Run To The Border

Packing Up & Moving On (Literally)

2011-12-19T13:52:00.000-06:00

If you're reading this, you should really just head over to http://runtotheborder.com where I finally posted something again!

Moving On - http://runtotheborder.com

2011-09-29T16:36:00.000-05:00

I finally opened up my wallet and paid a whopping $7 to get my own domain.

So, all future posts will be at:

http://runtotheborder.com

Coming Up....

2011-09-25T18:11:00.000-05:00

So, I'm almost done with talking about this 100 mile race. Pretty soon I'll start posting about 5k training. Yup, I'm likely going from one polar opposite to the other. But, John, my pacer at the ultra, sent me his thoughts on the race and so I'll be putting those up in the next couple of days.

Also, I finally became a big boy blogger and forked out the $7.00 to get my own domain name. So, there will be some big layout changes coming pretty soon on Run To The Border. It's about time - I'm getting sick of that photo of me on my header.

But, those things will likely be waiting a little while longer. I've got a busy week of work ahead of me, and I need to crank up my job hunt (know anyone looking to hire an Environmental Scientist?) Seems like it takes me at least a couple of hours to apply for a single job. That is, after I spend hours and hours trying to find one to even apply for. But between all of the cover letters, and each individual company wanting their own individual form filled out, it's getting incredibly time consuming.

So stay tuned. Hopefully I'll get some of this blog stuff done by the end of the week.

Lost Soul Ultra 100 - The Gear

2011-09-24T13:17:00.001-05:00

The fifth and final post in my series about running my first 100 mile ultramarathon:

I took a lot of ~~shit~~ gear with me for the race, largely because I didn't know what to expect and I didn't want to be without something during the race. While the gear didn't run the race for me, having the right gear definitely made it easier and more enjoyable.

Shoes:

I wore my Columbia Ravenous trail shoes the entire race. I had packed five or six pairs of running shoes, fully expecting to change them out at least once during the race, but my feet were doing so well in these shoes that I didn't want to risk upsetting them in a new pair.

Gaiters:

My gaiters are about as cheap as they come - $6 from MEC (the Canadian equivalent of REI, although I think MEC is much cooler). No frills, no gimmicks, but they sure kept a lot of crap out of my shoes during the race.

Socks:

I doubled up on socks, and am thankful I did! I started with a base layer of Injinji toe socks, and then added on a pair of Drymax trail running socks. I'm generally very prone to blisters, particularly on my toes, but this combo worked fantastic for me!

Calf Sleeves:

I wore my Zensah calf sleeves the entire race. Prior to the race, when I was dealing with my tendonitis, I only wore one to help with that issue. I figured it wouldn't hurt to wear them on both legs for the race. They had an added benefit of protecting my shins from all of the thistles and weeds that we ran through on the course.

Compression Shorts:

Under my regular running shorts, I put on a pair of compression shorts (cheap ones from Eastbay). I figured my quads could use all of the help that they could get during the race. Not sure how much of a difference they actually made for my legs, but I didn't have as much chafing as normal (although I did have some chafing that required attention while in between aid stations. I made sure I was far enough ahead of this female runner so as to not subject her to watching me shove my hand down my pants repeatedly).

Arm Warmers:

For some reason, I didn't get nearly as cold at night as a lot of the other runners appeared to be. I added on a pair of arm warmers and a toque, and I was good to go. Never thought I would use anything that resembled arm warmers, but they sure were convenient to just slip on and off without even removing my hydration pack.

Hydration Pack:

I wore my Nathan HPL-020 for the entire race, even though I had packed several alternatives (handheld bottle and Camelbak waist pack) in case my shoulders/back got tired of carrying the weight. I loved having the small pockets up front for my cell phone and licorice, and it was nice to have some extra storage in the back for emergency food, bodyglide, and toilet paper.

Poles:

I own a cheap pair of trekking poles from Costco. They are definitely not the lightest pair on the market, but they did their job marvelously for me. Probably about 50% of the 100k/100mile runners had trekking poles with them. I'm not sure how I would have made it through the race without them. Not only did they relieve a lot of weight from my legs, but they also kept me from falling over numerous times when I had lost my balance (especially late in the race when I was fatigued).

Salt Caps:

I wasn't as consistent with my intake of salt caps as I should have been, but I averaged one per hour the first day, fewer at night, and I have no idea how many the second day. I didn't experience any cramping though, and I feel like my electrolytes were in balance (relatively speaking, anyway!).

Headlamp:

My headlamp is a relatively no-frills model, but it does have three different brightness settings. I made it almost all the way through the night without changing batteries (maybe used it for 30 minutes or so on the new set of batteries). It goes as bright as 50 lumens, whatever that actually means - all I know is it was plenty bright for me and it was comfortable. I had a small backup light in my hydration pack in case something happened to this one.

Other Notes:
I had drop bags at each of the stations, with a complete change of clothing and extra food in them, but I didn't open them at all. That was because I had my wonderful wife driving around to each station to meet up with me and make sure I was taken care of.

I packed a TON more stuff than I actually used during the race. I didn't do a complete clothing change in the night like I had anticipated, and only used the one pair of shoes, so there were a lot of things that would have been better off being left at home. Oh well, live and learn. I had also brought my iPod with me, in case I needed the mental distraction, but I never ended up using it. I would still bring it next time though, just in case.

Also, I broke a lot of rules on race day. No, I didn't cut the course or cheat. I'm talking about rules like "nothing new on race day." Yeah, that one went way out the window early on:

Compression shorts - brand new, hadn't worn them (or any other compression shorts) before.
Gaiters - brand new, just tried them on 24 hours before the race started.
Arm warmers - brand new, never used them before.
Injinji toe socks - only worn them once, on a four mile run.
Double socks - never tried it before.
Taped feet - never tried it before, but am glad I did. I'll write a post on it sometime in the future, but basically I put surgical adhesive and tape on the bottoms of my feet to prevent blisters. Worked like a charm!
Food - lots of new foods. I don't have an iron stomach, but I didn't hurl either.

Well, I think that's about it for the 100 mile recap. I think I covered just about anything, but if there's something you're still left wondering about, send me a question and I'll try to answer it relatively soon!

Lost Soul Ultra 100 - The Mental Challenge

2011-09-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

This is part four in my attempt to recap my 100 mile odyssey:

Part I: The Team

Part II: The Course

Part III: The Physical Challenge

Part IV: The Mental Challenge (this post)

Part V: The Gear

"Running an ultramarathon is 90% mental.

And the other 10%, that's mental too"

-Scott Jurek

Going into this 100 mile race, I told my wife that there were only three reasons that I was allowed to drop out and quit:

#1 - if I pee'd blood (which happens to runners more often than it probably should)

#2 - if I was going to injure myself to the point of needing surgery

#3 - if I broke a bone in one of my legs

Basically, from the start of the race, quitting was not an option for me. I made up my mind ahead of time, and that was that. I had determined that if I missed a time cutoff, I would turn in my bib and keep going until I hit the finish line anyway. I was not stopping until I reached the 100 mile goal. And that was that.

One of the primary reasons that I didn't allow quitting to be an option was because of my diet. As a vegan, I feel like my food choices are under constant scrutiny from others - probably more so because I'm a runner. I'm rather confident that if I were to have quit for ANY reason (blisters, pain, broken femur, ...) there are some who would attribute my lack of success to my lack of meat. And quite frankly, I couldn't let that happen! I know that I am far healthier now than I was when I ate a more "traditional" diet, but my choice is still met with judgements on a frequent basis. So, for all of the vegans out there, I was making damn sure I finished that race! Let's face it - if I run 100 miles on nothing but plants (and licorice!), any questions about protein and energy can quite easily put to rest by pointing to the 30lb finisher's rock that's sitting in my living room.

I ran the race without my Garmin, as I knew that I couldn't let myself get pre-occupied with pace & distance. Nothing like looking down at a watch and seeing 18 miles down, 82 more to go! For the first loop, I put my Garmin in my backpack, because I did want the GPS file from the course. But, the Garmin was out of sight, out of mind. Instead, I ran with my Timex stopwatch/heart rate monitor, since I still wanted to make sure I wasn't pushing myself too hard at any given point.

I made it a point to focus on getting to the next aid station, and not to the end of the course. Breaking it up into chunks (aid stations were never more than 10 miles apart) made the distance seem much more manageable. After running 70 miles, thinking about going 5 more is a lot easier than thinking about going 30 more.

Part of the mental challenge of the race involved getting over some of my fears. I am terrified of snakes, and the course runs through some relatively thick rattlesnake country (in addition to bull snakes and garter snakes). Not being able to see the trail through the thick weeds didn't help that fear at all. But, it didn't take me long to realize that if I'm going to be bit by a snake, the snake doesn't really care if I'm afraid of it or not. If it happens, it happens, and I can't spend the entire 100 miles worrying about the snakes. I did see several garter snakes along the way, and at one point I put my pole down in the grass and heard the distinct sound of a rattler, but I pushed the encounter out of my mind and kept going.

Speaking of animals, as I was pushing my way through some tall weeds along the river in the middle of the night, I had the sh*t scared out of me when I heard this loud "thump, thump, thump, thump" coming from almost under my feet. I look down, and I nearly stepped on a beaver. A frickin beaver! Come on Canada, you're not helping out the stereotypes! Anyways, I banged my poles together a few times and he eventually moved out of my way.

Despite the 3am encounter with a beaver, my spirits remained quite high through the night. Many people have said that the night is the most difficult part mentally, and that with the sunrise comes a renewed sense of energy. Around 4am, I remember thinking that I couldn't imagine feeling any better mentally when the sun came up - I felt so good already. I was enjoying the moon, had seen the northern lights, and was enjoying the solitude of running alone in the dark. And then it hit me around 4:30. I'm not sure if was the lack of sleep, or if I let my mental focus drop, but that was the closest I came to considering dropping out. Nothing changed physically, but the battle with my mind started in full force. Luckily I was close enough to the start of my final loop, the sun would start peeking out right away, and I knew that John, my pacer, would be joining me soon - basically, I kept myself going by knowing that there were some good things to look forward to right away.

By the middle of the second day, my mind was rather foggy from lack of sleep. I struggled to remember how bad the hills were in certain sections as we approached them, even though I had been over them twice already. By this time, I think I was more in autopilot than anything else. NOT thinking definitely makes the race go by quicker. All in all though, it wasn't quite as mentally challenging as I was expecting. Yes, it was extremely difficult, but I had prepared myself to do all out battle with my mind. Prior to the race, I had thought about different mental games/scenarios that I would have to play with my mind to keep going, but luckily I didn't have to pull any of them out (they largely involved comparing my situation / pain to people who have gone through specific situations that were far worse, in an effort to diminish whatever I was going through).

I was surprised how long that it took after the race for me to regain my mental capacities. I'm not sure if I was mentally exhausted from the race, or if I was just so physically exhausted from the constant movement and lack of sleep that my mind didn't function properly. But, the mental recovery was almost slower than my physical recovery. And that I wasn't expecting.

Lost Soul Ultra 100 - The Physical Challenge

2011-09-17T09:30:00.002-05:00

This is part three in my attempt to recap my 100 mile odyssey:

Part I: The Team

Part II: The Course

Part III: The Physical Challenge (this post)

Part IV: The Mental Challenge

Part V: The Gear

"Running 100 miles nonstop is not twice as demanding as running 50 miles;

it's four or five times more difficult."

-Dean Karnazes

Training:

One of the most frequent questions I was asked leading up to the 100 mile race was "What's the farthest you've ever run?" Not wanting to let the secret out of the bag, I eventually started replying with something to the effect of, "I'm not disclosing that information until after the race." My reasoning - I was grossly undertrained to tackle 100 miles, and I knew it. I didn't want to fail at the 100 miler and have people be able to say, "Of course he didn't finish, the longest he ever ran was XX miles."

So, now that the race is over, and I successfully completed the distance, I feel like I can openly talk about my ~~lack of~~ training. Not saying anyone would, but if someone were to start talking smack about my training for the race, I can point to the 30lb boulder sitting in my living room as proof that what I did was sufficient. Ok, enough disclaimers, I'll just get to the numbers.

