Tales from the Trail - My Experiences with Ultrarunning

Thoughts from Cactus Rose 100

2010-11-03T14:45:00.000-07:00

I have come to realize that running ultras offers a very unique experience. They can be a life changing experience for many people – I know they are for me – every time I do one! During the Cactus Rose 100 this year I experienced great joy and moments of clarity. I communed with God and his creation. I experienced the good will and love of other people. And I also experienced some of the lowest moments of my life.

I’ve heard running 100’s is sort of like a parable for your life. You will have up times – you will have down times. The good news is the down times won’t last forever – and neither will the up times. I had to remind myself of that constantly during this race.

The first 40 miles were pretty uneventful. I talked to other runners, enjoyed the scenery, and ran a very conservative pace. However, the wheels started to fall off around mile 45 when I developed stomach issues. I downed a bunch of tea and started violently throwing up. Over and over and over again. Really fun stuff.

My amazing wife, Virginia saved my race at mile 50 after I’d been throwing up for the past hour or so and was having trouble keeping anything down. V ran with me from mile 50 to mile 55 and really lifted my spirits. There is nothing like running with your wife. I so sad to leave her behind at mile 55. It was dark, getting cold, and I knew I’d be by myself for the next 10 hours or so. But I focused on getting to mile 95 where V would be waiting and would run me in to the finish!

Soup – it does a body good! With all of my stomach issues, soup was so good to me. I had some of the best lentil soup of my life at mile 50 (thank you Julie!). I had some chicken and rice at mile 55. And some terrible ramen noodles at mile 80 (thanks, Olga!) – but it all did me a world of good!

I craved caffeine during dark hours of the night. I was so sleepy. I carried a few caffeine tablets with me, but had already taken them earlier in the day. I ran into my friend Matt and Brandon at mile 70. I knew Matt typically carries caffeine tablets with him, so I asked him for one. He graciously gave me one of his tablets and I quickly swallowed it. About a mile later, my stomach started acting up again. I knew I was going to puke again, but I fought it as long as I could. I did not want to lose that caffeine tablet that I just swallowed! Of course, the inevitable happened and out it came along with the rest of my stomach. I staggered on – now just a little more dejected than before. I was in a pretty bad place at that point.

Mile 75 – this is back to the start/finish area. I knew this was a quitting point for many people. How would I react? I had thoughts of walking over to my tent and trying to crawl into my warm sleeping bag. However, I knew that V would kick me out of the tent and send me back out there. She’s a tough cookie and I didn’t want any part of that!

I wrestled with some serious demons throughout the night. I kept thinking of the words of another ultrarunner I know -- “100 milers are no joke”. I knew I wasn’t in 100 mile shape. Visions of Western States from two years ago were in my head (it was a bad experience). What if I can’t stop throwing up? Would V have to drive me to a hospital somewhere? This is a really idiotic sport – why am I doing this? I envied my friends Buddy and Brandon who were miles ahead of me. Battling demons are a part of this sport. You have to realize that the demons will be present at some point during the race. You have to be prepared to do battle with them. I did my best to overcome these middle of the night demons.

Hallucinations – I had not experienced this in a race before. I think it happened because I got so little sleep the Friday before the race. Logs becoming people lying across the trail. Shadows became strange animals. I jumped many times because I thought a shadow was attacking me. It was a little weird out there.

In my strange mental state, I could not do math any more. I came into the mile 85 aid station thinking I was up against the cutoff. Thank goodness I said something to Olga. She quickly straightened me out and told me I was 3 entire hours ahead of the cutoff. That took some serious pressure off me. I knew at that point, as long as I kept moving I would finish. She even predicted that it would take me exactly 3 hours to get to mile 95 – and she was dead on right. At that point, I was pretty proud of an 18 mile a minute pace!

I am not a big on trophies. But for some reason, I really wanted that Cactus Rose buckle. I mean I really, really wanted it. I’ve felt the pain of not finishing a race, and I didn’t want to experience that again. I didn’t want to explain to my family why I dropped out of this race. In fact, I did not have a good reason to drop. Was I physically tired – yes. Was I seriously sleep deprived - yes. Had I thrown up more than a dozen times – yes. But I could still walk – and at times run. So that’s what I did.

I knew if I could get to mile 95, V would pace me in to the finish. I’m not sure if she’s ever seen me so down and dejected before. My feet hurt so bad that I wanted to cry. I was worried that I was not going to be able to climb the last hill before the finish line. I was sitting down often and taking breaks in the shade – just trying to collect myself. V was the perfect pacer. She was encouraging and she even lied to me when she had to – “No, you are not getting a sunburn, baby!” “You look so good”. “You are moving really well!” Yeah, right!

Some things I won’t ever forget from this race. V saving my race. My good friends and family and their giving spirits. My 9 year old daughter, Sara - “Daddy, you can do it!” My 7 year old son, Joe – “Daddy, can we carve the Halloween pumpkin as soon as you finish the race?” Yes, Joe --- of course we can.

The Possum

2010-07-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about trail running is you never know what you may see on the trail. I've shared the local trails with all sorts of animals -- horses, cows (some mean ones), bobcats, raccoons, birds, and deer.

Here are a couple of stories about some critter encounters -- some cool and some scary (at least for me!)

Snakes -- snakes actually scare me pretty badly. So much so that I almost quit a night race last summer when I nearly stepped on an enormous copperhead. It took every ounce of courage that I had to move past that coiled up snake on the trail. Later that night I saw several other snakes. That race really freaked me out. The snakes were on the hunt and I was on their trail highway! Since that race, I've jumped over water moccasins on the trail and even had one charge me recently. So I may finally be getting over my fear of snakes!

Owls -- one early morning (still dark) at White Rock Lake a very large owl swooped down on me thinking I may be some kind of prey. I ducked just in time to save my scalp.

Spiders -- this is one of my least favorite things about trail running. In the summer if you are the first person on the trail, you will encounter giant spider webs (complete with spiders) crossing the trail. And the worst thing is, you won't see the web until it's too late. Imagine the scene in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" where Indiana Jones is running through the cave with the giant boulder chasing him. He ends up crashing through a bunch of spider webs. That's the way I feel on my summer early morning trail runs. I just love knocking spiders off my head and spitting web out of my mouth!

Coyotes -- seeing a coyote is pretty special. They are incredibly common in my neighborhood. One early morning at White Rock Lake, I happened upon a male and female walking together. I was literally 20 feet from these two wild animals. I stopped running and watched them. They looked at me for a second and then trotted off into the woods. It was a very cool experience.

My favorite critter encounter has to be the possum I saw at "24 the Hard Way" in 2009. It was 3am and I was 19 hours into a 24 hour race when I came upon a small possum. I thought he was dead as he was just lying on his side. I felt bad for him as I continued to run. This race is a one mile loop course that you run as many times as possible in 24 hours. So I came upon the possum again one mile later. That's when it dawned on me that this possum may not be dead at all. He may just be "playing possum". I got a kick out of thinking about this poor possum crossing the road in the middle of the night and seeing a runner charging at him. So he goes into his little possum act and falls over "dead". The runner moves on, and the little possum "wakes" up and starts to move off when he sees another runner come charging down the path. So he freaks out and falls over "dead" again. This went on for at least two hours. Finally the possum realized that the runners where no threat to him and moved on into the forest. That really cracked me up and made the lonely night time hours pass by a little quicker for me. I was a little sad when I saw that the possum had finally run off.

The Big One – Rouge-Orleans in March 2011

2010-06-11T07:08:00.000-07:00

My big goal for the Fall/Winter season is the Rouge to Orleans 124 mile race. This is a race along the Mississippi river levee from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. This is the inaugural year of the race and I’m really excited about it. I’ve run on this levee a handful of times and I really like it. I love that it is a point to point race and you run from one city to the other. And the fact that I have family in the Baton Rouge/New Orleans area makes it even sweeter. In fact, I’ll run within 300 yards of my Aunt’s house --- pretty cool huh?

Since Western States last year, I’ve run with no real focus or big goal. I’ve certainly enjoyed my daily runs and I’ve had some good races (24 the Hard Way). I have also had some really challenging races (Bandera 100K and Jemez 50). It feels good to finally have a goal that I am really excited about. Maybe not Western States excited, but still very, very excited.

And finally, I’m excited about the opportunity to stretch myself beyond 100 miles. The most I’ve ever run has been 106 miles at one stretch. I want to see what lies ahead of that mark. What will it look like? How will I feel? I imagine I’ll be able to see New Orleans at that point. Will the city seem so close I could touch it? Or will it look impossibly far? I look forward to finding out what is in store for me.

In the meantime, I’m ramping up my training. I have quite a few races before Rouge to Orleans. This is going to be FUN!

Jemez 50 - another great day in the mountains!

2010-05-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

This was my second year in a row running in the Jemez 50 miler. I love this race. It is tough, it is beautiful, and it just gets to you. It is a pure classic. And it is not to be taken lightly.

I made it 32 miles before timing out of the race. My legs were shot and I could not run anymore. Walking was even an issue as I was reduced to a 45 minute pace per mile for the last two miles. I was literally taking baby steps up any kind of incline. And believe me there are MILES of steep inclines on this course!

Bottom line, I was not properly trained for a mountain trail race. Being a flatlander from Dallas, this is not the kind of race you can fake your way through. You have to earn every single mile of this race and this year I was not in the shape to do it.

There lessons in every single race --- and sometimes you have to learn them more than once. That is one of the beautiful aspects of ultrarunning. There are no guarantees in this sport. You toe the starting line and you have no idea what is in store for you that day. It could be a perfect day or it could be a day where you just blow up.

I didn’t blow up at Jemez, but I wasn’t up to the task for that day. But it was beautiful, it was meaningful, and I loved every second of it! Jemez --- I’ll be back!

Running with the Blind - Pacing at Rocky Raccoon 100

2010-02-10T18:35:00.000-08:00

For this year's Rocky Raccoon 100, my plan was to pace two friends for 20 miles each. Due to different circumstances, both of them ended up having bad days and not finishing.

I ended up meeting and pacing a new friend, Ted. Ted came down from Chicago without a crew or a pacer and this was his first 100 mile attempt. Around mile 65, he started to go blind. I’ve heard of this happening before in 100’s, but I had never witnessed it first hand.

Ted followed one of my buddies, Drew and his pacer Doug for 15 miles before coming upon me at mile 80. I spot Drew and ask him if he needs help. His response - "I'm fine, Mike -- but meet Ted."

Ted was sitting on the ground futily grabbing at things in his drop bag trying to feel around for some gels. Ted looks in my general direction and says, "Hello Mike. I can't see. I've fallen about 25 times so far. I can't really run because I'm afraid of falling down, but I can walk pretty fast."

I will be brutally honest here - I was not so sure I wanted to pace Ted. The idea of walking 20 miles in cold, damp temperatures (I did not have on the right gear), with a blind runner wasn't too appealing to me at 11pm at night. I asked Doug and Drew if Ted was OK to go back out there (you know, being blind and all). They both assured me he was OK as long as I stayed close in front of him. He could make out the reflections on my shoes to follow me. I made my decision right then to help Ted. It was going to be quite an adventure!

Ted pushed himself to his feet, and we started up the trail. After a mile or so of brisk hiking, Ted started to loosen up. He said he could probably run a bit when the trail wasn't too dangerous. Rocky Raccoon is known for its roots which reach up and grab you. So we started to mix in some running. I was pretty cautious at first - especially since Ted kept hitting roots and falling. But he'd get back up, brush himself off, and start running again. The guy was a machine. I could not believe how well he was doing. It turns out Ted is quite a fast runner. He is a guy that I normally could not pace unless he was having vision problems. We hit some sections of jeep road that had no roots at all and we picked up the pace. I was literally running as fast as I can and Ted had no issues keeping up with me. Did I mention that Ted is a near elite runner?!

Ted and I got to know each other more during the run. Since he lives in Chicago, he trained on a treadmill for most of his long runs. I told me he ran 52 miles on a treadmill for his long run getting ready for this race. Running on a treadmill for 52 miles takes extreme mental toughness. His longest official race before this 100 was a 50K – that’s it!

Ted and I stumbled through the last 20 miles of his 100 mile race. He fell too many times to count, but never lost his positive attitude. The guy was amazing. I was elated to help him finish his first 100 mile race.

This was the first time I’ve paced anyone for a hundred miler. It was an incredibly rewarding experience. Especially since it was Ted’s first. You run with someone through the darkness, through the struggles, and you feel so happy when they finish. I may have even been happier that night than for my first 100 mile finish. Congrats to you, Ted! You are amazing.

Bandera 100K - Damn, It was Cold!

2010-01-12T18:23:00.000-08:00

Very cold temperatures, aliens punching me from the inside, and raw natural beauty are the things I'll remember from the 2010 running of the Bandera 100K. Unfortunately, I did not finish the race this year. I made it 40 miles before I called it a day -- I mean, night. I went into the race coming off a stomach virus and I had some serious lingering effects from it. Basically it just wasn't my day. I was not prepared mentally and I did not have the right clothes to walk the 22 more miles to the finish in the dark. My stomach would not let me run anymore and it kept me awake until after midnight before it finally gave up the ghost and let me rest.

Here is a video of one of sections of the course. It will give you a one minute snippet of what some of the terrain at Bandera is like.

It was another amazing race put on by RD Joe P and his regular cast of volunteers. These guys know how to put on an ultra and I'm blown away by them every time.

24 The Hard Way

2009-10-31T15:22:00.001-07:00

After my DNF at WS100 earlier this year, I felt a great need to get back on the horse and try again for 100 miles. However, getting into WS is a luxury that I probably won't have for several more years. It didn't start off this way, but 24 the Hard Way became a chance for me to redeem my WS race.

First things first --- the race is held in a beautiful park in Oklahoma City and is put on by Chisholm Deupree among other co-race directors. They did an amazing job. It was extremely well organized. I really can not say enough good things about this race. If you are into timed events like this, you must put this one on your calendar. The course was good (some flat, some gentle rollers), the aid was great (best food I've ever had at a race), and the volunteers were both experienced and wonderful. They even had a monitor that showed your progress during the race. Every time you crossed the timing mat, you knew exactly how fast your pace was for the previous lap and how many miles you had accumulated.

The 24 Hour Runners

I went out to the race with Matt, Jeff, and Julie (Matt's wife). Matt and Jeff ran the race. Julie crewed for us and watched over us like a good mother hen. She's nearly eight months pregnant and was out there all day crewing for us. She even walked a mile with me near the end of the race when I was in some of the worst pain I've ever felt before in my life. I'm guessing Julie did quite a few miles walking with one of us when we needed it.

Mike, Matt, and Jeff - PreRace

Matt and Julie

My goal for the race was 100 miles. I knew I'd be disappointed if I did anything less than 85 miles, but 100 miles was my primary goal. I just wasn't sure if I was in 100 mile shape.

I started the race very conservatively. I know that I'm not a fast runner, but by using a run/walk strategy I can usually stay very consistent and be able to run late in a race when many folks can not run any longer. In fact, I walked half of each loop and ran half of each loop. After a loop or two I had it dialed in to where I would run and where I would walk. The first hours passed by very quickly. It was great fun running and chatting with every one. After several hours, Matt ran next to me for awhile and told me that I had 100 miles in me --- no problem at all. I silently agreed with him, but a lot can happen in 24 hours so I didn't want to jinx it.

Matt and Jeff were both in a groove all day long and were ticking off the miles like champs. We'd chat for a bit as they lapped me. That is really one of the special things about these timed events. They are held on a relatively small course so you get to be with people all day long. You always have someone to chat with --- or if you don't feel like talking, people understand that as well. We are all on our own personal journey out there. Jeff ended up with 112 miles and came in second place --- absolutely amazing! Matt finished with 70 really fast miles, but had to drop with foot issues. He came back later in the early hours of Sunday morning and ran some additional miles while wearing his jeans. The guy always cracks me up!

Another thing I loved about this race was the freedom of not carrying a bunch of stuff with me. During trail races I feel like Batman most of the time. I have on a waist pack or a hydration pack and will have multiple gels, salt tablets, ipod, jacket, gloves, etc. It was so nice to run with my hands free of a water bottle. Anything I needed I would stop and pick it up. And if I forgot about something -- no big deal -- I'd be back at the aid station in 12 minutes. So it was worry free running! And there were no pressures of cutoffs hanging over my head stressing me out to no end. I really loved that aspect of this race.
The day progressed and I was able to hold my pace for most of it. I had some low moments, but I always snapped out of them (big thanks to Jamie for Boom Boom Pow at 2am). I had some stomach issues, but I dealt with it OK. I also had moments of extreme joy out there. All in all, it was a great experience.

So how did I finish? 106 miles --- and the only mile that I ran the entire time was the very last loop. The run/walk plan worked out perfectly and I was able to keep a consistent effort most of the time. Overall --- great experience --- would do it again in a heart beat.

After the Race

The rest of the pictures are of the course -- just in case you'd like to do this race -- which I highly recommend!

The Run from the Ducks 2009

2009-09-27T06:25:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you upfront, I love this race. This is my second year running it and I'll probably do it every year going forward. It is run on a roughly 1/2 mile loop through the Clark Botanical Gardens outside of Mineral Wells, TX. If you like unique trees, plants, and flowers -- you would be in heaven out here. And yes, there are ducks -- but none chased me. All of the race proceeds go to the National Vietnam War Museum and many of the race volunteers are veterans of the war.

Here is what I really love about this race - it is a loop course and you get to hang out with all of your running buddies all day long. In a regular linear race, I say hello to everyone at the race start and then never see them again (because they are usually so far ahead of me!) In this race, you see everyone over and over as you leap frog each other. You get the chance to spend a moment or two chatting about how things are going, future races, and just catching up with people. It's great. And you get to see the race unfold right in front of you.

