Chuckanut 50K

I had a day full of adventure. And the run was the minor part. What a great day it was too.

I got up at 3:45 and decided to ride my little Honda Metro to the run. It was 42 degrees at my house so I figured I would be fine on the way there. I was a little off. I put one bottle of drink in the carbon fiber bottle cage and figured I would swap another one on the way out, plus eat a Powerbar when I got my new bottle from under the seat. That didn't exactly work out to plan. As I left my house and dropped into the Snohomish Valley the weather quickly cooled. As I continued to drive it felt colder and colder, to the point where it was about 30. I had to wear my running shoes as I didn't really have any more room to pack anything else. All in all it took me about 2 hours and 10 minutes to get there. I was shivering, my hands weren't working anymore, and my feet were numb too. It was worth it though. I didn't even use a gallon of gas to drive the 75 miles to Fairhaven.

I spent the next 80 minutes trying to get warm. I went for a short 1.5 mile run, which worked well enough to get my core temp up, but my feet were still numb. I ran into Bill Huggins, a guy I moved up to cat. 2 with in Cyclocrosst and caught up with him, which was cool. Bill is an awesome dude. Next thing I know it's about 10 minutes to race start and my feet are still numb. I wasn't too worried though, I didn't think there would be any technical trails for a while. It turns out the first 6 miles are relatively flat and the footing is easy, much to my numb feet's delight. It was somewhere between 5-6 miles before I got all my feeling back in my feet.

Heading into the first aid station meant the single track and the real fun was about to begin. I kept a conservative pace for the beginning, staying aerobic and smooth. With a minimum goal of sub 5 hours I didn't think it would be too hard to attain. I suck (slow) at power walking the steep climbs, instead choosing to plod up them as best as I can. This proved to be much faster than most people can walk. My shoes were starting to bug me though on the first long decent. They always do. I need to find a new trail shoe I like that doesn't tear my feet up. Luckily I remembered to wrap my one foot in duct tape, that stuff really does have a million uses.

I ate and drank as much as I thought I needed, but I think not being able to eat and drink in the car on the way up really bit me in the ass by the time we got to the top of Lil Chinscraper. This climb, being only 800 feet, wasn't horribly long, but it was pretty steep and tough to go fast on.

http://www.pbase.com/gtach/image/122954441

After this it was all downhill and mostly flat to the finish. Although I knew I was running out of calories. I had 1/2 a Powerbar left in my fuel belt, so I downed that. And tried to survive to the next and last aid station. I was in full bonk mode although my legs were still pretty OK. I just needed calories. I survived to the last aid station where I consumed an enormous amount of calories. A huge handful of M & M's, a handful of Clif Bloks, a couple gels, and 8-10 little cups of coke and I was off. After about maybe one more slow mile my blood sugar kicked in and I was able to get my pace close to sub 8:00 minute miles the rest of the way. I ended up running the last 6 miles in 52 minutes, but I like to think the lack of calories were a big factor in the slowing of my pace before it picked up again. I ended up running in 4:58, not horrible, but I definitely feel as if I can run that course a lot faster. I ran into Glen shortly after, it's amazing that we were only 4 minutes apart and never saw one another the whole race. We saw Joleen finish, she wasn't looking too happy but looked like she finished strong.

The field was stacked. I don't think I've ever been in a race which contained this much talent. When the current Western States 100 winner gets 6th you know the field is stacked. I would have loved to have seen them fly up the hills.

It was warm for the scoot home though. I was horribly overdressed and had to stop after an hour or so to shed a layer or 2. I took the long way home because of the increased traffic. All told it was a very enjoyable day. I ended up putting 160 miles on the scooter and only used about 1.55 gallons of gas. My back was a little sore on the way home though, but it was worth it. Then it was back to the kids and since it was so nice out there wasn't any time to relax as we headed to the park and played for the rest of the day. Good times...

No Sleep...til B'ham!

Seriously. WTF? I haven't slept a decent night in about 2 weeks. 4 hours, 5 hours. 4 hours. Repeat. A good night has been 6 hours. I don't understand how this happens or why. Granted, I generally feel OK each day. Maybe it's because my mileage is back down under 50 miles per week? Am I some junkie that can only sleep when I burn a prerequisite amount of calories? I need a good 30+ mile run to get everything working again and in order. When I was running 70+ miles per week I slept pretty good every night. But I also got to run earlier - this is probably a factor. Most night I don't even get out the door until 730-800 o'clock. Then after 1-2+ hours of running, shower, stretch, food, get to bed it's pretty late. Then the friggin' alarm clock goes off at 430 and repeat.

Hopefully with Chuckanut 50K tomorrow I can get some sleep tonight. That would be a welcome relief.

