I'm finally getting the itch to blog a bit. I've met a lot of cool people this year at the races I've been running and have ran into their blogs and have been inspired by some of the things they write. We're an interesting crew (distance runners) and there's an interesting common bond there that nobody else understands. You just gotta do it to understand. . . kinda like whenever 2 motorcycles pass each other on the road. . . they always wave to each other like they're a part of the family.
I've got a confession to make: I love to run. I've been borderline obsessed with it for many years. My wife and I's first fight was on Christmas morning and I needed to get an 8 mile run in before we met at her parents house to open presents. I wanted to be the best. I wanted to make an Olympic team. I wanted running to be my job. . . . newsflash. . . I live in America. . .the land of football and stadium sports. . . these same sports use running as a punishment. America doesn't understand running. Probably never will. It's taken me a good 5 years to get over the fact that I will not make an Olympic team. . .and that's ok!!!
This year has been a great one! It's been a year where I've discovered why I run. I LOVE to run trails. . . I love to run up mountains, through mud, climb rocks and get as dirty as possible. Ultramarathons have been my new found passion. The country that I get to see out on the trails is unlike anything you can ever experience on the road. You get to see God's country the way it was meant to be seen. The only way to get to those places are with what God gave you. . .legs and lungs baby! This year I've finally made peace with my "Olympic Demon" and I'm in a great place to enjoy my life. . .one run at a time. If I don't feel like running one day or can't fit it in. . . I don't freak out about it as much. Life is good. . . I want to keep it that way.
With that being said, my family is the main driving force of my life. I have a wonderful wife of 11 years and 4 wonderful daughters that keep life interesting, albeit noisy. My running has to conform with family life and a couple of them are getting interested in running. I've pushed all of my kids 10-12 miles before in strollers and every single one of them loved to be out and enjoyed the experience of it. Most of em fell asleep after a couple miles :)
This year has been a pretty busy racing year for me and I haven't taken the time to really sit down and describe some of the fun times.
Started out 2010 coming off a torn ligament in my right ankle due to a cross training accident (pickup basketball) so it took me quite some time to come back from that. Spent Jan-Feb on a bike/elliptical with some running to keep my fitness up. I was hoping to run Hagg Lake 50k in February but my foot wasn't ready.
Since that wasn't an option, I picked the next stupid race. . . MacDonald Forest 50k in Corvallis. 31 miles with 7000 ft elevation gain. Brutal!
3 weeks before Mac Forest I was doing some hill repeats and my right calf just locked up. I didn't think too much of it and continued to run a bit. . .it loosened up and on my way. The next day I couldn't even walk. . .let alone run on it. So with the race looming I cross trained some more on the bike and got some treatment. It finally loosened up and I got in one good test run of 19 miles a week before the race. My fitness wasn't there but I told myself to just go slow and I'd be fine. Stupid. . .
The race started at Peavy Arboretum in Corvallis. Some very well groomed trails through some great scenery. I told myself to relax, not go out with the leaders and enjoy the race. Well I did go out with the leaders for the first mile and after we clocked a 6:30 first mile I checked off and started running my own race.
The climbs were pretty brutal for me. I hadn't been able to hit many hills and what is usually a strength for me became a big obstacle.
After about 10 miles the race entered "The Maze" which is just as it sounds, lots of steep climbs hairpin turns, mud. . .fun! I had a lot of that going through here but I ran all of the hills and I was still feeling good.
After the 2nd aid station at 12ish I realized I had pushed way too hard and a couple miles later confronted something that I've never done in a race before. . . walking. In fact I walked a lot. I put myself in the tank so bad that by the time I got to the top of Dimpl Hill (high point). . . I was TOAST!!! That was mile 18. . .only 13 more to go :( . The next 3 miles were downhill so I thought that would be great. . . . . .you know you're in trouble when you're hitting 9 min miles going downhill.
Another first started forming in my head. . .I considered quitting a race. I was hurting so bad and from 22-26 all I could do was look up, pick a tree, jog slowly to that tree, walk for another 100 meters, look up and pick another tree to run to. . . and so on. This was the most mentally difficult race I've ever been in. I physically just could not go. . .the mind was willing but I could not get my legs to turn over any faster.
Finally at mile 25 the single track dumped out onto a gravel logging road and I was finally able to get into a bit of a rhythm. I hit the last aid station at 26 feeling like I might just finish this thing. The next 4 miles continue on this road and I was able to pick off 4 guys that had passed me. . . started enjoying myself more until 29 and both my quads cramped up. . . walking again. The last mile of the race dumps back onto single track and barrels downhill back at Peavy. My legs were shot and every step was a painful one but I finished! Final time was around 4:45. . .good enough for 11th place.
Here's my link from my Garmin:
Learned a valuable lesson at this ultra. . .one I've had drilled into my head since college: "Plan your race, race your plan!!" I didn't do that and paid the price.
I recovered ok so next up was the Ridgeline Ramble 12 miler right here in Eugene! I've ran this race every year since it began but have never won it. I was 3rd, 2nd, 2nd but I came in pretty fit and ready to roll.