RD Tony Mathison puts on a terrific race. He and his daughter run several miles during the race so no one will finish in last place. Tony's energy throughout the day was infectious. He and his daughter did cheers for us, they put up funny signs (which Tony rotated throughout the day), and he learned everyone's name on the course. He's a classy guy.

The lap counters were mostly veterans of the Vietnam War. They sat out in the heat all day long and gave us encouragement with every lap completed. Thank you Jim and Emelia!

My race was a more of the usual for me during a hot race. Stomach issues to battle mixed in with a little calf cramping. I finished with less miles than last year and I had to fight hard for every one of them after the fifth hour of this eight hour race. I tried a new fueling plan and ended up taking in too many calories for the first 5 hours of the race. I'm still struggling to find the right fueling mix for me during a hot race. The search continues.

There were several strong runners at this years race. Ryan, Chris, Matt, and Jeff battled it out all day long. It was really cool to watch it all unfold. In the end, Ryan ran something like 54 miles and smashed the record for the race. Very impressive -- he looked smooth all day long.

But my pick for the best race goes to my friend Josh. Josh has been battling serious back issues for the last year or so. He's had major surgery (you should see the scar on his back) and his running career is on hold for now. So he signed up as a walker for this race and did very well. It's amazing how many miles you can cover at a brisk walking pace.

Josh was struggling around hour seven (it was really hot and just about everyone was walking at this point) . He told me he was done and was going to sit down. I saw him head into the shade and sit down. I grabbed a bag of chips from my drop bag and ran with it a loop so I could throw it to him on my way back around. But when I got there, he was gone. He was back on the course. I am so proud of him for battling those demons and getting back on the course to finish it out. Congratulations, Josh!

Nate's First Trail Race

2009-08-31T16:43:00.000-07:00

My best friend Nathan just completed his first trail race --- the Karl's Kanoe 30K at Inks Lake State Park in Texas. I could not be prouder of my friend.

Nathan has done a sprint triathlon and a few other 5K races, but this was his longest run to date. He didn't even bother running a half marathon --- he jumped straight to the 30K (18 miles) distance!

He did a crash course of training the last several weeks and was ready to go.

Nathan, Jamie, Hami, and Krewe Krejci at the starting line

Coming in after the 1st 10K loop -- looking strong!

Coming in for the finish -- the kids are pacing Uncle Nathan!

The Finish!

Terrific Job, Nathan -- we are all so proud of you!

And two days later, he's already signed up for his first marathon -- Mardi Gras in New Orleans. I told him it would be a walk in the park compared to Karl's Kanoe!

WS100

2009-07-06T18:14:00.001-07:00

It's been a several days now and I've had much time to reflect on my WS100 attempt. I'll tell you up front that I did not finish. I made it 62 miles to the Foresthill A/S before I dropped out of the race. But like much in life, getting there is the story...

I've trained and raced the last 2 years with Western States as my focus. The fires of 2008 forced the cancellation of the race so I had one additional year to prepare. I made it to the starting line in the best shape of my life and was ready to run.

Western States is filled with history and I took it all in. It was the very first 100 mile trail race in the country. This is ground zero -- where it all started. On Friday afternoon before the race, I had to privilege of meeting the very first person to run the race -- Gordy Ainsleigh. He is a legend in the sport and paved the way for the rest of us.

Steve, Gordy, and Me (thanks, Gordy!)

Western States is a first class event (1500 volunteers), over a historic and beautiful course, and is a distinct challenge. I had a terrific friend and pacer lined up - Steve Bernhardt - who flew in from Wisconsin to run the last 40 miles with me. I had my Mother, wife, and best friend Nathan as my Krewe (we spell it differently - family thing). I had an amazing support team and I was primed and ready to run this race. I also had another ultra running buddy in the race -- Matt Crownover. He and I have logged many training miles together and have basically trained together for the last year and a half. It was his first WS100 as well - and I am proud to say he finished and ran a very solid race!

Drew (Matt's pacer and 2006 WS Finisher), Matt, Me, and Steve

The race starts in a very humane way. It sounds kind of crazy, but the first 3.5 miles are straight up the mountain to the top of the Squaw Valley ski resort. It took me roughly 1:10 to get to the top at Emigrant Pass. When I say it's a humane start, it's because if it wasn't uphill everyone would run out insanely fast due to all the pent up excitement and energy from the start. The climb to the top kind of gets you focused on the business at hand, which is to get to Auburn, CA in less than 30 hours.

Krewe Krejci - at the race start (Nathan, Me, V, and Mom)

Race Start -- ready to GO!

After reaching the summit at Emigrant Pass, I looked backwards towards Lake Tahoe for an inspiring view. The next 8 miles or so of the trail was literally amazing. Everywhere I looked was beauty. I tried to take it all in as I ran. It was something special that I won't ever forget. It was high country running and I loved it!

The Krewe - on the road - they drove roughly 250 miles supporting me during this race!

Lots and lots of waiting for the Krewe

Coming in to Robinson Flat - mile 30

The Krewe springs into Action!

I would love to tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed this race. However, by 9am it was getting hot. We were in an exposed area during the mid morning and it was affecting a lot of runners. I saw many folks who were struggling by this point. I was determined that I would not be one of the poeple suffering. I just had to manage the heat of the day and then it would cool off at night. That was my plan anyway.

I started to get leg cramps about 25 miles into the race. I have not had leg cramps in over a year, and they have always been because I wasn't drinking enough or taking enough salt. My weight was still at my starting weight - 160 - but I felt that I must not be getting enough water and salt. So I started to really pound both water and salt trying to stave off the leg cramps. The good news is the leg cramps mostly stopped. The bad news is I was taking in way too much salt and fluid.

The race started to fall apart for me around the canyons. I had been taking 3-4 electrolyte tablets an hour. I also was eating 2 GU Roctanes an hour which contain the equivalent of 3 electrolyte tablets each. So I was probably taking about 8-9 electrolyte tablets each hour. This sounds insane, right? Well, I clearly was not making good decisions by that point. The cramping issues in my legs made me believe I wasn't drinking enough. So I started to pound even more fluid (taking in 5 bottles between each A/S). And when you drink that much water, you have to have more salt - or so I thought. Bottom line, I believe I took in about twice the amount of salt that I needed and my stomach finally said "you've had too much, Mike. I think I'll make the decisions for you for awhile". My weight went up 6 pounds, but I knew I wasn't anywhere near hyponatremic. I'd had too much salt for that to happen.

The puking started in full earnest after the Devil's Thumb A/S (mile 48). I was down in the next canyon and it all started to fall apart for me. The heat was getting to me and my stomach had enough. I was in full throw up mode every 10 to 15 minutes and could not keep anything down. The awful sounds that were coming out of me where echoing off the canyon walls. Other runners patted me on the head or shoulder as they went by - most giving sympathy - others encouragement to get it together.

I finally made it in to Michigan Bluff and picked up my pacer, Steve. The krewe knew I was in very bad shape, but were hopeful that I could get myself back together. At this point, I could not eat or drink anything. Ginger, tums, Rolaids -- nothing was working. Steve did everything that he could to pick up the pieces, but I was just too far gone by then. I distinctly remember sitting on the trail, throwing up between my legs, mosquitos swarming around me, and all I wanted to do was die. It got to the point where walking was almost too much for me -- let alone running.

We finally made it to the Bath Road A/S where my krewe was waiting. They were still full of encouragement and walked with me on the uphill road to Foresthill. I could hear the trail sweep riders on horses about 20 yards behind me. They were incredibly respectful. They'd stop when I'd stop and wait for me to do my business before I could continue on. My crew wanted me to push it to Foresthill and get in under the cutoff. They encouraged me to give it everything I had left and we could then try and get my stomach settled at the aid station. It became you have to run, Mike. You have to run right now. It took all that I had to run at this point, but I started to do it. My Mom was running behind me. I could hear her footsteps and I thought to myself, my mother has not run a step in years. She is doing this for me. I have to keep it up for her. So I continued running into Foresthill and made the cutoff by 15 seconds. I then sat down in a chair and my crew tried desperately to get me back together. But it was too late. By this point, I'd been throwing up every 15 minutes for 5 hours or more. I tried soup --- wretch. I tried more ginger and coke -- wretch. I tried gels -- super wretch. I just wanted to lay on the ground and die. The ground felt like the best place for me.

After 15 minutes of this, I told them I was dropping. I didn't have enough time to make it to the next aid station and I could not stop puking. I had to walk back to the A/S and let them know. It was only about 40 yards, but it felt like miles to me. They cut off my wrist band, and that was it. I walked over to the van and laid down in the road where I continued to puke. They finally got me in the car (more puking) and drove to Auburn to the finish line where there was a medical tent.

I am insanely afraid of needles. It goes back to my childhood. I've always been afraid of shots, but getting an IV or giving blood completely freaks me out. I don't even like someone touching the nook of my arm. It is just this weird hang up that I have. I wish I didn't, but I do. I knew exactly what they were going to do at the medical tent in Auburn - give me an IV. And I wanted none of that.

We pulled up to the stadium and I basically fell out of the car back on to the ground. The ground was my best friend at this point. I emptied my stomach again for probably the 30th time and made my way down to the medical tent. My crew told them what was wrong and they prescribed an IV. I refused of course - "We have a refuser!" - so they gave me some electrolyte drink. Of course, that didn't stay down longer than 10 minutes. After throwing up twice in the tent, they basically told me to either leave or get an IV. I finally relented and took the IV.

The nurses where great and really helped me out. After 5 minutes of getting the fluid into me I started to feel better. The puking stopped, but I was still nauseous. I got a couple of bags in me and finally felt the need to urinate (it had been at least 8 hours since I'd done that). It was 3am, and we decided to head to Reno where we had our hotel rooms. We checked into our hotel rooms around 8am and went to sleep for a few hours.

I woke up to the good news that my buddy Matt had just finished the race. I could not be happier for him -- he trained hard and ran a smart race.

A few days after the race, I woke up in the middle of the night. In my dream, I was climbing Devil's Thumb over and over again -- never making it to the top. I woke up soaked in sweat. It was so bad I considered changing the sheets. But instead, I rolled over to a drier spot and tried to think of sweeter thoughts before falling back to sleep. Western States is going to stay with me for a long time. I'll be back.

The Bags Are Packed!

2009-06-23T19:13:00.000-07:00

The bags are packed and the training miles have all been run. All that is left for me to do is get out there and run! WS100 -- this Saturday! I'm ready!

A Really Good Run

2009-06-05T05:29:00.000-07:00

I just had one of those really good runs - one of those runs that you don’t want to end. The kind of run where you feel like you could run forever – and you want to do just that! I know we all have them, but it’s been several weeks since it’s happened to me.

It started out in the pitch dark of night, but on the horizon (if you look really hard over the houses and buildings of Dallas) I could see the sky starting to change. The temperature was around 60 degrees and is probably the last cool night before summer really gets started. There was no wind. I made it to White Rock Lake just as the sun was making its appearance and was treated to an amazing sunrise. The lake was completely still and serene. Ducks made V’s on the shoreline next to me.

And then to my complete surprise, two coyotes crossed my path. I know they are here, but I have not seen one in two years. The both looked at me from about 15 yards away and then trotted on into the narrow patch of woods next to the lake. They both looked pretty well fed – I feel sorry for the neighborhood cats!

It is pretty special to see something wild like that in inner city Dallas. In the past I’ve been treated to many owls (one swooped down on me thinking I was dinner), a beaver, coyotes, many snakes, and even a bobcat. All within our city limits. It’s really cool what you can see if you keep your eyes open.

My training has taken a turn since Jemez. I developed some pretty good tendonitis in my left ankle and could not run for two weeks. I got a shot of cortisone which helped and have been ramping up again this past week. I’ve also been doing a lot of leg weight training, elliptical, and stairs. My legs feel strong again --- and that gives me confidence going into Western in three weeks. However, I decided not to do Hell’s Hills 50K tomorrow. I just don’t want to risk injury three weeks before Western. It’s the ups and downs at Jemez that killed my ankle. I don’t have the luxury of doing that again at Hell’s Hills. So I’ll continue to run flats and do stairs for my climbing workouts until Western States. As of today --- 3 more weeks until WS100!

Jemez Mountain 50 Mile

2009-05-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

"Wow -- that was freaking hard!" - I believe those were the first words I said to the RD when finishing the Jemez 50 miler this past Saturday. This truly is a first class race held in the mountains surrounding Los Alamos, NM. It was quite an adventure to say the least.

There is 12,000 feet of elevation gain and 12,000 feet of elevation lost during the event. And to be honest, I'm not sure what was harder --- the long climbs at altitude or some of the insane straight down descents. We climbed 3 major peaks that were over 10,000 feet and a couple of minor peaks.

The first climb of the day -- look at the tiny people on the switch backs.

At the top of Caballo -- our first peak -- you can see the town of Los Alamos in the distance.

The Talus Field

There were so many memorable sections to the course. I'll list a few here (I've made up these names -- they are not listed in the race)...

1) The Ladder --- fairly early into the race, you are running next to a beautiful mountain stream. Then out of the blue, there is a dam and you climb up this 15 foot ladder to another level of the stream. It wasn't hard or anything, just memorable --- not something you normally see in a trail race.

2) The Drop Off --- coming out of Pipeline A/S you literally drop off the side of a mountain and slide down a 45 degree washed out loose gravel and rock shoot for about a 1/4 mile. There was no trail -- just pick your fall line and get to it. It was crazy. I remember thinking to myself while staring down the lip of the funnel -- "Hell, I don't want to run down that!" But I have the cuts on my hands and bottom to prove it.

3) The Barb Wire Fence --- after a 4 mile long downhill section (awesome running!) you run into a barb wire fence roadblock. This is around mile 28 of tough effort and my legs were a little trashed. This wasn't hard -- just kind of funny to sling your tired legs over a barbed fence and flop onto the other side.

4) The Talus Field --- OK, this actually made me nervous. We climbed over these furniture sized boulders up hill for about 100 yards. The only thing was these boulders were loose and moved when you stepped on them. I could not wait to get off this boulder field. It reminded me of last year in Colorado when my entire family climbed up a large talus field to get to some leftover snow in the summer. After visiting the snow, we started climbing down. My 5 year old son, Joe got really scared of falling into these giant holes in the talus field. He kept saying, "why did we do this? this is not fun!" I had the same exact thoughts on the talus field during this race!

5) The Black Diamond --- after making your way up to the top of a mountain, you have to come down right? Well there are easier ways to run down than straight down --- but that's what we did. We literally ran straight down a ski slope. No switch backs -- no gentle curves -- just straight bloody down. And if you fell -- God help you! And this section was right before the 12 hour cutoff -- so I had to push it. My quads were on fire and my legs felt like rubber, but I made it to the A/S with 15 minutes to spare.

I loved the cross country sections where there was no trail -- just flags to follow. I also liked the mountain that we climbed that had no switch backs -- we just went straight up. I remember looking at my fellow NTTR member, Fred as he was about 100 yards in front of me. I remember thinking why is he going straight up? I quickly discovered that we weren't on a trail -- we were just following flags up a mountain. I slowly trudged after him and an hour later was rewarded with an amazing vista.

"Hey, Fred -- wait up!"

This was such a beautiful course -- if I wasn't in so much pain for most of the race, I would have enjoyed it more. I told my running buddies, that I won't be back next year -- but never say never. Now that I know the course, (where you can run hard, where you just have to hold on, etc.) I believe I could do a little better next time. But overall, it was a good confidence boost for WS100 in 6 weeks. It was a very challenging mountain race and I held my own. I was running hard until the end on tired and beat up legs. One more tune up until WS100 -- Hell's Hills 50K on June 6th in Smithville, TX!

Rocky Hill Ranch - The Race that Wasn't

2009-04-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

My son, Joe and I drove down to Smithville, Tx late Friday afternoon for the Rocky Hill Ranch 50K. It had been raining the entire day in Smithville - huge storms with big thunderboomers. However, ultra runners are super hardy folks so I thought the race would still happen. And I really needed to get my long run in this week as I am out of town the next two weekends.

We arrive to a flooded mudpit of a campground. But it had finally stopped raining. I pitched my tent while Joe played with Matt and Julie's children. I checked in and spoke to Joe P -- race director -- who assured me he was doing everything he could for the race to happen.

We feasted on Julie and Becca's excellent dinner and then turned in early. Joe and I were asleep by 9pm. It did not rain all night and we slept well. I awoke at 5am to some sprinkles and then it started raining much harder - complete with some scary lightening hitting pretty close to the campground. I continued to prepare for the race, but in the back of my head I was wondering if they'd call it off. I left Joe sleeping in the tent and went to investigate. Race director, Joe P walked in to the main lodge area and quickly called the race off -- just too dangerous with the frequent and violent lightening. I agreed completely and went back to our tent to hang out with my son.

So no race -- but still a great experience. Joe and I got to have an incredible Father/Son trip. We laughed and joked in the tent while the storm raged around us. Joe gave each of us pretend names and made up stories. Finally water started coming into the tent and we had to retreat to Matt and Julie's camper. Everything we had in the tent was soaked! It was a mud bog all around us. Rivers of water were pouring through the campgrounds.

During a lull in the storm, I quickly broke down the tent and threw everything into the car and we headed back to Dallas. No race, but a trip I'll probably always remember for the bonding with my son.

Grasslands Marathon

2009-03-24T17:48:00.001-07:00

photo credit: Paul Tidmore

Terrific day, terrific race -- lots of fun for the entire family -- that sums up the Grasslands Marathon! Kevin and Stacie Boudreaux did a great job as first time RD's picking up the race this year. My only complaint was that I did not do the 50 miler -- 26.2 wasn't enough -- I wanted more time on the course!