Since 16 weeks is the length of the standard marathon training schedule, I'll use it as a reference. In the 16 weeks leading up to the 100 miler, I ran a total of 355 miles. Yup, averaged a pitiful 22 miles per week - which is far less than leading up to either of my two marathon finishes. Between work and a difficult final semester of university, I just didn't ~~have~~ make enough time for proper training. I had one seven day period where I ran a total of 86 miles, including two rest days in there. I completed two 30+ mile long runs, with the longest being 36 miles. There, I said it. The longest I had ever run before the race was 36 miles.

I'm obviously not proud of my training, but I'm proud of my finish. Had I been "properly" trained for the race, I can only imagine how much better I would have done, or how much less pain I would have been in.

The Race:

It shouldn't take a genius to figure out that a race which calls itself "The Toughest Race On The Prairies" is going to be difficult. I arrogantly underestimated the difficulty. At one point during the race, I mentioned that if I were to do this race again, I would train on a stair-master instead of running (at another point, I may have said to my wife that I would rather give birth through my penis than keep running). The relentless hills took their toll early on in the race. About 9.5 hours in was when my quads really started to hurt, and it got progressively more painful as the race went on.

Eventually, the uphills became my friends, and the downhills my enemies. Stepping down onto a lower slope sent a large amount of pain through my quad, each and every time I put my foot down. Stepping up, while taking more energy, didn't come with the same painful reminder of how many miles I had already covered. In the early stages of the race, I did my best to not run the downhills too fast as I knew that doing so would trash my quads early on. But, the miles took their toll on me anyway.

The temperatures on race day(s) proved to be a big problem for most runners. I felt fortunate that I had "trained" through the Missouri summer, and I was well prepared for the heat. In the valley, the temps reached 44C/111F. About 25 miles into my first loop, I came across a runner floating in the river. Startled at first, when I saw his shoes neatly placed on the bank, I knew that he intentionally went in. I asked him if he was ok, and he said he was just trying to cool off. I later heard that he dropped from the race.

One of my biggest challenges in the heat is always getting enough food down. When I'm running in high temperatures, nothing sounds good to me. My wife did an amazing job of bringing me anything and everything to try to get down during the aid station stops. Countless times she would hand me a plate of something, I'd take some and then spit it right back out on to the plate, hand it back to her, and just say "No." Of all the things we tried, the only things that were successful were salted potatoes (only in small quantities), vegetable soup that my wife made, and oatmeal cookies. Everything else that I tried made me feel like vomiting (although I managed to keep everything down throughout the race!)

At the finish line. I sent this photo to Silk, hoping to
get some sort of sponsorship, but all they said was that
this was the "burliest endorsement" they've ever
received. Thanks. I think.

I had taken Clif bars, licorice, swedish fish, Sharkies, cookies, and some homemade bars to eat while I was running. But in the heat, I struggled to eat anything between aid stations. I eventually resorted to mostly liquid calories - Silk Chocolate Soy Milk and ginger-ale. That led to its own problems, namely having to stop to pee every quarter mile. But, at least I knew I was hydrated! I also made sure to take in lots of salt caps throughout the race, in an attempt to keep my electrolytes in check.

Because of my inability to eat much on the trail, I spent a lot more time in the aid stations than I had wanted. All told, I "wasted" three and a half hours not making forward progress. But, I knew that I needed that time to refuel, or I wouldn't have finished the race. I sat down to eat at every aid station, with the exception of the very last one. Most stops lasted between 10 and 15 minutes, although one of them was almost 30 minutes. Getting back up after sitting down was a challenge, and my legs took a good solid 1/2 mile to loosen up again once I started moving.

Like nearly everyone else in the race, I did a decent amount of walking - sometimes because the terrain forced it, sometimes because fatigue forced it. I had incorporated walking into my "training", and even in the later stages of the race I was still able to walk a little slower than 16min/mile. My running pace at that point wasn't much better!

I wasn't nearly as sleepy as I thought I would be. I remember yawning once, around 9am on the second day, and that was it. I didn't start taking in caffeine until about 10am on the second day. In the middle of the night, I ran into one girl out on the course who I think was pretty close to sleep walking, but I'm glad that I didn't get that sleepy!

My feet held up remarkably well during the race. I had to stop twice on the trail to remove stuff from my shoes (a catcus thorn at one point, and a bunch of silt at another). I didn't change my socks until mile 70, and I kept the same shoes the entire time. I prescribed to the belief that if it wasn't broken, I wasn't going to fix it. I had taped my feet prior to the race, and that seemed to save me a lot of problems (more on that in a later post). I also experienced minimal chaffing during the race, and only once had to stop to apply more bodyglide (although I should have stopped again around mile 90, but just kept going). I feel incredibly fortunate that I didn't have to deal with problems like blisters or chaffing - the pain in my legs was enough for me to deal with!

Next update: the mental challenge

Lost Soul Ultra 100 - The Course

2011-09-16T12:07:00.000-05:00

This is part two in my attempt to recap my 100 mile odyssey:

Part I: The Team

Part II: The Course (this post)

Part III: The Physical Challenge

Part IV: The Mental Challenge

Part V: The Gear

"The Toughest Race On The Prairies"

-race slogan

The Lost Soul Ultra course is about 54km long (33.5 miles), with three unique aid stations that you run into twice on each loop. The 50k racers, who started 24 hours after us, obviously only do one loop. The 100k racers, who started at the same time as us, do one full loop and then a modified second loop. Those of us tackling the 100 miler ran three loops of the same course.

Although the course is in the river valley that runs through a city (Lethbridge), and is on the prairies, the course is anything but easy. Surrounded by coulees, the majority of the course is singletrack trail, going up and over the hills.

When I was in high school, I used to do a lot of mountain biking in the coulees. 10+ years later, I thought I remembered the terrain, but was hit with a wake up call on race day. The difference? When mountain biking, we usually took the path of least resistance going up hills. The Lost Soul does the exact opposite. There were countless hill climbs where I could reach out my hand and touch the trail directly in front of me, that's how steep they were.

The singletrack trail frequently traversed the sides of the coulees, which got a little tricky after the 50k race started and we had a bunch of people wanting to pass us. Running/walking along the side of a 45 degree slope, it was tough find an adequate place to step out of the way of the faster (and fresher!) racers.

At times on the course, the grasses/weeds were over my head, and I was pushing them aside with my poles to get through. By the time the third loop came around, the trails through the sections of tall weeds had been worn through a little better, but I was still beating bushes out of the way.

While much of the course is on the singletrack trails, there is a little bit of a break offered by sections that run on much smoother (and flatter) multi-use trails.

That vast majority of the course offers no shade at all, which didn't help when the temperature rose to 44C/112F.

The course was well marked, even though I did manage to get off course and lose 30 minutes or so. I had my head down, and wasn't paying attention to the flags. By the time I realized my error, I thought I knew which direction the course went. Since the course is bounded by a river on one side, and the coulees on the other, I knew I could cross the course somewhere. Unfortunately, instead of backtracking where I came from, I picked the wrong direction to head, and wasted a bunch of time. I eventually made my way back to the aid station I had just left, and started the section over again. The turn I missed was clearly marked - I just wasn't paying attention. Oh well, two extra miles in a 100 mile race isn't such a big deal, is it?

I really enjoyed running the course at night. There were small reflectors on the flags, and so a quick glance with the headlamp showed the path ahead. In fact, it was almost easier for me to run at night, as the reflectors were more noticeable (to me) than the pink flags in the daytime. By the time I needed my headlamp, I had completed a little more than one loop of the course, and so I knew (vaguely) what to expect in the dark. The hills were less daunting though, not being able to see the top of them in the dark.

The aid stations were easily accessible for crew, as two of them are in local parks and one of them (headquarters) is in a hotel parking lot. Volunteers at the stations were great - encouraging and helpful. Can't comment too much about the food, as I ate most of my own, but they did have a slurpee machine at one of the stations!

A lot of racers had complete both the better-known Canadian Death Race, along with the Lost Soul. The consensus was rather unanimous that the Lost Soul was more difficult. Maybe I'll have to give the Death Race a whirl, so that I can weigh in on the debate! Prior to the race, there was a lot of debate about the elevation change on the Lost Soul course. No one could say definitively, but estimates ranged from 3000 to 6000 ft elevation gain per loop (so, 9000 to 18,000 feet of elevation gain for the 100 mile). I had my Garmin in my backpack for the first loop to get some data myself, and here's what I came up with:

Unfortunately, between miles 20 & 25 is my two mile detour off-course, although it was primarily flat

Since Garmin elevations are notoriously inaccurate, I turned on the "elevation correction" option on Garmin Connect, and it gave me a total elevation gain of about 3300 feet for one loop (10,000 ft gain total). Seems a little low, but I'm sure even an ant hill feels like a mountain after 93 miles of running!

Anyways, enough rambling about the course - here are some photos to give you a better idea of what it looked like. Alternately, you can watch the video my wife put together, as it shows the course pretty well.

Heading south along the 'Oldman River'

Typical terrain at the top of the coulees

Typical terrain traversing the side of the coulees

Yeah, that's about how steep most of the climbs were!

Overview of the coulees. We ran over, across, down - basically the
path of most resistance is where they put the course.

Running along the top

My pacer, John, and I are on top of the hill.
The photo was taken from an aid station that we just left.

John and I coming into an aid station

A little relief from the hills on a multi-use trail

I'm somewhere in there, climbing my way to the top!

Lost Soul Ultra 100 - The Team

2011-09-15T15:45:00.000-05:00

I've decided that the only way for me to tackle writing the report for the Lost Soul Ultra, my first 100 mile ultramarathon, is to break it up into sections. It won't be mile-by-mile, but rather topic-by-topic. Oh, and if you happened to miss the recap video my wife made of the race, you can check it out here.

Here's the plan, although it will take me awhile to finish them all:

Part I: The Team (this post)

Part II: The Course

Part III: The Physical Challenge

Part IV: The Mental Challenge

Part V: The Gear

So, on to the first part - those who helped me along the way.

The Team:

Even though I end up with the glory and bragging rights, these people deserve more credit
than I know how to give them for all of their hard work and support.

Natasha:

Crew Chief, Crew, Crowd Handler/Security, videographer, photographer,
unconditional supporter, food preparer, food fetcher, masseuse, motivator,
chauffeur, and a million other things.

My wife didn't sign up for this race - I did. Nevertheless, she spent countless hours waiting for me at aid stations, made sure I was eating/fueling (which was far from an easy task!), got me whatever I asked for during the race, and encouraged me every step of the way. That was after she had already spent hours preparing food for me to eat (we didn't know how much vegan food there would be), and an unimaginable number of hours listening to me talk/dream/plan this race out over the months leading up to the big day(s).

Without her, I would not have finished the race. No question. She knew what I needed better than I did. When I would try to eat something, and immediately spit it back out, she would run and grab me something different to try to get down. When the only thing that sounded good was Silk Chocolate Soy Milk, she tracked some down in an unfamiliar town to make sure I would have what I wanted. To say that I couldn't have done it without her would be a huge understatement. I was in FAR better condition during this race than I was during my 50k that I ran without her assistance. Had she not been there to take care of me, I'm sure I would have dropped before the 50 mile point. And that's without considering all of the emotional/psychological support she gave me. Amazing.

John:

Me and John - he still looks so fresh you'd never guess he just finish 45k with me in the heat.

John stepped in to be my pacer with very little notice. Although I've known John for awhile (I photographed his wedding almost 10 years ago), I had never run with John before. He and his wife drove down to the race course with their two kids in tow, and John patiently waited for me to let him know when I'd be at the point where he was allowed to accompany me.

