Not Mailing It In: Thoughts on Hells Hills 50-mile and Squak Mtn 50k Course Records

In light of the tragic and despicable Boston Marathon bombings that have claimed the lives of 3 innocent people and wounded almost 200, I’m feeling selfish in capturing my “trail running” thoughts.  The running community especially is forged on suffering, sometimes defeat, yet ultimately relishing victory at the finish line.  The FBI and other investigators will do what they do best, catch bad guys (and girls).  The rest of us are left to hope, pray, support, and keep running…

I’m currently smack dab in the middle of the first of 2 intense training/racing blocks, leading up to the Western States 100 at the end of June.  So far so good:  2 wins in consecutive weekend, 2 course records over 2 different race distances, and a pretty fast road 10k sandwiched in there as well.

The Hells Hills 50-miler (Rocky Hill Ranch, Smithville, TX) was a return to the site of my very first 50-miler in 2011, which was a substitute race for the flooded out Lake Sonoma 50-miler.  That year I ran just over 7 hours, placing second to a very fast Neal Lucas who went just under 7 hours.  With a 5-day taper (finally!), I came in healthy, happy and ready to roll from the 5am gun.  The first of three loops is in the dark, and goes by pretty fast as the sun is eager to rise.  My loop 1 time was a couple of minutes slower than I expected (ran alone the whole way), so I got on the gas during loop 2 (and had to pass a lot of the shorter distance starters) which put me under course record time at the start of loop 3.  Although my third loop in 2011 was not terrible, it was certainly not anything to brag about.  This year things would be different and I ran smart and hard all the way to the tape to notch my first 50-mile win and a course record by a little over 5 minutes!  Thanks Tejas Trails RD Joe Prusaitis for the metal donkey award, La Sportiva for the trail running shoe gift certificate, and Hill Country Trail Runners for supporting members with tickets for BBQ, it helped my recovery for the next day’s Statesman Capitol 10,000!

Crazy right?!  Why on earth would anyone race a 10k the day after a 50-miler??  Well, for one, it forces you to focus on recovery as quickly as possible after the race, and two to get mentally ready for getting the motor running the next day.  It’s also a nice way to shake out the legs and share the gift of running with thousands of other eager runners!  That being said, I was careful to get in an extra long warm-up, and then eased into race pace with a 19:12 opening 5k (6:11/mile pace) followed by a miserly 17:54 second 5k (5:46/mile pace).  Not too shabby and good enough for 5^th in my age group!

This past weekend, Meredith and I ventured out to the Pacific Northwest to visit my sister Nicole and brother-in-law Ryan, who just happens to be training for his first 100-miler, Leadville!  (You’ll recall from my posts last year that this time last year Ryan was in Afghanistan).  A family visit would not be the same without a race of some sorts, so we returned to the Squak Mtn 50k to do battle in the “land of Ewoks”.  Meredith set the women’s course record here last year and I got 2^nd to a very quick Justin Angle.  This year, conditions at the start were comparable temperature-wise, but a bit drizzly and misty.  I debated starting without my Drymax armwarmers, but my sister Dr. Nicole advised against it recalling how last year’s Western States was unseasonably cold.  I heeded her advice and could not have been happier all day, thanks Sis!  A two loop course (loop 2 is about 5 miles longer than loop 1), I immediately went to the front with the intent of running every single step (last year I was forced to hike some of the steeper climbs).  At the end of loop 1, I was less than a minute behind course record pace, so I knew I had some work to do given the slightly sloppier trail conditions.  Much like at Hells Hills, I spent the first couple miles of loop 2 weaving in and out of the shorter distance starters on the single-track and trying to be as genuinely polite as possible while zipping by.  The occasional “2-earbud wearer” would get startled and not hear my approach warnings, not my fault y’all!  Loop 2 felt great, and I kept to my pledge of running every single step.  Eventual marathon winner Jordan Wolfe caught up to me 2/3 way through loop 2, passed me, but then I caught back up as we re-climbed the steepest pitch of the course.  Hitting the final aid station for a splash-n-go bottle refill, I drilled the remaining climb knowing that it was all SWEET sweeping downhill to go and my quads and Hokas were ready to fly and take a crack at the course record, knowing it could go either way, DO NOT MAIL THIS IN.  And fly we did!!!!  It’s a super-fun descent (the kind where you FEEL the temperature change as you descend) and I really went after every foot plant and toe-off, this was great training terrain, the ground soft but firm, with a huge grin/grimace on my face.  Glancing at my watch it showed 4:40:## and for a split-second I thought it’s not gonna’ happen. But JUST then, the trail opened up to the jeep road and from there it’s not even 50 yards to the finish, 4:41:01, only 23 seconds faster than Justin’s time last year.  So nice to be done.  Trey of www.Uphillrunning.com did a very comprehensive interview after the race (check out the podcast http://www.uphillrunning.com/#!2013-squak-mtn-podcast/c1eqi), and the Evergreen Trail Runs post-race soup, chili, and hot water for coffee and hot cocoa hit the spot!!!!  Meredith reset her course record from last year, Ryan kicked ass, and Nicole beat her half-marathon time from last year too!  After the race, we showered and ate lunch at Nicole’s friend’s home nearby, then hit the Seattle Mariners/Texas Rangers game with 5 kids in tow, great times, and yes, they have excellent New England Clam Chowder at the stadium!!!  What a successful trip.

