Shoes and such!

http://www.runningandrambling.com/2010/12/new-balance-mt101-giveaway.html

This was just a way to nod to Running and Rambling.  A great source for runners, especially those considering the move to minimilist running.  Oh, and I get a chance to win these killer shoes.  YES!

Back in the Saddle

Recovery was nice, but being on the trail is so much better.

Went out for 20 miles this morning.  Kept a good pace, and brought some new stuff along for the ride.  Got myself a new skullcap, and yes, it's sweat-wicking.  Also, I recently won a sampler pack of the new formula Cliff Shots, THEY KICK SOOO MUCH ASS!  They've definately improved on a good thing.  I brought along vanilla, mocha(+caf), chocolate, citrus(+caf), razz, double expresso(+caf), and chocolate cherry(+caf).  The vanilla and mocha weren't so hot, to me, they're just a bit too rich.  Out of the batch, so far, my new personal favorites are citrus and chocolate cherry, not just for the caffeine factor, but the flavor.  I could probably sit and put down a handful of the citrus alone.

Also picked up some Nuun tablets.  Just mix a few with each refill of the Camelbak bladder and I've got some pretty potent eletrolyte replacement on me.  One less thing to worry about, though I still took my pills and put down some coconut water, just because I like the taste.

GI complications reared it's head again, but I think I've pinpointed the cause before it got out of hand.  I'm putting too much protein in my system and not enough fluid.  Next weekend I'll go for another long run and just bring gel shots and only have a protein shake for breakfast.  Once out on the trails, no more shakes.

Damn it's good to be back on my feet.

Wild Hare 2010

It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly...who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at best, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. - Theodore Roosevelt



First things first, I had to drop.  Mile 43 and I dropped.  Seven miles left.  GI problems, dehydration, and bloody urine were the culprits.  BUT I do know what I did wrong, both the day before and the morning of, to screw myself over.  Oh well, lesson learned.  Time to start planning next years races.

At 6am, the few of us tackling the 50 mile option gathered outside the main house on Bluff Creek Ranch.  I hate using tired cliches, but the air truely was on fire.  Everyone was litteraly quaking with electricity as the countdown to 6:00 began.  Headlights aglow, we headed off into the woods for the first of seven loops.

The course was broken in such that the first loop was a quick 5 mile and each subsequent loop being 7.5 miles.  About halfway through the loops was the second aide station where the spread consisted of bananas, apples, oranges, pb&j's, a few candies, water and gatorade.  Oh, and always smiling, happy volunteers.

The course itself was great.  A solid mixture of sand, dirt, rock, and some sketchy pavement.  I cannot wait until next year to have another go, and bring a medal back home.

So it's race weekend is finally here.  Tomorrow all I have to do is go out, do some grocery shopping, pack and then hit the road.

Saturday I'll trust in my training and leave it all on the trails.

"Step with care and great tact

and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)


KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...
Be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!


Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!"
-Dr. Seuss

Pre-Race Peppiness

Time sure flies by when you've got your head wrapped around your significant other, kiddo, work, family, friends (the ones still hanging around) and then working them all around your running.

The past six months have whizzed by, it's hard to believe I'm tapering for the Wild Hare 50m already.  Training has been great, I feel like I've got a good base established, all there is now is to go out there Saturday and rock it out one mile at a time.

Lack of sleep, bickering over crazy waking hours (**WEEKENDS ARE FOR SLEEPING IN!!**), randomly falling asleep at home in odd places, raiding the fridge after long runs only to suffer from immense heartburn or deadly gas, leaving mud prints all over the house when I forget to take off my shoes, leaving mud prints all over the house when I do, evil silences incurred from staying out hours past when I say I'll return, and the slew of aches and pains have all been worth it.

A special thank you goes out to Molly M, my ever gracious girlfriend.  "It's not that I'll be patient, but I will TOLERATE it."  Her understanding, and sometimes lack of, has helped me push through to where I am right now.  Oftentimes I haven't been able to eloquently elaborate upon the answers to the questions she's posed, but she's always just accepted whatever I've given her.  For example, the every-weekend half-a-day-encompassing Long Runs.  Those have always been fun trying to explain, and then still making as much effort as I can to be a father and understanding partner whilst dead on my feet.

Oh, and did I mention that during all this, for half of it she's been pregnant?  The woman has been awesome.