I've never run with a pacer before, but I couldn't imagine someone doing a better job than John. I didn't need "pacing" exactly, as I wasn't trying to finish at a specific time, but I did need someone to keep me moving on the trail. John talked with me when I wanted to talk, kept quiet when I needed to focus, and pushed me when I needed to be pushed. Near the end of the race, I was informed that I had four hours to complete a particularly tough 10 mile section before cut-off. On the previous loop, the same section took me three and a half hours, and I was in worse shape now. John got me through that section in under three hours, giving me an extra hour in the bank so that I didn't need to worry about missing the race finish cut-off either. Without him, my race would have likely ended at mile 92, with my bib and timing chip turned in for missing the time cut-off.

Trae and Nate:

Me, Nate, and Trae at an aid station in the middle of the night.

Two of my nephews skipped out on bedtime to come and support me during a nighttime aid station. As I approached the station, I saw them waving glow sticks and heard them cheering for me. They wanted to be able to see my in the night, so they attached a couple of the glow sticks to my hydration pack for me. When I ran out of the my chocolate soy milk at the station (one of the few things that sat well in my stomach), they went back to my wife's hotel and picked up some more for me (of course, their dad, James, drove them there!) When I looped back into the aid station a couple hours later, I had chocolate soy milk waiting for me, along with an encouraging little note.

My Family:

The Lost Soul Ultra runs through the city where I grew up, and where most of my family still lives. Throughout the race and finish line, all of them came out to support me and cheer me on. My brother-in-law James took a bunch of photos for us (many of which are in the video that Natasha put together). My nieces and nephews (all of them!) drenched my head with wet sponges after the finish line (which I needed to cool down). I felt very loved and supported with everyone taking the time to come out to the race course, cheer me one, and help Natasha get some of my crap for me.

Bill:

Bill and I at the awards breakfast Sunday morning

Bill is just one of those all-around great guys. He has run the 100k version of this race a couple of times before (its the same course as the 100-mile), and he answered a lot of my questions about what to expect. He's been a great supporter of my running, and made me a cool necklace when I finished my first marathon two years ago. He must have stayed up late Saturday night, because when I got to the breakfast ceremony Sunday, he greeted me at the door with another new necklace, this one commemorating finishing the 100-miler. He had even made one for my wife too. I ran with him a little bit during the race (he was way ahead of me shortly after the start!), but would definitely like to go out for a more leisurely run with Bill next time I'm in town.

Other Friends and Family:
I ran with my cell phone so that I could update my blog as I went, and so that I could let Natasha know where I was or if I would need something specific at the next aid station. What I didn't expect was to be showered with encouraging text messages throughout the race. Friends and family sent me more messages than I can count (I've never even come close to using up the number of texts that we pay for each month, but I'm WAY over this month!). During the night, when I was alone in the dark, I don't think 30 minutes went by without my phone going off with a text. I can't describe how much support I felt when I would receive messages at 2am, when I know that no sane person should still be up, let alone texting me. But it was highly appreciated, and it definitely helped keep my spirits up!

I wish I could have read the comments left on my blog during the race, but my phone is a little too old school for that. But, the support that I received from people I've never actually met is overwhelming. Thank you for all of your wonderful comments, encouragement, and support leading up to and during the race. I loved sitting down after the race and reading all of the blog/facebook comments.

There were also people like Michael, who I met during the pre-race meeting for the first time, but who had taken the time to answer, through DailyMile, a ton of questions that I had leading up to the race (things like 'should I wear gaiters or not' ...). He also gave me some of the best advice, "After a certain point it hurts just as much to walk as run so you might as well run and just keep moving, even if your run is slow". There were many, many times where I would be walking, and remember what he said, and then start running again and realize how correct he was.

Lost Soul Ultra 100 - The Video

2011-09-14T13:20:00.000-05:00

Here it is, the video that my wife, Natasha, put together of the race! She did an amazing job capturing the challenge, both physical and mental. When I watched it, there were things that I didn't even remember. So thankful she took the time to take some photos and video during the race, and then put together this awesome video. Some photos in the video also came from James, my brother-in-law, and John, my pacer.

Lost Soul Ultra 100 Mile Race on Vimeo.

Ahh, To Rest Again!

2011-09-12T18:31:00.000-05:00

We finally made it back home, after spending a little bit of unplanned extra time in the Denver airport (the "benefits" of working for an airline sometimes have extra costs).

I have many, many thank-you's to send out - especially to my wife, who was the most excellent crew chief that I could have ever dreamt of. Those thank-you's will come out soon, I promise. But for now, I am off to sleep in my own bed, hopefully for the next 15 hours.

My wife has been working on an awesome recap video, and as soon as she's done I'll get that posted here. Until then, here are a couple of photos from out on the trail that my amazing pacer, John, took out on the course.

Thank You!

2011-09-10T20:39:00.000-05:00

Thank you for all the comments/messages during the race (and the text messages from those of you with my number who sent them). I am overwhelmed by everyone's support. Just took the longest shower ever, and will try to get to reading the comments soon.

Expect a lot more about the race coming up! (although I'm sure a lot of you are sick of it already!)

2011-09-10T19:01:00.001-05:00

Done! 100 miles in just under 34 hours! Woop! Woop!

2011-09-10T18:33:00.001-05:00

Getting ready to start final 300 vertical foot climb to the finish. Seriously, who puts a 100 mile finish at the top of a hill?

2011-09-10T17:59:00.001-05:00

Home stretch! about 2.5 miles to go!

2011-09-10T15:44:00.000-05:00

8 miles to go! 5 hours to cutoff. Gonna do this!

2011-09-10T07:46:00.001-05:00

On last lap. Legs very tired. Too hard to run ande blog now. Will finish, but close to cutoff.

2011-09-10T04:05:00.001-05:00

Sent my wife to sleep, but she would want to know that i just finished off the veggie soup, choco soy milk, bun and fruit.

2011-09-10T04:01:00.000-05:00

Just discovered i am 23 miles behind third place runner. Should be getting lapped by 1st place soon.

2011-09-10T03:44:00.001-05:00

Can hear the next aid station. Ready for some company besides the howling coyotes!

2011-09-09T23:20:00.000-05:00

Very thankful that brett and his dad did a long night training run with me. Definitely more comfortable in the dark.

2011-09-09T22:43:00.001-05:00

Harder to blog and walk at night. Minimal updates till morning. Feeling really good though, and enjoying the night running.

2011-09-09T21:44:00.001-05:00

Alone with my feet ande my thoughts. Very thankful for my amazing wife andd all of herf support

2011-09-09T21:04:00.001-05:00

And just likke that, i am 12 hours into the race. 24 hours to cutoff, and i` more than a third done with the distance.

2011-09-09T20:49:00.001-05:00

Sun is almost gone, but there`s an almost full moonj and no clouds. That should help keep my spirits up.

2011-09-09T20:46:00.000-05:00

Over the course of 100 verticalo feet, i think the temp must have changed by at least 15F.

2011-09-09T20:39:00.001-05:00

Sun is setting, and temps are slowly dropping. after training in a missouri summer that i handled the heat better than many.

2011-09-09T20:33:00.001-05:00

They say you run the first 50 miles with your legs, and the last 50 with your mind. i`m running the last 65 with my mind.

2011-09-09T19:47:00.001-05:00

My amazing crew expanded by one. My nephew nate stuck around to help my wife. Pretty sure it`s almost his bedtime though.

2011-09-09T19:02:00.001-05:00

Oh, and i was up 0.2 pounds at the weigh-in.

2011-09-09T18:54:00.001-05:00

Started 2nd loop now. Had one of my nephews run me into the finish of the first loop. Sat down for 15 minute to eat.

2011-09-09T18:47:00.000-05:00

6 inches from stepping on a snake and i didnt scream like a school girl - thats progress for me, right jim?

2011-09-09T18:29:00.001-05:00

End of first loop is in sight. About 9.5 hours. Means i can slow down by 6 min/mile on the next two loops and still hit cutoff

2011-09-09T17:19:00.000-05:00

Went back to last aid station, and am back on course. 30 wasted minutes and 2 extra miles

2011-09-09T17:18:00.001-05:00

Shit. Got off course somehow.

2011-09-09T17:04:00.001-05:00

30 miles done. 8 hours in. Feelling pretty good. Natasha is taking super good care of me and making sure im eating enough.

2011-09-09T14:51:00.001-05:00

Next aid station break will be a longer one. Not hunngry but know that i need to pound down some serious calories.

2011-09-09T14:33:00.001-05:00

Came out of some tall weeds, and saw a runner floating in the river. Just trying to cool off. Thought about joining him.

2011-09-09T13:59:00.001-05:00

Trying to not let it get to my head, but i am starting to see why5 this course has a 60% dnf rate. This course is badass!

2011-09-09T13:40:00.001-05:00

Getting real toasty, and not a spot of shade anywhere on the course.

2011-09-09T12:58:00.000-05:00

A slurpee machine at the aid station? These canadians sure know how to do ot right!

2011-09-09T12:31:00.001-05:00

Was running and put my pole down in the grass. Heard the distinct rattle of a rattlesnale. Picked up gmy pace a little!

2011-09-09T11:20:00.000-05:00

Been able to see the next aid station off and on for the last hour, but they keep putting nasty hills in between.

2011-09-09T11:02:00.000-05:00

My wifbe is awesome. she had everythinjg i needed ready for me at the aid station. So thankful for her.

2011-09-09T10:59:00.001-05:00

Saw mmy first casualty. Fire and ambulance trying to get a runner off gthe trail. Looked like a bad fall on a downhill.

2011-09-09T10:24:00.001-05:00

Trying to take it easy on the downhills so i dont trash my quads. This course is definitely not the path of least resistance!

2011-09-09T09:54:00.001-05:00

Beneit #23 of being a man - being able to pee while walking.

2011-09-09T09:18:00.000-05:00

Weeds over my head, xnd 6inchwide trail - might freak me out at night!

2011-09-09T09:11:00.000-05:00

1 mile in. 2nd to last place and im ok with that! Saving my energy.

2011-09-09T08:50:00.001-05:00

Maybe drinking a full bottle of powerade this morning wasnt the best idea! Hope i dont have to pee 50 more times.

2011-09-09T08:32:00.000-05:00

Found my friend Bill and met up with Michael from DailyMile. Nice to have some friendly faces on the course.

2011-09-09T08:26:00.000-05:00

Waiting at the start line. Beautiful morning. Trying to not let my nerves get the best of me.

2011-09-09T08:17:00.001-05:00

Live tracking at lostsoulultra.com
bib #64

2011-09-09T07:29:00.000-05:00

Pre-race weigh in complete. As long as i dont lose more than 8 lbs, they wont make me stop and rehydrate.

2011-09-08T22:19:00.001-05:00

Feet have been taped to prevent blisters. Nipples have been taped to prevent bleeding. Bring on the 100 miles. After i sleep.

12 Hours To Go!

2011-09-08T17:32:00.000-05:00

12 hours from now, I'll be heading out the door of my mom's house, on my way to the mandatory pre-race weigh in and meeting. Then, at 8am MST, I'll be off on the biggest (as in longest) race of my life. My wife and I previewed a little of the course today, and I will admit to being somewhat intimidated. Doesn't help that we just came from packet pick-up, where I saw more people sporting Ironman finisher's shirts than any other shirt. But, I have to remember that I'm not competing against them, just against the distance.

Anyways, my wife was busy this afternoon getting a bunch of food ready for me. She cooked a couple different kinds of soup, some cookies, and we picked up a bunch of other food. The Lost Soul's aid stations are well-known for being filled with amazing food, but I have no idea how much of it will be vegan, and I can't afford to not eat there. My wife has been amazingly supportive, and has gone out of her way to make sure that I have everything I could need for the race. Couldn't do it without her.

So, we're off to dinner, and then home for an early bed time (hopefully). Not sure if I'll post again before I'm out on the course, but I will do my best to send short updates from my phone as I go. The distance is intimidating, the course is intimidating, but it's just one foot in front of the other. Many times over.

I Thought All You Needed Was Shoes?

2011-09-05T12:47:00.002-05:00

Whoever said that running was an inexpensive, minimal-gear required sport must not have run an ultramarathon before. I'm trying to finish up all of my packing for the trip to Canada, and it seems like the gear just keeps adding up. I thought about laying it out all nicely for a photo, but then I realize that I just had way too much sh*t to bother doing that.

