Jeremy's Running Down a Dream. . .

Mckenzie River 50k

2011-09-13T22:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a rough year for running. . . I should just leave it at that. I've been lucky enough to run my entire life injury free. I've had some sore/knotted calves and some plantar facia problems but I've always been able to run. It's been a year and I'm still struggling with pelvis/hip/back problems. These have limited me to running maybe 20-25 miles a week for most of this year. Not anything you can run ultras off of.

I'd registered for Mckenzie River 50k back in April and I was gonna do this race. By the time July rolled around and all the health care professionals that I've worked with basically said that they don't really know exactly what's causing my problems (just quit running), I'd had it. I needed to run. I got 5 weeks of decent miles in and 3 long runs with a 20 miler being my longest. I knew I wasn't quite prepared but I was gonna do it!!

Three days before the race I'm not really sure the race is gonna happen due to a fire in the Mt. Washington area. The top 10 miles of the course gets closed and it ends up being an out/back course which means double the climbing. . . yet another thing I hadn't trained much on. I got one good run at Mac Forest and another at Ridgeline but most of my miles were pancake flat. Let the good times roll!

September 10th rolls around and I meet Aaron Porter, Jessie Applegate and a bunch of other folks I'd never met before at 5am and we take off for the start. The smoke doesn't get too thick until 5 miles to the start. You can smell it. . . this is gonna be fun :)

My warmup goes fine and my legs feel pretty good. I know Nick Triolo is in the event but looks like Mario Mendoza is a no show. Craig Thornley says there's a guy named Joe that could contend.

Gun goes off and I'm in no hurry to push the pace. I picked it up just a bit to get in front before we hit the single track going up the falls. This year there was just a quick loop up around the falls due to the fire then loops back to Carmen. A loop of only about 3 miles. I lead those miles taking it pretty easy. Joe is right on my tail and Nick behind him. I stopped at the first aid station just to top off my bottle. I knew it was gonna be a hot day so I wanted to keep on top of my fluids. I let Joe and Nick go by and I settle in right behind them.

A mile goes by and I know they're going faster then what I want to this early. I'm being very cautious as I know my fitness isn't there and I don't know if my hip is gonna even hold up. As I'm going through the "shredder" for the next 5 miles my hip is hurting and I'm thinking that I'm not gonna make it. I drained my bottle a lot quicker than I thought and I'm empty a mile or so before the 2nd aid station.

Trail Bridge aid station finally rolls into view and Taber Shears is there which it's nice to have a familiar face. I chat briefly as he fills my bottle for me, grab some Gu and get back at it. They tell me I'm already 2 minutes down. I'm not concerned and I'm thinking maybe they'll come back to me. I don't know who this Joe guy is and he was running with a huge Camelbak which is unusual. I knew Nick had ran Waldo 100k 3 weeks before that so I was thinking he might be trashed. There's a lot of race left!

The next 5 miles go by pretty uneventful I'm actually feeling pretty good rolling off 7:30 miles or so. I hit Deer Creek and Lonn is there to fill my bottle up and cheer me up. I've lost another couple minutes on the leaders but I'm happy to be out. I grab some fruit and chat a bit more before getting back on the trail.

By now I'm in the groove. I'm hitting miles closer to 7 min and even had a 6:42 mile once we hit the road right before Buck Bridge. I passed a spectator saying the leaders only had 2 minutes on me. I'm actually feeling like I'm gonna catch em! Well that lasted 5 minutes. . . once I got to Buck Bridge they said the leaders had 8 minutes and I knew it was probably a lost cause.

I settle into a pace and still feeling pretty good. . .until mile 20. I could feel it coming on. I hit Deer Creek again and I'm almost begging Lonn to finish for me. I struggle on the next 5 miles and I end up having to walk the climbs. My head is swimming in fog and I know I'm toast. I take my time and keep pushing fluids and Gu but by the time I get to Trail Bridge I'm barely able to push myself on. Taber tells me the leaders have 15 minutes on me. I'm just telling myself it's going to be hard to finish let alone hold onto 3rd place but I struggle on.

