow off. I seen my good friend Rick Mayo until he had to make a pit stop. The first 2 climbs up the jeep road came and went and now was 7+ miles of running along Turquoise Lake. The lake and the view was beautiful and I enjoyed the run along the lake. The last few miles with the sun coming up glistening off the lake were especially nice. I felt really good and strong on this section but we had yet to make any real climbs. When I came into May Queen (13.5 @ 1:53) my crew was there to meet me. I skipped the aid station completely and hit my crew. The plan was to change from handheld's to my waist pack at May Queen to give me a free hand to climb Sugarloaf. When I went to put the waist pack on the clip on one side was missing. The first mishap of the day and my wife tried her best to get me back out there, we finally made the decision to go with the 2 handheld's again and they filled my belt with more Gel's and I was off. I got a little grumpy with my crew about the waist pack mishap and yelled at them some while we regrouped. I felt really bad about this once I was off and running and knew I had to apologise for being so grumpy with them. After all they were kind enough to spent there entire day and then some crewing for me. I felt kind of selfish at this point and couldn't wait to get to Fish Hatchery to make amends.

May Queen to Fish Hatchery (23.5)

I ran most of the uphill on the Colorado Trail till we hit the gravel road leading up to the top of Sugarloaf (11,071 ft). Once on the road I alternated running and power hiking till I reached the top. This whole section went by really fast, and at the top of Powerline I was glad to see some downhill. I tried not to fly down the mountain to fast and save my quads for later in the race. I was holding my position in the race at this point and still feeling really good. I was on track with my fueling 2 GU's per hour and Gatorade G2 in one handheld and plain water in the other. When I hit the paved road heading into Fish Hatchery, I realized that my plan of going out easy had went out the window and I was now racing. How or why this happened I'm not sure racing was never in my plan. I hit the Fish Hatchery (23.5 @ 3:35) way faster than I had planned. Made amends with my crew and they had got the waist pack fixed, and with that I was in and out in less than a minute. The gave me a turkey roll up to go and I was back on the road. I was having trouble eating the turkey roll-up for some reason it just balled up in my mouth and I could hardly swallow it. I ate as much as I could and tossed the rest in the ditch.

Fish Hatchery to Half moon

I had decided to have my crew go to Twin Lakes instead of crewing me at Pipeline as it was only a couple miles out of Fish Hatchery. The road out of Fish Hatchery was a bitch! Why they have so much paved road in this race I still can't figure out. The pavement was a killer. I was so glad to hit the jeep road at Pipeline and from there past all the cheering crews, I was feeling like a Rock star. I kept up with my fueling and fluids and ran extremely well to Halfmoon. There the wonderful volunteers refilled my bottles while I grabbed a handful of food. Some PB&J's and pretzels would do the trick. Solid food, but the same outcome, the pretzels and PB&J's when I put them in my mouth were as dry as my mouth and I just could not swallow anything. So instead, I fuelled with GU's and Gatorade/Poweraid and some Coke at the aid station. My mouth was extremely dry and I was sucking down my water and Gatorade like a fish.

Halfmoon to Twin Lakes (39.5)

I hit a low point leaving Halfmoon. To this point I had been mostly running and was holding my own. Suddenly I was doing a lot of walking and was wondering what the problem was. Since I had not ate any solid food, I determined I was a little behind on my calories so I downed a pack of GU Chomps. A nice change from gels. I was struggling a bit through this section, till all the sudden I could see the Lakes through the trees. I was way above the lakes at this point so I knew it was all down hill into Twin Lakes. I decided to run all the way to Twin Lakes. Running downhill came easy and I started to feel good again. I knew I needed to eat when I got to Twin Lakes (39.5 @ 6:20) I would need some fuel to get up over Hope Pass. Coming into Twin Lakes was fun with several blocks lined with cheering crews. My crew was set up right outside the aid station, so I went right through the aid station to my crew. I took a seat, while my crew changed my shoes. I changed out of my Salomon SC2 and into my Mizuno Cabrakan's. The Mizuno's have more protection and the rock plate for going up and over the rocky mountain trails. While my crew attended to my needs I drank 1/2 a bottle of perpetuem and grabbed a PB&J to go. I was having the same problem with solid food but managed to choke down most of the PB&J.

Twin Lakes to Winfield (50 mile turnaround)

The first 2 miles leaving Twin Lakes is the calm before the storm. Nice, flat and fast. Other than a couple water crossings and a river crossing this was a nice break from up and down running. When I reached the base of the mountain my goal was to power hike up to Hope Pass. This is the low point of the race at 9,200 ft. to the high point at Hope Pass of 12,600 ft. Just keep moving I kept telling myself. This part was all hiking at this point as it was all up from here to Hope Pass. Moving at a pace to keep going and not get my heart rate soaring. Up and up and up we went. I was glad now we had hiked this on Tuesday before the race so I knew what to expect. (Thank you, Darcie and Darcy for hiking Hope with me.) I kept moving at a brisk pace stopping occasionally to catch my breath. Soon I was at Hopeless Pass aid station and I refilled and refueled as much as I could. From here it was a mile or so to the summit of steep switchbacks above treeline, but the views were incredible. It kept your mind off what you were doing if only for a few minutes it was a nice distraction. Once I reached the summit it was a huge relief and was now time to do some running. I took it easy running down the back side in the loose rocks, one wrong step and it could be disaster on the steep rocky trail. It sure was nice to get back to treeline on the back side and I pushed as much as I could without totally trashing my quads. Extremely happy with my effort to this point, but still not confident, till I got back up over Hope for the second time. Right before I hit the trees I seen Tony Kurpicka coming back up the trail. He is one of my ultra running heroes and I follow his progress, races and blog religiously. So to be in the same race with him made me feel like somebody. Not to mention after the pre-race meeting me and my sister meet him downtown and got a picture with him.
It was a while before I seen the next runner coming up behind Tony. He was way out in the lead at that point and looked strong when he went by me. I kept a steady pace down the backside in the trees just enough to make good progress but not to fast to trash my quads. Once I got close to the trail head I heard my uncle yell "here he comes" my aunt was down trail ready to snap some pictures of me as I went by. They yelled some words of encouragement at me as I whizzed by. All that time waiting for me to come down and in a minute it was over. From the trail head to Winfield was another rough spot, it seemed all uphill and with the dust from all the crew vehicles it made it worse. It seemed like I ran/walked forever before I made it to Winfield. Once there I was relieved a little. I would go through medical weight was down 1 pound. That meant my hydration had been good, but I also knew I was running low on calories. I had not been sticking to my schedule of at least 2 GU's per hour. My crew was there to refill my pack and get me back out there. I had arrived at Winfield in 9:30. My crew tried to get me to sit down and eat something but I was stubborn and wanted to get back out there, opting instead to take a turkey roll-up with me. With a minute or so of confusion finding my pacer who was not expecting me so soon because, I was not supposed be there for at least another 45 min. I took off heading back out walking and eating while my crew found my pacer Ben and sent him my way. Before I got to far he came up running behind me. After a barrage of questions from my pacer, he to determined I was not taking in enough calories and he was determined to get me back on track.

Winfield to Twin Lakes inbound (60.5)

Once we hit the gravel road back to the trail head my pacer kept me running as much as possible knowing when we got to the trail it would be all hiking till we got to the top.
This time up the mountain seemed a lot easier with my pacer in tow. He kept my spirits up and pushed me when he knew he could and let me rest when he knew I need a rest break. The back side of Hope is shorter but a lot steeper. And with all the runners coming down it was tough at times getting two paths crossing on such a narrow trail. We meet my friends Rick Mayo and Josh Pool on the way back up and a few minutes after that Brad Bishop. It was nice to see some familiar faces coming down as we headed back up the mountain the second time. We moved as fast as we could till I could feel my heart beating in my head, and I would half to take a couple seconds rest to let my heart rate come back down a little before continuing on. We got passed by a few runners in this section heading back up Hope but I was not doing to bad for a flat lander from Kansas. We finally reached the summit for the second time and I was extremely glad to get there and had a since of relief, but also knowing there was a long way to go yet. Once we arrived at Hopeless Aid Station my pacer took my pack to get refilled and ordered me to get something to eat. While I mingled around in the aid station, I tried to eat but again could not choke anything down. I grabbed a cup of Ramen to go and sucked as much of it down as I could before we hit the last trash can to throw my cup away. It sure was nice to be running again and downhill to boot. We ran down most of the way walking only some of the more technical and rocky sections. Once to the bottom it was back through the meadows across the river and thru a couple creeks. Running as much as I could muster back to Twin Lakes. I arrived back at Twin Lakes (60.5) in exactly 13hrs. At Twin Lakes my whole family was there waiting on me. Including my mom, son Jarret and niece Shelby and my aunt and uncle. My mom had graciously volunteered to watch the kids while the rest of the family crewed for me. My wife set me in a chair and changed my shoes and socks into a dry pair of Mizuno Cabrakan's. My whole crew kept trying to get me to eat, and again I just couldn't choke anything down. I did manage to suck down a 1/2 bottle of Perpetuem and some Coke and a few slices of watermelon. It was a nice break, but after our packs were filled we were off once again.

Twin Lakes to Halfmoon inbound

The climb out of Twin Lakes was a killer, after going up over Hope not once but twice, climbing again was a real bummer. Nobody talks about the climb out of Twin Lakes but this got my goat. I was tired of climbing was all I wanted to do was run. Between here and Halfmoon is where things started to go south for me. All the sudden every time I tried to drink Gatorade or eat a gel my stomach would knot up. I had been fueling almost entirely the whole day on simple sugars consisting of gel's and Gatorade. All the sugar had my stomach in knots and I thought I was going to puke every time I took a sip off my bottle or tried to eat a gel. Never have I had a race where I could not eat solid food. I have always been able to eat anything off the aid station table, but not today. My mouth was so dry and when I would eat something it was automatically as dry as my mouth and I just could not swallow it. My pacer did a good job keeping my spirits up, and the plan was to get to Halfmoon and get some calories in me. It was slow going even after we hit the flat jeep road going towards Halfmoon. My energy level was low after being calorie deprived most of the day it was finally catching up with me. We arrived at Halfmoon and there were several other runners there taking there time fueling and talking about still being on a sub-24 hr pace. This got my spirits up thinking I still had a chance at sub-24 but not with my low energy level. I was stubborn and my pacer tried to get me to sit down and eat something. I took a cup of Ramen from the aid station and headed back out on the trail, leaving my pacer in the aid station. In hindsight I don't know why I never listened to my crew or pacer, or why I never realized that you need fuel to run.

Halfmoon to Fish Hatchery inbound (76.5)

We had made plans for my crew to meet us at Pipeline also so we would see my crew twice in this section. My feet were starting to blister, and my energy level was extremely low. My legs felt really good and had it not been for having no fuel, I could have run a lot more than I did in this flat section to Pipeline. I tried to run but could only make it a couple hundred yards before I would peter out and walk again. My pacer was constantly trying to get some food in me, and I kept saying in a minute or when we get to there. When I did take a mini candy bar or something I would take maybe a bit of it and when he wasn't looking throw the rest in the weeds. My stomach just couldn't handle it. It was hard to drink even water, if I guzzled it I would start to belch and think I was going to puke. So I had to just sip, sip, sip it to keep even water down.
Once we arrived at pipeline my crew set me down and made me eat something, but the only thing I could take in was watermelon and grapes, not many calories there. My pacer had rolled an ankel coming into Pipeline, but said at the time everything was ok. We soon left Pipeline and had several miles of pavement to Fish Hatchery. This section would be a good time to run but, again no fuel equals no run. We tried to run from telephone pole to telephone pole run one, walk one. That worked good for awhile but soon I was not able to make it pole to pole. This section of pavement sucked ass! This was extremely harder than I could have imagined, it was killer on my feet and I swore I got more blisters on this section than on all the loose rocky sections. We finally made it to Fish Hatchery and it was now 9:44 pm or 17hrs 44min into the race. And while I was not running well was still doing great time wise. I never did see my crew when I headed up to the Aid Station so my pacer told me to sit down and eat while he searched for my crew. I did manage to shove down some watermelon, cantaloupe and a cup of broth. I got antsy after that and headed out to find my crew. I soon seen my dad, they had been taking a dinner break themselves and missed me going up. I was wanting to put on some tights and a long sleeve shirt here as I knew at night and with my pace extremely slow, I would need more clothes. Soon after my pacer came back saying his ankle was tight and had lost a lot of flexibility in it, he didn't think he could continue. My sister thankfully, was ready to go but she had only planned to pace me the final 13, but when duty called she stepped up and jumped in. After some rearranging we were off again with my sister now pacing me. Ben had done a great job getting me this far and it was wise he not continue and risk further injury. Even though he said he would if need be.