Oh, and it's not all in the photo either. There's more. But the photo is a good start.

Working for an airline, I've learned a few things about packing for an important trip:

#1 - If you aren't willing to throw your checked bag twenty feet across the room because you're afraid something will break, you need to repack. Bags fall off of belt loaders and off of baggage carts on a semi-regular basis. Plus, someone's bag always has to go on the bottom of the stack of bags in the cargo hold.

#2 - If you can't live without something at your destination, put it in your carry on bag. People are always surprised at how many bags airlines lose. After working for one for the last six years, I'm always surprised that we don't lose more of them. Seriously, if you saw how things work, you'd be surprised every time your bag shows up on the baggage carousel at your destination.

So with that in mind, I set out to make sure my carry-on had all of my "can't run without" and difficult to replace items. I'm sure no one really actually cares how I packed, but I'm posting it anyways for my own benefit - after the race I'll look back over this list and see what I did and didn't need with me, so I can pack better/less next time (although I'm not sure what "next time" will be).

Carry-on:

Columbia Ravenous Trail Shoes
Brooks Ghost shoes
Headlamp
Batteries
Garmin
Succeed Caps (electrolyte pills)
Heart Rate Monitor/watch
Body Glide
Body Glide powder packs
Injinji Toe Socks (3 pairs)
Drymax Socks (4 pairs)
Compression Shorts (2 pairs)
Running Shorts (3 pairs)
Sleeveless Shirts (2)
Regular running shirt (1)
Running Jacket
Compression socks
Arm Warmers
Calf Sleeves (2)
Ankle Brace
Visor
Handheld water bottle
Nathan Hydration Pack
iPod shuffle & connector
Contact lenses
Kinesio Tape
Bandaids (for my nipples!)
Corn cushions (for blisters)
Gel Flask

Checked Bag (large hard-sided cooler):

Saucony Omni 7 shoes (sacrificial pair)
Brooks Cascadia Trail Shoes
Trekking Poles
Sunscreen
Bug Spray
Contact Lens Solution
Snacks

licorice
swedish fish
cliff bars
Sharkies
gels
homemade bars

Cookie dough mix (my wife put this together)
Soup mix (my wife's genius idea, again)
Pepto
Compression Socks (another pair)
Gatorade Powder
Vet tape (doesn't stick to hair!)
IT Band Strap (just in case)
Camelbak waist pack
Winter Clothes

gloves
toque ("beanie" for non-Canadians)
running tights
long sleeve shirt

Drop bags (3)

extra shorts
extra shirt (long & short sleeve)
extra socks
more snacks
extra batteries
baby wipes

Battery charger
Thermos
Extra foot care stuff

There's more yet to pack, like extra ziploc bags, my backup prescription glasses, ice packs, cell phone charger, deodorant, and such. But, I think I have most of the bases covered so far. As I obsessively look back over this list 20 times in the next 36 hours, I'm sure I'll think of a few more things and throw them into the mix.

Lost Soul 100 Mile Race Course Preview

2011-09-04T09:16:00.001-05:00

The Lost Soul Ultra is held in the city where I was born and raised, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. It's a pretty unique place to have a race, in that the area is flat as a pancake except for the river valley, which is comprised of coulees ("cool-eaze" is the closest I'll get to phonetically spelling it out). I've never actually gone running in the coulees, but I did spend a decent amount of time mountain biking in them when I was an overweight high school kid. Anyways, rather than trying to describe them to you, I pulled some random photos from around the internet.

From above, it is easy to see how hilly the course is, despite its location on the prairies. The nice thing is that the race is held in the middle of the city, so ~~when~~ if I get a craving for some french fries or a slurpee, hopefully I can talk my wife into picking some up for me.

As a reference, the black train bridge running through the photo is about a mile long,
and a little over 300 ft high.

The course starts with an immediate descent into the coulees from the top, and I've decided that I will walk at least the first section of the race until the first aid station (~4.5 miles). I have this nasty habit of getting caught up in the excitement of a race start, and I know that if I started running, there's a really good chance that I would trash my quads on the very first downhill, and pay dearly for it later. So, I'll just force myself to walk and be satisfied staying at the back of the pack for the first part of the race. After all, 100 miles of running will give me plenty of time to make up the lost time.

One Week Out From the 100 Mile Race!

2011-09-02T16:43:00.000-05:00

Thanks for all of the comments on my last post. I figured that since I've been blogging so infrequently, most people would have walked away from my blog - glad to know there are at least some people still out there! Anyways, enough people are interested in the live updates from the race, so I'll post them as frequently as I can during the race. They'll be short, and without photos. Unfortunately, I my old-school phone doesn't get email, only text messages, so I won't be able to read any comments on the posts until after the race is done.

The Lost Soul Ultra course consists of three loops of a little more than 50k each. There's been a lot of debate about the elevation change of the course on the race forum (estimates have ranged from 3000ft gain to 6000ft gain per loop, so 9,000 to 18,000 feet of elevation gain over the entire race). Someone finally posted their Garmin elevation profile from last year, and although they are missing the first 7km of the 50k loop, it still looks mighty frightening!

This is the elevation profile for most of the first 1/3 of the course. Then the hills start all over again. Twice!

Today I've been working on getting my drop bags ready to go. My wife will be driving from aid station to aid station to help me out, but I know that she'll need to sleep sometime during the race, and I want to be prepared for when she's not there. So, on top of a complete change of clothes (including shoes) in each of my three bags, I've put together a bunch of snacks.

Some people call it junk food, I call it "fuel"

In each drop bag, I have a couple of Clif bars, some Sharkies, a couple of bags of Swedish Fish, and a couple of bags of Twizzlers. I counted out the Swedish Fish and Twizzlers to be about 200 calories in each bag, so that I can better keep track of how many calories I'm consuming throughout the race.

Once I get everything put together, I'll probably snap a picture of how much sh*t I'm taking with me! It's a lot - I'm sure it's more than most other racers. But, since I don't know what to expect, I want to make sure I'm prepared. I'm not disclosing how many pairs of shoes I am bringing, but I am including a "sacrificial" pair that can be butchered Badwater style, should it be necessary (hopefully not!)

11 Days To Go

2011-08-29T12:02:00.000-05:00

Running 100 miles. Race starts in 11 days. sh*t.

I've tried several times lately to sit down and write my thoughts about this upcoming ~~painfest~~ event, but I freeze every time. Probably because it's overwhelming to think about running 100 miles, over hills, at one time.

So, in lieu of a report on how ~~shitty~~ wonderful my training has been, you're getting this lame blog post - which really doesn't say anything other than that I am still alive, and I'm hoping the race doesn't change that.

In other random news, I figured out how to post from my oldschool, non-smart phone to my blog the other day, and so I was thinking of posting incredibly short updates throughout the race. I'm not sure if people would want to read stuff like "Mile 72. just puked up half a bag of twizzlers all over my shoes. my feet are now wetter than after a stream crossing". But if there's at least one person who wants to read a play-by-play, let me know and I'll do my best to update as I go. It would probably be good for me to have a distraction like that too.

I'm Finally Done!!!

2011-07-29T15:20:00.000-05:00

Freedom!!!

Just finished my last final exam! Done. Finished.
Now I just need to wait to collect my $30,000 piece of parchment paper.

I think I'll celebrate by running for 12 hours straight. Seriously. More on that later.

Interrupting My Break: 50k Race Report

2011-07-14T12:14:00.004-05:00

(no time to proof-read this post, so hopefully it's at least somewhat coherent).

I'm interrupting my scheduled blog break and writing a report on the "Psycho Summer 50k" that I ran this past Saturday.

I signed up to run it two weeks before race day. Natasha and I were talking about how I hadn't really raced since the marathon disappointment (back in October). Instead, I've just been focussed on the 100-mile race that I ~~stupidly~~ signed up for back in January, and in between a couple of injuries I seem to have lost sight of the enjoyment that I used to have in running. So, we decided that I needed a race in order to re-energize myself, and this seemed like a great opportunity. I mean, why not run a 50k when you've had one 20 mile treadmill run and one 18 mile run/walk on the trails in the past couple of months?

So, race morning arrives, and I am ready to go. Standing around, listening to the race director give instructions, my heart rate monitor starts cutting in and out. For those who don't know, I live by my heart rate monitor - it's somewhat of an addiction - I NEED to see those numbers when I run. I don't have time to figure out what's wrong (battery? skin too dry? ....?).

The race starts, and I'm off. I look down, and the monitor is now saying 195bpm (my max is abnormally high at 213). I figure it's a glitch, as happens when the battery is low or there's a poor connection with my skin. To make a long story short, as that number slowly started creeping up (which it does NOT do with a poor connection or low battery), I realized that my heart rate was in fact that high.

So yes, I am that idiot who starts out a 50k at the same heart rate level as a 5k.

I knew that I would pay dearly for that mistake later on in the race. Two thoughts crossed my mind:

I really should slow down and start walking some - this is completely unsustainable.
I really should just keep going like this for a while longer. It will be good to know what it feels like to bonk, and it'll be good mental training for the 100-miler to see how well I can push through something like that.

In my brilliance, I chose option number 2, which was clearly the best choice. I sent Natasha a text message at the half-way point: "Half way done. Will probably crash soon." That was almost exactly three hours into the race.

I'll spare all the details, but I (obviously) did end up crashing to a certain degree, although not nearly as bad as it could have been. My main problem was that I let my blood sugar level drop way too low. I took salt caps at most aid stations, drank an acceptable amount of fluids, but I just didn't eat enough. Between the heat (~88F/30C) and the miles of running, nothing sounded good to eat except watermelon. And so I ate a sh*tload of watermelon - which tastes fantastic in the heat, but has next to no calories.

By the time I crossed the finish line, I was in relatively rough shape, although I managed to run the last little bit to make it look like I was finishing "strong". Natasha sat me down, and made me start drinking Coke to get my blood sugar back up. Almost puked up my initial attempt at solid food, so I just stuck to the liquid calories for awhile.

Official time was 6:41:43, 20/49 males, 23/59 overall.

I came home, took an ice bath, and did as little as possible for the rest of the day. My ankle, which has been the thorn in my side for the past few months, held up remarkably well. I woke up the next day with horribly sore legs (mostly my quads), and forced myself to stumble through 10 miles on the treadmill. It wasn't pretty, but I made it (mostly walking, with a little ~~shuffling~~ "running" thrown in. I know I need to start doing a lot more running on tired legs to get ready for the 100 mile race. Time is ticking away.

Lessons learned:

EAT!!! Even if you don't want to, you need to!
Don't run the downhills as fast as you can to make up time - it will kill the quads.
Don't start out too fast!
Seeing a familiar face at an aid station makes things better (Thanks, Indi!)
Canadian Iced Tea tastes extra fantastic around mile 21
I really need to figure out proper fueling for the 100-miler
And most importantly: Why the f&%$ did I sign up to run a 100-mile race on a hilly course?

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures before I return to my previously scheduled blogging break. I am skipping a class that I am barely passing in order to write this blog post - but I really needed to just take a break. Two and a half more weeks in this semester, and then hopefully I'll get some sanity back in my life.

Starting out - it's easy to smile at the beginning!

A couple miles in - still feeling "strong"

Finishing up the first 10+ miles.

Hanging out with Green Bean at the finish. He found the perfect spot to
sit, right in the way of everyone's path. Natasha brought him to spectate.

As an aside: I openly admit that I have very little faith in humanity. Working for an airline essentially destroyed what little there was to begin with (people are complete a**holes when they travel). Anyways, trail runners are slowly redeeming my hope for the human race.

Just one example from the day, although there were others - I was nearing the end of my second loop (~20 miles), and was passed by another runner. Maybe 50 yards later, I catch back up to him, as he had slowed down dramatically. I look ahead, and see two other runners who were doing the 10 mile race (which started an hour after ours) coming up on the finish line. Had the guy who passed me kept his pace, he would have been right in front of them by the time they reached the finish line. Instead, he stayed back about 15 yards. When I caught up to him, and saw what he was doing, I said "that's really nice of you" to which he replied something along the lines of "yeah, no need to steal their moment." That act probably cost him 30 seconds, which isn't a whole lot in the grand scheme of the race, but an attitude like that is a rarity among the people I encounter in this world - except at trail races.