The last 5 miles swim by in a haze of 10 minute miles and a weird sensation like the ends of my toes are expanding like water balloons. Was pretty freaky there for a bit. It's getting really hot and there's no wind. I was really wishing the river was close but this is the section it's underground. I have no idea how nobody has caught me yet. Finally the finish comes into view. I hold onto 3rd in 4:10 or 33 minutes slower than last year. Joe ends up winning my a ways and Nick comes in second.

As I resist the urge to run headlong into Carmen Reservoir (the water is like 45 degrees) it hits me that I'm done. I reach for the Mt. Dew and luckily they have 10 glasses poured and nobody else to consume it. . . I oblige :)

This was one of the more mentally taxing races that I've ran. . . the only one tougher was Mac Forest 50k last year. I knew I was going to finish this race but I didn't think I could get through Mac.

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.

Thanks everyone for a great day!

Here's my Garmin link for fun:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/113686501

Final results at www.mrtr.org

2010 Summer of RUN!

2010-11-05T21:10:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

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:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/32630666

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:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/34963434

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!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/37637576

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:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/43826091

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:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/48582619

full results www.mrtr.org

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!

Garmin Link : http://connect.garmin.com/activity/50716774

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!

New Bike Setup

2009-03-21T21:16:00.000-07:00

I had to throw in a vintage Steeple pic from the 1996 World Jr. Championships in Sydney Australia. This is during the trials of the Steeple. I didn't make finals, but PR'd by 12 seconds

Here's my new bike setup. I just got a set of Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL wheels to help cut down my TT and duathlon times. They are great for Crits too. Should be fun!

The wheels have a 52" deep rim that helps with being more aerodynamic. I've only had them out for a quick 10 mile sprint and averaged probably 24-25 mph without too much effort. Sweet! The rest of my setup is a 2007 Specialized Tarmac Pro. Pretty sweet ride also!

The NW is on ice!

2008-12-22T16:31:00.001-08:00

First of all. . . .Merry Christmas! This tree is made completely of Mt. Dew cans! I thought it was pretty sweet. No I didn't make it.

Brady's Dad Doug was up over the Thanksgiving holiday and we decided to get out and do a quick ride. I haven't been on a bike in like 3 months, but I've been running, playing b-ball and football off and on, so I didn't suffer too much. This is at the top of Gimpl Hill which is a good mile climb or so. I realized I don't have my climbing legs anymore. I gotta start training a bit more, but it's tough with the weather being like it is. It's been snowing off and on all week!

Here's Brady and I at the start of our ride. I shed my jacket about 5 min into the ride.

Brady was brave enough to pull out his camera and snap a pic. He broke his camera doing this last year. I guess he didn't learn his lesson. I couldn't quite get my "bunny ears" over his helmet, but I look pretty cool anyway!

Above all I've learned that NW people don't know how to do anything in the snow/ice. The whole world has shut down due to the weather. Brady and I were talking and neither of us could remember school ever being cancelled due to snow when we were growing up.

Update

2008-09-28T19:32:00.000-07:00

I decided to try growing some facial hair for once in my life. This is 3 weeks of growth! Pretty pathetic I know.

Here's one of my training partners. She gets me up in the mornings and we're trying to get a few miles in before work.

Here's my other 2 partners. They make for an arm workout while I'm running

What's a recreational runner???

2008-09-05T15:05:00.001-07:00

I've heard this term many times in my life, but didn't think I'd get there so early in life. I'm having a bit of a hard time with it. Instead of placing in the top 5-10 in each race, I'm struggling to out kick girls at the end of 5k events.

Could be that my training is non-existent?

Could be that I have 4 wonderful daughters that want me to jump on the tramp rather than run?

Could be that I work 40-50 hours a week?

Could be that my motivation is zilch?

