tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38066978247092276152024-02-18T20:45:27.691-08:00Questionably Healthy Race AddictionAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140707737901050288noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806697824709227615.post-31860249463205046282014-06-13T22:39:00.004-07:002014-12-11T18:32:02.391-08:002014 San Diego 100, my first mountain 100.<div class="MsoNormal">
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<i><b>2:50 am, </b>Alarm Goes Off.</i></div>
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So many thoughts rushed through my head as I woke up. Will my injuries
hold up? Will I get sick in the heat? Am I forgetting a critical piece of gear?
Will my pacers show up? Will my drop bags go to the wrong aid station? Will I
even remember that I have drop bags out there?
Will I disappoint myself and my friends/family by not finishing?</div>
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These thoughts I was having at 3 in the morning were nothing new for the
week. Everything bad that could happen in the week leading up to the race,
did. Instead of tapering, I was
operating a jackhammer, tearing out my wood and stone flooring, and a removing
a section of my foundation. Instead of resting, I was icing my sore back from
handling the jackhammer. Instead of resting my mind, I was stressed about
finances.</div>
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This was not how I envisioned race week when I had signed up
6 months prior. The one thing you learn
in doing ultras is that you have to learn to adapt and overcome the challenges
that arise</div>
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<i><b>3:00 am ,</b> Time to Focus and Test my foot.</i></div>
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Bad news, my right heal is still excruciatingly painful when
standing. I hurt it the day before, and I wasn’t sure I would be able to race
today. I got ready for the race anyways, packed my bags, applied sunscreen, and
lubricated all my friction points. Even during the drive, my foot was in unbearable pain.</div>
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<i><b>4:40 am,</b> Arrival .</i></div>
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After I put my drop bags in the appropriate places, I went
back to the car to rest. I did the only thing I could do at this point, which was to pray
for a miracle that my foot would be better. And that is what I did. I also set a
bunch of alarms to give myself a quick snooze before the race began.</div>
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<i><b>5:30 am,</b> Time to get moving.</i></div>
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I get out of the car to get the day started. My foot feels
ok when I stand and walk. My prayer was answered. </div>
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<i><b>6:00 am,</b> The Adventure Begins.</i></div>
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I placed myself off at the very back of the pack. We were off and I was running pain free! During the first mile I thanked God for
healing my foot, and prayed for the health and safety of the other runners.
When the second mile started to click away, I decided I would say thanks and
pray for each body part individually, both for my own and for the other racers,
and I also prayed for the people who are not so fortunate to have that body
part in good working order. One mile after the other, working my way up the body. Toes, feet,
ankles,shins, calves, knees, quads, hamstrings,
etc etc.</div>
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<i><b>Mile 6.8</b>, Paso Pichacho . </i>I came through in a hour and half
and in 121<sup>st</sup> place after spending a good deal of time in a Conga line
on the singletrack. I was still ahead of my desired split goal by 4 minutes. I
really enjoyed that section of trail, but it was time to let my competitive
juices flow a bit. I took off full steam ahead to stonewall peak. I ran every
step of the climb to the top and started to pass a whole bunch of people. I
started blazing down the backside until I felt a buzzing on my neck, I swatted
at it and got stung by a bee! I hadn’t been stung since I was a little kid, so
I didn’t know how my body would react. As you would expect in a ultra, the guy from behind stopped and
helped me get the stinger out of my neck. Holy smokes, that was some
uncomfortable running after that!</div>
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<i><b>Mile 12.5</b>, Chambers 1</i>. I came through here at 8:36am and in 91<sup>st</sup>
place. Everything was starting to flow perfectly, and I was starting to feel
unstoppable. I was on top of my nutrition and hydration, following the plan I
had created. After running past the lake I was running off into uncharted
trails for me. The rest of the race would be new trails with the exception of
Noble Canyon. This is when it started to
get really hot and very exposed. The course was starting to show its true
colors, between the heat and its runnability, I can see how people get into
trouble out there. It is so easy to get overheated!</div>
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<i><b>Mile 18.5</b> Pedro Fages.</i> I came through here at 9:43am and in
76<sup>th</sup> place. I started to mix in some hiking and take my heat
management very seriously. I was really looking forward to running the coming
sections of the PCT. I don’t remember much about this section. I was so
mentally focused on self management that
the time and miles just started to slip by.</div>
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<i><b>Mile 23.2 </b>Sunrise 1.</i>
I came through here at 10:35am
and in 66<sup>th</sup> place. The beauty of the trails on the PCT was a real treat. The views of
Anza Borrego were amazing! It is a shame that it took doing a race to get
out there. I ended up getting making the mistake of racing too early in
this section. It felt like it was in the 90’s , and I think this was the
beginning of digging myself a hole.</div>
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<i><b>Mile 30.4</b> Pioneer Mall 1.</i> I came through here at 12:08 and in
51<sup>st</sup> place. At this point in the race I had grown my 4 minute gap
under my desired split at the first aid station to 42 minutes ahead of 24 hour
pace by this aid station. I got caught up in the idea of putting time in the
bank that I could use later in the race(what a mistake.) Luckily, I was still
able to eat at this point, and switching to a hat meant I could start putting
ice in my hat for better heat management. The canyons were so blazing hot that
it was hard to think clearly. The lack of heat and elevation training were
making me lose focus. I thought I was lost several times through this section,
and I started to lose it mentally.<br />
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<i><b>Mile 34.4 </b>Penny Pines 1.</i> I came though here at 12:58pm and
in 43<sup>rd</sup> place.</div>
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It was a boost to see
my pacer that would I would be running with later, at the aid station. I was still feeling good
here, and I was out of the aid station in less than 2 minutes. I had to make my
predictions as to when I would be at mile 56 , to meet up with her. I made the bold
prediction of covering the next 22 in 4 hours.</div>
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<i><b>Mile 39.6 </b>Todd’s Cabin.</i> I came through here at 2:13pm, in 37<sup>th</sup>
place, and 47 minutes ahead of my goal time. This section will be known as my
last good one before my race went to crap. I started running all of the hills
and was feeling very strong. I had finally caught up with and passed a few
runners that I knew were much better than I. </div>
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mile 38, feeling good</div>
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<i><b>Mile 44.7</b> Red Tail Roost.</i> I came through here at 3:25 pm and
in 30<sup>th</sup> place. 43 minutes ahead of my goal split *</div>
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Around mile 42 was
when things started to go bad. I started to get very nauseous , and I was
unable to eat anything. I was unable to run for longer than a minute at a time.
I started alternating with 2 minutes of hiking and 1 minute of running. By the
time I got to the aid station, even that slow pace became daunting. The
bouncing motion of running was just getting me more sick. I had made the
ridiculous error of putting my headlamp , gloves, and hat in this drop bag. So
not only was I carrying 70 oz of electrolyte and a ton of food that I wasn’t
able to eat, I had to lug around my headlamp and night gear. I was now unable to run and everything
started tightening up and hurting. My feet felt like they were on fire, but I
decided I would not look at them. I had never been in this situation of feeling
sick while running before. I witnessed one guy on the side of the trail forcing
himself to throw up. I wondered if I should be doing the same, but I was too
afraid it would make me weak. I started to see my time slipping away as I got
closer to mile 51.1.</div>
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<i><b>Mile 51.1</b> Meadows.</i> I
came through here at 5:15pm, in 46<sup>th</sup> place and 20 minutes ahead of
my goal split. </div>
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On any given day I would be happy with a 10 hour , 50 mile
split in the mountains but not today, not after getting passed by 16 people in
such a short span of time. I finally sat down for the first time and decided I
was done moving for now. I sat down for what seemed like an eternity, but I
think it was only 10 minutes. Jim , the medical volunteer and the a/s
volunteers catered to my needs wonderfully as I sat there. I got doused in cold
water and was served endless cups of ginger ale. Jim talked me into getting my
butt in gear and to go meet my pacer at the next station. </div>
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mile 50, feeling really bad</div>
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<i><b>Mile 56.3 </b>Penny Pines 2.</i>
I came through here at 6:44pm, 46<sup>th</sup> and 6 minutes ahead of my
goal split.</div>
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I had attached myself
to a runner and pacer between Meadows
and Penny Pines, in hopes of keeping me motivated to keep moving forward. The
runner wanted to sit down after about 2 miles, so I was on my own again. Thank
goodness for my awesome pacer, Kathryn, who decided to run out onto the trail
and meet me at mile 54. I no longer had any motivation to take care of myself
out there, so having someone else force feed me and distract me from my misery
was a welcome break. Mile 56 aid station was another 10 minute sitting break
for me. <br />
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<i><b>Mile 64 </b>Pine Creek.</i> I came through here at 8:47pm, 45<sup>th</sup>
and 22 minutes behind</div>
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We were finally back on familiar trail for me. The good ‘ol
Noble Canyon descent was ahead of us. I was still not wanting to run, but
Kathryn talked me into making an attempt to do so. I am glad we did, because I
ended up running almost half of it. The rocks completely tore up our sore feet and ankles. We did the last bit of the trail
to 64 with no headlamps as the sky became dark. My back/neck were so beat up at this point, but I knew I made a good choice of pacer when she
did some active release massage on my neck. <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><br />
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<i><b>Mile 72.1</b> Pioneer Mall 2.</i> I came through here at
11:32pm, 43<sup>rd</sup> and 32 minutes
behind.</div>
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Oh my goodness, how can a little 2000 foot climb over 8
miles be so difficult. The combination of darkness and everything hurting was
a recipe for extremely slow movement onwards and upwards. My hiking speed was
still quite strong though, and my pacer had trouble keeping up with me in the
steep sections. I was relieved to make
it to mile 72, but I was also worried at the same time. I was relieved in that
I knew almost for certain I would be able to finish now. I even pep talked myself into believing sub 24
was still possible, and I decided I would make a go of it. On the flip side, I was pretty overwhelmed with worry about having to do the next 15 miles through the canyons, without a
pacer. I also had to try and shrug off the fact there was a mountain lion on the
course a few miles back. After exchanging a few items at my 3<sup>rd</sup> drop
bag, I had to say goodbye to my pacer. </div>
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<i><b>Mile 79.3</b> Sunrise 2.</i> I came through here at 1:36am, 39<sup>th place </sup>,
and 51minutes behind my goal time.</div>
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I was running alone from mile 72 to 75, motivated by the idea of hitting my goal time. This
quickly came to a halt when I had a few nasty falls, causing my knee to hyper
extend and put a huge strain on my left Achilles and knee. I was able to hike
slowly through the canyons until 1 mile before the aid station, when the
Achilles and knee blew up. I was suddenly unable to even walk. I somehow managed
to hobble it in to the aid station. I started to freak out about having to do
the 8 mile section ahead. I hadn’t seen anyone on the trail for 3 hours, and
the thought of walking another 8 miles into the moonless night was not a pleasant
thought.I considered dropping out due to injury, but I decided to keep moving on even though it didn't seem smart to do so. I also forgot to take into consideration that my rechargeable headlamp was well past its maximum usage time. Oops.</div>
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<i><b>Mile 87.9 </b>Chambers 2.</i> I came through here at 4:51am, 46<sup>th</sup>,
and 2hrs and 6 minutes behind my goal.</div>
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Miles 79.3 to 87.9 were the beginning of the worst pain in
my life. I started to make the 8 mile trek, but the only way I was able to move
forward was to keep my left leg completely straight at all times and not use it
at all to propel myself forward. I’d have to do the remaining 20 miles on one
leg. As the hours passed at my slow 19 minute a mile pace, I started to worry
more and more about my headlamp. I used my cell phone to plead with my pacer to
run out onto the trail to meet me. My worries were not misplaced, because as I predicted, my headlamp died. It was so dark that I could not see my hand when
holding it a few inches from my face. I had to start using my phone flashlight which only had 20 percent battery left on it. I sent out my final SOS to my
pacer, Jeremy, and put the thing on airplane mode. After almost 4 hours of not seeing anyone, a runner
finally came up from behind. I told him about my situation and pleaded that he
help me. He was moving pretty well and said he couldn’t stop, but his pacer
might be able to. I waited about 15 minutes for the pacer to come to where I
was. I couldn’t believe how dim his flashlight was. How was that even
possible?! I was still relieved nonetheless, and he agreed to walk it in with me until I
found Jeremy. He was even so kind as to
offer me some “Herbal Medicine.” I politely declined after realizing he meant
marijuana. After finding Jeremy, we
started the most painful hike of my life to the next aid station. My knee was
hurting so bad, that the burning of all the blisters and hotspots under my feet
were a nice distraction from the bigger problem. I finally made it to the aid station after 3
hours and 8 miles of walking like a one legged pirate. How fitting that the
name of the aid station was “Pirates Cove.” I finally got to sit down again, and I removed my shoes and socks
for the first time.I had my blisters drained and bandaged, and off we went.....at a blistering fast 25 minutes a mile pace....</div>
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<i><b>Mile 94.4</b> Paso Picacho . </i>I came through here at 7:47am, 63<sup>rd</sup>,
and 3 hours and 12 minutes behind my goal. I knew in the back of my mind that the 3 hours of pegleg
walking over 8 miles of flat terrain would be child’s play compared to this
next section. I had to climb up and down a very rocky Stonewall peak with a leg
that couldn’t bend. I really wanted to throw in the towel and call it quits,
but I didn't want to let my pacers down after such a enormous effort to help me
finish. I also felt like it would have been a waste of months of training to
not finish my race. Besides, my “C” goal was to just finish, and I had 6 hours
to do a half marathon. I could move almost at 30 minutes a mile and still come
close to being under the cutoff.</div>
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Climbing up Stone wall peak caused the most pain I had ever
been in. I had to propel myself up the
trail and over rocks with one leg at a 25 to 30 minutes a mile pace. Every time
my left shoe would tap a rock, a feeling of my knee being ripped in half sent
me into minor shock, and I would have to take a break to catch my breath and
regain my composure. It ended up taking a total of 3 hours to do the 6 mile
section. That was at my absolute max effort!</div>
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<i><b>Mile 100.2</b> The Finish.</i></div>
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The heat was back in
full force again early in the morning, and I had 5.8 miles to go. I was emotionally
drained from the torture of the last section. The last section had less
climbing, but the cumulative fatigue and injuries became too much to bear. Sleep deprivation was also becoming an issue. It was the longest I had ever been awake.From the drive the previous day until now, I had been on the go for 29 hours. Every rock in those 5.8 miles looked like a plush mattress. My leg never did get better, but I was able to push through the heat and pain to find the finish line. Although it was albeit slower than I had wanted, the feeling of finishing my first mountain 100 with 20% of it on one leg, was unbelievable.</div>
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Feeling sorry for myself would never have got me to that
finish line. Ultimately, I just had to stay in the present and keep on taking