However, my body has been thanking me for not running the 50. I've been able to resume my regular training right away. After all, the real goal is Western States in 3 months!

The Desire is Returning!

2009-03-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

So what have I been doing the last month? The first couple of weeks was all about recovering from Rocky 100. Then I realized I was having an issue with my desire returning. I've been enjoying my recent runs, but I'm not as fired up as I would like to be right now.

So how do you combat that? By putting some new goals on the calendar. I am less than four months out from Western States. It's time to get it together and get into serious training mode. So I've put a couple of new races on my calendar. I'm warming up with a 5K this weekend (OK, I'm running it with a friend and it's a St. Patricks race, so there will be drinking involved - or so I hope!). The following weekend I'm running the Grasslands marathon in Decatur, TX. It's a terrific race and I'm happy I decided to do it. Then a month later I will be doing the Rocky Hill 50K outside of Smithville, TX. A month after that, I will be doing the Jemez 50 miler in New Mexico. Six weeks later is the big dance -- WS100!

Stair stepping these races will be good for me and keep me focused. It has worked for me in the past and I'm counting on it working again.

Rocky Raccoon 100 - Success!!!

2009-02-10T17:06:00.000-08:00

Two years of training, a few set backs and false starts, and finally I have achieved success. I have run 100 miles! I could not be happier!

The body can do amazing things -- if only the mind lets it.

Virginia always told me that Rocky was supposed to be my race. After the wildfires at Western States and the altitude problems at Leadville, I am inclined to believe her. Rocky was my first 50 mile race two years ago -- it felt right that it was also my first 100 mile finish.

The day before the 100 mile start, my children participated in the one mile kids trail race. They both did incredibly well. I know this event is really more for the parents, but I am so proud of my children. They went out there and ran hard! Sara finished in 9:08 (first girl!) and Joe finished in 9:53. I could not believe that they could run that fast! You should have seen them sprinting in towards the finish line. I loved it!

Sara in full blown sprint!

Go, Joe Man, Go!

The 100 mile race started at 6am on Saturday. We camped out at the park so we had a very short drive to the start. The weather was a little on the warm side - for running anyway. For spectating and volunteering it was downright nice! I was a little nervous at the start -- but not too bad. It doesn't make sense to get worked up at the start of a 100 miler - you'd waste too much precious energy. You just need to stay relaxed. In fact, I never even heard the RD say "go" - I just noticed that everyone else was leaving and heading up the trail. So with hugs and kisses to my friends and family, I was off!

It's OK, honey! I'll be just fine!

Jamie, Natie, Hammy, Joe, me, and Mom at the start

My race plan: I recently read an article by Gary Cantrell in Ultrarunning magazine. I am going to give him a ton of credit for my finish at this race. His article was about how an average runner (that's me) can run a 24 hour 100 mile race if he doesn't mind a certain level of discomfort, can run the uphills at the end, doesn't waste time in aid stations, and runs a conservative pace. I decided that is what I'd do. But the part about finishing in 24 hours was a dream -- I'm just not that fast -- or so I thought!

Rocky is broken down into 5 x 20 mile loops. I wanted to do my first loop in a very conservative 4 hours and 30 minutes. I knew that would put me near the back of the pack. And that's exactly where I wanted to be. I've heard so many stories of people starting this race too fast and just staggering in for a finish or not finishing at all. I did not start this race not to finish it! So I held back that first loop and ran it as slowly as possible. At one point early on, I had a pebble in my shoe so I stopped to take it out. While I was doing that, everyone passed me. I looked back into the night and did not see a single runner with a flashlight coming my way. And I thought to myself -- "perfect -- this is exactly where I want to be -- dead last!" And I was serious!

The first 20 mile loop went by without any problems. I came into the turnaround, said hello to my crew, and headed back out. My son, Joe gave me a big hug that gave me energy for miles. My crew kept me fed with breakfast tacos -- yummy!

Coming into the start finish after the first loop -- feeling strong!

Miles 20 to 40 were just about perfect. I had my tunes going and was feeling no pain. I was loving every second of it. The woods - the trail - the camaraderie with other runners - it was just perfect! I ran the second loop the same speed as the first loop so I was doing well.

The 40 to 60 mile loop got a little tougher. I had a few low moments here, but overall was feeling strong. My pace did not slow much at all during this loop. However, I was really looking forward to the night time hours when I would be running with my pacers -- Huy and Jeff.

Huy started pacing me at mile 60. That was a huge pick me up for me. Huy and I started running together 5 years ago, so it is just so fitting that he would be here for me during my first 100 mile finish. Huy had not run 20 miles in probably 2 years, but I knew he had it in him. I also knew that I would be running pretty slow by that point and he'd have no problem with the pace. We laughed and joked for the first 10 miles of this loop. It was like we were just starting out on a nice Saturday morning run. It was really quite comical. I could not believe how lucid I was at this point -- we were having very regular Huy/Mike conversations. After awhile, I kind of stopped talking during a low point. Huy then took that opportunity to quiz everyone we passed about where they were from or if it was there first time doing this, etc. He did not know it, but he had me laughing on the inside the entire time. I thought someone was going to push him over because he had so much energy!

Huy and Mike running into the night

Huy got me to mile 80 where I went back out solo for 3 miles. I was still in a low spot when I dropped him off. The 60 to 80 mile loop was a little slower than my previous loop, but not by much. I've often heard that miles 60-80 are the hardest on this course and they are right. I was very fortunate to have Huy there to get me through it - he did an incredible job. I was now determined to get myself back together for a strong finish!

After running 3 miles solo, I came into the next aid station to find my wife and best friend Nathan waiting for me. They had a surprise -- Virginia was going to run 3 miles with me to get me to my next pacer, Jeff! I can not tell you how happy that made me! The 3 miles with Virginia were the absolute highlight of the race for me. We laughed, she told me stories about the day, and I told her stories from the trail. I really think she enjoyed it. And it was such a huge boost for me! I remember telling her that I thought I could break 24 hours if I could hold it together. She assured me that I was strong, running well, and to just keep going!

There were many nice surprises for me during this race. There is a remote aid station in the middle of the woods -- you have to hike 3 miles in to get to it. Virginia, Nathan, and Jamie made this trek out there twice! I could not believe it! They took such amazing care of me during the race -- they were truly a NASCAR pit crew -- they got me in and turned around as quickly as possible. Another surprise came when Huy and I were a little turned around on the trail (I won't say lost). We came upon a group of people just standing at an intersection in the dark. I called out to them - "is this the right way"? We got a little closer - and it was my crew! They were wandering around lost trying to get back to the car! It totally cracked me up.

Virginia ran with me from miles 83 to 86 -- it was then up to Jeff to get me home. I gave V a kiss and then Jeff and I took off. I told him right away that I wanted him to get me in under 24 hours. He told me, let's do this 6 mile loop and then we'll figure out our options. I didn't know at the time, but he had plans to push me pretty hard and see if I could do even better than 24 hours.

The six mile loop came and went pretty well. I was still running strong, but I was falling a lot more often. I fell at least 4 times during the race -- once with Huy and three times with Jeff. But each time I rolled with it and never got hurt -- just dirty.

Jeff and I are now 8 miles from the finish. I can see Jeff doing the math in his head. My math skills were way gone by that time. I thought I would still be struggling to finish under 24 hours. Jeff knew we had that in the bag -- he had a new goal for me -- finish under 23 hours! He asked me what I wanted to do. I told him under 24 would be just fine with me - I didn't want to hurt that badly to finish under 23. So he then asked me, "well, do you want to run?" I said "of course I do!" He then replied, "that's what I wanted to hear. Let's just run it in and see where that gets us." I agreed to the plan and off we went.

Until that time, I had been leading Jeff and he had been following me - so I was setting the pace. Jeff decided to take the lead from here on out and he started pulling me along. We started running and really did not stop much until the end. He had me running up hills that I had walked all day - even when I was fresh! It hurt, but I wanted to do well and I wanted to finish strong so I just kept running. We passed many people at this point. There were so many people on the course who could just not run anymore. They had run themselves out and were reduced to a staggering walk. I was so glad to be able to move well at the end.

We finally got within a 1/2 mile of the finish. That's when I knew that I was going to do it. I was going to finish this race -- and I was going to finish it well! I thanked Jeff for everything he had done. He pushed me to a new limit - one that I would not have done by myself. We sprinted in to the finish line for a 22 hour 45 minute finish! This was under 24 hours and way under the realistic goal I set for myself of 27-28 hours!

I thanked the RD - Joe P - he is truly one of the best and received my belt buckle. This buckle will always be special to me. It is my first 100 and I finished under 24 hours -- amazing!

My friends and family were there to see me finish at 4:45 in the morning! There were hugs, kisses, and high fives all around. I will never forget that moment.

I'm done, right? Please don't send me back out there!

What did I learn from all of this?

The tortoise can beat the hare in these long races. You just have to plan well and execute that plan. My hydration, electrolytes, and fueling were dead on most of the day. I never had issues with my stomach or cramping. I was in and out of the aid stations extremely quickly. I knew exactly what I needed, grabbed it, and moved on down the trail. The Gary Cantrell plan works -- but it is painful! But remember, it's just one day - and you can do anything for one day, right?!

Lastly - I am so grateful to my friends and family. For one day they concentrated on doing everything they could to get me to the finish line. I'll admit, it was nice to be pampered like that for a day. I'd roll into an aid station to their greeting - "Hey, Mike - what do you need?" "I'll take 4 Advil's, 8 gels (4 blue and 4 white), 10 salt tablets, two cups of Gatorade, a taquito, take my trash, and please have my camelback filled up with water and everything else when I come back from the porta potty." This was a common request from me during the race.

Ouch, Mom -- that kind of hurts! Jeff looks ready to throw up next to me!

What's next? You know I have to challenge myself! I am quite sure that the Jemez 50 in May and WS100 in June will be a big enough challenge! But for now, two weeks of rest and then back to training!

One Week Until Rocky!

2009-01-30T20:30:00.000-08:00

This time next week, my stomach will be full of butterflies as I get ready for my second 100 mile race -- the Rocky Raccoon 100. I did not complete my first 100 miler at Leadville this past summer. I am determined to do better at Rocky. I am well trained, I am confident, I have more experience under my belt, and I have excellent support. Those are the things you need to succeed in a race like this where so much can and will change in the course of 24 hours or so.

The ipod is loaded with mellow and upbeat tunes and the bags will be packed tomorrow. All that is left is for me to go out there and take care of business. And that is what I plan to do. A day of running in God's Grand Creation spent with my best friends and family -- who could ask for more?!

Bandera 100K

2009-01-15T16:08:00.001-08:00

I’ve had several days to reflect on this race since last Saturday. I believe it was one of the best personal performances of my running career. Everything went well for me – the weather, the course seemed to play to my strengths, and I had a first class crew.

Friday morning, Virginia and I dropped off the kids at school and with camper in tow hit the road for Bandera, TX. It was a really pretty drive as we stayed off the main highways and took the back way to the race. My wonderful mother volunteered to watch the kids all weekend, so it was just Virginia and I for a nice long weekend.

We arrived at our campsite at race headquarters, set up the camper, and then watched the 1 mile kids trail race. My friends (Matt and Buddy) children were entered in race and all ran well. It was so cool to see the little trail runners out there - especially Matt’s youngest who is 4 and ran the entire mile very hard. You should have seen him huffing and puffing all the way to the finish! Next year, we may have my children’s trail racing debut at Bandera!

getting the feet ready!

The 100K race started at 7:30am on Saturday – a very decent hour to start (thank you, Joe Prusaitis) as the sun was coming up over the hills. I said a quick good bye and good luck to Virginia and we were off. The race started uphill, so it was very slow going at first. But that kept the runners bunched up for awhile which I kind of like during the first part of a race. Everyone is excited and very chatty during those first few miles. I got to talk to Dave Billman for many miles who was attempting this race for the third time. Dave is a strong runner and with a 100 mile finish to his credit, but for some reason he had DNF’d his other Bandera attempts and was determined to finish today. I could tell by his attitude that today would be his day. I found out later that he finished strong! I also got to run for many miles with fellow beer lover, Dan Hamilton who was stopping to take some gorgeous pictures of the course.

Matt and I at the start

And we are off! I've got a sweet walk going!

The first 10 miles flew by – I was running very well. In fact, maybe too well for I caught up to several runners who are stronger than me. I ran many miles either in front of or right behind Fred Thompson and Barbara Hitzfield who are both very talented runners. And that had me really worried. I usually can’t hold a candle to these guys and for some reason I was really close to them. But I kept pressing on at the same pace. I thought I would run hard all day because I knew that my pace would naturally drop off during the night hours when I could not see as well.

Much as been written about the Bandera course. I found it very beautiful and very rugged. The hills were not too bad (except for one where you went straight up, it seemed), but there were a ton of them. There were softball sized rocks everywhere in one section which I did not like at all. I found the first 5 miles to be the toughest part of the course for me. It was very technical and hard to really get going. If your mind drifted for a moment, you had a real possibility of falling and getting seriously hurt on the rocks.

On a personal note, I went into this race with a very heavy heart. In fact, I almost decided not to do it the day before. My company had layoffs the Thursday before the race and one of my good friends was let go. I know this is happening all over the country, but it really hits you when it is one of your friends who you have worked with for many years. I’d gone into many battles with her and I’ll really miss her. Her leaving coupled with another friend’s job loss really had me feeling low. On top of that, my buddy Josh was supposed to be running Bandera as well (his first ultra) but he had a bad back injury and was forced to miss the race. All of these things were weighing on me. I had decided that I would give myself a few hours to think about these things during the race before fully concentrating on the business at hand. However, I had to concentrate on the race just about every step of the way. If I let my mind wander, I would have ended up flat on my face! I did say many prayers for my friends while I was out there.

At the end of the first loop (31 miles) I was feeling terrific! I made the turn and headed back out for my final loop. In fact, I looked so good and was doing so well that Virginia headed into town to grab a 6 pack of Shiner for me to celebrate later that night. I guess she has more confidence in me than I do! However, around mile 40 I started to feel really strange. I had been eating 2 gels an hour for my fuel and only drinking water. I was taking 1 salt pill per hour for my electrolytes. I hit an aid station where Virginia and Matt’s wife, Julie were waiting. V could tell that something was wrong. I quickly drank a Red Bull as I felt kind of sleepy and V and Julie asked me a ton of questions to get me back on track. It was determined that I was not taking enough electrolytes – once I started taking 2 an hour I started feeling like myself again.

coming into Crossroads Aid Station

The rest of the race I was feeling no pain and running hard. I was just trying to hold my pace. My original goal for the race was 16 hours. I knew that I had that in the bag and the new goal became 15 hours. After awhile I knew that was in the bag as well. Around that point Jesse Wilson and I were leap frogging each other for miles. He mentioned that he was trying to break 14 hours. He is a stronger runner than I am and I thought he’d have no problem doing it. At that point I was content with a 15 hour finish. But for some reason, I stayed with him during those last miles. He shot ahead of me with about 3 miles to go and was running a pace that I could not manage in the dark. I wished him well and continued on.

I was actually sort of taking it easy after I thought that there was no way for me to finish under 14 hours. I was humming along to myself really not wanting the race to end (sick of me, I know) when I ran into two runners running a little slower than me. I heard one of them say to the other – “I think we are almost there. It’s only a quarter of a mile to the finish.” What? Are you serious? I yelled back to them, “are you sure?” They confirmed that we were almost home. I looked at my watch and saw that I had 2 minutes left to break 14 hours! I started running in a dead sprint for the finish line. I got to about 100 yards from the finish where I found my buddy Matt waiting for me - shivering in the dark and cold – he had finished two hours before me. I yelled to him to follow me as I was going to break 14 hours! I sprinted across the finish line in 13 hours 59 minutes and 37 seconds! I was so happy!

Joe Prusaitis congratulated me and handed me my finishers buckle. Virginia came over and wrapped a warm blanket around me and directed me to the finisher’s tent. I ate a bowl of Julie’s soup and stared at the Shiner which I had no interest in drinking anymore. It’s funny how something sounds so good to you all day and then you finish and want nothing to do with it.

There is no way I would have been able to finish under 14 hours without the help of my beautiful wife, Virginia. She acted as a one man crew and had me turned around incredibly fast at each aid station. I know I saved a ton of time at the aid stations because of her. The longest I stopped at an aid station was 2 minutes and that was to do a complete clothes change and fuel refill. All other stops lasted about 30 seconds at the longest. She asked me questions, grabbed what I needed, stuffed it in my pack, patted me on the butt, and sent me back out there for more. That is exactly what you need in a race like this and she did a tremendous job.

Bandera was tough but a ton of fun. As always, Joe Prusaitis puts on a first class race. I was able to spend 14 hours in nature with many friends. During the last miles I didn’t want it to end. I was able to challenge myself physically and mentally on a tough course and I still had gas left in the tank. And I was able to work through some of the sadness that I had in me from all of the events from the past few days of my personal life. All in all it was a great day. Next up – Rocky Raccoon 100 in 3 weeks! Now talk about a challenge! I hope I feel as good after Rocky!

Very happy at the finish!

White Rock Half Marathon

2008-12-15T13:25:00.001-08:00

On Sunday, I had the honor of pacing my friend Lauren to her first White Rock Half Marathon finish! She's been training for the last 5 months and it was a terrific accomplishment. I am so proud of her. She ran a very even race and had enough left in the tank to pick it up the final few miles. I told her I had my eye on two ladies in front of us who were wearing very silly reindeer hats and had no business beating us. So Lauren kicked it up another notch and we passed them handily!