Could be that I need Joe and Corbin to move to Eugene so we can have a "Rat Pack" pow wow??

Could be I just need a training partner?

Probably just a combination of all these things.

I was looking through some of my pictures and noticed a few changes:

Here's the 2005 Spokane Bloomsday 12k and where I had no fear to go out with a bunch of Kenyans.

Here's the "Rumble at the Ranch" which was a crazy 10k through rivers and blackberry bushes all while sliding down muddy slopes into mud bogs. That was my idea of fun. This was one of my favorite races. . .not to mention I won it!

This is one of my training partners now. This was after running 17 miles up on the Mckenzie River Trail and golfing 18 holes in 95 degree temperatures. Trying to push Emily on her bike was like the final 2 miles of a marathon. . .I drank probably 4 gallons of fluid that day and I was still dehydrated.

This day was almost 3 weeks ago and I haven't ran since. I need to be a bit more consistent, but it's been tough to be selfish and be away from the family so I can get a run in.

I have another PR on the scale though! 175 lbs. . . ouch!

Hammer Toe!!!!

2008-08-30T12:56:00.001-07:00

For all you lovely runners out there that have experienced "hammer toe," then here is one of my more painful ones. My big toe I guess just isn't supposed to have a nail on it because every time I get it grown out after losing it, I just beat the heck out of it again and this is what happens. This one was a bit tougher because the top part of the nail was still alive and I couldn't get a pin under the nail to pop the blister and relieve the pressure. So what's my solution???

Yep, you guessed it. . .I got out my drill and got a few "blow holes" to get some junk out. It was slow going, but I was able to get it done without completely drilling through my toe

Success!!!!!!

I know you're all really impressed and are going to run home and try this for yourselves! Sorry for all those that are completely grossed out now!!!!

2008 Summer Update

2008-08-10T17:10:00.001-07:00

These are some older pics, but I've been doing some of the same things.

Every summer I hike up into the Uintah Mountains of Utah with my dad and brother-in-law Nolan. Here's some of the beautiful country that God has placed in front of us that you can only see by hiking there.

This is just below Marsh Peak and I'm overlooking the whole mountain range that has valleys riddled with lakes and streams where fish are waiting to be caught. You can't ask for anything prettier!

This is a view from just above Fish Lake. The lakes off in the distance are the Dry Fork Twins where we actually set up base camp. I'm at about 12,000 ft altitude right now!

Here's one of the cutthroats that I caught while I was up there. You don't catch too many of these, but they're usually a bit bigger fish. This guy was about 12"

This is what I found at the summit of Marsh Peak (12,250 ft). I guess they were used as storage bins or shelters at one point. Now they just house dust and bugs

Here's one of my favorite pictures. I took this from my float tube as I was landing this 13" Brook Trout. Some of the most colorful fish that I've caught up there.

Trail run in Africa!!!!!

2008-04-18T22:28:00.000-07:00

I got the opportunity to go to Africa to train with some Kenyans. We went out for a 15 miler one morning and I took my camera. This is what we ran into on the way!
2 lowly lions
I asked my bud if I could wrestle one of them, but he said no.

Then we ran into one of these jack-a-lope thingies and he let me wrestle him, but it doesn't seem like I'm a good wrestler cuz I could flop him on the ground like Stone Cold does.

This is one of those rarely seen African Bears. He wasn't interested in wrestling with me when he saw me take that jack-a-lope down. I ran after him, but bears are pretty fast.

Here's a cool African birdamajigger. They're very friendly. They survive on a diet of wild boar and honey. He was too pretty to wrestle.

OK, OK, OK. . . . . . . . . .YOU GOT ME. This isn't Africa, it's just the drive thru wildlife safari down in Roseburg, Oregon. They wouldn't even let me roll down my window in the lion's den, let alone wrestle him!

My story was better though wouldn't you say??? It's like one of JD's daydreams off "Scrubs."