Taking A Break

2011-06-18T06:11:00.000-05:00

Might as well make it official. I'm taking a break from this blog for awhile. At least until I graduate (August), or until the 100-mile race (September).

Hopefully by then I will discover some new inspiration to write something.

Don't Make Me Pee In A Cup

2011-06-07T00:21:00.000-05:00

So, let me just get it out. I'm on steroids. Yup, it's true. But it's only temporary, and I'm really hoping I don't end up looking like this guy. I am, however, hoping it cures two problems for me:

I've been dealing with an allergic reaction for 3+ weeks now, and it has given me an insanely itchy rash. I have no idea what I reacted to, as I've never had anything like this before. Apparently steroids are really good at getting rid of this sort of thing. Although since I don't know what caused it originally, the relief might just be temporary.
My ankle. When I first went to the physical therapist, I asked him whether a cortisone shot would help (not that I wanted one, since I don't like needles, I just wanted to know). He basically said that a steroid pack (pills) should clear it up, but because of the side effects he wouldn't recommend one unless I was still having problems right before the 100-miler, and had already put in some good training for the race.

I had gone to the doctor 10 days ago for the rash, but by the time I was sitting on the table, the rash had disappeared (it would come and go all the time). The pills I was given did nothing to help. Earlier tonight I was ready to chop off my feet they were so itchy. I headed to the Urgent Care at my doctor's office, and since the redness didn't disappear while I was waiting to be seen, I was given a steroid shot in my ass (which hurt a lot more than I expected!) and a bunch of steroid pills to take for the next week.

'Testosterone Dog'

One of our dogs, Horton, is occasionally on steroids for his allergies. We always call him "Testosterone Dog" when he's on them. He is quite a bit more irritable, and seems to want to hump everything in sight. I don't plan on mounting any fire hydrants any time soon, but I might be a little more amped up this week. Seems like a good time to hit the gym a little harder - the pharmacist told me I'd have to do something to get rid of all of the extra energy I'll have this week.

Hopefully by the time that I can pass a random drug test again, I'll be itch-free and my ankle tendon will stop hating me.

99 Days To Go!

2011-06-02T16:22:00.000-05:00

Today marks 99 days until the 100 mile race. Yikes. Still a lot of work to do between now and then!

Had a bunch of other things that I've been meaning to blog about, but I'm kind of in a funk today. Not sure if it's because summer classes start on Monday, or if it's my new work schedule (which sucks), or ....

Tomorrow I'll blog more. Maybe.

Focusing on What I Can Do

2011-05-28T07:50:00.001-05:00

I managed to flare my tendon up again, probably something to do with finishing up a run at a sub 6:00/mile pace. Not smart, I know. That seems to be how I roll.

With a little over 100 days left until the 100 mile race, I am definitely not where I want to be with training. I can't be running the mileage that I want right now, because of my ankle, and it's getting really frustrating. But instead of focusing on what I can't do right now, I'm doing my best to focus on what I can do to prepare myself.

At the gym, there is a treadmill that inclines up to 30% (most top out at 12% to 15%). After I'm done with my regular workout, I've been hopping on that sucker, cranking it all the way up, and walking. Yup, walking. 2.5 to 3.0 miles per hour, and I'm dripping sweat the whole time. My heart rate gets as high as if I was doing a tempo run. It's a lot harder than it looks. I've managed to do a little bit of running at that incline, but never more than 0.15 miles before feeling like I'm about to die. I plan on making good use of this particular treadmill, since the 100 miler is hilly, and I need all the hill training I can get, in whatever form I can get it in.
I've also been "running" in the pool a lot. It's incredibly boring, but at least it gets my legs moving.
I'm continuing with the weights at the gym. I haven't really been doing any upper body work at the gym, just legs, hips, and abs. I'm never as sore after as I think I should be. Doing 3 sets of 15 reps on most exercises, and am really struggling to get to 15 reps, so I feel like the amount of weight is appropriate. But the next day I'm not sore. Hmmm. Thoughts?
I'm on week 4 of the 100 pushup challenge. I'm still not convinced that I'll be doing 100 pushups 2 weeks from now, but I have definitely been making progress (did a total of 144 pushups the other day, with my final set being 40 pushups).
I've been doing what I can to take care of my ankle (minus the sub 6 min/mile incident). Tons of ice, and a lot of ultrasound therapy. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Now, as long as I can keep myself from doing something stupid (again), I'm hoping to be back on track soon. I'm craving a long run.

"A Monkey To Love"

2011-05-27T13:10:00.000-05:00

My wife had her first article published in a magazine! And it's not just that this is the first article that got published, but it was the first article that she ever submitted! The short story, published in Modern Dog Magazine, is about how we ended up with one of our dogs (Monkey).

We received a hard copy of the magazine in the mail yesterday, although she had known for a little while that it was coming. I'll post a copy of the story after I can scan the article into the computer, or after it's published on their website. For now, here's a couple of photos:

The entire page to herself!!

Natasha has always been very good at putting difficult thoughts into eloquent words (I, on the other hand, am not - proved by the fact that I used the word "good" instead of something more profound). I'm super proud of her, and hope that she starts submitting more of her writings to various places.

One Thing Wednesday

2011-05-25T07:54:00.000-05:00

My wife and I were folding laundry together the other day. When I grabbed a pair of running shorts from the laundry basket, she looked at me and said, "It looks like you have a boner when you wear those shorts." Unfortunately for me, that pair is one of the most comfortable that I own, and I just happen to have three identical pairs of them. So, if you see me running and I happen to look like I'm "really" enjoying myself, it's just the shorts. Promise.

Newest Weapon In The Fight With My Tendon

2011-05-20T11:05:00.001-05:00

Every time I go to the physical therapist for a running injury, it seems he reaches for his ultrasound therapy machine. ITB, damaged knee meniscus, and now my tendon issue - all treated with exercises and ultrasound.

So, given the inconvenience of getting to my PT's office (~40 minutes away) and the insurance co-pay with every visit, I decided to try out some at home ultrasound therapy.

The system was surprisingly inexpensive, although I will have to pick up an extra shift at work to pay for it since it wasn't really in the budget this month. But that's ok. If it works, it will be well worth spending a few extra hours loading bags onto airplanes.

So, what does it do? Well, ultrasound therapy works by sending high-frequency sound waves deep into the tissues, which in turn cause the cells to vibrate and heat up. The increased temperature increases blood flow to the affected area. Since tendons have very minimal blood flowing to them, an increase in blood to the area should help with healing.

I have no idea what sound frequency dogs can hear, so when I first turned the unit on I watched the dogs for any sort of reaction to the sound. Nothing. So that's good, I won't be driving them crazy while working on my leg. So, I lubed up my leg with the included gel, set a timer for 10 minutes, and went to work. It's definitely not as powerful as the ultrasound in my PT's office, but I could still feel it after a few minutes. The good thing is that I can use it more frequently than I'd ever be able to get to the PT.

Putting the ultrasound to good use, while wasting away my life watching daytime tv.

The ultrasound can also be used as a diagnostic tool, in that if you have a stress fracture and apply the ultrasound therapy, apparently it will hurt like hell. Hopefully I never have to find that out for myself though. Also, there is mixed research on whether or not ultrasound therapy actually helps. It seems to have helped me in the past, but I can't say that it was definitely the ultrasound, or if it was the added exercises and rest.

Have you used ultrasound therapy? At home? At a physical therapist office? Did it help?

Anyways, it's supposed to be raining all day, so it looks like I'll be having my first wet run of the year. I generally like running in the rain, but I despise getting out the door and the first few steps.

Cautiously Optimistic (injury update)

2011-05-19T06:44:00.000-05:00

I'm trying not to be too optimistic about the healing of my nagging ankle injury (posterior tibial tendonitis). But, it seems that taking some time off from running has done some good. I'm still having some very mild pain closer to my calf (this particular tendon runs from the arch of the foot to the calf) but it's been relatively mild. Along with the exercises from the physical therapist, I've been icing my lower leg like crazy, going as far as having an ice pack strapped to my leg when I go to sleep, and if I wake up in the night I replace it with a new ice pack. I've also been wearing the compression sleeve as much as possible, as it simply feels better when I'm wearing it (placebo perhaps? I don't really care!)

I've been running two miles a day for the last three days without any major issue. The first day, my foot hurt later in the evening, but I haven't had that again to any significant degree.

So, since I have an incredibly poor track record of taking things slow after an injury, I've devised a plan, and here it is:

1) Since I'm basically starting over with my mileage, I'm going to spend a large portion of my (few) miles in my Vibrams. This injury is sometimes aggravated by weak stabilizing muscles in the lower leg, of which the Vibrams excel at strengthening! Also, because my mileage is so low right now, it's the easiest time for me to transition back to the Vibrams without creating a new injury.

2) I'll run two miles a day for the rest of this week, and then up it to three miles a day next week. After that I'll go to four miles a day, and so on. I'll take at least one day off a week, and I'll do my best to listen to my body if I need to take more time off. Strength wise, I feel like I could go out and run 20 miles tomorrow without a problem, but I know that my tendon probably wouldn't appreciate it, so this plan is my method of restricting myself. Also, I fully realize that this plan does not respect the "10% rule" - increasing your mileage no more than 10% per week - but if I followed that, I would hit 40 miles per week the week of the 100-mile race, which isn't anywhere near adequate. Once I hit a 6 or 7 miles per day each day of the week, I'll re-evaluate how I want to proceed with the crucial long runs that I'll need to get in to survive the 100-mile race.

3) Strength training on a regular basis. Yesterday, I went back to the weight room to work on my leg strength. I'm a little sore this morning, mostly in the areas that I know are weaker (like my ~~ass~~ hips). I want to make strength training a regular part of my routine, at least until my mileage gets higher.

That's about it. I'm 'cautiously optimistic' that I can get back in the running without causing myself any further harm. I am, however, running out of patience!

One Thing Wednesday

2011-05-18T07:58:00.002-05:00

Vacation. Loved it. It was awesome to go back to the place where we met, and have a week of uninterrupted time with Natasha. We made all of our flights on the first try, of which I was very thankful since standby travel for airline employees has been getting a little dicey lately with full flights. We even got seats next to each other on the longer flights to Hawaii (usually the only empty seats left for us are in the middle, at the back, between the two largest people on the airplane - or so it seems). Also, Kona has got to be one of my top three cities I'd want to live in. Laid back, active, tons of people training for triathlons, bike lanes everywhere, .... It had been ten years since either of us had been there, and while I only lived there for three months back then, everything was still so familiar. Just like home. Anyways, it's been awhile since I've done a "One Thing Wednesday" and so I'm making up for it with more pictures than I think I've ever posted.

First, a video my wife put together of our trip (stolen from her blog)

And now a couple of photos:

Hiking into Makalawena. Should have brought
a smaller cooler with us - that thing got heavy!

At Makalawena. Seemed like a private beach, given the lack of other people
there. Guess no one wants to hike over a lava field just for the beach!

Kayaking out to Captain Cook
(crappy photo from a disposable underwater camera).

Vibram Five Fingers aren't just for running!

A snorkel mask seems to make me look so angry!

On the black sand beach at Waipi'o. Was a steep hike to get into the valley,
but worth every step (hiking back up was significantly more work!)

Waipi'o Valley

Near the end of our trip, we discovered these awesome
Acai bowls from a local place. Expensive, but full of
fresh fruit, granola, and all things healthy. Delicious!

At Hapuna, the stereotypical Hawaiian beach.

At the school where we met. They had a fundraiser a few
years ago, selling personalized bricks around the
fountain. This was our first time to see ours. The fountain
has flags and rocks around it from all of the countries
where students have come from (68).

On Alii Drive, near the finish line of the Ironman World Championships.