Fish Hatchery to May Queen inbound (86.5)

With a short road section then the climb to the top of Sugarloaf (11,127ft) ahead my sister was jumping right into the fire. She lead the way and kept me running as much as she could on the paved section. She started right from the get go to get me to eat something. But as always I refused. Nothing sounded good or even peaked my interest, and if I did try something it would knot up my stomach and for the next 20-30 minutes, and thought I was going to puke. The climb up powerline was rough, no fuel means no energy for climbing, my sister did her best to keep me moving but several times I just sat on the side of the trail to regroup. The climb up went on forever and other runners were passing us left and right now, but there was not a damn thing I could do about it. At this point I was trying to do the math in my head I could walk in from here and still get the sub-25 buckle. Once to the top of Sugarloaf my sister tried to keep me running at least the downhills let's run glow stick to glow stick, and I tried, but there was nothing in the tank and I was running on empty. And again, and again, she tried to get me to eat and I refused or if I did take a Payday or something I would take one bite and feed the rest to the critters. And gels were completely out, every time I tried to suck down a gel it would turn my stomach inside out. Once we got back to the trail, there was little running from here to May Queen, the trail was rather technical and running on fumes, I was afraid I would hurt myself trying to run. We could see May Queen several times and it looked like we were almost there at one point but then the trail took us farther away. When we finally got close we were able to run into the aid station and there was my wife and dad waiting for me just like they had been all day. And again they tried to get me to sit down and eat something but at this point I was so far behind it wouldn't have made any difference. I did take a cup of potato soup with me and managed to get 3/4 of it down.

May Queen to the Finish

Coming out of May Queen through the campgrounds my pacer/sister got me running as much as she could. You wouldn't have known my sister was a flat lander from Florida and that she has never run ultra, or at night, or on trails. She acted like a true ultra veteran. She knew exactly what to do and exactly when to do it. She made sure I was still drinking and even though I was stubborn and would not eat anything, it wasn't from lack of trying. The trail seemed very technical this time along the lake, and while it was a nice night and with the view of the lake in the moonlight. I sure wish I could of run more. But again no fuel equals no run. When we got to Tabor Boat ramp there was some other crews there saying it was 6 miles to the finish. And my crew was there also encouraging me to go for it. It was right at 23 hours and only 6 mile to go that's 3 miles an hour I can do that I thought. So from here me and my sister pushed and pushed as hard as I could. My running was probally no faster than powerhiking but at least for the first time in awhile I was trying. Along the lake and then along the road at the dam we ran, and I told my sister now matter what the outcome, we were going to do this, and do it together. This was a special treat geting to acomplish this feat with her and to share this experence with her was something I'll never forget. Running has brought us together, we were never really close till I started running only 3 1/2 years ago. So this was special, really special and I was so proud of her for she was pushing her limits also, but she never showed it, she just kept thinking of me and encouraging me. We pushed across the last paved section before town and across the jeep road till we hit the gravel road headed to town. And at that instance it was like a dagger to the heart. I remember on the way out it was 3 miles uphill to the finish and it was 24:18 on my watch. Not to mention it was actually 7.5 miles from Tabor Boat ramp. From there we walked all the way up the gravel till finally we could see the lights of town and in an instance we knew we were going to finish and all the sudden new life was in me and we ran little stints up to the paved road. We were now laughing and chatting like school girls. We were doing it, and we were doing it together. With 1 mile to go now our sights were on the finish and with the time now 25:03 the only thing to do now was enjoy the moment and finish this thing. When we crested the first hill coming to town my mom was there waiting and she ran down the hill with us. There were so many thoughts and emotions running thru my head it was hard to think but, no one could erace the smile from my face or the sheer joy I was feeling at this monent. The cowbell's were ringing and I could now see and hear the rest of my family cheering me into the finish. It as amazing the feeling I had coming up that last hill. My wife and son joined us for that last bit across the finish line. We had done it "I finished the Leadville Trail 100" in 25:11, and got my finishers metal and hug from Merilee. After a few photo's and talking with my family and getting all the congradulations, I took my finishers metal and found my sister gave her a hug and hung it around her neck. I told her "I couldn't of done this without you, and I would still be out there had it not been for you". She deserved a metal too, she pushed her limits too and she pushed me also. She was my rock out there those last 23.5 miles and she encouraged me to keep going. This was special, it was the hardest thing I have ever done, and to have my whole family there with me was special. I felt so blessed to have acomplished this feat and to have such a wounderfull and supportive family is icing on the cake. Thanks to my wife, first and formost without your support, understanding and encouragement this is not possiable. I know it is not easy following me around to all these races crewing for me. Your encouragement and effort you put into this is greatly appreciated. Thank you. To my pacers, what can I say Thank you! You kept me going and even though I did not listen, you tried and tried to get me to eat. You both were great and I can't thank you enough. To my family, your encouragement, support and everything you have done to make this dream come true, I can not repay you for. You have all been so supportive of my running over the last 3 1/2 years I can't thank you enough. From fat overweight (235lbs) and out of shape Darin to Leadville Trail 100 finisher. Man I am blessed.

Leadville Vacation

2010-08-25T17:17:00.000-07:00

My Leadville journey started a week before the race, me and the wife packed up the car and headed to Colorado on Friday August, 13th. We made it to Hays and stayed the night there. I woke early and hit the streets for a quick 7 miler. Then we headed West again for Cripple Creek, where we were going to have some fun gambling and have a few drinks to celebrate the start of vacation. We hiked a 3.5 mile mining trail that started all downhill. The uphill hike wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, I just got winded a bit easier than normal. We had some fun in Cripple Creek and headed to my Aunt and Uncles house across the mountain from Leadville, near the town of Fairplay. We would stay with them till Friday the day before the race. I spent the week hiking, riding 4 wheelers in the mountains. My sister, mom, dad, son, and niece were also were there. On Tuesday me, my sister Darcy, and my wife Darcie, went over to Twin Lakes to hike up to Hope Pass to see what I was getting myself into come race day. It was a 6 mile hike from Twin Lakes with 3,700ft of elevation gain one way. We had to cross the river first before we made to the trail heading up the mountain. We had a great time chatting as we hiked up the trail towards Hope Pass. When we got close to tree line we got excited. We would hit a clearing and think we were almost out of the trees, three or four times we though we were coming out of the trees before we finally did. My wife was starting to get a little tired at this point, but she was a real trooper and kept moving on. Once out of the trees, it was a series of switch backs to get to the Pass. It seemed like we hiked and hiked and looking up we kept thing the summit is right there and when we would get there, there was another summit and another. We finally made it after a several stops to catch our breath. When we finally made it we took some pictures at the top of Hope Pass. My wife and sister were a little wore out from the hike up and we made a decision that they would go down the back side 2 mile down and I would run the 6 miles back to the car and drive around and pick them up. It was a beautiful hike and we took lots of pictures along the way. I flew down the trail back to Twin Lakes, and drove around to the back side to pick them up at the trail head. When I arrived there they were not there yet and I was a little worried, so I laced up the shoes and headed up the trail. I only made it a couple hundred yards before I meet them coming down the trail. They were spent, out of water and food and hungry. So we loaded up in the car and headed to Buena Vista and stopped at a local burger joint for some food. Wednesday I spent the day shopping with the 2 Darcie's in Breckenridge, figured I'd give them the day off after hiking Hope with me the day before. Thursday all the girls went shopping again and the guys went and rode 4-wheelers in the mountains. Friday we were up early and off to Leadville for the pre-race weight in and meetings. After the weight in we ate breakfast at the Golden Burro. We also ran into the Kettle Moraine race directors Tim and Jason and had fun chatting with them about their race before we got a seat. After the runner and crew meetings I showed the 2 Darcie's around to all the aid stations and briefed them on how to crew me at each aid station. Then it was back to the cabin for some early dinner and right to bed to get as much sleep as I could before the 2:00 am wake-up call. Stay tuned for my race report to follow soon. All the pictures are from out Tuesday hike up Hope Pass.

Wounded Warrior Fundraiser

2010-08-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

My good friend and fellow ultra-runner Tony Clark, is raising money for the Wounded Warrior Project. On September 9th, 2010 he will run non-stop, 224 miles, across Kansas from the Nebraska border to the Oklahoma Border in 60 hours. His goal is to raise $25,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project to help our wounded soldiers. He is a little over half way there with $13,000 in donations. He needs our help to reach his goal and I personally can't think of a better cause. So on August 21, 2010 I am running the Leadville Trail 100 in Leadville, Colorado. They call this race the race across the sky. With and average elevation of over 10,000 feet and a high elevation of 12,600 feet. This race historically has about a 33% finish rate. I am taking one time donations and per mile donations for every mile I run at Leadville, and all donations will be given to Tony for his fundraiser. I am asking all my friends, family, fellow runners to donate at least $.10 a mile that's $10 if I make it to the finish. Ten dollars is nothing these days, but lump a bunch of these together and it will help. We owe this much to our Wounded Warrior's for there service and keeping this country free. It's the least you can do to help those who have given so much. If Tony can raise $25,000 surely I can raise $2,500 for his efforts. This may be kind of aggressive but it's well worth my efforts. You can check out Tony's blog at: http://tonystrot.blogspot.com/ Please donate today be contacting me for your donation.

Per-Leadville Trail 100 thoughts

2010-07-21T17:05:00.000-07:00

With the Leadville Trail 100 approaching fast, my thoughts have suddenly focused on the race. My training has been good but not where I would like it to be at this point. With the long recovery from Kettle and the heat and humidity, training has been tough. I have been logging some decent weekly mileage but, I have no runs longer than 20 miles. Every time I have tried to go over 20 the heat and humidity has killed me. Going into Leadville my only goal is to finish. I have no intention of trying to race as I have no experience running in the mountains or running at an average of over 10,000 ft in elevation. My plan is to go out and have fun, first and foremost and let the chips fall where they may. I have a couple races I'm going to run in the next 2 weeks as training runs. Friday night I'm running the 40 mile at Lunar Trek and next weekend I'm running the marathon at the Rock Creek Night Race. So hopefully I'll have a couple good training runs to get my confidence back up. I'm feeling a little more pressure for this race as a lot of my family is coming out to crew for me. My wife and son, mom, dad, and my sister and her daughter are all coming. Along with my aunt and uncle who live in Fairplay over the mountain from Leadville. My sister is a runner also and completed her first marathon last November. She is going to pace me for the last 13 miles assuming I make it that far. Good Ben Reeves is going to pace me from Winfield mile 50 back to May Queen mile 87. The countdown is on and the next couple weeks I'm going to hit it hard and then enjoy my taper time on vacation in Colorado the week before Leadville.

