tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73123535781844316652024-02-19T04:05:23.541-06:00Keep smiling while you're milingLong distance runner what you standing there for?Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-47192224024444865712010-06-20T15:45:00.001-05:002010-06-20T20:23:11.199-05:00Ode to a ShirtIt wasn't until the summer of 2005 that I started wearing a shirt to go running in warm weather. Before then, once the weather warmed to the point I didn't need to wear a long sleeve shirt I was running bare chested. That was so long ago, I don't remember why I decided to start wearing a shirt. Sun burn/cancer worries? Protection against branches and vines? Decency concerns? Who knows. I got a white sleeveless shirt by Hind that quickly became a staple on my summer runs. The fit, the feel, everything about it was great. I even wore it in the winter under my long sleeves as an extra layer. A low estimate has it that the shirt has seen 9000+ miles, that's over a third of the circumference of the Earth. It's been with me in heat, rain, wind, cold, snow and hail. It's been with me through the desert, over several 10,000+ foot tall mountains, past piney southern forests and across wheat fields that appear as vast as the ocean. It's been with me on easy runs, track workouts, the GAP/C&O trek, road races, and trail races including every 100 mile race I've done.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Wasatch 100</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq6AT-4crCfymWOkgee39vVYp8xtbqXpKiyLosES8tgnbUqF26kAe5fd1jK-1zQysVj-q_uhMp5Ew9dKfouCJAjxZUzTvX3f3s8VeHjGjkjc2m14yq20Z2tCWd1vPtKHZnYiKhnAqCVa07/s1600/wasatch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq6AT-4crCfymWOkgee39vVYp8xtbqXpKiyLosES8tgnbUqF26kAe5fd1jK-1zQysVj-q_uhMp5Ew9dKfouCJAjxZUzTvX3f3s8VeHjGjkjc2m14yq20Z2tCWd1vPtKHZnYiKhnAqCVa07/s320/wasatch.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Leadville 100</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO5wREvI5o-UKdmxVWvaAmxTonobwGHYkUp1AgAsby7w-XixK5mHl6wVyRFBZisAFNTec0CSQ2T1O_r9TgCbdZmToD0edrR02o4z73LrklicvPMXYH7o9hNHjpolSHEm1NuMP9lL7_5ax9/s1600/pb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO5wREvI5o-UKdmxVWvaAmxTonobwGHYkUp1AgAsby7w-XixK5mHl6wVyRFBZisAFNTec0CSQ2T1O_r9TgCbdZmToD0edrR02o4z73LrklicvPMXYH7o9hNHjpolSHEm1NuMP9lL7_5ax9/s320/pb.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Arkansas Traveller</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBpdZH0iZ7_1X86R2KBVbrEMLDQSL_LjZ-pwYLusp2xxOCbK_cjcdWWYzgEhIj21vg3VCSxrOEhqjq1fRgU6G_6xNljIlo_sN_LOiHfRwbER2bdPz12_Gv__9Ze4VPRSSzy7vs10NEN1qU/s1600/at.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBpdZH0iZ7_1X86R2KBVbrEMLDQSL_LjZ-pwYLusp2xxOCbK_cjcdWWYzgEhIj21vg3VCSxrOEhqjq1fRgU6G_6xNljIlo_sN_LOiHfRwbER2bdPz12_Gv__9Ze4VPRSSzy7vs10NEN1qU/s320/at.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Kansas Heartland</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWISo7KMTw_8DUMHAI7LSBj_XiBf7gOU8H_uf8gQZ3D-P_TyQSzhqyUkjtqgTQF1JTNb0TkEfLo_Ph2hCxtY5CjK-dnvzyhYpIpnGJUmQrx3oskbgrAEI3qZlnohvMUM7bkQsa4yM_RUDQ/s1600/kh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWISo7KMTw_8DUMHAI7LSBj_XiBf7gOU8H_uf8gQZ3D-P_TyQSzhqyUkjtqgTQF1JTNb0TkEfLo_Ph2hCxtY5CjK-dnvzyhYpIpnGJUmQrx3oskbgrAEI3qZlnohvMUM7bkQsa4yM_RUDQ/s320/kh.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Oil Creek 100</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr4Vssmymx0pc2D4G0HDkM4Tvuc_uOMy8Y7Iq29C2-IapZpZeDqCj8K_pzxeCAmb8ASRPA7mNgO0sGMyJpC3v7BuUrO_i8GNzTc18MG3wjqGais_BUL8qW-E6v0rHC-VsPJt15GnKcqkdV/s1600/oc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr4Vssmymx0pc2D4G0HDkM4Tvuc_uOMy8Y7Iq29C2-IapZpZeDqCj8K_pzxeCAmb8ASRPA7mNgO0sGMyJpC3v7BuUrO_i8GNzTc18MG3wjqGais_BUL8qW-E6v0rHC-VsPJt15GnKcqkdV/s320/oc.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">As you can imagine, this shirt has acquired an odor through the years and it finally got to be too much for Gina. I'm officially retiring the shirt. I haven't actually thrown it out yet, it is still sitting on the shelf above my other running clothes, but Gina and I did pick out a new shirt. The shirt we bought is similar, a lightweight white sleeveless, this time by Adidas. I wonder what adventures I will take in it? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I don't know if I will throw the old out. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">What do you do with old running shirts? </div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-25380520545119361642010-06-06T15:51:00.002-05:002010-06-07T06:31:31.041-05:00Finding Mile 0 (Revisited)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQmdHyM3ToVH7qBGVKUIESo62ZVc1p1Z1l8FCQQR3EvqjlSRz0eb7SwA829uOSUBlxMxiNZDg4JcPYMqL8NjByppeoSu7NdAg-25Q4Eir89KHhc528HVXQC3xalZCSle1XKkaOPOvYBJ2k/s1600/IMG_3635.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/AVvXsEgQmdHyM3ToVH7qBGVKUIESo62ZVc1p1Z1l8FCQQR3EvqjlSRz0eb7SwA829uOSUBlxMxiNZDg4JcPYMqL8NjByppeoSu7NdAg-25Q4Eir89KHhc528HVXQC3xalZCSle1XKkaOPOvYBJ2k/s320/IMG_3635.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>322 miles. 7 days. Lots of time on the trail, lots of time on my feet. It passed too quickly, though at times I just wanted it to end. Now, back at home a week after finishing in Georgetown the Friday before last, I can finally start to feel my body nearing normality again. The soreness is leaving, my fatigue is vanishing, the blisters healed and my appetite returning to normal. I even ran 5 miles this morning averaging sub 10s. There is still some time before I go tear out a hard speed session at the track, but my physical link with the voyage is fading, all that will remain is the mental and emotional link. I need to get all those thoughts down, both the pain and the joy, before that fades too.<br />
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DAY 1: After driving down to Pittsburgh from Meadville and dropping Maia off at Camp Bow Wow, we parked by Point State Park in Pittsburgh at 8:00AM, earlier than I was thinking we would. Gina and I walked over the park, apparently tradition has it that you are supposed to dip you bike tire in the fountain in the park to signify the beginning of your voyage. Well the park is still under some construction, so the fountain is off limits. I just choose a line in the sidewalk that looked as good as any other for the starting line and declared this as the official start. Really, this was the "ceremonial start" as I was only running 3.5 miles along the Eliza Furnace Trail to the Hot Metal Bridge. The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) has a "gap" in it here and Gina shuttled me to the "restart" off of Grant Avenue in Duquesne, about 9 miles away. Here there is a small paper sign which unceremoniously announced that the trail is open to Cumberland and Washington. The rain was just starting to fall, already I was one hour into our trek, half of which was spent in the car. There's a long way to go...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNbPT-6bm2BaOv3Az_Uo7td6kmVx0xjXKWH-T8I5wOLqY9Fg5rDqnVf-yVpV23PmO3b7OMevqBOadRa-ZFtsAkkshSBeQ2J9gicaUrP-HEko5gOzyR-wa8Z_LPXkySczMB-GyEA1hqDGal/s1600/IMG_3554.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/AVvXsEiNbPT-6bm2BaOv3Az_Uo7td6kmVx0xjXKWH-T8I5wOLqY9Fg5rDqnVf-yVpV23PmO3b7OMevqBOadRa-ZFtsAkkshSBeQ2J9gicaUrP-HEko5gOzyR-wa8Z_LPXkySczMB-GyEA1hqDGal/s320/IMG_3554.JPG" /></a><br />
The rest of the day sailed by, my spirits and energy level were high. I cranked out the remaining 40ish miles without issue. It rained aplenty to be sure, the most it rained any of the days we were on the trail, but neither the mud puddles nor soggy clothes mattered, I was finally on my way. DC here we come!!<br />
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DAY 2: I knew that getting over the psychological hurdle of starting day 2, repeating what we had done the day before was going to be a major challenge of the trip. The night before I was probably the most scared/nervous of any. Is my chaffing too bad to go on? Are those blisters going to be my downfall? Did I eat enough? Just how refreshed are my legs going to feel in the morning? I'd run a multiday ultra before (<a href="http://keepsmilingwhileyouremiling.blogspot.com/2008/03/3-days-of-syllamo.html" target="_blank">3 Days of Syllamo</a>), but never something of this magnitude. The first two hours answered my questions definitively. I kept clipping off 9 minute miles without a problem. My feet felt fine, legs were motoring along, pace felt great. The scenery here helped, this section took me through Ohiopyle State Park right along the Youghiogheny River, most likely the prettiest section of the entire trek. After two hours though, I hit a pretty big low, I don't think I ate enough the night before and my fuel cells were feeling drained. I took a couple of gels, walked a mile (I was a bit ahead of the schedule I had given Gina). My stores recharged, I made it to Ohiopyle. From here, Gina and I decided I would always carry a Power Bar with me whenever to prevent a repeat occasion. On to Confluence, here I'd leave the Youghiogheny, a river I'd run next to for 70 odd miles and run along the Casselman. Gina ran into meet me on the way to Confluence, it was great having a running partner for a bit. As we neared Confluence, the three bikers we camped by the night before passed us. These three gentleman were biking from Pittsburgh to DC and would end up camping by us for the first three nights. We enjoyed their company, and I think they enjoyed us sharing our Oreos.<br />
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DAY 3: Last day on the GAP, also the last day with some uphill. Not that the trail is ever steep, but from Connellsville to Deal, there is a steady uphill grade, after every bend in the trail you just see it rising and rising. It would be good to get over the Eastern Continental Divide and start heading down. More rain this day, welcomed as the trees were much smaller and opportunities for shade were fewer. Through Big Savage Tunnel, the longest of the whole trip, across the Mason-Dixon Line (into a new state!) and down to Frostburg I ran. Lots of cyclists on this section of the trail, good to see that it is getting use. I waited out a down pour in Frostburg eating lunch in the car with Gina. Gina rode up from Cumberland on her bike and was with me the last 7 miles of the GAP. It felt good to finish one trail, tomorrow I'd start another. From here on out, the miles would only get smaller and when they hit 0, I'd be done! We got some ice cream in Cumberland and camped by the YMCA. Great facilities, but you are nestled between train tracks and the freeway, it doesn't promote restful sleeping. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7tX4Oh4gbJlEqWAEcwAFKL9sfiAy3fgza01pHmpTVLmYMR5SjLvjTPqimWz50Aeras4SW8GV4V4ZGcAqc0fkdmITLVMy9tgdF75TlL7NRECP3_54QLmvLLRdjSoEYmp1It6oMWk8DTYB/s1600/IMG_3595.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/AVvXsEgF7tX4Oh4gbJlEqWAEcwAFKL9sfiAy3fgza01pHmpTVLmYMR5SjLvjTPqimWz50Aeras4SW8GV4V4ZGcAqc0fkdmITLVMy9tgdF75TlL7NRECP3_54QLmvLLRdjSoEYmp1It6oMWk8DTYB/s320/IMG_3595.JPG" /></a></div>DAY 4: Starting a new trail, next to a new river, the Potomac, rejuvenated me and I was able to crank out some 9 minute miles again at the start, maybe two hours worth. The three cyclists passed me again (for the final time although Gina would see then again over the next coupe of days as she drove ahead to meet me) and another cyclist that we had camped by for the last two nights passed me as well. Traveling with her was her 15lb border collie that rode in a baby backpack carrier. Too cute, that dog was on a mission and could care less about seeing me on the trail. The C&O is flat and since the canal is no longer in operation, most of it is marshy, algae filled ponds and murky pools. Not inviting at all, even considering the clouds moved out of the area and the temperature starting climbing. A slight change in our camping plans that night. We opted for a more expensive campground further from the trail as they had **showers**. The routine: I run a lot and finish wondering how I was going to run the next day, but then food (lots of it, any type, I was not picky, cold Campbell Chicken soup from the Can? Mmm Mmm good) and more importantly a shower and I was a new man, ready for action. How does it feel? Well I gathered no moss.<br />
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DAY 5: More miles... more miles... more HOT miles...<br />
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DAY 6: More miles... more miles... more HOT miles... The temperature broke into the mid 90s and even with shade, I was being cooked, both inside and out. There were some wells alongside the trail at the hiker/biker campgrounds that I used to rinse off and cool off. Even with this and the wet ice cold towels Gina met me with, this day was by far the hardest. I got a slight boost of energy after Harpers Ferry where the C&O and the Appalachian Trail share a trail for three miles. I saw three through hikers and thought about my friend Josh and his through hike several years ago and all the stories he told me about it. What an journey, my little trot cannot even compare. Another deviation on our plans, instead of camping in Brunswick, we got a hotel. After the scorcher of a day, I wanted AC.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk_2O35Xae2awj2J6i2e_0phNtx3sJA6ck8ZBi7gPAPv1knTPE8WNsm2VgTuWDDMts3YHQWrXmWOYk-ZtUOGNDdBsSg0TkW_sJ7FuiSnHZm2ro88vsHNH_bNiRc5vkbWiw0hOyBYG_Fn-o/s1600/IMG_3664.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/AVvXsEgk_2O35Xae2awj2J6i2e_0phNtx3sJA6ck8ZBi7gPAPv1knTPE8WNsm2VgTuWDDMts3YHQWrXmWOYk-ZtUOGNDdBsSg0TkW_sJ7FuiSnHZm2ro88vsHNH_bNiRc5vkbWiw0hOyBYG_Fn-o/s320/IMG_3664.JPG" /></a></div>DAY 7: This was it, the last time I would need to start. I was glad to see day seven, but I knew that I had 55 miles to run on day 7, 9 more than the average. We started an hour early (6:00 AM), but even so I knew that it would be 6:00 PM at the earliest when I would finish. Still more miles left to go Matt.<br />
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They passed by just like the previous 250+ had, one foot in front of the other. I was able to turn out the first six at 10 minutes per mile pace, the days of putting down some miles at 9 minutes per miles were over. Gina planned on meeting me at several locations, that helped to break up the run into manageable pieces. With the exception of the last 14 miles from Great Falls National Park to Georgetown, the longest I went without seeing Gina was 10 miles. The clouds moved in the night before, keeping the temperatures lower than the previous day, but the humidity was still high and my batteries were still low from the day before. By the time I reached Great Falls I was done, both mentally and physically spent. I tried to keep my energy high by eating more gels than usual but the trip was taking its toll. We took a 15 minute sit down break and then spent 15 minutes looking a the falls. I had no idea this was here, really gorgeous. I finally got going again after telling Gina it would probably take me 3½ hours to cover the last 14 miles (that's 15 minutes per mile pace, about what I'd done for the previous section). I started running and committed myself to a plan 25 minutes of running followed by 5 minutes of walking, repeat 8 times then you're in Georgetown. The first block went by and during the second a runner came up from behind and passed me. I wanted the company so I sped up, caught him and we ran together for about 15 minutes (probably at 10 minutes per mile pace). We chatted for a bit, I told him what I was doing, he told me about a good bar in Georgetown. There wasn't anything special about the conversation, but I was motivated. From here on in I pushed it hard, constantly repeating to myself, "Just stick with the plan, the plan will get you there." Two hours into this segment I was already within 5 miles of the finish, 15 minute miles be damned, I'm going to finish this my way! Gina rode in on her bike (she was able to maneuver through DC traffic at 5 PM on the Friday before Memorial Day Weekend, I think she deserves a big fat medal!). I shouted <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">"BOOMER!" </span>at the top of my lungs, which she replied to <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"sooner."</span> <br />
