Mike Luvin's Superbad Running Blog

Cascade Crest 100...All Aboard the Pain Train

2012-01-09T00:47:00.001-08:00

I wrote down some thoughts awhile back about this race...it was an amazing experience that needs to be shared.

After Western States, I was really looking forward to helping William get through his first 100 miler, The Cascade Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run. I ended up driving up to the race by myself. It was kind of nice...I took the "long" way through the Gorge and up 97. I met up with William and the crew (Jason, Kane, Jolene, and Mason) in Cle Elum. We found a place for dinner that served pasta and it turns out the pasta dishes came in two sizes, so there was a lot of discussion with the waitress about whether we were man enough to eat the full dinner. Hey, do you see this belt buckle that I'm wearing? After dinner we went back to the hotel room to relax, go through the race handbook, review past race splits, discuss plans, etc.

The race has a unique starting time of 10:00 AM, which I learned was used so even the fastest runners have to run through the night. It was nice not to have to get up so early, but once we got there, checked in, dropped off the drop bags, and said hi to a few runners and crew that we knew, there wasn't much to do but wait. Luckily Kane brought his mask and of course there was the hobo house to explore. By the time they finally took off, it was starting to get pretty warm. I believe William was forecasting a high temperature of about 75 degrees for the day...I think it got a bit hotter than that. According to the internet, it was already 75 degrees at the start of the race! The high temperature for Easton, WA on 8/27/11 was 96 degrees! I think that was hotter than Western States!

Once they were off, our crew split up. Jason, Kane, and I planned to meet Jolene and Mason at the first crew access at Tacoma Pass at 23 miles. We had quite a bit of time to kill...hmmm...too early for lunch. We ended up driving around for awhile...finally we felt like it was late enough to have lunch so we stopped at Mountain High Hamburgers and had the Mt. Rainier burger. After lunch we figured we could head up and wait for William. Based on splits from previous years, I figured he would come through somewhere between 2:30 and 3:00 PM. There were a lot of people already there waiting. I was looking for some shade...as I said before, it was pretty warm. Rod Bien came through first...he looked good...I would say effortless, especially when compared to everyone else...second place was already 17 minutes back! Wow! About an hour later, Randy Benthin and several Frank Schnekenburger look-a-likes who we dubbed Frank 1, Frank 2, and Frank 3 came through...we expected William very soon. When he did come in, I have to say I was caught off guard...even though almost everyone coming in looked like they were already hurting, I expected William to come in grab his pre-filled bottles and take off. What, he wants to sit down...shit, we didn't bring the chair. What, he needs some tomato soup...shit where is it (as I'm digging through his bag). He needs some ice...shit, the aid station doesn't have any (I had to run back to the truck to get some). Hey, don't worry, we told him...it's early...there's plenty of time to get things back together.

At the next two crew access points, Stampede Pass (mile 33) and Meadow Mountain (mile 41), he was definitely doing better. I was still surprised, though, at how rough almost everyone was looking by these points in the race. At Meadow Mountain the sun was starting to set...it was weird that most weren't even half done with the race and it was getting dark. We skipped the crew access (it was discouraged anyway) at Olallie Meadows at mile 48 and went straight to the next crew access at Hyak at mile 53. Jason would be pacing William from here to Kachess Lake (mile 68). After they took off, Jolene texted me asking how William was doing...hmmm...how to answer this without worrying her unnecessarily. I said he's doing better, still running. I drove to Kachess Lake with Kane and got myself ready to run. By this time, it was approaching 2:00 AM and I was finally starting to get really tired. Thankfully they arrived before I fell asleep. In a funny moment at the aid station I remember going through a list of several things that William should try to eat...the response was no, he's off that, no, he's off that...he was off pretty much everything at this point.

So we started off on the Trail from Hell...what a way to start. It was pretty much a scramble...lots of downed trees to crawl over/under and other obstacles that made it impossible to run. I thought it was kind of ridiculous...we couldn't do much more than laugh. After the scramble section we got on the trail along the lake...it was just a really difficult trail to run on. I was actually telling William to save himself on this section. Things seemed to be going pretty well, then maybe halfway into this section, he stopped to try to puke...from this point I could tell my job was going to be to just keep him moving. I kept telling him, the faster you keep moving forward, the sooner you'll be done. When we got to the Mineral Creek aid station, we heard over the radio that Rod had just finished and broke the course record! Not really what you want to hear when you're hurting and have 27 miles to go yourself. Out of Mineral Creek was a long hike up a gravel road...about 7 miles long. I remember we'd been heading up for quite awhile and hadn't seen anyone...William asked me if I was sure we were still on the course. I was pretty sure we were, but inside I was a little panicked. Eventually we saw some people coming downhill, which was weird at first, but they were part of someone's crew. We weren't going to see our crew again until mile 96.