I’m amazingly thankful for the trail running “gift” that God has allowed me to explore.  Huge thanks as always to Rogue Running, Jack & Adam’s Bicycles and High Five Events, Pure Austin Gym, DryMax Socks, Bonk Breaker Energy Bars, Soleus Watches, Advanced Rehab, thinksport, RunSmart, of course Eating & Living Healthy for enabling me to train and race at my potential!!

Savoring the Gift of Running – Nueces 50 Mile USATF Trail Championship

My last running post in February post-Bandera 100k was about, “You don’t get what you deserve, you get what you earn.”  With that in my mind, I charted out an ambitious month of February, to be followed by a couple of lower-key weeks and then building back up to two solid training/racing blocks in April and May before the Big Dance http://www.wser.org/ at the end of June.

February turned out to be an incredibly rewarding period of running: a solid effort at the Pemberton 50k http://pembertontrail50k.blogspot.com/ in Fountain Hills, AZ in week 1, another successful year of helping pace the 3-hour group at the Livestrong Austin Marathon http://www.youraustinmarathon.com/ in week 2, a very quick Purgatory 10-mile trail race http://www.athleteguild.com/running/san-marcos-tx/2013-purgatory-trail-run in San Marcos, TX in week 3 (great trails down there BTW!), and a return visit to the Nueces 50-mile USATF Trail Championship http://www.tejastrails.com/Nueces.html in week 4.  Ambitious I know, but a block like this is nice to really sink your teeth into and see what you can earn week after week!

My goals for Nueces were to 1) run a much better 3^rd loop than I ran in 2012 (+28 minute split on loop 3) and, 2) take a crack at a top-3 spot in the USATF Championship (I was 4^th place here last year).  Here’s how it all went down!!

I positioned myself up front early given the 6am start (still dark) and single track right out of the gate.  Historically at both Bandera and Nueces, Dave James https://www.facebook.com/rundavejames (2nd place in 2011 and 2012) can be counted on to go out hard EARLY.  Since he was not racing, there was no one to “lead the charge”, so Jason Bryant http://lifethroughtheeyeofarunner.blogspot.com/ 3rd place in 2011 and 2012) and I took to the front of the pack.  It was an absolutely gorgeous crisp morning for running in the hill country and as I found a good groove immediately and gradually slipped away from the field.  I knew my splits going into Texas1, the Wall, and Texas2 were a bit hot, but really was not pressing the pace with the intention of getting away early.

Normally in “big” or national championship ultras like this, I’ve been the one deferring to more experienced trail runners early in the race with respect to pacing.  Early in loop 2, I took the approach of continuing the nice rhythm from loop 1, staying on top of my nutrition, hydration, and electrolytes, and not making any mistakes like a bad fall, twisted ankle, or wrong turn.  My uber-wife Meredith was doing an amazing job of exchanging bottles and getting me in and out of aid stations quickly.  I didn’t know I was being chased HARD until heading up to the windmill (on loop 2) and looked back briefly and saw Jason’s bright yellow La Sportiva singlet charging up the hill with someone (Cody Moat http://codymoat.blogspot.com/ ) right behind him!  Whoa’ I said to myself, time to get back to business and as I crested the hill, pushed the downhill hard to try and get and stay out of sight as quickly as possible.

I felt great coming into the Pavilion for loop 3 despite taking a NASTY digger in the switchbacks about one mile from the start/finish, I have not fallen that hard in a long time!  Luckily just a bloody left palm and right elbow, so nothing too bad.  Having not seen Jason or Cody since the windmill, my goal stayed the same: stay out of sight, eat, drink, no mistakes, no gifts.  The 3rd loop here at Nueces is historically make or break time, so I buckled down and took it one step at a time.

Loop 3 was rolling pretty well for me and then out of seemingly nowhere Cody was RIGHT on my hip shortly after Texas1 (near the under-construction zipline tower I think).  I coyly asked if he had dragged Jason up with him to assess whether this was going to be a 2-person or 3-person gunfight!  Cody said that Jason was a little ways back so I tucked in behind Cody through the headwind, checked out his homemade water-bottle (16oz screw-top Gatorade bottle with duct-tape hand holder!), gathered some energy for a couple minutes, and then bombed the downhills on the jeep road hoping to reestablish another gap before heading into the single-track and really make Cody work for it and test his downhill legs.  This worked great and I was out of sight for what felt like 10 or so minutes, until he bridged up AGAIN to me before the descent into the Wall, absolutely unbelievable!  He led down to the Wall and Meredith again had my bottles swapped out in a flash while he stopped briefly to refill.  Another small gap formed (but not out of sight), and Cody was yet again right on my hip as we hit that nasty climb.  Here’s where things went a bit south for me as Cody darted up the climb, dropped me like a HUGE bag of contaminated rocks, and got the gap that he would eventually extend to 6 minutes by the finish line 6 miles later.