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"Weak sauce love, let's try it again." I yelled <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">"BOOMER!"</span><br />
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She replied <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">"SOONER!"</span> Yeah, that's more like it! I took a final walk break, then slid my hat downward, no more talking, it was time to go to work. I increased my cadence, drawing from whatever remained from my muscles. I would cover this last section in 2:40. As I passed Lock 1, only a ¼ mile from the end I told myself to savor this, this is an accomplishment and I won't have this feeling again soon. Hooting, hollering jumping up and down, I think most people walking through Georgetown though I was crazy. Well, that may be, ... but then ... mile 0!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOJK434WcGONz-A7WJ_rU_wGoDRMLaqIfrjt2EgUvTtL1V18tntQXWXw4F-pmgIcmf_9QbW0pThwXmdIQiiRPXQ1YmVNq09Y0Yh02LDkAFB2A6hjKCv5Sao4OO6xnQUJae16d2xGcNcn2c/s1600/IMG_3701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOJK434WcGONz-A7WJ_rU_wGoDRMLaqIfrjt2EgUvTtL1V18tntQXWXw4F-pmgIcmf_9QbW0pThwXmdIQiiRPXQ1YmVNq09Y0Yh02LDkAFB2A6hjKCv5Sao4OO6xnQUJae16d2xGcNcn2c/s320/IMG_3701.JPG" /></a></div><br />
My body must of known it was done. That night, after a shower, I was completely finished, there would be no running the next day even if I tried. Again?<br />
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I put all of my times on the various segments into a spreadsheet, check it out:<br />
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<a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Ag0vnfSIZCFJdHNZTHlHQV94NVA1SVdSUE9rY2hBQnc&hl=en" target="_blank">RUN STATISTICS</a><br />
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Also, I uploaded more pictures from the trip onto Picasa, here's the link:<br />
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<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/111617304541595438589/GreatAlleghenyPassageCOTowpath?authkey=Gv1sRgCN3LvcvnxuWlYg&feat=directlink" target="_blank">RUN PICTURES</a><br />
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The <a href="http://www.atatrail.org/index.cfm" target="_blank">Allegheny Trail Alliance</a> has a link on their website allowing you to make a certificate commemorating the voyage. The picture shows the Salisbury Viaduct (1,908' long) outside of Meyersdale, PA, mile 33 of the GAP. Not quite the same as a belt buckle...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Fze1HuVKGW2jBbsz-fdSKsXEspNOHowOkz6JOCZ4XLxPbylYihBU2s579SIB6NpoKPuk8zttyYvRapLbA4o9-p6UuIZKPfZoD2yLYx2LccLnaw8gYE4mG9qR96IRqnRDleQa8IcWjlg6/s1600/gap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Fze1HuVKGW2jBbsz-fdSKsXEspNOHowOkz6JOCZ4XLxPbylYihBU2s579SIB6NpoKPuk8zttyYvRapLbA4o9-p6UuIZKPfZoD2yLYx2LccLnaw8gYE4mG9qR96IRqnRDleQa8IcWjlg6/s400/gap.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-43531175819579961842010-05-21T15:51:00.001-05:002010-06-06T13:03:38.115-05:00The long road ahead<div style="height: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9tFkSYJGiL_vLBLJTErJ9lMqrqDxl4NaVycP8eIYyFAEo36FKmGu9Y_epKtK3pyZXlgBsC9A0No1EY3NnP1iN_O6HLk7KfCYKzUyrTzNNDw0KmYuCsmM9IPAAJXyEwpGPfOgcKoWIqZw/s1600/IMG_3542.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/AVvXsEgA9tFkSYJGiL_vLBLJTErJ9lMqrqDxl4NaVycP8eIYyFAEo36FKmGu9Y_epKtK3pyZXlgBsC9A0No1EY3NnP1iN_O6HLk7KfCYKzUyrTzNNDw0KmYuCsmM9IPAAJXyEwpGPfOgcKoWIqZw/s200/IMG_3542.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>Around 15 hours from now I will be starting on the trail taking me from Point State Park in Pittsburgh where the Allegheny and Monongahela meet to form the Ohio to the beginning of the C&O canal in Georgetown. The trial covers a distance of approximately 335 miles (although a little over 10 in Pittsburgh in not completed yet so I have to ride in the car for this stretch). <br />
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Seven days of about 46 miles a day. Am I nervous? Yeah. Am I excited? Definitely. I've spent the last two days packing, getting maps ready, shopping and putting the final touches to our plans. This is the part of ultras I don't like, sometimes I just wish I would put my shoes on, run out the door and just go. But it's not that simple, I need to bring things with me and Gina needs to meet up with me at certain places so we have to be sure that we have things coordinated.<br />
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You can find my itinerary here: <a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Ag0vnfSIZCFJdDg2dWtKZEpRUERjaEtJM0pDYjV3OGc&hl=en" target="_blank">GAP Itinerary</a>, or I've highlighted it below:<br />
<br />
<ol><li>Pittsburgh --> Adelaide (46 miles)</li>
<li>Adelaide --> Rockwood (48 miles)</li>
<li>Rockwood --> Cumberland (44 miles)</li>
<li>Cumberland --> Little Orleans (43 miles)</li>
<li>Little Orleans --> Williamsport (41 miles)</li>
<li>Williamsport --> Brunswick (45 miles)</li>
<li>Brunswick --> Georgetown (55 miles)</li>
</ol>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-2131305918704291282010-05-12T18:58:00.001-05:002010-05-12T19:02:05.444-05:00"Don't you miss that?"I came across a great passage in the current issue of <a href="http://runningtimes.com/" target="_blank">Running Times</a> (June 2010, issue 377) that I can really relate to, especially regarding my upcoming <a href="http://keepsmilingwhileyouremiling.blogspot.com/2010/03/run-gap.html">GAP</a> run. It's a quote from a Q & A session with ultrarunning legend <a href="http://charlieengle.com/" target="_blank">Charlie Engle</a>.<br />
<br />
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<div style="border:2px ridge blue;margin-left:70px;margin-right:70px;padding:10px;">Q: How do you inspire people about ultrarunning?<br />
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I spoke at a marathon recently and had people raise their hands based on how many they had run. It came down to one guy who had run 79. I asked him, "Is there any doubt in your mind you're going to finish tomorrow's race?" He said, "No, there's no doubt whatsoever." He said it with a certain amount of pride, and he should have. Then I asked him if he remebered his first marathon and if he was worried or concerned about being able to finish, and he said, "Absolutely. I was scared to death." And I asked, "Don't you miss that?" For me that feeling can only come from finding a new adventure, either from a longer distance or a course I'm intimidated by.<br />
</div><br />
What are you missing?Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-62175099136880808202010-05-04T18:55:00.008-05:002010-05-04T19:50:20.929-05:00Pittsburgh Marathon<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.pittsburghmarathon.com/"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 172px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmzKpptObtdgEMIpO0lnmkpKv_3xlr3C4CiwFMUePEXEjWgYsYi1_LmQVz1hcJh5qJ33qsiQAEbnrm3n3uq3NeNt1WvqCamAODYtwhyfw_er07saqm7_haen6YknuwXJKNiQtSzJfTLDG/s320/logo.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467580711817347074" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Miles 0 - 3</span><br /><br />With 16,000 of my closest friends, I awaited both the start of the race and the decision of mother nature regarding the weather. We had record highs the day before, with temperatures in the mid 80's and now at almost 7:30 AM it was in the mid 60's and humid. Yuck. The race started and even though people were assigned corrals according to projected finishing time, people just line up where ever they want to (I guess they have as much of a right as anyone else?) and I spent the first two miles running through the Strip District dodging slow runners and potholes in equal proportions. After the first mile, I kept passing the mile markers too soon. I was sweating already in the humidity. Somewhere around 15 minutes into the race I felt the first rain drop.<br /><br />Mile 1: 7:00<br />Mile 2: 6:46 (13:45)<br />Mile 3: 6:42 (20:26)<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Miles 4 - 8</span><br /><br />16<sup>th</sup> St. Bridge over the Allegheny River is the first of 5 bridges the marathon route crosses. As I ran over the bridge to the North Shore District, the rain started to pick up and by the time I got to the other side, the rain was coming down hard. Sweet. Well at least the humidity isn't such a factor anymore. Even though I was carrying a bottle and it was raining, I still grabbed a cup of water at the aid station to dump over my head. In hindsight I don't think I drank enough early on. Like swimming, it is so hard to tell how you are sweating in the rain. After about 10 minute though, the rain let up to a drizzle which continued for the remainder of the race. <br /><br />A quick over and back across the Allegheny again on the Andy Warhol and Roberto Clemente Bridges at mile 6 then the course goes right next to Pittsburgh pride, PNC Park and Heinz Field. Somewhere here there was the first relay point for the relay runners and I think I passed the mile 7 marker without hitting my watch. At mile 8 we cross the Ohio River on the West End Bridge and great a great look back at ll the runners on the course behind us and a great look at Point State Park, my Mile 0 for my upcoming <a href="http://keepsmilingwhileyouremiling.blogspot.com/2010/04/gap-itinerary.html">GAP</a> run! I was still hitting these miles way too fast. I kept trying to slow down, but slowing down 10 seconds per mile is hard. Next time, I think I might walk after each mile to soak up the extra seconds.<br /><br />Mile 4: 6:51 (27:17)<br />Mile 5: 6:43 (34:01)<br />Mile 6: 6:39 (40:39)<br />Mile 7&8: 13:31 (54:10)<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Miles 9 - 12</span><br /><br />Along the the south side of the river, the course has its first hill as we go under the mouth of the Fort Pitt Tunnel in front of the Duquesne Incline cars the ride the rails up Mt. Washington. For such a hilly city, the first 10 or so miles are pretty flat, they spoil (deprive of the fun?) the ½ marathoners. At mile 11, the ½ marathoners turn back to downtown, we pass another relay stop and turn to cross our final bridge, the Birmingham Bridge over the Monongahela River, and begin a mile and half long climb. Even up this climb I couldn't lower my splits. But that would soon change. <br /><br />Mile 9: 6:44 (1:00:54)<br />Mile 10: 6:46 (1:07:39)<br />Mile 11: 6:50 (1:14:30)<br />Mile 12: 6:49 (1:21:19)<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Miles 13 - 18</span><br /><br />We topped out (or so I thought) in the Oakland area by the University of Pittsburgh. Finally, my mile split was slow enough. It only took a huge hill. This part of the course had my favorite scenery, but ever time I though the course was going to level out for a bit or start to descend, we'd climb another little riser. Awesome. I kept up with the splashing water on my head and by this time had needed to stop and refill my bottle a few times. Before the race started I don't think I was drinking enough and continued this for the first few miles, not wanting to have to stop and refill my bottle while there was a crowd of runners. We ran through a rich neighborhood, a little boy yelled out at me, "Go naked man!" (I was only wearing my red shorts, no t-shirt), then we ran through a not-so-rich neighborhood, a lady cat called my from her front porch. My splits started to fall off.<br /><br />Mile 13: 7:12 (1:28:31)<br />Mile 14: 6:46 (1:35:17)<br />Mile 15: 6:55 (1:42:12)<br />Mile 16: 7:16 (1:49:28)<br />Mile 17: 7:15 (1:56:43)<br />Mile 18: 7:12 (2:03:55)<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Miles 19 - 23</span><br /><br />After I saw the Mile 18 sign, I took my first walk break, 20 seconds. I felt good and afterward I was able to resume my pace. But the wheels were starting to come off, I put the blinders on and got to work. Every mile I would calculate what I pace I needed to run to finish in under 3:10 (with the way I was feeling, even though a sub-3:00 was <span style="font-style:italic;">mathematically</span> possible at this point, I didn't see it happening). Several runners and I leap frogged each other, they seemed to pass me on the uphills and I would pass them on the level and downhill sections. Just holding on... <br /><br />Mile 19: 7:30 (2:11:24)<br />Mile 20: 7:33 (2:18:58)<br />Mile 21: 7:49 (2:26:47)<br />Mile 22: 7:30 (2:34:17)<br />Mile 23: 7:38 (2:41:54)<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Miles 24 - 26.2</span><br /><br />A huge downhill on Liberty Avenue and I could feel the end of the race. The race ends while 2 miles through the Strip District again, back along the road we ran almost 3 hours earlier. My pace picked up and I started feeling better. I was glad I was able to finish so strong after a few miles of drudgery. <br /><br />Mile 24: 7:36 (2:49:30)<br />Mile 25: 7:02 (2:56:32)<br />Mile 26.2: 8:50 (3:05:22)<br /><br /><a href="http://results.active.com/pages/page.jsp?eventLinkageID=120768&year=2010">RESULTS</a>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-24806773813341512272010-04-19T19:10:00.006-05:002010-04-19T20:08:21.842-05:00Forget the PR, Mohican 50K<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3w_3vA5eFBbmxOrWWHDT4Z3d-26RBySnAsqLHQjfZxntC9eYR5aiLZWUrnyblCDKEtMInIRFOIp14K83qTl7Kc6XpB6Q7KfikalPVlZ-897owRno6LpohlBGkNEzd3eOui8DCcHA6rHf5/s1600/IMG_3526.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3w_3vA5eFBbmxOrWWHDT4Z3d-26RBySnAsqLHQjfZxntC9eYR5aiLZWUrnyblCDKEtMInIRFOIp14K83qTl7Kc6XpB6Q7KfikalPVlZ-897owRno6LpohlBGkNEzd3eOui8DCcHA6rHf5/s320/IMG_3526.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462018293084789090" /></a><br /><br />Last weekend Gina and I ventured over to Ohio for a 50K at Mohican State Park. In one sense, it did live up to it's name, I didn't get a PR (although my <a href="http://keepsmilingwhileyouremiling.blogspot.com/2008/03/im-ok-youre-ok-lets-all-go-set-pr-at.html">PR</a> is on a course whose measurement accuracy is definitely not certain). Challenging, yes - kind of, there were enough ups and downs to keep things interesting, obviously Ohio has limited potential for long ups and downs and I bet most of the longest ones are in this park. There was plenty of technical terrain (read: hand-over-hand root ladders) and beautiful landscape to enjoy. It is a very gorgeous park and the race course cut through the best of it. <br /><br />The race course is best described as a 3-leaf clover with the starting point on the tip of one of the petals. We started just a few minutes after 8:00 AM on Sunday. 