100 miles - Take II

You're the fighter you've got the fire

The spirit of a warrior, the champion's heart

You fight for your life because the fighter never quits

You make the most of the hand you're dealt

Because the quitter never wins

No!

(The Dropkick Murphy's - The Warrior's Code)

I finally found a 100 to run to redeem myself from RR 100. I am going to kick this race's ass. I am going to be so strong that these mountains will feel like a bunny hill. Pine to Palm 100 or Palm to Pine - whateverthehellitscalled. Who cares. 20K of elevation. Whatever. It doesn't matter. I am going to turn myself inside out training yet be super smart also. I am going to be prepared. There will be no surprises this time. So a big EFF U to 100 miles thank you very much. And then I will go back to RR100 and run 17:30 for 100.

Tiger Mountain Training Run

Whew. We finally got to run Tiger. I picked Glen up at 0630 and we headed out to the trails. I was quite surprised by the number of cars in the lot as we pulled in about 715 in the morning. It was a hard friggin run though. Actually, we walked some of the steeper ascents (there were many) and I quickly realized Glen is a way better power walker than I. I guess I need to hang out with the old folks on Friday mornings and do some hot laps around the mall.

We started off with a 2000 foot climb in the first 4 miles. We started nice and easy since it felt like a long climb. Neither one of us have ever run the 12 Summits of Issaquah before, so we had to stop more than we would have liked to. And also made quite a few wrong turns. I think we climbed the first ascent almost 3 times before we actually found the trail to the next summit. We probably got an extra 800 feet of climbing just because of our wrong turns. Once we found the trail to summit # 2 we were pretty good though in terms of navigation. We ran into hikers and we kept asking them if we were on the right tract to wherever we were going. We found our way meandering along the side of the mountain and only ran into one more runner after summit # 2. The farther into the woods we ventured the less options we had which certainly helped our poor navigational skills out. The climb to summit # 1 was a bitch to say the least. It only gained about 750 feet during the final approach, but it felt really steep and put my power walking to the test. By the time we reached this summit it was time to turn around as it took us nearly 2.5 hours of running (and walking) to get this far.

The way back was fast though. Granted, there wasn't quite as much ascending as previous - but there was lots of technical downhill quad thrashing running. The last 4 miles felt like a controlled free fall down a side of the mountain. I ran the last 2.2 miles in 15:30. And Glen was about a minute ahead of me, so he was hauling ass.

All in all it was an awesome day to run. The weather held out. The scenery was breath taking. The trails were in great shape. And it was just great to be outside and playing in the woods so far from anything remotely resembling pavement. We agreed we ran about 18 miles in just under 4 hours - the run was that tough. Both of us could probably run a 3:15 marathon on any given day of the week without too work. I never knew 12 minute pace could feel so hard.

Time to move forward

"Hey, sad and blue, what are you gonna do?
Blow yourself away or tie up your own left shoe?
And walk out the door, ready to roar
Check your guns at the door
There's a man that you should see
A generation X Bukowski
who knows about life
The life imitating art"

Lowest of the Low - Life imitating Art

No longer completely pissed off about last weekend in Texas I'm finally ready to move forward. The positives are that I am feeling healthy (for the most part) and motivated to run some good races now. I am going to concentrate on building strength and will be back in Texas next February ready to kick some ass. My recovery has been unbelievable. I know I'm not 100% after running over 72 miles last weekend, but I haven't had any soreness since last Monday, most of the things that were bugging me before the 100 attempt are gone, and most important I am super motivated to run. I realize that I really like testing myself, and before I always thought I was near invincible. Marathons are easy to finish. Ironmans are easy to finish. Sure, getting a fast time is a bit different, but nevertheless finishing is not that hard with the proper training. Forward on Muthafiretrucker. I am going to do some amazing things this summer, I will impress myself, and I will learn how to dog deeper than I have ever had to before. I'm ready to roar and like Pre always said, running a race is a work of art. And your life often imitates your art, so forward I'm ready to go. With only an occasional glance back to remind or re-motivate.

Rocky Raccoon 100

It was everything I expected it to be, but the end result was so disappointing. But I did all that I could do for as long as I could. I experienced euphoric highs and the lowest of lows. I dry heaved. I felt like crying. I crashed and burned. I saw an armadillo. I felt like Superman. But only to come to the realization that I am just not ready for 100 miles yet. I've only been back to running for about a year now. But I learned a ton about the distance. I really believe with what I've learned I will ace the next one. Here's how it all went down:

I flew into Houston the Thursday before the race only to experience a crappy Seattle winter day. It was overcast, misting rain, some patchy fog, and in the mid to upper 40's. Then Thursday night it just dumped buckets all night long. I hadn't run much in the preceding week because of various injuries, and the entire month of January was rough with sickness and injury. My last 30+ mile run was 4 weeks before in Kirkland. Friday I awoke to some sunshine and made my way to the park and ran a couple miles to see how my ass and back felt, and to wake the legs up after their weeklong slumber. I was a little stiff, but I think it was more rusty than injury. I was optimistic for the next day.