After Kettle thoughts and ramblings

2010-07-14T17:38:00.000-07:00

Wow, has it already been a month since Kettle? Time is flying and before long I'll be doing it again at the Leadville Trail 100 August 22. The aftermath after winning the Kettle Moraine 100 was awesome, for a couple weeks I felt like a rock star. I had some many nice comments coming from all kinds of runners it was amazing. Having all these other runners who I have looked up to in my short ultra-running career saying all these great things about me, made my head swell up bigger than my legs in the days after Kettle. It was truly a great experience, i never expected to win or even had the thought I could win. But what a great way to have all your hard work and training pay off. I know it was not the fastest time ever ran at Kettle but a win is a win none the less and to get my first ultra win in a 100 was amazing. However, I do think the 100 is my best race, I'm not really fast but the farther we go the better my chances are of having a good finish. I seem to have some really good endurance, where that came from I have no idea. I never was a runner and never done any kind of endurance sport prior to taking up running in late 2007. Last weekend I ran the 15 mile at Psyco Psummer for fun and had a blast. Was probably one of the funnest runs I have had all year. It was nice to just go out and run for fun and not worry about racing. I had fun stopping at all the aid stations and chatting with the volunteers and thanking them. I also had a lot of people I have never meet come up and congratulate me and tell me they read my blog or listened to my interview on endurance planet. Funny thing I didn't think anyone read my blog so my posts have been really sporadic. I will try to do a better job of posting now that I know at least a few people read my blog. On a training note. My recovery from Kettle was long, it took me 3 full weeks to recover. I have finally gotten back into the swing of things with and 85 mile week and a 70 mile week last week.
Thanks again to all my friends who have really helped me a lot with my running. Your advice and constant encouragement has really helped me a lot. You all know who you are!

Kettle Moraine 100 Race Report

2010-06-09T15:39:00.000-07:00

For those of you reading this that don't know my story here is a quick synopsis. In October of 2006 I was 235 lbs and way out of shape. I was tired of being fat an lazy and it was about time I did something about it. So for the next year I changed my diet and began getting active by walking, biking and hiking and I lost 70lbs in the process. I started running about June of 2007 not far at first just a couple miles. I ran my first 5K the next month. In April of 2008 I ran my first 1/2 marathon followed by my first marathon in September of 2008 the Omaha Marathon which I completed in 3:12. Every time I ran something I wanted to run farther, so the very next month I ran my first ultra a 50K in the Rock Creek Trail Series and took 3rd place. I was hooked on trail running and started training with some other trail runners at Clinton Lake. So I decided to try a 100 and ran my first 100 at Rocky Raccoon in February 2009 and finished in 24:23.

The Kettle Moraine 100 had caught my eye last year as I followed some other local runners that ran it in 2009. I had circled it as one of my races for 2010 as some other local runners were going to making the trip also. Me, my wife and son made the trip to LaGrange on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. On Friday me and my wife (crew) talked about the race and made a plan for all the crew stops on the course as we drove to each stop to get a feel for the layout. We hiked back in a couple places to check out the trail and everything looked good and I was excited to finally get things started. With 12,000 feet of elevation gain I was expecting a lot more hills. What hills were there were short and rolling, but as I soon found out in spots one after another after another. Saturday morning had arrived and I was up early checking over everything one last time and getting some calories in me. We arrived at the start about an hour before the start time, and chatted with some other local runners Brad Bishop, Norman Decelles and Willie Lambert. I was hoping if everything went well, and I had no problems, I could come out of there with a top 10 finish. The forecast was calling for some rain so it added to the pre-race stress. After a short pre-race briefing it was finally time to get going. We all lined up behind the start/finish mats and with the countdown from 10 we were off, all 155 of us plus 100K'ers and 100 mile relayer's. I settled in behind Paul Schoenlaub for the first 4 miles or so, trying to hold myself back at the start. I decided to run at what I felt was a easy pace for me and not worry about what everyone else was doing. I soon settled in and the first 7.5 miles clicked off till we came into the Bluff aid station. There I just refilled my bottle and was off around the corner and up the hill. Miles came and went and the run felt easy at this point. I was motoring up the hills and flying down them. Much of this section I ran with a local high school kid who was running in the 100 mile relay and running the first 31 mile leg, 11miles farther than he had ever ran before. We chatted a bit and I went on my way. I was closing in on Emma Carlin (16) and my first crew stop. When I arrived my crew was there ready for me with a couple GU's and new bottles, and I was off. From here there was a section of meadows. My friend and training partner Dave Wakefield told me to take it easy through the meadows in the heat and humidity. It would take a lot out of you and you wouldn't even know it he told me. The meadows were mainly flat and it would of been easy to fly right through them. Trying to take his advice I ran easy through the meadows and refilled my bottles at Hwy 59 (18.5) and took in a couple salt tabs. More meadows laid ahead and before I knew it I was at Hwy 67 (23) and my second crew stop. While my wife restocked my waist pack I hit the porta potty. Back out my wife had everything ready and she walked me out while I ate some food and gave her some instructions for my return in 14 miles. I was headed for the first turn around at Scuppernong (31). This section was full of rolling hills and back in the wood on nice trail. It was really humid and I was draining my bottle fast. When I arrived at Country ZZ (26) my bottle was empty. First place 100 miler they said as I came in, and I shouted "oh shit" I went out to fast. I still felt like I was running comfortably but slowed my pace a bit, and was passed by a couple runners on the way to Scuppernong (31). A volunteer refilled my bottles while I grabbed a hand full of PB&J's and some peanut M&M's and I was off again. Heading back the same way I had just came, I would get to pass most of the field still heading out. I passed a few familiar faces Brad, Paul, and Norman on my way back to Country ZZ(36) First place 100 miler they said heading into the aid station "shit" I said. What is going on here I thought for sure one of the people that had passed me earlier was a 100 miler. This was uncharted territory for me. I am not used to being in the lead, but my friend Tony Clark reminded me before I left to run my race and not worry about anything else. And I felt like I was, so I just kept doing what I had been doing, running as easy as I could and saving as much as I could for later in the race. Back to Hwy 67 (39) my son Jarret had run up the trail a ways to meet and snap a couple pictures of me coming down the trail. My wife swapped out my bottles gave me a dry shirt, bandanna, some food and walked me out of the aid station while I shoved a bunch of food down. A big thanks to my crew for the great stops. It was now time to head back through the meadows for the second time only this time it was much warmer. This time thru I got a bad case of cramping in my calves, at one point I had a cramp so bad a 100 mile relay runner heard me screaming in pain, he turned around and came back and rubbed the cramp out for me. Then he walked a couple hundred yards with me till I could get running again. Man was he a life saver, wish I would of got his name to thank him. I drained my bottles fast through the meadows this time, and was dry every time I got to a water stop. I had to slow the pace to keep from cramping and was just looking for Emma Carlin (46) and the end of the meadows. When I arrived my wife fed me some fluids and salt tabs and I must have sucked down 40oz of fluids before I left. I was still hurting bad, but glad to be back on the trails with tree cover. With the heat and humidity in the morning, here came the rain, sprinkles at first that felt great and then pouring rain. It was raining cats and dogs by the time I got to Bluff (54.5) and my crew was drenched as well when I got there. With not a thought, they refilled me with GU's and food and swapped out my bottles and away I went on my way. The rain felt good and my cramping problem was getting better. Through here it was up and down and I ran as much as I could. Stopped only briefly at Tamarack (57) for them to fill my bottles and grab some turkey sandwiches. The next 4 miles was easy and I was feeling a lot better and was back to Nordic (62) before I knew it. Here my wife tells me I am still in 1st place and I was beginning to wonder what was going on. I changed into a dry shirt and put on my Go-lite rain jacket. Grabbed a handful of food and headed back out. I glanced at my watch to see how long it was before I ran into the 2nd place runner. Pretty soon here he was, Brad Bishop a friend and training partner of mine nipping on my heels about 6 minutes behind me. Then right behind him was Paul Schoenlaub. Kansas and Missouri runners running 1, 2, 3. Wow what a feeling it was for a few miles, and I kicked it in to try and build on my cushion. 6 minutes on a 24 year old would not be enough I thought to myself. Through Tamarack (67) and Bluff (69.5) I just kept my head down and splashed down the trail in a steady downpour. Stay focused and run strong I kept telling myself. Now I was hitting the south out and back of the race. Thru Duffin Road (72.1) I was running really well and the miles just seemed to click off. From here to Hwy 12 (77) I ran really well and really hard. It was still light out but night would soon be upon us. I had my handheld flashlight in my waist pack but would need my headlamp when I got to Hwy 12 and seen my crew again. When I arrived I was felling pretty good and my crew went to work on me, changing my shirts and putting on a dry rain jacket. They were like a nascar pit crew and had me in and out with a handful of food in no time. From here things took a downward turn. This section was a bitch, with ups and downs with railroad tie steps and darkness now setting in. I soon realized I had forgot to grab my headlamp, so I would have to go at it with only a handheld. It was hard to see where I was running where the weeds were over the trail in spots and with limited light it made it even worse. It seemed like I hardly ran at all in this section. Finally I made it to Rice Lake and the mile 81 turn around. On the way out one of the 38 mile fun runners kept me company for a few miles. And I can remember the frogs singing to me on the way out. Soon there was Brad again and it seemed like he was closing in. It was gut check time to see what I was made of. I had lead all day and there was no way I was going to give it up now God willing. Before long I had made it back to Hwy 12 (85) and my crew got me in and out again this time with my headlamp. I had remembered this section as flat and fast coming out but seemed like it was all up hill going back. Keep your head down, stay focused and run I kept telling myself. I soon ran into Willie Lambert and wished him luck on the Rice Lake out and back from Hwy 12. Run, run, run I told myself. I knew if I ran everything flat and downhill it would be hard for anyone to catch me now. I was in the zone and really don't recall much thought here to Bluff (92.5) as I just kept my head down and ran. Every now and then I was passing runners heading out, and wishing them luck. My wife was waiting for me at Bluff (92.5) and the last crew stop. I think I ran right through just getting some words of encouragement from the wife and it was greatly appreciated. She kept telling me I was going to do it and how all my friends back home were pulling for me. From here to the finish I ran with everything I had left. I'm going to win a 100! I'm going to win a 100! Wow, how did this happen I wondered. My head was full of emotions for the last 7.5 miles. Running everything flat and downhill and power walking the hills. I made a brief stop at Tamarack (95) and they all wished my luck as I left. Go win this thing they said as I headed out. The last 4 miles had mile markers and first came mile 4 then 3 then 2. I was soon able to hear the traffic on Road H and knew it was flat from here on in. The trail was parallel to Road H and I ran the last 1+ mile to the finish. As soon as I seen the lights and the finish line I was full of emotions. You did it! You won a 100! I told myself. I soon seen my wife standing there and a group of others calling me in with the cow bell. As I got close someone yelled whats your number? 133 I yelled back. "First 100 miler coming in." I heard them yell. I crossed the finish line to a big hug and kiss from my wife and cheers from the crowd, then bent over hands on knees and man what a relief it was. The stress of being in the lead all day was something I had never experienced and added to the stresses of trying to run 100 miles. It was a huge accomplishment for me and an experience I will never forget. Running has forever changed my life. And if I never win another race I will still be a happy man when I'm running the trails.

I have to give a big Thank You to my wife and son for crewing for me all day. This win was as much for them as it was for me. I could not have done it with out their support. My wife has been extremely supportive of my new running passion and with out that none of this is possible. Thank you Honey, you are my ROCK!

15th Annual 2010 Kettle Moraine 100 Champion (damn that sounds good)

Week 3 Kettle Training

2010-05-24T17:39:00.000-07:00

Monday was a rest day from running.
300 push-ups
Squats and lunges

Tuesday
11 mile country road loop. Ran really well today 11 miles at an average 7:02 pace.
Pace felt easy today, it's always good to have a few good days like this before a race.
Wish every day could go this good.
300 push-ups
Ab work

Wednesday
13 mile Lands End out and back @ Clinton Lake. Met up with Gary afterwards and helped mark another 7 miles of the Hawk marathon and 50 mile coarse. Ran and marked the course in a thunderstorm and was a prune by the end.
375 push-ups
Squats and lunges

Thursday
Rain, rain go away. After 20 in the rain yesterday didn't feel like running in the rain again today. And the treadmill was not appealing either.
350 push-ups

Friday
Played hookie from work today. Slept in till 8:00 am. Went fishing with Jarret and met the wife for lunch. Then hit the road for 13 miles in the afternoon.

Saturday
Volunteered at the Hawk trail marathon and 50 mile. Had a blast helping runners all day. Was a really good time and a good friend of mine Brad Bishop won the 50 mile.

Sunday
Went out for an easy 17 miles today and explored some of the undeveloped rails to trails between Lyndon and Osage. Going to do some more exploring on thoses trails again soon.
Total for the week 61 miles. 13 days till race day.