Actually on my 6 mile run today I got chased my a miniature datsun or something like that, but he was a mean one. . .all 5 pounds of him!

My first Duathlon!

2008-04-18T22:23:00.000-07:00

I competed in my first duathlon last Saturday up in portland. You can check the results at www.racecenter.com under results. I ended up 9th overall which wasn't too bad I guess. It was pretty brutal and I realize I'm still not in good shape. The race was a 5k run 30k bike and 5k run. Of course I was tops in both runs, but my biking sucked (33rd). I need to do some work on that. I haven't been cycling much this year. I can't seem to get motivated to get out in the rain.

Cycling Crazy!

2008-02-19T21:01:00.001-08:00

Hello Everyone! It's been a while since I've posted anything. I haven't really had a lot to report, but now that the new year is around, I'm excited to get back in the saddle.
This here is my new bike! It's a 2007 Specialized Tarmac Pro. It's a lot nicer (and newer) than my other bike. I still bought this one used, but I knew the previous owner and he took great care of it. It's made of carbon fiber and weighs about 16 lbs. It flies! I can't wait to race on it!

The company I work for so kindly sponsored me this year and I've been able to purchase some equipment that I needed in exchange for some marketing

www.prestigecare.com

Here's my other bike. A 2000 Trek 5500. It's been a great bike and I'll probably still ride it quite a bit.
Here's my new bike racing jerseys for this year:

Injinji is still sponsoring me: www.injinji.com
Smiths Sunglasses are still giving me some pro discounts which is nice: www.smithsport.com
And of course Prestige Care Inc. which is the corporation that employs me! They are a great company to work for and I'm happy to be competing for them also.

Creswell Care Center is the home that I'm in charge of. I've been the Administrator there for 2 1/2 years now. I'm really enjoying it. Creswell is located about 10 miles south of Eugene. We live in West Eugene and I commute to work on my bike frequently (40-50 miles round trip).

Here's the back of the jersey.

And here's a full shot. . .toe socks and all! I'm a bit heavier than what I was at while I was running in college, but some of that is the strength training in my upper body. I'm a bit stockier than I was back then.

More Kauai pics

2007-11-04T18:40:00.001-08:00

Here's one of the more interesting parts of the trail. It's just worn into the side of this cliff with a sheer drop on the other side into the ocean. The wind was blowing like 40 mph while we went over this so it was rather interesting. This is actually a pic of a couple that was hiking in front of us. I would have had to have a pretty long timer to run over to get in the picture. I probably would have hurried too fast anyway and fallen off only to become Na Pali cliff wallpaper. . .
Here's a close up of that section from the last pic. The trail is just wide enough to get one person across. Luckily we didn't run into anybody coming the other way!
We found a couple to take a picture of us. Does this backpack make me look fat?
We ran into some mud so naturally I jumped into it. I would have rolled around in it, but Kristy wouldn't let me.
Speaking of Kristy, here's my smokin' hot wife out on the beach as the sun goes down. The beach would have been perfect had the wind not been blowing 40 mph and the ocean actually safe enough to swim in.

Hawaii Vacation

2007-11-04T18:22:00.000-08:00

We recently spent 7 days on the island of Kauai and Kristy and I did an 22 mile hike on the Na Pali Coast called the Kalalau Trail. It was more than awesome. There were no words to describe how awesome it was, but here are a few pics of the trail to give you an idea.

We hiked the whole 11 miles the first day and came back the next. The trail supposedly climbs up and down 5000+ feet over the course of the 11 miles. We made it in 6 hours in and 4 hours 45 minutes coming out. It hiked more like 15 or 16 miles though. We were clipping along at a pretty good pace and we were only doing 2 miles an hour! I couldn't believe that! I could have ran the whole thing in 90 minutes or less. Next time we do it, I'm taking my wheel so I can measure it! We didn't stop for lunch on the way out. We just wanted to get home! We packed pretty light so it wasn't too bad.