I ran in 3rd place most of the day (so I thought) put the guys in front of me were on relay teams and I ended up winning finally in a course record 1:21.
Here's my Garmin link for that one:
After that race I did the 188 mile Ragnar Relay from Logan to Park City with the Weber State Team. We had a good time and I enjoyed being back with my teammates. Most memorable leg is the "Ragnar" leg which climbs 1600 ft in 4 miles on dirt road at 8000 ft elevation. Good times :) Here's my Garmin link for that leg: whew!
After that I was really gunning for the Mckenzie River 50k in September. I tried to get into the SOB 50k in July but the race registration closed really early this year and I tried to get the race directors to let me in even taking a friend's place who couldn't run. . .to no avail.
In late July I did the 216 mile Cascade Lakes Relay with a group of people
from the Creswell Runner's Club (with some Portlanders as well) and we had a blast as well. So far it's my favorite relay I've done. The scenery was amazing and the race was small enough that you could enjoy with fighting traffic jams all day long.
We did have some mishaps with one of our vehicles breaking down and some added stress there but everything turned out pretty well!
A week after CLR I had seen a trail marathon up in Bend that caught my attention. . . the Haulin' Aspen! I liked the name, it was pretty close to home, great course so I decided to do it after coming off of running 23 miles at CLR and feeling pretty fresh.
Erik Peterson was also running Aspen so I was able to crash with him and another friend at an acquaintances house pretty close to the start line. I tried to sleep out on the patio because it was such a clear, starry night but ended up freezing my butt off halfway through the night and came in. . .only to be woke up every hour by one of those stupid coo-coo clocks that goes off every hour :(
When the gun went off it was me and another local guy that was running his first ever marathon. We chatted for the first 5 miles then we started hitting the 3500 gradual climb til mile 13. I settled into a slightly slower pace and let him go. . . all the while thinking I'd see him again in the later miles. Well. . . I never did. . . I ended up not taking in enough calories and bonking severely at mile 22 and struggled into the finish in 3:03 far slower than I was hoping for. It was a beautiful day in Bend and I spent the rest of the morning enjoying the sun and waiting for the awards ceremony to start.
Garmin link:
After that race my hip started bothering me a bit. . .comes from an old road bike accident. . . I can usually run through it just fine but with each week it kept getting worse.
Mckenzie River 50k finally arrives and I'm feeling a bit sluggish. . .excited but not very confident. My hip has been giving me more problems and the constant twists and turns of the trail with probably wreak havoc.
I'm favored to have a pit crew this year. . .2 of my home boys from Creswell HS XC team that I help coach are riding up with me to had me my water bottles and hopefully save me 2-3 minutes not having to stop at aid stations.
Get checked in and get to the starting line and I take a look around. . .no Todd Braje in sight. I was hoping to get another crack at him after leading for 28 miles last year only to cramp up and see him blow by me. I know Dan Olmstead is in the race. . .I don't know him very well and have raced him one other time in my life (he beat me then too).
Gun goes off. . . course is a bit different this year due to some construction but I take the early lead going up the single track by Sahalie Falls. I lead for just a couple miles before I take a wrong turn and we mix up the order a bit. Steve Richards takes the lead, then Dan, then me and we meander up to Clear Lake.
I'm still feeling a bit sluggish so I check off for a bit and allow a pretty good little gap to open up. My legs still don't feel like they've loosened up even though I did a pretty good pre race warmup. I still keep the 2 in sight but take some time to relax and take in fluids.
This year I've finally learned from past mistakes as far as calories and hydration. I start taking in energy gel and fluid from the get-go and I drain a bottle between every aid station, I switched to S! caps for sodium and Liquid Gold for my gel.
I eventually catch back up to Steve/Dan and we run together through mile 10. I'm finally feeling like things have loosened up, my hip feels fine so I settle in to a good pace. We drop Steve about then and Dan and I settle in. At the 3rd aid station I pull in and my pit crew is nowhere to be seen. I look around confused for a bit before I realize I still have half a bottle and I have my big container of Liquid Gold so I decide to push on. Here's where the trail gets pretty technical and slow. . . the kind of trail that I love. I really enjoyed flying through this section and gapped Dan just a bit. I could still hear him so I know he wasn't broke.
We kinda stay that way til 22 aid station and we end up running the next 5 miles together and we end up chatting about things. He tells me of his near death experience at Western States 100 and about Where's Waldo 100k. . . helps the miles roll by. Both of us were feeling pretty good. My hip is starting to bother me and I'm having problems with my turnover.
I decide to pick up the pace to where we're running 6:45-50 pace and that felt pretty good. Just before the last aid station I catch a root and go down. Dan had been content to let me lead and I could see the confusion on his face on what he should do. I laugh it off. . . I went down in a
perfect place, no rocks, roots, poison oak. . .nada. . . I'm down for 3 seconds before I'm up and off again. Dan has about a 10 meter lead which I know I can close down quick. The last aid station arrives and I switch out my bottle and hit the gas. . . problem is Dan hit the NOS button instead of the gas. . .HOLY SMOKES. . .he's gone. I run a 6:30 mile and he's nowhere in sight. I still push hard but never get a glimpse of him til the finish.