She ran a great race and I'll always remember the smile she had on her face as she proudly showed off her finishers medal. I feel very fortunate that she let me be a part of her first big race. And I am sure there are many more in her future.

Rockledge Rumble 50K

2008-11-10T14:33:00.001-08:00

photo credit - Mike Langille

The Rockledge Rumble was my very first ultra in 2006 – and actually my very first trail race. I don’t think I had even run on a trail before doing this race. The Rumble got me hooked on trail running and has been a favorite of mine ever since.

This was my third year to do the race and I had hopes of breaking 6 hours on the course. However, I made some rookie errors and paid the price. I finished in 6 hours and 28 minutes. You always learn something while racing, but why do I have to learn some of these lessons multiple times?

I started the run right on target – in fact at the halfway point of the race I had a five minute cushion on my goal time. But there were some warning signs already lighting up my dashboard. I had not peed at all for the first 15 miles and I knew I was not drinking enough and getting dehydrated. I tried to rectify the situation by drinking more at the aid stations, but I was already too far behind.

Around mile 20, I started to throw up. And I repeated this just about every mile to the finish. Any time I tried to pick up the pace and push myself a little harder I would vomit. And I could not get much fluid down my stomach without it coming back up pretty quickly. If this was a shorter race, I would have slowed down considerably and fixed the problem. But since it was a 50K, I decided to just push it as hard as I could and fix it after I finished.

My pace slowed dramatically from mile 20 to the finish and I lost many minutes while taking my throw up breaks. But I was able to finish the race strong and I was still smiling at the end. After finishing, I powered down many, many cups of water and finally started peeing again.

I went out to the race with my buddy Matt and Josh. Josh PR’d in the 30K – he had a good race knocking 30 minutes off his previous time. Matt ran the 50K and did well (as usual) even after running 70 miles at Cactus Rose the previous weekend. I was very excited to introduce my friend, Lauren to trail running during this race. She ran the 15K which was her longest run to date. She had some knee issues, but still finished well. I told her (and Josh confirmed this) that running this 15K will be harder than the upcoming White Rock Half Marathon. So this race gave her plenty of mental toughness to finish White Rock.

The Rumble is put on each year by my running club – NTTR (North Texas Trail Runners). This race gets many people started in trail running in our area. It is supported by experienced ultra runners and an excellent RD – Tom Crull. I recommend the race all the time to my running friends and look forward to it each year. Next year I will carry more water with me between aid stations and do better.

Palo Duro 50 Mile

2008-10-20T14:01:00.000-07:00

It’s been two days now since the race, and it’s time to sit down and collect my thoughts about a truly epic experience. The race is held in Palo Duro Canyon State Park and it is truly one of my favorite places. The canyon is the second largest canyon in the United States. To picture it you really need to envision the Old West. I love the harsh beauty of the landscape and when the sun comes up and brightens up the red rock cliffs. I love the fact that you could see a rattlesnake at any turn on the trail. I love the big mule dear and wild turkeys. I saw them all in my stay at the canyon.

The race had been directed for nearly 25 years by trail running legend and Amarillo local, Red Spicer. Red created many of the trails inside the state park. A few months ago, Red lost his battle with cancer and passed away. I’d only met Red one time – when he offered me a slug of homemade moonshine after finishing the Grasslands 50 earlier this year. I politely declined.

To get a clearer picture of what Red was all about here is a quote attributed to him – and something I thought of often while running this race.

“Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, “Bring it on, darlin’, and don’t be stingy with the jalapenos.”

Red has a giant boulder on the trail named after him. I made sure to touch it on every loop.

I was not sure what to expect from myself at Palo Duro. I had not run much the previous three weeks. Not from lack of desire, but because my recovery from the “Run From the Ducks” was taking a lot longer than normal. My hamstrings were tight and both of my knees were sore for two weeks after the Ducks. The week before Palo Duro, I did a little “sharpening” by running shorter distances but at a faster pace. A couple of days before the race I felt pretty good.

The race started at a very civilized 7am. It was dark the first hour and a flashlight was necessary. As usual during most trail races, we started out slowly with everyone bunched up together. I love hearing the early morning runner chatter. Everyone is so upbeat this early in the race. After we hit the 3 ½ mile mark, the 50K racers went one direction and the 50 mile racers went the opposite direction so we were not bunched up any longer.

The race consists of four 12 ½ mile loops. I ran the first loop well. I loved watching the sun peak out above the canyon walls. It was semi-dark one minute and then – wow – the reds, browns, and green colors just exploded when the sun shown on them. It was truly a special moment. After awhile I realized I was on the same trail where I had taken a family hike almost two years ago. I had some terrific memories of watching my two children climb up the side of the canyon walls from this trail. And also a hike to the Lighthouse formation with Virginia that we did while my wonderful mother watched the kids for a few hours. I thought back on that family vacation often while running this race. I did not have my family with me physically at this race, but they were always with me.

I started the second loop strong, but around the 15 mile mark I started to slow down a bit. And 15 miles into an ultra is way too soon for this to happen, so the panic button went off a bit in my head. My knees were really barking at me and my hamstrings felt tight. I started wondering if I would be able to finish in the 12 hour time limit. And once self doubt comes creeping in, other things start to creep in as well. Instead of working through the problem that I was currently having, I started to think about the 50K race I have coming up in 4 weeks. In my head I went from running the 50K in four weeks, to dropping down to the 15K, to just volunteering at the race, to not doing anything at all and going fishing that weekend instead.

After a few miles of this, I snapped out of it and decided to do something about the cause of all this self doubt – my knees. I’m not a huge fan of taking ibuprofen during a race, but I had two tablets with me just in case. And the time was right to take them. They kicked in after 20 minutes or so and the self doubt never came back.

So with that problem taken care of I was able to pick up my pace. The third loop was my best loop. Even though it was pretty hot by now and with no shade in the canyon, I was feeling great. I had the ipod on and was locked in. The best moment of this loop was when I had Ice Cube’s “Today was a Good Day” blasting while roller coastering the up and downs through the main part of the canyon. I was loving it! That song was kind of the theme for me for this race.

Towards the end of the third loop I took a swig of my energy drink – Perpetuem. Due to the heat of the day and the fact that I had not put any ice in it in awhile, it was pretty dang warm. A couple of seconds later, I projectile vomited most of my stomach contents. I had not puked that violently since college. It was actually kind of comical and I got a big laugh out of it. I did not even stop running. It shot about 3 feet out in front of me and I felt better right away. But to be sure that this was not going to become a pattern, I took some ginger and Tums before starting the 4th loop.

The 4th loop for me was all about hanging on. I ran uphill sections that I had hiked on previous loops and started passing runners that were not finishing as strongly. That is always my goal at the end of a race. I want to have enough left in me to be able to finish strong. I saw Matt and his family at the last aid station before the finish and he asked me how I was feeling. I replied – “pretty wobbly.” Matt’s 3 year old son came up to me and gave my leg a big hug. It reminded me of my kids and helped me to charge on towards the finish.

I finished the race strong at 10 hours 41 minutes and with a big smile on my face. I was very pleased with my effort and I was happy that I got over the low spot I had early in the race.

I was lucky to have many trail running friends with me at the race. I camped with Matt and Buddy and their families along with Barbara and George. Matt and George ran the 50K because they are running a 100 miler in two weeks. Buddy and Barbara ran the 50 miler. Barbara was third overall female – she is incredible! The comradary at ultra races is amazing. Everyone is so supportive of each other. It’s not all about hammering each other into the ground. The distance of these events is enough. Finishing is to win. I love hanging out before and after the races. It is fun to tell and hear stories from the trail.

One other note: A week and a half before the race, I had shock therapy done to my right IT Band at the suggestion of my podiatrist. My IT Band condition had not completely healed and it’s been almost a year since it started. My podiatrist had not tried this type of therapy on the IT Band before, but he thought it would help me. I am happy to report that I had no IT Band issues at all during the race!

Next up -- the Rockledge Rumble 50K in 4 weeks! And no - I am not going fishing instead!

The Run from the Ducks

2008-09-29T16:29:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I did an interesting race called "The Race from the Ducks." It was an 8 hour timed event where the object is to run as many miles as you can in an 8 hour period. The course is a .48 mile loop and you just keep on running until they tell you to stop. I had a good day and was able to run a little over 40 miles.

The race is held in Mineral Wells, TX at the Clark Botanical Gardens. It is a very beautiful and a perfect venue to hold a race like this. We ran by interesting trees, plants, and of course ducks! There were also swans, lots of geese, and an interesting ground bird called a guinea fowl. So along with the runners and amazing volunteers there was a lot to look at to keep your mind occupied while running in circles for 8 hours!

I started the race very conservatively. I stayed loose and chatted with the other runners, my friends, and my mother in law, Nancy who supported me at the race. After two hours I was feeling pretty good, but 8 hours is a long time to run so I started mixing in walk breaks every other loop. I would walk for roughly 100 yards every mile. After we hit four hours, I started to pick it up a bit. From 4-6 hours I ran at a slightly faster pace while still doing the 100 yard walk every mile. When we got to 6 hours, I was feeling really good so I ran a little faster. Then from 7 to 8 hours I decided I would not do any more walk breaks and I ran as fast as I could (which was probably pretty slow at that point) until the very end. My goal was to do somewhere in the 35 to 40 mile range, so I was very happy with my result.

It was a really well organized race with really good support. We each had our own lap counters who you got to know while you past them 80 times during the course of the day. Thank you Jimmy and David! All in all, it was just a great day spent with friends and family doing something that I love.

Next up -- Palo Duro 50 on 10/18!

Leadville Race Report

2008-08-24T12:18:00.000-07:00

First of all, let me tell you that I did not finish this race. It was my first attempt at 100 miles and I was only able to complete 50 miles of the course before I timed out and was pulled me from the course. My fitness level was good, my hydration and fueling were good, my energy level was good, but I just could not breathe while climbing Hope Pass around mile 45. The high altitude claims another Leadville runner!

That being said, I am very proud of my effort during the race. I left it all out there. And this is one extremely tough race. Anyone who finishes this race is an absolute machine! That includes my running buddies - Matt and Jeff.

Leadville, Colorado is at 10,200 feet and they are very proud of that fact. Leadville's nickname is "Cloud City" and it definitely lived up to that name during the race.

Virginia, the kids, and I left Dallas on Wednesday and spent the night in Amarillo. We woke the next day and finished off the drive to Leadville. When we arrived, we set up our camper and headed to the grocery store. We picked up items for the race along with other meals we had planned. The altitude was already affecting me. I felt slow and kind of strange. V asked me to get some fruit for the kids and I was wandering around the store asking myself what she meant. "What was I supposed to be getting? Oh yeah, fruit -- now where do they put the fruit? What kind of fruit did she mean?" That kind of slow thinking.

It takes a lot of gear to run 100 miles!

Fueling Up Before the Race

Aunt Cathy, Mom, Me, V, and Josh at the start

The race starts at 4am. I slept a whopping 3 hours before the start of the race. My daughter, Sara decided she was cold and crawled into our bed at 12:30 where she wiggled around keeping V and I awake. Not that we'd be able to sleep anyway -- it is always hard to sleep before race day. Especially this race.

After laying there for hours staring at my watch, I got out of bed and started getting ready for the race. It was in the low 30's and raining. Perfect running weather, right? Oh well, you just play the hand you are dealt.

Virginia, the kids, my mother, aunt, stepfather, and buddy Josh were all at the start to see me off. I got a few more kisses, hugs, and well wishes and then the starting gun went off and we started running!

At the start of the race, I was overcome with this amazing feeling of joy. After two other false starts (Rocky and Western), I was finally living my dream of running a 100 mile race! I could not have been happier! Yes, it was bitterly cold and raining but I was finally running in a 100 mile race!

The race starts in town and then quickly heads out to the wilderness trails. I started off feeling pretty good. I did have to make two unexpected pit stops (must have been the two Cliff Bars and Gatorade's I pounded down right before the start) that required about 5 minutes each. I was a little worried about GI issues for awhile, but I was OK. The GI pit stops also put me almost dead last in the race. I knew I did not have worry too much about that, but I wanted to arrive at the first aid station by 2:45 elapsed. So I decided to pick up the pace a bit. It was a blast -- I was cruising pretty nicely passing people around Turquoise Lake. It was still dark so I could not see the lake, but I could tell it was there.

Finally the sun came up and I was able to turn my flashlight off. About this time, I was running in a boggy area around the lake. The person in front of me must of hit a bee or wasp nest because I was promptly stung 3 times on my legs. I yelled in pain and knocked the vile creatures from my legs and kept on running. I few seconds later they hit some other unfortunate runners behind me and I heard them screaming as well. Aside from the immediate pain, it was really kind of funny.

I made it to the first aid station - May Queen (13.5 miles) right on my target. I was very happy to make up the time I had lost from the pit stops and just filled up my pack and bottles and kept on cruising. No need to stop here long.

The next aid station was at the Fish Hatchery - 10 miles away. But before then, I had to climb over Sugarloaf Pass which is about a 1200 foot climb. It wasn't too bad, but it definitely slowed me down a bit. It was during this section that the skies opened up on us and we got hit with rain, pea and marble sized hail, along with some sleet and snow just for fun. That pattern would continue the rest of the day. It was miserable out there. But the weather can not be helped and we all had to deal with it. The awful weather really did not bother me too much. I was in 100 degree Dallas just two days before so it was kind of a novelty for me. "Snow in August? You've got to be kidding!"

The Jeep Road Up SugarLoaf

Turquoise Lake from SugarLoaf - see the clouds?

View from top of Sugar Loaf Pass

I arrived at the Fish Hatchery (mile 23.5) about 45 minutes ahead of the cutoff. I was still doing well. The climb over Sugarloaf had taken a little out of me, and I was in a bit of a low spot but I was OK. I met my crew at the aid station. The first person I see is my 5 year old son, Joe. He ran up to me and tells me that they have real live fish here and is extremely excited. "They have keepers here, Daddy!" It took me a few seconds to figure out what he was talking about. This aid station is at an actual Fish Hatchery where they produce most of the rainbow trout for the lakes and rivers in the state. Apparently, Joe saw some really big trout and he wanted to fish here and keep some fish. It really cracked me up.

This was another really quick aid station stop. I filled my bottles, refueled, and hit the road. I was at low point here for about 45 minutes. I could not run very long at this point and that had me worried. I took comfort in the fact that most other runners where power hiking as well. I found out later that this road is slightly uphill and just about everyone walks it. I was worried that I was already a bit trashed so early in the race. But I got my legs and energy level back and was running well again after about 45 minutes of this long road. I could tell that my family and crew was worried about me at this aid station. I wasn't as chipper as they had hoped. I guess the weather and Sugarloaf Pass did take something out of me.

But after awhile, I was feeling great again. My game face was back on and I was flying high! I was power hiking the uphills with authority and running well on the flats. I was practically flying on the downhills and was having a blast again!

Heading out of the Fish Hatchery

The Best Crew Ever!

The Long Road to Half Moon -- see the snow? It's freaking August!

I hit the next aid station at Half Moon (mile 30.5) feeling great. The aid stations and volunteers were wonderful. This is a first class race with tremendous support. These folks had to stand around in the freezing rain all day and night long to help us. It is a really tough job and they did it with smiles on their faces. I left Half Moon full of energy ready to get to Twin Lakes where I would see my crew and family again.

There were some more nice climbs in this section, but the last 3.5 where fast and downhill. I made up some time here and came into the Twin Lakes aid station (mile 39.5) an hour ahead of the cutoff. I was greeted by my crew and family. They were like a NASCAR pit crew -- they got my shoes changed, fed me, hydrated me, and sent me down the road in about two minutes. My buddy Josh walked with me about a half a mile while I was eating a sandwich. He filled me in on the next part of the course while getting me ready for the tough climb ahead. I was feeling really good leaving Twin Lakes. I was ready to tackle Hope Pass - the centerpiece of this race - and I had an hour in the bank ahead of the cutoff!

Heading Down into Twin Lakes

Feeling Good Again - love those turkey and bacon sandwiches - thanks, Mom!

I crossed a mountain meadow for about 2 miles, waded the Arkansas River (very fun and very cold), and started the 3.400 climb up Hope Pass. I had a good energy level, my hydration was right on, and my legs felt good. That was all about to change. I was about 1/3 of the way up to the top when the wheels started to fall off. It was a very gradual change. The first thing I noticed was that people were starting to pass me. Hey, I thought I was climbing pretty well. Oh well, I guess they are stronger climbers than me - no big deal. Then I started to have to take breaks every 5 minutes or so. No big deal -- this is a tough climb -- it is probably smart to stop every now and then. Then the breaks became more frequent. My legs started to turn to jello. And then I began to have a real difficulty breathing. As I got higher it got worse and worse. I really felt terrible. And then I basically became numb to it all -- I was on pure survival mode -- I just had to get to the top so I could get back down again. I was basically staggering up the mountain taking frequent rest breaks so I could catch my breathe. It was beautiful at the top of the pass (12,600 feet), but I was so out of it I could not enjoy it at all. I just wanted out of there.

After a monumental struggle I made it to the top of Hope Pass and finally started the decent. My legs felt rubbery and I still could not breathe so I had to jog/walk it until about a third of the way down. I then started feeling better and started to run again. The back side of the pass was steeper (but shorter) than the side I just climbed. I could not believe how bad I felt while I was up there and how good I felt now. I made good time on the way down the mountain.

Hope Pass - hidden by the clouds

But first - the river crossing!

Looking Up at Hope Pass

It's Hailing! Again!