So now all that's left is to go over my checklists for the ump-teenth time, and then go through everything I've packed one last time before I hit the road late Friday afternoon.  Saturday, rain or shine, is going to be glorious.

Last Long Trail Run

"The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare."

- Juma Ikangaa, Tanzania

Got onto the dirt around 0630 this morning.  The temp hovered in the upper 30s to lower 40s until right around 0800 when I began to feel a little warmth from the sun.  It began peaking through the trees a little after 0720 with enough light to put away my headlamp at 0750.

I finished my first 7 mile lap around 0800.  Refilling my pack and getting something in my stomache was a pain in the ass as I couldn't feel my fingers.  I couldn't grab the zippers on my pack, couldn't operate the twist off for the mouth of my Camelbak's bladder, and pouring water from my resovoir was a pain.  Lesson learned, next time it's that cold I'll wear gloves.

Things progressed well during the entire 20 mile run.  Ran into some friendly bikers, and one not so friendly.  I understand that when you get a flat your mood isn't in the stratosphere, but if someone's offering help (especially if that someone's a runner who happens to always keep his mountain biking gear in his pack) maybe being a little more humble would keep you from having to carry your bike back to your car.

Only saw one other runner, the guy I've started nicknaming Mr. Aqua Velva.  I can smell him coming around the corners, it's THAT strong.  I need to start saying hi to the regulars, is it weird that I feel guilty that I've seen some of these bikers and runners on a consistant basis and don't know any by their real names?

I've found out an easier method to keeping fueled.  Instead of hauling around a couple of water bottles and guesstimating how many calories of protein shake I'm drinking I made single serving bottles using my kiddo's old 4oz baby bottles.  They're small enough that I can fit two of them into the outer pouch of my camel and now I don't have to guess as to how much I'm taking in every hour and risk sicking it all up if I get too much accidently.  Each one is exaclty 200 calories.

Now that I think I've worked out all the kinks, it's time to start dialing it all down to get some rest for the race.

IT'S ALIVE!!!

These past few weeks I've fallen hard into the shame spiral that is boredom.  I haven't been hitting the trails as hard as I know I should,  my mileage has fallen dramatically, and thus, my stamina also fell.  As the date of my race draws ever closer, I do know what I need to do to make damn sure I'll be crossing that finish line.

Run.

I know in my mind I can finish, it's all up to pushing myself.

The Rose Capital of Iowa

Spent the last week in Iowa visiting my significant others' family, so not a lot of running was to be had.  I did venture out a few days to see the country on foot, so I did manage to get a few miles in, just not as many as I'm used to.



11 miles

 The loop I plotted out took me through the town of State Center (the closest one by a long shot) and then along the dirt roads through the corn fields.  Running through the main drag of town was nice, though I did get some odd looks from the townsfolk.  State Center is a sleepy little town mostly inhabited by the local farmers and their families, much of the town has been preserved from the turn of the century, so many of the buildings still standing were old brick edifices.  I wish I had brought a camera, but the weather had promised to give me a wet morning, which of course, it didn't do anything more than spit at me. 

Luckily I was able to get out on the roads before the combines began to harvest at weeks end so as to see the wide expanses of crop.  Being a city boy, my only experiences with great open spaces being on a cattle ranch, seeing this part of the country before and after harvest was amazing.  As far as I could see, whole fields were blanketed by, for the most part, corn.  Every now and again I stopped just to take it in and watch the fields just roll with the breeze.  I had forgotten how just about every motorist in the country has the habit of waving to you as they pass by, whether they know you or not, and as an added bonus, they even swerved to the far side of the road even though I had plenty of space on the shoulder as I ran against the traffic.

A lot of firsts for the family, especially for Aiden, my 11 month old.  This was not Aiden's first flight but he did get to embark on his first long road trip.  We drove from Iowa to Kinosha, WI to visit more of my girlfriend's family.  During the 5+ hour road trip, we drove over the Mississippi River, a first for me, and along the border of Wisconsin and Illinois.  Cousins, second cousins, aunts and uncles, but most importantly, Molly's grandmother (which would be Aiden's great-grandmother) came by to meet the kiddo and I.  We stayed over night with Molly's favorite aunt and uncle, with whom her grandmother lives with, and stayed up chatting through the night.  We left early afternoon the next day, I wish we could have spent more time as I felt nothing but love from these people who I had just met only the day before.  I was worried Aiden would experience a little bit of anxiety amongst all the new faces, but he took to everyone right away.