one more step. Taking one more step was all I knew how to do.<br />
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<b><i> Finish time of 28:25:51 </i></b></div>
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Many thanks to my pacers, Kathryn and Jeremy, you both were amazing for many reasons ,and thanks to all of the amazing volunteers that got me in and out of the aid stations fast.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140707737901050288noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806697824709227615.post-12271415389275102962013-04-02T12:40:00.001-07:002016-06-07T22:33:04.215-07:00Old Goat 50 mile race<br>
***Disclaimer*** If you are reading this, you probably know that I finished, but you do not know how bad it actually went. This is a quick recap of all the bad things that happened. The only good thing that happened was being able to stop when I reached the finish line.<br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: large;">“Even the downhill is up” </span>"100 mile race experience packed into 50 miles"<span style="font-size: large;"> "It is one of the hardest 50 mile races in the Country"</span> These were the type<br>
of one-liners I came across when I first heard about OG50 (Old Goat 50.)<br>
<br>
My friends, Mark, Jeremy and I were talked into signing up for this beast of a race by our ultrarunning friend, Carlos. Mark gave in first, then Jeremy,and I followed suit not wanting to be the odd man out. It was one of those moments where you click submit on that online form then think,<span style="font-size: large;">"What have I done?!?!"</span><br>
<br>
I immediately started to read the race reports about how hard the race was in previous years. With every personal recantation Jeremy and I read about the race, the more of a caricature like image of the race we painted in our heads. All of the possible doom and gloom scenarios of things that could happen during the race became the normal topic of conversation (although we were mostly joking about it.)<br>
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Training for the race was going amazing... I was on a 50+ day running streak and had run a few 100 mile weeks back to back, averaging over 10 miles a day in February for the Taji100 challenge. Then came the opportunity to run a 12 hour race the month before Og50.......I got talked into this one too. I rationalized the decision by telling myself that it would be a good training session for the Goat.<br>
<br>
It turns out it was a bad decision to go into that race over-trained. I managed to go 50 miles in 9 1/2 hours, but in turn I badly injured my right heel. Out of fear of a stress fracture, I did not run a single step during the 20 days leading up to OG50.<br>
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March 23rd, race day was finally here. All 3 of us were injured in various ways, but we made the deal to at least start the first loop and then make a decision whether to continue on after 21 mile loop<br>
<br>
We all headed out on the Candy Store loop at 6:30am as a group. The trail was very beautiful and similar to the Noble Canyon trail in San Diego.<br>
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The "fun" begins....<br>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mile 0:</span> Gastrointestinal stress begins and I am unable to eat a proper meal for energy<br>
<span style="font-size: large;">Mile 1:</span> I need to go to the bathroom from the distress, 20 miles to go until I am back at the restroom.... I wait<br>
<span style="font-size: large;">Mile 2-4:</span> Rolled my ankles bad...twice<br>
<span style="font-size: large;">Miles 4-7:</span> Bottle-necked on the single track by a few slow people. Finally broke free and began to run faster then I should have. Slammed my big toe into a rock....twice, and it felt like I broke it.<br>
<span style="font-size: large;">Mile 9:</span> I was running up a slight uphill on technical, jagged rock trail behind 2 gals. Focusing on their footing and not mine...I tripped, flew through the air, landed palms first into some sharp rocks. Thank goodness I was still wearing gloves for the cold weather, which allowed me to press<br>
on with minimal injuries.<br>
<span style="font-size: large;">Miles 10-13:</span> I slip off the wet rocks while crossing a stream and dig my right foot into a mud pit, completely soaking my right shoe/foot in mud.<br>
<span style="font-size: large;">Miles 14-21:</span> The intestinal distress got more and more intense. My hips and knees lock up, causing me to walk for 4 miles straight, back to the bluejay campground.<br>
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<br>
I was greeted with cheers from the onlookers and encouragement from Shawna (of the awesome Wentlandt family)When I got back to Bluejay campground well below the 6 hour cutoff in 4 1/2 hours. More importantly, I finally got some momentary relief in the bathroom after waiting for over 4 hours. After plopping myself down on the ground, I surveyed the damages from only 21 miles on the trail.<br>
<br>
I then began the internal battle of whether I would press on for up to a total of 14 hours...... No, I decided it would be better if I quit now, since I then could relax the rest of the day.<br>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mentally I had given up</span>, but for some reason I was in autopilot mode....I let Shawna fill my camelback, I took off my wet compression socks and put on just the dri-fit ones, and began having about 5 cheezits as my first calories in the race. Next thing you know she is telling me that I have to go on, and I am being kicked out of the Aid station by her.<br>
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No turning back....<br>
<span style="font-size: large;">Miles 21-23.6:</span> Some of the real climbing begins, temperatures climbed on the exposed trail, and my intestinal distress came back with a vengeance. I felt very sick and disoriented at the Trabuco Aid Station. I stumbled through the aid station accidentally bumping into people. I thought my friend Jessica was taking my pic with a camcorder, but instead starts interviewing me about how I was feeling. I had to divert the question, as to not start spewing out obscenities on film. My break was short lived. The awesome photographer,<br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw6pTHKRrQwYw_Mzyx3A2MpNYJcGNUxa_jx9tPYs5l22HkhsS1E2oT8-S9FXyqSR_26qcciQYpv6rnj2QoRYyxUQUFWn3inbmjP0SsDb9P52O0ZHKIy0V_M3ewu7gYeSRa6YBPOXuoymQ/s1600/8258_10151586203326882_101075667_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw6pTHKRrQwYw_Mzyx3A2MpNYJcGNUxa_jx9tPYs5l22HkhsS1E2oT8-S9FXyqSR_26qcciQYpv6rnj2QoRYyxUQUFWn3inbmjP0SsDb9P52O0ZHKIy0V_M3ewu7gYeSRa6YBPOXuoymQ/s1600/8258_10151586203326882_101075667_n.jpg" height="213" width="320"></a>Lynne Cao, was yelling at me to continue on. Carlos begins spewing out all sorts of advice as how to break down the sections in my mind. I was not coherent and could not make sense of what he was telling me, let alone remember it.<br>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Miles 23.6-28.8:</span> The 5 miles straight of downhill over super rocky terrain was a short lived relief since it caused my quads and feet to be overworked. I was in post race shape at the halfway mark, every things hurt. This was not very comforting as the OG50 race really begins at mile 28.<br>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Miles 28.8 - 34:</span> Things went from bad to worse on the trail. I was still not eating enough calories after several hours of running, and I began to bonk hard. The temperature kept rising and I started to experience heat exhaustion. I was so hot and overheated, but I was unable to sweat. I took this as a bad sign and began to have a mild panic attack. I tried to calm myself by taking deep breaths,but was unable to since it caused a pain in my chest. A panic attack mixed with heat exhaustion, a hard bonk and hard breathing made for a slow and scary climb up to Bear Springs aid station.<br>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mile 34, Bear Springs: </span>From a distance I spotted one of the volunteers open chair in the shade, and I planned to spend the rest of the race sitting there. I sat there in a state of bliss and so glad the pain was finally all over. Trying to cool off, I doused freezing cold water on top of my head. My break and DNF decision was short-lived once again as a racer plopped himself in the chair next to me. He was in much worse shape then I was, throwing up every time he ate something. I figured if I wasn't in as bad of shape as him that I should continue on.I also could not bear to watch someone throw up when I am not feeling too good myself. I could not stick around to watch the carnage, I pressed on to finish the never ending 8 mile straight up climb to Santiago peak.<br>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Falling apart...</span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;">Mile 34 - 36.8: </span>2.8 miles to the top of Santiago peak, with another aid station? When reading it on the paper it didn't sound so bad. Doing it was another story. I was slowly moving up what was the most ridiculously sustained fire road incline I had ever been on. Every ache in my body reached its maximum pain. Every injury from the past year seemed to surface all at once.. from my knee pains..... to shin splints......<br>
to hip flexor pain..... to quadricep tendon pain.... to calf pain.... to back pain.... to shoulder pain.... to neck pain.... to ankle pain... to feet pain....<br>
I felt like the mountain was trying to beat me down, not allowing me to reach the top. The physical beating brought about an emotional breakdown. This was not new to me, it had happened twice before; once as I neared the end of my first Ultra and again during ATY's 24 hour race.<br>
It is hard to admit,, but I was in tears, with an enormous feeling on inadequacy. I got my phone out, turned it on, and hoped I could get some signal to talk to a friendly voice. Luckily I did eventually get that signal and phone call. She encouraged me to press on, and I was able to snap out of the bad frame of mind I was in. I pressed on, made it to the top of the peak, had a celebratory half of a very small quesadilla and headed down. <br>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Miles 36.8 - 47: </span>The large downhill sections were a nice break from the sustained climbs, but I was experiencing such an intense burning sensation on the bottoms of my feet that I was only able to run .2 miles at a time before needing to hike. I still to this day do not know why they were in such pain, as I did not get any blisters.<br>
I would run until the pain was too severe to continue and go back to hiking. I repeated this over and over.<br>
Breaking the 40 mile barrier provided a great mental boost that was much needed, especially with everyone that I led the entire race passing me on the downhill. I probably would not have made it through all of the<br>
climbs on the main divide fire road without that boost. I was so mentally drained that I even<br>
left my water, bottle full of ice water, on a table at an aid station and did not fill my hydration pack. I started to feel very dehydrated, although I'm sure it was mostly in my head. I was so over this race......mentally physically emotionally..... At least I was blessed with a nice sunset over the clouds.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCzx8qS5eJMvj4MjrGShVB-sEeHOZFr2c8Mpu-pxEfLa8U4SyxvI2epbA9SMpq4VzzwwRoX7fBAXEQ3ZnjfmmSqXEzYnZcaQsrocgYnufivAdlCX5c_7l8bF0xzZzPXDDsxym94v-5XO4/s1600/531713_10151574622351882_2074085845_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCzx8qS5eJMvj4MjrGShVB-sEeHOZFr2c8Mpu-pxEfLa8U4SyxvI2epbA9SMpq4VzzwwRoX7fBAXEQ3ZnjfmmSqXEzYnZcaQsrocgYnufivAdlCX5c_7l8bF0xzZzPXDDsxym94v-5XO4/s1600/531713_10151574622351882_2074085845_n.jpg" height="150" width="200"></a><span style="font-size: large;">Miles 47 - 50:</span> I was greeted down the trail by my friend Jessica, who was working the Trabuco aid station. She jokingly offered to take over for me in the last few miles. I was definitely not in a joking mood at mile 47...I somehow flipped a switch in my head, blocking out all my pain receptors. I skipped getting aid,<br>
and flew down the remaining 3 mile hill, passing 5 people in the process. A few of them asked me if I was feeling better now. I told them no.... "I just want to be done with this," as I ran by.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9SZ4rnAphntq538wOAY2bqoc9-CqpYux-bZZUdrYBYqUD-rB0XFClTlbKQe4HhiUH1zmYvASrwVTQUghU3eGG45TgZj4oOcx79lOc_IQuDwXdgA7BfFUbIewpvJgPqMXYuqMovpKb5uo/s1600/484027_10151586942186882_831473835_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9SZ4rnAphntq538wOAY2bqoc9-CqpYux-bZZUdrYBYqUD-rB0XFClTlbKQe4HhiUH1zmYvASrwVTQUghU3eGG45TgZj4oOcx79lOc_IQuDwXdgA7BfFUbIewpvJgPqMXYuqMovpKb5uo/s1600/484027_10151586942186882_831473835_n.jpg" height="133" width="200"></a>It was a great feeling to finish strong and an even better feeling of being able to stop. There was a big cheering crowd as I finished, and the RD shook my hand, placed a medal around my neck , and congratulated me on finishing..<br>
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I walked over to the chair that was kindly offered by my friend Trasie, I sat down, my body shut down, my joints locked up, and I got a bad chill.<br>
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I had no sense of accomplishment, just an overwhelming feeling of happiness to be done.<br>
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The finish line festivities were by far the best of any ultra I had been too. A home cooked meal was being prepared by the RD's daughter in both vegan and meat varieties I had a veggie burger and some soup before hobbling back to the car. Once the chills went away, we left the race.<br>
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<span style="font-size: large;">12 hours 40 minutes 4 seconds</span></div>
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79th out of 117 finishers and almost 170 starters.</div>
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It is time for a temporary break from Ultras. I hope to come back stronger, injury free and mentally stronger when I do. </div>
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<br>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140707737901050288noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806697824709227615.post-76440340386136931282013-03-05T10:03:00.001-08:002016-06-07T22:35:29.544-07:00Rohring Round The Clock 12 Hour Race The 12 hour race is still painful to think about and I have been procrastinating writing even the shortest of race reports.....<br>
<br>
The 12 hour race was on 2/23 at Rohr Park in Bonita, California. Rohr Park is a 5k loop of dirt trails and cement sidewalks intertwined throughout a park and circumnavigating a golf course.<br>
Despite the course being significantly longer then the Across The Years course, it is a loop nonetheless and just as mentally tough.<br>
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I had got sucked into signing up for this one as my first race of the year , less then a month before it was to take place. I was cautiously optimistic going into it since I had a few hundred mile training weeks in a row on the pavement for the Taji100 challenge. The downside to those big weeks was that I was coming into the race overtrained and slightly injured. I had to look at the race as an opportunity to just run all day with my friend Jeremy and a few others, treating it as more of a party.<br>
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5:30 am : Me and a small group of other lunatics doing the 12 hr race embark on our first lap in the dark. The group quickly divided and I found myself running with Jeremy and a guy named Joe. It was dark enough out that we missed the first turn without knowing it. After running about a quarter mile we quickly realized that something was off when we were running on a golf course fairway. We kept pressing on, hoping that we would rejoin with the trail. After running in circles around the inside of the golf course, the day was looking to not be a good one. We finally spotted the starting line across the fairway and decided to keep running until we passed 5k of distance. After passing the 3.1 mile mark we ran back to the start line, which was now visible due to the increasing light in the sky. We had tacked on an extra half mile and were dealt a huge mental blow to start the day.<br>
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Autopilot mode.... The first 20 miles felt like we were on autopilot and we ran non-stop without any walking. We would fuel up every 10k at our cars with food and drink that we had brought. Bringing your own supplies is a must for this race since the supplied food and water were in short supply.<br>
The autopilot mode eventually caused us to crash, me mentally and somewhat physically and Jeremy physically. Around mile 27 Jeremy had to sit out a lap to attend to a growing pain in his feet and legs. I kept pressing on, hoping that I could hit the 50k mark in 6 hours.<br>
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From mile 24 on I was beating myself over the head for signing up for another looped course. I could not think of any good reasons to keep pressing on... except that I had told everyone that I was going to get 50 miles done that day. I had really screwed up making this my first race since the 24 hour.<br>
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This was my first race that I had used a heartrate monitor as a tool to determine my pace. As I clicked away the miles into the 30 mile rage my body was in rapid decline according to my monitor. My 147 heartrate pace slipped gradually from 8:30 pace down to 11:00 min/mile pace. After passing the 50k mark, anytime I ran it would immediately spike to 160 heartrate no matter how slow I went. I knew that I would get more injuries if I kept that heartrate for the many hours yet to go in the race, so I had to employ a run/walk strategy for most of the remainder of the race.<br>