Week 4 Kettle Training

2010-05-17T17:45:00.001-07:00

Monday: Rest day from running.
300 push ups and Leg workout
Tuesday: 11 mile country road loop.
300 push ups and ab ripper X
Wednesday: 14 miles at the Governor's Mansion trails
Good run 8.12miles in 1 hour then 6 miles easy.
300 push ups and Leg workout
Thursday: 11 mile country road loop.
Good run 6 miles tempo @ 7:00 7:15 pace
5 miles easy run home
300 push ups and short ab workout
Friday: Rest day from running.
500 push ups and Leg workout
Saturday: 26 miles @ Clinton Lake North Shore Trails
26 mile trail run ran some east and some hard. Nice day for a trail run.
Sunday: 16 mile country road loop.
Didn't feel like running this morning but went out and got in a good 16 miles.
Glad I got out even though I didn't want to at first.
Good training week with Kettle Moraine now less than 3 week away. All my little ailments seem to be a major problem now. It will only get worse a the race gets closer. Looking to get in one more good week then 2 weeks easy and rest before race day. 78 miles this week, not to bad would of liked to of gotten in some more but not a bad week. Three good week in a row now so hopefully it will pay off come race day. Hoping to run somewhere around 19 hours if everything goes good. Have started thinking of my plan and got some things together will start putting more together as I have more time when I taper.

Kettle Moraine training week 5

2010-05-05T18:11:00.000-07:00

Monday: I took a rest day from running after 80 miles last week. Not a bad start for 3 week of total deconstruction and then 2 week of rest and low mileage till race day.
300 Push Ups
Leg workout squats, lunges and calf raises.

Tuesday:
11 mile country road to Rails to Trails. 4.5 miles tempo run @ 7:15 pace. 6.5 easy on Rails.
300 Push Ups and Ab work.
Felt really good today, had a good solid run and got in a little ab work also. Meeting up with Dave Wakefield tomorrow for a trail run at the Governor's Mansion trails, so I'm sure that will be a good workout also.

Wednesday:
15 miles at the Governor's Mansion with Dave. 15 or so miles in a little over 2 hours on trails was a good run. Thanks Dave for getting me to run my ass off.
300 Push Ups
Leg workout again today.
Feeling really good to this point and looking forward to putting together another good training week.

Thursday
13 mile country road loop. Had another good run today, took it a little easier today. It was a great evening for a run.
300 push ups
Ab ripper X

Friday
No run today decided to rest for my long run Saturday.
520 push ups
Leg workout

Saturday
28.5 miles from home to Melvern Lake Turkey point. Had a great run today was glad I took a rest day yesterday. Had a little extra pep in my step. Ran a consistent 8 mpm pace for 20 miles. My wife brought my sister out to the 20 mile point and she ran the last 8.5 miles with me. Always good to have some company on a long run.

Sunday
20.5 miles from home to Melvern. Took it easy today it was all about putting miles on my ragged out legs today. Was a little chilly this morning but a good day for a run. Feeling really good about my training at this point. Don't want to jinks myself but I am running really well right now and feeling confident at this point. Hoping all the hard training will pay off on race day. There is something about running 100 miles I really look forward to. Hoping for a 19-20 hour finish at Kettle but we'll see you never know what might happen in a 100. Going to take Monday off and then hit it hard again next week. 87.5 miles this week and feeling really good with 2 weeks in a row over 80 miles. Legs feel good and strong and looking forward to another good week.

Kettle Moraine 100

2010-05-04T18:06:00.000-07:00

Well here we go again, I had the Kettle Moraine 100 June 5th in Lagrange WI, on my list for this year and procrastinated signing up until last week. So now that my name is on the entry list and I only have 5 more weeks to get ready, all the worrying and feelings of not being ready are back.
Every time I have ran a race over 26 miles I have never felt like I was ready. Some where along the way in my so far short ultra career (1 year 6 months) I went from just wanting to complete an ultra to wanting to go out and compete. I'm not sure when or how that happened but it did, and I have found myself training and running harder. Most people think I'm crazy and that I probably over train, but I always feel like I'm under trained going into a race. And I always feel like I could have done more. Compounding the issues are, I still feel like I don't really know what I'm doing out there. Basically to this point I have just been winging it. I have never really had a fueling or hydration plan in place, and am not sure how I've gotten as far as I have. Maybe this all comes from experience and with more experience maybe I'll feel better about my training and racing. But for now I'm sure I will ever feel confident heading into a 100 miler. Of course maybe no one ever feels confident going into a 100. There is something about the 100 that really intrigues me and really gets my blood pumping. I love the challenge and love pushing the limits, and seeing how far I can go. I have thoughts of running races farther than 100 miles just to see if I can. And to see if I can find my breaking point. Dig deeper, push harder and never settle.

Misc. Ramblings

2010-05-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know it's been a long time since my last blog. I'm lazy what can I say. Since Rocky Raccoon 100 I have been busy with work, running, training, working out and racing. My hope is to keep up better on my blog and give more insight into my training and racing. In April, I had 3 races in 4 weekends. And the one off weekend we went and watched the Kansas Marathon. April started with Rockin K 50 mile trail race in Kanopolis State Park, this race is one of my favorites as Phil and Stacy Sheridan and the Kansas Ultrarunners Society put on one great race and treat you like family. This is the toughest ultras in Kansas in my opinion. Or at least of the ones I have ran. I had trained hard for the race to see what I could do on this tough coarse. Other than a little dehydration on the second loop the run went really well. And a sub 10 hour (9:44) finish and 4th place there was a great way to start the race season. I have really come a long way in the last year. As last year was my first year running ultras. I guess I ran one ultra in 2008, but 2009 was my first full year. However, I still don't think I know what I'm doing out there. It takes time to learn, and I learn something new every race. The second weekend in April I went back to the place I ran my first 1/2 marathon exactly 2 years ago. I wanted to see how much I had improved and also got a couple fellow HME employees to run also. I didn't even have a pair of road shoes, so I ran the 1/2 in my Mizuno Cabrakans. The Eisenhower Marathon in Abilene, Kansas. This race went well as I stayed with the leaders for the first half the race and fell off a little on the return trip. Was still able to crush my previous PR in the 1/2 by 12 min. Finished in 7th place overall, and first in age, of 350+ in a time of 1:26 something. I was extremely happy with my run there and glad to see how much I had improved. The next weekend me and the wife went and watched the Kansas Marathon and although I wanted to jump in there a couple times I had a blast watching others run. Next up Free State 100K, another one of my favorites as Ben and Sophia and the Kansas City Trail Nerds put this one on at my home coarse of Clinton Lake and the North Shore Trails. I train here a lot and run these trails more than any. I really wanted to have a good run here also on my home turf. The race went well till mile 25 or so when I slipped and hyper extended my left hip. What I thought at the time was a hamstring problem but know think a hip problem, left me with a pain in my ass.

Not knowing I decided to gimp my way back and take a 40 mile finish. Free State was the muddiest run I have ever ran in and the conditions were less than perfect. But, through that I was still able to get a 6:15 finish in the 40 and what would have been good for 2nd in the 40 had I not dropped down. I was also running in the top 2-3 in the 100K at the time. This has been a good April , and I will take that and learn from it and get better. Stay tuned as I blog about my training leading up to my next big run the Kettle Moraine 100 on June 5th, in LaGrange, Wisconsin.

Rockin K 50 mile Trail Run Race Report

2010-04-06T17:18:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying this is one of my favorite races. Phil and Stacy Sheridan RD's and the Kansas Ultrarunners Society put on a great race and treat you like family. The run is in the Smoky Hills at Kanopolis State Park located south and west of Salina Kansas. This was my second year running Rockin K. Last year I dropped to the Marathon after completing the first lap. A decision I regretted for a whole year and was time to get some revenge. This is one of the toughest ultras if not the toughest ultra in Kansas. It's Kansas right how tough can it be. Well let me tell you Kansas is not all flat.

Me and my wife Darcie made the pre-race pasta dinner Friday night and had a good time seeing and chatting with friends and meeting new ones. After dinner we headed back to Lindsborg where we stayed the night at the Viking Motel. I did all my pre-race preparations getting my pack ready and all my gear and supplies. After that was done it was off to bed early to get a good nights sleep. Race morning was up and out the door by 5:45 to head to the start.

Race morning was a little cool but the forecast was for temps of 60-65 degrees. I had dressed a little on the warm side as the start was a cool 32. We did the usual chatting with all our friends and other runners before Phil gave us our final instructions and sent us on our way. I wanted to start out a little on the conservative side this year as last year I went out way to fast and burnt out in the first 26 miles. I settled into a comfortable pace running with Brad Bishop, Matt Becker and another guy who's name eludes me now. We all ran and chatted a little the first 6-8 miles in single file. At the first water crossing we seen Brad take a nice bath in the first water crossing, it was a little deeper than it looked, and the rest of us ran to a shallower crossing spot.

Feeling good after the first few miles my pace quickened a bit after I got separated from the group a bit. The miles to the first maned aid station at mile 13 clicked by and once there I had to shed my long sleeve shirt as the temps were rising rapidly. I left the aid station and headed out for the big bluff loop a 5 mile loop that goes down the bluff, up the bluff and back down about 5 or 6 times. I flew down the bluffs this lap and hiked up them as quick as I could. This is really a nice scenic trail and is full of challenges, hills, rocks, roots, tree sections, prairie sections with vast openness, watter crossings, rutted horse trail sections, and sand to run through. Back to the Gate 6 aid station I refilled my bladder and headed back out with a handful of food. And yes I had to have a couple of Stacy's famous cookies as I knew the next lap would be hard to choke them down in the heat. From here there were several miles of jeep roads then to trail through the open prairie. This part of the run went well and was still feeling relatively good when I was nearing the end of the first lap. Before the first lap was done you half to cross 2 creeks waist deep and at this point felt really good. Then the last mile or so back to the Coral shelter is sand, I found it really hard to run in the sand. And it took a lot of energy to run through it.

Rocky Raccoon 100 Race Report

2010-02-08T14:47:00.000-08:00

What a difference a year makes. Rocky Raccoon was my first 100 and will always be special. Joe Pruisaitis and company put on a really good race and event. I had no idea what to expect this year as the harsh Kansas winter made training for Rocky extremely difficult. Most of my training miles came on the treadmill. It was almost impossible to get in any real mileage outside with the cold and snow. In the 7-8 weeks leading up to Rocky I only had a couple runs of over 20 miles. I had a good base and a lot of runs in the 10-16 mile range just nothing real long. But I was dedicated and did as much as I could when I could. We would just half to see how it all shook out on race day.

We left on Thursday night and headed to Texas, me, my wife and my son Jarret. Darcie and Jarret were going to crew for me. We drove as far as we could that night and finished up the drive into Huntsville the next morning. We had reserved a shelter in the park and planned to stay there for the weekend. After packet pick-up we stoped at Wal-Mart to get a few things for dinner and breakfast race morning. When we came out our car would not start, we tyred and tyred to start it but it would do nothing never even attempting to turn over. Finally we got it started and just headed back to the park so at least we were there. When we got back I turned it off and never could get it to start again. I worked on it for an hour checking the battery cables and such. This was added stress I did not need the night before the race. At one point I was going to skip the race and get the car fixed so we could get home. But through a bunch of phone calls and conversations with other Trail Nerds there they talked me into running and we would worry about the car later. After some dinner, Brad Bishop showed up at the shelter he was going to crash there for the night also and we chatted for a bit and hit the bed at around 9:00.
I did not sleep well at all, worrying about the car and the race, not to mention it was a little chilly in the shelter. I think I got maybe 4 hrs sleep.