Monkey being extra snuggly after being picked up from their
"luxury kennel." Seriously, we spent more on their lodging than we did on
our airfare, lodging, and rental car combined (although we don't pay anything
for flights, and we got screaming deals on the rental car and lodging).

100 Pushups Challenge Update - Two Weeks In

2011-05-16T08:20:00.000-05:00

It's been two weeks since I started the 100 pushups challenge. I'm not so sure I'll be able to complete the full 100 after only four more weeks, but we'll see - maybe the first 50 are the hardest!

Anyways, so my initial test before I started the program was 25 pushups. Two weeks later, I'm up to 39, which is the most I've ever completed non-stop. According to the program, I'm on track though, as anything more than 25 pushups at this point puts me in the highest category for completing.

Back to the Grind

2011-05-14T05:31:00.000-05:00

Waipi'o Valley - AMAZING!

Coming home from vacation really sucks. That's all I really have to say about that. I'll post some pics from our time in Hawaii within the next week or so.

Speaking of suck - my training continues to be less-than-stellar. I've been resting my ankle for what seems like forever, in hopes of getting rid of the tendonitis. Monday I'll go out for a short run, and see how it fares. Keeping my fingers crossed. I really need to get my mileage back up. Soon. 17 weeks until the 100-miler, and I'm in no shape to toe the starting line.

I heard about a mid-summer 100k called the Lunar Trek on Indi's blog. The race starts at 9pm, and I'm thinking it would be a wonderful opportunity to practice my night running. It also looks like a super small race field, which would mean I would be alone in the middle of nowhere for quite a while - good mental prep for the 100 mile race. I should probably just go ahead and sign up before I start thinking of too many excuses not to.

Ten Years

2011-05-09T11:41:00.001-05:00

"I don't care what you think of me anyway.
Two weeks from now I'll never see you again for the rest of my life."

-me, as spoken to Natasha the first time we met

It's been ten years since the first time we met here in Hawaii. It's been wonderful to come back to Kona and retrace some of our first steps together. The restaurant we went to on our first date is now closed, and the sea wall where we used to always sit was damaged by the recent tsunami, but the memories are still awakened. We've both changed a lot over the past decade - some changes by choice, others by situational necessity. But we always seem to have changed together, for the better.

Ten years ago, when I first fell in love with Natasha, I thought she was the most amazing person in the world. I think that even more now than I did back then. (And she's even hotter now too! How did I get so lucky?)

On an almost-private beach, enjoying lunch after snorkeling.

Rehabilitating My Ankle

2011-05-03T12:40:00.000-05:00

I've been working hard to get over this nagging ankle pain, which the PT said was "posterior tibial tendonitis." I've been icing my ankle several times a day (an ice pack is wrapped around my ankle right now), along with a couple of things my physical therapist recommended:

Trigger Wheel:
I'm supposed to essentially "massage" the tendon with the trigger wheel. It hurts like crazy, but hopefully it works!

Monkey decided to help me out by bringing me her favourite tennis ball.
You know, just in case I got bored and wanted to throw it around.

"Bend and Reach:"
I think this is one of my physical therapist's most loved exercises to prescribe. Basically, just a series of bending your knee, and reaching different directions with your other leg. It is supposed to strengthen the lower leg, and increase balance (of which I have very little). It's harder than it looks, at least it is for me!

This time, Green Bean decided to help me out while Monkey looks on.
Horton, our oldest dog, was snoozing in the other room - he generally
wants no part of my rehabilitation exercises.

And yes, I am wearing my hood inside the house. Seemed ridiculous
to turn on the furnace when it was going to warm up outside this afternoon.

Lower Leg Compression:

The PT also recommended a calf sleeve, since the tendon runs up towards the knee. I ordered one the other day, and it should be here tomorrow. I guess I could have ordered two of them, since a lot of people seem to wear them whenever they run, but I figured I'd give it a shot with just the one first.

Since I took some time off from running to heal, I'm hoping that I can slowly start to increase my mileage again now. I'll keep icing it like crazy, along with the above things that the PT recommended. I really need to get this training going if I want to complete the 100-miler in September!

100 Pushups (hopefully)

2011-05-02T08:00:00.006-05:00

As the reality sets in of how little time I have left before the 100-mile race, I'm realizing that I really need to up my fitness level. Not just my running, but my fitness in general. As a small part of that goal, I am recommitting myself to the 100 pushup challenge. Yes, I said recommitting. I've started before with great intentions, and then quit. This time, I plan on posting weekly updates of my progress on my blog. Not because you actually care, but because I don't want to have to say that I quit.

If you're not familiar with it, the 100 pushups challenge is a six week program designed to get you to the point where you can complete 100 consecutive pushups. And you're only doing pushups three days a week. I think I can live with that for six weeks (I think I've said that before though, too). I realize that pushups themselves won't get me to the finish line of the Lost Soul Ultra. But, I do need more core strength, and I'd like to balance my upper body strength with my lower body.

Anyways, yesterday I did the initial test. 25 consecutive pushups. Not horrible, but definitely not great. I figured that because I toss around 50lb+ suitcases in the belly of an aircraft for a living, I'd have more upper body strength, but evidently not. Six weeks from now, I better be at 100!

Have you tried the 100 pushup challenge? Did it work for you?

About Time For An Update

2011-05-01T07:24:00.002-05:00

Not much blogging going on here, since there hasn't been much running to speak of. Trying to make sure my ankle is healed before I crank the mileage back up. The physical therapist says I have a "mild case of posterior tibial tendonitis." I've been pounding away on it with a Trigger Wheel, and hope that it should be gone soon.

I'm feeling grossly under-trained for the 100-miler. It's still 19 weeks away, but that isn't a lot of time considering most marathon training plans are 16 to 18 weeks. I feel like I have the determination to finish the race, but I'm not sure how well my body will cooperate. I'm usually not too vocal about my running outside of this blog, but tons of people in my "real" life now know that I'm signed up for the race, and so I have the added peer pressure effect to help me through. I don't want to come back and say I didn't finish.

Knowing that I need to be working hard to increase my fitness, even if it's not running right now, I went to the gym the other morning to try some weights. Umm, yeah, I am not a weight lifter. Not only did I not really know what I should be doing, but I am definitely not as strong as I think I am. I found myself switching the weights to a heavier amount when I was leaving a machine, just so the next person wouldn't think I was such a wimp!

I've run a couple of miles lately, but not many at all. Tomorrow, I need to head to school to turn in some take-home final exams (how nice are those?!?). I think I'll bike there, and then hit the gym.

Anyone have any suggestions for a weight routine?

(A long overdue update: My cousin that had the bike accident (see here) is out of the trauma ICU, but still in the hospital. She is starting to get around a little on crutches, and has finally been able to eat. In a message she wrote to my sister, she said something about hoping to be back competing in triathlons in about a year. I know that she still has at least one knee surgery ahead, but at least she's on the road to recovery now!)

About That Running Thing

2011-04-21T12:25:00.003-05:00

Not so much running going on to be blogging about.

Partly because of an ankle problem, but mostly because I've been staring at my laptop, working on this:

Exciting, I know. Perhaps once the semester ends, and I return from a little vacation in Hawaii, I'll get back to more regular blogging. For now, if anyone wants to read an exciting research paper on how plants transform toxic chemicals, let me know!

2011-04-17T12:13:00.000-05:00

Sat down too long at the last aid station. Quads are really stiff, and i`m headed into the hilliest section.

One Thing Wednesday

2011-04-13T06:04:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I hopped on a plane to Billings, MT. Today, I'll be driving back to Kansas City, MO with my brother-in-law. Last time I did a road trip, I was eating packages of beef jerky from gas stations - might be a little harder to find snack food this time around! At least Twizzler's are vegan.

Weight Scales Suck Sometimes

2011-04-11T18:14:00.000-05:00

I was cleaning out the closet the other day, and came across some of my old work uniforms. Old, as in from maybe two years ago. Old, as in way too big for me now. I held one of the shirts up, and couldn't believe that I used to be that big. I showed my wife, and made some joke about fat I was. She smiled and said, "I don't think either of us realize how small we are now."

I don't feel small. I look down, and see the fat around my belly. It's been there for as long as I can remember. Sometimes more, sometimes less. But it's always been there.

I have to work really hard to lose weight, everybody does. Unfortunately though, I'm "blessed" with the same medical condition in which Oprah Winfrey famously blamed her weight gain on - hypothyroidism. It can be very frustrating to eat a healthy vegan diet, run 40+ miles a week, and still not lose weight. In fact, if I eat whenever I'm hungry, I can easily gain weight. But the whole thyroid thing is a blog post to its own, which I've thought about writing for years, but have never gotten around to it.

Anyways, I've been working hard to drop some of the extra weight this month. Last week I swam 2.5 miles, biked 40+ hilly miles, and ran 30+ miles. Nothing. The scale hadn't budged. Until now.

I know it's just a number, and I shouldn't put my self-esteem in what the scale says. But, I do want to lose weight. Selfishly, I want to feel comfortable walking along the beaches in Hawaii next month with Natasha (we met in Kona 10 years ago, and are heading back to revisit the memories). Logistically, I don't want to carry a single extra pound on me during the 100 mile race in September. They say that you save 2 seconds per mile for every pound of weight you lose.

(2 seconds) X (10 pounds) X (100 miles)

33 extra minutes I won't be swearing in agony

Decisions, Decisions

2011-04-07T05:07:00.010-05:00

My running mileage has been pretty lame this week (again), although I have been biking to school and swimming a lot more. I finally realized that I need structure in my running life. I need to be told how far to run each day. Since there are a total of zero 100-mile training plans that are as thorough as most marathon training plans, I've decided to take one of the Pfitzinger marathon training plans and adapt it for my 100-miler training. Basically, I'll keep the mid-week mileage/workouts the same, but the long runs will be substantially longer (and on the trails as much as possible). I miss the speedwork that goes along with marathon training. Sure, I swear like crazy when I'm running as fast as I can around a track, but it feels so good when it's done.

A week or so ago, I received an incredibly generous offer from a friend, who essentially said that he would "sponsor" my entry into the Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon at the end of June if I fly into town to visit for the weekend. I haven't seen him in years, and I can fly there for free (one of the few perks of inhaling jet fuel for a living), so the idea is tempting. Very, very tempting.

Perhaps incorporating a marathon training plan into my training is just a sign that I should go to Seattle.

Catching Up On Life

2011-04-04T21:36:00.002-05:00

Thanks for all your notes about my cousin (see here). She is still in the trauma center ICU in Vegas, and definitely has a long road ahead of her. But, she is an incredibly determined person, and her husband (whom I have shamefully never met) refuses to leave the hospital.

While I was finishing writing this post, I got an email from my mom saying that she was just rushed to the OR for emergency surgery - not sure why, but I do know that they had been worried about more internal bleeding & blot clots.

Today was the first day of the University's "Two Week Ironman" team challenge. I managed to log 6.2 miles running, 13 miles biking, 1300 yards swimming - in that order. Yes, I know that I did everything backwards, but it was the only way to fit it in.

Between my wife and I, our schedule's don't allow for too much time together. She works "normal" hours, while I work retarded hours (plus school). Sh*t, I mean "ridiculous" hours. I've been trying not to say 'retarded' so often. Anyways, we had a small window of time tonight between her work and my evening class, so we decided to go for dinner somewhere new. New to us, anyway. Missouri isn't exactly a mecca for vegans, and so when we go out to eat we usually only have one or two choices from the menu, and it almost always requires some modification (hold the cheese, etc.). Not tonight! This place had a bunch of great options for us, plus it's mainstream enough for us to go to with non-veg friends. Natasha had some tacos, I had a pizza with cheese. Yup, vegan cheese. Sure, it's not nearly as good as regular cheese, but do you know how long it's been since I've had a pizza with cheese? Way too long. Plus, our server actually knew what a vegan eats, and directed us away from one of our choices because it had whey protein in one of the ingredients. Plus, when she brought me my pizza said "I had them make it without the pesto, since that has a little bit of cheese in it." Kudo's to her, but I have to wonder what chef decided to make a pizza with vegan sausage, vegan cheese, and then add pesto to it? Makes no sense to me.