The Trail up to Hope Pass

Am I seeing things? Llamas at the top of Hope Pass!
Apparently they are the only pack animal that can handle the high altitude!

Finally at the top of Hope Pass!

Amazing Views - I only wish I could remember them!

At this point I had my wits about me again and I knew that all of the time I had put in the bank on the cutoff was used up. I did not know how far I had to go to get to the next aid station but I felt like I still had a chance of beating the cutoff. I was pushing hard when I ran into my buddy, Jeff. He was on his way back up Hope Pass after hitting the turn around point at the next aid station - Winfield. He looked tired and somewhat depressed. I remembered then that he was trying to finish the race in 25 hours and he knew that he had no chance of doing that at this point. He is an extremely talented runner and for him to be this far back really told me something about this course. We talked for a moment. He told me that my family and crew helped him at Winfield and that they were waiting for me. I asked him how far it was and he told me at least 2 1/2 miles. We both did the math and I knew then that my race was over. I had 10 minutes left and I knew I could not make it. So we gave each other a quick hug and I wished him well.

I felt a big sense of sorrow that my race was over. I cried a few tears and then immediately felt better. I had given it my all out here. And I still felt like I could continue running. I just could not handle the altitude at Hope Pass. I learned later that less than 40% of the runners finished the race. Over 30% dropped from the race at Fish Hatchery (mile 23.5). I'm not sure if it was the lowest finishing rate of the race history, but it was definitely amongst the lowest. I also heard from the race director that this year had the worst weather in race history.

Sara and Joe giving Daddy a rubdown! I think Joe was still talking about the Fish Hatchery!

Krewe Krejci!

My family and crew were waiting for me at Winfield. They were a little surprised that it took me so long to get over Hope Pass. The last time they saw me I was moving well and feeling no pain. I told them about how the altitude affected me and they immediately understood.

The race officials cut my wristband and my race was officially over. I got a lot of hugs from my family as I sat down and took it all in. I had made it 50 miles and was 20 minutes over the cutoff limit. I had a sense of accomplishment for what I had achieved. I wanted more, but the course had beaten me.

My buddy Matt was supposed to run with me the last 50 miles of the race. Since my race was over, and since Jeff had no pacer we quickly decided that Matt would pace him the last 40 miles of the race. So off we went back to Twin Lakes to drop Matt off so he could help out Jeff. We saw Matt off and then headed back to our campground to get some food and much needed sleep.

When we arrived at the campground, my body went into some type of mild hypothermia. I could not get warm. I was shaking all over even though I had on 5 layers, was inside a sleeping bag, holding a space heater next to my chest, and was eating hot soup. I really thought something may be wrong with me. It took all of my concentration to stop shaking and finally fall asleep. My breathing was really labored and Virginia woke me up two times because she thought I was dieing in my sleep. I told her to stop it and just let me die -- I needed to go to sleep!

I woke up the next morning stiff and sore, but really no worse for the wear. We headed down to the finish line to see the runners come in. And in they came, slowly and looking just awful. It had rained and hailed more that night making for a terrible experience. Finally with just 30 minutes before the cutoff, Jeff and Matt appeared at the top of the hill! I was so happy to see Jeff finish this race! It was his first 100 mile trail race and under the worst possible conditions he had persevered and finished! We all cried a bit as he crossed the finish line. I was so happy that Matt was there to be able to help him get through the race. Jeff told me that he could not have done it without Matt's help and that he wanted to stop but Matt would not let him.

So what did I learn from this race? Actually quite a lot.

1) Altitude is not to be taken lightly. The runners who finished either live or train at altitude. If I am ever to do this race again, I'd come out here for at least 2-3 weeks before the race to acclimatize.

2) That I am stronger than I thought. I was able to deal with some seriously bad conditions along with the altitude and still only miss the cutoff by 20 minutes. There are some really talented runners out there that did worse than me. That gives me courage and encouragement for future races.

3) That I love these races. It is an experience like no other. It's you against the course and against yourself. I love the training. I love the planning. It is all to be enjoyed.

Most importantly I learned something I already knew. That I have the best support in the world with my friends and family. I really had the best crew at the race. They were always ready and turned me around extremely quickly. It meant the world to me to have them there. The tears I cried when I knew that I was going to miss the cutoff at Winfield was for them. I felt like I had let them down. They quickly reassured me that was not the case. They were overjoyed in the whole experience and were there to help me and offer love and encouragement. I am a lucky man.

Lastly, I have no immediate interest in doing this race again. I'll leave Leadville to the folks who are trained to run in high altitudes. It truly is a "Race Across the Sky". I don't have 3 weeks vacation to burn while my body gets used to the altitude. It is a beautiful and very tough course. I may be back to Leadville, but it won't be for several more years. My next race will be 100 miles at Rocky Raccoon in Huntsville in February. I am determined to complete this race!

Two Weeks until Leadville!

2008-08-03T08:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I completed my last "long" run before the Leadville Trail 100. I ran for a little over three hours with Matt. We ran from Garland to Sunnyvale -- crossing a part of Mesquite in the process. We ran to his parents house in Sunnyvale for a quick refueling stop before heading back to Garland.

It was a very enjoyable run except for this infernal heat wave that Dallas is going through right now. It is insanely hot all the time! 100 degree days are the norm right now and their is no end in sight! The cool/cold temperatures of Leadville will be so welcome to me (I think!).

So I am now into my tapering period. I feel strong and am ready for this race. In many ways the Western States experience was a dress rehearsal for this race. I've already gone through all of the feelings of fear, nervousness, and anxiety about a tough 100 mile race. The week of Western States I was almost hyperventilating at times while thinking about it. I am much more relaxed at this point going into Leadville.

Leadville

2008-07-11T14:21:00.000-07:00

OK, so what do I do with all of this training that I had built up for Western States? Do I back off and go into maintenance mode while waiting for the Fall and Winter races in the area? Or do I search for another 100 mile race out west that I can do right now? Last weekend I did some reflecting and I decided to go for it. Why wait, right? So I signed up for the Leadville Trail 100 that is held on August 16th. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about this race...

The Leadville Trail 100 Ultramarathon (aka The Race Across The Sky or the LT100), first run in 1983, is an ultramarathon held annually on trails and dirt roads at high altitude around Leadville, Colorado, through the heart of the Rocky Mountains. The course is difficult, with runners climbing and descending 15,600 feet, with elevations ranging between 9,200-12,620 feet. Because of its difficulty, it is common for less than half the starters to complete the race ahead of its 30 hour time limit. The next edition of the LT100 is set for August 16-17, 2008 starting at 4am on the 16th.

The course is a 50-mile out-and-back dogleg, starting at 10,200 feet. The centerpiece of the course are two climbs up to Hope Pass, an ascent to 12,620 feet, encountered on both the outbound trek and on the return.

Race co-founder Kenneth Chlouber, an avid marathon runner, conceived of the race as a way to make Leadville famous and bring visitors during a period of economic downturn. When he told the local hospital administrator about his idea he was told, "You're crazy! You'll kill someone!" Ken responded, "Well, then we will be famous, won't we?"

So I'm back into hard core training mode. I have roughly five weeks to get ready for this race. But in reality, I have only three more weeks of hard training before I go into a two week tapering period before the race.

The good news about this race -- typically heat is not a problem. The bad news about this race -- altitude -- and lots of it! Many runners go to Leadville or the surrounding area and live at altitude for two or three weeks before the race to get adjusted to the altitude. Unfortunately, I don't have that luxury. I'll be arriving in Leadville on Thursday night. The race starts at 4am on Saturday. So I'll be at altitude roughly 34 hours before the race starts.

I have a some incredible support for the race. Virginia, the kids, my mother and stepfather, my mother in law, and even possibly my grandmother will be at the race. Matt Crownover is coming along to pace me the last 50 miles. He's done this race before so having him here will be a huge comfort and support for me. We've run together for hundreds of miles the past several months training for Western States so he knows my running ability, what motivates me, etc. And he knows the course incredibly well which will help as well.

It's a good feeling having a race to work towards. I've signed up for two 100 mile races in the past year. I was injured for one of them so I could not start (Rocky Raccoon). And the other one was cancelled (Western States). Am I jinxed in this whole 100 mile business? I've signed up for Leadville to find out!

Western States Cancelled!

2008-06-30T20:16:00.000-07:00

Virginia, Nancy (mother in law), Steve (pacer) and I arrived in Squaw Valley on Wednesday afternoon before the race. I had the girls drop us off at the race site so Steve and I could take in the 1st timers race meeting while they checked into the condo. We got there about 5 minutes late and I noticed that everyone was in a terrible state of mind. The woman giving the talk was crying and it took a second to sink in that she was saying that the race may be cancelled. The final decision was made at 8pm that night. The race board had decided to cancel the 2008 race. I was stunned. It took awhile to sink in and even though I am back in Dallas now, it still may take awhile to fully take hold.

The race was cancelled due to the large amount of forest fires in the area. This is a 100 mile - point to point race and there were at least three fires very close to the trail. The logistics of holding this race are already insane. Having forest fires in the area made it impossible. The smoke was thick in most of Northern California and they just could not take the chance to hold the race. It was a smart decision, but it did not make it any less painful to me and the other runners. I had my first beer in over a month that night.

My training partner, Matt and his wife had already prepaid for their condo so they came out to Squaw Valley as well. We decided we'd just make it a running and hiking vacation and we'd just go to trails where the smoke wasn't as bad.

So I ended up getting in some incredible training runs and hikes. We ran on the Pacific Crest Trail one day which was amazing. Virginia and I hiked up to Emigrant Pass one day which was the highlight of the trip for me. I have an amazing wife and doing things like that are incredibly special. We hiked up to the top of Mount Rose another day - the highest peak in Nevada. And then Matt and I topped it off this morning with another hike up to Emigrant Pass and then a screaming fast run down the mountain. All in all it was a great vacation.

Now I have to figure out my next race. The WS Race Committee was kind enough to give us all automatic entries into the 2009 race, but I need to do a 100 mile race before then. So I have a little thinking and planning ahead of me. I'll figure it out. Onward!

I'm Ready!

2008-06-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

You know that scene that’s in every Rocky movie? The one where Rocky has lifted all of his weights, finished all of his sparing, and has run up the steps of that building while the theme song is playing? He is primed and ready to fight Clubber Lang, Apollo Creed , or that Russian dude. Well, that’s me right now. I’m ready for this race!

I’ve run all the miles, done as much hill work as possible, eaten right, weight lifting, yoga, and Pilates to get ready for this race. It feels really good that the hard training is over. The taper is finally here! And I am in the best shape of my entire life.

Most importantly, I am mentally ready for this race. I’ve got my head on right and I am ready for the challenge. It’s taken awhile to get here and I’ve gone through many ups and downs while training for this race. But now I am primed and ready to go. 11 days until the race – bring it on!

Sweat Test

2008-06-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

After my miserable experience last Saturday at Cedar Hill, I decided to find out how much fluid I am losing every hour while running. It’s called a sweat test and I did it on two very different occasions. It’s really easy. You weigh yourself without clothes before starting a run. Then you go out and run at race pace for 60 minutes without drinking (or peeing) and then weigh yourself again when finished. It is actually pretty shocking to see how much fluid you lose while running. Here are my results…

Day One – June 9th 7pm in the evening; 70 degrees; 78% humidity
Lost 2.5 pounds
2.5 x 16 ounces = 40 ounces lost in one hour

Day Two – June 12th Noon; 90 degrees; 51% humidity
Lost 3.75 pounds
3.75 x 16 ounces = 60 ounces lost in one hour

So you can see that I typically lose a lot of fluid when I run – probably more than the average person. Even when it was cool 70 degrees outside, I lost 40 ounces of fluid. 40 ounces equals 2 full water bottles.

But I know that I can not drink that much water during the race. Your body can only absorb up to 30 ounces of fluid per hour. I’ll really have to monitor my fluid intake during the race – especially during the heat of the day when we are in the canyons. Hydration can make or break my race. But armed with this info, I will be able to handle it a little bit better.

Heat

2008-06-08T07:22:00.000-07:00

I learned a huge lesson yesterday. Heat does not agree with me. I've known for a long time that I do not perform well in hot weather. But man, my run yesterday really kicked me in the butt. Here is how my last long run before tapering went down...

I started the day with 9 miles at Norbuck Park. I then had breakfast with my family and then picked up Matt for 5 hours at Cedar Hill Preserve. We started our run at 10am and finished at 3pm. I was doing great for about 3 1/2 hours -- then it all fell apart for me. And I mean really fell apart. I have never felt so bad while running. I know now that I had a case of heat exhaustion.

I was starting to slow down at this point in the run, so Matt and I decided that we would do a loop by ourselves. About 30 minutes after we separated, the wheels started to come off. I could not run the flats anymore -- I could only run the downhills. And the uphills were becoming a bear. I kept pounding water, but I knew something was wrong. It took me 15 minutes to do a climb that I can normally do in 2 minutes. I had to sit down and rest many times. My heart rate was elevated and I could not slow down my breathing. I was not running at all anymore -- in fact, I was barely walking. I finally got up the hill and made my way the final 2 miles to the car.

I sat gasping at the car, but knew that I needed to complete the run. I was hoping this was just a really low spot and I'd come out of it. I was not thinking very clearly at this point. I doused myself with water, put ice in my cap and bottles, tied a cold bandanna around my neck, and started out for another loop. I was able to run for about 50 yards before I was reduced to a staggering walk. I had to sit and rest at the slightest uphills. Something was definitely wrong with me. And that's when the nausea started. I've seen other people that have stomach issues while running ultras. Well, it was time for me to experience this side of ultraunning.

I felt like I'd had 15 beers the night before. My head started to hurt, I could not keep my breathing in check, I could barely walk, and now I was vomiting. I turned around to head back to the car. I was only about a 1/2 mile out on the trail, so I made it back in a reasonable time. I laid down on a picnic table and tried to get myself together. Somebody walked by and asked me if I was OK. I just grunted "I'm fine." Then I noticed a water hose not too far away. I walked over and hosed myself off. That really helped. My breathing was finally in check, but I couldn't stop the nausea. At this point, Matt had finished his loop and saw me. He's first reaction was, "Dude, what happened to you?" I filled him in and he made me hose off again and drink a ton of water and take some salt.

Eventually I got myself together enough to get in the car and head home. Matt drove home while I continued with my nausea -- really fun stuff! I jumped into his pool and drank some really cold Gatorade (thank you, Julie!) and finally started to feel better. And eventually I was able to drive myself home.

Looking back on it, I really can't believe I fell apart so quickly. It was about 2 in the afternoon when things went poorly. The sun had come out in full force and it was hot and humid but it wasn't 100 degrees or anything. I think I started the run a little too fast, sweat too much, and my body could not keep up with it. At least it happened to me now, so I can learn from it. During the race, I plan on staying as cool as possible. Ice in every water bottle, ice in my hat, ice in my bandanna. I'll douse myself with cold water at every aid station - stop at every river and stream crossing and throw water on myself and head.

Heat exhaustion is no joke. It's a day later and I still don't feel right. It was really the strangest feeling while it was happening. I've never felt anything like it. I could not stop my elevated heart rate/breathing, my ears felt clogged up, my voice changed, I was staggering, and the puking of course. And I believe I had a pretty mild case of it. Consider this a lesson learned. It's going to be very, very hot in the canyons of WS. I will do everything I can to stay cool before, during, and after that section of the race.

Training Camp

2008-05-29T12:53:00.000-07:00

I've been back from the WS training camp for a couple of days. I've now had time to reflect on the course, my mental attitude, and catch up on my sleep a bit.

First of all, the training runs were incredibly valuable to me. I got to run on the WS trail for two solid days and see what was in store for me during the race.

I flew into Sacramento, rented a car, and drove to Foresthill, CA where I would be camping for two nights. I set up my tent in the Foresthill Middle School soccer field with about 20 other adventurous souls. I say adventurous, because it started raining as soon as my tent went up and it did not stop for over 24 hours. And it was pretty dang cold - mid 40's. Much different from Dallas, Tx this time of year. I found a restaurant that made pasta, ate, and then crawled into my sleeping bag while it was still light outside. There was really nothing else for me to do and I figured I needed as much rest as possible.

I woke up the next morning around 3ish and could not go back to sleep. The rain was really keeping me awake, plus I was anxious about the upcoming run. I was about to run the hardest part of the course (the canyons) in some pretty miserable conditions. So I ate my breakfast and just stared at the top of my tent for 3 hours until it was time to get up.

I drove down to the run start and registered. The volunteers wrote a giant number on the back of my hand so they could keep track of all of the runners on the course. They did not want to lose anybody out there. Before I knew it, it was time to load up into the buses for an hour ride to get to the start of the run.

Everyone on the bus was incredibly excited. I had the great fortune of sitting next to a 7 time WS finisher who gave me some really good advice. I asked him how all of the rain would affect the trail. I know in Texas with all of our clay soil, it would be impossible to run in these conditions. He told me not to worry, the course drains really well, and that we'd just have to dodge a few puddles here and there.

We finally got to the trail and everyone poured of the bus. It was hilarious -- there were about 400 people heading for the nearest tree to relieve themselves. There was no modesty at all - everyone had to go really bad!

And then off we went. And man, was it miserable. We were at a higher elevation now and it was colder. And it was still raining. My hands were numb after 5 minutes. I was so thankful I'd brought my rain jacket. It started sleeting for a bit and there were piles of snow on the sides of the trail. At this point, I was thinking this is no fun at all. And it was muddy! Very, very muddy. But at least it wasn't the Texas clay mud that grips your shoes and doesn't let go. This was a fine mud - very slippery. I had mud inside my shoes the entire day. It made no sense to clean them out -- more just kept coming in. Some sections there was some nice shoe sucking mud. You really had to pick your steps carefully. I ran into my new friend at an aid station and he apologized for the bad advice about the trail conditions -- we both had a good laugh.