Really impressive stuff.  That being said, I kept pushing (and didn’t trip again) not knowing how far back 3rd place (Jason) was and you never know what can happen to the leader late in an ultra, particularly if this is your first 50-miler.  It was not to be, and Cody cracked the course record of 6:28 by 2 minutes set by Jason Schlarb in the inaugural 2011 race.  My loop 3 split of 2:20 was 22 minutes faster than last year (goal #1) and a second place overall finish in a USATF Championship Trail race, my highest placing yet (goal #2)!  Plenty of great race photos by Rick Kent and his Enduro Photo team can be seen here: http://www.backprint.com/view_user_event.asp?PID=bp%18sA&EVENTID=113424&BIB=12&S=230&PWD=

The aid station volunteers, photographers, and fellow runners and fans are always so encouraging and it felt great to be in the podium mix in a USATF championship race much like at Bandera 100k in January.  I’m amazingly thankful for the trail running “gift” that God has allowed me to explore, and there are few better places than Camp Eagle to enjoy it!  Huge thanks as always to Rogue Running, Jack & Adam’s Bicycles and High Five Events, Pure Austin Gym, DryMax Socks, Bonk Breaker, Soleus Watches, Advanced Rehab, thinksport, RunSmart, of course Eating & Living Healthy for enabling me to train and race at my potential!!

What’s Your Passion

We were fortunate enough to share our story of Passion for Austin Fit Magazine.  We are so grateful for the incredible photography of Brian Fitzsimmons

If you haven’t read, please enjoy!

http://issuu.com/austin/docs/afm_feb2013_issuu?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222

Encore – 2013 Bandera 100k USA Trail Championship Race

Since the completion of the inaugural Grand Kona Slam in 2012, a common question that friends, family, and supporters ask me is, “So, what do you have planned for next year?”, “How many hundreds will you do this year?”, or something to the effect of “How the heck are you going to top that?”   Well, the cat is out of the bag now.  Golden Ticket (thanks to Joe Uhan for the motivational thought: in hand after placing third overall at the Bandera 100k USA Trail National Championship last weekend http://www.tejastrails.com/docs/Bandera_res_2013.html , I will return to the start line at Squaw Valley on June 29, this time as a Montrail Ultra Cup automatic entry! (last year I got in via lottery)

“Everybody wants to know what I’m gonna’ do this year.  What am I gonna’ do this year?…”

I took a good full month (almost all of November) really easy after Kona, caught up on home and vehicle projects that had been deferred all summer, and then eased back into it with some of the basics including cross-training classes, yoga, core work, and easy running.  Rogue Running’s http://www.roguerunning.com/  El Sendero 60k in early December was a great way to get in a hard, long run (almost 5 ½ hours) and gauge where my fitness level was.  (That was also my 39^th birthday so I got to run my age in miles including warm-up and cool-down!)  Two weeks later, Team Terranova (Flyer and Shiloh too) hit Bandera for a 2-day weekend training camp, got in 35 miles on Saturday, a 15 miler on Sunday, and previewed the critical climbs multiple times.  (this capped off about a 100-mile week, which is a lot for me).  The following weekend was Tejas Trails http://www.tejastrails.com/  RD Joe Prusaitis’ annual Christmas Ridge Run, a 21 miler on the road through many of Austin’s toughest hills, during which Steven Moore and I spent some time together lamenting not getting selected in the Hardrock 100 http://hardrock100.com/  lottery.  The weekend before Bandera, my 3-hour Livestrong Austin Marathon http://www.youraustinmarathon.com/  co-pacer Bryan Morton and I got to knock out a practice pacing run hitting 6:52 miles on the first 8 miles of the course.  Long story short, I knew I had good legs and was ready to go to the well on Saturday, estimating that it would take a near-35 minute positive split to nab a Montrail Ultra Cup slot. (to the best of my research, Joe Uhan’s 38 minute positive split last year to grab his own Golden Ticket set the bar pretty darn high http://joeuhan.blogspot.com/2012/01/bandera-100k-race-report.html).  At last year’s Bandera in my first-ever 100k, I clocked a 9:09 with a 63-minute positive split – (ouch).

Following the 7:30am start, race favorite Sage Canaday http://sagecanaday.com/ and returning Masters Champ Dave Mackey http://davemackey.blogspot.com/ did more than slowly separate from everyone, after the climbs up Sky Island (mile 2) and Ice Cream Hill (mile 4), they were gone and out of sight!  At this point, I did my best to just manage the gap to another race favorite Dave James http://www.runlivelearn.com/runner-profile-dave-james-usatf-100-mile-national-trail-running-champion/ , who finally came into view on the #8 trail, when simultaneously Cactus Rose 50-mile champ Erik Stanley http://erikstanley.com/ bridged the gap up to me.  So there we were very early in the race, 3, 4, & 5 all together coming into the Chapas aid station at mile 11, where I traded my Nathan handheld bottle for an Ultimate Direction AK Race Vest http://www.ultimatedirection.com/p-600-ak-race-vest.aspx?category=signature-series that Meredith had waiting for me.  At this point in the race I was content to find a good rhythm and run as a small pack as we still had 50 miles to go.  The flats were not especially kind to me and legs were a bit heavy, so I focused on fueling, hydrating, breathing, and just being as efficient as possible as we slip-slided away.  Dave and Erik did most of the talking and we made quick work of the 6-mile section to Crossroads-in.