150ish runners took off over the dewy grass, around an orange pylon, onto an asphalt road for a short stretch an then we hit the trail section. Luckily, the RD's announced before the race his pet peeve: Mid to Back of the Packers starting fast then slowing to a walk on the first hill section. This can be a problem at some races, at <a href="http://www.squawpeak50.com/sqw_mstr.htm" target=_blank>Squaw Peak 50</a> in Provo, UT, I've ran the initial 2 mile bike trail at 7 minutes/mile and still hit a log jam once the trail section starts. Luckily, the RD announcement helped, I hit the hill on the trail section and just kept boogying. <br /><br />The initial "1 mile hill" though from the pre-race instuctions did not quit live up to its name. It leveled out for long stretches in the middle and was never really steep, I mean it is designed for mountain bikers, there is only so much you can expect from that population. They cannot seem to build a trail that isn't somehow a Grand Prix loaded with tight unnecessary turns, log jumps and quick, short drops (they called these "dogs" in OK, I don't know if this was a OK thing or not). Anyway, I started in a pack of 4 runners, a group of 3 took off at the start and we never did see these guys again. Right before the 1st aid, I followed the runner ahead of me (Richard Cook, the winner of <a href="http://www.oilcreek100.org/" target=_blank>Oil Creek 100</a>), who was following the runner ahead of him and we missed a turn. In about 10 feet we realized our mistake and made the quick turn around. I ran through the aid station for the most part, just pausing long enough to get my bottle filled, and left before anyone else from this little pack of 4. They left quickly too, but after another mile or so, I never saw them again behind me.<br /><br />Aid station 2 is right at the center of the 3-leaf clover, the "vertex" as us math folk say. I crossed over a covered bridge, got my bottle filled again (all of the aid station crew were amazing, I never stopped, someone grabbed my bottle and filled it up whiel walking next to me, I've never seen such helpful aid station workers!) and helped out on petal #2. About a mile or so into this section, the trail made a left turn and started picking its way through a small creek bed, hopping over fallen logs, around boulders and to top out required a short hand-over-hand climb up a tree's root system that looked like a ladder designed for someone just in my shoes. A bit later, I popped out by a resort by Pleasant Hill Dam. There is a short (~¾ mile) loop around the resort before you start heading back to the central vertex. Right as I started the loop I saw the lead runner (who would eventually win) heading back. After I passed through aid station #3 and was heading back myself, I saw some of the group that I had been with before. I figured I had a bout 7 minutes on them, more than I was expecting, so I relaxed a bit as I didn't feel anyone breathing down my back and turned my attention to the three guys I knew were ahead.<br /><br />Back at aid station #2 again, I started up the climb to the Fire Tower (aid station #4). I think this is the longest climb on the course, really the only time I felt like walking at all. When I pulled through the Fire Tower aid station, I was a bit disappointed as I still hadn't seen Gina and we had planned on her meeting me both at the Resort (which I cam through sooner than we planned) and at the Fire Tower. About ½ mile down the trail though I saw her waiting for me in a parking lot. It picked me up to see her, plus I could finally ditch the glooves and long-sleeve shirt I had been carrying around my waist for the last 8 miles. Of course, following a climb to something called Fire Tower is an equally long descent. This felt good and I worked the down hills, unfortunately, I didn't seem to make up anytime on the guys ahead of me. <br /><br />One last time through aid station #2 and I had only a 4 mile segment left, mostly flat along side a creek. After walking for 2 minutes to let me legs get a break after the downhill section, I put my head down and went to work. I made it through the flat creek side section and got the cruelest part of the course, a steep ½ climb followed by an equally steep descent. Yeah, I walked most of this climb.<br /><br />I finished in 4:31:30, a time I'm very happy with. My toes on the other hand, probably wishes I took the down hills slower, or moved up to size 11s.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGgw-GyhHOd87djQcTKy6Lz8c0ER-BJX4yoeP2sA5I_0L3Wk3mzXSKkq4w0q3VaBfauTqax_mJ0fhlKfEyKuW_DAel-8bBOOo18_Gxo_CLc6z_YwSJ3i4fB9JN1m7YwQhQedXl2LaDbj1t/s1600/IMG_3534.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGgw-GyhHOd87djQcTKy6Lz8c0ER-BJX4yoeP2sA5I_0L3Wk3mzXSKkq4w0q3VaBfauTqax_mJ0fhlKfEyKuW_DAel-8bBOOo18_Gxo_CLc6z_YwSJ3i4fB9JN1m7YwQhQedXl2LaDbj1t/s320/IMG_3534.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462018613046042082" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.chaneyevents.com/results/2010forgetthepr50k.txt" target=_blank>RESULTS</a>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-35638622319187609332010-04-05T18:28:00.004-05:002010-05-21T15:46:46.352-05:00GAP ItineraryThe itinerary is mostly done, I'd say about 95% complete. You can check it out with this link (it's a Google Spreadsheet):<br />
<br />
<a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Ag0vnfSIZCFJdDg2dWtKZEpRUERjaEtJM0pDYjV3OGc&hl=en" target="_blank">GAP Itinerary</a><br />
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Looking at the itinerary I seesaw between thinking that I should run more each day and that I should run less. I guess that means things should work out. I figure that f I keep up a 5 mile per hour pace, that means I'll be running 9 hours a day. If I throw in a 1 hour lunch/snack break, that means 10 hour days start to finish. That doesn't really leave a lot of time left over. Still lots of mental game left to consider before the run even starts.<br />
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I realized over the weekend during an amazing run around Tamarack Lake, full of sunshine but with temperatures cool and in the 50's, that Forget the PR 50K is coming up in 2 weeks, the Pittsburgh Marathon in 4 and the GAP in 7. Spring is moving along full force.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiebECjQVVyaIO5UzlOlnxpm8k-PP98k0VpoDx_Fx3q_bYR6C4JJ7jjsvGtebc82OZoZbsbp1tqKBimiBdNF7xFH4hesZfNua1HNF_wAMSDkrhCkViHfwDPJIH11PzhgJXwiQG7AKWYQ_MG/s1600/IMG_3508.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456802221051822402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiebECjQVVyaIO5UzlOlnxpm8k-PP98k0VpoDx_Fx3q_bYR6C4JJ7jjsvGtebc82OZoZbsbp1tqKBimiBdNF7xFH4hesZfNua1HNF_wAMSDkrhCkViHfwDPJIH11PzhgJXwiQG7AKWYQ_MG/s320/IMG_3508.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-85113699405777329202010-03-29T18:22:00.012-05:002010-03-29T18:52:46.156-05:00Finding Mile 0<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7B3U7wOM4HvgWHyRosOzLDZM6xAP0hrbr3RxK3D4wBTG5pywRV5vi7QSYND1-kgvQfOECrtQDzgR_9IsFgE4e0M7FjtKgTY7dASgt2NR6MSVqI6Gvuvg4DUp_cxi31baF4RDHlVYFAol/s1600/mile-0.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7B3U7wOM4HvgWHyRosOzLDZM6xAP0hrbr3RxK3D4wBTG5pywRV5vi7QSYND1-kgvQfOECrtQDzgR_9IsFgE4e0M7FjtKgTY7dASgt2NR6MSVqI6Gvuvg4DUp_cxi31baF4RDHlVYFAol/s320/mile-0.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454201179666722402" /></a> <br />Gina and I took the opportunity during a trip last weekend to DC to help Ramiró (Gina's dad) move into a new apartment to check out some of the sights along the GAP and some of the places we will travel through during our trip. It got me really excited about my upcoming run. There is going to be some beautiful scenery, remote passages and lots of lonesome trail. <br /><br />Our first stop was in Cumberland, Maryland. This is the transition point from the Great Allegheny Passage from Pittsburgh to the C&O Towpath leading to DC. We were able to use the <a href="http://www.atatrail.org/trailbook.cfm">Trail Book</a> to navigate through Cumberland to find the trail at the terminus of the C&O canal.<br /><br />One direction: Cumberland -> Pittsburgh:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih3_RoYDutD7o5mqYJmBjpfmyD4UcIEzj7NLxb_Go7tv8orvGoQPRDeFZSriiwC8NnqoM62dy65gtdnJ70qfUAwKBogBlzhTqDvhqqN8vILXF9CSVzMuDb3p5_JebEComu6pBNfUUGixBV/s1600/GAP-Cumberland.jpg"><img img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;"src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih3_RoYDutD7o5mqYJmBjpfmyD4UcIEzj7NLxb_Go7tv8orvGoQPRDeFZSriiwC8NnqoM62dy65gtdnJ70qfUAwKBogBlzhTqDvhqqN8vILXF9CSVzMuDb3p5_JebEComu6pBNfUUGixBV/s320/GAP-Cumberland.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454203192501757586" /></a><br />Then turn around: Cumberland -> DC:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjlr4e2QBHvc1EajDSa12Qw3Z2dMFHBOMHs_0K_v5qVl1USf8oUY9w68iXdOnCAfSVlrmFY3XjDNomI9q-jr5AXv-FokBhv6vzGU2fIcm3jYad3h6feu6YFwd77HQnj8pU-K3EpjAZiBGg/s1600/C&O-Cumberland.jpg"><img img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjlr4e2QBHvc1EajDSa12Qw3Z2dMFHBOMHs_0K_v5qVl1USf8oUY9w68iXdOnCAfSVlrmFY3XjDNomI9q-jr5AXv-FokBhv6vzGU2fIcm3jYad3h6feu6YFwd77HQnj8pU-K3EpjAZiBGg/s320/C&O-Cumberland.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454203705803902482" /></a><br />This point is 135 miles from Pittsburgh and 184 miles from DC. From there we passed by several of the exits from I-68 and I-70 that Gina will take. After we helped Ramiró and Gloria move, we spent some time searching out "Mile 0" in Georgetown and the beginning on the C&O canal. It was a good thing we had the guide book, for being a national landmark, "Mile 0" is not easy to find. It involves navigating around a large boat house and walking around past a fence. We walked out a bit parallel to the canal. It was really cool to see all of the old locks. I'm excited to experience the history of the canal and the passage on our journey.<br /><br />I started working on the itinerary of our trip last week during my spring break. I got a good start, but didn't quite finish. I should be able to finish this week and I'll provide a link to the spreadsheet. It's a Google Doc, cool, I'm high tech.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-26301075551036638652010-03-22T12:35:00.034-05:002010-03-22T17:58:33.427-05:00Hill RunningOne of the biggest changes in my running since the move from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania is the continual presence of hills. In Norman, I had to hunt out hills. They are possible to find. On the east side of town, many of the country roads are filled with slow rollers as you make your way out to Lake Thunderbird. Additionally, there's Mount Scott by Lawton, but that is a 90 minute drive. In Meadville, it's more of a hunt to find the flat ground. For some visual aids, here are the elevation profiles of my "staple" run in each location. <br /><br />"Easy Plateau" in Meadville:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLThvsx3bFa-AGo9KhZmadj4nSclnnvQya3V0MKrvJElFIxC9qjozygLdhXcFN6LdftpME6hJJB1X6SA_JC-eA56R6eM8Wxm3KVPrVIu3HoW4kvzn3iDVu761yeiCBkWd3aIOaX0S9c6w/s1600-h/easy.png"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 108px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLThvsx3bFa-AGo9KhZmadj4nSclnnvQya3V0MKrvJElFIxC9qjozygLdhXcFN6LdftpME6hJJB1X6SA_JC-eA56R6eM8Wxm3KVPrVIu3HoW4kvzn3iDVu761yeiCBkWd3aIOaX0S9c6w/s320/easy.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451595312103647698" /></a><br /><br />"OU7" in Norman:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPD6to7h-0tU8jQuNCMYXfKcQoVPzz0-E72OVTATI3rEeXsR1UaMgqbrmlfKWr7C6UvVI-pjpVil3XevjPzHRn-7rby19-jaD1gOPanNPbgJXA5wYIsDgATarcG0Fb4kqOr9vysj4ZStYa/s1600-h/ou7.png"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 113px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPD6to7h-0tU8jQuNCMYXfKcQoVPzz0-E72OVTATI3rEeXsR1UaMgqbrmlfKWr7C6UvVI-pjpVil3XevjPzHRn-7rby19-jaD1gOPanNPbgJXA5wYIsDgATarcG0Fb4kqOr9vysj4ZStYa/s320/ou7.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451595762190674018" /></a><br /><br />Be sure to note the scale on each graph, they are not the same! That huge hill around mile 3 of OU7, really is only 35', where as the last 2 mile climb of Easy Plateau goes up over 400'. So how do my times compare? (Both routes are about 7.2 miles)<br /><ul><li>Easy Plateau: (21 runs from 11/09 to 3/10) average time: 56:57, pace: 7:55/mile, best time: 53:00</li><li>OU7: (64 runs from 10/07 to 7/09) average time: 53:48, pace: 7:28/mile, best time: 48:00</li></ul>The reason I'm thinking about this now is due to the training program I got from Runner's World <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/smartcoach/1,7148,s6-238-277-278-0-0-0-0-0,00.html" target="_blank">SmartCoach</a> for the upcoming Pittsburgh Marathon. I used my recent 10K time (38:08) and a current workout load of 51-55 miles to get a moderate training program for the marathon, which is 8 weeks away. The program suggests doing easy runs at 7:37 pace and long runs at 7:37 too at the beginning and dropping these down to 7:33 by the end of the program. Initially, I was a bit worried, since 7:37 is faster than my current easy run pace. But then I started analyzing this more throughly (OK, looking for excuses is probably a more accurate description), "This training program is probably written for someone who runs on flat surfaces." So when I went back to my training log, and saw that my times in Norman are about on par with these times, I felt my confidence return. However, there are hills in Pittsburgh...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpoMpq7olJ3y_C4AArUxS7qVHDqxW4K7ysuBjrdSImAbj96I0jx_e1ard7WXqf2aUnEayiM9rOQYDOLLOs0BE2cdNHWCOLZ-rQcj2BJE0TNI70vXxmIxqk0Li7lBbJCM1MFiZuC6N1sO8/s1600-h/smart.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpoMpq7olJ3y_C4AArUxS7qVHDqxW4K7ysuBjrdSImAbj96I0jx_e1ard7WXqf2aUnEayiM9rOQYDOLLOs0BE2cdNHWCOLZ-rQcj2BJE0TNI70vXxmIxqk0Li7lBbJCM1MFiZuC6N1sO8/s320/smart.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451541208015955362" /></a><br /><br />For those of you wondering about GAP updates, I received the tour books and maps in the mail this week and just started putting together an itinerary for the trip. So hopefully next week I have some more information on this end.<br /><br />On an aside, with the warmer weather, Gina and I have been firing up the barbie lately. We started using a recipe for pineapple from the current issue of Runner's World. In the magazine it calls for baking slices of pineapple brushed with butter and brown sugar, but we've been grilling it with great results. The first time we capped it off with ice cream, last night we capped it off with some vegan chocolate cake that some friends brought over. Mmm ... tasty.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5tMS27xEz9vB5gP7IgV5Zg42vSbMY8SyLm5NjMgBNurRjBDpOcSBKdPeg_rDUjCZI5sm7SQEUTSEA1VH3y7tT3ZYylB4n7fh6WoMAVcC4FwWjchFQTVa1IWlAgmZpZ4Eiyn3RuOqPlOhd/s1600-h/IMG_3484.