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After getting above the 40 mile mark I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and began to pick up the pace again, mostly running. I was envious of Jeremy and the wife sitting on the sidelines and wanted to join them. The endless hours of sun were starting to get to me, so I wrapped the shirt on my back around my head. I looked like a person wandering through the desert, in hopes of scavenging every last bit of shade. She told me I looked ridiculous, but I did not care since races like these allow a person to stop caring about what others think and perceive of you.<br>
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I finally passed the 50 mile mark on my Garmin in 9 hours and 38 minutes halfway into one of my laps!! The sad part was the lap was only going to make 49 official miles when I finished it. After finishing the lap I waited for her and Jeremy to join me for the last lap. It was a very long lap since Jeremy had to limp walk it with us, bringing his total distance to 60k. Over an hour later we finished the lap, giving me 52 official miles and 54 miles on my Garmin in 11 hours and 7 minutes. We called it a day and I finally got to sit down for the first time.<br>
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The race:<br>
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If you want a bare-bones, fat-ass style ultra with no frills, this is the race for you. No t-shirt,medals or timing chip for this one.<br>
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Pros: Nice course if you can handle lots of concrete sections and almost no inclines. The scenery is always changing with the never ending flow of civilians on the trail and in the park. All of the competitors, like at other ultras, are friendly and motivating. The course is very visually appealing with all of the trees and greenery.<br>
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Cons: Lots of obstacles on the trail with all the random people walking/running/skipping/rolling around the loop. You will not survive on only the food and drink provided. No timing chips made for an annoying day of having to check in after each loop, messing up the flow of continuously moving... sometimes they didn't hear you and you wondered whether that 3 miles counted.<br>
<br>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140707737901050288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806697824709227615.post-65378449252531674782013-01-29T10:41:00.001-08:002013-03-08T22:42:26.903-08:00Taji100 Challenge.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My recovery from my Across The Years race has gone better then expected. I do not have any stress fractures or seriously dehabilitating injuries from it...just some tendinitis issues. After taking a week off at the beginning of January, I jumped straight into my training for Old Goat 50. I started a running streak on January 11th and am 18 days into it now. My main focus has been technical trail hill repeats everyday. The last 2 weeks have been about 40 miles per week of hill training.<br />
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I came across an interesting challenge someone referenced on Facebook. The Taji100 challenge caught my eye for two reasons. For starters, anything with the number 100 in it is alluring, secondly the Wounded Warrior Project is a great organization that I have given to in the past, and lastly, I love a good challenge! It also does that hurt that the month of February will contain my peak training for OG50.<br />
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I have set a personal goal of hitting 200 miles in the short month, a distance I have never come close to in previous training!<br />
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Please consider donating to WWP through my donation page per mileage I complete. If you cannot donate, please follow my progress and encourage me on! Thanks!<br />
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<a href="http://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/individual-fundraising/christopherbrill/">http://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/individual-fundraising/christopherbrill/</a><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/runforwwproject">www.facebook.com/runforwwproject</a><br />
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UPDATE:<br />
2/7/2013<br />
DAY 7 : Finished the first 100 miles. 2/4 to 2/10 was my highest mileage running week ever at 112 miles.<br />
DAY 14: I am at 196 miles and plan to finish my original goal of 200 miles later this evening. My original plan definitely did not have me running back to back 100 mile weeks. I have readjusted my goal to 300 miles and have begun doing less miles in preparation for my upcoming 12 hour race on Feb. 23rd.<br />
FINAL: 282 miles in 28 days, took it really easy the last 2 weeks of the challenge to rest up for my race, but I am happy with the total.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140707737901050288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806697824709227615.post-36297035293090272562013-01-05T19:48:00.001-08:002016-06-07T22:39:23.571-07:00Reminiscing 2012 and Across the Years Race Many of you may not know this , but the beginning of 2012 was the beginning of my running career. 7 years earlier I had done a little running but I never tested myself in a race. My obsession with running and racing began with 2 Spartan races which began a snowball effect ,causing me to complete over 15 races of various distances this year.... 5k's , 10k's, half marathons, obstacle races .<br>
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My new found fun on the trails was derailed for several periods of time before the summer due to various injuries and a car accident that left me with a bad back and neck. I eventually bounced back for the most part before Summer. </div>
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Everything changed though when I stumbled across a listing for a 50k race in the mountains. The race, Cuyamaca 3 Peaks, was a few weeks out and sold out already. Jokingly to my friend Jeremy, I said we should put ourselves on the waiting list. Next thing you know I was shooting off an email to the race director , asking to put us on the waiting list. I knew absolutely nothing about ultra marathons at this point, it was definitely not on my radar of being something I would do. I had heard of a character named Dean Karnazes from a book my bro read but that was about the extent of it. Heck, my longest run had been 14 miles at that point! Lo and behold 8 hrs later in the morning I had gotten a response back from the RD saying he opened 2 spots for us. My impulsive race addiction had me signed up for it the same day!<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMjMEC2O4ngP9iM0BiM0LoqdFlLPGDZBsa8INcs4DERTggckqqbciWOWotdGWvpOj21ncBOI36HW-Pxk1xKJ2NxHmiD6pI5FxTvSQWYn-auF88SZolQ_vzFiACThsCf3_LjM8jUvFGhfY/s1600/Cuyamacafinish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMjMEC2O4ngP9iM0BiM0LoqdFlLPGDZBsa8INcs4DERTggckqqbciWOWotdGWvpOj21ncBOI36HW-Pxk1xKJ2NxHmiD6pI5FxTvSQWYn-auF88SZolQ_vzFiACThsCf3_LjM8jUvFGhfY/s320/Cuyamacafinish.jpg" width="194"></a><br>
Long story short, I did the race in July( 7 months into running), got my butt whooped from the course, heat and my inability to follow course markings( adding distance), but still managed a mid pack finish. I was hooked, I loved everything about it.... the misery, the cool people, and a sense of accomplishment knowing that I had gone further in a race than most people have. From that day on in July I lived and breathed everything ultra running related. All the great podcasts, articles and documentaries were fuel to the fire that created the urgency to do another one as soon as possible. And so I did....in September I did Endure the Bear 50k, shaving over an hour off of my 3 Peaks time and again in October at Lake Hodges 50k, shaving almost an hour and a half off of my Endure the Bear time. To this point , Lake Hodges was my longest continuous run without any walk breaks, 32 miles of mostly a sub 9 minute pace.<br>
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I ended up getting injured at Lake Hodges from overuse of my peroneal muscle and tendon due to a compensation in my foot for another injury. I was on crutches for a bit and my running was derailed once more.<br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzxK7wf87ftS1kH-O4-v9XQGjNCMFq9Oe-SX6XpQMcliPJfqMxxWQ6wmQK9nJMPEdo7poyyPwgwlsA_BCT6oGJCqEHFmBtXcKEOaUoSUub5XjPhzcZx8iFY51gzk4v_7BYWv63zn6EjbA/s1600/Hodgesfinish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzxK7wf87ftS1kH-O4-v9XQGjNCMFq9Oe-SX6XpQMcliPJfqMxxWQ6wmQK9nJMPEdo7poyyPwgwlsA_BCT6oGJCqEHFmBtXcKEOaUoSUub5XjPhzcZx8iFY51gzk4v_7BYWv63zn6EjbA/s320/Hodgesfinish.jpg" width="240"></a></div>
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Right before Lake Hodges 50k, Across the Years race had just come under my radar as something that I would be interested in doing to cap the year off. I liked the idea of giving myself 24 hours to see what kind of distance I could travel. I would never be able to duplicate such an environment to try outside of a racing environment. With my foot injury I was unable to get any good running in for about a month and a half, so I withheld entering the race. Eventually my foot did heal and with the stir craziness of only doing one race while my foot was injured (pr for the half marathon), I impulsively signed up December 12th for Across the Years 24 hour race on December 29th. My Christmas gift to myself was to see what my body was capable of. </div>
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The allure of getting a 100 mile belt buckle was upon me, but the odds of me going that distance with all the injuries and setbacks I had during the year, on top of it being my very first year of running, placed the odds at least a 1000 to one against it. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">I knew I had the drive and determination to finish an event like that, and my ability to operate well under extreme exhaustion was an asset. Nevertheless, I had never even been on my feet for that long and my longest run had been around 32 miles! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"> At a Buckle party ( cool event to see other peoples 100 mile finisher's awards) I went to, I received a big confidence booster by my buddy Carlos, who is a multiple 100 mile finisher, when he told me that I definitely could do the 100 miles. I think just hearing one experienced person tell me that changed my mindset. I still had my doubts, but I started to at least believe in the possibility that I could do it somehow. Within that week, the organizer of the Buckle party, Trasie, messaged me , wanting to know about what mileage I was shooting for in the upcoming race. I told her 100 miles, I expected her to laugh but she didn't . She asked me what my longest run was... with hesitation I said 32 miles in a day, I definitely thought she going to say I should shoot for a lower mileage but she didn't. Instead she said that she believed I could do it. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">I could not have been in a better mindset going into the race. This was essential to my success and I am now a firm believer in how powerful the mind can be.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-T1LwFFEVv5jbssv9v5p26YMaNHxo9XsiG7gUPzR4ruEjhi5rVyJqlpAI__0CxKP0Vm7GT7FJuu0vOOu3kB-sguagUsURWc6zpIzW0kSrNa06HhNWGV9DvO-xb1PU2a5hZHTWl_E1sA/s1600/setup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-T1LwFFEVv5jbssv9v5p26YMaNHxo9XsiG7gUPzR4ruEjhi5rVyJqlpAI__0CxKP0Vm7GT7FJuu0vOOu3kB-sguagUsURWc6zpIzW0kSrNa06HhNWGV9DvO-xb1PU2a5hZHTWl_E1sA/s320/setup.jpg" width="240"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">December 29th was here, it was sunny and 34 degrees outside as we set up our canopy , gear and food. We quickly became friends with our immediate neighbors Jim and Steve . I had every meal planned out since I had planned on being completely self sufficient due to me switching over to a vegan/ plant based diet 2 weeks earlier. The wife was to crew me for the race so I didn't waste anytime rummaging through gear instead of making forward motion. </span><br>
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9 am : race began and I was not feeling good physically . When I stopped running and began walking on the back half of the course my hip flexors were giving me trouble on the very first mile. Only 95 more laps to go!</div>
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3pm: I completed the first 50 k of the course with a run walk strategy of not running most of the turns on the second half of the course. I was on course time wise with a split schedule I worked up to get to 100 miles on time. Calorie intake proved to be a problem , I had not anticipated having trouble getting down the calories I needed to keep my energy up. My main calorie source was avocado sandwiches with vegennaise, tomatoes and sea salt.<br>
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From my first 50k to mile 40 things were still going great and every step was now the longest distance I had gone in a day. Once I hit 40 though things went downhill fast. All of the little annoyances were starting to build up and negativity was starting to take hold. It started with the realization that in 10 more miles I will have to do the entire 50 miles over again!! You have got to be freaking kidding me! Instead of breaking the run into 5 mile goals like I had been, I started looking at the entire 100 miles as one big chunk. I needed a little boost in spirits so I tried to go on Facebook to see everyone's well wishings but instead my phone kept saying I was putting in the wrong password. First I was locked out 1 minute, then 5, then 15 ....Then I swore the timing devices did not capture a few of my laps. By that time I was steaming mad and ready to throw in the towel and quit. </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">Mile 40- 50: I did a lot of walking during this time , I figured I needed to press on to see if I could recover from the super low I was having. I reached mile 50 a little off my desired time of sub 10 hrs , but got 10 and a half hours instead. </span><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YuINhdhfGVSUi6ZUKHY3zQ9d-ptGO0e66ZswvDVUDgW16z-zEZzK6h33dsUu9bKXLlW4h_msCmfnmvWq4XRrACi0eePmSNDMZKk1sLZVn4jw-uLBXrdsOY9WEKLieZLZEBAY5DyDRxY/s1600/ryan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YuINhdhfGVSUi6ZUKHY3zQ9d-ptGO0e66ZswvDVUDgW16z-zEZzK6h33dsUu9bKXLlW4h_msCmfnmvWq4XRrACi0eePmSNDMZKk1sLZVn4jw-uLBXrdsOY9WEKLieZLZEBAY5DyDRxY/s320/ryan.jpg" width="320"></a></div>
</div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">Miles 50-62: I experienced my first recovery from a bonk. I had heard of people experiencing such a thing, but experiencing it myself was incredible! I began to feel as fresh as the beginning of the race. Hitting that 50 mile mark felt amazing! I now had my eyes set on the100k (62 mile) mark, a distance that seemed unfathomable before this race. With fresh motivation, I was able to quickly start cranking out the miles under the light of incandescent lamps running off generators.</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">Mile 62: Beware the chair.... As the middle of the night approached, the temps dropped down into the 30's and the amount of racers dwindled down. I had completely lost my appetite and my crew, the wifey, settled down for the night in the warming tent. Every lap I would look to the inside of the warming tent and see people napping, conversing, putting their feet up and foam rolling..... I envied them....a lot. I was feeling pretty crappy now and decided to risk taking a break to ice my feet. I plopped myself down on a chair in the warming tent. Sitting down for the first time did not bring about the relief I was expecting......I actually started to feel all of the pains I had been suppressing and it was not pleasant. The second I took the ice packs off of my feet they still felt like they were on fire. After wasting about a half hour I decided resting was not going to do me any good, so I tried to stand up to get going again but I couldn't activate my muscles even with the help of someone pulling my arms.I had to be basically lifted up out of the chair. After getting to my feet I was unable to walk without stumbling..... everything had tightened up and my chances of finishing were looking bleak..... bonk #2 was in full force and I wanted to quit... I was even given permission by Lauren and other people there that it was ok to quit and that I had still conquered a great amount of distance.</span><br>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"> I headed out for another lap on the 1.0495 mile course to see if I was really done. After a full lap everything began to move again and I was back in the race. My new friend Jim, offered me his timer that beeped every 30 and 45 seconds, signifying when to walk and run. </span><br>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">My body somehow bounced back once more and I was running again.... very fast in fact. When the timer went off for running I was averaging about a 8 minute pace. People on the course started to tell me I looked very fresh! After pounding out 8 fast laps the surge of energy I had got, tapered off and I was back to a death march. </span><br>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFUljyWs3hWMVq1NFGFtroLM9kJFrDLJg_iZPMmqs1bQM3SEAtnrl0oH79EGmyMow1S8Y8ZdD1tsEk1lXos-K5KeYz7ttQCPTBUFOVSdabIwBFDWIqacKlphxse4Ib-iMZGO-4W2bulvI/s1600/jeremynight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFUljyWs3hWMVq1NFGFtroLM9kJFrDLJg_iZPMmqs1bQM3SEAtnrl0oH79EGmyMow1S8Y8ZdD1tsEk1lXos-K5KeYz7ttQCPTBUFOVSdabIwBFDWIqacKlphxse4Ib-iMZGO-4W2bulvI/s320/jeremynight.jpg" width="320"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">Mile 70: After a few slow laps I had a huge surprise waiting for me near our Canopy. I thought I started to hallucinate or go into shock when I saw my good friend Jeremy from San Diego waiting for me to finish the straight part of the course. Luckily I was not having a mental breakdown or dying , instead it turns out he had driven from San Diego to help me out on the course and witness me getting the 100 miles done. He didn't tell us he was coming and it was a great lift to my spirits!</span><br>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">Mile 75: Another tough lesson learned... I should of listened to my body at the 100k mark when my feet were burning. I should have reapplied skin lubricant to my feet or changed socks because now I had an </span>onslaught of blisters on the bottom of my feet. I literally could not walk another step so I decided to take a break to see the medic on duty. Of course they were with someone else and taking a long time to treat their feet. After what seemed like eternity he took a look at my feet and told me he couldn't do much for me since draining them would make the pain worse.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3kUnyJwBaMAg6JL6Uta-yLeEXNcMgJpLCItxodul8jRAHMnqexN2Khhjl1NVYuM-LeEcyxXm7hVMhKTK0FuoBTm3WdlZP0OCg-TbaVlmkuzLnxOjAyTHFVwYKZseIUUaLGJ5MqbaL7w/s1600/blister.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3kUnyJwBaMAg6JL6Uta-yLeEXNcMgJpLCItxodul8jRAHMnqexN2Khhjl1NVYuM-LeEcyxXm7hVMhKTK0FuoBTm3WdlZP0OCg-TbaVlmkuzLnxOjAyTHFVwYKZseIUUaLGJ5MqbaL7w/s320/blister.jpg" width="320"></a></div>