My wife and crew chief Meredith did an AMAZING job getting me in and out of all the aid stations without stopping (maybe we said 5 words to each other all day?!).  This allowed me a couple of minutes to really relax and run alone before Erik and Dave caught back up to me on the way out to the Three Sisters (mile 19).  The three of us made really good time and we screamed back into Crossroads-out 43 minutes later.  Another quick bottle swap and I was out of there and on the way to Lucky Peak.  It took Erik a couple of minutes to catch back up and when he did Dave unfortunately was not with him.  As Erik and I made our way up Cairn’s Climb (mile 27) and Boyle’s Bump (mile 29), I started getting mentally prepared for the turnaround at the Lodge (mile 31 in 4:14) and the 2^nd loop, fully expecting the trail conditions to be a bit worse (i.e. more mud = more calories = more water = more salt).

Another lightning quick bottle swap, saw Karl http://karlmeltzer.com/  and another runner (Chris Lundstrom http://struggletowardtheheights.blogspot.com/ ) just a couple minutes behind me as I was heading out on Loop 2 so there was absolutely no time to waste.  Quick feet, quick feet, quick feet!!!  No wrong turns, don’t do anything stupid, and stay out of sight for as long as humanly possible.  Fortunately, I managed my efforts & energy really well here and the trail conditions on Loop 2 turned out to be drier/better/faster than on Loop 1.  Meredith had her loaded-up “dance-party” mp3 waiting for me at Chapas (mile 42) and off I rolled into the fields where I caught another glimpse of the “Red Bull Express”.  “Do not get caught!” I thought to myself, and continued to lay down a solid split coming into Crossroads.   Huge thanks to Dave James for coming back out to pace (after dropping at mile 26) for the 9-mile stretch from Cross Roads-in to Last Chance (USATF’s Roy Pirrung announced at the pre-race meeting that USATF modified their no-pacer rule).  Dave kept the pace high by staying well in front of me so I had no choice but to run every single step.  It’s obvious that Dave has run this course many times as he intuitively knows the best lines to take.

The last 5 mile stretch was hard, no doubt about that.  I stayed on the gas for all the flats, “went long” (like Joe Uhan) on the downhills, only allowing myself the “pleasure” of powerhiking the steepest pitches of Cairn’s and Boyle’s.  Finish line around the bend, an ultrarunning mentor and Western States 100 pacer Matt Crownover was waiting with his 8-year old son Micah (25k finisher BTW!) who happily paced me barefooted the last 100 meters, priceless!!  High fiving and blowing kisses to my wife, I came in for a 3^rd place landing, capping off an absolute dream day where everything went my way, hydration/fueling plan was spot on, and it’s always fun to race well at a local event where so many friends are also running, volunteering, and cheering.  Total time: 8:55.  Loop 1 time: 4:14, Loop 2 time: 4:41 (27-minute positive split!)  “…I’m gonna’ be on my feet busting my ass for almost nine hours at the Bandera 100k…” 

In memory: A close friend Greg Bourgeois from business school at UT passed away from cancer right before Christmas at the young age of 34.  His initials “GB” were on all of my bottles on Saturday.  Many times I thought of how hard he fought to stay alive, and even though in the end it wasn’t enough, that kept me pushing the pace late into the race. Thanks Greg! http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/statesman/obituary.aspx?pid=161995843

As always, sponsors played a huge role in last year’s Grand Kona Slam and in Saturday’s performance.  Big thanks to Rogue Running, Jack and Adams Bicycles, Pure Austin, Advanced Rehab, DryMax Socks, thinksport, Bonk Breaker Bars, Soleus watches, High Five Events, Allan Besselink’s RunSmart, and of course Eating & Living Healthy.  Thanks also to Tejas Trails for another superbly run event!!!

As always, thank you for reading and for ALL of your encouragement and support!

“…What are you gonna’ do this year?”

Grand Kona Slam In The Books!

I admit it.  I’ve been really procrastinating with putting down my thoughts on race day at the Hawaii Ironman, not because it didn’t go well, but because it means that our “little” summer adventure is coming to a close.  L  Whhhhaaaaaaaaaa…   What started on December 10, 2011 (WSER 100 lottery) has now culminated with the inaugural Grand Kona Slam, now officially recorded here thanks to Stan Jensen:  http://www.run100s.com/grand_kona_slam.htm   Total time for the 5 races – 91 hours, 18 minutes, 37 seconds.

So, back to business of our time on the Big Island…inbound flights on Tuesday Oct 9^th were uneventful despite a departure delay out of San Francisco due to a broken battery charger.  Luckily, they kept us on the plane at the gate while the mechanics fixed it, and we only left about 90 minutes late.  Glad my bubble gum came in handy, no extra charge guys!  I did get to joke with the grumbling passengers behind us that the only reason we were on this flight was because our “private jet” was broken, ha!  The upside of this was our layover in Honolulu was reduced to less than an hour, perfect timing!  After Meredith secured the rental car in Kona and we loaded up our bags and the bike box (thanks to the “Buffalo” Todd Gerlach for the loaner), we made our way to our condo on Ali’i Drive and then a quick trip to Wal-Mart in the evening for the essential items to get us through to the next morning until a more thorough grocery trip at Safeway.

One of the BEST parts of the Hawaii Ironman is the pre-race swims in Kailua Bay at the break of dawn, which we did on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday before the race and even continued the tradition in the couple of days after the race.  Such a gift to be swimming in clear, warm, saltwater with plenty of underwater life to look at and of course the Coffees of Hawaii floating espresso bar.  We even got to swim briefly with a pod of spinner dolphins on Wednesday morning, and also got to meet in person the great folks at http://www.bonkbreaker.com/ at the pier: Chris Frank, Jason Winn, and Mac Brown!