It was really cool when the sun started to come up. We were still hiking up the gravel road and there were some amazing views of the surrounding mountains. It's well known that some of the most difficult terrain on the course comes near the end. There are the cardiac needles...several very steep climbs...and the high point on the course, Thorp Mountain. Even with my elevation profile, I was never quite sure if we were through the worst of it. William kept trying to run anything that was runnable, but it was obviously very tough for him. Heck I was starting to have trouble myself...the last 20 miles of the course were a lot tougher than I thought they would be. At the French Cabin aid station (mile 88), we were informed there was one more climb...are you kidding me! But maybe the toughest part was the very long descent that followed that climb...especially since William couldn't run downhill at this point! As we headed down the steepest section to the last aid station, I was giving him periodic elevation readings from my Garmin since we knew approximately how far we had to descend. When we pulled into the last aid station everyone was there to greet us...all aboard the Pain Train...Jason, Kane, and I all finished it up with him. Jolene and Mason met us at the finish.

As the day was unfolding I couldn't help but feel bad for my friend...he didn't have his best day. I can understand the disappointment that comes when you don't perform to what you feel is your potential. But I was also reminded of how incredibly tough this guy is...the Pain Train was in pain! I couldn't help but think how many people would have quit under those circumstances. He confirmed to me what I already knew...William Swint is a BMF and just Plain tough. Bring on those Washington mountains!

Top 10 Reasons the Pain Train Should Enter the WS100 Lottery

2011-11-16T21:03:00.001-08:00

10) There's about a 90% chance you won't get in
9) Bullseye and I want to go back
8) To become the first Aumsville finisher
7) Your love of rattlesnakes
6) Your ability to push people to set new course records
5) I heard they're adding a scramble section
4) Party at Brown's Bar
3) We need to find your sock
2) The Buckle
1) It's Western freaking States

Readers, feel free to add any additional reasons...

2011 WSER - Chapter 5: Post Race

2011-09-30T09:09:00.000-07:00

After the race, runners are whisked from medical check to blood draw to urine sample. The blood draw is done to measure five kidney-function related values: Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN), Creatinine, Creatine Phosphokinase (CPK), Sodium, and Potassium. All my values were in the normal range except my CPK was high (7300), which is not unusal after a 100 miler...you just don't want it to be too high...then you're talking about scary stuff like kidney failure. In a way, it's also a measure of whether you've pushed yourself beyond your training. I feel like my CPK said I pushed myself, but not beyond my training. Andy Jones-Wilkins has a really good story about this...run slower or train harder!
From the Western States website, "CPK is a measure of muscle protein breakdown. A normal CPK ranges from around 50 to almost 200. Vigorous exercise such as a hard run or a long hike or a strenuous football practice will elevate CPK's to 500-1000 or more with no side effects other than achy muscles. However, in prolonged extremely strenuous exercise (such as running the WSER 100), CPK's will be elevated anywhere from a few thousand to several hundred thousand units! The higher CPK's will be associated with severe muscle pain, nausea, weakness, "flu-like symptoms", dark urine (Coca Cola colored) and other unpleasant symptoms. Rest and vigorous rehydration with a variety of fluids such as water, electrolyte drinks, juice, soda, etc. generally will clear the markedly elevated CPK's within a few days. The higher the CPK, the more likely the kidneys will become plugged up and impair kidney function. Anyone with a CPK above 40,000 should follow up with a physician within a day or two for repeat blood work. However, if the urine output is diminished or the color is not clearing or you are gaining weight or you are feeling worse as time passes instead of feeling better, you should see a physician promptly." Yikes!
After all the testing I sat down on the grass and it wasn't long before I started to get really cold...so I put on my dad's shirt, Andy's hat, and then two sleeping bags on top of me. Now I was laying down, all covered up, and I wanted to put my compression socks on. I have to give Andy a big thanks for doing this for me...it couldn't have been very pleasant down there. I laid there for a little while, but we needed to get out of there so we could all get some sleep...most of the crew was driving home that day. At this point we all went our separate ways. I was able to get up and shuffle over to the car...Tonya drove the kids and me back to our hotel room. We all slept till about 10:00, then ordered breakfast from room service. I remember being surprised that I didn't really feel tired. I took a shower...it felt really good to be clean...and Tonya took the kids swimming while I went to the awards presentation. Let me just say, the buckle looks really nice...it's definitely one of the coolest things I've ever received. That night we all went swimming, then had pizza for dinner. And the next morning we packed everything up and headed home. It was a much tougher drive home for the kids than for me. I was pretty sore, but sitting in and driving the car was no problem. It was quite a relief to finally make it home.
It's funny how a little time can change your thinking after a tough race. During the race I had the thought several times, I don't need to do this again...but not more than a few days after the race I was thinking, I know I will.