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After taping up my feet he told me that my race was pretty much over and that I should reassess my goals since I was not going to make it to 100 miles. This was not what I wanted to hear at mile 75....<br>
I decided to press on even after wasting 45 minutes in the medic tent and being told that my race was over. I knew with all the wasted time and being unable to run on the blisters, that my chance of finishing 25 miles in 7 hours was unlikely in my condition.... I just couldn't walk fast enough.<br>
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One thing that should be known about me is that if I am told that if I cannot do something, it kicks my determination into high gear and I will do everything possible to prove that person wrong and prove to myself that I am capable of anything!<br>
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I needed both my wife and Jeremy to pull me out of the chair since my body had shut down even more so since the first chair incident. I was unable to walk on my own and had to keep my hand on Jeremy's shoulder for stability on the first lap. We were moving so slow that I started to get a really bad chill, I took Jeremy's jacket and was then wearing a shirt, beanie, 3 jackets, shorts, pants, gloves,and ear warmers. Even with all of that I was still chilled to the bone and feared that I would get hypothermia. Luckily it eventually passed and I slowly eeked out the miles through the night with excruciating foot pain.<br>
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Mile 86: After a long night of accompanying me on my death march and getting a blister of his own, Jeremy had to return his night bib at 6am and he went to his car to get some sleep. I was on my own for 3 more hours and I could see her sleeping on the ground in the warming tent. When she woke up we talked about my new goal for the race. I told her I wanted to complete the 24 hours as my primary goal and to go into the 48 hour race so I can make sure I finish the 100 miles as my secondary goal. The organizers were super cool and put me into the longer race for no charge since I would not go the whole next day. I decided to see what I could do in the remaining 3 hours.<br>
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Mile 92: Done yet not done..... I had made it through the 24 hour race with 92 miles! What an accomplishment, almost 3 times my longest distance to date! I thought I would keep going but I only made it to the turn where our canopy was. I was moving at about a 30 min/mile pace so it made sense to rest for a bit. I laid down on the grass and went in and out of sleep for about an hour. It was not at all restful as I had some of my new running friends yelling at me to get up and keep going. They were not experiencing my pain, they had no idea what i was going through....and they definitely didn't know the pain from not reaching my original goal in the 24 hour period. I got up anyways and started shuffling around the course on my mutilated feet.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1VfmtFy0ZuTPtSDkk50xxH7CTO_5KkLB2681FJ4vYhwZShHQbvKerzfiLWyW8kSnPayipBAoVIij0xWk6aHCbMMCY5Co1X8abqZsnfXxhyphenhyphenGP7eJuCAI06Tkjfv0GoNRIRg1mTo4Uvr4k/s1600/24hourfinish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1VfmtFy0ZuTPtSDkk50xxH7CTO_5KkLB2681FJ4vYhwZShHQbvKerzfiLWyW8kSnPayipBAoVIij0xWk6aHCbMMCY5Co1X8abqZsnfXxhyphenhyphenGP7eJuCAI06Tkjfv0GoNRIRg1mTo4Uvr4k/s320/24hourfinish.jpg" width="320"></a></div>
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Mile 97: Only 3 laps left yet I could not go another step due to my blisters multiplying through the night and day. I decided to get my right foot treated by the medic before continuing. The blisters were under much of my toes, heel and one even popped under my big toe. The medic made her drain out one of the blisters on my foot, lucky her!<br>
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MILE 100! This was it, the pain was about to stop and I was going to join the small fraction of the population who are 100 mile finishers. My wife and Jeremy both joined me on the final, 96th lap. </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">I did it! and on a Vegan / Plant only diet that I had not tried out in any training !</span><br>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNaHUYxAu5v5scKfcdzeVdD06Ki-LbmT_nPRagtd8OxWR5-z80r3pe8GsLji98-WYWVo2HyIQQ9uOmYgT4hu9R1yYq9jqesmxONGt0rANGAcpYx-svTeua9TVrccF0vZDd4Gqn1zZkvhg/s1600/jeremy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNaHUYxAu5v5scKfcdzeVdD06Ki-LbmT_nPRagtd8OxWR5-z80r3pe8GsLji98-WYWVo2HyIQQ9uOmYgT4hu9R1yYq9jqesmxONGt0rANGAcpYx-svTeua9TVrccF0vZDd4Gqn1zZkvhg/s320/jeremy.jpg" width="320"></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">2012 was officially over for me and I had proved to myself and all my friends/family that anything was possible(and that skeptical medic).. I thought I would be emotional at the end of the race, but I had nothing left.... I left it all on the course. </span><br>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br></span>
Thank you to Jeremy White, Jim Tello, Steve Kissell, Ryan Weidert, and Anastasia, you were all instrumental to my success in getting the 100 mile buckle. A thank you to everyone who believed I could do it (you know who you are), and extra thanks to Jeremy for sacrificing his money and weekend to come to the race....and especially to my wife, for her support of all my athletic endeavors this year and for taking care of me during the race, without her support I would have never finished.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVunH9gk_2Ay5cDVJSevCTLH_y-_YCg-hoo_43e_SsFQm0z9kPmwvUriEwib8PJ_ZHfNqzj0WM_TVfVTV7o-EHpFwN3Ghyphenhyphen_at8ccIQiv-3UAiRq0CQPRBxuJV-U2ou6WL34DyPae5urXQ/s1600/Screen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVunH9gk_2Ay5cDVJSevCTLH_y-_YCg-hoo_43e_SsFQm0z9kPmwvUriEwib8PJ_ZHfNqzj0WM_TVfVTV7o-EHpFwN3Ghyphenhyphen_at8ccIQiv-3UAiRq0CQPRBxuJV-U2ou6WL34DyPae5urXQ/s320/Screen.jpg" width="288"></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhosSqE_HDCUqQwy8jqk34V2Fobat2Z5HgboMewD9-kOij-IjKOOgMNDJAtAQRnbk9VJRBeJiIG3v4gY9Q3fGNuBw_YQuYBUN7EVXEgwIAxRt1aE2ZudL6oDyAcoFrd7mD9rrqg0eC9BfQ/s1600/buckle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhosSqE_HDCUqQwy8jqk34V2Fobat2Z5HgboMewD9-kOij-IjKOOgMNDJAtAQRnbk9VJRBeJiIG3v4gY9Q3fGNuBw_YQuYBUN7EVXEgwIAxRt1aE2ZudL6oDyAcoFrd7mD9rrqg0eC9BfQ/s320/buckle.jpg" width="320"></a></div>
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The injuries are mostly minimal and will heal with time...Hello 2013! Bring it! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140707737901050288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806697824709227615.post-71635305578967216942012-12-28T15:30:00.001-08:002012-12-28T15:30:50.810-08:00Running into the New Year, follow me!I'm bringing in 2013 and closing 2012 with a 100 mile attempt at Across the Years 24 hour race in Phoenix,Az!<br />
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I'd love for you to follow my progress, and you can do so here:<br />
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Webcam:<br />
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/aravaiparunning<br />
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Live results:<br />
http://www.aravaiparunning.com/ultracast/<br />
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General updates of the race:<br />
http://www.facebook.com/aravaiparunning<br />
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Send me your positive thoughts, healthy thoughts and prayers!!<br />
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Happy New Year everyone!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140707737901050288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806697824709227615.post-73438213600211414852012-11-05T08:46:00.001-08:002012-11-05T08:46:28.854-08:00Lake Hodges 50k Race 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICtlA1bGl9gmfzPqW0N8fLnCH_g6fqbXhNk1quN_aY-x0i3NsCGMJzll9d5_OtMb-fBfJj4XzAQptNCipsUQI_swizuVOK20SgnjYcZ3Hs4PE4pK80dtC_sYsr1E9wnAIFE8iU6WM44k/s1600/553694_625754855430_1782498767_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICtlA1bGl9gmfzPqW0N8fLnCH_g6fqbXhNk1quN_aY-x0i3NsCGMJzll9d5_OtMb-fBfJj4XzAQptNCipsUQI_swizuVOK20SgnjYcZ3Hs4PE4pK80dtC_sYsr1E9wnAIFE8iU6WM44k/s1600/553694_625754855430_1782498767_n.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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What should have been my easiest 50k to date , turned out to cause the most injuries of all of them. I have been waiting to write this blog post until I had visited a doctor. I finally went to one yesterday to get my foot x-rayed...luckily no fractures, but I am now on a pair of crutches and cannot walk on my right foot until whatever is wrong with it heals up.<br />
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Based on the bum knees, hips, right foot and left glute you would think that I had a disastrous race day. It was quite the opposite!!<br />
I was feeling pretty good going into it except for my sore left knee from the Mt. Williamson trip and being sleep deprived.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDKYqJrQs0clBB8q2UD0IgmYmdFCKhRXVqd16NZG_CHI30N-XK1DyVACTCJsO2VknOHP6pJcRoE9KkVgl2xi2Vuea6S1kCHsR7gZPWmnziQNJXVXS_zbRSSunTHpHgkryMy7Q4Hn-cLM/s1600/549016_625754895350_1675550099_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDKYqJrQs0clBB8q2UD0IgmYmdFCKhRXVqd16NZG_CHI30N-XK1DyVACTCJsO2VknOHP6pJcRoE9KkVgl2xi2Vuea6S1kCHsR7gZPWmnziQNJXVXS_zbRSSunTHpHgkryMy7Q4Hn-cLM/s1600/549016_625754895350_1675550099_n.jpg" width="239" /></a>The 50k race kicked off at 7 am with over 160 runners hitting the trails. The overall field was quite quick, not a surprise given the relatively low elevation gains of the trails. I had the fortune of a friend of mine wanting to run at the same pace for as long as possible, so Mark and I headed out on the first leg of the trails towards the first turnaround. It was freezing cold in the morning so we kept a brisk pace of around 8:30 min/mile.<br />
The picture below is around the 1 mile marker, coming across the bridge<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3OrziKNmVycWOSJ0_VzVfMpIgZlPct0Gsjru3zguZ7re-P7HZQSxWiTKJ3a6_4KTl5i6xb1j8k-W3ITGcpTW9Bo2Au8Vu30iCxAYJNh1IyJg7d1BcaPlEsS90rJMaUX4bsB7O3CLSG4/s1600/546942_10151298567691882_465129789_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3OrziKNmVycWOSJ0_VzVfMpIgZlPct0Gsjru3zguZ7re-P7HZQSxWiTKJ3a6_4KTl5i6xb1j8k-W3ITGcpTW9Bo2Au8Vu30iCxAYJNh1IyJg7d1BcaPlEsS90rJMaUX4bsB7O3CLSG4/s1600/546942_10151298567691882_465129789_n.jpg" width="215" /></a><br />
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At the first turnaround and aid station of the day, the currently #1 gal caught up and didn't get anything from the station. She passed me and started doubling back on the trail we just came down.<br />
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The sun came up as we were doubling back towards the bridge which gave me a mental boost as my pace was starting to slip to 9 min/mile. As I reached the bridge Mark caught back up to me and we started to keep the pace between 8:30 and 8:45. We were both being passed by lots and lots of people and felt like we were going to be last place, with everyone getting sub 4 hour times! Once we reached the super flat section of the course by some agricultural farms, a lot of those people began to slow and we were finally able to do some passing. That gave us the boost we needed to bring us to the aid station at mile 13. I stuck with a very basic nutritional approach to the aid stations and ate only Chia Surge packets and electrolyte drink. This allowed me to maximize my running time since I was able to eat the stuff while running, as opposed to eating regular food items while walking. I believe I ate a total of 12 packets of the stuff during the race. With my fast turnaround at the aid station, I decided to leave my friend there as he figured out what he was refueling with. I began my climb up raptor ridge where I was able to gain a few more spots as some of the runners appeared to be getting a beat down from the short climb. After cresting the top and heading down the backside of the ridge we ran along farmland all the way until the final turnaround and aid station at mile 19. Because of the out and back nature of the trail, I was able to get an idea of how far ahead most of the field was. I spent between 10 and 15 seconds at the turnaround aid station before beginning my mission to catch up to 2 of the gals who were about a mile ahead and another who was about a half mile ahead. I received another mental boost when I saw my friends Jeremy and Mark running towards the turnaround together. They were about a mile behind me, based on my calculations with the gps watch.<br />
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The building heat from the sun on the backside of raptor ridge took a lot out of me and I was unsure whether I was going to be able to maintain my average pace of 8:58 for the remainder of the race. I attacked the backside of raptor ridge very conservatively and hiked up it, giving my hips the much needed break they needed. Feeling a bit dehydrated at the top, I decided to make a very quick sprint like decent down the mountain to the mile 24.5 aid station. I passed the #2 gal on the way down and quickly re-hydrated with electrolytes and avoided filling up my camelbak once more. I stuffed 3 Chia surge packets in my pockets and went blazing down the trail after being kicked out of there by my buddy Carlos. I kept a 7:30 pace for about a half mile to narrow the gap of a man and #1 gal that was ahead of me. It took me another mile to catch up to them and pass. I started to build a nice .25 mile lead over them, but lost it leading up to the last aid station at mile 28.9. I heard the volunteers shout out to her that she was the number one female. I decided to make an attempt at not being chicked in the race, and I passed right through the aid station without refueling. Camelbak was dried out, I had no food, and I had 5k to go. She was right on my tail all the way unto the very end. We had slowed a bit from the last climb in the intense heat of the day but quickly picked up into a very fast pace to finish out the race in a respectable 4:50 time in 18th and 19th place. She was only around 20 seconds behind!<br />
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After crossing the finish line, it was like a switch was flipped and I was unable to walk or move!!!<br />
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2nd in my age group, 18th overall, 31.89 miles with a 4:50 time, average pace of around 9:05<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140707737901050288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806697824709227615.post-81983255664066302042012-10-11T10:50:00.000-07:002012-10-11T10:50:53.965-07:00Mt. Williamson 2012 : My first DNF?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Yep, that is it, Mt. Williamson , 2nd tallest mountain in California, standing at over 14k ft elevation, overlooking the Owens valley.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Despite popular belief, I want to confirm t<span style="font-family: inherit;">hat is my index finger in the picture, n</span>ot me making an obscene gesture at the Mountain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">To quote the accomplished ultra runner, Kilian Jornet, in a recent interview he said:<span style="background-color: black;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;">"<span style="line-height: 22px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 22px;">There are days when you take so many risks, and you feel stupid, and nothing happens. Messner says mountains are not fair or unfair, just dangerous. It is true. We know they’re risky, and that maybe we will lose our lives there. But we do not stop for this reason, because life is about keeping dreams. The more bad experiences you have in the mountain, more you feel unsafe, more you pay attention when you’re there. But you continue to go."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">I finally got to experience some risk in the Eastern Sierra mountains this last weekend. I feel like I have been so sheltered in the past with well maintained trails on my hikes and runs. Our Mt. Williamson attempt, to me at least, was very humbling. Here's a small part of the story:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large; line-height: 22px;">First off, let me heed you the same warning that I read and ignored off a trip report by enduranceguy.com about attempting Williamson in a day:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;"> "</span></span></span><span style="background-color: black; line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">Before I tell you all about how I hiked 30 miles, to the top of the 2nd highest peak in California and back, in 19 hours, you need to promise me you’ll never try this."</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span> We hit Shepherds pass trail at 12 midnight on Sunday after driving for 6 hours and being up since 6 am on Saturday. So, at the beginning point of the day, me and my friend Jeremy had already been awake for 18 hours after a crappy night sleep on Friday night. We were both tired but still extremely confident in our ability to get up and down the Mountain in a day's time. I had already done a few 50k's and also been up to the summit of Mt. Whitney before.<br />