Finished in 3:37 good enough for the 4th fastest time in course history. Felt good about my day but my hips are screaming at me and I have a hard time walking the rest of the weekend :(
Garmin:
At CLR in July I ran into Max King and the told me of the Flagline 50k which was supposed to be the USATF 50k championships. Only problem is that it was on September 25th. . .2 weeks after MRTR. I didn't know if I was going to be up to running it or not.
The following week I was back to running by Monday, had Matt Lonergan do some massage therapy on my legs to get em running again and I decided to go for it!
Crashed at Max's house that night and along with Derek Shultz from back east we were off to Mt. Bachelor which served as the start/finish for the course.
With this being as US championships a lot of the local big guns (and a few from afar) came out to play. Me being pretty new to the ultra community I knew Max and knew of Erik Skaggs but that was about it.
Gun goes off and immediately there's a couple of guys out front and a pack of 4-5 as the chase
pack. Eventually a leader takes off and Erik Skaggs goes after him leaving 4 of us to run together for a while. I had to stop for a nature break about 5 miles in so I had to play catch up just a bit. The 4 of us (Hal Koerner, Yassine Diboun, Max King and myself) chit-chat back and forth with Hal doing most of the story telling. We all knew this was going to be the easy part of the day but we also knew there were some climbs looming. At about 9-10 miles we start climbing. I'm feeling pretty good in the rhythm that I'm in so I pass Yassine and Max goes with me. We get about 15 miles in and something just hits me. . . it's unlike anything I've experienced in a race before. It was sudden. . . I went from feeling pretty dang good to being light headed, dizzy and tanked. I waved Max on. . .stopped to walk for a bit and see if I could clear the cobwebs and slog on. Yassine and Hal catch up soon after and I'm left to struggle on by myself. A couple aid stations go by. Had to stop at one a little longer to get some band-aids for my chafed nipples (I usually don't make that rookie mistake) and then I'm on a 3 mile decent on a Jeep trail trying to get on top of fluids. I know as soon as I get to the bottom there's a 3 mile 1000 ft climb back up!
The climb starts and miraculously I'm able to run the whole thing. . .very slow in a few parts but I at least ran it. I'm not feeling any better and hoping I can at least hang on for a top 10 finish. I finally get to the 24 mile aid station and I stop for a bit longer than normal to take in some S! caps and refuel. Right after then I see Hal. . . I'm thinkin Hal??? He came back in a hurry!
Then something weird happens. . . the cobwebs clear, my stride opens up and I start moving! I start picking off guys. Next mile is 6:45 and I feel even better. We hit a little water station and I fill up quick. That water felt really good going down. Next mile with some uphill: 7:07. I look up and see 5th place a good 200 meters ahead of me but I can feel him coming back to me quick. I catch him shortly after the last aid station. . .that mile is 6:24 and I'm picking up speed. From my watch I know we only have 2 miles left and I'm thinking I might be able to catch a few more to put me in the top 3. . . I haven't seen a course marking in a while but the trail is well established and I have no problems following it. . .then BAM, I hit the highway and there's no markings, flags, nothing. . .finally I look across the road and see another trail and head for it. Just as I get on it I see Erik Skaggs running back at me saying we've been directed off course. We all commiserate about what to do as people catch up to us so we all slog together to the finish line.
Here's where the good part comes in. Max King was the only guy not in our group so we figured he must have known the right way and went on to finish. Max helped design the course so he knew it well. Skaggs and King have had many races together and Skaggs has never beaten Max. Skaggs was 90 seconds up on Max at the last aid station and was feeling strong. He was pretty discouraged to say the least.
We all decide to finish i
n the order we wer
e in when we were directed off course (except Max) so to our surprise when we get to the finish line we see Max there standing BEFORE the finish chute waiting for us to finish. He knew he wasn't the best man that day so he stopped and waited for all the other lost folks to catch up and we all finished in the right order. Ultra runners code! What other sport with a cash prize on the line would have competitors do that? I can't think of any. Bravo dudes!
Couldn't have asked for better weather and a better bunch of guys to enjoy the crazy sport we love.
And as for Americans not understanding our sport. . . heck I like it that way now! If everyone was addicted to trail running like me then I'd have to share more. . . . .
Thanks everyone for an awesome year (so far). I've really enjoyed the experiences I've had and hope to build on these for a better 2011!
I spent the rest of the afternoon roasting by the finish line cheering everyone on. Spend some time icing my legs in the river and enjoying meeting some new members of the ultra family and chatting a bit with ultra legend Craig Thornley (he's finished Western States 100 miler like 80 times) and just plain enjoyed the day. After Jessie came in we drove down and got some lunch and watched Aaron consume half a box of ice cream sandwiches. We all hobbled around like old men (some more than others), admired my butchered toes and reveled in the feat that we'd all accomplished. . . again.