On the way back, we made the usual pit stops for bathroom breaks, but pulled over while still in Wisconsin for cheese.  Another reason why I ended up gaining about five pounds over the time away, besides Molly's mother cooking up a storm for breakfast and dinner every day, and her father always urging me to eat just a little more.

Dios, dame fuerza.

Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing. Use the pain as fuel, as a reminder of your strength.     -August Wilson

Single loop = 7 miles.

27 miles down on paper Sunday morning.  Woke up at 0430a and officially had dirt under my feet by 0515a.  I actually woke up BEFORE the alarm, which is always a great sign.

Since I was out before 0700a, I had a good hour and a half of night running, which I've been trying to incorporate as much as possible.  The hour or so of running in the dark is always interesting and full of exciting, spooky, heart pounding fun, let me tells ya!  I don't wear music as I try to keep all my senses about me since my field of vision amounts to just what of the night is cut by my flashlight.  Tree roots, branches, even the animals seem to be more abundant in the dark.  Speaking of animals, Sunday morning was actually the first time I've run into a bat on the trail.  Literally.  I ducked down under a low hanging branch, and when I came up I felt my pack pull something with it from the tree.  Something moving.  He seemed to be stuck on my pack before flying off in a fury of high pitched screeching.  Oh, and it just about made me piss my pants.

The sun started peaking through the trees around 0645a, which made me kick up my jets, to the point that I had to remind myself that I was in for a long haul.  Being able to see where your running really does wonders for moral.  I've started bringing de-fizzed Diet Mountain Dew in an extra water bottle just to see how much of an effect the caffeine would have.  I had a few swigs (maybe half a can) after my first loop, which I've extended to 7 miles.  I'm going to have to start bringing 2-litre bottles of de-fizzed Dew as it seemd to help much more than I expected, I'll just have to be careful not to drink too much.  I'm even considering bringing the 5-hour energy shots in case of severe emergencies.

Had the usual arsenal of Cliff Blocks and Shots, along with my gallons of water, but am still on the lookout for a good electrolyte replacement drink besides Gatorade.  I've been reading up about the miracle of coconut water, but as my local market didn't have any (the store associate wondered if it was in the produce section beside the coconuts, and even offered to walk me over) I'll just leave it for next time.  I am glad I didn't bring any so I could isolate any negative effects on myslef to the Diet Dew, thankfully there were none.  The only thing I did forget was gum.  I usually bring a pack as another way of keeping my mind from wandering too much.

I had originally set out to hit between 28-30 miles but stopped short at 27 as I started to bonk super hard.  I had told my GF I'd be back before noon and I think, on a mental level, my body started to shut things down as it was getting closer and closer to my cut off.  I did up my pace as it got closer to 1100a so I could squeeze in as many miles as I could, even though I know better, which I'll also blame the sudden downgrade of energy to.  After I got back to the car and had a couple swigs of ice-cold water and some more de-fizzed Dew in my system I felt I could have pumped out the last 3 miles if I wanted to.  Hell, I felt I could have gone further, a lot further.

New Kicks

Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.
-Buddah

Had a great weekend.  Got over whatever I had done to my chest, though my foot, as of today (8/30 Monday), is still bothering me.  I bruised it much worse than I initially thought.

A special thanks to the GF this weekend.  A while back she had seen my trail shoes, my Brooks ASR5's, and was shocked as to how much wear and tear I've put on them.  Where my small toes have a tendency to rub, not because of poor sizing but because I spread my toes as wide as the toe-box will allow during climbs and descents, there are small holes rubbing out.  I'm on my third, maybe fourth, set of laces as they've all just fallen apart from constant relacing, which is why in the pics they look fairly new in respect to everything else.  The majority of the outsole has worn out, though there is still SOME grip on wet surfaces, rock, mud etc, but I didn't realize just how much I've lost.  Whole chunks of the outsole have been tearing away from itself since the binding holding them together has all been eaten away.  And don't even get me started about the cushioning, that's been gone for as long as I can remember.  The only saving grace about the soles being so worn is that I could feel every change of the terrain.  That was a double edged sword, though, as I felt every rock, exposed root, EVERYTHING.