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5tMS27xEz9vB5gP7IgV5Zg42vSbMY8SyLm5NjMgBNurRjBDpOcSBKdPeg_rDUjCZI5sm7SQEUTSEA1VH3y7tT3ZYylB4n7fh6WoMAVcC4FwWjchFQTVa1IWlAgmZpZ4Eiyn3RuOqPlOhd/s320/IMG_3484.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451544667057000562" /></a>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-10174277015084416532010-03-15T18:41:00.010-05:002010-03-15T19:17:33.143-05:00St. Patrick's Day 10KOn Saturday Gina and I made trip up to Erie to run a local 10K. It was put on by the Erie Runner's Club and hosted at <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&q=presque+isle+state+park&near=Erie,+PA&ie=UTF8&hl=en&ei=sSxrRuf_J5WgjgHq1KD4Bg&cd=3&li=lmd" target=_blank>Presque Isle State Park</a>. The race course primarily was an out and back along the thin neck of the peninsula with a short out and back blip at the finish. Warmer temperatures over the last week vanished before the weekend leaving us with rain/fog/mist and temperatures in the 40s. However, the warmer air stayed around long enough to melt the snow so at least we didn't have to fight the ice and slush as we did at the 5 mile race held at the same place on New Years.<br /><br />There was some confusion at the start. People lined up were previous races start, which turned out to be about 200 feet up course from where the real start was. The race director marched everyone back the 200 feet through the parking lot to the real starting line. The back of the pack stopped at the starting line once they reached it and created a mass of runners lining up between cars. I ended up having to start a few rows back from the start and when the race started had to slip by several folks to get out front. By the time I broke free of the main pack, the lead and chase pack were already a couple of hundred feet ahead and making ground. <br /><br />I set a solid pace and starting picking off runners. By the half way point, I had moved up to about 10<sup><span style="font-size:50%">th</span></sup> place. The wind blew in our faces on the return leg. I turned my hat around (aerodynamic!) and tried to keep the same effort and focusing on picking off more runners. I kept sliding by more runners and moved into 4<sup><span style="font-size:50%">th</span></sup> place with about ½ mile remaining. I finished strong, but I don't have a kick. At the end I felt like I still had gas in the tank and should of pushed it harder throughout the race. This time was about 17 seconds off of my PR, but with the weather I still think it was a good effort.<br /><br />time: 38:09<br />pace: 6:09/mile<br />place: 4/257<br />age group (30-34): 1/11<br /><br />Gina ran strong too and did get a PR (54:21). I was able to run the last ½ mile with her and enjoyed watching her pass some folks and keep her foot on the gas. No news or information on the GAP, hopefully I'll have something next week. Spring break is the week of March 22 - March 26, the plan is to write a working itinerary that week. I'll post whatever I write. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.erie-runnersclub.org/RaceResults/2010/20100313StPatResults/20100313StPats.php" target=_blank>FULL RESULTS</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.erie-runnersclub.org/" target=_blank><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 64px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcPpx8D6FOeLD64hjS4C8g1SmGWUghDyWlziJGq0BE-Cs7WxCXYyBY6hpKaI6z22JBPPdGxeeAsIjVWl6E8W6xMDRpKNPBSW3Q-KbPwtIUdDTF4vUL9vu-fvp09E9UQdSOj9znMzSOsuj7/s320/erc_100_new_blue.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449011312123224274" /></a>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-53684895494910851092010-03-08T19:30:00.010-06:002010-03-08T20:15:55.037-06:00Run the GAPSo it has been a while, been a long while in fact, almost two years since the last post. As you can probably guess, a lot has changed. Most notably <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiySdw_7LiTOAWkoOMAvB4BWCnWVaGX8XDByGJtHBfVZGrld8P3-tuHrwgGjVKP9586JL3PX8HZjAHc0_985OTAnIv6c-GDunpmGH0nNZZ6FLbEfJGRStKj7Q_20tS0kC1CNweBAWaUrHls/s1600-h/IMG_3036.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiySdw_7LiTOAWkoOMAvB4BWCnWVaGX8XDByGJtHBfVZGrld8P3-tuHrwgGjVKP9586JL3PX8HZjAHc0_985OTAnIv6c-GDunpmGH0nNZZ6FLbEfJGRStKj7Q_20tS0kC1CNweBAWaUrHls/s320/IMG_3036.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446442239207281890" /></a>my wife, my dog and I moved from our beloved Oklahoma to Meadville, a small community in northwest Pennsylvania where I began working at <a href="http:www.allegheny.edu" target=_blank>Allegheny College</a> last fall. We bought a house, shoveled lots of snow and also bought a car. There have been a few races in there. Most notably the <a href="http://www.ksultrarunners.org/" target="_blank">Heartland 100</a> through vast Flint Hills of southeast Kansas during Fall 2008 and the <a href="http://www.oilcreek100.org/" target="_blank">Oil Creek 100</a> through Oil Creek State Park, the birthplace of America's oil addiction, right here in northwest Pennsylvania this last fall.<br /><br />The sun came out a few days ago, broke through after a week of overcast and snow showers. We spotted some new growth on the trees this morning, spring really is right around the corner. With it comes a new opportunity and a new challenge for Gina and myself. The last week of May I am going to run from Pittsburgh, PA to Washington, DC. There is a 330 mile bike trail connecting the downtown area of both cities, 145 on an old railroad bed from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, MD, the remaining 185 on the C & O towpath along the Potomac. Historic, Washington path in reverse. It's called the <span style="font-weight:bold">Great Allegheny Passage</span>. Our plan is to take 6-7 days, that means about 47-55 miles a day.<br /><br />That's the big impetus for starting the blog again. I plan to blog about my training, itineraries and the actual run after it happens. Here's a few links to check out with info about the trail.<br /><ul><br /><li><a href="http://www.atatrail.org/index.cfm" target=_blank>The Allegheny Trail Alliance</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://shaw-weil.com/linkup/index.htm" target=_blank>Linking up</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://www.yockatomac.org/" target=_blank>The Yockatomic Trek</a></li><br /></ul>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-53277060904088117272008-06-08T14:01:00.010-05:002008-06-08T14:46:49.605-05:00Running in the wind<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s1600-h/wind.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s320/wind.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209587987514166050" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s1600-h/wind.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s320/wind.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209587987514166050" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s1600-h/wind.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s320/wind.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209587987514166050" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s1600-h/wind.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s320/wind.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209587987514166050" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s1600-h/wind.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s320/wind.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209587987514166050" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s1600-h/wind.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s320/wind.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209587987514166050" /></a><br /><br />It's official, I'm now truly an Oklahoman. Last Tuesday I was entering my run info into my training log (it's online through Runner's World magazine, there's a link on the right to my log) and was wondering whether or not I should check the box labeled "windy". I couldn't remember so I went to NOAA's website to see the weather history. Apparently, there was a 30 MPH southern wind, with gusts close to 40 MPH. Really? I hadn't even noticed.<br /><br />Here's a few tips I've picked up for running in the Oklahoma winds:<br /><br /><li> Plan your runs so that the wind is at your back for the second half. Although if you do this in Norman you end up running south, headed straight for the waste water treatment plant. Raw sewage and a stiff headwind don't go well together.</li><br /><li> Run early in the morning when the wind is not as strong. Translate: only a 20 MPH wind, not 25 MPH.</li><br /><li> Try running through wooded neighborhoods. However running through an older neighborhood with large trees when there's 40 MPH gusts isn't exactly relaxing when you see 5 inch diameter limbs littering the sides of the roads.</li><br />Which brings us to the best advice about running in the wind:<br /><br /><li> Suck it up and enjoy it anyway. You're not going to be able to change the fact that it is windy, so just tuck your head down and keep putting one foot in front of the other. What doesn't kill you can only make you stronger.</li><br />I apologize to all my usual readers (which I was informed by a friend this last week is now up to 3) about not keeping up with my weekly posts. Hopefully you'll give me some slack, I got married, summer school started up, and all the other little things that make up a week. My running should get back into rhythm this week and with a little luck, so should the weekly entries. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s1600-h/wind.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s320/wind.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209587987514166050" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s1600-h/wind.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s320/wind.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209587987514166050" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s1600-h/wind.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s320/wind.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209587987514166050" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s1600-h/wind.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s320/wind.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209587987514166050" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s1600-h/wind.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s320/wind.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209587987514166050" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s1600-h/wind.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscTvFxovuERxo39QRAyybkmxqbH82K4ojf8zBBiatVtBrfy3Dydl_ACkgZt3tFgHNi7xun_5WNIgghtwNiIFJMDa4zmOG82xoVhHqdaMBrGp8-DV68RuMe1AwLA6S4C4BL3-_rDKhbGzO/s320/wind.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209587987514166050" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Running moment of the week:</span> Thursday afternoon I slipped in an unplanned run around the Sutton Wilderness Area. It was hot, humid and I was pretty slow but it felt cleansing, like a good sweat in a steam room.<br /><br />5/26 - 6/1<br />total miles: 51.0<br />time: 7:02<br /><br />May miles: 206.0<br />YTD miles: 1151.7<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Running moment of the week:</span> After a real hard demoralizing run yesterday, Maia and I had a easy recovery run up at Lake Stanley-Draper up in OKC. We ran along the dirt road on the east side of the lake. It's closed in spots to vehicles so I let Maia off leash and just let her trot next to me. She'd push me on the downhills and I'd have to be a cheerleader for her on the uphills.<br /><br />6/2 - 6/8<br />total miles: 45.1<br />time: 6:01<br /><br />YTD miles: 1196.8Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-76058955669415685952008-05-26T13:29:00.025-05:002010-03-29T18:59:03.597-05:00Camping with a Wedding Dress, Garbage Can and a wet Border Collie (or How to DNF a Marathon)Time, the last two weeks, has passed quickly. Like when you're at concert for your favorite band, it slips right past you and before you know it the encore is over and you're left with heavy feet from dancing, a sore throat from singing along too loudly, a headache from the pounding music and a soul that doesn't want it to stop. If you were thinking you wrote down the set list so you could relive it later. Here's the set list from my last two weeks:<br /><br /><b>Set One</b><br />Pack It Up, Pack It In, Let Us Begin<br />Driving Song -><br />Rocky Mountain High<br />Running On Empty<br />Let's Get Down To Business<br />Euphoria<br /><br /><b>Set Two</b><br />On The Road Again<br />Traveling Light -><br />Highway 6 Revisited -><br />I Know You Rider<br />The Long and Winding Road<br />Oklahoma<br /><br /><b>Encore</b><br />Running On Empty (reprise) -><br />Fast Enough For You<br /><br />Show highlights:<br /><br /><b>Set One</b><br /><i>Pack It Up, Pack It In, Let Us Begin</i>: Somewhat surprisingly, Carmen (our 92 Subura Legacy wagon) held all of our stuff we were bringing to Utah with quite a bit of space left over. Considering we were planning a week and a half trip from Oklahoma to Utah and back that involved getting married and camping, this was no small feet. There were over a dozen flower vases, several large cardboard signs, various other decorations, a wedding dress and my outfit along with a tent, two sleeping bags, three sleeping pads (Maia has her own), cooking equipment, food and dog packed into the car with us. We had just changed the oil, O<sub>2</sub> sensor and rotated the tires. Ready to go, we left Norman by 5 AM on Tuesday, May 13<sup>th</sup>. The plan was to drive ~750 miles to Fort Collins, CO to stay with our friends the Thompsons.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitaOilYmW0TRmM1wSTzNKndIWfnDGz0TG-ok3cM8SFYyCKuH8xPKSS9iuVmSGdBm3O8NeQbMBT3leOice-lSE8hPcDGvpQ48Mjqr2wUDDg2YAYMSjHQIQKdDHJiyrHBZ8hhtOLQoztS8up/s1600-h/IMG_1440.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitaOilYmW0TRmM1wSTzNKndIWfnDGz0TG-ok3cM8SFYyCKuH8xPKSS9iuVmSGdBm3O8NeQbMBT3leOice-lSE8hPcDGvpQ48Mjqr2wUDDg2YAYMSjHQIQKdDHJiyrHBZ8hhtOLQoztS8up/s320/IMG_1440.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204773157813476802"></a><i>Driving Song</i>: We saw our last Oklahoma sunrise as an unmarried couple as we passed the Stillwater exit on I-35, the reds and yellows sending us on our way with an early wedding present. The skies were clear, the temps were cool and there was no wind, a perfect day to drive across the open prairie. We were in need of stretching our legs in Kansas when we spotted a sign for Lake Wilson State Park. The park is only ten miles north off of I-70 and features some nice trails on rolling hills adjacent to the lake. We were both very pleased with the park and appreciated getting to see some of Kansas away from the highway. Maia loved wading into the lake chasing after sticks. After a brief stop in Olathe, KS (home of Buffalo Bill) for lunch and a quick session of fetch, we headed west to Colorado.