2011 WSER - Chapter 4: The Race

2011-09-23T05:47:00.000-07:00

"100s are HARD." -- Craig Thornley

I was definitely a little nervous leading up to my first 100 miler...I was untested at the distance and I wasn't sure how I would respond. The training went pretty well, but I never ran much more than 50 miles continuously and neither run went real well. On top of that, I had never ever run more than 62 miles continuously and the one time I did it was a major sufferfest that included a lot of walking. There was some doubt...I felt like I was taking a leap of faith. There was also some pressure...I felt like Western States could be a once in a lifetime experience for me and because of that I wanted it to go well...I felt like I had to run sub-24 hours. As the race drew near, I was really anxious to get started...maybe not as anxious as this guy, though. Can you find me in the second video?

Squaw Valley to Escarpment: 0.0-3.5 miles
So we were off...I remember I felt relieved to finally get started. I had situated myself somewhere in the middle of the pack. My hope was to not be near anyone I knew! I wanted to run my own race. I was concerned about starting too fast...and I was not going to pass anyone unnecessarily...I kept telling myself to be patient. Sometimes, even in a long distance race, I get impatient when following people and waste a lot of energy trying to get around them. I had heard you should treat the first part of the race like a long training run. So I was trying to do that...trying to really enjoy myself...taking it all in...this is Western freaking States!
The start of the race is very cool...it's just after 5:00 AM and the sun is beginning to rise, you're climbing from 6200 to 8750 feet up a mountain, as you get higher you can look back and see Lake Tahoe and the surrounding mountains in the distance, and you can also see a train of runners stretched out in front and behind you. James Elson, a runner from Great Britain, captured a few sections of the race on video. They're pretty good for giving a feel for what it was like.

It did feel a little weird to take a gel after just 30 minutes of hiking, but Meghan had told me to come up with a fueling plan and stick to it religiously. And it seemed like the one piece of advice I heard over and over again was eat early and often. I wanted to keep my plan as simple as possible...I decided I would take a gel every 30 minutes and add in pork and beans as my "real" food. I carried a couple small cans with me and had more in my drop bags. I was also taking one S!Cap an hour. My fueling was very good early on, but degraded later in the race. All told, I think I took over 30 gels.

Escarpment to Talbot: 3.5-13.0 miles
We went up and over the top and actually got some snow free trail for a little bit. That was nice because the rest of this section was almost entirely snow and ice. It was pretty slow going and I remember thinking how much faster it would be on clear trail. There was so much snow this year that we were detoured off the normal course...however, this still meant about 13 miles of running on snow. I have a little experience running on snow, but I wouldn't say I'm real good at it...I fell down many times. But I didn't mind the snow, I thought it was actually kind of fun...especially the glissading. You could definitely tell who had and had not ever run on it...the guy from Texas in front of me...no experience. I did mind the ice. There were a few treacherous sections on ice...descending or traversing a steep slope. Everyone was taking it slow, but it looked like there were still some pretty bad wipeouts...there was blood on the ice. I was actually wishing I had worn gloves because my hands were taking a beating.
When we finally reached the aid station I remember someone being very concerned about the mileage...they wanted to talk to whoever was in charge. The original estimate for the Talbot aid station was 15 miles, but my Garmin, and likely his too, was well short of that. I just assumed that my Garmin was off...let's see...15 miles in 3 hours...that's 12 minute/mile pace...pretty good considering the conditions! Later it was determined the aid station was at about 13 miles...this made more sense.James Elson captured the creek crossing and a little of the snow just before reaching the aid station...it sounds like he had some trouble in the snow in his road shoes. The creek crossing was knee deep and pretty cold. Not sure why he's worried about missing cut-offs because he's only 6 minutes behind me at this point.