Race morning I was up at 4 am and decided after worrying about the car all night I was going to put it out of my mind and not worry about it again till the race was over. After getting ready and eating a little breakfast I went over last minute instructions with my crew and we headed over to the starting area. After checking in we all stood around and chatted with Kyle Amos and Tony Clark till we heard the yell 15 minutes. It was time to get this thing going and I was ready to run. I shed my sweats and gave the wife one last kiss and she wished me luck and I headed up towards the front. I wanted to start close to the front to avoid getting caught in a long conga line at the start with 344 runners all starting at the same time. As Joe counted us down we were off, I reminded myself to stay focused, keep my head down and run. I could rest when the race was over but during the race I was going to go for it and see what happened. The first 30-40 min were in the dark and I ran with a hand held flashlight to start the race. I started with a handheld water bottle and a small waist pack with gels to start the race. The pace was good to start and most of the first lap I played leapfrog with a couple other runners. There was not much chatting this lap as I just stayed focused and ran. I only stoped long enough at the aid stations to get my bottle filled and was back to running. I finished the first lap in 2:50 min a little faster than I would of liked but a great start. Darcie and Jarret refilled my waist pack with jells a few Pay-Day's and some salt tabs and I switched out my empty water bottle for a full one and I was off on the second lap, 20 miles into the race. Stay focused, keep your head down and run I told myself. I slowed the pace a bit just to make sure I didn't burn out to soon. This lap I played leap frog with 2 women the whole lap Jamie Donaldson and Connie Gardner they chatted some and I just settled in behind them for aways. I chatted a little with Jamie this lap, mainly about how our training sucked with the harsh winter. Jamie is a 2 time Badwater 135 female champion, and the 2009 Rocky Raccoon women's champion. I knew if I could stay with her it would be a good day. This lap went by really fast as I kept my head down and just ran. Stopping only at the aid stations long enough to get my bottle filled and grab a handful of food.

At the end of this lap I was starting to notice a couple of hot spots on my feet. This trail is full of thousands and thousands of tree roots and is hell on feet or at least mine anyway. I came back into the start/finish on lap 2 in 3:11. My crew went to work filling my waist pack and swapping out water/Gatorade bottles. Darcie walked up the trail with me while I ate some food and I gave her some instructions for the next lap. I wanted to change my shoes and put some moleskin on some hot spots. I would also want a long sleeve shirt and my headlamp for lap 4 as it would be dark before I finished it. Darcie gave me a kiss told me how good I was doing and sent me on my way now 40 miles down and 6 hrs into the race.

Lap 3 for me was the low point of the race. I was starting to feel really fatigued and had a pain in my hip that was bothering me. For some reason I just couldn't seem to run, and it was a struggle to keep moving. I found that I could run at a much slower pace that was comfortable. At this point I thought it was going to be a long night as it was a struggle to keep moving. I ran most of this lap with Richard from Virgina as Jamie and Connie had got in and out of the start/finish faster than I did. It was Richards first 100 and he was running really well for a first timer. We stuck together much of lap 3 and chatted some to end this lap on a better note. Back at the start/finish for lap 3 in 3:42 . Darcie helped me change my socks and put some moleskin on some hot spots. She made me eat a cliff bar as she walked me down the trail to start my 4th lap. Now 60 miles down and 9:42 into the race.

At the start of the 4th lap I was really stiff after setting for a few minutes to change socks and take care of my feet. This lap started slow, but I soon caught my second wind and began running at a comfortable pace again. I think I may have been a little calorie deprived and once I got some food in me began to run good again. I kept telling myself to run as much as I could before it got dark. My goal was to get as far as I could in the light and hang on and do what I could when the sun went down. The sun soon began to set and I still had 5 miles to get back to the start/finish to complete lap 4. With only my headlamp the last 5 miles were brutal with all to roots and stumps in the trail. With 75 miles under my belt I wasn't picking up my feet really well and I swore I kicked ever root in those last 5 miles, I must have face planted at least 4 times in those last few miles. Thank goodness there was always someone around me to help me back up. It was extremely hard to get back up after running that many miles. I was really wishing I had took my handheld flashlight with me also the headlamp just wasn't working well enough to see all the roots. Back to the start to complete my 4th lap, Jarret was there waiting on me. Darcie was back at the camp with someone looking at our car. Jarret helped me get stocked back up with supplies and I put on a jacket for the last lap. Jarret ran a ways up the trail with me to send me off for my 5th and final lap. I told him to be back in 4 hours to be safe and see me finish, but not to expect me for 5 hours or so. I finished the 4th lap in 4:20 min and was now 14:03 into the race.

Stay focused, keep your head down and run, I kept telling myself. Run now and rest when you are done. With my handheld flashlight now in tow I was seeing the trail much clearer now and wasn't tripping as much. At this point in the race I told myself to run as much as I could between aid stations and rest while I ate in the aid stations. Rick Mayo had told me at Heartland he liked to headhunt at night so if we seen lights in front of us we were going to catch them. So a headhunting I would go, this seemed to keep me moving really well that last lap, I would see lights and track them down and pass them. It was kind of like a game and surprisingly I was feeling really good. In the last mile before the last aid station at Park Road I caught a guy I was racing for position Scott from Texas he had ran this coarse a lot being a local, we came into Park Road together and I just grabbed a few things and headed back out. There was no way I was going to let Scott beat me to the finish. Me and Scott had one hell of a battle those last 4+ miles. He would pass me then I would catch him and we would run in tandem till one of us had to stop and walk for a few. We did this for a few miles till I had to stop to take a leak. Scott put a little distance on me and I thought there was no way I would catch him. With less than 3 miles to go my pace was getting faster and the adrenaline was starting to kick in. Still feeling good I was going to run non stop to the finish. The closer I got the easier running got and I soon caught Scott with less than a mile to go. As I flew by him he yelled at me to finish strong he had nothing left to challenge me. I thanked him for pushing me those last few miles as I went by. I was really close now and I could smell the finish I turned the last corner and could see the lights at the finish and as I came in I yelled number 124 comin to the house. Jarret told me to yell out my number when I got close so they didn't miss me. As I crossed the finish line there the was Darcie and Jarret were right there to greet me. Ben and Sophia were there to and hugs were given all around. 18:34 Sophia told me. I was really happy with that and with another round of hugs, I felt really good. I even joked about going out for another lap and at that point think I could of done another one. Joe came over and gave me my sub 24hr belt buckle and said it came with an asterisk noting 18:34 was way better than sub 24. We took some pictures at the finish and hit the tent where I would sit down for the first time in 18+ hours. Everyone waited on me hand and foot while we talked about the race. I felt really good at the finish of this one and felt like I could of given more earlier in the race. I ran the last lap in 4:31 and my official time was 18:34.59 and 18th place overall out of 344 starters.

I half to thank my wife and son for crewing for me all day. You did an awesome job Thank You!

Ben and Sophia thanks for working on my car while I was running and for being there at the end to celebrate with me it was really fun.

What worked:
My Mizuno Caberkans and DryMax socks.
My 2 bottle wait pack I bought for night to keep my hands free.

Notes:
I wasted a lot of time in the aid stations at night.
Remember to lube the butt cheeks next time.
Carry a handheld flashlight at night to see the trail better.
The GU chomps were great later in the race when I was sick of gell's.
Eat some solid food a couple times during the race to keep the calories up.

Thanks again to my wife for all your support and encouragement in this crazy sport, with out it this would not be possible.

Heartland 100 Race Report

2009-10-13T18:00:00.000-07:00

The day finally arrived, it seemed like a long wait. I had waited for the Heartland 100 since running my first 100 in February. I had trained hard and prepared as hard and as best as I could. I had felt my training had been good and expected to run well. Through months and months of preparation and lots and lots of training miles, the day had finally arrived. It was finally time to see if all my training had paid off. In the days leading up to the Heartland 100 the weather forecast had steadily got worse and worse. I was a little concerned about the weather forecast and had hoped for a little warmer weather. The forecast was for Hi's in the 30's and lows in the upper 20's with 20-30 mph winds. The weather did not disappoint the hi for the day I don't think reached 35 with 20-30 mph winds. But I told myself to just keep my head down, stay focused, and run as effectively as I could to mile 63 where my pacer Rick Mayo would pick me up. I had set a goal of a sub 22 hr finish, thinking if everything went good and as planned I could break the 22 hr barrier. It was finally time to see what would happen.

The start to Teterville aid station mile 25:

When it was finally time to start, I was ready to get to running after two weeks of low mileage and too much time on my hands I was ready to run and run I did. The first 8 miles I ran with Jim Beiter and we kept each other company, chatting and running, the pace was a little faster than I had planned but it felt good. When we hit Battle Creek (8.2) Jim hit the Johnnie and I hit the aid station to refill my water bottle. In and out of the aid station in short order and back to running. As I crested the first hill I seen Brad Bishop in front of me a little ways. I pushed the pace up and down the hills till I caught up to Brad. When I got to Brad I decided to hang with him till Teterville (25). We ran and chatted till we caught up to another group that included Paul Schoenlaub and Scott Hill, we ran in a big group for a few minutes till a couple of them dropped back. Me, Brad, and Scott stuck together and hit Lampland (16.8) and the first crew access. My crew filled my bottles and refilled my waist pack and with a handful of food we were off. Through this section of the course to Teterville I ran mostly with Scott, and Brad was not far ahead. The 4 mile stretch when we turned north to Teterville was cold, and the wind was blowing right through me. I got a little chilled in this section and decided to change into dry shirts when I got to Teterville. When I arrived at Teterville I had a whole bunch of people there to take care of me, my crew, and 2 other crews. While some helped me change shirts others filled my bottles and my waist pack. And I was off again 25 miles down and 75 to go. And now 4 hours into the race.

Teterville to Lone Tree mile 50 the Turnaround:

After leaving Teterville we had a mile stretch and then had to head back North and buck the wind. I had caught back up to Scott in the first mile or so after the aid station. The wind was still coming at us but didn't seem as bad with a couple of dry shirts on. I kept my head down and just kept running through this section. We didn't chat much we just ran till we hit Texaco Hill (31.2). Here we seen Stacy Sheridan and I had to have a couple of her famous cookies. The next 5 miles were on top of the ridge and the wind was howling, nothing to stop it, not a tree nothing, just open air and pasture and cows. You could see forever and ever it was about as open as it could get. It seemed like we ran forever till we finally hit Ridge Line (36.5). I had thanked Scott for pulling me along to this point, as I was going to take care of business and knew he would be gone before me. From here I was all alone for the first time today, not a problem just keep you head down, stay focused and run I told myself. The next 6 miles went by and before I knew it I had hit Mattfield Green (42.5) still felling really good. After chatting with the crew and getting stocked back up, I made my only mistake of the day I skipped the aid station and didn't grab any food to take with me. I ate a couple gels and a candy bar, but I was getting a little calorie deprived and wasn't running as effectively as I was earlier. After I got to the unmanned aid station at the Tower (47.5) the first runner coming back passed me. Only 4 or so miles ahead of me. I thought to myself holy crap, I went out way to hard and it's going to be a long road back. I passed one, then a little later another, then here came Scott. He had taken off like he was shot out of a cannon when he left me at Ridge Line. He was looking really good and running strong. A few minutes later I passed Kyle Amos and he gave me a high five as I went by, and I think he was kinda shocked to see me already. The calorie deprivation was taking it's toll and the last mile and a half to the turnaround took forever considering it was mostly downhill. When I arrived at Lone Tree(50) I was in 6th place and needing some food. I snacked while they filled my bottles and nuked me a hamburger. When my hamburger was done and dressed I was off, 50 miles down in 8:24 way faster than my 10 hr out plan.

Lone Tree (50) to Ridge Line (63.4)

After my burger had some time to digest, and the cookies, and peanut m&m's ,I started to feel better and was running good again. Keep up on the calories I told myself, don't let yourself get low on fuel again. Then I ran into the next runners coming into the turn around, about a mile from the turnaround the first place woman and then Paul Schoenlaub, only about 2 miles behind me. I knew it was only a matter of time before Paul caught me, he is strong and steady and a 100 mile veteran. I ran really good the rest the way back to Mattfield Green passing a lot of familiar faces along the way including my mentor Gary Henry, and of course he had to stop and take my picture. He told me I was killing it, and to keep it up. I was only a mile or so from being back to Mattfield (57.4) and ran the whole way figuring I could rest while my crew got me ready to go again. When I got there I changed into some dry shirts, and my crew took care of me again. Thanks crew. Dad had went to the aid station and got me a sloppy joe to go, as my crew noticed I was a little low on fuel when I left the first time. Good eye crew. I now only had 6 miles till I picked up my pacer and I was determined to keep running strong till I got there. Keep you head down, focus and run and when you get back to Ridge Line (63.4) let Rick take over from there. When I finally arrived I was really glad to see Rick and John King there, I had been running alone now for 27+ miles and some company the rest the was was going to be nice. They asked how I was, and surprisingly I was doing really well and felling good for being 63 miles in.