Kristy was showing off her photography skills here. I guess I know where her priorities are. . .sniff, sniff.
Here's a cool section. This was actually a better section of the trail. It narrowed to single track goat trail after the 2nd mile.
Needless to say we didn't get in the water. Good thing I saw this sign or I'd be paddling to Portland right now.
The scenery was. . .what's the words. . . friggin' awesome!!!!!!! We saw stuff like this the whole way.
This is at Kalalau Beach at the end of the trail. A pretty spectacular beach. There were a lot of locals that camp out there quite a bit. I was surprised by the number of people that seemed to live there.

2001 NCAA Steeplechase Finals

2007-10-20T10:59:00.001-07:00

Here's my claim to fame race. 2001 NCAA Steeplechase Finals at Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon. The field didn't have any clear cut favorite. This turned out to be a breakout race for Danny Lincoln. He never lost a steeple title after this one. I lost to him by .5 second and now he's the American record holder in the Steeple (broke in 2006). Makes me wonder what I could have done had I enjoyed the sweet hookups he had!

The first mile went out fairly slow due to the wind. Nobody wanted to lead and we were clipping off 69-70 laps.
I took the lead a mile into the race. We came through about 4:42 for the mile if my memory serves me correct. Although I took the lead, I didn't push the pace too much quicker.
This is coming up on 2 laps to go. I was feeling a bit fatigued, but I could tell I had a lot of juice left in my legs. I was getting rather excited.
This was in the first mile, I just got the photo sequence out of order.
With 600 to go I was still leading, but made a mistake that cost me the race. Andy Tate (far left Kansas) went by me on my outside and I didn't respond. Everyone else followed him, boxing me inside and in 200 meters I went from first to 10th. With a lap to go I had to drop out the back of the pack and kick it into high gear. I caught up with the leaders going over the last water jump. I was a stride behind Lincoln (Arkansas) going over the last barrier. I just ran out of juice with 20 meters to go and I couldn't reel him in. I ran the fastest last lap (61-62) than anyone out there, but if I would have been in the front at the start of the last lap, I could have out kicked everyone in the field. I had more miler speed than anyone in the field. It's a mistake I'll remember for the rest of my life! Second place is the first loser right???

Mt. Adams Climbs!

2007-10-01T21:00:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I'm playing Guitar Hero, not climbing Mt. Adams. It's my way of getting pumped up for a big climb. That guy I'm playing with is my one-eyed, ER doctor brother-in-law Nolan (don't go to that ER you say). . .he's actually really fun to screw with. . .just make sure you make faces at him on his right side cuz HE CAN'T SEE YOU HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA.

I'm really not prejudiced against disabled people. . .just people named Nolan (har har).
This is Mike (my old neighbor from Battle Ground) and I about halfway up taking a break from the howling wind. It's crazy how much colder it is at 9000 ft in the Cascades in July. In the Uintah Mountains it's cool, but not freezing.
This is Mike and I about to tackle the false summit. I wonder why they call it the false summit???
Holy crap! AFTER you climb up the lung busting false summit, you realize there's another 1000 ft to climb!!!!! It's all making sense to me now. . .

Oh this pic is 3/4 way up the false summit. I just saw a comfortable place to sit down (NOT).
6 hours up, 2 hours down. . .WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. This is called "glisading," I think that's a technical term for "my arse is now wet, frozen but also bruised from the occasional rock you hit under the snow." Next time I'm packing my plastic disk. . .

Oh this is Steve and Jay (Kristy's brothers). They wimped out about 3/4 way up the false summit. The 3 times I've been up Adams, I've summited 2 times. . .but all by myself. There wasn't anyone I could take my shirt off and act like manly men. . .aka take our shirts off and roll around in the snow. . . .ok you got me we wouldn't do that cuz it's freezing up there. We'd probably just sit down and enjoy some nice yellow snowcones.

Criterium Racing!!!!!!