Talbot to Poppy: 13.0-19.6 miles
It was nice to be done with the snow for a while and get some real running in...this section was all on gravel road with a little pavement at the end. It was also relatively flat. I was watching my heartrate closely here and purposely holding back...this was definitely a section I could have run faster. For the first bit I ran with a guy wearing a PCT 100 miler shirt. I asked him about his race and then I told him about my experience volunteering at the Ollalie Lake aid station. This was my first experience at a 100 mile race...it was eye opening. People came through our aid station twice...once after 50+ miles and once after 70+ miles...what a difference. The first time through everyone is happy and smiling...the second time through I'm thinking to myself, "why are you doing this to yourself?" Now here I was doing it to myself. He dropped back and I ended up running the rest of the way with a lady from Australia...her pace was right where I wanted to be to keep my heartrate near target. It was on a gravel road, but it wasn't a bad stretch...I was enjoying the scenery and the shade.

Poppy to Duncan Canyon: 19.6-23.8 miles
At the Poppy aid station I had my first drop bag. I remember really fumbling around with my stuff, trying to reload my pack...I'm going to have to work on that. The aid station volunteer was very patient...he stayed with me until I was all taken care of and ready to go. As I was downing a can of pork and beans, I started calculating how many calories I had taken in versus how many calories my Garmin said I had burned...my conclusion was that I was doing really well on fueling. The best part was my stomach felt great. I ditched my arm panties and took the time to put some sunscreen on...it was starting to get warm.
Heading out of Poppy was nice because it was some of the first snow free runnable singletrack trail of the day. The trail followed the edge of a reservoir and was picturesque enough for the professional photographer to be taking pictures here. At one point on the trail I tried to jump a small creek and ended up landing with one foot in the water...I had to stop and unload all the debris from my shoe. The last bit of this section was an exposed climb up to Duncan Canyon...it was definitely getting warm. Regardless of everything slowing me down, from Poppy, I began to slowly move up in the field.

Duncan Canyon to Mosquito Ridge: 23.8-31.0 miles
I felt good for almost this entire section. Duncan Canyon was a really good aid station...there was a lot of energy and I felt like I fed off it. I got refueled, sponged off, and was ready to make my way up to Mosquito Ridge. The aid station theme at Duncan Canyon was Back to the Future and as I was leaving I noticed a sign that said, "Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads." Well, we did need a few...heck, there was even one stretch of paved road on this section...a steep downhill followed by a steep uphill that just seemed foolish to try to run up. Several people were and I had to say something out loud to a guy walking near me...something like, "they're crazy." Throughout the entire race I feel like I never questioned whether a section was runnable...I always felt like I knew if I should be hiking or running. When we got back off the road I remember descending a bit then starting a long climb up to Mosquito Ridge. For most of the climb I felt great...my hiking felt really strong, I was passing people...outhiking them. But it was the last bit of the climb that really got me...it was a little steeper and I got worked...I probably pushed a bit too hard.

Mosquito Ridge to Miller's Defeat: 31.0-35.3 miles
I'd say I hit my first low just as I was rolling into Mosquito Ridge for the first medical check. My weight was down and the aid station volunteers seemed a little concerned...they wanted me to eat and especially drink more. But other than feeling a little whipped from the climb, it seemed like I was doing OK.
When the course changes were announced before the race, I remember thinking this section was running us back in the wrong direction, a couple miles away from Auburn...it was an out-and-back. And I didn't realize it at the time, but as I was leaving Mosquito Ridge, I could see Miller's Defeat.As I headed out I felt like I was barely moving and the longer the out portion went on, the worse I felt. But I started to feel better on the back portion...maybe it was a psychological thing...I was just happy to be feeling good again. Another runner and I discussed the "rustic" trail that connected the out and back portions of this section because it was specifically highlighted in the pre-race briefing...it certainly wasn't a real trail. I remember patches of snow throughout this section, but it seemed like they could be avoided for the most part.