Getting back to the condo gave me time for breakfast and then time to get the Guru Merus out of the bike box and built up, and then a quick shake-out spin on Ali’i Drive to the run turnaround at St. Peter’s Catholic Church and back.  After lunch we hit packet pickup and then back to the condo to chill out.  Love the new bike number mounting “V-tag” and “Eel” that was provided (courtesy of Shimano and www.Vondrais.com , very savvy move by Shimano, especially on SRAM-equipped bikes!) and of course the hands-down coolest bike sticker (Miami Dolphins colors) in all of triathlon found a home on my downtube opposite the one from 2009:

Thursday and Friday were more of the same: early AM swim, breakfast, short bike ride and/or easy run.  I did take a drive up to Kawaihae after dropping Meredith off for a run up Kaloko http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=497255 for a short recon of the start of the climb up to Hawi.  It was nice to get out of the hustle and bustle of town and find a stretch of road with much less car and bike traffic.  I did meet another cyclist who is 72 years old and rides down from Hawi to Kawaihae and back on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and paddle-boards the other 2 days of the week, what a stud!

OK, on to race day…woke up at 4am for breakfast and poked my head out on the lanai and noticed the strong breeze and the swells breaking on the shore just 50 yards from our condo.  Gonna’ be a good one I thought!  Meredith and my sister Nicole dropped me off at body-marking where they actually weighed us pre-race before going to the bike transition area.  (Typically, they have weighed you in at packet pickup a couple of days before.)  Special needs bags dropped, got my bike prepped and loaded, checked on my T1 and T2 bags, and off to reunite with Meredith and Nicole waiting over by the King K hotel to relax and stretch.  It’s here that the magnitude of the day ahead typically hits, I said a silent prayer for a safe race with no issues, and thought about not making any stupid mistakes out there.

This year the pro men’s race started at 6:30am and the women’s pro race started at 6:35am, with the age-groupers going off at 7am.  This afforded plenty of time to get in the water to swim and warm up, and then float near a canoe before the gun went off.  I positioned myself on the very far left of the start line to avoid the inevitable “crush” of swimmers that occurs near the buoys.  Previous years I was more middle of the pack (pretty good) and slightly left (that was a rough one).  Very clean start and found a solid pair of feet to draft off of for the first ¾ of a mile, which I then lost as we merged with another pack of swimmers.  Oh well, it was good while it lasted.  Could definitely feel the swells rolling in which made sighting for the turn point a challenge, but the kayaks did a good job of keeping us pointed in the right direction.  After the turnaround, I noticed a familiar looking face in the water around me, none other than the ‘Croc’ Stephan Schwarze, a friend and Team Jack and Adam’s training partner from Austin!  Small world I thought, and we kept on making our way to the swim exit.  Everything was smooth through T1, and I took extra time to lather up with http://www.thinksportbottles.com/  sunscreen, as in 2009 I got REALLY sunburned out there which was no fun for a couple of days.  On to the bike and no issues so far!

 

Coming up Kuakini Highway to the first turnaround Meredith and Nicole were waiting to cheer me in which was great to see them on the way out and then saw them on the downhill coming back into town, all systems go!  After the climb up Palani it was time to settle into a nice rhythm on the Queen K while still being aware of all the other riders out there, cones, wind, rumble strips in the pavement, lost water bottles, etc…all of the stuff that can end your day early.  Made good time up to Waikoloa, and then caught a SCREAMING tailwind on the short section to Kawaihae where my speedo hit 74 kph (46 mph)!  On the climb up to Hawi, I opted for a more “defensive” strategy of trying to maintain proper spacing behind the riders up ahead, and not try and leapfrog my way around them continuously burning needless energy.  Well this worked for a little bit and then we all got bunched up coming up one of the steeper climbs which earned my a nice little red card from the motorbike marshall.  I could not hear her AT ALL over the sound of the motorbike as I asked her a couple of times what the red card was for.  In hindsight, she probably couldn’t hear me either, so I just shook my head and continued riding.  Closer towards Hawi, the crosswinds were pretty wicked, and it’s always nice to make it up to the more protected areas near the turnaround point, after which I grabbed my special needs bag and rolled into the penalty tent.  After checking in, they started a stopwatch for 4 minutes and informed me of a drafting penalty.  I quickly unloaded my special needs items (http://www.bonkbreaker.com/ bar, gels) into my pockets and a still slushy bottle of Mountain Dew into my bottle cage, and then answered the call of nature right then and there, sweet relief!  After that I got some calories and water down, and it was time to go!