2007-10-01T20:40:00.000-07:00

This is what happens at a crit race when you don't know what you're doing! I ate pavement at 30 mph going around a turn.2007 Eugene Twilight Criterium Series. I have a white Trek 5500. I wear a yellow jersey with a white helmet. I might get picked up by a team after this season, but we'll see. Hopefully you'll be able to pick me out of the group. I'm on the far right of this pic.
There's me drafting and waiting for a chance to bust it!
Here's Emily cheering me on or whatever the heck this is supposed to be. . .

I don't even think I'm in this pic, but you get to look at guys in spandex shorts (yeehawwww yell the ladies).

For those of you that don't know what a "crit" race is (I just learned myself). It's a lap race of roughly 1000 meters and we do it 25-30 times and everyone is chucked into Tour de France style and you go at it. It's pretty fun. There's a lot more strategy involved than running. You can draft the whole way and kick to the end if you want, but it's more fun to try to "break away" with a group and try and gap the field. Brady Cottle, myself and a couple other guys actually lapped the field in one race this year. It was pretty cool.

eugene marathon

2007-10-01T20:26:00.000-07:00

This is at mile 6 of the marathon. It goes across the river by the college. Many of you Weber guys have ran across that bridge before. I was running 5:50 miles about now.
Here's the start of the race. I'm the guy in the blue jersey on the outside there. I was feeling awesome cuz I was a whole 800 meters into the race!
Notice any change in my stride??? You got it, I'm practically walking. This is at mile 23 and my calves had locked up so tight that I could barely run. . .I did the "truffle shuffle" all the way in. Oh and there had been 2 chicks pass me by now. . .

This is a half mile from the finish and I'm practically sprinting here (at least 9:00 pace) . . .that Beck song "Loser" kept going through my head over and over and over and over and over and over. . . .you get the picture. . . . . .3 more chicks pass me after this pic.

To sum it up. . .I was on 6 min pace through 20 miles, but the last 10k I ran in 47 minutes (that's gotta be in Weber's top 10 list). To make matters worse, as I crossed the finish line the announcer said in a very enthusiastic voice "and here comes Jeremy Tolman, a 5-time All-American at Weber State." If I could have found the guy AND been able to walk I would have strangled him with his microphone cord. . . . .

At least I got to meet Jared Fogle, the Subway guy that lost 500 pounds, so the weekend wasn't a total loss. . .

Update on Me!

2007-09-30T15:55:00.000-07:00

Hello all and Welcome to my Blog! I'll be posting links to results as well as pics of runs/races and such. Send a post my way or drop me an email. Thanks!

Here's some recent links:

Injinji socks are so kindly still sponsoring me. See my link at:

http://injinji.com/team/running/jeremy.htm

Some other cools links of races and results, both cycling and running are:

http://app.obra.org/results/2007/Criterium/6271

www.eugenemarathon.com

www.obra.org

www.goodrace.com/results

Those are just a few things that I've been doing. I don't have a lot lined up for the near future. I'll probably just run a few road races this winter to keep me motivated. I have been cycling back and forth to work (40-50 miles) which has been keeping me fit.

Misc Pics!

2007-09-30T15:45:00.001-07:00

Top of Bells Mountain Trail. Mt. St. Helens is in the background if you look closely. Trail climbs 1500 ft in 3 miles. Awesome!
2002 NCAA mile finals. I chose this pic cuz Atwater looks stupid in it. We took 4th and 5th in this race. It's also kinda spooky whenever I see a pic with David Kimani in it (he's dead). I'm running next to a ghost.
2002 NCAA Steeple Finals. I'm hurdling the water jump. Cool pic. . .too bad I placed 10th.
From the summit of Mt. Adams (12,500 ft aprox). Pretty awesome climb. You have to use ice axes and crampons for half of the climb. You can see Mt. Hood in the background.
My last sub-9:00 steeple at 2003 US championships. I ran 8:42 and missed making finals by .5 second. "Almost" is the story of my life with running!