<br /><br /><i>Rocky Mountain High</i>: Around Limon, you can start to the see the mountains. Shortly thereafter, you can see the madness that is "The Front Range". After paying $6.00 to drive the ten miles skirting around the NE side of Denver (true highway robbery) we braved our way through some heavy traffic and construction on I-25 to get to Fort Collins around 5:00 PM. Our friend's house was easy to find and after a first little apprehensive bark, Josh was Maia's new best friend, can't say the same of their cats though. The four of us went to a stroll around town, they made us dinner and we all had a good time catching up after not all being together for almost a year. We stayed up too late and awoke too early. By 6:30 AM the next day we we're on our way to Laramie, WY. There's not much to say about the drive across southern Wyoming, a little rain, some light flurries and Little America is still an oddity. We did stop at Bear River State Park outside of Evanston, WY and had a good stroll. From there, it's a short drop through Echo Canyon, over Parley's Summit and down into the Salt Lake Valley.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ5H_12uRnQbHl4HPtC-n90v-9pFhyLXlmvdSWYWsKj9SY1-8GP3ozZum88f3ferdFix0bvKTI9TQyfJkL7SfXLfBgCMjKKUbB2_59Nw7rpizDd1KUhbc2T_MKVk7F6-LzgXpxG9WDxggd/s1600-h/IMG_1444.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ5H_12uRnQbHl4HPtC-n90v-9pFhyLXlmvdSWYWsKj9SY1-8GP3ozZum88f3ferdFix0bvKTI9TQyfJkL7SfXLfBgCMjKKUbB2_59Nw7rpizDd1KUhbc2T_MKVk7F6-LzgXpxG9WDxggd/s320/IMG_1444.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205164343434796498"></a><i>Running On Empty</i>: From the time we entered the Salt Lake Valley, we had 48 hours until the wedding. In this time we needed to drop off Maia at doggie day care, meet the photographer, pick up Gina's sister, pick up the flowers, unload our car, pick up my brother and his fiancee, get a marriage certificate, meet Gina's family, buy a lot of alcohol, rehearse for the ceremony, eat dinner, arrange the flowers, make the final decorations, set up a portable PA system, carry 72 chairs a quarter mile into a field and create a safe haven for the girls to hang out before the ceremony so I wouldn't see Gina before she walked down the aisle. All this and I snuck in two quality runs in the foothills and one in Mill Creek. Hopefully Rob has recovered from the run in Mill Creek. I took him over the west side of Grandeur and down Church Fork then up the pipeline past Broad's Fork a bit and then back down to Wasatch Blvd. Erik Storheim and Rich McDonald where directing a race on the same day. Besides Erik, I also ran into Scott Jamie and Dan Margalit (math colleague).<br /><br /><i>Let's Get Down To Business</i>: We got married.<br /><br /><i>Euphoria</i>: EUPHORIA!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97uGxb4z7NjsDl_Q8EZU-NvEIikUvRUOq6hyujpWLsl3f4fFDabNTHVaUPjhMcM5MpMR_a-4PJgG473EWU1shNc63xTCW3N02kyUCSFemFulMFxv_tIw87n-677x7Hu8VrZoLOXvpxleP/s1600-h/IMG_1469.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97uGxb4z7NjsDl_Q8EZU-NvEIikUvRUOq6hyujpWLsl3f4fFDabNTHVaUPjhMcM5MpMR_a-4PJgG473EWU1shNc63xTCW3N02kyUCSFemFulMFxv_tIw87n-677x7Hu8VrZoLOXvpxleP/s320/IMG_1469.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205165228198059506"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKehY_aSJ3ZFBwnnMZTu3sP8LftDDdZaB0NKJh_TRWUlL_wpnLZ1sxRhpExRliP4NugJUAbGKVWs-6BvPC0CaM0DdkChM-7pkZJ-mYuXJK77ovwhXsd4l4p_ScUoNRH6mv17vTBPdaR8au/s1600-h/IMG_1454.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKehY_aSJ3ZFBwnnMZTu3sP8LftDDdZaB0NKJh_TRWUlL_wpnLZ1sxRhpExRliP4NugJUAbGKVWs-6BvPC0CaM0DdkChM-7pkZJ-mYuXJK77ovwhXsd4l4p_ScUoNRH6mv17vTBPdaR8au/s320/IMG_1454.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206243926414319106"></a><b>Set Two</b><br /><i>On The Road Again</i>: While we were packing the car, we hung Gina's wedding dress off of the rack on my groomsman's truck. He has a gigantic greasel with a stout rack over the back. As we hung it there we joked how tragic, but funny it would be if we forgot it and Eric was cruising down I-215, arm out of the window, Ned's ears and tongue flapping in the wind along with the dress. This almost turned out to be a reality, but luckily for us, when he got to corner of our street he noticed the dress hanging there. A few loose ends in SLC to take care of, opening gifts, talking math and packing and we were off again. <br /><br /><i>Traveling Light</i>: Just you and I ... and Maia, a wedding dress, garbage can, tupperware set, large picture frame, leftover cheese and alcohol ... <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuqLMD9rROrqZ9fmRYI-lrU69L2fgVVkDhQId02GXquF5V10aFwF3VZ0aW5aU_uqHaYekiH4t06AWgdzeR7e50aYFrwKgGghU1TReCuGPI8toSmormlMszvZGNzLpSlkOmyQUxdLzS9FzS/s1600-h/IMG_1511.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuqLMD9rROrqZ9fmRYI-lrU69L2fgVVkDhQId02GXquF5V10aFwF3VZ0aW5aU_uqHaYekiH4t06AWgdzeR7e50aYFrwKgGghU1TReCuGPI8toSmormlMszvZGNzLpSlkOmyQUxdLzS9FzS/s320/IMG_1511.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206623884991127058"></a><br /><i>Highway 6 Revisited</i>: The route from SLC to Moab is primarily along highway 6. This is great drive featuring narrow cobblestone canyons, alpine grass lands and a tight river canyon opening up to Castle Valley and the Bookcliffs. The road stretches forever echoing the immensity of the desert. After grabbing dinner to go at Moab Brewery and some essentials from the supermarket, we drove another ten miles south of town on Kane Creek Boulevard to the Spring Campground by Hunter Canyon. It was hot and it was beautiful. In the morning we tried out our new stove, lathered on some sunblock and hiked up the Amasa Back trail. I think it was a bit hot for Maia, she kept seeking out the shade, even the smallest little bits behind tiny rocks. We followed the Colorado River out of town and up to I-70. At Hittle Bottom (a site of a previous misadventure of mine involving rowdy Canadians (are there any other kind?), PBR and hitchhiking) we found a boat put-in that is sheltered from the current of the river. We let Maia out to swim in the water. The water was colder than I expected and cooled my legs. Once we tossed Maia into the water, she lost her apprehension and kept diving back in for more. We took our wet dog back to the car and continued following the river to Grand Junction, CO.<br /><br /><i>I Know You Rider</i>: We arrived in GJ around 1:30 in the afternoon. One of the reasons we stopped here was to check out the wineries in Palisades, CO, just about ten miles up the road from GJ. We found a Motel 6 (they all allow dogs), checked in and vegged in the air conditioned coolness. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ICH3UBFLot2WtEFogu__Y4Z2xLHUi39MTiq56A2NAas71ghKXIai_6WA04sEGI9xg621rmx9YA-N8ZYo-N4OQM6qcGxISY6RKS6umDTaWHzFZ5zDWcTpL_otUGUSJXb6K2d6Ek49vLLm/s1600-h/IMG_1550.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ICH3UBFLot2WtEFogu__Y4Z2xLHUi39MTiq56A2NAas71ghKXIai_6WA04sEGI9xg621rmx9YA-N8ZYo-N4OQM6qcGxISY6RKS6umDTaWHzFZ5zDWcTpL_otUGUSJXb6K2d6Ek49vLLm/s320/IMG_1550.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206638058383203874"></a>On the way out to Palisades we took the back roads and around some residential areas of GJ looking at the neighborhoods, just taking our time. We arrived at the wineries at 5:05 PM, they all closed at 5:00 PM. Bummer, good thing this is just our "Practice Honeymoon". That night we ate a nice dinner at Il Bistro on Main Street in downtown GJ. Gina ordered some beet cannelloni, which ate she half of and forgot to take the rest back to the motel with us. Bummer, good thing this is just our "Practice Honeymoon". The next morning we headed out over the southern Colorado Rockies, passing through Gunnison and Alamosa before staying at Lathrop State Park, the only campers there, our only company the cool Colorado rain. <br /><br /><i>The Long and Winding Road</i>: I-25 again, open prairie and miles more to go. We cut across the NE corner of New Mexico, feedlots stuffed like the Walmart megastores where the cattle will be sold. There's a volcanic National Monument out there, we stopped by for a stroll but they didn't allow dogs on the trails so we turned around and kept driving. From the small US highway we turned onto a smaller New Mexico highway. We dropped off of a mesa, took a right onto another small New Mexico highway, crossed a bridge over a dry stream and were in...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBeCVCVhUkDbQZ71cf8z87LdUITLbx-TLuFpJu1PG8ANxDNo3_EZ8snXGKbELuIdIdy3D-2-AE89jCXGb__5q2igB3HWpao5ojx3N42Kww6zXO424tVl24__2CyOKi24whp3xdiF9_lJVA/s1600-h/IMG_1577.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBeCVCVhUkDbQZ71cf8z87LdUITLbx-TLuFpJu1PG8ANxDNo3_EZ8snXGKbELuIdIdy3D-2-AE89jCXGb__5q2igB3HWpao5ojx3N42Kww6zXO424tVl24__2CyOKi24whp3xdiF9_lJVA/s320/IMG_1577.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206639505787182642"></a><br /><i>Oklahoma</i>: The plan was to hike up to the top of Black Mesa, the highest point in Oklahoma at an elevation of 4973'. The trailhead parking is only about 5 miles off of the little highway we were on, right next to the Cimarron river. It was 2:30 PM central time, but there was some question about what time zone we were actually in, when we set off on the hike (8 miles round trip) into a wind so strong we had to lean into it ("wind sweeps down the plain" ring a bell to anyone?). A little less than 2 hours later we were at the top, marked by an obelisque and no true "summit". Check out the video below of the windy view from the top. That night we camped in Black Mesa State Park, just ten miles or so down the road. There were a few people there, but the place was quiet and we felt good to be back in Oklahoma. The next morning was Friday and we were planning on making it back to Norman. After breakfast in Boise City the road became flat. We drove all across the panhandle past the miles of farmland and cattle. For a leg stretch break we stopped at Boiling Springs State Park outside of Woodward. Here some springs bubble up in the sands by the North Canadian River give the appearance of boiling water. Stepping out of the car, the humidity hit us hard. The springs themselves are kind of a let down, but we enjoyed the trails. Somehow I got us lost and what was supposed to be a half an hour walk turned into a hike of more than an hour. Oops, I told Gina that this wouldn't be the last time I got her lost (rule 5(?): when hiking, don't follow Matt). Back to the car, back to Norman, back to our house, a newly wed couple. Yippie-I-A! <br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw640xq6vZcghf57eFWsfw5oIBR_SMFtHZM4UITV1a2_0VbUQFrCyu_23U-4qNEgsc3oCej1Sk45bcsvEi8ZQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><b>Encore</b><br /><i>Running On Empty (reprise)</i>: Those of you who are frequent readers of this blog (all two of you - and that includes me) know that I was planning on running the Andy Payne Marathon the Saturday after we got married and planning on breaking 3 hours. Well, plans be as plans are and we left the house early the next morning in time for the 6:30 AM start up at Route 66 Park by Lake Overhosler in OKC. It was overcast, but windy and humid. From the gun I went out fast, the first couple of mile markers must be off since I passed mile 2 in under 10 minutes. The marathon is small and already by the time we left the park to run 3 loop around the lake there was a large gap before the person behind and a narrowing gap between me and the person ahead of me. I passed him shortly after mile three and was all alone. I decided not to carry any water, big mistake. The east side of the lake was sheltered from the wind, but that just made it feel way too hot. Someone at an aid station around mile 7 gave me a bottle of gatorade to carry, this helped. I came around the first lap in 1:05:00, somewhere around mile 10. What was I thnking, this was way too fast. I came around the half marathon point in 1:26, already slowing down to 7:00/mile. I put in a few more of these then dropped down to 8:00/mile. <br /><br /><i>Fast Enough For You</i>: I walked a bit and came around the second lap in 2:02, needing to rip out eight more miles at 7:00/mile to finish in under 3 hours. I just didn't have it in me. I DNF'd still three minutes ahead of the second place runner.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Running moment of the week:</span> Thursday night I needed to hit the trails after two days in the car. I parked at the horseshoe turn in City Creek, ran up puke hill past where I'd be getting married in two days, over past the bobsled to the saddle at City Creek and back. Great run, in the epic battle of Matt versus the mountain bikers, I went 4-3.<br /><br />5/12 - 5/18<br />total miles: 47.0<br />time: 7:27<br /><br />YTD miles: 1076.8<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Running moment of the week:</span> Putting in the first half of the Andy Payne Marathon in 1:26. Cooler temperatures and lower humidity and I think I can break 3:00.<br /><br />5/19 - 5/25<br />total miles: 24.0<br />time: 2:56<br /><br />YTD miles: 1100.8Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-29887912773869880932008-05-13T09:29:00.004-05:002008-05-13T13:34:06.037-05:00Sub 3:00 marathon?Just a short entry this week, Gina and I leave tomorrow for SLC for our wedding this Saturday, May 17<sup>th</sup>. I'll post some pictures of the trip and wedding next week.<br /><br />One of my long term running goals is to break 3 hours in the marathon. It's not a goal I try for often, I've only ran a single road marathon. This year I decided I run the Andy Payne marathon and go for a sub 3 hour time. I've been kind of half-assed about my training, throwing in some speed workouts and tempo runs but not giving up the trails. Last Saturday I went up to Lake Overholser in Oklahoma City where the race takes place. I was planning a confidence boosting 16 mile run consisting of two laps around the lake at sub 3 hour pace, but instead after going out too fast and having 20 MPH headwind on the back stretch I ended up barely coming in at the right time for the first lap and then had to stop and eat some humble pie.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Running moment of the week:</span> I got some Injinji socks as a door prize at 3 Days of Syllamo and I love them. Since then I've got four more pairs and use them both on the trail and on the road. On Sunday, I discovered one of the unavoidable downfalls of toes socks - if you randomly grab two socks out of your sock drawer, you only have a 50% percent chance of grabbing both a left and a right foot. On Sunday, I was running the trails with two right feet. <br /><br />5/5 - 5/11<br />total miles: 53.7<br />time: 6:53<br /><br />YTD miles: 1042.8 <- broke a thousands miles!Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-54211075159358770562008-05-05T19:44:00.011-05:002008-05-08T10:35:01.054-05:00Oklahoma Trail Running<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaKQRzLzqabgAKaqKyIETBvJUqXAPZdgynqv00z4AMZctAu6IbqP8_c0Mo4LK0nYY5bFHyVCwnjROl1EEiy92WnVRxiu4vHP4C3mPFc1HklqXQ2mUmD6yOVXT7tfdwOtgOSvukizHXzTjy/s1600-h/IMG_1007.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaKQRzLzqabgAKaqKyIETBvJUqXAPZdgynqv00z4AMZctAu6IbqP8_c0Mo4LK0nYY5bFHyVCwnjROl1EEiy92WnVRxiu4vHP4C3mPFc1HklqXQ2mUmD6yOVXT7tfdwOtgOSvukizHXzTjy/s320/IMG_1007.