Saturday morning rolls around and the weather is decent - mid 40's and the stars are out. The day is expected to be clear and upper 50's for a high - with night time lows in the 30's.

The first 20 mile lap was pretty uneventful. I ran an easy 10 minute pace and watched people trip over the roots and rocks littering the trail. I bet I saw 10 people fall in the first 3 miles as the run started in darkness. I had to make a pit stop at about mile 9, did my thing and finished the first lap, making sure to eat and drink plenty of calories.

The 2nd 20 mile lap was pretty easy also. I kept running 10:00 or so pace, walked a couple hills because that's what (mere mortal) people do in these hundreds. I made sure to eat and drink plenty as the day was slowly warming up. I finished 2 laps in just under 7 hours.

Lap 3 started off OK as I just kept my simple 10 minute pace, but I made myself take a couple walking breaks because I could tell the legs were going to be running out of power. I knew that if I was patient they would come back though, they always have. Most of the 3rd lap was pretty uneventful. Eat. Drink. Take it easy and be patient. Slow the pace a little bit. I still have over 19 hours to cover 40 miles. But by the end of this lap I was in an irritable mood to say the least.

Lap 4 I tried to talk myself back into the race - walking a couple 15 minute miles and slowly started feeling good. I ran pretty decent from miles 62.5 - 69.5. But I don't really know what the tipping point was that quickly led to my demise. All of a sudden I couldn't run anymore. I could barely walk. My left knee was pretty stiff. It took me about 1 hour and 20 minutes to cover the 3 miles back to the 72.2 mile aid station. I was defeated though. Mentally dejected. Physically my legs were a mess. Ding ding ding. Timer is going off - take me out - I'm done. That was it. I had no fight left.

Afterwards I was super pissed off for thinking I was ready for this. Maybe I should have waited another year before attempting? Maybe I was ready and totally screwed up my race plan? Maybe I should have done some longer training runs instead of piggybacking 50+ mile weekends? Maybe incorporate some weights? Maybe all of the above? Not sure. I just know that whatever I did wasn't enough. I did run over 72 miles. My 50 mile split was 8:40 which is OK for my first 50 miles ever run, and I was holding back for it. But I want to get back on the horse as soon as I can, although I'm not real sure when that will be, but I do know I will never DNF another 100 again unless my legs literally fall off or I pass out, get eaten by a cougar, etc. I received enough motivation in that one day to last a couple years. I hated it so much though. I can't wait to try again. And ya gotta love 301.

5 days to Rocky Raccoon

(Painting by Jason Alexander Cruz - http://www.jasonalexandercruz.com/paintings.html

Well, crap. The big day is almost here. Yes, I am excited to run. I really want to find out how my preparation was. Of course I will doubt that it was enough. I didn't run any more than 41 miles. Oh well. What can you do now?

It is pretty exciting though. My time for the race is like my report card.

My grades will be as follows, each number represents hours:

Under 18 - A++++++++

Under 20 - A

Under 22 - B

Under 24 - C

Over 24 - D

DNF - F. FAILURE!!!!! UNACCEPTABLE!

I think the DNF is what scares me the most. I put a lot of work into this stupid ass run. Waking up at at 4:00 a.m. on weekends so I can get 30 miles in...running late during the week and never getting enough sleep so I can get miles in...running late on Saturday night into Sunday morning so I can get miles in...my family putting up with all the crap about me obsessing about miles. So the bottom line is DNF is not an option. I'll type it right now, if I DNF I will end up in a hospital. That's the truth too. I can't see myself DNF-ing in any other way. I worked my ass off for this one run. I enjoyed most of it too. But it's time to see what I'm made off. Am I a poser or this really what I want to do?

Lots of questions will be answered about myself when I am in the middle of the Texas woods in the middle of the night in the middle of a 100 mile foot race. This is the only place I can really find my spiritual side. I don't go to church. I don't believe in the church anyway. God? Maybe...maybe not. But I believe in myself. I believe in my family and how they nurtured me and brought me up to be what I am today. I know I will have lots of long conversations with my brother. I am really looking forward to that. I will ask him lots of questions and maybe - just maybe - I might get some answers if I dig deep enough and listen to everything around me. This race will also give me lots of time to think about life, what I really want to get out of it, what I have put into it so far, etc. Am I on the right path in life (and the trail too : )? What choices should I make as my life continues? I know I have some really big choices to make. Maybe I will be able to get deep inside myself enough to uncover the answer.

5 more days.