But man, I was finally on the WS trail! And that was a really good feeling. I was on the trail that I'd heard and read so much about. This is the trail I have been working towards for last 6 months. And I was about to run the most difficult section of the trail -- the canyons.

After 8 miles or so, we got to the decent into the canyons. And that was by far the most dangerous running I've ever done. The mud and foot traffic made the decent incredibly scary. I could not do my usual free fall type of downhill running. I really had to watch what I was doing and had to put the breaks on so I would not fall off the course. And a fall here would be bad. When you put the breaks on during these downhills, your feet slip in the mud. I would slide 5 feet at a time on certain descents. That out of control feeling with rocks, trees, and cliffs all around is not a good feeling. Somewhere on this section a runner sprained his ankle really badly. Other runners helped him out of the canyon where a helicopter was waiting to fly him out. He had hypothermia from the cold conditions. That's a very unlucky way to end your WS dream.

I finally reached the bottom of the first canyon and started my climb back up. This section is called the Devil's Thumb and I had heard a lot about it. In fact, I was really anxious about this climb. So many runner's races are dashed in these canyons and the Devil's Thumb is one serious climb. I just started at my normal climbing pace and kept on moving. I knew it would take time to get to the top and I just had to have patience and I would eventually get there. I reached the top after 40 minutes and I thought to myself -- hey, that wasn't so bad! But during the race, I'll already have run over 30 miles before this point and it will be at least 50 degrees warmer. So I know the canyon section is going to be tough. There were two other canyons after Devil's Thumb and they were all very hard, but manageable. And before I knew it, the run was over. Along the way, I had a great conversation with a lady who had completed WS 2 times and Badwater once amongst several other 100 mile races. She gave me some great advice and encouragement.

Day two was much easier. My legs were tired, but I was able to complete the 20 mile run in a little less than 4 hours. This had to be the easiest section of the course -- lots of really runnable terrain. I have to be sure I have legs left during the race to really take advantage of it. I'll also being running this section with my pacer, Steve, who've I've already told not to let me fall of the cliffs that are everywhere in this section.

Overall, the training camp was a great experience. I have come away from it with good confidence that I can complete this race. I am now mentally ready and physically I am about as good as shape as I can get in. Two more tough weeks of training before I begin my taper. I will be ready for WS100! 30 more days!

5K

2008-05-19T13:56:00.001-07:00

I got a call from Matt on Thursday asking me if I'd like to enter the Heartbeat 5K that his hospital sponsors each year. But here was the catch - he wanted to work it into our regular Saturday long run. So we'd run for awhile and then do the 5K on somewhat tired legs.

On Saturday morning, I woke early and started my regular long run. Matt met me at Flag Pole Hill after I got in 7 hilly miles and then we headed off to Presbyterian Hospital for the race. But we miscalculated the distance to Presby so we had to really push it to get to the race by the 8:30 start time. We arrived at the race with 5 minutes to spare and I was dripping wet somewhat dehydrated mess. And I was already tired. I had 11 hilly miles on my legs and I'd basically already run close to my race pace just to get there. So my expectations for the 5K were really low. My goal was to average 8 minute miles or better (remember, I am a really slow runner!) and to not fall apart at the end of the race. I pounded some water and got myself together for the race.

I started the race and actually felt OK - I love that race day magic! The first mile had a nice downhill to it so I pushed it a bit. But you always pay for those downhills because the 2nd mile was mostly uphill. I made the turn to head back to the hospital for the last mile and knew that we had a gentle downhill with a pretty nice uphill right at the finish. At this point I was just trying to hold it together and maintain my pace. I was still passing a few runners that went out to quickly, but I knew I could not hold the pace much longer. I made the turn to the finish just as Matt yelled out - "Krejci is dropping the hammer!" (of course, he'd already finished by now) and finished with a 24:31.

I was happy with my effort and frankly really surprised. I did not think I could run that fast after already putting in 11 miles before the race. I've only run one other 5K (2 years ago) and I finished this one over a minute faster. I am not a huge fan of the 5K distance. Running 3.1 miles at a fast pace (for me) really freaking hurts! I'm not kidding when I say I'd rather run a marathon than a fast 5K.

After the race we ran back to my house and then Matt continued on to his house. I got in a total of 16 miles - 3 of which were really fast - and 3 of which were close to my race pace. And in the hills at Flag Pole and it was a pretty good training run. Next weekend is training camp weekend on the WS100 trail. I can not wait to get out there and see the course for myself. I am incredibly excited. 40 more days until WS100.

The Hill

2008-05-09T06:50:00.000-07:00

The Hill is a beating. The Hill has made me sore for the last two days. The Hill is exactly the specific training I need to finish WS100.

The Hill is a small patch of grass alongside I-45 just south of Dallas. And it is the steepest thing we have within 30 miles of Dallas. And when I say alongside I-45, I am talking you are running down this hill and putting on the breaks right before you end up in the road. I believe it may freak out drivers a bit to see people barrelling down this hill and then stopping right before the freeway. It's a little unnerving for the runners as well -- especially when you are tired.

The routine goes like this - power hike up The Hill - run down The Hill - repeat until your quads and calves beg for mercy.

I did two hours at The Hill with Matt on Wednesday - total elevation gain was 3700 feet. The plan is to work the The Hill into our training every Wednesday after work for the next several weeks.

Here is what my training looks like right now.

Monday - easy run - 4 miles - work out the kinks of the Saturday long run; yoga at night
Tuesday - speed day - 4-6 miles - with mile repeats
Wednesday - hill day (see above); Pilates at night if I can get it in
Thursday - easy, easy run - 4 miles - work out the kinks of The Hill
Friday - rest - usually do some walking on this day - 2 miles
Saturday - long run on trails - 18-30 miles depending on the week
Sunday - total rest

My total weekly mileage has been in the 35-40 mile range for the last several weeks. This is really not that many miles to run while training for WS100. Most people average 50-70 miles a week during April and May leading up to the race. Many folks average 100 miles a week. Well, I tried the heavy mileage thing while training for the Rocky Raccoon 100 and my IT Band fell apart. I believe that 35-40 miles per week is really as much as I can do right now without injuring myself again.

I am thinking quality runs over quantity right now. I'm doing as many specific training runs as possible. Hills for strength and mental toughness, speed work for speed - because I am a slow ass runner, and long runs because this is a long ass race. The other runs are all for recovery. And the walks are to make me a faster power hiker which is a skill I know I'll need on the WS100 course.

I've come a long way from last December and January when I could not run a step due to my IT issue. Speaking of the IT - it's still aches most days, but it allows me to run. And I always run on soft surfaces like the Katy Trail or on single track trails on my long runs.

50 days until WS100!

Ouachita Forest Backpacking Trip

2008-05-05T14:17:00.000-07:00

This past Friday, I headed out for a backpacking trip with some of my friends from church. We hiked a trail in the Ouachita National Forest. I'd never backpacked before, so it was new experience for me. We headed up the Horse Thief Springs trail around 1ish on Friday afternoon. The hike was a lot of ups and downs, but mostly up. We hiked through woods with a lot of rocks and even some boulder fields that we had to cross. We made it to the top of the 2000 foot "mountain" around 6 in the afternoon. I would rate this trail as mostly unrunnable and a fairly difficult hike. It took us basically 5 hours (including breaks where we debated on which direction to go, etc.) to hike roughly 7 miles.

We camped at the top of the "mountain" near the springs. The next day we hiked back down going on different route which was much easier. We camped near Cedar Lake that night. I had enough time to get in one 3 mile run around the lake after setting up camp. I also did a little fishing. Overall a really nice trip and some decent training for WS.

Overall mileage for the two days - 16 on some pretty tough terrain. This week I plan on hitting it much harder. 54 days until WS!

The Toughest Trail in Texas

2008-04-27T18:06:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Matt and I did a training run at the Cross Timbers Trail on the Oklahoma/Texas border. It runs along Lake Texoma and is considered by many the toughest trail in Texas. I'm not completely sure about that - but it was an ass whipping!

We started the run at 3pm and finished up sometime around 11pm. The goal for this run was to start on somewhat tired legs (from walking around all day doing normal Saturday chores) and to finish up in the dark to get me used to night running.

We started at one end of the trail and did an out and back. We timed it to have just enough daylight to get back to the car before sunset. We did not want to get caught out there without lights when it got dark. We could have made it back to the car in the dark, but it would have been very, very slow going.

The trail itself is really beautiful. It runs along Lake Texoma so you really can't get lost -- you just keep the lake to your right. There were many nice climbs, some pretty hairy descents, and actually a couple of short flat sections where you could really stretch your legs and run hard. We met a few hikers who were out on the trail and camping overnight. I made note of this as a good place to do a hike/camping trip with my family.

They do a trail race here every year and due to the difficulty of the course it posts some of the slowest finishing times of any other race in Texas. After spending 6 plus hours on it, I could really see why.

After making it back to the car, we grabbed our lights and headed out into the night. This was my first time trail running at night. It took a little while to get used to it, but it wasn't too bad. You just have to stay focused. If you let your mind wander for a moment, you can easily trip over a root or rock and hit the ground. Your pace slows down a bit on the flats and on the downhills, but you can still crank it up the hills OK.

We ran the toughest part of the trail over and over again. At one point, I started doing the math in my head about what time we'd get back to Dallas. When I calculated it would be after 2am, I told Matt it was time to hang it up. Plus I was starving! So we packed it in and headed back to Dallas. We stopped for a quick Whataburger with all the drunk folks and I hit my pillow sometime after 2am.

Great run - felt good most of the time - just a little IT Band soreness for about 15 minutes during the last part of the run. 61 days to go until WS100!

Mississippi River Levee Run

2008-04-22T05:56:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday, the family and I drove to Plaquemine, Louisiana for my cousin Jessica's wedding. We had an amazing time -- it was great hanging out with my family for 3 days. The wedding itself was wonderful - truly a joyous occasion. It has to be one of the best weddings I have ever attended. Incredible wedding service, amazing reception - and it did not hurt that my two children where in the wedding and that Jessica and Andre are a terrific couple. Needless to say, I overdid it on the food and libations during the trip -- like I always do when I visit them. Folks in Louisiana just know how to throw a party!

However, I did work in one nice long run while in Louisiana. I started my run in downtown Plaquemine and went south on the Mississippi river levee towards New Orleans. The levee is really a great place to run. It is flat and has a dirt/gravel road on top of it. You don't have to worry about footing at all - you can just let your mind wander. My plan was for a two hours out and then turn around for two hours back. I had my hydration pack and two bottles of water - enough for basically one bottle of water every hour.

I started the run while it was still dark. I climbed on the levee and started jogging south. As the sun came up I was able to see the river which was only 10 feet from the top of the levee. We've had a wet winter across our country and the river is at an extremely high point. My uncle who has lived in Plaquemine his entire life has only seen the river higher one other time. If the levee did not exist, the entire town of Plaquemine and many other towns along the river would be under water right now. It was kind of strange to be running on ground much higher than the town itself. At my level, I was above the roofs of all of the homes that line the river road to the side of the levee.

The levee itself is really not that wide. It is built like a pyramid and is about 30 yards wide at its base. To my left was the river - to my right was a narrow field of pasture grass and then the river road. I was running about the same pace as the river - I made a little game of keeping up with various pieces of drift wood. If I only looked at the river, I felt a little like Huck Finn out there. I saw alligator gar, turtles, herons, and other assorted wildlife. Looking to my right, I saw sugarcane fields, farms and ranches, lots of industry, mixed in with nice homes (including one plantation home built before the Civil War) and ramsackle shacks. There was a wide variety of different things to view. I don't think I they have a lot of zoning laws in Louisiana.

The sun began to creep higher in the sky. It was a typical spring morning in South Louisiana. Humid, but not terrible. It rained on me a bit, but stopped quickly - the sun came out and then would go behind the clouds for awhile. Overall, not too bad. However, with the coming daylight I started to notice warning signs on the levee - no trespassing - levee road not for public use - violators will be prosecuted. That started to worry me a bit. I did not want to run on the river road down below me - a lot of the houses along the road had dogs in the front yard that made me nervous. Plus there were cars and giant trucks whizzing by pretty often down there. I decided to push on and take my chances on the levee.

Pretty soon I ran upon a bunch of cattle that were laying down in the middle of the levee road. As I got closer, they picked up and started trotting off ahead of me. I was cool with that and I started to have a little fun with them. I'd pick up the pace and the cows would run faster - staying about 20 yards ahead of me the entire time. I'd slow down and then they'd slow down -- always staying ahead of me. I then realized that they were not going to turn around - they were going to stay ahead of me as long as I kept running behind them. That made me a little concerned. I kept imagining the rancher watching me and seeing me move his cattle 5 miles down the levee and getting pissed. So I started to run faster thinking I may be able to overtake the cattle and then they'd stay behind me. No such luck -- cows can run way faster than I can! So I just kept running - all the while getting more nervous about the warning signs on the levee and the cows that I was moving far from where I found them. Finally the cows stopped and turned around. I looked a little ahead of them and saw a fence and cattle guard. What would the cows do now? They were trapped between me and the fence. Would they try and jump the fence to get away from me? Would they run into the Mississippi itself and be swept off to New Orleans? Would they charge me and I would have to jump into the Mississippi and be swept off to New Orleans? Those were my thoughts as I inched up closer to the cows. I was careful to divert my face and not make eye contact with them as I started to pass. Needless to say, nothing happened. The cows did not move at all and I made my merry way around them.

Back to those warning signs along the levee road. I had passed about 10 of them by now. My imagination was running wild. I kept thinking that the sheriff would be pulling up behind me any second. I looked over my shoulder constantly. I really did not want a ticket -- or worse -- be locked up for the weekend for trespassing. So I made the decision to run back to town on the river road. I'd take my chances with the dogs and the trucks. It turned out to be a good decision - right after I started running on the road I saw the rancher on the levee tending to his cows - I ran quickly by him. Then an refinery worker was on the levee doing some kind of pipeline work. I ended up passing three different trucks on my way back to Plaquemine that were up on the levee.

The river road was not too bad. Lots of roadkill - I counted 5 dead armadillos in a one mile stretch. The dogs were all chained up - so no issues there. The cars and trucks were not too fun - there was very little shoulder on the road to avoid them. I ran into a guy who was doing some yard work and he asked me how far I was going. When I told him 20 miles - he about fell down. I don't think they see a whole lot of recreational runners in Plaquemine, Louisiana.

Overall it was a great trip, wonderful wedding, and pretty interesting run. I love running in new places!

Bad Weather Run

2008-04-12T15:26:00.000-07:00

It's been three weeks since my last post. I laid off running for about a week after the Grasslands - did a lot of walking, stretching, and yoga/Pilate's. The past two weeks have been pretty solid training (with the exception of a business trip to Denver where I just drank for two solid days -- but we all need that sometimes, right?!) Anyway, things are going pretty smoothly. I still feel the IT pain nearly every day, but now it's more of a dull ache. I also feel it during my long runs, but it comes and goes - mostly when I get into a hilly section of a run. I'm not completely over this injury - it will probably stay with me for the months to come. It has taken forever to heal, but I am 100% better than when I was first injured - and at least I can now run!

Speaking of running, I had an interesting hill workout on Wednesday with my buddy Matt. The forecast that afternoon was for torrential thunderstorms, hail, and possible tornadoes. So what did we do? We went out and ran anyway. I met him at Flagpole Hill and we did 8 very hilly miles in Flagpole Hill and Norbuck Park while the heavens were unleashing their fury for nearly two hours. I was soaked to the bone and numb after two minutes of being out of the car. At that point, it did not matter anymore. We just ran. Up the hill, down the hill, to the tree at the top of the hill, and down to the tree at the bottom of the hill -- repeat, repeat, repeat. At the end of the run, the mud was getting pretty bad. Thankfully I had to pick up the kids at 7:30, so I was able to cut the workout a little short.

Matt did not seem disappointed. We both knew that we would have not even attempted that workout if we were both not there to push each other. He's been an invaluable training partner and mentor for the WS100. He's run 3 or 4 100 mile races and has paced someone at WS100 in the past. I've learned a lot from him.

The family and I are going to my cousin's wedding in Louisiana this week. Sara and Joe are in the wedding as flower girl and ring bearer. I am so excited to visit my family and see my cousin get married. The seem like a perfect match. In between the beers, the cajun daiquiri's (my favorite), crawfish, my Nanie and Netta's cooking, and the wedding festivities I will work in a few runs. I've run along the Mississippi river levee in the past which is a pretty interesting run. I need to do some checking around to see if there are any other cool trails in the area.

I have decided to not run the Freestate 100K in Lawrence, KS. The thought of driving 9 hours on Friday - then running for 12 hours on Saturday - then driving back to Dallas for 9 hours on Sunday basically made the decision for me. I'd like to do this race one day, but not this year. So instead, I'm going to run 40-50 miles with some running buddies at the Cross Timbers trail near Lake Texoma on that Saturday. It's a really tough trail and I am looking forward to experiencing it. And it's only 2 hours from the house instead of 9. I'll let you know how that goes.

A Confidence Boost - The Grasslands 50

2008-03-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I completed a 50 mile race outside of Decatur, TX called The Grasslands. Last year I did the marathon, so I was familiar with part of the course. I went into the race with very modest goals. 1) To get through the race healthy - no matter how long it took me 2) To get some good time on my feet for WS training 3) To monitor my fluid and calorie intake effectively - I did not want to bonk.