The issues started early on for both of us, Jeremy was having trouble regulating his temperature in the cold weather and I was having a sharp pain in my left hip, all in the first few miles!<br />
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Here's Jeremy with some early sun protection in the middle of the night :-)</div>
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Shepherds pass really kicked our butt's in that high elevation. We spent almost 2 hours climbing the pass in the dark, trying to beat the sunrise at around 6:30. The temperature outside reached its low point once we reached the top of the pass. The low temperature, combined with being awake for 24 hours, caused us to hit a low point in our hike. Jeremy was insisting on us taking a short nap at the pass before pushing onward, but I did not feel comfortable with this since we were both shivering and losing feeling in our feet. In the end, we pressed on, trying to find a route to the Williamson bowl.<br />
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We hiked in the only direction that appeared to have a trail, which was pushing us in the wrong direction and towards the Great Western Divide. Those jagged ridge lines were some of the most beautiful mountains that I have ever seen.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9oDl5zU5xlWEvJmjwHFbMD7UQUSEJyxRFTU9YN7OZZKqg8QjA4XOLEiuzU74tB_1hdhE-OA8h5c-JHfpTcteHwoPXvKxEe4cJFBQV6RDZW2dhB3yXgq_dWGr31KTkz4ASwCdLFSdTQLw/s1600/IMG_0687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9oDl5zU5xlWEvJmjwHFbMD7UQUSEJyxRFTU9YN7OZZKqg8QjA4XOLEiuzU74tB_1hdhE-OA8h5c-JHfpTcteHwoPXvKxEe4cJFBQV6RDZW2dhB3yXgq_dWGr31KTkz4ASwCdLFSdTQLw/s320/IMG_0687.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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In the panorama picture above, that is Mt. Tyndall to the right and the crest of the hill leading into the Bowl. The 3 pictures below are after we dropped down the first large hill of boulders, overlooking the boulder field. We were happy to get this far, but we quickly realized that we had no idea where we were going down there. Mt. Williamson had so many chutes going up it, but all of them seemed impossible with their steep inclines, loose rocks and cliffs. I spent the better part of an hour wandering around, attempting to find cell signal so that I could get on the internet to do a little research. The best info I could find in my zombie like state was a picture that someone took, looking down one of the chutes onto one of the alpine lakes. At this point we only saw 2 of the lakes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh009vQBAXUVWD3kVrPgbeYq27kRlVupZNcD3iI_myKsK4SUlsF5LuZaCBZ8_ug49Bu5yTBlL29h_dimw5k3AZptpiiFxFq0hJZnIyFSakeFxnFQASKxW4SlnQWhiJYacYCMQa4zvvSms/s1600/IMG_0629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh009vQBAXUVWD3kVrPgbeYq27kRlVupZNcD3iI_myKsK4SUlsF5LuZaCBZ8_ug49Bu5yTBlL29h_dimw5k3AZptpiiFxFq0hJZnIyFSakeFxnFQASKxW4SlnQWhiJYacYCMQa4zvvSms/s200/IMG_0629.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxwsB0CrydGLr4HduVXKgEfeRiQvrYCZ0NKIbV5GpLPR3x54ICsc6bTjzqWB9J9hk4wbHDhi1jqBG3aFwFShBIlnk3TaeIVYStTK-HyRjesAwPK-SYPQ3cknPZkxiSXJi8JRQ5XCHSC8c/s1600/IMG_0624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxwsB0CrydGLr4HduVXKgEfeRiQvrYCZ0NKIbV5GpLPR3x54ICsc6bTjzqWB9J9hk4wbHDhi1jqBG3aFwFShBIlnk3TaeIVYStTK-HyRjesAwPK-SYPQ3cknPZkxiSXJi8JRQ5XCHSC8c/s200/IMG_0624.JPG" width="150" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuAvEk8IjfQS0MnTRC7O6GQRz9J4NXy07_JBqxKdp9s8VWG050U8Dkhw5x8i3xa1t6nDh6YDYGpWrtoJ04Dagg5i0xzaWOb1uaEdGMpXIqAsL_ypPRHxZ-t3HWSTOjdFA3Mb1rGSAiWQ0/s1600/IMG_0628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuAvEk8IjfQS0MnTRC7O6GQRz9J4NXy07_JBqxKdp9s8VWG050U8Dkhw5x8i3xa1t6nDh6YDYGpWrtoJ04Dagg5i0xzaWOb1uaEdGMpXIqAsL_ypPRHxZ-t3HWSTOjdFA3Mb1rGSAiWQ0/s200/IMG_0628.JPG" width="150" /></a><br />
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According to the summit post I found, we had to cross the entire boulder field and locate the lake called Lake Saint Helen of Troy. With a renewed purpose, we traversed the boulder field. What no one described in the summit posts online was that the boulder field was far from flat. After about 3 hours of route finding through canyons and ridge lines of boulders, we came to what we thought was Lake Saint Helen of Troy and the black stain on Williamson:<br />
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When looking at the picture above of the lake, if looking at the mountain ahead, which is Williamson, we were going to attempt going up just to the right of that middle slope. This is the best picture we took that gives a good representation of what the climb looked like. From the base to the top, the slopes rise over 2000' ! From this point it took us almost an hour of bouldering to reach the foot steps of the mountain. Once we got to the "right spot," we wasted no time in giving it a go. The mountain gave us a good smack down almost immediately. We split apart as to not dislodge any rocks onto the other persons head, and started climbing. We were expecting a steep incline, but did not anticipate a scramble up the mountain side, requiring solid hand and foot holdings to get any forward momentum. After about 20 minutes or so of climbing, I had progressed fairly far up and to the left of Jeremy. All of a sudden I got to a spot where there was only 1 poor grip to hold onto, and the hillside on each side of me was giving way, including my foot hold. I quickly wrapped my arms around the one anchored rock and held on for dear life. I had a bit of a panic attack and was yelling out to Jeremy that I was in a bad situation. He could not see me and had no way to get across to where I was. My choices were to stay there forever and risk rocks falling on my helmetless head, let go of my hold, slide down to a safer spot and risk tumbling out of control to my death or broken bones, and the last option was to risk a quick scramble over the loose scree to a ledge that was about 10' away. None of those seemed like good options, but I went for the ledge and lucked out getting a hand grip on it. I was able to pull myself up there and got to stand up for the first and only time on the hillside. After getting myself calmed down, I decided to work laterally across the mountain to above where Jeremy was. We had to yell up and down to each other in order to have a discussion about what we were going to do, because the route was obviously way above our ability level. Jeremy said he was at a point where it would be too dangerous to go up and we did not know at this point whether we could reach the summit from this way. I told him to stay put and that I would climb a little bit higher to see if the route got any safer. I went up another 50 feet or so and saw that it was possibly getting worse. With the distance between us and the increasing winds, it was almost impossible to hear one another by yelling. After a short discussion, we decided reaching the summit was not worth dying over and that we needed to just find a way to descend safely......<br />
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Defeated!!! This is the first time I had to concede and not finish a physical challenge I started!<br />
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It was reaching a point in the day where we could not attempt another route and be out of the boulder field before dark. It was a hard decision to make, a smart one I'm sure, but it is also one I am now regretting!<br />
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Getting down the steep scree slope proved to be more difficult and dangerous then going up. We decided to descend with our backs to the mountain and control our descent with our feet, putting our arms out to the side to stabilize us. After reaching the boulder field, instead of finding another route up the mountain, we decided to travel the 15 difficult miles back to the car as fast as possible. We took an extremely direct route across the boulder field, hitting several dead ends that required jumping off 6 ft ledges. It took us a total of 2 hours to get across, going at max speed and almost no breaks.<br />
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These photos are from the last bit of the climb out of the bowl . It was warmed up to around 40+ degrees when we were climbing out. The last of the major climbs, included a wrong route back to the pass, which tacked on a few hundred more feet of climbing up a steep loose mountainside. Once at the top we saw another wicked boulder field and did not want to deal with that, so we turned back around and had to find another way around. Once reaching the trail for the pass, we took a short break before descending. I was pretty beat up, but I was still thinking clearly and able to try and reason with my hallucinating friend, who was seeing signs, cars, trash, people and roads that did not exist. After debating whether a sign was in the distance for about 15 minutes, we were up and moving again. Going down Shepherds pass was a time for me.....I fell a total of 5 times in about a 3 miles time. Jeremy had one good fall, but he was no longer wearing gloves!</div>
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Looking down the pass during our descent.</div>
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Nice view of the canyons on the way out.</div>
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Once we reached Anvil camp we refilled our depleted water bottles and realized that we had not replenished our water in about 10 hours. I'm sure we were severely dehydrated but too tired to even realize it. At Anvil camp, we had been awake for about 33 hours and took another break. I took off my shoes for the first time in 14 hours and dipped my feet into the ice cold stream. We had trouble getting moving again since it felt so good to rest by the stream among the large trees. Eventually we got moving again down the terrain we were getting to see for the first time. I began having problems with focusing on anything far away, the hillsides appeared to be moving constantly further away and they were in a wave pattern like a flag. I decided it was best to just focus on the few feet in front of me, as to not veer off into one of the ravines due to a misstep. After clearing the technical terrain we even ran for one of the remaining 8 miles. Before reaching the 4 mile-to-go mark we hit the last incline of the day, a short but steep 500 ft gain grade. During the final ascending grade we were treated with the company of Jeremy's dad and friend who were headed up to hopefully meet us. They helped us keep a good pace on the final 4 miles and helped us negotiate the final 4 stream crossings.</div>
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We finally made it back to the car! Our minds were in a fog, our bodies were beaten down, and we began to shut down after being up for 39+ hours. We hiked a total of 30 miles, over some not very friendly terrain and recorded almost 11k feet of elevation gain. For both of us it was our longest and most difficult hike.</div>
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We gave it our all, took some risks, but in the end came up just a little short. If we had been smart and took 2 days, we would of definitely found a way to summit the mountain. Next summer I will have my revenge here.... Until then I will have to accept my first DNF (did not finish) on the trails.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140707737901050288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806697824709227615.post-65650165772529785392012-09-13T17:12:00.002-07:002012-09-13T17:12:51.608-07:002012 Endure the Bear 50k and my new Hoka's<br />
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I was fortunate enough this last weekend to participate in and finish my second ultra marathon, Endure the Bear 50k. Like the Cuyamaca 3 peaks race, Endure the Bear took place in the mountains, except these mountains stood about 2000 feet higher then Cuyamaca Peak. The race took place in elevations of 7k to 8k ft.<br />
We headed up there after work on Friday night before the race to catch as much sleep as I could. After a 3 hour drive and several hours of restless sleep, we got up at 5am to begin getting<br />
ready to be out the door by 5:40. After gear experimentation at the last 50k I made a few changes. I bought a camelbak that was 20 oz larger (70oz), ditched the thigh compression sleeves that caused intense chaffing, and added my new Hoka Stinson Evo shoes. I went against conventional wisdom by wearing shoes I had never been on the trail with before. The shoes had only seen the road in the 2 weeks that I owned them.<br />
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After check in at 6am we hung out until the prompt race time of 7am. I placed myself in the middle of the pack before the horn blew. The run began on a steep paved street from Bear Village that led to the trails. I quickly got ahead of most everyone except the insanely fast front runners. I started to conserve my energy and started doing some fast hiking like everyone else. After a few miles of hiking and running I was out there in the wilderness with just one person in front of me and one behind me. The lady in front of me seemed to know what she was doing so I started to use her as my unofficial pacer. Every time she would hike I would hike and when she ran I would run.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwB3kCaYlnYzD-qNrASYBuMyFVhc6tXYPJnx_py8bpw8ZFnUuzBk60CkmC44NoTZvQSfGejPTaxaKsmpTFmIiRHTED8RK05E9jS3sinKggLv-RAbX7U7PEc5IiWX0bsOfPn7j0wR8LLXo/s1600/photo+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwB3kCaYlnYzD-qNrASYBuMyFVhc6tXYPJnx_py8bpw8ZFnUuzBk60CkmC44NoTZvQSfGejPTaxaKsmpTFmIiRHTED8RK05E9jS3sinKggLv-RAbX7U7PEc5IiWX0bsOfPn7j0wR8LLXo/s320/photo+(3).JPG" width="320" /></a> (View looking out from lower section of trails)</div>
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For 5 miles or so I continued to keep her within a 50 ft distance ahead of me. Eventually I was close enough that she said to me that she was impressed that I could keep up with her hiking. We chatted it up for awhile when we were hiking and I came to learn she was Keira Henninger, the race director of Leona Divide 50 miler and a very talented ultra-marathoner.<br />
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I followed her through the complete first loop of the course, which consisted of fire roads, a lot of single track trails and a few technical sections. I was originally planning on taking breaks at the aid stations and not running every flat and downhill sections. I really wanted to keep up with her and she did<br />
not eat anything the entire time, which meant that I had to grab food and try to eat it while running to close the gap between us.<br />
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My injured feet were holding up thus far with minimal pain in the new Hoka shoes. They had unreal traction that I was not used to and never once lost traction in the race, even when I was flying down some of the steep technical sections. The shoes were very comfortable for most of the race and helped minimize fatigue on my body.<br />
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After running for a few hours with just the two of us, we finally caught up with someone, and a person behind us caught up as well. At mile 18 we all took a short break to refuel and we learned that we had cleared the first 18 miles in less then 3 hours.One of the runners proceeded to ask me in a serious but possibly joking tone about whether I was planning to run the rest of the course as a negative split. I just laughed it off and didn't respond.......<br />
I ended up heading out from the aid station before the others, to get ahead a bit, but that<br />
did not last long since I hit my first major wall. The reality of not being able to hold that impressive pace for the rest of the race finally set in and I was starting to recognize the fatigue of my body. It took me quite a while to get past this mental and physical wall I was facing. In the meantime Keira came from behind and rocketed forward as if it was only the start of the race. I guess it truly was but a training run for her!<br />
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After a mile or two of hiking uphill on the second loop with someone else I met up with on the trail we began to run on some nice single track amongst the big pine trees. After running for a few miles<br />
we reached one of the many aid stations (there were 14 total?) . Thinking that I must getting close to the end I asked the volunteers what marker I was at. They told me I was at 38k! It was about 10:30 at this point, so if I only had about 8 miles to go, I knew I would be able to do that distance in under 2 hours and get a 5 hour time. I was re-energized after hearing this, so I put on my music and started to run through the building pain in my hips and feet(Hokas can only help my injuries so much). I ran for several miles at a very fast pace by myself not seeing anyone except a gal who was occasionally catching up to me on the single track.<br />
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About 45 minutes later I started to fade near an aid station I tried to get an update on my mileage, they told me I was at 38k!!! After disagreeing with them that they must be wrong<br />
I continued on up the steep rocky technical trail for the second time. I was in denial for the next few miles, hitting my next big wall as I realized they were right. Eventually I made it to the next aid<br />
station after walking for 45 minutes and asked what marker I was at and they told me 42k. 8k to go and it was around noon, so I had just under an hour to do a 8k run in the mountains if I wanted<br />
that sub 6 hour mark(my primary goal). The gal who was on my heels earlier caught up and I decided to ignore the growing pain in my hips and feet, and begin running again. After charging all of the last major hills with sprints, in a attempt to get the last 4 miles done before 1pm with 30 minutes to go(not sure why I thought I could run 7:15 minute pace out there) my hips finally completely gave out . She passed me, and I slowed down after realizing I was not<br />