Anyways, the Foundry easily became one of our favourite restaurants in the city.

Hit By A Bus (literally)

2011-03-31T05:19:00.001-05:00

Last night I posted about my cousin getting hit by a bus while on her bike training for the upcoming triathlon season. I'm still in a little bit of shock over the situation. I don't have many details about what happened, but here's the last I heard (from her mom last night, via her brother on facebook):

Just to let you know that Chelsea was in a very serious accident this afternoon. She was riding her bike and was hit and run over by a bus. The bus wheels were on her abdomen and hip and the driver had to back off her. She is in a trauma center in Las Vegas with a lacerated liver, lacerated spleen, fractured back, fractured pelvis and a compound fracture (bone through the skin) of her right femur.

Training was her life, literally. She's been preparing for a half-Ironman triathlon, and she's a personal trainer. Obviously she's got an incredibly long road of physical recovery ahead of her. But I also can't imagine dealing with the mental aspect of it all.

I've heard of accidents like this before, but it really starts to hit home when it's someone that I know. Family.

Her brand new tri bike, less than a week old
(photo taken from her facebook page)

One Thing Wednesday

2011-03-30T20:50:00.002-05:00

I'm a little late posting this today, and I really didn't have anything worth blogging about (not that every post on Run To The Border is Pulitzer material). But, I just found out that my cousin Chelsea was hit by a bus while training on her bike today, and is heading into emergency surgery. She lives in Las Vegas, so I don't have a ton of details, but it's sounding like she broke her femur. I know she was excited to be out riding, since she had just gotten a new tri bike less than a week ago, and has a half-Ironman on the schedule later this year. Scary.

updated here

Well, That Was Discouraging

2011-03-29T13:32:00.000-05:00

Headed out to some new trails yesterday, where they are holding a 100k race in less than four weeks. I've been contemplating signing up for awhile now, and fees go up April 1st, so I figured I should head out there and make a decision.

There are two trails that run alongside a lake, one is longer/harder than the other. I decided to start on the more difficult trail, and then finish up on the "easier" one. 13 miles in, about as far away from my car as I could possibly be, my ankle started to hurt (ironically, not the one that was hurting a few weeks ago from my work injury). Having learned my lesson before, I started to walk some, in hopes that the pain would dissipate. It didn't. 8.5 miles is a long way to walk, I realized, especially in pain. But, it gave me practice for walking during the 100-miler.

I didn't roll my ankle or anything, it just started to hurt. Then the pain started to radiate up my calf. Weird. Perhaps it had something to do with running on the terrain - nothing but rocks and roots.

So, I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do. I'll need a brief moment of stupidity to hit me before April 1 in order to sign up for the 100k. I could always sign up for one of the shorter races that they have at the same time, but where's the fun in that? I mean, who wouldn't want to more than double their longest run ever on race day?

Anyways, off to the airport to pick up my mother - flying in for a quick visit this week.

Thinking About Ultras and Poles

2011-03-27T10:00:00.000-05:00

I just looked at the clock, and realized I've been up for almost four hours already. What have I accomplished? Nothing. Well, nothing productive anyway. I need to fix this morning habit of mine.

What I have been doing is surfing various websites and dreaming about the 100-miler. Once again, I browsed photos from previous years' races, and once again, I noticed how many people were running with Nordic poles (collapsible ski poles, sort of). My unscientific survey of the photos would say that 50% of the runners were using them.

A few weeks ago, I emailed a friend of mine who has run the course and asked him his opinion of using poles. He basically said that if you use them right, they help a lot (especially later in the race) by taking weight off your legs. But, if you use them wrong (as a lot of people do), they hurt more than they help.

Costco has a relatively cheap pair of collapsible poles right now. I'm contemplating picking some up, and seeing how I feel about running with them.

Have you ever run with poles? Been smacked by a runner who was using poles? Thoughts?

Two Week Ironman

2011-03-25T09:38:00.004-05:00

I'm officially on spring break for the next 10 days! Sure, I still have to be at work, but at least I don't need to sit through any classes. I'm hoping to get in a couple of good trail runs, and possibly catch up on a few big papers that I've been putting off all semester.

The rec center at the university is hosting a "Two Week Ironman" competition as soon as spring break is over (except they call it an "IronRoo" after our highly intimidating mascot, a Roo - which I think is just short for Kangaroo, but I don't know, since I have precisely zero school spirit). Basically, teams of three people complete an Ironman triathlon between all three of them over the two week period (26.2 miles run, 112 miles bike, 2.4 miles swim). I saw the sign, and thought to myself, "a team of three? I don't need two other people to do that." So, I signed up as a solo team. I think I'm the only one doing it solo. I had to get permission, since it wasn't an option to sign up without a team. The lady looked at me kind of funny, as if I was some sort of lunatic. But really, the running? I can knock that out Monday morning before class if I get my ass out of bed early enough (which, let's be honest, probably isn't going to happen). Biking 112 miles? If I commute to school by bike, I'll be done in four days (but if the weather sucks, I'm driving!) Swimming 2.4 miles? Ah, that might give me some trouble. The pool is open limited hours, but I can get in 1000 yards before class, so it will just take me a little while to get it done. Plus, let's be honest, swimming more than 1000 yards at once isn't really my forte. I'll get it done though - it just might not be pretty!

If it all goes well though, maybe I should host a virtual two-week Ironman on my blog. Would anyone be interested?

(I've got a lot of random posts that I've been meaning to write - my thoughts about the upcoming 100 miler race, debating about signing up for a 100k in four weeks, my recent weight gain, thoughts about running with nordic poles, review of my gore-tex shoes, how I like running with my Nathan hydration vest, blah, blah, blah. Perhaps over spring break, I'll sit down and write some of them out. Or I'll just go running instead. That might be more productive.)

One Thing Wednesday

2011-03-23T07:24:00.001-05:00

I'm feeling significantly less overwhelmed this week. Sure, I still have a sh*tload of school work that I'm behind on, but I'm not as worried about it anymore. The change? It may sound stupid, but I gave myself permission to not have to graduate with a 4.0 GPA. I have had my fair share of B's and at least one lower than that (thank you Calculus 3), but those were at the community college before I transferred to the University, so they don't get calculated into my graduating GPA. The problem is that my wife's diploma says "summa cum laude" on it (I had to look up what that actually meant). Basically, it means that she's smart. Super smart. And while I know that she's smarter than me, I don't want her to know that she is. And so, I've been pushing myself to try to get those same words on my diploma, so that she'll think that I'm as smart as her.

Shortest Post Ever?

2011-03-19T07:28:00.000-05:00

-Ran 20 miles on the trails yesterday.
-It was good.

I'm Done Complaining

2011-03-15T06:57:00.001-05:00

This is pretty much what the entire 10-mile
loop looked like yesterday.

Had a fantastic trail run yesterday. I really couldn't afford to take the time to run, given my growing list of things I'm behind on, but I know that I will hit my breaking point soon if I don't take care of myself. And so, I skipped class and went out to WyCo.

It was raining lightly for part of the run. Given that it had also snowed earlier in the morning and we've received a decent amount of rain in the last week, the trails were incredibly muddy. By far the most mud I've ever run through. It. Was. Awesome.

At first, I found myself side-stepping the mud as much as I could. After a couple of miles, I said to myself, "screw it" and just ran the trail. It was one of those moments where the further I ran the more I was enjoying myself. I ended up running about 14 miles, and wished that I had more time to keep going.

Most of the uphills were not runnable, since they were covered in slippery mud, so I just walked them. I didn't care about my time, or my pace. I just wanted to enjoy myself. I wore a brand new pair of gore-tex running shoes that I got for my birthday - they were fantastic! My feet were so happy in them. I'll have to write a whole post / review about them sometime - amazing difference in the mud.

Two and a half hours, and I can turn shiny new shoes
into this: I call it "trail credibility"

Changing the topic a little, I realize that I've been complaining a lot about how overwhelmed I've been lately. Nothing has changed, I'm still horribly overwhelmed by life. But, I need to change my attitude. Truth is, when I look around, I see many people that I know who are going through incredibly difficult things: one friend is going through a divorce after 14 years of marriage, someone else has to deal with losing her dad, and the list goes on. I'm not faced with anything remotely near the magnitude of what others are dealing with. I don't have anything traumatic going on in my life. I didn't just lose my house and family to a tsunami. I don't live in fear of a nuclear reactor exploding in my city. I don't have to worry about getting caught in the middle of government/rebel fighting.

I'm complaining about school, when I should be grateful that I have the opportunity to better my life.
I'm complaining about work, when the unemployment rate in this country keeps rising.
I'm complaining about too much going on in my life, when I still have the luxury to sit down and blog.

So, I'm going to stop blogging about how overwhelmed I'm feeling.
I'll count that as step one on this journey back to sanity.

This Crazy Life

2011-03-13T08:29:00.000-05:00

I headed out to the trails for a quick run Friday morning before work. Somehow, I miscalculated how much time I'd have by about half an hour, so I needed to cut a few parts off of my usual 10-mile loop in order to make sure that I could eat & shower before work.

The trail crosses through an open field, which happens to be an unfenced off-leash dog area. I've only ever seen one person there with a dog, so I was caught a little off-guard when I popped out of the trees into the clearing, and saw three dogs running towards me. I'm not normally scared of any dogs, but one of them was foaming at the mouth while barking at me, and it made me a little uneasy. I slowed down, stared at them, and after about 50 yards of circling me, they ran back up the hill. 20 seconds later, they turn around and come at me again. This time I stopped, turned around, and stared them down. They backed off. Their owner? Sitting in her minivan until now, she finally got out and called them. Thanks lady - your dogs chase me for a quarter mile, and you don't do anything until I give the impression that I'm about ready to kill one of them. Nice.

I had made a video while running yesterday, but I doubt I'll post it. I really would like to get the hang of recording on the go, since I want to take the camera with me on the 100-miler and document my gradual slide into insanity. Maybe next time I won't ramble on forever, and I'll feel more inclined to post it.

In unrelated news, life is still crazy. School, work, career fairs, apply for internships, blah blah blah. Added on top of that has been an extended-family emergency, and I'm back to feeling incredibly overwhelmed. I also haven't been sleeping well lately, which obviously doesn't help. I have a medical condition that prohibits me from taking most sleeping drugs, but I've found that Dramamine will usually help me sleep better. So, last night I decided to drug myself, in hopes of a better night of rest. The warning label says that alcohol may increase drowsiness. With how I've been feeling, I took that as more of an invitation than a warning.

That half-drank bottle of single-malt scotch was getting so lonely sitting in the cupboard anyway.

Catching Up

2011-03-10T15:23:00.001-06:00

Ok, so those of you who are friends with me on Facebook might have seen my status earlier this week about nearing my breaking point. Between feeling incredibly behind at school, and a lack of sleep, I was ready to curl up under a rock. Instead, I skipped a whole bunch of classes, took a long nap, and drank some cognac. And it seemed to do the trick. I'm still incredibly behind at school, but at least I'm not feeling as overwhelmed anymore.

I've still been reading a slew of running blogs, but have been even worse than normal at commenting. Truth is, I've been reading them at 4am, and I don't think my brain is capable of forming a coherent sentence at that time of the day, so I just read and then move on. I know that I like getting comments though, so I'll do my best and try to start reciprocating a little more.

I'm also finally back running. Not very much, but that's intentional. I want to ramp up my mileage properly this time, so I've been running a little and cross-training a lot. I've been hitting the pool a couple times a week, and I finally busted out my bike to do some commuting. With a mere six months until the 100-miler though, I can't afford to ease back into running too slowly though.

For now though, since I have no running photos to share, you're stuck with pictures of (two of our three) dogs.

Green Bean deciding that my lap is the best place to sit down.

Monkey got jealous of the attention Green Bean was getting, and decided to tackle me with her love.