Well -- I blew away my goals! Here is how my day unfolded...

My buddy Josh and I stayed at his parents house in Denton the night before the race. Their house is about 30 minutes from the race start so we got to sleep in a bit. We woke at 4:30 and were out the door by 5:15am. We arrived at the race and made our last minute race preparations and then at 7am - we were off. OK - everyone else was off -- I started the race by power hiking. So I was dead last. And I did not care at all. My strategy for the race was to power hike 5 minutes then run 5 minutes -- repeat. I did this for the first 20 miles and I was averaging a 12:30 minute pace which is really respectable for the terrain and the distance. I made friends with some of the other runners on the course. I met Sean from Michigan who was running his very first 50 miles. We would leap frog each other. He would catch me when I power hiked and then I'd catch him when I would run. We did this for miles. About mile 20 I met Nick from Houston. He ran Western States last year and made it to mile 85 before timing out. He gave me a ton of advice about the race. At this point, I decided that I could really use Nick's advice so I decided to stop my 5/5 plan and run with Nick. We ran together for about 5 miles. Nick told me he was using the Grasslands to qualify for Western States again and had a 11 hour goal. I told him he better pick up the pace a bit because we were at mile 25 and he had to run the next 25 miles at the same pace to do that. Running an even split like that during any race is difficult, but I could tell Nick had some speed so I thought he could do it.

At this point in my race I was feeling really good - my energy level was high. The 5/5 plan left me with a ton of gas in my tank. Physically - my IT Band was sore but not hurting - my right ankle was swollen from the Waco race two weeks ago but was not killing me. And Nick's speech about qualifying for Western States again really motivated me. So I started to pick up the pace hoping he'd follow me. But I lost him at an aid station and pushed on my myself. I ran miles 26-40 pretty much by myself. There was the occasional runner I passed and a lot of folks riding horses, but other than that I was alone. I really pushed hard during this part of the race. I had decided that I would also try and break 11 hours. I was feeling good - so why not? That was not the plan going in, but plans change - right?

My buddy Josh ran the 1/2 marathon that morning and had been waiting for me all day long. He ran his race (he PR'd!!!) then ate, rested, and even taken a nap while waiting for me. The plan was for him to pace me the last 10 miles of the race. Of course, he did not know that I would be going for a goal time. He thought we'd be taking it easy for the last ten miles. So after punishing himself with a very tough 1/2 marathon, he would now be running over 10 miles up and down hills, through sand, and creeks all the while motivating me to run fast. He was waiting for me at the car ready to go. I told him I have two goals - to break 11 hours and I don't want anyone to pass me. He said -- let's do it! And off we went for the last 10 mile loop.

We were cruising along at a nice pace - power walking the uphills (Josh is good at this and really helps me) and running the flats and downhills. We started passing a ton of people - most of whom are veterans of this race. At first I felt like these guys are faster than me - they'll take off soon and leave us behind -- but finally I knew that they were toast and I had a lot left in me so we took off past them. The last 10 miles flew by and soon we were close to the finish. We just had a nice 1/2 mile climb to get there. All of a sudden a runner blows by us running very fast up this hill. I recognized him as a guy who was resting at the last aid station. He was apparently a very talented runner because he could still run up that hill after running 49.5 miles! Believe it or not, I was a little disappointed. I really did not want anyone to pass me. But this guy just flew up that hill - we pushed hard but there was no way to catch him. Oh well! But I did accomplish my time goal -- I finished in 10 hours 32 minutes and had a smile on my face!

So what does that say about my training and this race? 1) I am becoming a better power walker - I literally walked 10 of the first 20 miles of this race and still finished with a solid time 2) my hydration and calorie plan worked well 3) don't worry about where you are in a race -- even if you are dead last. Just run your race - you know your strengths and weaknesses. Run hard when you are at a section of your strength and power hike when you can't run. 4) I still had a lot left in me. I was tired of course, but I could have kept running for a long time - that is what ultimately gave me the huge confidence boost.

I also found out that I really like starting last and then catching people as the day moves along. 50 miles is a long way to go - you can not go out too fast - better to save your gas for later.

So how did my new friends Nick and Sean do? Josh and I waited at the finish line for them. The clock was down to 10:57 minutes and I was getting worried about Nick. You could tell how bad he wanted to break 11 hours to qualify again for Western. All of a sudden I see him make the turn and he is sprinting the last 200 yards of the race. He crossed the finish line and fell over. He did it in 10:59 and qualified again for Western! He's going to be at the Western training camp in a few months so I'll get to chat with him again. He's a good guy.

Nick told me he passed Sean at mile 41 and Sean was power hiking the rest of the way in. I think the Texas heat got to him a bit. He's from Michigan so coming down to this temperature while his home is still very cold was a shock to his system. We waited awhile and then here comes Sean across the finish line! He ran a very respectable race and it was his first 50 miler! That is a GREAT feeling!

So what's next? First thing is to heal up a bit. My ankle worries me and my IT Band is a little sore. I am going to take it easy for the next few days and then decide my next race. I'm still targeting the Free State 100K, but I want to be sure it will do me more good than harm. I'll decide this week sometime.

Until then -- HAPPY EASTER - HE IS RISEN!

Working On My Golf Game

2008-03-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

I am still not quite 100%. My right IT band is about 85% healed. But I am back on track and running again. And boy does that feel good! I am not doing the 50-60 mile weeks on the hard road that led to my injury. Instead I am taking the advice of my running buddy Matt and doing very specific training. For example, I will be power hiking at least 40% of the WS100. That much of the course is unrunnable to a person with my abilities. So I am now working on my power hiking. And I am getting good at it.

The analogy that Matt uses is "working on your golf game". In golf, you have your driver and you have your putter. If you are only good at one of them you are going to be a terrible golfer. So you need to practice both. The driver is your running. The putter is your power hiking. It does not hurt my leg to power hike, so I am doing much more of that now. I want to be a really fast power hiker. That will help me immensely in this race.

My typical training week looks like this right now.

Monday - 4 mile run at an easy pace at lunch. Yoga at night.
Tuesday - Power Hiking the hills in my neighborhood for one hour. Weight training at lunch or at night.
Wednesday - Hills - walk up - run down -- basically it is 5 miles of hills. Weight training at night or at lunch. Pilates (core) at night.
Thursday - 4-6 mile run at lunch or at night.
Friday - 4-5 miles of power hiking at a 12.5 to 15 degree incline on the treadmill. I do this to simulate the climbs I will face on the course -- especially the first major climb to Emigrant Pass.
Saturday - trail running - 15-20 miles - do a race every four weeks of 30 miles or longer.
Sunday - REST

Some of my week day runs will be a little longer than above. It just depends on how much time I have available at the time.

I am going to work on some speedwork on the Wednesday runs instead of hills a little closer to the race. I need to work on my speed to beat those aggressive WS early cuttoffs.

I am on a 4-5 week training cycle right now. Here are the races or longer runs I am targeting.

March - Grasslands 50 mile next weekend
April - Freestate 100K at the end of April
May - WS Training Runs at the end of May -- this is on the actual WS course and is highly recommended
June - WS100

I may also do an additional training weekend in the Guadalupe Mountains of far West Texas if I can work it in in May.

Right now, my immediate focus is the Grasslands 50. I ran the marathon there last year. The course is not terribly difficult. I am hoping it will be hot so I can work on my hydration plan. I am going to do a 5/5 plan at this race. Run 5 minutes/Power Hike 5 minutes. I don't think my IT band is up for running the entire course. I am treating this as a training run. I will work on my calorie intake and hydration plan. My buddy Josh will be out there with me. He is running the half marathon and then hanging out all day to pace me for the last 10 miles of my race. That is incredibly cool of him. I am really looking forward to this race. Hopefully my IT band will hold up. If it does, it will give me a huge boost of confidence for the rest of my training and races leading up to WS100.

105 days until WS100!!!

Not quite 100%, but running again!

2008-03-06T15:49:00.000-08:00

I've been running now pain free for a few weeks and it feels GREAT! My knee/IT Band is still not completely healed yet, but it feels good enough to get out and RUN! I am exactly 114 days from the WS100 and I have a ton of training to do before the race.

I ran 12 miles at Cedar Ridge Preserve last weekend with my buddies Josh and Matt. That trail is probably the best in Dallas for the type of terrain I will face during the WS100. I was pretty dehydrated from having some GI issues earlier in the week, but finished the run feeling OK.

This Saturday I headed down to Waco for the Waco 20 (20 mile race) held in Cameron Park next to the Brazos River. Wow -- what a great race - very beautiful and very hilly! Who knew that Waco had so many hills?!! I treated it as a training run and went out really easy. I finished in the back of the pack, but could not have been happier. I went 20 miles on a really tough course and had very few issues with my IT band. It started to bark a bit around mile 13 while going through some tough hills, but was fine a mile later. I felt strong the entire time and finished with a smile on my face.

I had the pleasure of attending the event with Matt, his terrific family, and a new buddy named David. These guys are very talented runners and did the 50K race where they both finished well. During the ride home, I got some good tips from these guys for the WS100.

I got a total of 1 hour of sleep before this race which helped to simulate race conditions during WS100. Last night was our good friend D'Lane's 40th birthday party at Ozona's. It was a GREAT time. Her husband (and another one of my running buddies, Bill) had his band play. D'Lane joined them onstage for a few select songs and it was a riot. Great night and great training for staying up all night during the Western States.

OK - I'm beat - and with the time change I need to get the kids to bed early tonight so I can get some much needed sleep!

Cowtown

2008-02-24T17:56:00.000-08:00

This Saturday, my buddy Josh finished his very first marathon -- the Cowtown! I am incredibly proud of him. He and I trained all summer long for the White Rock Marathon, but he sprained his ankle stepping off a curb exactly one mile into that race. You can read all about that experience in one of my December posts.

But Saturday was his day! He ran strong the entire time through a pretty challenging course. Ft. Worth is much hillier than Dallas and it seems like the race takes you up and down each one those hills! My buddy Trey, his daughter Alex, Josh's wife Ann, and I crewed for Josh during the race. We met him every four miles to offer support and give him his electrolytes, etc. There was one particularly tough hill around mile 14 where everyone was walking. We saw Josh about a 1/2 mile after that hill and I mentioned it to him. He told me he ran that entire hill! I was blown away!

I offered to pace Josh through the last 11 miles of the race and he graciously accepted. So I was able to get a nice training run in and help support my buddy. My knee/IT Band held up fine, but my legs felt really heavy after awhile. That was the longest run I've done since the injury. It feels really good knowing I can at least run 11 miles now without the crippling IT Band pain.

Josh had a really good race. He prepared well and his hard work paid off. He ran all of his long runs (after I got injured) by himself which can be a tough thing to do. But he stayed with it and this marathon is something he will always remember. Right now he says the Cowtown will be his only marathon and he'll stick to half marathons going forward. But I'm not so sure about that. Once marathoning is in your system, it's hard to get out! He's planning on running the Grasslands Half in March. I'm scheduled to do the marathon on that course. I'm hopeful that my IT issues are behind me, but I'm still taking every precaution so that it doesn't creep up and bite me again.

Final notes about the Cowtown. Wow -- what a great course! It is very pretty and takes you through some of the best parts of the city. I really enjoyed the portion of the course I ran. The race is much more laid back than White Rock which really appeals to me. They offer a 5K, 10K, 1/2 marathon, marathon, and 50K. I highly recommend this race. I will be back one day and do it myself.

Orthotics and Cortizone

2008-02-17T15:30:00.000-08:00

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post. And the reason for the long layoff is because I have actually been RUNNING! Not a ton, but I am actually hitting the pavement and trails for at least 4 miles at a time! I just got back from an 8 miler at White Rock and feel great! I am icing my knee just in case, but I had no major issues while on the run. It still does not feel like my other knee, but I feel like I may finally be making progress.

A little over two weeks ago, I went to a highly recommened podiatrist. He is an ultrarunner himself and is very familiar with the WS100. His thought was he needed to get me running immediately (amen, brother!) and while he fitted me for othotics he asked how I felt about getting a cortizone injection. Now if you know me, you will know that I am deathly afraid of needles. I have not had a shot for over 15 years and that last one was completely necessary.

After thinking it over for about 15 minutes (while he was working on my foot mold), I gave in and told him to go ahead and give me the cortizone. It really wasn't as bad as I imagined it, and I was able to run 2 days after getting the shot with no pain. The cortizone numbs the inflamed IT Band and helps the swelling. I am hopeful that this shot will keep me going for the months to come.

I was incredibly excited to get my orthotics. They fit into my shoes very well - though they felt kind of strange to begin with. I've been running in them now for a little over a week and am digging the results.

Maybe I have turned a corner here with this IT Band Syndrome. I sure hope so. I have a ton of miles to put in before the WS100 and not much time to do them. I have to remember to be smart about my training plan. I can't do too much too soon. The run I just completed has me feeling like I could run 50 miles tomorrow. But I know that I must take it slowly and work back up to the heavy mileage. My main goal is to get to the starting line of the WS100 healthy!

Rocky Raccoon Aid Station Volunteer

2008-02-03T19:26:00.000-08:00

I just got back in town from volunteering at the Rocky Raccoon 100. This was my original target race, so it was strange going down there and not running. But volunteering at the aid station was almost as much fun as running the race itself!

My best friend, Nathan McMartin, met me in Huntsville on Friday night and we camped out in the state park where the race is held. We camped next to Chris Lubert and Matt Crownover who were both running the race. We built a nice campfire and chatted with the guys until turning in around 11ish.

Nate and I woke at 4:45 and made our way out to the Dam Road Aid Station where we worked for the next 12 hours. I had never worked an ultra aid station and it was a surreal experience to say the least. I ran the hydration table while Nate worked the drop bags. We were at the busiest aid station in the race because the runners past our station twice each loop. Lynn Ballard was our aid station captain. He is an experienced ultra runner and ran a great aid station. We took great pride in making sure the runners were well taken care of. We gently nudged the guys and gals out of the aid station who were lingering around around too long and helped out the folks who had to drop from the race due to injury.

It's amazing to see how good someone looks early in a race and how awful they look later that day. We were out there 12 hours so we saw a complete transformation of some people. I remember the guy who had a complete dead look in his eyes as he staggered out of the aid station and how good he looked just 4 hours before! Nate had to dodge projectile vommit from a lady who was suffering pretty badly. I saw some badly blistered feet, lots of folks were bleeding after taking some nice falls, and I saw quite a few people puke. But for all of that suffering, everyone just dealt with it and kept moving. It was quite inspiring.

There was a guy there who weighed at least 300 pounds. I saw him last year when I ran the 50 mile race. I talked to the guy this year and this is his 5 year in a row to do this race! He walks the entire course and it takes him a long time, but he finishes every year! He just blew me away!

After our shift was over, we went back to our campsite and had a nice dinner and a few beers. We congratulated Matt Crownover on finishing the 50 mile course in under 8 hours! He had an amazing run! He is running the Western States this year as well, so we will be doing some training together. He is a much more talented runner than I am and he has given me some great advice. Our other campsite mate, Chris Lubert was still on the course but we found out the next morning that he had done the 100 mile race in 21 hours. That is an incredible time -- and it was his first 100 mile race!

Volunteering at the race was a really fulfilling thing for me. It fealt great to finally give a little back to this sport that I love so much. I wanted to help those runners so badly. Especially the folks who were suffering so much. We ran into an older guy later that night, who was just begging for someone to pace him for a loop. I would have done it if I could have. In fact, the 8 beers I had drank at that point actually made me think that I could do it without further injuring my IT Band. But common sense (and my buddy Nate) made me realize that it would be foolish to do that - no matter how bad I wanted to help the guy. So I went to bed instead.

This morning we packed up and I headed back to Dallas. As I was leaving, I was watching those few runners who were still on the course and would be finishing shortly. I could not imagine what they were feeling after running for over 26 hours. I'll be in their shoes (God willing) in 4 1/2 months and then I'll know what it's like. I've got a lot of work to do before that time.

IT Band Recovery Training

2008-01-26T07:31:00.000-08:00

I've come up with a plan to minimize my running while my IT Band injury heals. I am hopeful that this plan will help with my overall fitness. This is the plan for the next 3 to 5 weeks. Hopefully my injury will have healed by then and I can start my specific WS traing plan.

* Pool Running 3 x a week - 30 to 60 minutes.
* Slow runnining on the soft surface of the Katy Trail 3 x a week with a day of recovery in between. I'll run 4 miles every other day and do a longer run of 5-6 miles on Saturday mornings. Total outside running for the week will only be 14 miles. This is a far cry from the 50-60 mile weeks that led to this injury.
* Yoga 2-3 times a week. This will help with my flexibility. I am extremely tight from not stretching at all for the past 4 years. Yoga and my other daily stretching will help this.
* Strength and Core Training 3 x a week. I need to balance out some of my body diffencies. I have a strong lower body right now, but weak upper and core. I am doing many different crunches, leg lifts, planks, and weight work to fix this problem. Having a strong core will really help my running and help decrease the odds of further injury.

The Western States 100

2008-01-24T16:34:00.001-08:00

OK -- here is what you need to know about the Western States 100.

This is "borrowed" from Wikipedia...

The Western States Endurance Run, known commonly as the Western States 100, is a 100 mile long ultramarathon that takes place on trails in California's Sierra Nevada annually on the last weekend of June. The race starts at the base of the Squaw Valley ski resort and finishes at the Placer High School track in Auburn, California. Runners climb a cumulative total of 18000 feet and descend a total of 23000 feet on mountain trails before reaching the finish. Because of the length of the race, the race begins at 5:00 A.M. and continues through the day and into the night. Runners finishing before the 30 hour overall time limit for the race receive a bronze belt buckle, while runners finishing in under 24 hours receive a silver belt buckle.