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198013281436344306" /></a>So what's trail running like in Oklahoma you ask? (OK, so no one's asked this, because no one reads this, but I'm going to pretend.) Coming to Oklahoma from Utah, I was pretty skeptical that I would find anything that I could remotely call trail running. However, I've been pleasantly surprised. Have I found mountains equalling the Wasatch? slick rock trails like in Moab? a 10 mile trail run from my door step with over 2000' of elevation gain? No, I mean come on, everyone knows that you can't compare Utah to Oklahoma. But that's not to say that the Oklahoma trail running scene is nonexistent. Here's a list of some of the pros and cons of the trail running scene in Oklahoma in comparison to Utah. Let's start with the cons.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Cons:</span><br />    <li> No mountains: This is the most obvious geographic difference between Oklahoma and Utah. Oklahoma is flat. Sure there's the Wichita Mountains in southwest Oklahoma and the Ouachita Mountains in southeast Oklahoma, but these don't even really compare to the foothills in Utah for elevation gain.<br />    <b><li></b> Humidity: In the summertime, it gets real sticky and hot here. Even at 6 in the morning in the middle of July it will be in the 80's and only getting hotter. The heat doesn't leave until the end of September. <br />    <b><li></b> Fractal trails: Most of the trails by Oklahoma City are designed for mountain biking and feature lots of tight turns. The trails windy back on themselves and often you'll be ten feet away from a section of trail you running on 30 minutes ago. As an extreme example, the trails at Lake Stanely-Draper just east of Oklahoma City feature over 12 miles of trail all packed into a single square mile!<br />    <b><li></b> A dearth of races: Because of the heat and humidity, most trail races here take place from December-April. The only ultras I can think of are: <a href="http://www.danmanrun.com/">The DanMan</a>, <a href="http://www.tatur.org/AOK.html">A-OK 50K</a>, <a href="http://www.earlblewett.net/LMTR.htm">Lake McMurtry</a>, <a href="http://tatur.org/TurkeyAndTATURs/2006/50K.html">Turkey and TATURs 50K</a> and Chisholm's run (a fat-ass style 50K held at Lake Arcadia). Only one of these has a 50 mile option and there are no trail hundreds. (There is a somewhat annual road hundred called <a href="http://www.motherroad100.com/faq.html">The Mother Road</a> which takes place on historic Route 66.) All of these races are small and do not attract any national caliber runners.<br />    <b><li></b> An abundance of thorny and poisonous plants: In the summer, the greenery here explodes! It makes everything look healthy and full of life, until you realize the the sides of the trail are lined with poison ivy. Better be careful when you make a potty break (speaking from experience here folks). <br />    <b><li></b> An abundance of insect life: In addition to the plant life exploding, so does the insect life. There are lots of mosquitoes and gnats, but they don't really bother you too much while you run as long as you don't mind swallowing the occasional bug. The bigger nuisance is spider webs (I know spiders aren't insects but they're close, I'm a mathematician, not a biologist). There are some big spiders here that set up shop across the trails right around face level. If you're not paying attention, you'll end up wearing the web and the spider (they're big too). When you're all sweaty from the humidity it's a serious pain to try and pick the web off of your face (again, speaking from experience here folks). <br />    <b><li></b> Wind: This isn't really that much of an issue, especially on the trails. You just have to get used to 20-30 MPH winds being common. It's best to think of it as a training tool. In the summer, you'll actually welcome the wind as the mercury rises.<br /><br />Before I start sounding like a complainer, let me list the pros:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pros:</span><br />    <b><li></b> Solitude: Last Saturday I ran 17 miles out at Lake Thunderbird around 9 AM and only saw two people. This type of serenity is definitely not found by Sprawl Lake City on a Saturday morning. It's quite common to go hike here and see more deer than people.<br />    <b><li></b> Year-round trail running: So in the summertime the trail running in Oklahoma is less than optimal, but I think it's better than spending a cold morning post-holing in the immersion.<br />    <b><li></b> Scenery: Oklahoma really is gorgeous, just on a different scale than Utah. Here it's the little things, a muddy water creek, the sound of the cicadas, the unexpected vista, the rose rock and on the large scale, the open rolling prairie.<br />    <b><li></b> Variety: Oklahoma has a little bit of everything. The Wichita Mountains and Quartz Mountains in the southwest have rocky granite trails and hills, The Chickasaw National Recreation Area and Lake Murray State Park in southern Oklahoma gave some great trails by marshy lakes, southeast Oklahoma is the start of the 240+ mile Ouachita trail, northern Oklahoma is prairie land, Roman Nose State Park in northwest Oklahoma has a nice trail exploring a canyon and some arid dessert like views and then there's the panhandle which we have yet to explore.<br />    <b><li></b> No fees: All of the state parks and recreation areas in Oklahoma have no entrance fee. There is camping fee at some parks and Lake Arcadia does have a small trail-use fee.<br />    <b><li></b> Great community: The trail runners here are very friendly and put on some great races. The atmosphere is noncompetitive and typically have good food at the finish line (worth a mention: the chili at A-OK, the jambalaya at Lake McMurtry). The fees for the races are pretty low as well. <br />    <b><li></b> Dog friendly: All of the state parks here allow dogs to go everywhere. Most places have leash laws, but few people seem to care.<br />    <b><li></b> Lots of great races in neighboring states: The ultrarunning communities in the neighboring states are very strong. There are lots of great races in Arkansas (check out: <a href="http://www.runarkansas.com/">Arkansas Ultra Running Association</a>), Texas (check out: <a href="http://www.nttr.org/">North Texas Trail Runners</a> and <a href="http://www.hillcountrytrailrunners.com/index.shtml">Hill Country Trail Runners</a>) and Kansas (check out: <a href="http://www.ksultrarunners.org/">Kansas Ultrarunners' Society</a>). So as long as you don't mind driving a bit, you can find lots of quality races and good competition.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR93J6wWS3syPRflJ8jAbzE0bvBJ1BMqCjPynyzssTe-xf6qMcgfqopbwpGOjGyCLzjBqQMrLpYxQZpD-eX9MuyJ-2_0b7y8OtrFzfsR9hnmph-6uvDlqxVq1otz_0vD-MWZFOMmp7ZnHW/s1600-h/IMG_1414.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR93J6wWS3syPRflJ8jAbzE0bvBJ1BMqCjPynyzssTe-xf6qMcgfqopbwpGOjGyCLzjBqQMrLpYxQZpD-eX9MuyJ-2_0b7y8OtrFzfsR9hnmph-6uvDlqxVq1otz_0vD-MWZFOMmp7ZnHW/s320/IMG_1414.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198015725272735746" /></a><br />If anyone is looking for more information about trail running in Oklahoma, they should check out the following running groups:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.oktrailrunning.com/standard.php?id=1" target=_blank>Oklahoma Trail Runners Association</a><br /><a href="http://tatur.org" target=_blank>Tulsa Area Trail & Ultra Runners</a></center><br /><br />Anyone have anything they wish to add to the lists?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Running moment of the week:</span> A Yasso 800 workout: 10 x 800 @ 2:56 on Tuesday evening while it was 84 degrees and sunny. At least there were wind gusts over 30 MPH. Sweet.<br /><br />4/28 - 5/4<br />total miles: 62.0<br />time: 8:10<br /><br />April miles: 256.9<br />YTD miles: 976.1<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlHSpGp3knX6XH1pQlgHfdT5Nw8CoM2OhHo64H27RSW7ZlUuMFOrt305TfGccAQcHSpS3PVNuhce14wZTpuopiKgzTfdEtpNWPhEFPpLN_BuQ5O_bXLn49S4Dcx48-UFQqpyCWJEhAu8aK/s1600-h/A-OK50K.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlHSpGp3knX6XH1pQlgHfdT5Nw8CoM2OhHo64H27RSW7ZlUuMFOrt305TfGccAQcHSpS3PVNuhce14wZTpuopiKgzTfdEtpNWPhEFPpLN_BuQ5O_bXLn49S4Dcx48-UFQqpyCWJEhAu8aK/s320/A-OK50K.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198016519841685522" /></a>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-50469831889102406092008-04-28T21:46:00.011-05:002010-03-29T18:58:30.905-05:00The Golden Shore<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.visitingdc.com/images/golden-gate-bridge-picture.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.visitingdc.com/images/golden-gate-bridge-picture.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />This last week I was in Palo Alto, California talking with a colleague. It was my first trip to the bay area in my adult life and my first ever trip to Palo Alto. Stanford put me up at a nice hotel in downtown Palo Alto and I was able to find time to go on some runs. My first run on Monday afternoon I ran around the "dish". I had heard from several people before I went to Stanford about this open space area behind the campus. It has a paved loop trail taking you around a satellite dish. On Monday evening there were lots of people using the trail. In areas like California where so many people exercise, people never acknowledge your presence, looking down and away from you as you pass and wave. After saying "hi" to the first dozen or so people I passed and not receiving one response, I gave up trying. The running community in Oklahoma is small and so friendly that everyone waves and smiles when we see another runner on the roads.<br /><br />The next morning I had made some running arrangements with a friend from Utah who is now living in Palo Alto. He took me to some trails further behind the "dish" area. I really agree with his observation: <br /><br /><blockquote><i>The problem with the open spaces in California is that they are all so formal.</i></blockquote><br /><br />Wednesday I went by myself up to the "dish" area again but took a different turn and ended up on a really busy two-lane road. It was jammed packed with commuters all heading into town. Every car I saw only had a single occupant. Argh... How much does gas need to cost before people start carpooling? I couldn't stop thinking about the John Denver song "Rocky Mountain High."<br /><br /><blockquote><i>Now his life is full of wonder but his heart still knows some fear<br />Of a simple thing he cannot comprehend<br />Why they try to tear the mountains down to bring in a couple more<br />More people, more scars upon the land</i></blockquote><br /><br />California, eh? ... They can keep it, I'll take the red clay dirt anytime.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Running moment of the week:</span> On Saturday morning I went for a run out at Lake Thunderbird. I didn't see a soul except for deer, rabbits, squirrels and a turtle. It's good to be home. <br /><br />4/21 - 4/27<br />total miles: 61.1<br />time: 7:54<br /><br />YTD miles: 914.1Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-55963497062248715282008-04-20T12:29:00.005-05:002008-04-20T21:11:38.100-05:00Happy Birthday to me!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3MnW_uylDoID-5zFFd_NQII9IxzGkssQFYu5d5T348wKa2aXR0Ik2CBv5m3cZ4joUJQtPcYMLTR2LKwcerqGHlIqLiLzw1ktx1beFOxyEwrD1sF-DtpRQpAud-y9Mfjhr-_rvKS2PI3CV/s1600-h/IMG_1429.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3MnW_uylDoID-5zFFd_NQII9IxzGkssQFYu5d5T348wKa2aXR0Ik2CBv5m3cZ4joUJQtPcYMLTR2LKwcerqGHlIqLiLzw1ktx1beFOxyEwrD1sF-DtpRQpAud-y9Mfjhr-_rvKS2PI3CV/s320/IMG_1429.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191381886573091602" /></a><br /><br />I turned 30 this week on Wednesday. Surprisingly, I didn't become an amazing distance runner the next day. That's too bad since now I'm going to get my butt kicked in the 30-39 age group. There's a few races/runs I found online this week I think I'm going to sign up for. First off in June, there's the <a href="http://tatur.org/Greenpeople.pdf">Greenpeople</a> run up at Lake Hefner in OKC. It's a four hour lap run for fun. I think you're supposed to eat a hot dog every lap you go around or something like that. I'm planning on run there from our house Norman and then running a few laps. In July, there's <a href="http://www.traversetrailrunning.com/">Cap't Karl's Run</a> outside of Austin, Texas. It is a 12 hour night run on a ~5 mile loop. I ran this last year and put in 50 miles. Somewhere around mile 8 I twisted my ankle and had to stop an hour early when my ankle was the size of a softball. I hope to run at least 60 miles this year. July in Texas, it will be a sizzler! <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Running moment of the week:</span> Lying around in bed on Sunday morning watching the Woman's Olympic Marathon Trials on nbc.com. The USA is going to have great distance team in Beijing, it will be fun to watch them go head to head with the world's best. Go USA!<br /><br />4/14 - 4/20<br />total miles: 49.9<br />time: 6:25<br /><br />YTD miles: 853.0Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-76035227975168887012008-04-13T21:32:00.013-05:002008-04-20T12:34:59.562-05:00Lake McMurtry Trail Run<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9msAfsaGeMayR7HCFwyErclsSg7gdoHXDDp6nYB8CnXh1MXZ1TROpQSZVc9z0nZCyEzeo986DP9J_bod_V1VioaaYnH8JDhAn18RswzuOQDjBzxG2hIqafJ2YGxBuzdkMFgUiOOpzllx/s1600-h/IMG_1408.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9msAfsaGeMayR7HCFwyErclsSg7gdoHXDDp6nYB8CnXh1MXZ1TROpQSZVc9z0nZCyEzeo986DP9J_bod_V1VioaaYnH8JDhAn18RswzuOQDjBzxG2hIqafJ2YGxBuzdkMFgUiOOpzllx/s320/IMG_1408.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188927303948863890"></a> I ran with Gina up at Lake McMurtry by Stillwater as she rocked out her first 50K. The race consists of two figure eight laps. We ran this race last year, I ran the full 50K and Gina ran the 25K. Last year it was a dreary, cold and windy mudfest and with the torrential downpours we had here in the first part of last week we thought we were in for similar conditions. The sun came out though on Friday as it warmed up and it looked like at least we we're going to have gorgeous running weather. On the drive up to Stillwater we saw some swollen lakes and streams, a little foreshadowing of what was to come. Earl Blewitt (race director) postponed the race for thirty minutes since some of the roads heading into the park were flooded. As for the course, I think a quote from Earl sums it up the best: <br /><br /><center><span style="font-style:italic;">"The trail is in good shape where it isn't covered in water." </span></center><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwUcZiSCYnLClcuwaLBTOBwxuPqAtfoB32MWfBtug8cYEPZtEIhewl0dcE3LZVEoeRVBAB2aA6IgfkFcWLfzkXDsx_6ae0HHJDB2aCVeDTp63wloD6dOgiPq1dcAJk_DYWCqS_psXDFxMa/s1600-h/IMG_1416.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwUcZiSCYnLClcuwaLBTOBwxuPqAtfoB32MWfBtug8cYEPZtEIhewl0dcE3LZVEoeRVBAB2aA6IgfkFcWLfzkXDsx_6ae0HHJDB2aCVeDTp63wloD6dOgiPq1dcAJk_DYWCqS_psXDFxMa/s320/IMG_1416.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189248696351623586" /></a><br /><br />I'll let Gina tell you the whole story:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Gina's race report:</span>This is my first (and hopefully not my last) race report. Matt suggested I tell you a bit about how I felt during, before and after the race. So hear it goes..