going to try and pass her again(chicked for the 4th and final time in the race). Knowing I could not meet my primary goal, I walked the last few miles in pain, losing all sense of determination to press on. My secondary goal was to shave off an hour from my previous 50k attempt. After a painful descent down the the last trail I finally made it back to the paved road, the final stretch to the finish. As I hobbled towards the finish line, a lady began to jog past me, she may of been running the 30k, but I was not going to take the chance of being chicked one last time, so I ran the last 1/8th of a mile stretch to the finish line...passing her in the process ;-)<br />
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<b> Results: Time Pace </b></div>
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<pre style="white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><b>17th</b> <b>6:12:40 12:00</b></span> </pre>
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I shaved off a hour and 7 minutes off my last 50k time, so I met my secondary goal!! The sub 6 hour time on a mountain 50k race eluded me this time, but I will be back!<br />
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<b>Final thoughts on the Endure the Bear 2012 50k:</b><br />
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<b>-</b> Most beautiful trails I have run on thus far(not hiked on), lots and lots of huge pine trees and views of mountains/lakes.<br />
-Great mix of single track, fire roads and technical trails, you get a little of everything!<br />
-Brutal elevation for running at if you train and live in the flat lands... 7k to 8k feet peaks.<br />
-Trails are in full use by the public during the event, which is ok except for the very fast mountain bikers blazing the trail.<br />
-Very small racing field, so if you like to be alone out there on the trails, this one is for you.<br />
-The 50k course is a trail that leads you up the mountain and connects you with a large 2 loop section that comprises most of the course, then you reconnect with the trail that led you up the initial ascent.<br />
-Over 5000 ft of elevation gain in the thin air :-)<br />
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<b>Thoughts on the Hokay Stinson Evo's:</b><br />
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- The Hoka's were extremely stable across a variety of terrain, I did not roll my ankle even once. Typically I roll my ankle at least twice on a run like this. The traction was much better then any shoe I have used before as well.<br />
- The great cushion in the shoes help you run on even the most painful of injuries,but still have great ground feel for traversing technical terrain.<br />
- They run a bit narrower then I need and the speed lacing caused them to get loose, which caused some nasty blisters all around both ankles. This could be fixed by installing the regular laces they supplied.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140707737901050288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806697824709227615.post-11283912262552570632012-07-26T08:32:00.001-07:002012-07-26T08:32:40.265-07:00Training, revamped! Races added.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://lakehodgestrailfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/50K-Logo-229x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://lakehodgestrailfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/50K-Logo-229x300.jpg" width="152" /></a>With the addition of 2 Ultra Marathons in this calendar year, I have decided to revamp my training regimen. The last time I took my training more serious was from December to February. The focus then was on functional strength, mixed with a little running. I would use the weight vest to do my run/lunge/burpee regimen. After a bunch of leg injuries, I ran less and less....then being in a car accident in April I had to give up upper body workouts, road biking and running. As the pain weaned, I started to mix some of those back in for training, which allowed me to do okay at the Spartan beast in Utah and the 50k.<br />
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I have created a new running and strength training schedule that I have been trying out this week. The training was going well until the day after a strength training session in the gym.... trying to run 5 miles the day after a first day back in the gym in over a year was not the best idea. My running form was really sloppy and I may have worsened some of my leg and foot injuries. It is too painful to even foam roll right now!<br />
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Taking 2 days now to focus on core strength and flexibility. I plan to go for a tough running session on Saturday with people doing the Cuyamaca 100k.<br />
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Should be a great weekend if my legs and feet hold up! Looking forward to try out the new Camelbak and possibly shoes, if they show up in the mail on Friday :-)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140707737901050288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806697824709227615.post-44285032377373022692012-07-17T09:59:00.000-07:002016-06-07T22:43:05.828-07:00Cuyamaca 3 Peaks 50k, My first long distance race!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: red;">July 14th, 2012:</span><br>
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It is hard to know where to begin on this write-up. The Cuyamaca 3 Peaks 50k race this last Saturday was quite the event! Me and my friend Jeremy got to the race at around 4:50 am to ensure we got a parking spot. It was great to see off the early start group at 5am, but we were a bit jealous of the extra hour of cool weather running they were going to get. After checking in, we spent the hour leading up to the race by eating snacks, stretching, and applying sunscreen(first time I have ever applied sunscreen in the dark.) We also got to enjoy a beautiful sunrise over Mt. Laguna.<br>
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This was the first race since I began running last November that I had no projected time of completion or if I would even be able to complete it. For those unfamiliar with how far the 50k distance is, it is just over 31 miles. This particular one, has 6288 feet of elevation gain and a total elevation change of 12,585.<br>
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With a 10 hour cutoff it seemed almost impossible with those extreme inclines. The longest hike I had ever done was 22 miles in one day and the longest trail run I had completed was 12 miles. Given my conditioning, this was obviously a very ambitious and what many would probably consider a very foolish attempt at one's first Ultra Race. Nevertheless I lined up toe to toe at 6am with some of the best and most experienced Ultra Runners in the area.</div>
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We were off! In the cool of the morning we got a nice 3 mile warmup around Cuyamaca lake and through a beautiful valley with tall grass landscape before hitting the first major incline, up the back side of Stonewall Peak. After switching from running to my fast hiking pace, I caught up with my friend Jeremy on the incline. We hiked up to the top together and were already sweating profusely. The first decent of the race was glorious and a great chance to catch our breath. After hitting the bottom of Stonewall we came to our first aid station at mile 6.7 . What a difference in aid stations between a regular foot race and an Ultra race. The assortment of snacks,fruit, gel packets and drinks were plentiful. The volunteers were also the best and most helpful of any race I have been to. After tanking up at the station, we decided to continue running together to the next station. We made impeccable time through the Azalea fire road trail up Middle Peak and down it to the 2nd aid station.<br>
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Jeremy kept telling me that he was in a world of hurt and he was not looking too good. I was still feeling very good at this point after the very long downhill and did not want to waste much time resting. Here came my first big mistake of the race......I had the young girl who was volunteering fill up my camel back for the hardest section of the race that was to come. My mistake was that I left the bladder squished in the pack with all my other stuff and thought she overfilled it, so I emptied some out so I could drop my electrolyte tablets in it. I told Jeremy I was going to start the incline back up the hill we just came down and I left in a hurry. About halfway up from the Half Marathon checkpoint and 1 mile into the 6 mile uphill section I ran out of fluid. After scratching my head for several minutes wondering why I was sucking air, I realized the mistake I had made. There was no way that I was going to turn around so I had to push through the next 5 miles of incline in the humid heat. I was feeling great climbing back to the top of middle peak and running down it to the Cuyamaca peak connecting road. When I reached the interchange I was approached by an old lady who told me I had gone the wrong direction and was suppose to turn off of the big Middle Peak incline before reaching the top. She goes on to tell me as I rejoined the correct trail that I probably added about 1 mile to the race..... JUST GREAT was what I was thinking!! Just what I needed as a amateur Ultra runner.... more distance!</div>
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Without any liquid to rehydrate and cool my core temperature, along with the temperature climbing outside, I was in a world of hurt and started to become delirious. I trying to force myself to hike as fast as possible to make it to the top. I must give thanks to 2 people that gave me a sip of their water on the way up.... it may not have cured my dehydration but it was just enough to give me the drive to push hard to the top. After a hard climb through very rocky/boulder terrain , I finally had the 3rd aid station in sight. A big banner stretched across it saying "The Beach." I was a bit delirious but I remember a girl in bikini running down to me with a cup of water. That was the best cup of water I have ever had! My memory of the top is a bit blurry, but I remember eating a popsicle, being misted with water by some guy and having them take care of all my hydration needs for the next section.<br>
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On the road again.... I hit the trail really hard on the way down Cuyamaca peak and felt unstoppable. Another run caught up to me on the downhill, Jeff was his name. I had just looked at the time on my cell phone for the first time, 10:30!! I was only 4.5 hours into the race and at over 21 miles in! I had to have him check his watch to make sure I was not imagining the time I had just seen. The time was correct, only 10 miles to go of mostly downhill and flat sections. I was on track for a 6 or sub 6 hour finish! I was so encouraged by this that I took up an even faster pace with Jeff down the hill. After reaching the bottom of the mountain and entering into a campground area I noticed we hadn't seen a trail marker in awhile. We were so focused on our speed and conversation that we didn't bother to check for them every few minutes. We continued on for a bit more and confirmed we were indeed on the wrong trail after talking to some of the campers. I suddenly felt like I just got punched in the stomach....two wrong turns in one race?! Trying to stay positive, we hoped that we had just missed the trail by a little bit, so we trekked up a bit higher up the steep grade and asked some more campers if they had seen any runners, they hadn't. I was feeling defeated but I was not ready to throw in the towel just yet. I remembered that the day before I said my goal was to just finish; this was still easily attainable despite the setback. I have not yet been able to confirm the length of the detour, but I know the detour cost me about 40 minutes and about 20 positions in the race.<br>
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mile 25: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JwUjaBcTiBB-nPzhpC_GVzCKyxOLJ2vXZSnO_yt62lSjCYCT81N3PmvV-prhUX4KAi1nYsmtIXveuuZ5m2A-NvIh8qShNtnKVtkXA7K-fqbqrBquIeAmKfVcQB4Th3j2qm0QLC-QUVQ/s1600/IMG_0388%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JwUjaBcTiBB-nPzhpC_GVzCKyxOLJ2vXZSnO_yt62lSjCYCT81N3PmvV-prhUX4KAi1nYsmtIXveuuZ5m2A-NvIh8qShNtnKVtkXA7K-fqbqrBquIeAmKfVcQB4Th3j2qm0QLC-QUVQ/s320/IMG_0388%5B1%5D" width="213"></a></div>
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After finding the split in the road we missed, I joined back up with some people I had passed earlier in the race before each detour. The trail was extremely rugged through this section, very overgrown with various plants and there was some felled trees across the trail. I was doing well and running at a very fast pace with my new friend John until I ran out of water again. I barely made it to aid station 4 before I collapsed to the ground in a squatting position. Even after tanking up on lots of liquids and getting sprayed down with water, I was not the same after this station. It was mile 25.3 and there was only about 6.5 miles to go, but my body was broken when I stood back up.<br>
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station 4:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAWzXPg9xcEGYCJva3s4_D8sidz097hWYPPXjmlkt6TeBGN1BVSOGr5lc4vcOu_TzPZBsrkyUsqUh29wHKUNgyWCx4KF-u_dDHzrZrQnoFvfe2HMAJWzd1xbp_723QNr2VqMBeLCtIm00/s1600/IMG_0391%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAWzXPg9xcEGYCJva3s4_D8sidz097hWYPPXjmlkt6TeBGN1BVSOGr5lc4vcOu_TzPZBsrkyUsqUh29wHKUNgyWCx4KF-u_dDHzrZrQnoFvfe2HMAJWzd1xbp_723QNr2VqMBeLCtIm00/s320/IMG_0391%5B1%5D" width="320"></a></div>
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I was at 5 hours and 45 minutes coming into this station and still confident of a sub 7 hour finish. An hour and fifteen minutes to finish out a fairly easy 6.5 miles on Cold Stream trail, around base of Stonewall peak, and along the shores of Cuyamaca Lake. After crossing Highway 79 I attempted to jog but my body just wouldn't have it! The hamstring tendon behind my left knee felt like it was about to rupture and both hips were burning with every step. So I spent the next 3 miles hiking as fast as possible before I got extremely frustrated......... I still had boundless energy but my tendons and supporting tissues were not conditioned for this extreme distance. I decided it was time to take out the iPod and crank up some motivational tunes. I went with "Impossible" by Da'Truth. The music helped my mind be distracted from the pain and I was able to run again, at a very fast pace! I cranked out about 2 fast miles on the trail, passing 3 people, until the pain couldn't be ignored anymore. I was next to the lake and had less then a mile left, but it was now almost impossible to just walk.</div>
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With the end in my sights now, it helped me push on to finish this thing. It was a very emotional end for me since I was fighting extreme pain and dehydration. I joined up with the wife and my family before the finish line and went back into a strong run with her to finish off the race.</div>
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Total distance(w/detours): ~34 miles</div>
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Official Finishing time: 7:19:01</div>
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Placement: 40th</div>
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The experience was truly unforgettable and I'd do it all over again once I am healed up ;-) The people I met were really nice and all had great stories to swap about other Ultra races they had done. The Ultra Racing community appeared to me as the closest knit in the world of running; I really like that aspect of it!!</div>
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I guess now is a good time to announce my running and racing goal of 2013. After careful consideration of what I'd like to achieve physically, I have decided I want to compete at the Leona Divide 50 mile race in April 2013. This is quite a step up in distance from the 50k, so I had better get off the computer and start recovering and training right now!</div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.leonadivide5050.com/" target="_blank">Leona Divide</a></span></b></div>
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Some of the highlights include:</div>
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<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">39.5 miles of PCT</li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">10.5 miles of fire roads</li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">10 aid stations, some with crew access</li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">13 hour finish-line cutoff</li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">8900 feet of elevation gain</li>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140707737901050288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806697824709227615.post-18762313582980097972012-07-06T23:40:00.000-07:002012-07-06T23:40:29.440-07:00Spartan Race Beast, Midway, UT June 30th, 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Me and my friend Jeremy White departed San Diego at 6:20 pm on a plane to Salt Lake City, Utah. After a short 2 hour flight, 1 hour time jump,1 hour drive, and a pit stop to stock up on food supplies for before and after the big race the next day, we arrived at the hotel around 11pm. My race was only 11 hours away at that point! We finally got into the late check-in safe and parked the car in the correct area. I finally got to bed around 12 am , giving me a 6 hour window for sleep in an unfamiliar bed/surroundings. Needless to say I did not sleep much with the anxiety of having to be at the race at 7am for Jeremy to check in at the volunteer tent.<br />
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6 am came very fast after a night of restless sleep! I decided for the first time ever before a race to forgo a normal breakfast and stick with a few protein bars and some salty snacks. Never a good idea to try out new things on race day! After about a 45 minute drive we made it to the race grounds. The temperature was great in the morning time and the race grounds were in a beautiful location. Soldier Hollow, in Midway, Utah, home of the 2002 Winter Olympics.