Now I've honestly had these shoes for the last year and a half and just haven't given them up as I always thought of them as super comfortable and didn't plan on getting anything new until they decided to just disintegrate, I had them worn in to perfection.  The GF had told me more than once that I needed to go get me some new shoes but I just didn't have the heart to give them up yet.  Call it part sentimentality.  Mostly call it stupidity.  I knew I needed some new shoes I was just too damn stubborn.  I'm sure that my current foot problem stemmed from the piss poor state of the shoes I was wearing. 

Saturday it was agreed that I should have a day of rest since I was gunning for a long run Sunday morning.  While we were bumming around town, running errands, almost out of the blue, my GF steered us to REI.  I KNEW why we were going instantly.  Introducing my brand spankin new Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra's!  I got to break them in royally, the first time I ran in them was for 18 miles on Sunday.  I have to say, for someone who likes to say she's marginally tolerating my addiction, she sure isn't helping.

There's a LOT going on with these shoes.  I took them, as well as my oldies, to the trails Sunday morning.  I ran the first 6 miles in the Salomons, I only got about a quarter of a mile in my old Brooks' until I turned around and took them off for good, they just didn't feel the same.

I'm still getting used to the Salomons, but it's because they have all the things that I was lacking in my old shoes.  Cushion, stability, traction.  Never realized how much I missed those, hell, I forgot they really exhisted.  The shoes actually felt weird.

The lacing system seemed a bit gimmicky at first, but I never had to worry about relacing, not that I really did in my other shoes, but these stayed just as tight on the initial tie down all morning long.

The only thing that really worries me is the toe box.  It seemed a little tighter than I'm used to for my sizing.  I had tried to go a size larger than usual, but then the whole shoe was way too big.  It felt like my foot was dwarfed inside it.  Maybe it was just my imagination, but it must not have been as big an issue as I thought as I didn't walk away with any blisters on my toes.

When I got home, my GF saw the state of my new shoes.  After 18 miles, they were grey with dirt and dust from the trail, and just a bit scuffed, she took one look and exclaimed "What the hell did you do to your brand new shoes?!!?"  Sometimes she's so damn cute.  Too bad all the river crossings I run through were dry, I would have loved to see that reaction if they had been also caked in mud.  The pics are from a quick rub down with a wet cloth, I don't tend to religiously clean my shoes but I do keep them free of debris and somewhat presentable.

My run Sunday ended up lasting about 18.5 miles.  Everything seemed alright, besides the nagging pain in my right foot, it seemed to come and go throughout the morning as I was able to just forget about it from time to time, but as soon as my foot found just the right rock or root, even through the Salomon's, it came right back from out the back of my mind.  I was planning on breaking 20, but I had given a heads up as to when I'd be home and was fixing to surpass what I had said.  My pace was spot on to what I was expecting, but I still didn't hit my goal for the morning.  There's always next weekend.

The Long Road Ahead

“Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.”

-Tom Robbins

"I just don't understand why.  It can't be good for your body, you're not getting anything out of it.  I just don't get it."  She's at least promised to be tolerant if not patient. 

It's getting harder and harder to explain to my sig other as to why I go out.  We had a brief discussion about plans for this coming weekend, and it's not that I'm revolving my entire weekend around my run, but I know I need to smartly hash out my long days in order to be properly prepared for November.  Now, I do try to get out as early as possible, waking up at 4am to get to the trails by 5 if possible, which of course is also outlandish in her eyes.  Weekends are for sleeping in.  Weekends are for rest.  Telling her that on my longer days, I'll push myself to no less than 8 hours nearly blew her mind.

I told her that this is just something I thoroughly enjoy, and so I'll deal with the irritated attitude as it comes since the benefits seriously outweigh the negativity.  To put into words what I'm feeling as I'm running and finishing, be it in a race or just training, is impossible.  It's like explaining astro-physics in Dutch to a death-mute guinna pig.

6.12 miles

Took a different route today to mix things up.  Felt bored with the usual 4-6mile loop so I thought I should find another.  This one varies a lot more and keeps things much more interesting.  Quite a few more variations in elevation, twists, and ground cover.  Will have to start replacing my usual loop for this one on long days as it seems to be a little closer to the race's course than what I was running, it being a mid-to-advanced level mountain bike course. 