<br /><br />Before the race, I honestly felt alright about everything. I actually wasn't thinking about it too much, because I had had a very busy week - getting back from Seattle after a cancelled flight and a red-eye, I started a new program at work, and then I had to come back to my computer that had crashed right before I left for Seattle. So, yeah, the race wasn't at the tip top most of my mind. But I was excited and looking forward to the challenge. I tried to get Matt to go to bed early on Friday night, but he was basking in the humor of "Still Standing" (ask Matt). So off to bed I went, because we had to wake up at the early morning hour of 5AM. During the very peaceful drive up to Lake McMurtry, I tried not to get to antsy or too nervous. I really just wanted to get things started, so I didn't have to think about the next 31.1 miles. But, it was not to be. We got there and the race was postponed for a half hour because of flooded roads. Well, I tried to keep my cool and take a forty minute nap, but my nerves coupled with Matt's java drinking kept the sleep at bay. No worries, though because the race started soon enough and we were off. <br /><br />Honestly, my favorite part of the run was crossing the "river." Water up to mid-thigh, kept me alert and made me feel tough. It was also like a nice cold ice bath, that soothed my muscles, which I really appreciated on the second loop. I'd like to say that this run was fun the whole time and that I had a stellar performance, but ...well it wouldn't be the truth and it wouldn't be as interesting! I did have fun and I did meet one of my goals (to finish under 6hr 30 min.). <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybhFcTB-Fme-JbidJZZ4C3oP2ehytiU9d48krST_b89EV5N4Zh2_Tj8a1QbWCtxwxfJxJlisUXFrBD6iVJczRCOMmNTF3irUsT04aWSwesfLGeOK-xOEFazt3V5gft-B3-4jSuzBbavEW/s1600-h/IMG_1421.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybhFcTB-Fme-JbidJZZ4C3oP2ehytiU9d48krST_b89EV5N4Zh2_Tj8a1QbWCtxwxfJxJlisUXFrBD6iVJczRCOMmNTF3irUsT04aWSwesfLGeOK-xOEFazt3V5gft-B3-4jSuzBbavEW/s320/IMG_1421.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189258501761960370" /></a>I also felt like crap, and wasn't sure I was going to finish. Half way (ok, not even half way) through the race my legs felt like lead and I felt so tired. I just lost all my energy and it was pretty demoralizing because I knew I had 15 more miles to go. Luckily, I had the just the thing I needed to get through the race...Matt. He was the best cheerleader, crew master, pacer you can imagine. He advised me to keep going, even if I was just walking, to try eating whatever and whenever I wanted (there's a reason they put potatoes out on these long races), and to just try to enjoy the scenery. And you know what? I did all those things and I had a good time. I walked a lot over the next 8 miles, ate a bunch of things from pretzels and potatoes, to animal crackers and lots of GU, and I was able to move from a tired walk to a slow shuffle, and eventually even picked up my feet for some actual trail 'running!' My last 7 miles I think were some of my best, because I stayed focus and just tried to listen to my body. There are probably a lot more moments I could recount, like the people who hitched a ride on the back of a truck for 10ft to avoid getting their feet wet, passing someone in the last mile who had passed me at the half way point, almost falling on my face after a root jumped up and grabbed my shoe, and the joy of never getting lapped, but if I kept going you'd be reading a novel.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3IkMthV9WEpXwb4LZY2wRvITZH3vqgaK9NUL4CELJ1Q_EhGI8ODnIIXIgLnIioubXZo1phSMOUHM1wiQ36yu4gXq_5LAtARfaNwRdb0jxASdHutnEePzV99NpFsusPN1DmilUcday_2rB/s1600-h/IMG_1428.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3IkMthV9WEpXwb4LZY2wRvITZH3vqgaK9NUL4CELJ1Q_EhGI8ODnIIXIgLnIioubXZo1phSMOUHM1wiQ36yu4gXq_5LAtARfaNwRdb0jxASdHutnEePzV99NpFsusPN1DmilUcday_2rB/s320/IMG_1428.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189260404432472514" /></a><br />So, how did I feel after the race? Tired, sore, happy. Amazingly I didn't cry at the finish, though I was pretty emotionally spent. I popped some Vitamin I (ibuprofen) pretty quickly, but the next 24 hours were a bit rough as I was definitely sore. Yeah, I pretty much felt like an old lady, with bones cracking and an early bed time! But, surprisingly 48 hours or so later, I'm feeling a little bit better, a little less sore and more than a little excited to go out on a run on Wednesday (I figure one more day of rest would do me good!). <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Running moment of the week:</span> Watching Gina finish her first ultra! Check it out below. Don't mind my heavy breathing and woo-hoo's, I had just run for the past 6+ hours, I'm allowed to sound like a dork.<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dySwxyzCt-xyfnUeYDmDVJPYI4iUdHVnOks-ATrlnV44gqNUk_3I5H0vHXXxixKr2uZVWnFGjkKlc9BByTCRQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />4/7 - 4/13<br />total miles: 49.6<br />time: 8:50<br /><br />YTD miles: 803.1Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-15615982299290222692008-04-06T14:37:00.004-05:002008-04-06T17:17:39.315-05:00Red Bud ClassicThursday afternoon:<br /><br />Me: Chisholm, do you want to go on a run this weekend?<br />Chisholm: Actually, I'm going to run the Red Bud 50 on Saturday morning.<br />Me: What's that?<br />Chisholm: It's a 50 mile bike ride, but I'm going to run it. I plan on starting at 2 AM. You interested?<br />Me: Let me think about it.<br /><br />Thursday evening:<br /><br />Me: Sure. I mean what else would I be doing at 2 AM on Saturday morning?<br /><br />And so it began, Chisholm had a crazy idea and I was crazy enough to go along with it. We drove part of the course on Friday evening, planting some food and water along the way. 1:30 AM came really quickly, by 2:15 AM we were off and running. In my mind's eye picturing the run I imagined running along country roads, a low sun and pleasant tshirt running temps. Somehow that fact we would be running for almost <i>five</i> hours before the sun rose slipped right past me. Oops. I actually wasn't even planning on wearing anything over my tanktop. Chisholm lent me a long sleeve shirt and I'm glad I used it, it was in the upper 30's at the start and it went down to 32 before it started to get warmer.<br /><br />The course is made for bikers, as such it is entirely on pavement (Chisholm's training for Badwater this summer and doesn't want to step on trail until it's over) and features very few turns. I think there is like 10 turns total, one of which we missed and ended up running on I-44 for a short while before we hopped a fence to get on the service road. Good thing is was 3:00 AM and there was very little traffic. <br /><br />Around 6:30 AM the temperature got low as it was going to, I was starting to feel tired and I was definitely wishing I brought the gloves Chisholm set out for me. He let me borrow his hat as an insulator between my hand and my water bottle, that helped. The sun just started to shed some light when we got to the corner of NE 36th and Triple X (such a bad ass name for a road, I told Chisholm I want to steal the sign). Here the road actually curves a little as it crosses the North Canadian River. The sun was cresting the horizon and I was starting to feel better although it wasn't until 7 miles later, at the corner of Wilshire and Hiawassee when we first saw some bikers heading the other direction that I really picked up.<br /><br />Everyone was waving to us, saying hi. I don't think anyone knew that we had started over 6 hours ago and were planning on running as far as they were biking! Some people asked us where our bikes were. Our best responses:<br /><br />"Free your bike, your mind will follow."<br />"It's more fun to run."<br /><br />It was harder on the way back. Now that it was light we could see how far the straight-a-ways were and how far we had to go. We just had to keep our eyes on the road and put on foot in front of the other. Bikers now were passing us on the way back in. We were feeling tired, but we finished in 9 hours and 20 minutes. We snagged a finisher medal and went to grab a burger. Good times to be had by all.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwOzFmcMGefuga0wQ_PWxNZVnYHLthuC_IynFoOvEDIiKqHGJRgnffZa3yRp3XTA7NFX3DzSX85wqYQC215_78kiAHSWTwudf1jHABEVSfo7myb-bRRQj6hNCvFud5l9nLSVr0ghSBQw6m/s1600-h/redBudLogo.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwOzFmcMGefuga0wQ_PWxNZVnYHLthuC_IynFoOvEDIiKqHGJRgnffZa3yRp3XTA7NFX3DzSX85wqYQC215_78kiAHSWTwudf1jHABEVSfo7myb-bRRQj6hNCvFud5l9nLSVr0ghSBQw6m/s320/redBudLogo.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186220417336789106" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Running moment of the week:</span> Besides the above (which was definitely the run of the week), today I had a great run with Maia out at Lake Thunderbird. She did awesome, no slacking and she seemed to always have smile on her face.<br /><br />3/31 - 4/6<br />total miles: 71.8<br />time: 12:20<br /><br />March miles: 221.4<br />YTD miles: 753.6Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-13337067701718710692008-04-02T20:46:00.008-05:002010-03-29T18:58:13.033-05:00On the roadLast weekend I was in Baton Rouge for an AMS (American Mathematical Society) conference at LSU. I was staying at a hotel right off of the interstate which normally involves traffic dodging while running along roads that were definitely not made for pedestrians. When I arrived on Friday, I found an hour to go for a quick run before we headed to campus. I decided to head away from the interstate and quickly found a nice quiet neighborhood. There was a baptist church cooking up some amazing barbecue, huge live oak trees lining the streets and gorgeous old French homes. The following and subsequent mornings I ran around a lake near the LSU campus. There is not a continuous path around the lake, but when the adjacent road is busy there is a wide path. I was pleasantly surprised to find such a great spot to run. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Running moment of the week:</span> While running around the lake I saw some spray paint markings, some for a marathon and half-marathon they most put on using the road around the lake. But also I saw a solid line with the words "Endurance 50", it's good to see that there are ultrarunners in Baton Rouge.<br /><br />3/24 - 3/30<br />total miles: 42.9<br />time: 5:14<br /><br />YTD miles: 681.8Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-17301028785219277702008-03-24T11:04:00.004-05:002010-03-29T18:57:31.797-05:00Sunday, March 16 - 20K - Day 3At least it didn't rain on Saturday night. It didn't help my sleep though, it was too cold to go and sit in the creek after the 50 miles and my legs were really sore. I kept tossing and turning in my sleeping bag and never got comfortable.<br /><br />With the race being so short, there were no drop bags and very limited aid on the course. I started with three Gus and a couple of bottles. I couldn't believe the start of the race. Everyone started out so fast! I was really struggling to keep up. Josh was ten minutes ahead of me and I knew that unless he completely collapsed there was no way I was going to pass him in total time. Also Paul, Matt and Ty were at least 50 minutes behind me so I knew that my second place was pretty much sealed. I still tried to run hard, but everyone kept passing me. I guess it shouldn't be too much of a surprise, on each of the previous days I didn't really start running fast until mile 27, with only 12 or so to go today, I knew I would never get warmed-up.<br /><br />I finished in tenth place overall, sixth out of the stage runners in 2:08. My cumulative time over the three days was 16:30:28. Full results can be found <a href="http://www.3daysofsyllamo.org/Results2008.aspx" target=_blank>here</a>. Kudos to Josh and Ashley Nordell for taking the overall male and female. <br /><br />Steve, his family and all of the volunteers did an amazing job putting on the race. The course was well marked (except for one turn on the 50 mile run), the aid stations well stocked with food, drink and smiling faces, the campground is well suited for an ultra and the terrain is gorgeous, hard and rugged. I definitely recommend it for any ultrarunner looking for a tough challenge in the Ozarks. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEt_RfDpIRXCRxmmppj7QnEo9iMM5__V-qU76SzFepjN5JKTLF59-GW5QHUSDRYNIUL3XxFRGjBb9YV8x5-9rdZSDMG9miaOhVmiUnd_TuE1L_8TeiZ-ZuIorfH6H3m-GJTCDw-i5sGvR5/s1600-h/IMG_1369.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEt_RfDpIRXCRxmmppj7QnEo9iMM5__V-qU76SzFepjN5JKTLF59-GW5QHUSDRYNIUL3XxFRGjBb9YV8x5-9rdZSDMG9miaOhVmiUnd_TuE1L_8TeiZ-ZuIorfH6H3m-GJTCDw-i5sGvR5/s320/IMG_1369.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181340982301214818" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Running moment of the day:</span> Finishing.<br /><br />3/17 - 3/23<br />total miles: 21.3<br />time: 3:27<br /><br />YTD miles: 638.9Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-35537029769672469562008-03-21T14:39:00.007-05:002010-03-29T18:57:16.317-05:00Saturday, March 15 - 50M - Day 2Although it hadn't started to rain by the time we went to bed on Thursday and in fact looked like the rain might hold off, it rained and stormed hard after we laid down to sleep. My legs were sore from the 50K, combining this with the thin thermarest pad and the thunder and lightning meant I didn't sleep well and I was already awake at 5:00 AM when the alarm went off. It was cooler outside than the previous morning and on a positive note we could see lots of stars so at least the sky was clear.<br /><br />The 50M course was an out and back, apparently a last minute change because of down tress caused by recent snow fall. Drop bags were allowed at miles 9/41 and 19/31. In the first bag I put a hand bottle and waistpack in case I felt like switching from the Nathan pack I was starting with. In the second bag I put 10 Gus, some endurolytes, 2 Little Debbie StarCrunches and a windbreaker. Rumor was that even though it was clear that stroms were coming in were a high possibility, therefore I opted for the Nathan pack as I could stuff my rainjacket in it.<br /><br />Everyone was moving slowingly in the morning and the race didn't officially start until 10 after 6 AM. It started looking like a repeat performance of the previous day, Matt, Ty and Josh took off up the ridge and Scott and I dropped into the chase pack. By the time we crested the ridge though, Matt and Ty were on a tear and Scott and I caught up to Josh. We bumped into Matt and Ty a few times before the first aid and mile 5 as they lost the trail marking momentarily. It was good to have trail veteran Scott with us to point the way.<br /><br />By the time we reached the first aid station we could turn our lights off. Already the scenery was looking more spectacular than the previous day. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKeSN-8KWXLT_cmhTCPEW5OEK7Mt3QEbz78Y259Agx5HETydH5fPlNpb3JnJovOmyNQI5Adyz9EfuZSB_aGvvKThAqpXiRlx_iSzBV55J-NWDrj1WZUyRgbOe6JD6qfgEU4ZbI1wWF0Tme/s1600-h/IMG_1333.