One Thing Wednesday

2011-03-09T06:17:00.000-06:00

It makes me crazy when I hear people say, "you're one in a million." Really? Is that supposed to be a compliment? There are almost 7 billion people on earth right now. It doesn't take a math genius to figure out that by telling me that I am one in a million, you're telling me that there are 7,000 people alive today who are just like me (310 of which live in the US). Yeah, not so special anymore.

Nine Years Ago

2011-03-03T08:35:00.001-06:00

Nine years ago, I married the love of my life. We were both very young, but we were in love. Natasha had the wonderful idea of taking a photo every year on our anniversary, and writing a little something about what we did the past year. Our album is slowly growing, but there are still plenty of empty pages yet to be filled.

Our wedding, 2002

1st Anniversary (East Texas) - three days after returning from a two-month trip to Nicaragua.

2nd Anniversary (Fort Collins, CO) - Settled into our apartment and a more routine life.

3rd Anniversary (Loveland, CO) - Bought our first house,
and filled it with two rescued dogs.

4th Anniversary (Weston, MO) - Moved back to Missouri to be closer to my wife's family.

5th Anniversary (Kansas City, MO) - Bought our second house.

6th Anniversary (Kansas City, MO) - The first time that we had two anniversaries in the same house!

7th Anniversary (Kansas City, MO) - Our last anniversary photo with Abe, our giant, lovable,
fiercely loyal companion. We had no idea that a month later, he would be gone. However, if this
photo would have been taken later in the day, Monkey would have been included.
I found her running loose that night.

8th Anniversary (Kansas City, MO) - Monkey's official inclusion into the Anniversary book.

Tonight, we will once again set up the tripod in the living room, and snap another family photo (ok, so it usually takes us about 20 tries to get the dogs in the photo). Green Bean will make his first official appearance in the book. Then we'll sit down, and write a little bit about what we've done the past year. It's always funny for me to look back and see how much we've changed (and changed our minds!) over the years. But, we've always changed together, and that's the most important thing. I'm looking forward to many, many more anniversary photos with the most wonderful, supportive, intelligent, beautiful woman in the world.

One Thing Wednesday

2011-03-02T18:46:00.011-06:00

Several months ago, my wife and I stumbled upon a blog that had a particular recipe that the author said "changed [their] life." We laughed. What kind of simple recipe could actually change my life? Then I tried it. Today, I've had three of them. Yesterday, three of them. The day before that, at least two. You get the picture. I've been making them regularly ever since I tried it. I wish I could remember what blog I found it, so I could go back and thank them. Anyways, all that to say, the following recipe has changed my life. Be prepared, it will change yours too.

1 frozen banana

1 normal banana (aka not frozen)

a splash of vanilla

a little bit of almond milk (although you could use rice milk, soy milk, or [gasp] cow's milk)

Put it all in a blender (I use a magic bullet), and blend. The key is to use just enough milk so that it will actually blend, without making it runny. If you make it to runny, it's not nearly as good. You want to eat it with a spoon, and not be able to tip the glass to chug it.

Life changing. Seriously.

Overwhelmed

2011-02-28T09:54:00.002-06:00

Overwhelmed. That's how I've been feeling lately, especially the last week.

I'm not really sure why I thought it would be a good idea to take 18 credit hours of upper-level science classes at the same time. I'm falling more and more behind with every passing week, and I've got a couple of midterms this week and next that I need to do some major studying for. Ugh.

But, I've had a little bit more time to work on school since I haven't run at all in the past 7 days. I runmuted to school last Monday, and had some ankle pain. It's an old work-related injury, and the orthopedic told me that "it will probably hurt for the rest of [my] life" and to "just run through the pain." Ok, so I ran through the pain. Wednesday, I hit the pool, but it was too painful to kick. So I ended up putting one of those foam floaty things between my legs and swimming with just my arms. Later that evening, Natasha and I went to a rock climbing wall, and when we got home I looked down and saw this:

yes, I have pasty white feet and tan lines from last summer still.

A nicely swollen ankle. Suck. So, I've been icing it regularly, and decided the best thing to do is to let it heal back up. It pisses me off though. This injury has flared up before, but the pain has never lasted this long. It's even more frustrating for me because it's a work injury and not a running injury (ie. not my fault). C'est la vie.

So, I'll wait until the pain is gone, and then start out again. I'll be smarter when I start again though, and probably not doing the runmute thing right away again.

That's all for now. I need to go bury my head in an "Environmental Geology" textbook, and resist the temptation to grab the bottle of cognac to drown my sorrows.

One Thing Wednesday

2011-02-23T09:33:00.000-06:00

I'm having a clothing crisis this morning. Hmm, I feel like less of a man just for saying that. Anyways, there is a career fair at school today, and I wanted to go talk to one particular company about their summer internship opportunities. The university encourages "professional dress" for this event. It's a rare day that I dress up for anything, since I work a blue-collar job that provides uniforms. And so I start digging through my closet, hoping to find something that will work. Dress shirts? Nope, all too big. Dress pants? Nope, got rid of all of those when my waist size dropped. Something I can wear under my Blazer jacket? Doesn't matter, since the jacket is too big. Oh wait, I know! I have a really nice black suit in the other closet. So what if the suit is from when I was in high school - it was custom-tailored to me at the time (my mom was doing the accounting for a high-end men's clothing store at the time), and I can't be that different of a size now. Sure, the nice black suit might be a little overkill for a career fair, but I'd rather be over-dressed than under-dressed. I dig it out, and try it on. Too big. Evidently I'm smaller now than I was in high school, 13 years ago. Normally I would think that's a good thing. When I'm left with nothing to wear to the event that I feel confident wearing, it's not such a good thing though. Looks like it will be corduroy's and a polo shirt. C'est la vie.

Runmuting

2011-02-22T12:09:00.002-06:00

Thanks for all the comments on last weeks' commuting adventure. I left the car behind again yesterday, and "runmuted" to school. I'm paying for it today, but it went significantly better than last week. My brain is fried from a lack of sleep and an overwhelming amount of schoolwork, so I'll give you my thoughts in bullet points:

Stretching and icing my legs in the shower seemed to make a big difference. I wasn't nearly as sore when I started back home (it was a different story by the time I made it home though).
I left home a little late, and so I ended up pushing myself a little bit too much to get to school on time. Still walked into class a couple minutes late. Usually not a big deal, but there's only 9 of us in this class, so it's pretty obvious.
Previously, I've always just stopped for a red light. Yesterday I tried to pay more attention to the lights as I was approaching them, and if I knew I was going to have to wait, I started walking (instead of running to the red light and then just standing there). Didn't really cost me much time, but probably helped the legs.
I still ended up walking a decent amount on the way home, but much less than last week.
Carrying a backpack while running sucks. Manageable, but it still sucks.
I've been eating one gel midway through the trip (each way), and eating a decent amount of real food during class. I think I might need to eat more though.
I had to pee three times before I had even reached six miles from home. It's not a big deal for me to find places to go (under bridges & behind retaining walls worked well), but still, THREE TIMES, that's a little excessive. Not sure what my problem was - I hadn't really drank anything that morning.
I'm really sore today. I keep trying to tell myself that "it's a good sore." I'm not entirely convinced yet.
Running on the road isn't nearly as much fun as the trails. Especially when I have to be on hyper-alert to make sure I don't get hit by distracted drivers.
Speaking of which, if I had a dollar for every driver I saw looking down at their cell phone while driving yesterday, I don't think I'd have to work until June.
I don't think my legs are ready to runmute twice a week yet. I want to get one trip down solid before I jump into doubles. But, I will probably break out the bike soon and use that instead. I got some panniers for Christmas, so I can ride without a backpack.

Try It Again Tomorrow?

2011-02-20T09:03:00.004-06:00

I'm debating whether or not to try the whole running to school thing again tomorrow. I don't want to hurt like last week, and I definitely don't want to get in the habit of eating McDonald's partway home in order to survive. I'm almost certain that I could have completed the total mileage in substantially less pain if I didn't sit down for a geology class in the middle of the run, since I felt great when I stopped running before class, and horrible the second that I started running again after class. Education. Always gets in the way of a good run.

Anyways, I have a new game plan this time around, in hopes of avoiding the suffer-fest:

I will actually stretch when I get to school. Not just a 30 second token stretch, but really stretch.
After stretching, I will head straight to the showers and proceed to run the coldest water possible over my legs - a pseudo ice bath. I'm sure this will help with the soreness, but I'm a little worried that I might:

Speaking of showering at the University gym, it never ceases to amaze me that people walk around that place in their bare feet. I'm not sure what grows on the feet of testosterone-pumped frat boys, but I am certain that I don't want anything to do with it. I'll gladly carry a pair of flip-flops with me to avoid that funk, although I can't figure out why I'm in the minority for doing so. Nasty.

Whose Stupid Idea Was That?

2011-02-17T05:56:00.001-06:00

I have no idea why I thought it would be a good idea, but yesterday I commuted to school and back by foot (~25 miles round trip). Last semester, I started running to school and then catching a ride home with my wife since I couldn't make it home before dark (and I have to run directly on the roads for a decent part of the trip). So, after logging a measly 88 miles so far in 2011, including absolutely no runs in the past two weeks, I headed out the door.

The run to school went well. I tried to take it a little slower than in the past, since I knew I was going to be running round-trip this time. After two hours I make it to class, and sit through a little over an hour of "Geology & Hazardous Waste" before getting ready to head back home.

Two strides into the return trip, I knew I was going to struggle. My legs were incredibly heavy and didn't want to move. I guess an hour wasn't long enough to recover, but it was the perfect amount of time for every muscle in my body to seize up. I struggled to start off with a 10-minute/mile pace (which is slow for me). It didn't take me long to realize that I'd have to incorporate a decent amount of walking if I wanted to make it home without injury. I thought my legs would eventually loosen back up, but they didn't. It was a rather painful trip home.

And so I walked. At first, I was running 3/4 of a mile and then walking 1/4 mile. Slowly, the walking increased and the running decreased. I knew I could have pushed myself more, but right now my main priority is staying injury free. Besides, I keep reading that a large part of ultra training is simply time on your feet. So, I was just getting in a little "extra training time." Yeah, let's go with that.

Yes, at this point I did feel about as horrible as I look.

Anyways, since the trip home was taking longer than anticipated, I ran out of water and was getting incredibly hungry. There weren't a lot of options for places to stop, so when I saw a McDonald's, I jumped at the opportunity (I normally avoid the place like the plague). Not a lot of vegan options on their menu besides french fries (I happily claim ignorance as to what gets cooked in the same oil, and just assume that the grease was used only for potatoes and hash browns).

I spent most of the last three miles walking. With less than a half-mile to go, I heard a car honking at me. I turned and saw this really hot girl waving at me. She pulled over in a parking lot ahead of me, and I did my best to run (which was more like a shuffle at this point) to get to her - hard to say no to my wife's offer for a ride home when I'm in that much pain.

Monkey wanted some attention - big surprise.

With all my walking and waiting for traffic lights, I still managed to average a little over an 11 min/mile pace round trip - slower than I'd like but I can't complain too much. The commute fits perfectly into my schedule two days a week, and so I'd like to get to the point where I can do that comfortably. It's a relatively easy way for me to schedule in 50 miles/week. Training for the 100-miler is going to require a substantial increase in my weekly mileage, and so I'll need to take advantage of every opportunity I can get.

There's also a financial motive to commuting by foot. My wife and I share two vehicles - one gets about 35mpg, the other gets about 14. So if I run we can leave the gas guzzler in the driveway, which at current gas prices saves us about $5/day ($40/month if I run twice a week).

Sitting on the doorstep when I got home was a brand-new pair of compression socks. I used some birthday cash, and found a great deal on them at Amazon.com. One of our dogs, Green Bean, decided to eat my previous pair the day after my October marathon. I had forgotten how much I love compression socks for recovery. Perfect timing for them to arrive, given how incredibly sore my legs were (and still are).

Edited to add:
So, I think I might have vomited in my mouth a little. McDonald's fries aren't vegan. They aren't even vegetarian for that matter. Seriously, is it necessary to add "natural beef flavor" to french fries? What ever happened to potatoes, salt, & oil?