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Since we had gotten there 3 hours before my race, I spent the time checking everything out in the area. I did some practice climbs on the traverse wall that was set-up to make sure I still had the technique down from the last time I was on one 5 months ago. I also got to meet 2 of my favorite Spartan athletes, Hobie Call of <a href="http://conqueranycourse.com/">http://conqueranycourse.com/</a> and Margaret Schlatchter of <a href="http://dirtinyourskirt.com/">http://dirtinyourskirt.com/</a> They both were getting ready for the 8:30 am Elite heat and didn't have time to chat it up, which I totally understand. They were both still kind enough to let me take my picture with them :-)<br />
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<br /><br /> <br /><br /> While Jeremy was starting to volunteer, I spent the remainder of my pre-race time talking to other racers and warming up with lunges and hip mobility movements. My race gear ended up being running shorts, calf compression sleeves, quad compression sleeves,KT tape on left knee and a 50 oz Camelbak. I went against the advice given by Spartan staff in a pre-race email about wearing a shirt to retain water from the mudpits to stay cool in the extreme heat and went with my usual decision of not wearing shirts for obstacle races. 10 am heat was up and my pal , TC, in full Spartan armor gave an awesome pre-race motivational speech. It was one of my favorite motivational speeches with a "Spartan" twist.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Skip ahead to 2:19 for speech:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Everyone was extremely pumped up and started off very strong. I went with Hobie's race strategy that I overheard and started off at how fast I think I will be going 3/4 into the race. After analyzing the terrain from what I could see, I decided to go with a pretty quick pace. I had started a few rows back from the front of the line but I quickly caught up with the front 5 runners after about a half a mile. I remembered each of them so that I could know how my standing was in my heat throughout the race. The first leg of the race I was battling it out with the top 10 people. We all were taking turns at being faster and passing one another. There was a girl and a guy who kept catching up to me and passing me on the running sections between obstacles. I was able to blast past them easily on the obstacles. The first set of obstacles was some small 4 foot walls, some you had to climb over, some through and some under.</div>
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I started to have trouble breathing on the very first leg of the race, this may be due to the high elevation, the heat, or the poor air quality(wild fires and dusty /dry conditions). But because of it , I developed a very dry throat and had trouble drinking any liquids. Fluids felt like razor blades going down my throat!! I started to get a slightly negative attitude that I was going to finish poorly and not be able run the whole thing. </div>
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The race was shaped like a clover, in that there were 3 loops, all of which took you back to the start/finish area. They did this mostly due to the relay event they had going. After the finishing the Spartan "Pancake" carry (fancy sandbag), I started the 2nd leg of the race. That is when I realized, as dirtinyourskirt.com put it in her recent blog, "This was truly a runners race." I wasn't going to be expending large amounts of energy going up goat hills, but instead will be greeted with more of the same rolling hills throughout the race. Once I got my head right and was more optimistic about having a good finish, I really started to speed up and leave the competition in the dust. After the dizzying climb to the top of the rope obstacle, I never saw the girl and guy that were trailing me earlier, for the rest of the race.</div>
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I really started to have fun with it, I was feeling so good cruising past everyone from the earlier heats. Almost every single person I passed that had been out there a few hours, were all giving me motivational words as I passed them. It really caught me off-guard since no one did this at the Spartan Super Race in Temecula,Ca. Their words really helped me on the uphills after completing some of the more difficult obstacles. </div>
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The first barbed wire crawl really had me beat up, there was no dirt or sand left, but instead just big sharp rocks. I was not able to roll or crawl on my stomach under it because my camelbak getting snagged on the wire every few seconds; another contributing factor to its difficulty was due to the hose operator spraying water directly at my face for more then half of the crawl, so I couldn't see where I was going!</div>
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I continued to cruise the trail with the same few guys the entire time, joking around with them. We basically did every obstacle together!</div>
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<i>Most tiring obstacle of the day</i>: was a new one where you had a rubber band around your legs holding them together and you have to bunny hop into a long sea of tires that were too small to even fit my feet. I kept tripping up in them as I tried my best to center my feet so I didn't fall on my face.</div>
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<i>The most unique obstacle of the day</i>: Cargo net climb that was anchored up onto a bridge. You got to climb up the net to the top of the bridge and there was a tire suspended from a rope on the other side that you had to pull up to the top and back down before you were able to continue your run.</div>
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<i>Fear of heights need not apply obstacle of the day</i>: The rope climb was so high above the mud pit that I am guessing that a lot of people either did burpees or took a really long time to climb it with cautiousness . It was not one you could fall off of without sustaining serious injuries.</div>
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The race was going very fast for me up until the last half mile. The last half mile was harder for me then the rest of the race because of the obstacles that were packed in there. The first was the artillery range fire. My first mistake of the race was following my running buddy and opting to do burpees without even trying the shot. Pounded out 30 burpees as a penalty, or I should say the burpees pounded me. About 20 yards away was the dreaded spear throw obstacle. I took my time to line up the spear, but I went wide left and missed the target completely. 30 more burpees! This time the ground where we were doing them was very thorny and the set took a very long time. From there was a short run to the traverse wall. After choosing the first wall I realized it was a bad choice. Person after person was falling off of it... I got to about the middle when I realized why they were falling off. The hand grips in the middle were insanely far spaced apart and made for an interesting climb across. </div>
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Luckily I avoided the 3rd set of burpees in a row!!</div>
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The last obstacles from there were another 8 foot wall and a long barbed wire crawl. The crawl was very backed up and took me about 5- 10 minutes to get through it. I then finished strong through the gladiators and across the finish line!</div>
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Placement:</div>
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81st overall out of 2100</div>
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81st for the men of 1679</div>
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16th for age group </div>
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Time: 2:12:29</div>
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Currently Ranked 69th in the Global ranking series for the year!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHu7WAHXOTcsDlkaf_uGR35w9Wf0iurrvXxkPWZQPMbSyE-iVP9HGnhHC5twdkyRGTzWBPJWhk72gDMNSxdOK8TGDATLTR_VweD8yQflG7IUxXmrXOU9WYS25yXDuT1DU1Sb0UcTsKER4/s1600/nuvision_action_image_storefront_1183209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHu7WAHXOTcsDlkaf_uGR35w9Wf0iurrvXxkPWZQPMbSyE-iVP9HGnhHC5twdkyRGTzWBPJWhk72gDMNSxdOK8TGDATLTR_VweD8yQflG7IUxXmrXOU9WYS25yXDuT1DU1Sb0UcTsKER4/s320/nuvision_action_image_storefront_1183209.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It was a fantastic race and was filled with good memories. I highly recommend everyone to do it next year! We finished the night out by having dinner with the Warrior State of Mind team. Met lots of great people and got to swap Spartan racing stories from this race and others.</div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140707737901050288noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806697824709227615.post-50908212347473822792012-06-21T09:02:00.002-07:002012-06-21T09:02:28.721-07:00Anxious for the Spartan Beast<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
I am very anxious for the Spartan Beast Race on the 30th of this month, just over a week away! My strategy at this point is to be as well rested and injury free as possible come race day. I had 2 chiropractor appointments this week for my back and neck injuries (from car accident) at <cite><span style="color: #388222;"><a href="http://www.libschiropractic.com/">www.<strong>libschiropractic</strong>.com</a>. </span></cite>I also was able to get a massage in between those 2 visits. I have decided that I will benefit more from getting better then packing in some more training.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG1OqNw5wfcX3nQhd9O42hSfxvWpG2_hl6BTstFG1B2OIebd9swa5x6Ibxw-cdDeMIZ3lBhDHNaJZB2TqVVbtE1rJKIXwJsVCBylvGEUK4FbAu3d33E4OSB34sG0enhP7f9h2Df6jt40Q/s1600/photo1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG1OqNw5wfcX3nQhd9O42hSfxvWpG2_hl6BTstFG1B2OIebd9swa5x6Ibxw-cdDeMIZ3lBhDHNaJZB2TqVVbtE1rJKIXwJsVCBylvGEUK4FbAu3d33E4OSB34sG0enhP7f9h2Df6jt40Q/s200/photo1.JPG" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyI-pf7PwuOqyhdLDyFISCp5u9a0hl6H7XNXg1ZIt4ZZlneahqx1DNKMCn98oUfCYDIEHHvaC2fD-9eNt0vr3SW3DWLX5iCB0GrbLNOX6fy_5VVAdluzVJY6DIZdu9MAR-Z3MJ9gyIkos/s1600/photo3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; height: 205px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; width: 151px;"><img border="0" height="200" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyI-pf7PwuOqyhdLDyFISCp5u9a0hl6H7XNXg1ZIt4ZZlneahqx1DNKMCn98oUfCYDIEHHvaC2fD-9eNt0vr3SW3DWLX5iCB0GrbLNOX6fy_5VVAdluzVJY6DIZdu9MAR-Z3MJ9gyIkos/s200/photo3.JPG" width="150" /></a>My knees are still very inflamed from my workout this past Sunday. I attempted to run up El Capitan Mountain in San Diego while my friends were hiking it. We got a late start and were going up in the heat of the day. I was able to finish 9 miles of it in the heat; I was fairly pleased with my performance in the heat. The last time I ran up it was in the cool of the morning. At about mile 4 I was not able to take any more fluids in, which I feel was a sign of dehydration setting in. With my knees hurting, chaffing on my chest from my shirt, dehydration setting in, and time running out before the parking lot closed, I had to make the decision at mile 4.5 to turn around to meet up with my friends that were hiking. It was a great last high intensity workout before my upcoming races. It was also a chance for me to try out the KT tape I bought.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVepQf3Qj9mUuKMGisDRk6qZdQUmdXcpcGgau_8Rm14Dm0A_8QJYeA5fifPTfs5yN73EAxRH-tmc2urgYK2ozFzlnbideNfEfQ6Anify2FwnxttE7-ybblYZTNFyXgojhyphenhyphen85NnwNJQGk4/s1600/photo2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVepQf3Qj9mUuKMGisDRk6qZdQUmdXcpcGgau_8Rm14Dm0A_8QJYeA5fifPTfs5yN73EAxRH-tmc2urgYK2ozFzlnbideNfEfQ6Anify2FwnxttE7-ybblYZTNFyXgojhyphenhyphen85NnwNJQGk4/s1600/photo2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVepQf3Qj9mUuKMGisDRk6qZdQUmdXcpcGgau_8Rm14Dm0A_8QJYeA5fifPTfs5yN73EAxRH-tmc2urgYK2ozFzlnbideNfEfQ6Anify2FwnxttE7-ybblYZTNFyXgojhyphenhyphen85NnwNJQGk4/s200/photo2.JPG" width="150" /></a> I have mixed reviews on the KT tape.... It was very effective for my pain on the top of my right<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVepQf3Qj9mUuKMGisDRk6qZdQUmdXcpcGgau_8Rm14Dm0A_8QJYeA5fifPTfs5yN73EAxRH-tmc2urgYK2ozFzlnbideNfEfQ6Anify2FwnxttE7-ybblYZTNFyXgojhyphenhyphen85NnwNJQGk4/s1600/photo2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a> foot, but it is not effective at all for people who have lots of leg hair. Around mile 2.5, the tape separated from what little bond it had on the skin and was only sticking to the hair. I ended up having to pull it off so that it did not irritate me while I was running up the mountain. The tape on my foot lasted for about 5 days. It seems at this point the tape will only be effective for my legs if I shave them, which is not going to happen. I may still attempt the tape job at the beast race, because I cannot find a knee brace or sleeve that does not irritate the back of the knee/leg. <br />
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Here's a little preview of last years Spartan Super Race in Utah. On the 30th I will be doing the Beast there, which is around 50% longer in distance and has almost double the obstacles!!</div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140707737901050288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806697824709227615.post-47971990216133848442012-06-17T21:06:00.001-07:002012-06-17T21:18:25.199-07:00Super Spartan Temecula, Culmination of 2 months of training<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifCHY2vUTVDeyLZfwn7kQ3rHpGo7inT1jkby7sD-81ORg34jjUHOZVKXfNvLoSBoI2_hypj_U0s0YCMOEscMUPUjYOm4S1G8npGhqt-SvHI2NTwgtQI5ui6aLPG4iU0h6wi4Xa1FJj6Xw/s1600/527857_10150991483966882_1116245982_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifCHY2vUTVDeyLZfwn7kQ3rHpGo7inT1jkby7sD-81ORg34jjUHOZVKXfNvLoSBoI2_hypj_U0s0YCMOEscMUPUjYOm4S1G8npGhqt-SvHI2NTwgtQI5ui6aLPG4iU0h6wi4Xa1FJj6Xw/s320/527857_10150991483966882_1116245982_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/spartanrace" target="_blank">Temecula Super Spartan</a> </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">January 28th, 2012</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2SBGL7DzSPARUVrapplv6xhM97Rys7U54OOapdwgLLfjAASk8XmUku0NrXjphuV0yscNXPrfyZCg-3o_myDdf3zSBSqo6BaVsp4uC2kREL9-hQmuII98AbZRqkWtj_1Y8INLVpEEPNJc/s1600/420895_588307734760_492926433_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2SBGL7DzSPARUVrapplv6xhM97Rys7U54OOapdwgLLfjAASk8XmUku0NrXjphuV0yscNXPrfyZCg-3o_myDdf3zSBSqo6BaVsp4uC2kREL9-hQmuII98AbZRqkWtj_1Y8INLVpEEPNJc/s320/420895_588307734760_492926433_n.jpg" width="239" /></a>My race on January 28th was arguably my most successful race this year. All of the crazy training I talked about in my last post paid off this day.<br />
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Another reason what made this day so great is that I talked 2 of my favorite people into doing the race with me. My friend Jeremy and my cousin Caleb. Unfortunately I was unable to get them into the same 2pm heat, but they were not too far behind by getting into the 2:30 heat.</div>
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We carpooled together and just barely got me there in time to make the long run from the parking lot to the starting line with a few minutes to spare. I polished off my pre-workout drink from Biotest and did my warmup stretches and lunges around the staging area. I was very fortunate that the rest of my group made it in time to see me off... which also allowed for some great pre-race-clean photo ops.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-N628_kToNPgy4asi8SCgKNXzm5XELXUUVB691nMH8E7bUd1A-hm_eKHXj-c7cqicmz5SlrB4YzpW_qG-jhuFHjhw5kDMICasIRDUZMYdKfDCz3AvFiqqxYT_YA2WuJhH1nOppeleMg/s1600/425389_588332939250_991654035_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-N628_kToNPgy4asi8SCgKNXzm5XELXUUVB691nMH8E7bUd1A-hm_eKHXj-c7cqicmz5SlrB4YzpW_qG-jhuFHjhw5kDMICasIRDUZMYdKfDCz3AvFiqqxYT_YA2WuJhH1nOppeleMg/s320/425389_588332939250_991654035_n.jpg" width="239" /></a> The guy in spartan uniform gave a motivational send off speech and we were off!! After my last humbling spartan race experience I had placed myself in the middle of the 250 person pack. I started with a slow steady pace as others were in a fast sprint across a large field to the first set of hills. Not knowing what to expect during this race turned out to be a big time killer during the race. The very first steep hill climb turned out to be a very very slow hike up it since the trail was so narrow and there was no room to pass anyone. Every once in a while I would squeeze past a person or two on the way up. By the time I got to the top of the hill I was very frustrated but I was able to turn the frustration into adrenaline. Immediately the trail opened up a bit and I was able to begin passing the racers in droves. For the next hour or so I had passed a few hundred people on the trails and was not passed once by anyone. When everyone else was walking the steep downhills, I was able to find great traction and able to sprint down all of them...giving me great momentum for the uphill swing of the trail. The first set of obstacles were a bit of a mental challenge as opposed to a physical one. There was 2 different areas where we had to climb up on a fairly high stack of hay bales and jump off the top into a pile of hay before continuing on. Most everyone would hang off the edge and only fall a few feet. Trying not to lose any time, I immediately went for the big jump hoping I would not get injured. Luckily I survived those first few obstacles with no injuries to my ankles or legs. My first injury came when I began the run through a dried up river bed over uneven slick stones. I lost my footing a few times and twisted my ankle . It was not so bad that I had to stop, so I continued on at a comfortable pace. I did not see many people on the trail at this point since I had passed almost everyone from my heat and I had just started to pass people from the earlier heats. There were some great muddy and water sections before coming to the first barbed wire crawl. I got to it at a great time since it was not too muddy and there was almost no one there. I was able to incorporate both my rolling and crawling techniques into it ,which helped me get through it very fast. Nearby the barbed wire crawl were some of the many walls that had to be climbed over during the race. There must of been at least 10 to 15 walls during the race.... I felt as if I was constantly having to climb over one.</div>
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After completing a few more obstacles, including some walls and a concrete bucket rope lift, I finally made it to the halfway point. I really liked how the halfway point was at the race grounds, nearby the starting line. There were a series of 3 obstacles that the spectators got to witness, the spear throw, traverse wall, and the 8ft wall. My photographer/wife got some great shots of me doing burpees.</div>