The WS Endurance Run was first completed in 1974 by Gordy Ainsleigh. Ainsleigh had finished the Tevis Cup Trail Ride in 1971 and 1972 on horseback, but in 1973 his new horse was pulled with lameness at the 29-mile checkpoint. In 1974, his horse turned up lame and, according to legend, Ainsleigh declared that he would run the entire course on foot. An incoherent Ainsleigh finished the event 23 hours and 47 minutes later.

Fourteen runners signed up for the first official Western States Endurance Run in 1977, and started along with the horses in the Trail Ride. Eleven of the 14 had dropped out or were pulled by the midpoint that year. Of the three remaining runners, only Andy Gonzales finished in the 24 hour time limit set for the horses. The other two, Peter Mattei and Ralph Paffenbarger, finished in 28 hours and 36 minutes (unofficially), leading to the establishment of the 30-hour bronze buckle time limit for runners.

The following year, 1978, 63 runners competed in the first Western States Endurance Run. The race was held on a separate date, independent of the Tevis Cup Trail Ride.

In 1984, the Granite Chief Wilderness Area was created under the provisions of the 1964 Wilderness Act, and about four miles (6 km) of the trail were within the new boundaries. The wilderness designation would normally mean that the Forest Service would not be able to allow organized events in the area. In 1988, however, the Endurance Run (and the original Trail Ride) was finally given Congressional permission to continue, but with the number of runners limited to 369, the size of the 1984 field. As the event grew in notoriety, a lottery system was created to allocate the available positions. Each year since, a limited number of entries have been awarded to selected winners of certain other runs, or to top ten finishers of the preceding Western States race. After the few select entries are awarded, a lottery is then held to fill the field from a pool of qualified applicants. The Forest Service allows race management to use a five-year running average of 369 actual starters, and historically some fifteen percent of lottery winners do not report to the starting line, so some 425 runners are typically notified as being eligible.

Today the race is one of the premier ultrarunning events in the world. As of 2006, Tim Twietmeyer has completed the race a record 25 times, all in under 24 hours. With his 2005 victory, Scott Jurek has won seven consecutive races and set a new course record of 15 hours, 36 minutes, 27 seconds in 2004.

The most recent winners of the race are Hal Koerner and Nikki Kimball. (2007)

OK -- here's what you really need to know about this race -- it is an enormous challenge! Ultrarunning magazine rated this course as one of the toughest of all of the 100 mile races. You literally climb to the top of a mountain in the first 4 miles. You deal with snow and then drop down into canyons where you deal with near 100 degree temperatures. There are some really tough climbs, but the I hear the downhills are what really get to you. Your quads take a beating. It is a nasty race to say the least.

It is the Superbowl of our sport, and it will be my first 100 mile race.

Another Setback and a New Goal

2008-01-20T16:14:00.000-08:00

After my last post, I went to REI to do some shopping for the race (new headlamp, gels, etc). My knee was still not feeling right so I took the elevator up to the second floor of the store. I decided to walk down the stairs to test my knee a bit. Well, the pain is back. My IT Band decided to bark at me in a big way and it lasted all day. I guess 9 miles was too much at this point in my recovery.

The good news is my IT Band made the Rocky Raccoon decision for me - I will not be able to do the race. I had been going back and forth in my head about it for weeks. Could I do it given my condition? How long would my knee hold up before it started to hurt and I was reduced to a painful walk? Running for the DREAM Fund played a big part in my decision as well. I really did not want to let anyone down. But in the end, my body made the decision for me. I am just not able to do the race.

This injury is so strange. Right now I am still able to run, but I can't run very far without aggravating it and going back to square one. I was doing the 9 miles on Saturday and all I could think about was my IT Band. When would it reach out and start barking at me? How many miles could I go before it did? Would it bark at me at all? Was I cured?

Well at least now I know the answer. I am still injured and this is going to take some time to heal. It would be completely foolish to try and do Rocky Raccoon. I could probably gut out 30-40 miles (I think), but I would really hurt myself for future races. But I am not done with the Rocky Raccoon. It is the 3rd largest 100 miler in the country and I want to complete it! So 2009 will have to be my year!

I am still going down to the race in two weeks, but now as an aid station volunteer. I love the whole trail running experience and community and I want to help out. There is also an 8 hour mandatory trail work as part of my Western States entry, so this will be a good opportunity to do it. I have a few buddies who will be doing the race, so I will be able to monitor their progress while working the aid station.

I have really struggled mentally during these past weeks. I wanted to do the Rocky Raccoon so badly. It is really hard to let it go. I trained for 8 months for this race (probably overtrained) and it has been my goal the entire year. But my body is telling me otherwise, so I must let it go. Now I will turn my focus on getting ready for the Western States 100 at the end of June. I'll post more about this race in the future.

So for now I'll continue my physical therapy, stretching exercises, and core work along with running every other day but for no more than 4 miles. That seems to be the magic number at this point before my IT Band starts to hurt. I'll take this time when I can't do long runs and really work on my upper body so I can have a more balanced body.

5 months until the Western States 100. I have a lot of work to do before I get there!

It May Be Time for a New Goal

2008-01-19T07:50:00.000-08:00

I just got back from a 9 mile run around the lake. After 4 miles, the area on the outside of my knee started to get numb. I could feel the pain come creeping back. I took some walk breaks which helped a bit and I was able to finish the run. But something is still not right with my IT Band. This is absolutely driving me crazy!

It's such a strange feeling. My right knee just does not feel like my left knee. I can even feel it a bit while I am not running which is not a good sign at all.

I had a long talk with one of my ultrarunning buddies yesterday who knows of my condition and is also running the Rocky Raccoon. His first question to me was why are you running Rocky? I told him because it was my goal race and because I am raising money for the Dream Fund. He has been through serious IT Band issues before - during one period he could not run for an entire year. And he is a competitive runner -- way more talented than I am -- not running for a year absolutely killed him! So he knows a ton about my condition. We are both signed up for the Western States 100 in June which is the Superbowl of 100 mile races. His point to me (and I've thought about it a lot as well) is if I try and gut it through the Rocky 100, that I may hurt myself much more and not be able to rehab in time for the Western States race.

We talked about race strategies if I do decide and gut out the Rocky. Run 5 minutes, walk 5 minutes is what we decided on. But I really don't want to do the race this way. I don't want to just get through it. I want to run it and I want to run it well.

I tried unsuccessfully to take an ice bath after the run this morning. You should try that sometime. It is brutal, but it really helps your leg muscles recover faster. I was just too cold already (28 degrees outside this morning!) and the cold water just about sent me into cardiac arrest!

I had a long talk with Virginia who thinks I am an idiot for even considering the Rocky in my condition. And she's a runner who has a marathon and several halfs under her belt.

I was so hoping to finish the run this morning with no pain and a ton of confidence that I am finally healed and ready for Rocky. I am so disappointed to say the least. I've never quit anything in my life. But this is not a marathon; this is 100 miles. And you can not go into a 100 hurt. It just does not make sense. I think I am finally coming around to that.

How I Got Started

2008-01-17T17:13:00.000-08:00

I started running about 5 years ago. My wife signed up for the Tom Landry Sprint Triathlon (1/4 mile swim; 18 mile bike; 5K) and I decided to join in the fun. I had not run in years so I had to work up to the 5K distance. I remember doing laps on the roof of the downtown YMCA and wondering if I could ever run 3 miles! Race day finally came and the race was brutal for me. I could barely do the swim, everyone passed me on the bike, and the run was awful. But a seed was planted in me that day. It took awhile to grow, but eventually it turned into a complete life changing experience for me.

Huy Pham, my workout partner and good friend, and I had just quit the YMCA because we were not using the facility as much as we should. One day we discovered the Katy Trail which is very close to where we work. The Katy Trail was still very new at that point so not a lot of people knew about it. We started running nearly every day at lunch. 2 miles became 3; 3 miles became 4; we were so elated when we finally ran all the way to Knox/Henderson and back - 4 miles round trip. Eventually we were doing regular 5-6 mile runs during our lunch hour. We'd bang out a quick run, hurry back to the office to change, and eat at our desks.

Then one day, Huy mentioned how one of our buddies, Dennis Webb, had completed the White Rock Marathon. At that point, I did not even know that a marathon was 26.2 miles. I completely admired Dennis for doing it, but I had no aspirations to run that distance ever! Huy thought we should sign up for the half marathon - I thought he was nuts. But Huy was persistant, and he eventually talked me into it.

On the first Sunday in December of 2004, we ran our first half marathon. We were completely undertrained and the race was just awful, but I was absolutely hooked. I remember crossing Interstate 75 just after running through Highland Park and telling Huy that this was the coolest thing I had ever done in my life. That feeling went away somewhere around mile 11 and we limped to the finish line completely spent. We then argued about who was in the best shape to drive us back to his house where I'd left my car. I won that discussion and Huy had to drive us home. I went home and went right to bed. I have never felt so badly in my life.

In 2005, we decided to do the full marathon. Huy and I signed up for training with RunOn and we ran with them 3 times a week. We also worked in 2 other training runs each week -- we were not taking this distance lightly. We trained very hard for this race and we both completed the distance. I remember telling Huy that it was the hardest thing I have ever done. He agreed completely.

So here I am now - 3 marathons under my belt, 2 50K's, 1 50 miler and countless training runs over the marathon distance and I wonder if I am ready for the Rocky Raccoon 100. My IT Band is starting to get better. I've been taking it slow while building up my distance. I've run 3 times now pain free - the longest run has been 4 miles. I am going to do a 6 miler tomorrow and if that feels OK, I'll probably do 9 on Sunday. It's encouraging, but if the pain comes back I am sunk! But every day I get a little more excited - especially after a pain free run. I am starting to get cautiously optimistic that I may be able to do this run!

Big Bend and a Small Glimmer of Hope

2008-01-13T15:26:00.000-08:00

It's been some time since I last posted. Viginia and I took the kids to Big Bend National Park. My Mother-in-Law, Nancy, went along for the trip as well. We had a terrific time. The weather was wonderful - high's in the 70's and lows in the 30's. We went on a couple of short, but really spectacular hikes. We rafted the Rio Grande which the kids loved. If you have not been out to Big Bend, you really need to check it out. It's what people who are not from Texas imagine what our great state looks like. Mountains, desert, and lots of cactus. We even ran into a bobcat and a group of javelinas. All in all, it was a great trip.

During the hikes, I had some more trouble with my IT Band. This thing is absolutely killing me! I've been a little down because I have never had an injury that has lasted this long before. I had another session with physical therapy late last week which I believe is doing me some good. I've continued with the stretches and bought some new running shoes. All of this is supposed to help me.

Yesterday I had enough of just working out (stretching, elliptical machine, treadmill walking) and decided to go for a short run. I ran down to the Lake Highlands track and tested my IT Band a bit. I did not want to overdo it, so I limited myself to 1 1/2 miles of running and 1 mile of walking. It felt so good to run again! I can not tell you how much it lifted my spirits! I had no pain in my IT Band, but I can still tell that something is wrong around the outside of my knee.

The run gave me a small glimmer of hope that I may able to do the Rocky Raccoon 100 (less than three weeks away). My fitness level has dropped a ton these past four weeks, but if my IT Band is OK I am going to give it a shot.

Here is my plan for the next three weeks: run every other day while very slowly building up the mileage. If I feel no pain during a run, I'll increase my distance during the next run. If I feel pain, then I'll back off and my Rocky Raccoon hopes are officially over. If I can somehow build up to a 15-20 mile long run with no pain the last weekend before the race I feel like I have a shot of completing this race. I know that this probably won't happen. But that one run with no pain has given me hope that I can do this race and for now that has totally recharged me!

Still Healing

2007-12-28T17:39:00.000-08:00

It's been a few days since my last post and my IT Band is still bothering me. I am now officially worried that this is going to take some time to heal. I've been stretching on a regular basis along with icing it and taking ibuprofen. I have not run at all. I did a little work on the elliptical machine for a couple of days and that did not seem to hurt it, so I'll keep doing that.

Last night, while putting up the Christmas decorations I was going up and down the attic stairs. After about an hour of working, my IT Band starting barking at me pretty good. So this morning I made an appointment with Whole Health Partners. They work on quite a few local ultra marathoners and came highly recommended. They spent 1 1/2 hours with me working on my legs and knees. I felt pretty good coming out of the session. But as I was packing for a camping trip tonight, my IT Band started barking again. I have another session scheduled with them in 10 days.

Virginia, my Mother in Law - Nancy, and I are taking the kids to Big Bend National Park for a short vacation. I've always wanted to see this part of Texas. I am very excited about the trip, but I would be in hog heaven if I could run down there. They have some terrific trails and terrain. I guess I'll have to make another trip down there after I have healed.

I read this quote in one of my running books the other day and it is really speaking to me right now. "When you are injured, you never think you are going to get better. When you are running well, you think you are invincible." Well I felt invincible all summer/fall while I was running well. Right now I am worried that I'll never get better.

Rocky Raccoon is five weeks away. I am still hopeful about this race, but I have to come to terms with the fact that I may not be able to do it. And that is a little depressing. Hopefully this vacation will do my knee some good.

Setback!

2007-12-24T06:58:00.001-08:00

In my last post, I wrote of some IT Band discomfort in my right knee. Well, now it is full blown IT Band Friction Syndrome. My right knee kills me when I walk - let alone try and run. It is a shooting pain especially when I walk down stairs or down any kind of slope.

I met some running buddies last Sunday at White Rock Lake for a quick loop. I started noticing the pain as we got about 6 miles into the run. At the end of the run, it was sore but not full blown pain. I've had IT Band issues before, so I knew it was coming on. So I basically took a week off running. I did some fast walking and some core work, but no running.

A week off should be enough (I thought) so I met a couple of buddies on Saturday morning at the Dallas Nature Center. I felt that a week off would be enough time to get my knee back in shape. Well, I was wrong. My IT Band started screaming about 6 miles into it. I had to hobble back to the car.

At this point, I am taking an extended break from running. I am stretching, using my foam roller (thank you, Virginia!), and icing the knee every chance I get. It's a good time to take a break anyway. It's Christmas and going out for a 6 hour run right now may not sit well with the family! We are also going skiing in a week, and I need to be sure my knee can handle the stress of downhill skiing. If not, I'll hang around with the kids and do a ton of sledding! That's what the kids enjoy most of all, anyway.

However, the worry has set in big time. I am less than 6 weeks from the race and I know that 100 miles will be a MAJOR stress on my knee. I have read every book and gone to every website I can find that has articles on the IT Band. I am following their instructions, but I know that this type of injury can take many weeks to heal.

So now I am just going to take it one day at a time. I'll either swim or do the elliptical machine to keep my fitness level up. I'll also do a lot of core and upper body work to keep me sane during this non-running time. But for now, it is rest, rest, rest.

The Run for the Fund

2007-12-16T04:28:00.000-08:00

The purpose of this blog is to keep folks updated about my Rocky Raccoon training, record random thoughts about running, and to keep up with my fund raising efforts for the DREAM Fund.

I hope to inform you about what I am doing, possibly have you understand why I am doing it, and maybe offer some tips for anyone else considering such an endeavor.

I am running this race to help raise money for the DREAM Fund. The DREAM Fund has helped so many people over the years - many of whom I have personally known. Whether someone is struck with a sudden illness, tragic loss, or other life changing event the DREAM Fund has been there to help. That's why the DREAM Fund exists - to help people when the truly unimaginable strikes.

I have roughly 7 more weeks to get ready for the Rocky Raccoon 100. It is now crunch time! If you are not familiar with this race, here are some quick details.

* Held in Huntsville State Park - Huntsville, TX on February 2nd, 2008
* 100 miles in length
* Up to 30 hours to complete the race
* Running surface is single track trail - no super tough climbs, but lots of tree roots to trip on.
* Last year's race featured a 100 yard mud bog we had to navigate about 10 times.

I ran this race last year in the 50 mile category. While the 50 mile race was a tremendous accomplishment for me, as soon as I finished I knew I wanted to do the 100 miler. However, I waited a couple of months to break the news to my wife. Training for these races is not just a commitment for me -- it is a complete family commitment. Everyone has to be in on the deal, or it's just not going to get done. Thank God I have a wonderful and understanding family.

The holiday season is the absolute hardest time of the year to get in quality training. Trying to balance everything lately has been a tough juggling act -- just ask my wife!

I ran 40 miles last Sunday. It was my longest training run to date. I ran from my house in Lake Highlands to the American Airlines Center and then ran the White Rock Marathon where I paced my buddy Josh. It was Josh's first marathon and he had a tough day. We stopped at a porta potty at mile 1 (I was extremely hydrated) and Josh stepped off the curb and sprained his ankle. His ankle started to swell immediately and no amount of ibuprofen or icy/hot was going to fix it. He had to drop around mile 16, but lives to race another day. In fact, he signed up for the Cowtown Marathon as soon as he got home! It was his first marathon attempt and he had worked extremely hard. While I am disappointed that he could not finish White Rock as we had planned, I know he'll have a terrific Cowtown race. I'll be there with him on 2/23.

This past week was a recovery week for me. I only ran 21 miles this week. My body is still recovering from the 40 miles last Sunday. My IT Band around my right knee is acting up so I am planning on taking a couple of days off early this week. I am hoping the rest will enable me to hit it hard next weekend. I am working in some decent trail time on Saturday and I need my knee to feel good for that run. I am planning one more 40 mile run the first week of January and then begin tapering down my mileage from there. I need to go into the Rocky Raccoon well trained, but also with enough rest to be able to run well. It's been a long summer of training and I can not wait for this race!