The descent was rather uneventful and goes so much faster than the climb.  I’ll spare you the gory details, but the ride back to Kona was a grind, I kept at it, kept fueling, kept hydrating, kept moving.  Hitting the soft plush carpet at the T2 bike handoff is always a nice moment, and I quickly made my way around the circumference of the pier, grabbed my T2 bag, and into the tent.  Socks and shoes on, http://www.roguerunning.com/ visor, race belt, Ziploc bag of gels, another dab of sunscreen on the arms and shoulders, and I was off.  Legs felt good right off the bat, and they easily found a pace reminiscent of a 50 mile or 50k run.  Watch check:  2PM.  Wow, gonna’ take a sub-3 hour marathon to break 10 hours, maybe not this time J !  At the condo at mile 2 on Ali’i Drive and Meredith, Nicole and her 3 kids, and Meghan were all waiting and cheering with BRIGHT pink poster boards “GO UNCLE PAUL!”.  We exchanged low and high fives, and back to the work at hand.  Aid station rituals:  fueling and taking salt tabs on regular intervals, grabbing cups of ice and water, sponges on the head, keep moving.   Before long I was back at the condo for more hooping and hollering, and ten back to work on the steady pace.  No Garmin this time, more running off of feel and not wedded to particular splits.  It’s been a long summer of running at this point and this one is to be enjoyed, soaked up, and savored.  The turn at Hualalai Road comes and goes, and then soon it’s time to ascend Palani Road: quick short steps, don’t redline it, smooth and steady.  Left turn on the Queen K, wow that looks like a long way!  One aid station at a time here.  Getting the solar panels of the Energy Lab finally into sight is a blessing, for there is the left hand turn followed by a bit of downhill.  It’s here, and I’m moving well.  Right turn to the turnaround point and I’m passing folks by the bucketload.  Lots of meltdown here (them not me).  Turnaround point, made it, home stretch!  Grab special needs bag:  gels, small flask of Mountain Dew (not frozen anymore but definitely not boiling hot), and my deployed brother-in-law Ryan’s unit patch.  Let’s get this done.  All while running: Grab a cup of ice (or 2), squirt mtn dew in, drink, repeat, that tastes good!  It’s all gone by the time I’m back on the Queen K and fall in step with another runner whose friend/coach is riding on a bike right next to her.  She’s running GREAT, and I’m going with her.  Though, she clearly is annoyed by this even though it’s her friend/coach that is violating the race rules.  Next aid station she slows and I cruise on by to “Mark and Dave Hill”, pressing with each stride forward.  Legs are feeling good and looking forward to the short, steep downhill on Palani, piece of cake compared to Wasatch!  Floating, thanking, waving, smiling.  Proud of coming this far and still feeling good.  Hualalai again, Ali’i Drive.  A blur of positive noise, cheering, music, clapping.  It all goes so fast no matter how much you slow down.  And yet, the finish line pulls you in faster and faster the closer and closer you get to it.  I don’t want this to end…is it really over?

The finish line handlers are so nice and sweet and dote over you like concerned mothers.  Finish line lei, Bonk Breaker towel, water.  One of my handlers lost her son in combat 3 years ago and we share a moment as I explain the unit patch in my hand.  Photographer takes post-finish line photos (which I have not seen yet).  I don’t want to leave even though it’s a madhouse and I’m hungry and where is Meredith?  Expecting to see her soon I continue through to the King K beach/pool area but friends/family are not allowed in here this year, well that’s a bummer.  Finisher’s shirt, hat, and medal.  Chocolate milk, slice of so-so pizza.  Walk back to the pool area, I see her up by the pool!  Reunited. We’ve done it!

As always, thank you for reading and for ALL of your encouragement and support!

P.S. The final reward, Real Ale Devil’s Backbone Tripel Ale, VERY tasty!

Endurance

The past 4 weeks since Wasatch have absolutely flown by as I’ve tried to cram in as many swim sessions with the Great Hills Aquatics Rush http://www.teamghar.com (thanks Jason and Samantha!) as possible, knocked out the final long rides (in the pouring rain), and even squeezed in tune-up sprint and quarter-distance tris out in Kerrville http://www.kerrvilletri.com .  The legs have come around nicely following my usual post-race massage, weekly physical therapy at Advanced Rehab http://www.atxrehab.com/ , ice baths, Recovery leg pumps, Drymax http://www.drymaxsocks.com/ leg containment sleeves (photo below), and of course Meredith’s great meal preparation!

Had no idea that this was going to be a “6-buckle” summer, check out the 2 awards from Kerrville:

So, during our Wasatch trip and the week after, I reread the book “Endurance” about Sir Ernest Shackleton’s attempt to cross the Antarctic in the early 1900s.  It’s an absolutely amazing story of perseverance and faith in the face of unquestionable long odds.  Which brings me to one of my favorite Bible verses, Romans 5:3-5: “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”  It’s that kind of outlook that has embraced me this summer during the Slam and I will bring to the Big Island next week.
Meredith had a super-successful 50-mile race of her own at the Bear Chase last weekend (2nd place) in Lakewood, Colorado, and she’ll be tackling the Mountain Masochist 54-miler again shortly after our return from Hawaii on her birthday.  Very excited that she’s getting to do some trail racing of her own.
This weekend entailed some light workouts, and of course packing.  Saturday’s race coverage can be found in a couple of places:  http://universalsports.com/triathlon/ and here  http://ironmanworldchampionship.com/  (I’m bib #1346).  Age group start time, 7am Hawaii time.
As always, thank you for reading and for ALL of your encouragement and support!

P.S. The final reward, Real Ale Devil’s Backbone Tripel Ale, will go in the fridge next week right before we leave!

The Eagle Has Landed

It’s been a full week since the Wasatch Front 100, and it still feels a bit surreal how the previous 11 weeks have played out:  400.2 miles raced, 80 hours and 53 minutes total time, good enough for 8^th fastest time in Grand Slam history (since 1986) behind seven last names you might recognize: Gorman, Kulak, Jurek, Torrence, Barger, Trason, and Schlereth.  Proud to also bring home the 14^th Grand Slam of Ultra Running eagle and the first sub-24 hour Royal Order of the Crimson Cheetah buckle to Texas!