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Here I am after failing to hit the mark with the spear, doing my set of 30 burpees(2nd set of the day, the first after falling on the balance beam)</div>
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After learning a few things from the previous spartan race, I utterly killed the traverse wall in a quick fashion.</div>
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I was sad that <a href="http://www.nuvisionactionimage.com/" target="_blank">NUVISION</a> photography didn't get any shots of me going over the 8 ft walls. Given that I approached the wall going at sprint speed and flung myself over the top and onto the other side, I probably didn't give them much time for the shot. I was at a bit of advantage being 6'1 and felt sorry for the shorter people. It was a great/tough challenge even with being tall!! After completing the sand bucket carry through the sand pits, I headed up the second largest hill of the race, passing people along the way. At this point in the race the heats from the day were so mixed up that I did not know which one I was passing.... some of them had even started a few hours before me. The top of the hill looked like a dust storm in the Sahara desert! The wind was so strong and the dirt so dry that it created a massive sand storm up there. Everyone doing the tire carry was having to hold their shirts over their mouths to keep from breathing it in. The obstacle after this was one of the highlights of the race, it was a cargo net climb placed on top of the highest hill in the area, and the view from the top was spectacular.<br />
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<a href="http://www.nuvisionactionimage.com/" target="_blank">Photo Credit Nuvion Action Image,2012</a></div>
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After the cargo net there was some great trail running through some valleys with lots and lots of 4 and 6ft walls to jump over. During the last third of the race was the famous "goat" hill. My quads have never burned so much! It was so steep in some sections that in order to pass people with speed I was having to use my hands on the ground to keep the momentum going forward. I had long forgotten about the bottle necking at the beginning of the race until I reached the top of this hill. The trail got very narrow and very very slow. People were so exhausted after the big hill that they were just walking this long flat section that was mixed with some slight inclines. I tried to pass a few times but I was only met with thorns from the bushes and not any gains on the crowd. I kept voicing my discontent to the people around me about having to walk when I wanted to run, , but my comments were met with blank stares of exhaustion from the others. Once the trail finally opened back up, and after about 10 to 15 minutes of walking, I was able to pick up the pace into what was probably my fastest running pace of the day. Knowing that the end was near was great motivation to go all out!</div>
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Arriving back at the race grounds for the final time, I was met with a great string of obstacles in front of the crowd. First was the concrete block with rope pull ,rope climb, and mud pits. The mud pits smelled toxic but I had fun with it while people were watching. Everyone around me was tip-toeing into them, so I decided to be amusing to watch and I charged at them, doing long jumps into the middle of the pits, causing a big splash of mud at each one. I had some strangers on the sidelines cheering me on to keep doing it, which encouraged me all the more :-)</div>
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The last 3 obstacles were the 2nd barbed wire crawl, the pyramid wall climb (my least favorite) and the fire jump.</div>
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No injuries going over the top this time!</div>
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I felt bad after running into this guy when I was rolling, I apologized when he said I could pass him</div>
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The fire was really weak when I went across it at this race, but I had fun with it posing for the photographer<br />
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As always, the race ends with a nice hit to the chest or legs to slow you down</div>
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End results: 9.3 mile obstacle course time of 2:05 , 12th place in age category and 50st overall finish for the day( out of 2300). And lots of battle wounds to help keep the memories alive for a long time! :-) Moved up 300 places in the ranks compared to the Malibu sprint!! 2 months solid of training paid off for this one. The biggest thing I took away from this race was that you need an early heat time if you want to compete for a good time. I know that I could of cut off another 15 minutes off my time if I was not forced to walk in the bottle necked sections. Fantastic race overall and I look forward to the competitive heat in 2013!!</div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140707737901050288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806697824709227615.post-14636918749022547872012-06-12T23:03:00.001-07:002012-06-12T23:03:39.061-07:00Unhealthy soreness<div style="text-align: justify;">
This last weekend, on Sunday, was a chance for me to test the state of my well being before I embark on the two hardest races I might possibly ever do..... The Utah Spartan Beast race and the </div>
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Cuyamaca 3 peaks 50k trail run. I know what you must be thinking after reading my first blog post, that he must be off his rocker!! Both of these races are in less then a month and I expect I will be pushing myself way beyond my current fitness comfort zone.</div>
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The statement that is pictured here is the direct representation of my "training strategy" ....and apparently, as you can tell by those races I signed up for, that it is of my race-sign-up strategy as well. "No Pain No Gain!" I have finally come to realize after this weekend that it is a bunch of hogwash! The snowball effect of my training strategy had gained me severe tendinitis in my left forearm, painful shin splints, 2 pulled calf muscles, pain above the knee, on the inside of the knee and on the outside of the knee(due to IT band syndrome.) I have spent many a nights scouring the medical websites, trying to diagnose all of my latest training ailments. The latest of which is a really bad strain of one of the main tendons on top of my right foot. I first experienced this while doing a 13 mile run by my house. The pain took about 2 weeks before it suppressed enough for me to run on it again. I am now currently suffering through the same pain again after a 15 mile run on the local beaches of La Jolla and Del Mar on Sunday.</div>
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As I sit here reflecting back on the weekend and thinking about how much pain I am in right now, I am asking myself, where did I get all these injuries? Well, after finishing up the Spartan Race in Malibu in November, I immediately started doing my research on how others trained for these races. I began with hiking the local 3 mile trail, Cowles Mtn. while carrying a 40 lb jug of water....that then lead to running the Mt. Nebo Secret stairs with my friend Jeremy with the same water jug.</div>
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245 steps of pure pain!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPOb7ZRD8nOyTm0BoUHvpkc5FMc07O9vtIhaT1umQZKgWHS8rWjyxMQP2tny4XEyE3_cULvF-ICqC5wIciDjV5tyszCpOo1-Mbyy-7mdpv3JWG3kkw43NVZNzCE_Ic7I4V3C3Waca3NaI/s1600/374256_10150498771061882_311891965_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPOb7ZRD8nOyTm0BoUHvpkc5FMc07O9vtIhaT1umQZKgWHS8rWjyxMQP2tny4XEyE3_cULvF-ICqC5wIciDjV5tyszCpOo1-Mbyy-7mdpv3JWG3kkw43NVZNzCE_Ic7I4V3C3Waca3NaI/s320/374256_10150498771061882_311891965_n.jpg" width="240" /></a>We got so obsessed with training that we started doing training hikes in the middle of the night. We would hike to the top of Cowles Mtn. and find large rocks to carry down with us. Anything to keep the intensity up! Well it turns out that holding a heavy object in your arms in a fixed position can cause some serious problems with your tendons. I had to cut out this type of training as it was causing me problems in my job as an Automotive Technician. Luckily short after, I discovered a smarter way to train for the 8+ mile Super Spartan race. After stumbling across some Spartan Race videos on youtube and seeing how successful this guy, Hobie Call was, I knew I needed to adopt some of his training techniques. Anyone who can win every single Spartan Race across the country must be on to something! I immediately went out and bought a weight vest that was adjustable up to 40 pounds and his DVD that had just come out, entitled “Hobie Call’s How To Train For Obstacle Course Racing.” The DVD is available for purchase here : <a href="http://www.hobiecall.com/">http://www.hobiecall.com/</a> I must of watched the the entire DVD through 3 times before even attempting the 40 minute "warmup." The workouts were very simple to perform but the intensity of them was like nothing else I had done before! My workout routine during the week would consist of starting with half of the warmup exercises and then putting on the weight vest for the run-lunge-burpee-run. There is nothing else like finishing off a set of traveling lunges with a weight vest, dropping down and doing 10 pushup burpees and having to immediately hop up and start running again.<br />
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In my next post I will talk about how the training affected the outcome of the 8+ mile Super Spartan Race I completed in Temecula.<br />
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Until then, take care and stay injury free. Train smarter, not harder!<br />
Christopher Brill<br />
P.s. Feel free to email me if you have any questions about Spartan races, exercise and nutrition, or anything else for that matter! <a href="mailto:willpayforpain@gmail.com">willpayforpain@gmail.com</a><br />
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13140707737901050288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806697824709227615.post-56698920222111734432012-06-11T18:06:00.000-07:002012-06-11T18:06:25.329-07:00How it all started... My name is Christopher Brill and if anyone is reading this, welcome to my first blog.<br />I am 27 years old, from San Diego, California and have a newly discovered, deep passion<br />for racing both on and off the trails. I have always loved fitness, but this new passion for competetive racing was discovered haphazardly this last November when I heard an advertisement on Pandora radio station for a Spartan Race in Malibu,Ca. I had no idea what it was, I had never heard of it or known anyone who had participated in one. After looking it up I just knew I had to do it, it looked like a lot of fun! My compulsive nature kicked into full gear and I signed up on the spot with the Pandora discount.<br />
<br /> Keep in mind I hadn't done any running in 7 years! The "oh crap what have I got myself into" thoughts started pouring through my head. I knew I needed to starting training immediately as the race was in a few weeks. I have always considered myself to be in pretty good shape....well at least I did prior to being on disability from august to November due to a laceration of my thumb.<br />
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I was 6 weeks into a weight training program called "Scrawny to Brawny." I had packed on over 20 lbs of muscle to my scrawny frame (was 6'1 and 158 lb prior.) I felt strong muscle wise despite never running more then a mile in the last 7 years. I retained some of that muscle but lost a significant amount after sitting around for 3 months.</div>
<br /> I remember my first run after the negative thoughts had been suppressed. I was running the streets in my home town of La Mesa and Spring Valley, it was a beautiful sunny San Diego day and the conditions for running were perfect. As I started running I felt invincible and knew I was going to dominate the Spartan Race in November. I was just coming out of disability and I was going to have a whole 2 weeks to jam-pack the training in. The invincible feeling quickly subsided when my shins started burning in pain. I was all to familiar with this pain since it is what caused me to stop running 7 years prior. For you fortunate people who don't know what I am talking about, it was the dreaded onset of shin splints!<br />
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I finally finished the 3 mile run in excruciating pain and continued for the next few weeks beating myself up with runs I had no business doing.<br />In my convoluted perception of reality, I figured I might not be able to get 1st place because of the shin splints but surely I would be in the top 10!!<br />
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With my self confidence peaking at the race and adrenaline in high gear, I waited for the 2:30 pm heat to get under way so I could place myself right at the starting line in front of everyone.<br />As I stood there waiting and warming up for the next 30 minutes, I started getting surrounded by ripped, young military guys. I knew I was going to have to start off in a strong sprint if I was going to make it to the first obstacle before it started getting backed up. The man in full spartan costume comes to the start line to give a motivational speech before sending us off into the man made clouds of smoke between the trees. <br />
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We were off!! and I was flying ahead of the pack!! only 1 young guy and an entire race ahead of me. The first obstacle in my racing career... crossing a waist deep river. A few yards ahead of me the young man plunged into the river and I follow suite by making a dramatic long jump into the middle of the crossing. After a moment of hesitation on both our parts and the others a ways back, he begins trekking upstream and of course I follow.... after reaching a point of not being able to touch the bottom, we started swimming. As we began to do so, we heard dozens of people crossing the river and continuing there way out the other side towards the marked trail. By the time we made it back to the trail, it seemed that about 200 of the 250 person 3pm heat had passed us. <br />
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The adrenaline that gave me my speed at the beginning was completely dissipated and gave way to a slow pace. As the race went on I was able to gain on and pass most of the people the blew by us in the<br />beginning. The weight lifting training paid off on the obstacles but the steep trails were brutal and I was ill-prepared for them. I had to hike up a lot of the hills using my fastest hiking pace. I finally came to an obstacle that seemed impossible... the wall traverse. As I looked on at people attempting it, I finally<br />decided to mount up on it. With awful form I began traversing across the wooden pegs that were caked with mud from the day. I reached for the top of the wall and got yelled at by the obstacle captain telling me I could not touch the top. As I went back to the pegs with my hands I slipped and fell to the ground. I was ordered to perform a full set of 30 push up burpees. This was my first time ever doing burpees and it wouldn't be my last. After watching others to see how its done, I finished my set that seemed to take all afternoon.<br />
Back to the trails and the obstacles and what seemed like hours later, I came to the 3rd to last obstacle. The spear throw. It was definitely harder then I anticipated... I thought I would be showing off my<br />sweet throwing "skills" in front of the crowd, but instead I lunged the spear into the abyss completely missing the hay bale target. I was ordered once again to do another set of 30 burpees. I had the finish line in sight as I slowly did the set, constantly having to take breaks. I felt like an old race horse about to have a heart attack on the track!<br />
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As I came out of the spear throw area I came to the fire pit, as you can kind of make out in this picture the race crew handed me a spartan flag to hold as I jumped over the roaring fire<br />
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The fire jump ended up being a real treat to the deep chill I was experiencing from the ice cold water obstacles!<br />
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I ran up to the last obstacle which was the pyramid wall with a rope attached. I scrambled to the top of this muddy obstacle and flung my leg over the top of it. When doing so I hit my ankle on the wooden rungs, bruising it very bad. I climbed down and limped across the finish line to receive my 2011 red Spartan Sprint Finishers Medal.<br />
<br /> The next thought that crossed my head, still makes me laugh to this day. I was thinking that as I went to the timing computers to look up my time I would surely see myself for sure in the top 20! Had I not just witnessed the last 50 minute pain fest!?!?? I looked up my time and this is what I saw: <br />
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I placed 367 out of about 3000, and 77th in my age category.<br />I told myself at that point I would never do one of these races again.....Near hypothermia from the cold water,multiple bruises, a dozen cuts across my chest and back from the barbed wire crawl, burning muscles, aching shins, yes......I possibly did place in the top 20, top 20 of the most injured people of the day!!<br />
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<br /> The day after this race I experienced the first racing "high" of my life, it was pure bliss :-) You tend to forget about the pain of the injuries and you want to tell everyone you meet how amazing the race was... how you persevered......pushed..... and battled your way through the obstacles! This lasts around a week before it starts to fade, this usually gives way to you wanting it to be prolonged and you starting scouring the race listings in your area in desperation to find another "fix" for your racing high to continue. Everyone around you tells you are insane to pay to be put through it again, but they just don't understand and you ignore them and sign up immediately.<br />
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I am creating this blog to detail my own journey since then and into the future. If nothing else, I will have an account of it for when my memories start to fade! I will go into more details in my next entry about the training and preparation that went into my prep for the 2012 SoCal Super spartan race and the subsequent races that followed up until now.<br />
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Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I wish you the best on your own, Long road to Racing Success!<br /><em>Christopher Brill</em>, <a href="http://www.questionablyhealthyraceaddiction.blogspot.com/">www.questionablyhealthyraceaddiction.blogspot.com</a><br />
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