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKeSN-8KWXLT_cmhTCPEW5OEK7Mt3QEbz78Y259Agx5HETydH5fPlNpb3JnJovOmyNQI5Adyz9EfuZSB_aGvvKThAqpXiRlx_iSzBV55J-NWDrj1WZUyRgbOe6JD6qfgEU4ZbI1wWF0Tme/s320/IMG_1333.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180288337356572738" /></a> For this first portion off the run we were on the North Sylamore Creek Trail. The anticipated clouds had rolled in and there was a layer of fog hovering above the creek in the canyon. It was mystical. From mile 5 to the second aid at mile 9 the trail passes along side of a bluff with a steep drop off towards the creek. It was some great running. The three of us chatted it up, everything from previous ultras to college life. <br /><br />After leaving the Barkshed aid station the course heads about 50 feet up a gravel road before a sharp right hand turn. Josh and I would of ran past it without a second thought if it wasn't for Scott. Unfortunately, ahead of us Matt and Ty weren't so luck and kept running right on by. There is a large climb after the right turn and this is where Josh, Scott and I split up, Josh running ahead and Scott dropping back. We got about ten minutes of rain here and a clap or two of thunder. Nothing too worrisome. The trail is severely cambered and on every step my right ankle rolled slightly and I worried that it might get sore. I caught back up to Josh on a long downhill section and we arrived at the third aid station. Cal and Steve were there and told us that they hadn't seen Matt and Ty go by, we started wondering if they got lost. <br /><br />Another climb and Josh took off. I was really starting to hurt and think that I might of gone out to fast and ran too hard trying to keep up with Josh. These aren't very comforting thoughts only 15 miles into a 50 mile run. The scenery was gorgeous though and kept my mind distracted. At mile 19 I arrived at the Cripple Turkey aid station. I grabbed some more Gu, ate a Little Debbie and ran on. Steve's wife told me as I left that now we were on the Ozark Highline Trail and needed to follow the white blazes. Leaving the station there is a steep downhill. I heard someone shouting my name, Josh had missed a turn. He came running back down the road toward me and we found a sharp right turn across a creek. Again a climb and again Josh took off and again at the top of the hill I heard someone shouting my name, Josh had got lost again. <br /><br />The Ozark Highline Trail was just created a few years ago and it is not very well trod. Most of the time it is like connect the dots going from blaze to blaze. I arrived at the mile 23 aid station around 4 hours and 30 minutes into the run. Earlier Josh and I had talked about finishing in under 9 hours, possibly around 8. The course had something else in mind. From here it is 2 miles to the turn around. They said that they put up flagging and wrote a word at the turn around that we would have to tell them on the return trip. These two miles out to the turn around were the hardest miles of the day. Every step I was hoping that I would see Josh coming back at me and after every step he still wasn't there. After 25 minutes I finally saw him, two minuntes later I was at the turn around at 4 hours and 56 minutes, four minutes back of Josh. In case your wondering, the word was "Syllamo", which I probably should of guessed, I mean what else would it be? "Rabbit"?<br /><br />Out and back courses have a unique psychology, on the way out you try to make little references to use to know how far you have left on the return and you keep waiting for the turn around. The constant waiting always makes the run seem farther than it should be. There is a huge mental lift once you reach the turn around and start heading back, knowing that you are over the hump, on the return. I experienced this exactly. With every step I took after the turn around I was getting stronger, I was getting faster. Good thing too, since the third place runner, Paul, was only eight minutes behind me and there was a pack of runners about two minutes after that. About halfway to the sixth aid at mile 27 I saw Matt and Ty. They had gotten lost but were now on the right track, I knew I would have to keep going or else they could still catch me.<br /><br />At aid station 6 I shoved about five quartered pb&j's into my mouth and left feeling better than I had when I was there for mile 23. I was seeing lots of runners now and everyone told me that Josh has about 5 minutes ahead, I didn't figure I'd see him again. Aid station 6 back to Cripple Turkey at mile 31 felt entirely downhill. I'm not sure if it really is or if I was just running strong, but I felt great and just went with it. I loaded up with Gu from my drop bag and was supposed to fill up on endurolytes here too but I forgot and didn't realize it until I had ran for ten minutes past the aid station. Such is life, I had four left and figured I could probably ration them, I had plenty of Gu so I should be OK.<br /><br />Past the unmanned aid station at mile 35 and onto Barkshed at mile 41. Strong and getting stronger. I stopped seeing runners coming the other direction. About a mile and half out from Barkshed I came into a big long switchback in a deep drainage. Just leaving the other side two minutes ahead of me was Josh. I hollered, "I'm coming for you Josh." Pretty stupid I know, but come on I'd run 40 miles, most of it by myself and can't really be held responsible for all of my dumb comments. I kept closing on Josh on the downhill leading to Barkshed and I finally caught up to him at the aid station where we left together.<br /><br />The next four miles were amazing, perhaps the best of the entire weekend. I felt like I was running effortlessly, pure running bliss. Definitely part of my twenty miuntes (see John Bingham's article <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-332--12519-0,00.html" target=_blank>Runners' World April 2008</a>). Josh stayed with me for about a half a mile then dropped back.<br /><br />I got a pleasant surprise at Gunner Pool at mile 45, Gina was there waiting for me. Good thing too since there were no aid station wokrers there, they left the water and Heed, but pulled all of the food. Gina gave me some V8 (the best midrace drink) and I took off, five miles left to go. I kept looking for the finish. Having only run this section in the dark, I couldn't exactly tell where I was. Sure enough, I got the finish and was able to push it on in, finishing in 9:30:02. I'm most proud of the HUGE negative split, 4:56 on the way out, 4:34 on the way back.<br /><br />Josh came in ten minutes later, Paul thirty-five after that and then more and more starting trickling in. Tough course. Only 20K to go the next day. Josh was in first overall, about ten miuntes ahead of me, Paul, Matt and Ty were all around 50 minutes behind me.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzVq0ECZDwqTot1-VWq2KUb1ybYqE7Pbah1qVqGdTosTheav2qGnHn4AnwO5-WQmaqvmfcGXC6LKK-XGdqOT00gI8S-Szr3jYJExWCi5UnnLqmCbA5suQsEugt0kRY3LL9mMjeJC2ZO47N/s1600-h/IMG_1342.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzVq0ECZDwqTot1-VWq2KUb1ybYqE7Pbah1qVqGdTosTheav2qGnHn4AnwO5-WQmaqvmfcGXC6LKK-XGdqOT00gI8S-Szr3jYJExWCi5UnnLqmCbA5suQsEugt0kRY3LL9mMjeJC2ZO47N/s320/IMG_1342.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180283342309607474" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Running moment of the day:</span> Mile 41 to 45, this is Barkshed to Gunner Pool, beautiful trail, I ran strong, felt invincible, pure transcendence.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-59962988504378139812008-03-18T16:06:00.007-05:002010-03-29T18:57:02.139-05:00Friday, March 14 - 50K - Day 1<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRl8iu8nB42YnsnUEXd2I2SakOqGxyUXhvy0UVkTwl4bHE5_zbUWoZReidbCa9i2i50Iruyrxc-sneiTMFnB5X1cpOAJKrfXeXnWHaUQVbnWazD9tlLhojbDf5Eh_niFgC3eDLCQfkhjm/s1600-h/IMG_1295.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRl8iu8nB42YnsnUEXd2I2SakOqGxyUXhvy0UVkTwl4bHE5_zbUWoZReidbCa9i2i50Iruyrxc-sneiTMFnB5X1cpOAJKrfXeXnWHaUQVbnWazD9tlLhojbDf5Eh_niFgC3eDLCQfkhjm/s320/IMG_1295.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179193781864228242" /></a>It rained Thursday night, a heavy downpour accompanied by lots of thunder and lightning. The thunder echoed off of the limestone wall next to our tent and sounded louder than any thunder I have ever heard. The storm system moved out of the area by morning, but there was still an overcast.<br /><br />We woke up at seven, too early for a nine o'clock race, but I knew my nerves wouldn't let me sleep in so we got up. I ate a cold Pop Tart (chocolate chip cookie dough - I didn't even know they made this flavor) drank some coffee provided by the race and got my drop bag ready. There was one drop bag station at the halfway point. My bag consisted of 4 Gus, a windbreaker in case I was cold and a pair of dry socks. Temperatures were in the mid fifties and I started in my white sleeveless tank.<br /><br />The lead pack of John Muir, Matt Hart, Ty Draney, Josh Nordell and last years winner Dave Wakefield took off at a fast pace. I tried to hang but quickly realized this was one way to not enjoy the next three days so I backed off and formed the chase pack with Paul Schoenlaub and Scott Eason. <br /><br />Inside my head I was already questioning if I had run too fast at the A-OK 50K two weeks prior and was in for three days of hurt. But the joy from being on real trails again took over and I started not to care about place and time. The course is designed by Arkansas ultralegend Steve Kirk and is absolutely amazing. There's enough ups to keep you working, enough downs for fun and enough flat to still be runnable. Many times I just found myself looking around and soaking up how gorgeous it is to keep me going when I get stuck running roads in Norman.<br /><br />The course was very well marked but it was nice to run with trail veterans Scott and Paul who told me what was coming up before we got to it. In particular Paul told us to look back over our shoulders to catch an awesome view of Sylamore Creek around mile 25 or so.<br /><br />Oklahoma ultralegend Tom Brenan caught us around this point. He had been smartly taking it easy on day one. As the winner of last years A-OK 50K, he warned me (a bit too late) about the Okie Dokie wine. We ran as four until the last aid station at mile 27, which was unmanned. I looked back and saw a pack of two more runners about to catch us. My competitive spirit took over and I told Tom, "It's time to start running." I took off, never looked back and ran my fastest four miles of the day bringing it on home. About a mile or so from the finish I caught Dave. I don't know the official time, but I think it was around 4:52. I finished fifth overall, fourth out of the stage runners, about twenty minutes behind the third place stage runner and a half an hour behind the first place stage runner.<br /><br />After the run I soaked in the creek, showered, ate some pasta and had a beer. I was pretty nervous still about the 50 mile run the next day, especially after hearing some say there was 16,000 feet of elevation gain. Gina made a campfire and we sat around with some of the other runners and relaxed. By nine o'clock, everyone was calling it quits for the day.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Running moment of the day:</span> From the unmanned aid station at mile 27 to the finish I ran strong. It felt really good and it was a big confidence boost to be able to have my best miles of the day happen at the end.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-83290662195971237852008-03-17T10:44:00.004-05:002010-03-29T18:56:42.794-05:003 Days of SyllamoThe race is over. I'm beat, both mentally and physically. My legs feel like lead weights and I just want to lay down and zone out. I'll give a proper race report here soon, you'll at least need to give me three days. (That's a joke.) <br /><br />My preliminary results:<br /><br />Friday, March 14 50K<br />time: 4:52<br />placement: 5<br /><br />Saturday, March 15 50M<br />time: 9:30<br />placement: 1<br /><br />Sunday, March 16 20K<br />time: 2:08<br />placement: 10<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUcSboeDlI7_Zluuyjea0OPXd-tXnSOPpouGRyHORa9KAwcOqeu1ZfZC7e4EmtYQPj-EiYECfvWBNXoPGTpYHbASA6dzFwVBXWEMwc9yVzFMTSYDmR9czAoHsdGrialHIktzCKdlDkpvDL/s1600-h/IMG_1339.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUcSboeDlI7_Zluuyjea0OPXd-tXnSOPpouGRyHORa9KAwcOqeu1ZfZC7e4EmtYQPj-EiYECfvWBNXoPGTpYHbASA6dzFwVBXWEMwc9yVzFMTSYDmR9czAoHsdGrialHIktzCKdlDkpvDL/s320/IMG_1339.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178739417273984370" /></a><br /><br />3/10 - 3/16<br />total miles: 99.3<br />time: 17:26<br /><br />YTD miles: 617.6Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312353578184431665.post-91097500205705285312008-03-09T20:36:00.005-05:002008-03-22T13:50:39.277-05:00UltralistThe aches and soreness from the A-OK 50K left pretty quickly and I am ready to run 3 Days of Syllamo this weekend. Most of this week was spent sitting on my butt and relaxing/recovering and trying the bottle of wine I won. (A special note to any Oklahomans who might try this wine - it's way sweet, as in sweet tasting, not sweeeeeeet.) I did go on some runs with Maia and Gina, in fact every one of my runs this week was with Maia. <br /><br />Since Gina and I forgot a lot of essential for Bandera we decided to make a list of all the things we need to bring to ultra. Here it is:<br /><br />Running Clothes<br /><br />[] shirt/singlet<br />[] shorts/tights<br />[] socks<br />[] underwear/jockstrap<br />[] shoes<br />[] visor/hat<br />[] gloves<br />[] wind/rain jacket<br /><br />Extra Clothes<br /><br />[] shirt<br />[] shorts/jeans<br />[] socks<br />[] whitie-tighties<br />[] crocs/sandals/flip-flops<br />[] warm jacket<br /><br />Nutrition<br /><br />[] Gu/sport gel<br />[] power/clif/granola bars<br />[] cookies/candy/little debbie snacks<br />[] potato chips<br />[] V8<br />[] soda<br />[] sandwiches: turkey/cheese<br />[] soup/noodles<br />[] endurolytes<br /><br />First Aid<br /><br />[] neosporin<br />[] ibuprofen<br />[] baby powder<br />[] band-aids<br />[] moleskin/duct tape<br />[] body glide/vasoline<br />[] chap stick<br />[] sun block<br />[] aloe/solarcane/lotion<br />[] hand sanitizer<br />[] poopie paper<br />[] tums<br /><br />Hydration<br /><br />[] hand bottles<br />[] waist pack<br />[] camelback<br />[] Gu2O<br />[] water<br /><br />Miscellaneous<br /><br />[] face towels<br />[] batteries<br />[] flashlight/headlamp<br />[] camp chairs<br />[] quart/sandwich/snack bags<br />[] ice<br />[] cooler<br />[] dirty clothes bag<br />[] ipod<br />[] bug spray<br /><br />If you want a nice pretty pdf version click <a href="http://www.math.ou.edu/~mclay/Running/ultralist.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Running moment of the week:</span> I helped Gina run her 21 mile long run today. I biked along side of her for the first 15 miles and ran next to her for the last 6. She did awesome. So often she helps out with my running: crewing at races, biking along side of me, meeting me on training runs and just pushing my butt out of bed, it felt good to be able return the favor.<br /><br />3/3 - 3/9<br />total miles: 21.0<br />time: 3:11<br /><br />YTD miles: 518.3Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858113393840092955noreply@blogger.com0