And yes, these are cast in Provo, unlike the Vermont 100 buckles which are cast in Denison, Texas!

I can’t begin to thank my wife, crew, pacers, sponsors and supporters, and “advisors” who I reached out to for advice on approaching the Slam and each individual race itself.  Their selfless service and advice has been invaluable!

The Wasatch race played out on a PERFECT September day, we could not have asked for better weather or course conditions.  Seemed like everybody I talked to said that the last 25 miles of the race were the hardest, and race day was no exception.  Despite wearing a real headlamp for the 5am start (unlike at Leadville where I wore a pathetic excuse for a headlamp) and tripping on a rock and going to the ground not 20 minutes into the run, I made my way up the first climb and fell into a steady-moving group of experienced locals and some out-of-towners, one of whom was Scott Wolfe http://dirtsurfinagain.blogspot.com/ from Bend, Oregon.  Now Scott told me he doesn’t run 100s very often for himself, but rather has been Andy Jones-Wilkins http://www.keepitsimple-ajw.blogspot.com/ go-to pacer for many races, including Wasatch.  Scott’s advice was simple, “save some legs for the last 25!”  Easy enough right?  The group was pretty chatty and I was more than happy to listen while they cracked jokes and talked about gear, trail shoes, etc.  We made pretty good time up to Grobban’s Corner (mile 13) where a table was set out with water and some gels, as the first real aid station was not until mile 19 at Francis Peak.  I started with my North Face pack, so I just topped off my handheld bottle which had fuel in it, grabbed 2 gels just in case, and enjoyed the scenic gravel road downhill to Francis Peak in the early morning sun.  It was here that I had a brief bittersweet moment of, “wow, I wish I could keep running like this all summer”, as after Wasatch there would not be “another” 100 miler to get ready for.  Time for the tunes to go on, thankful that Meredith encouraged me to take the iPod Shuffle along.

We hit Francis Peak at 8:40am, refilled, reloaded from my drop bag, donned visor and shades, and I was out of there in 4 minutes.  The next 20 miles were relatively uneventful, except for one small missed turn that led me and one other runner up a VERY steep climb, which at the top was clearly not the right route.  It only cost me a couple of minutes and in hindsight it worked out great because I fell back into the group of Scott Wolfe and fellow Slammers Mike Le Roux http://www.mikeleroux.com.au/ , Jay Smithberger, and others, who were setting a super-steady pace through some thick brush.  It was also a reminder to keep scanning continuously for the trail marker ribbons, as they were somewhat sporadic and not always in the most obvious place.  Other notable experiences: the Bountiful B (mile 24) aid station treated us to cold wet towels, saw a friendly face from Austin at Sessions (mile 28), and Swallow Rocks (mile 35) had frozen popsicles for us, mine was root beer flavor!!!  Coming into Big Mountain (mile 39) was fantastic, as you could partially see and hear the parking lot aid station while descending.  I was looking forward to changing shoes from my Brooks Cascadias to the Hoka Bondi Bs that I had successfully worn for most of Vermont and Leadville, giving the hydration pack a break in lieu of 2 bottles, and picking up my first pacer Todd Jones for the 14 mile stretch to Lambs (mile 53).  Meredith made quick work of the shoe change and had me in an out in 2 minutes!

Being early-afternoon with the temperatures rising, Todd and I eased into a steady pace and made sure I stayed ahead with calories, hydration, and electrolytes.  One of the ridges going down to Alexander Ridge (mile 47) was INCREDIBLY windy and we had to hold on to our hats/visors to keep them from blowing away.  Here we saw local ultra-legend Karl Meltzer http://karlmeltzer.com/  running the course backwards and that fired us up pretty good.  We showed up to Alexander Ridge just about out of all our water and I feel bad for folks that only had one bottle for that stretch.  It was nice to have some extra water to keep my head and visor wet.  My split was 1:37 but it felt closer to 2 hours!  The Alexander Ridge “hillbillies” had cornered the market on ice so we loaded up as much as we could, and I took on a couple cold cups of Sprite.  The short but steep exposed climb out of AR was tough, but we hiked it fast and got to the wooded single-track which was fabulous.  The descent into Lambs (mile 53) took a while, as you came within sight of it and then wound your way away from it a couple of times.  Todd did a great job picking up some trail trash and a cardboard ammo box, good karma for later!