Ridge Line (63.4) to Finish 100 miles.

With Rick now in tow and to be in 6th place at this point was unbelievable. Still thinking I was going to run out of steam at some point and half to walk it in. I was determined to run as much as I could and with Rick there running became a little easier. I wanted to see what I could do from here to the finish, and Rick had told me he promised my wife she would be in bed by 2 a.m.

2 a.m. that's a sub 20 hour finish no way man. The next section went by fast and I seemed to get a second wind and was still running very effectively. At Texaco Hill (68.7) I had an awesome breakfast burrito and a cup of soup, thanks again Stacy. From here to Teterville (75) we didn't talk to much, I just kept my head down and ran when Rick said run, and drank when Rick said drink, and ate when Rick said eat. I couldn't believe we were going to make it back to Teterville before dark. When we arrived my crew was encouraging me to finish strong. They were a little surprised at how well I was doing as I was about 3 hours ahead of my scheduled arrival time. 25 miles to go and it's only 7:30 wow what happened. From here we would run in the dark. When we left Teterville we ran for a few miles and I started to see lights behind me. This really got my blood pumping. Rick kept asking me how I was doing and I was feeling great considering having ran 75 miles. I told Rick at this point I wanted to hang on to 6th place and I was either going to run the wheels off and stay in 6th or they were going to pass me any way. Mile after mile went by and every now and again I would see lights behind us. This kept me motivated to run as much as possible. It seemed like they were right behind us at times. When we hit Lampland (83.1) the 5th place guy was there going to drop, which moved me to 5th place. My awesome crew took care of me one last time and encouraged me to finish strong. As we were leaving, I noticed the guys behind us were coming in. Over the next section I tried to run as much as possible, but this section to Battle Creek was like a roller coaster up and down, up and down. Every now and then we would see lights behind us and I kept telling Rick they were closing in on us. Rick was not nearly as worried as I was and he kept telling me they were way back there. I was even wanting to run the hills. I thought they were that close, but we knew the last 8 miles was flat and fast so we saved it till the end. When we hit Battle Creek (91.7) we got a lively arrival to cheers from the aid station workers and Willie Lambert's GPRC wonderfull volunteers, little did they know they were cheering in someone they knew. I got a lot of encouragement here, and I think they were all surprised to see me already and in 5th place. A little over 8 miles from here. And with the Mirage aid station, another home base aid station with people we knew from the Kansas City Trail Nerds 4 miles ahead. After sucking down a cup of soup, we took off running, walked the one last hill, then ran all the way to Mirage (95+). When we got there we got a huge Trail Nerd lift from Ben, Brad and Shelly it was great to see them but we couldn't stay long the lights were still behind us. We left the Mirage pumped and ready to finish this incredible run. The miles were easy now, the end was in sight ,and everything seem to come a little easier now. The closer we got the more the adrenaline kicked in and the faster we ran (or at least it seemed fast at the time). When we rounded the corner and hit the 1/2 mile of pavement, I could hardly believe I was going to finish in 5th place, and at that point really had no idea what my time was. I knew it was going to be good. Then with the cow bells ,and my family, and a few others cheering us in I think we sprinted the last 100 yards or so. When we crossed the finish line at 100 miles, I bent over for a second to catch my breath and then got a hug from the wife and my dad, and heard my official time 18:19.50 wow totally amazing. I was glad my family was there to share it with me and I think my Dad (it was his first crew) was probably as proud of me at that moment as he ever has been. It was truly an awesome run, for someone who less than 3 years ago was 235lbs and couldn't run across the street. It was hard to really take in what I had just done, I expected to run good but this was amazing. Can't wait till next year, what an great event the Kansas Ultrarunners Society puts on. The ultrarunning community as a whole has made this the best sport in the world. I can't thank all of you enough for all the help I have gotten from all over, and you know who you are. Thank You.

Thank you to my wife who follows me around and allows me the time I need to train for these events, and the support and encouragement you give me. With out you none of this would be possible. Thanks also to my Dad and my son Jarret for crewing for me all day and being there.

Rick what can I say, you were awesome and the last 36+ miles with you were really fun, without you I would have had a good run but surely not a 18:19.50 thanks again. And thanks again to all my ultrarunning friends the Trail Nerds, the Trail Hawks, and the Trail Gaters you support and encouragement has really been appreciated.

What worked:

Drymax socks and Mizuno Wave Cabrakan's (what an awesome shoe) thanks for the tip Sophia

Having a stellar crew

A pacer (you can finish with out one but if you want the best finish you need one) thanks Rick

Soup at night

What didn't work:

Conquest (sorry that sports drink is the worst ever)

Estimated food and fluid intake: (this is what I remember taking in)

Fluids: 224oz. Gatorade G2 200 oz. of Water 60 oz of Coke

Food: (17) Gel packs (2) packs GU chomps (12) mini Snickers or Pay Days (6) PB&J's

(3) hand fulls Peanut M&M's (5) Oreo's (6) Cookies (4) cups Soup (1) Breakfast burrito (1) Hamburger (1) Sloppy Joe (1) hand full Pretzels (10+) salty Potato's (4) Rice Crispy treats

Heartland Training week 3

2009-09-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

This week was an easy week, no super hard runs just logging some easy miles and letting myself heal from all the weeks of hard training and many miles. I am starting to really look forward to Heartland I feel like my training has been good and am feeling confident. But, on the other hand 100 miles is a long way and you just never know what might happen. The next two weeks will seem like an eternity since I will mainly be running only short slow runs or not at all. I plan on resting quite a bit over the next two weeks, my legs and body have been taking a pounding from the last month or so of training. Usually I don't like the taper time leading up to a race but, in this case it is necessary to let my legs heal and recover. I'll need to find something else to keep me occupied over the next two weeks. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to strategies and run different scenarios over and over again in my head. I will be a little disappointed if I don't run as well as I think I can, but I'll take another finish in the 100 any way I can get it. I will need to concentrate on my fluid intake and calorie intake during the race and make sure I'm getting enough fluid and fuel to make it 100 miles. Without either one of them it will be a long day (or a short one) out there. The fluid intake worries me the most I have had several bouts with dehydration in my long training runs, something I hope I have under control now.

Monday 9-21-09 Easy 10 mile county road loop. 1:15min.

Tuesday 9-22-09 9.5 mile county road loop. 1:08min.

Wednesday 9-23-09 18.5 miles on Clinton North Shore Trails 8 solo 10.5 with the trail gaters and trail hawks.

Thursday 9-24-09 took the day off since I ran more than I should have Wednesday.

Friday 9-25-09 10 mile county road loop. No time.

Saturday 9-26-09 Rest

Sunday 9-27-09 14 mile county road loop in the morning. 6 miles @ the Trail Gators picnic with the Trail Gators.

Total miles 68 Push ups 750. 240 squats and lunges.

Heartland Training week 4

2009-09-18T07:23:00.000-07:00

This week has been better training wise. My running has been better and my legs have felt better this week. I'm still bummed my sister is not going to be able to pace me. I was really looking forward to sharing this experience with her. I did get another pacer lined out I think, my good friend Gabe is going to take over pacing duties, and I'm sure he will not listen to my needless wining and keep my ass moving. And rightly so being he is a sub 24 hr finisher of Western States. I have started to get some thing put together for Heartland I printed out maps for my crew, complete with road names and aid station locations and miles between aid stations. Sunday I made my last long run prior to Heartland did a 40 miler with Gary Henry on the levee to county roads. It was a good training run to end the hard training. For the next three weeks I will need to let my leg heal and rest from all the abuse and mileage put on them over the last month or so. Next week I will still get in a few miles and maybe one more long of 20. Then it will be just short easy runs for the next two weeks. I usually don't taper for runs but a 100 is different, you half to go into a 100 with fresh legs or you will pay later. I have completely deconstructed myself over the last month so I need to rest and let my body heal and come back stronger. Going into Heartland I feel like I'm in the best shape I've ever been in, and a lot better prepared this time than my first 100 at Rocky Raccoon in February. But, you never know what will happen in a 100 and only time will tell if all my hard training pays off. Starting to get excited about Heartland I have been looking forward to running another 100 for what seem like forever. There is somthing about the challenge of trying to run 100 miles that really gets me going. I love to see how far I can go and how far I can push my body and mind. In shorter races is mostly all physical but in a 100 is not only physical but a mental game also. You get a lot of time to think and reflect and question what your doing and why your doing it when your out there running for 24 +/- hours. For my last 100 I made a list of 10 reasons I wanted to run 100 miles and memorized the list and when times got tough I remembered the list and all the reasons why I was doing it.

Monday 9-14-09 10 county road miles. Felt good today nice and easy 10 in 1:14.

Tuesday 9-15-09 14 county road miles to Osage City and back. Was a really good run ran the first 7 hard then backed off for an easy 7 home. 14 miles in 1:50.

Wednesday 9-16-09 10 miles at the Governor's mansion trails. Hit the trails for 3.5 solo then met up with the Topeka Trail Gators for another 6.5. No time today forgot the garmin at home.

Thursday 9-17-09 Rest

Friday 9-18-09 14 mile county road loop to Osage City. Nice and easy 14 today have a long run planned in the morning. My right knee is giving me a little pain I think is from my runners knee.
I think all the miles have irritated my runners knee. Nothing I can't deal with though.

Saturday 9-19-09 40 mile run in Lawrence with Gary Henry levee to county roads. Last long training run, felt good and feel like I'm ready to get this thing going.

Sunday Rest

Totals this week:

89 miles

750 push ups

200 P90X squats and lunges

Week 5 Heartland training.

2009-09-12T18:00:00.001-07:00

We'll this week was full of setbacks and problems. Just when it seemed everything was going great, BAM and the tides change. I found out my pacer is not going to be able to pace me as planned due to work obligations and part of my crew is out also. Not a big deal I should be able to get things lined out before Heartland. My running also took a setback this week, as I have been going really hard now for two weeks running harder and more than normal. As a consequence my legs have been a little ragged out this week. I took Monday off after last weekends long runs and Tuesday did an easy hour on the elliptical. Wednesday I ran in the morning and afternoon with the afternoon run not so great. I decided to take Thursday off again to let me legs get some rest because I was going to do a long run Friday afternoon and another long run Saturday morning to put as many miles in a 24 hour window as possible. My Friday long went reasonably good (slow) for the first 16-17 then was a slow, slow struggle with a lot of walking the rest of the way to 26 miles. I also got dehydrated and was down 8 lbs when I got home. I tried to hydrate good Friday night so I could do it again Saturday morning. I was still down 6 on Sat. morning so decided to take it slow and drink lots and lots of water. I had no choice but to go slow, I just could not get going and really struggled to get in 20. It was a struggle to even run at the end and I just didn't seem to have the motivation I usually have the last couple days. Being dehydrated don't help matters any either. Sunday I was going to run but decided to rest and take what I got this week and hope to get a good week in next week. It was a down week for me but hope to get back after it this week.

This weeks training:

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 6.5 miles on the elliptical Cardio Level 12 (it was raining today)

Wednesday: 7 miles on treadmill in 1:02 in the a.m. 10 miles p.m. county road loop in 1:16.
Total 17 miles.

Thursday: Rest

Friday: late afternoon 26 mile county road loop. 26 miles in 3:58min. Slow at end with a lot of walking.

Saturday: 20 mile morning county road loop. 20 miles in 3:10 with some walking at end.

