Misc. Ramblings

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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