Two injuries I need to watch.  First, I landed on a rock wrong and bruised the entire bottom of my right foot where I land and push my weight off from.  I can still run on it but it's tender as hell.  Two, I tripped over some tree roots running up a hill and landed super hard against the ground chest first.  It doesn't hurt horribly bad, but breathing deep does feel slightly uncomfortable.  Hopefully running won't exacerbate either problem.

Emma's Revenge

Decided to run the XTERRA Austin Trail Run, also known as Emma's Revenge, an 18k along the trails of Lake Austin.  Schwag, beer and pizza were promised, though I admit, I didn't indulge as I just wanted to get home afterwards since getting lost along the way, my cell going out on me and my Garmin leading me to the wrong place gave me just enough time to check in all left a bad taste in my mouth.  Hats off to the early morning runners that I flagged down on the side of the road who gave me spot on directions, instead of hitting me with pepper spray.

The race started off at 0800, with the 18k runners starting AHEAD of the 5k sprinters, which was odd since the little speed demons caught up to us super quick.  Once we passed an initial straight, there was a bottleneck to get up a steep rock path.  Earlier, during the pre-race meeting, the directors had forewarned about the climb, the woman standing beside me looked over at me, her eyes huge, and asked "Do you think he's freakin serious?!"

On the climb, many of the 5k'ers quickly became uppity since they couldn't just zip by, once we were bounding up the ledges there was really no room to go around anyone so a great single-file trudge ensued.  There were still a few asshats who would try to push you faster into the person directly in front of you constantly repeating "On your left!" even though there was no room to budge.  Finally at the top, there was plenty of space along the trail to spread out, or in my case, find my pace and settle in for the haul as I watched the 5k'ers fight each other for position. 

The entire middle section was along the cliffs surrounding the lake, the glimpses I got of the view were beautiful, but since I'm not a huge fan of heights, I just concentrated on the trail and payed no mind to the drops that I was hugging.  Somewhere along the second lap, someone paid me an inspiring compliment.  "What ultras have you done?"  She seemed a little shocked when I told her I was actually in the middle of training for my first.

The tail end brought us to the descent back down to the starting area.  The down grade was just as steep as the climb, but by this point every one was spread out enough to not have to worry about falling into someone or being tripped up from behind.  From there it was just a straight shot (have I ever mentioned I'm growing to dislike straightaways) to the second lap/finishing area.

All in all the race was great.  There were some people who either don't get or just don't know trail etiquette, but they were too few and far in between to really leave a damper on anything.  After I got home, I had a few Ziegenbocks, some killer taco pizza and celebrated the day with my kiddo.

With Sharp Pointy Fangs!

"Make friends with pain and you will never be alone"

- Ken Clouber

Not a lot to report this week.  Sticking to my routine of 5-7 miles a day during the week before I start getting mentally ready for a nice long run this weekend.  It's been raining off and on  all week so I'm expecting some mud tomorrow as well as some of that good ol' Texas humidity.  Gotta love it when you start sweating just lacing up your sneakers.

Debating on whether or not I want to take a stab at an 18k trail run that will be this coming Saturday.  I'm muling it over as I've never ridden or run the trail, have heard it's VERY challenging, to the point that one of my racing buddies has advised that I not bike the trail alone in case something were to happen (in the realm of falling off my bike and breaking my collarbone or getting mauled by a rabid bunny), and that on foot there is a lot of vertical climbing involved.  The negatives are minimum, in my mind, as I think it would be a welcome challenge since I know nothing of the trail and will just have to prepare for the absolute worst.  Plus, with all the rain that's been forcasted for the week, it would be great to slog in the mud.

At home, my son seems to think that afternoon naps have become so passe and has begun just staying up.  Imagine someone who's not much of a morning person, hasn't had their coffee, and has been asked to solve a complicated mathematical equation but then they're told the can only use an abacus.  Now imagine that same person, only a couple feet tall, unable to enunciate past simple grunts and the occasional cry, AND every time you turn your back the dog licks them in the face.  Pure crankitude.  Not a huge deal, I tend to just lay on the floor in the middle of the living room while he scoots around and climbs over-top me like some sort of mini-mountain while also fending off the small dog.  Thank god for coffee.