Sunday: Rest

Totals:
69.5 miles
500 push ups
250 P90x squats and lunges

Heartland Training week 6

2009-08-31T17:43:00.000-07:00

We'll here we go again. Now that I have started thinking about Heartland my obsessive compulsive disorder has kicked in. Have I done enough? Have I trained hard enough? Do I have enough time to get to where I want to be training wise? Do I have what it takes to complete another 100? I have more questions than answers right now. Today Monday 8-31-09 I decided after a long contemplation to take today off. After the hard training weekend my legs were a little trashed and I contemplated weather to run today and run like ass or take a day off (even though I just had Friday off) and get better runs this week? I'm not sure I made the right decision but only time will tell. Starting to get excited about Heartland and having my sister Darcy as a pacer, I've never had a pacer before so this will be great to have some company over night. Not sure she knows whats in store for her running all night with a cranky and tired runner. Got a good crew lined up also in Mom, Dad, Jarret, Shelby and of corse my wife, who is becoming a veteran in crewing for me.

This weeks training:

Monday 8-31-09: Took a rest day today to recover from the weekend long runs. Not a planed day off but a day off none the less.

Tuesday 9-1-09: 13 mile county road loop. Ran good today. My legs are still a little sore from
a hard training week last week. Went ahead and hit 13.1 miles 1/2 marathon distance in 1:39min.

Wednesday 9-2-09: 14 mile county road loop to Osage City and back. My legs are still a little sore but don't see them getting any better with all the hard training. Ran 7 miles at >7:15 pace and the final 7 at 8:15+/- pace. Finished 14 miles in 1:48 min.

Thursday 9-3-09: 13 mile county road loop. My legs are toast, wow my run today was less than impressive, but after a week of hard runs an easy run was in need. I think I may be trying to hard, and maybe need to back off every other day and save some wear and tear on my legs. Between running hard and squats and lunges my legs are screaming. 13 miles in 1:48min.

Friday 9-04-09: Rest Took a rest day today with back to back longs planned this weekend felt another rest day would benefit my weekend runs.

Saturday 9-5-09: 31 county road miles from home to Reading. The rest day yesterday paid off today, felt good on my run today. Went out a little easier than normal still ran marathon distance in 3:45 and did some run/walk the remaining 5 miles and ended 31 miles in 4:15min. Hope to get in another one tomorrow, felt really good after this run. Nice and easy long tomorrow for some miles on tired legs.

Sunday 9-6-09 25 miles run along the Levee and some county roads with friends Levi, Jim and Gary, all Trail Hawk Members. What a great and enjoyable run. Nice to get in a long one with friends. 25 miles 4:24?.

Week totals:
96 miles
700 push ups
180 P90X single leg squats, and lunges
Happy with this weeks training. Happy everything so far is going good. Feeling good about my training and runs and starting to look forward to Heartland. Don't want to jinks myself but feeling a lot better about this one than my first. But, we'll see only time will tell. Weekend runs went great, felt good and felt like I could of done more both days no problem. Everything so far has been going good and happy to be where I'm at at this point. Just hope it all pays off.

Heartland Training week 7

2009-08-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

This blog is for my friends and family that often ask me how a guy trains to run 100 miles.

I will blog every week for the next couple months telling about my training and thoughts leading up to the Heartland 100 and after. Hopefully with some good training and some luck I can finish my 2nd 100 this year. I really enjoy the challenges of trying to run 100 and look forward to pushing my body and mind to extremes. So far I had not thought about the Heartland 100 much, I kept thinking I had plenty of time to train, and then all the sudden I look at the calender and it's 7 weeks away. I have had a good base of 60-70 miles a week, but have been lacking the back to back's that worked successfully for me at Rocky Raccoon. I still don't know what I'm doing, so far I have just winged it and did what I felt right at the time. I am not sure what others do to train for 100's but, I think the training is similar, although different things work for different people. Running 100 miles in a day is a huge challenge I don't care if you run, walk, skip, jump or slog your way to 100 miles 100 is still 100 miles, and finishing is a feeling like no other. A couple years ago I would of never imagined I would run 10 miles let alone 100. There is something about the 100 that really intrigues me and gets my blood pumping, I can hardly wait for Heartland and look forward to the challenges that lay ahead. Over the next couple months you can follow my progress and read my thoughts leading up to the Heartland 100.

So now for week 7 training.

Monday 8-24-09 16 miles county road run. Was a little warm today and I was still tired from Leadville the past weekend. Was defiantly not my best run and seemed extremely slow.

16 miles in 2:35 min. with a lot of walking at the end.

Tuesday 8-25-09 8.5 mile county road loop. Still not my best run and was hot and humid today. 8.5 miles in 1:04 min.

Wednesday 8-26-09 10 mile county road loop. Better run today took out a little slower but kept a steady pace for the whole 10 miles.
10 miles in 1:18min.

Thursday 8-27-09 13 mile county road loop. Felt really good today, was a lot cooler and the run was really enjoyable. Getting excited for the planned weekend long runs.
13 miles in 1:35 min.

Friday 8-28-09 Was the wife's birthday today so took the wife to dinner and took a needed rest day.

Saturday 8-29-09 28.5 county road loop. From home to Turkey Point to Eisenhower St. Park to home. Was a beautiful day and I ran extremely well, I ran an 8:15-8:30 pace most the way and was running even faster at the end around 7:30-8:00. Finished the 28.5 in 3:52min an 8:08 pace. Not to shabby for a training run. Felt good to have such a good run.

Sunday 8-30-09 17.25 county road loop. Took it a little easier today, the legs were a little shot from Saturday and the week. Still managed a good run. Fell really good about this week training. 17.25 miles in 2:27min.

93.25 miles this week, with 800 push-ups and 250 P90x single leg squats and lunges.
Just now starting to think about Heartland and the task at hand. I'm not sure how it snuck up on me so fast. Would of liked to have started ramping up several weeks ago. I think I'll still be O.K. since I have had a good base all summer, but you never know what's going to happen during a 100, so it's still a little nerve racking. My plan for Heartland is to run as many miles as possible and finish sub-24 at least. In my first 100 I walked the last 20+ as my legs and feet just wouldn't take it any more. My plan this time is to run more miles in training and hopefully it will increase my endurance and pay off in being able to run more at the end of Heartland.
More next week.

Leadville 100 notes

2009-08-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few thing I learned from crewing/pacing at the Leadville 100.
1.) It is a brutal race with a 30 hour cut off.
2.) Be prepared to have some sort of problem nausea, diarrhea or both, cramping, fatigue, mental breakdowns, not being able to eat or drink or keep it down if you do. Even all of them at some point in the race.
3.) Be prepared to go extremely slow at times, maybe only making a mile an hour. And be glad to make 4 miles an hour.
4.) It is a race with 30-40 miles of running and 60-70 miles of power hiking. Note: don't spend a lot of time trying to train to run the hills spend the time training to power walk them. Unless you are some sort of good mountain runner.
5.) Be prepared to want to quit maybe even 3 or 4 times. And have a plan to know how to resist the urge to throw in the towel.
6.) When you think you want to quit, stop sit down and regroup and think about what you doing, and why you are there in the first place. You may half to do this one over and over again.
7.) Go into the race expecting to out there the entire 30 hrs.
8.) Never give up, no matter how bad things may seem. You can overcome everything, but and injury. As long as your ahead of the cut-off and they haven't cut your band for some medical reason , you can make it if you keep positive and keep moving in the right direction no matter how slow it may seem. (see also #7 again)
9.) Have a good crew and a good pacer or two line up to help you, without them it would almost be impossible. Tell your crew what to expect before hand so they know how to talk you out of quiting, and how to get you through the rough spots. (probably a good idea to thank your crew/pace over and over again after you complete the race for putting up with your cranky, tired and whinny ass.)
10.) NEVER GIVE UP!!!!

See you next year Leadville, I think it will be my turn to give it a shot.

Good training week

2009-07-20T17:19:00.000-07:00

Had a good training week for the week after Psycho Psummer 50K. It's good to good to get back at it. It seems like when I don't have a big run to look forward to or to train for I get a little soft.
I still get my miles in but, don't seem to go at it as hard. This week I took Monday and Tuesday off to recover from Psycho, after I hit it for 12 the day after. I ramped it up the rest of the week and got in some good quality runs, faster than my normal pace. I also did a hill workout at the Gov's up and over the hill again and again for 4 miles after 5 on the trails. Saturday I hit a long run on county roads from Lyndon to Auburn for a total of 24 miles and change in 3:25. Was looking to get 20 in on Sunday but our good ol dog Salia passed away on Saturday night and had to take care of that first thing Sunday morning before the kid got up. So my Sunday morning run was pushed back to the late afternoon and by then was a little out of the mood but still had a good quick 10 miles 1:15. Ended the week with 5 runs and a total of 67 miles. Around my usual 70+/- a week in 6 days only this week did it in 5. Starting to look forward to Heartland 100, was trying not to ramp up to soon, so I think now is the time to start upping the miles with some back to back longs and putting in some quality runs. Also looking forward to going to Leadville next month and pacing Rick for 50 there, a little worried about running at that altitude, I really don't have any experience running at 10,000+ feet elevation. Going to hit some good back to backs with Rick over the next couple weekends so that will fun and be some good quality runs I'm sure. I think maybe I can keep up with him after he runs 50, but I will have fun trying to keep up with him off the get go.

Psycho Psummer 50K

2009-07-15T17:46:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I ran the Psummer Psycho 50K ultra marathon, at Wyandotte Co. lake park.

The race was put on by the Kansas City Trail Nerds and was as always a great event. I had heard rumors about how tough a course this was and it did not disappoint. Add in 85+ degrees and 90% humidity and it is even tougher. I went into the race wanting to run well but also knowing that it would be a challenge. The race started with a short paved section necking down to single track trail. I started close to the front and the pace at the beginning was brisk and steady, after we got strung out a bit the pace slowed to a more comfortable pace but still at a good clip. The first 5 or so miles are full of hills and I ran all but the steeper ones. So far so good, and the miles went by and my pace was still good. From the boy scout aid station there was a section of paved and gravel road that was very run able so I tried to make good time in this section. From there it was back to single track trail through the triangle and back to the start finish this section was not to bad hill wise but had some mud in spots to contend with. I finish the first loop in relatively good shape in 2:21 and around 5th place. The second lap I decided to take it easy on the first hilly section and save for running across the damn and the boy scout section. The heat and humidity were starting to take it toll and I started having some cramping problems in my calf's and even my thighs. I was carrying only one hand held which worked good for the first loop but was not near enough for the second adding to my cramping problems.

When I got to the boy scout aid station Lee Crane and Pat Perry took care of me like I was the president or something and got me another bottle to carry. The ice shower they had there was the bomb. From there I ran the paved/gravel section and picked off another runner or two. My calf's were still cramping but I was able to keep moving. The last section through the triangle and back to the start/finish I knew if I just kept moving I would secure a 3rd place finish. At the triangle aid station I was cramping bad again and Sophia ran back to the boy scout aid station to get me some more S caps while I ran the triangle, with some more S caps in me I was hoping I could run the last 4 or so to the finish. While I had some cramping the last few miles the closer I got the better it seemed to get knowing I was getting close to the finish. As I came out of the trail across the grass and to the finish the pace was good and the excitement of a good finish in sight. I crossed the finish line in 5:21 a good run for me and 3rd place overall. Ben Holmes came over to give me my finishers metal and congratulate me on a good race. The Kansas City Trail Nerds sure know how to put on a race and the volunteers are the best out there bar none.

Vacation here we come

2009-06-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

Oh, it's been a long wait, but it's finally here, time for a few days away from work and lot's of fun.
We are headed to the North Shore on Lake Superior in Minnesota. I can't wait looking forward to getting some running and hiking in with the family on the SHT (superior hiking trail). They have a 100 there on the SHT and might half to give it a try sometime. We are also going to do a little canoing in the Boundary Waters so a wilderness vacation it will be. Except for a stop at the Mall of America on the way, not my cup of tea but the wife will enjoy it. I ran my ass off this week knowing I probably wont get in as much running as normal but some time off to heal up just might do me some good and we'll still be doing a lot of hiking and sightseeing so that will help. I still plan to get out early a couple times for some time on the trails. See you all in 10 days and will have a vacation report when we get back.