Todd brought me in to Lambs in great shape and with good legs for pacer #2 Bryan Morton to take me 23 miles to the Brighton lodge at mile 76.  Bryan and I took our time with the long climb out of Lambs, and he got me caught up on my crew’s activities so for the day which included: master’s swim class in Bountiful, pickup basketball, slurpees at 7-Eleven, and a temporarily misplaced wallet!!!  Can you believe all the fun I missed while I was busting my ass running through the Wasatch National Forest??  Bryan and I ran a little extra between Millcreek/Upper Big Water (mile 62) and Desolation Lake (mile 67) after missing a turn that could have been marked better.  We both saw the markings on the 2 trees and decided to “split the uprights” which turned out to be the wrong way!  Fortunately, we kept our eyes peeled for the next ribbon which never came, so we turned around and came across another runner in the same predicament.  No biggie, but soon enough we were back on Scott Wolfe’s heels who had made the correct turn!  On the way from Desolation Lake to Scotts (mile 71), we were forced to break out the headlamp that Bryan carried from Lambs and the small handheld light that I picked up at my Millcreek drop bag.  We were treated to a pretty fun descent down into Brighton (mile 76) which ended up with about a 3 mile stretch of pavement which was less fun.  We did spot a foraging porcupine on the side of the road!  The whole time, Bryan and I smartly kept moving as the temperatures were slowly dropping and we were still in our Rogue singlets with no gloves, arm warmers, or beanie (I was carrying an emergency plastic garbage bag in my pack in case it got REALLY cold).  We hit Brighton at 9:20pm, and Meredith and Todd quickly had me out of my damp singlet and into a dry Adidas Rogue tech shirt, thin North Face windbreaker vest, Drymax arm warmers, Hind gloves, Pearl Izumi beanie, and Petzl Myo XP headlamp.  I forget what I consumed there, but it definitely was not the pancake feast that I expected and in hindsight I did not even get to brush my teeth there with one of the complimentary toothbrushes (the aid station captain is a local dentist)!  Oh well, maybe next time J.  Pacer #3 Meredith had me out of there in 5 minutes and up the mountain we went!

The climb out of Brighton was a doozy but I sipped on some warm fuel.  Meredith and I found our rhythm and we got used to scanning the trail ahead for the next reflective ribbon.  At one point, we had not seen a ribbon for a LONG time and thought for sure we had missed a turn.  Meredith ran up the trail and then back to a local racer and his pacer who knew the course cold so we followed them as best we could down into Ant Knolls (mile 80).  “Sketchy” is an understatement for some of the terrain that we had to navigate, I’m glad we did it at night!  I forget what Pole Line aid station (mile 83) was like and I think somewhere heading into Rock Springs (mile 87) Meredith took a nasty tumble coming down one of the very sandy and rocky chutes that shook her up a bit.  As she was bent over bleeding she yelled, “go on.”  I went up a little ways and then turned my head back to check on her.  She saw my light and said, “what are you doing.  Why are you looking back.”  I said, “you are my wife!”  When she realized that I wasn’t willing to drop her, she came running up and continued on with her pacing duties.  So along we went, and for once I was temporarily doing the pacing work in front.  The 5.7 mile stretch to the last aid station, Pot Bottom (mile 93) takes FOREVER (which the course description is nice enough to warn you of), 1 hour and 50 minutes in our case, but once you’re there, the barn starts smelling pretty darn good.  We spent less than a minute here, as none other than Scott Wolfe showed up just as we were leaving!  The 7 miles from Pot Bottom to the finish is about 2 miles up and then 5 miles mostly down.  Meredith and I found our power hiking legs right away, and then came across fellow racer Jason Koop (with no pacer) going the wrong direction on the trail!  He got turned around somehow further along the trail, so he was relieved to now be going the right direction, but still pissed off that it happened.  When we finally hit the downhill section, we punched it and let gravity take us just as fast as possible without tripping.  Then, a headlamp appeared behind us, and we wound it up even faster through the best singletrack of the whole course, not wanting to get caught in the last couple miles.  This played out for a good 20 or 30 minutes it seemed, and then he caught us.  Not Jason but Scott Wolfe, who obviously could sense that we were trying to avoid being caught.  The 3 of us had a good laugh about it knowing at this point that sub-24 hours was in the bag and the top-10 payday was going to be the same: $0!  We cruised to the last mile on pavement where Scott easily could have dropped me but politely excused himself to the side of the road while Todd and Bryan met up with us for the last mile or so into the finish.  We enjoyed briefly catching up after 7 hours of separation to make sure that the wallet had been successfully recovered!  Final time: 23:17:25 and 8^th place overall.  Scott finished less than 30 seconds behind.  Wasatch RD John Grobben and winner Jeff Browning http://www.gobroncobilly.com/  were there to greet us, and my traditional finish line pushups never felt so satisfying!

After a very long post-race shower, ice bath, and a couple of hours of restless shut-eye, we returned to the finish line to greet fellow Slammers Mike, Jay, and Po Dog Vogler, who is also from Todd’s home state of Arkansas!  Then, off to Chick’s Café in Heber City for a MONSTROUS egg, hash brown, bacon, and pancake breakfast as our appetites had returned with a vengeance.  The awards ceremony was conducted right after the 36-hour course cut-off at 5pm, where the Crimson Cheetah induction ceremony and Grand Slam awards were presented.  The slight hint of fall was in the air, and the leaves high up in the mountains have already turned brilliant yellows and oranges.  For some, this signals the end of their season, but for me, I’ll be at it again in 4 weeks on the hot pavement in Kailua-Kona, home of the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon World Championships.  This will be my third time competing there, and I can’t think of a better way to cap off this summer!!  The quest to be the first finisher of the Grand Kona Slam http://www.run100s.com/grand_kona_slam.htm  continues, thank YOU for all your prayers, support, and encouragement, from near and far.

Special thanks to the Wasatch Race Committee for the fantastic finisher

plaque, and

P.S. The post-Wasatch New Belgium Trippel Ale was FANTASTIC and the best one yet, only one more to go!!!! (Melissa and Mike strike again!!)