Weekly notes 6-7-09

2009-06-07T16:38:00.000-07:00

Monday I hit the Governs mansion after work for a nice and easy 9 miles. Tuesday I took a off. Wednesday was another run at the Gov's I hit it for 3.5 miles then looped back around for 6 more with a few of the Topeka trailgators. Thursday I hit the Gov's after work for 4 miles solo then 3 more with Kevin from work. Friday I hit the Gov's again after work for another 5.5 miles. Saturday morning I meet Hunter Munns and John Knowles for a trip to Banner creek near Holton for a couple 14 mile loops around the lake and a total of 28. It was a great day for running and was great to get out with them for a run. Sunday I was going to rest again, and it was hard, I kept telling myself to go run so I had to stay busy to keep myself from going out. It was like I was cheating on my girlfriend or something. I had decided to cut back a bit for the next couple weeks and let the body heal from months and months of hard training. Since we are leaving on vacation Thursday night for 11 days I thought this would be a good time for a break.
I'm sure I'll half to get in a few runs over vacation so we'll see how good a break I get.
Weekly totals:
59 miles
930 push ups

Weekly notes 5-31-09

2009-05-31T13:36:00.000-07:00

It was another good week with lots of running and an extra day off work. Monday was Memorial Day so I had the day off and spent the day with the family hanging out on the patio. We put a couple slabs of baby backs on the smoker and man were they good. I took Monday off from running to recover from the previous weekends runs. Tuesday was back to work, hit the Governor's Mansion trails after work for 10 miles 7 miles solo and 3 with a co-worker who I have recently got to start trail running. Wednesday it was kind of rainy so I hit the elliptical for an hour on cardio level 12 for 4.25 miles. Thursday was another run at the Gov's for 10 miles in 1:30. Friday I hit the Gov's again after work for another 10+ in 1:45 with 3 hill repeats. Saturday morning I took off from home and headed to turkey point at Melvern lake where I was going to meet the wife and kid for a day on the lake. It was a good gravel road run for just shy of 20 miles in 2:45 min. Sunday morning I met some of the Lawrence Trail Hawks for a 20 mile trail run on the North Shore Trails. Runner role call was Nick, Jim, Gary, Levi, Laurie and myself. We had a great time as always running and chatting as we ran, it's always nice to run in a group after running solo most the time. Other notes: I'm starting to get siked for my next 100 miler, there is something about trying to run 100 that really intrigues me. I love the feeling you get from pushing your body and mind to extremes. I know Heartland 100 is still 18 weeks away but I am really looking forward to another 100. My sister is coming home from Florida to pace me the last 20-30 or so at Heartland so that makes it even more exciting. I think I have decided to try and run the Ozark 100 also, exactly 1 month after Heartland so that will be a huge challenge to try and complete 2 100's in a month. But I love challenges and the intence training it will take to pull it off.
Weekly totals:
74 miles
700 push ups
60 Lunges and Squats

Weekly notes 5-24-09

2009-05-24T17:16:00.000-07:00

Let's see I had a busy run and work week. Had a job to get out so it was early days, up and at work by 4:30 a.m. all week for a total of 54 hours, as almost every week anymore. I guess it's better than the alternative but man would I like to get caught up once. Monday, was a Monday from hell and was glad the day finally ended and I headed to the Governor's mansion for a few miles after work. Ran 5 miles solo and meet a couple co-workers who are new to trails for 3 more. Tuesday I took the day off with no running. Wednesday I hit the Gov's again for 10.25 miles after work. Got to run at the Gov's again on Thursday for 7.75 and again on Friday for 9.25 in 1:30. Saturday I hit the gravel roads for 14 miles and then ran 3.5 with my Mom and wife. Today I went to Melvern and hit the 10 mile horse trail for an interesting 10 miles the lake was up so there was water over the trail in 5 spots and had to do some bushwhacking and wading to get the loop in. I was going to do it twice but after the firsts lap experience I decided to run the (dare I say it pavement) around the state park and see all the crazy campers. I ran every road in the park for another 10 and man was the park full. When I go camping I kinda like to get away from people so it didn't really look like that much fun to me. I did get a lot of looks running thru the park with my pack on and mud up to my knees from the loop on the trails.

Weeks totals:

70.75 miles

830 push ups

60 lunges and squats

Berryman trail marathon race report

2009-05-17T18:38:00.000-07:00

Let me start by going backwards a bit. This year I have went into a few races thinking I would do well and bombed or not run up to my expectation. I thought maybe, just maybe, I had lost a little speed since over the winter, I was training for my first 100. While I had been running lots of miles, I wasn't really running hard, just running long. I had a couple times in training and in races where I was, or felt like was running so bad that it just wasn't fun anymore. So for the last couple races I went in to just run, and not worry about my time or how I was running. Finally running became fun again and I was now motivated to keep going. Then on Wednesday night I seen on the trailnerds email list that Pat Perry had a few unused entry's for Berryman. I had wanted to run Berryman but had waited to long to get my entry in and it was full. When I got the entry I had not tapered or prepared at all. The RD would not let him transfer the entry so I had to run under the alias of Bob Hudges, not a big deal I wasn't going to win anything, I just wanted to run. The race started with a short out and back on a gravel road before hitting the trail. I started out at a good pace to get in front of most of the other marathoners. The first few miles flew by and I was still running at a good clip. Mile after mile went by and running was still coming easy and my pace was still good. I was telling myself there was no way I could keep that pace up for 26 miles. As I ran down the soaked trail and hurdled downed trees, and slopped through the mud in spots, nothing seemed to slow me down. It was a good feeling to be running so well for a change. As the miles clicked off and my pace held steady I just decided to see what I could do. I had my sights on a sub 3:45 marathon, I kept flying down the hills and keeping a steady pace going up. When I arrived at the last aid station with 2.3 to go. I still thought I could break 3:45, I ran my ass off but, every time I would get going good there would be another log jamb to break my stride. When I realized 3:45 wasn't going to happen I slowed a bit till I got to where the finish was in sight and sprinted across the line to finish in 3:48. My best run this year and it felt good to run good again. I stood around basking in my second place finish in the marathon and still in a little disbelief that I had run so good. Then I realized other runners were coming in and going back out for another loop, man was it hard to watch them go back out every ounce of my body wanted to jump back in there for another lap. I waited for Lee Crane to come through and head back out before we headed back home. When Lee came through I was so jealous he was going back out again, I had to sit on my hands to keep from going back out. If I hadn't of changed my clothes I might of just took off. Next year it's the 50 for me, but was just happy to get to run 26 this time. I won't procrastinate next year in getting my entry in.

Weekly notes 5-22-09

2009-05-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

Here is my weeks notes: Monday was a easy day for me just hit the elliptical for 4.75 miles on Cardio Level 10. Tuesday I had jury duty in the morning so got up early and hit the road for an easy 7 miles in 1 hr. I was not picked for the jury, so I got released at 11:30 and decided to just skip the rest of the day at work. I then finished putting the metal on Darcie's horse shelter, after taking her to lunch. I got bored in the late afternoon so hit the elliptical for 3 miles on Cardio Level 12. Wednesday I hit the Governor's mansion trails after work for 7.5 miles in 1:06.
Wednesday night I secured an entry into the Berryman trail marathon so was excited about that. Thursday night I was going to take a couple co-workers on there first trail run. So I took of a 4:00 and hit the trails for 3 miles then meet back up with them for another 3 miles at the Governor's mansion. I was both there first trail run and they enjoyed the run and are planning on running with me again this week. Friday we took of towards Cuba for Berryman on Saturday morning. I ran Berryman on Saturday morning and finished the trail marathon in 3:48. (Check back for my Berryman race report coming soon.) Sunday I ran an easy 6 miles in the morning with my mom who is training for the 10 miler at Rock Creek #3. Then in the afternoon I went to
Melvern to check out the new riverfront trails and ran every trail in the park for 4.25 miles.
Weeks totals:
64 miles
900 Push Ups
90 Lunges and Squats

Rock Creek and weekly totals

2009-05-11T18:13:00.000-07:00

For only running once last week I ended the week on a good note. On Saturday I ran the Rock Creek trail 1/2 marathon. I decided since I had only ran once that week that I would go out and see how hard I could run the 1/2 marathon. I started out following the lead pack of the eventual winner, who's name eludes me right now, Rick Mayo, Greg Burger, I kept them in my sights for the first couple miles then fell back a little and was all alone. I ran really hard the first 8 miles or so and was felling really chipper. As the miles added up and with no one in my sights in front or behind I found myself running slower, I was still hauling ass down the hills but was taking it easy going up them. It's hard to keep pushing when there is no one around you, I was hoping someone would come up from behind and push me harder. But all in all it was a good run and I finished the 1/2 marathon in 1:45. Willie Lambert and the crew really put on an awesome event as usual. The Rock Creek series and the 50K last October was my first ultra and was what got me started running ultras. On Sunday I got up early and headed out for a country road
easy 16 mile loop from the house in 2:12. For the week I did manage 39.5 miles, 925 push-ups, and 170 lunges and squats.

Rock Creek #2 Proud moment

2009-05-09T10:18:00.000-07:00

Rock Creek trail race #2 was today. It was a little cool this morning but perfect for running. I am proud as a peacock today. My mom and my wife both ran the trail 10K. Running on trails is a lot harder than just running on a road. I am so proud of them, they both finished the 10K coarse in under 2 hrs. It was both there longest runs to date, and for only running since late February the did awesome. Finishing a 10K is no small feat and even still heard talk about them running the 10 mile at Rock Creek #3. It just goes to show that no matter when you start you can still get out there and do it if you set your mind to it. I think they both had fun even though it was a little tough with all the hills and rocks, and hope they keep up the good work and will see them finish the 10 mile in July, and at night, how cool would that be. Thanks Willie Lambert, Great Planes Running Co. and all the volunteers who make it happen for another great event.

Back on track

2009-05-07T16:29:00.000-07:00

This week has been shot. I have only run once this week, a 5 mile run with the Topeka Trail runners Wednesday night and 2 1/2 solo at the Governors mansion trails. I have been doing some push ups and lunges and squats but not much running. The wife has been keeping me busy building a horse shelter and mending fence. The last 2 weeks have been lazyyyy for me, only 35 miles last week and 7.5 this week so far. I need to get back on track. I don't have anything scheduled as far as runs go for the next 1 1/2 months other than Rock Creek #2 Saturday. I wanted to run Berryman but waited to long and it filled up before I got my entry in.
I guess I'm going to half to tell myself I'm going to try Leadville so I can keep motivated. I really want to run Leadville but, I have no pacer and don't think I can take the time off from work to get a couple days out there getting used to the elevation and such and still take a vacation with the family this summer. Not to mention the cost issue. I have already committed to the Heartland 100 also so that has some bearing on my decision also. I'm looking forward to Heartland my sister is coming from Florida to pace me so that will be awesome. I know she is looking forward to it also.

Sunday 5-3-09

2009-05-03T16:12:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy week, take one day off work get 3 days behind. Had to catch up or should I say try to catch up at work this week. Thursday and Friday I took off, after getting home late and getting the yard mowed for the first time. I could of baled it in spots. I did manage 150 push-ups and 40 Lunges and Squats each day. Saturday morning I hit the road first thing for an easy 10 miles in about 1:30. Me and the wife ran to Topeka shopping in the afternoon to get a new T.V after our big screen quit us. We did manage to get a new 42" flat screen. We had some Chinese food for lunch and man was it good. Watched Million Dollar Baby on the new tube that night with a big bowl of popcorn. Sunday morning I headed out for another easy 12 miles in 1:39. Still having problems with the back, it is starting to piss me off. I was going to run farther but, the back was giving me problems and I'm still not back up to speed since Free State. The wife did get her horse today and that made her happy. I know nothing about horses but she had one growing up and wanted one for her and Jarret. I figured I couldn't complain since I enjoy my running so much and she can enjoy her horse. The weekend went way to fast and I'm not looking forward to another long week at work. When is the next ultra anyway, I need a break again already.

Wednesday 4-29-09

2009-04-29T17:12:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-28T17:19:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-26T13:04:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-22T17:28:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-19T15:09:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-17T18:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-16T16:54:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-15T18:38:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-12T13:39:00.001-07:00

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

Saturday 4-11-09

2009-04-11T03:55:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-09T18:08:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-09T17:58:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

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