Miller's Defeat to Dusty Corners: 35.3-38.0 miles
Getting to Miller's Defeat was a bit of a big deal because I knew we were done with the snow and we were finally getting back on the original course. This was a nice runnable downhill section that went pretty fast...only 29 minutes for me, 22 minutes for Kilian.

Dusty Corners to Last Chance: 38.0-43.3 miles
As I was heading out of Dusty Corners, I made a point to check where I was at with respect to 24 hour pace. I was a little over 7:30 in and 24 hour pace at Dusty Corners was 7:55...this was a little too close for comfort for me and I started to get nervous. But the nerves gave me some energy and I was able to pick up the pace. This was also the point where I think I became very focused. I remember thinking any time I run a mile under 14 minutes, I'm gaining time.
The scenery on this section was impressive...part of it was up on a ridge overlooking a river canyon. There were several good viewpoints...even a waterfall in the distance.

Last Chance to Devil's Thumb: 43.3-47.8 miles
In this section we headed down to the river...gradually at first, then it got steeper. At the bottom of the canyon we crossed over a bridge and began, what seemed like, the toughest climb on the course. I was surprised how tough it was...going into the race, I underestimated it. Not sure why I would have since, according to the elevation profile, it's about 1300 feet of gain in less than a mile! At the bottom of the climb a guy was dunking his shirt in a little water source and he was advising others to do the same, so I did. On the way up, I listened to my iPod...it was a nice distraction and seemed to help. When I finally got to the top I was totally out of gas. There's actually a short video of me on the webcast asking if the climb up to Michigan Bluff was going to be that steep! The answer was no, but it's longer.

Devil's Thumb to El Dorado Creek: 47.8-52.9 miles
This section was almost entirely downhill...down into another canyon. Early on it was slightly rolling and I remember thinking about the sub-24 hour finish...I knew I had to keep pushing...this meant running everything that was "runnable". The rest of the section was a fairly gradual descent, but I remember some of it being very jarring. The trail was a little technical and it was tough for me to run smoothly. It was also a very long stretch of downhill, so by the end my legs were really feeling it. Somewhere in the middle of this section I passed Jill Perry. Sean Meissner would be pacing her from Foresthill to the finish and he had predicted that we would battle each other all day...we did.

El Dorado Creek to Michigan Bluff: 52.9-55.7 miles
By the time I got down to El Dorado Creek I was pretty whipped and the aid station volunteers seemed a little concerned about me. Apparently I wasn't looking so hot and I had a bit of a bloody nose. They cleaned me up and draped a wet towel over me which felt great. I told them I was doing fine, but I also admitted I felt like I was starting to have some blister issues. They recommended waiting until Michigan Bluff to attend to them. In the end I waited until Foresthill since I had decided I was going to change my shoes and socks there. Getting up to Michigan Bluff involved another long climb...about 1700 feet over 2.8 miles. I remember it started off pretty well, then I started to fall apart towards the end. But as I got closer to the top I was getting really excited to finally see some of my crew! Kristin came running out to meet me. My dad and Andy Stallings were also there.

Michigan Bluff to Bath Road: 55.7-60.6 miles
From the pictures below you can see I came into Michigan Bluff and got weighed...I was down about 5 pounds, as I was pretty much all day. After the medical check I kind of felt like I had to take care of myself...they were definitely not as attentive as the previous aid stations. I had some pork and beans, sponged myself off, and asked for some chicken broth...it was very hot and tasted watered down. After a brief chat with the crew, I took off...got to keep moving...I still wasn't totally comfortable with where I was at time-wise. This section headed up and then down into another canyon...I kind of forgot about this one...I was really focused on getting to Foresthill.

Bath Road to Foresthill: 60.6-62.0 miles
This section began with a fairly steep climb on the road, followed by the familiar trail toward Foresthill. I remembered this trail from last year...waiting here for Cameron Hanes. His splits from last year's race were a target of mine for my race this year, but I was quite a ways behind when I finally rolled into Foresthill...36 minutes to be exact. I thought maybe I could continue to make up time past Foresthill, though. My entire crew was waiting here for me. As you can see, William was really fired up and ran me into the aid station.

Foresthill to Cal 1 62.0-65.7 miles
At Foresthill I changed my socks and shoes...this felt really good. I was starting to get blisters on the inside of each foot at the base of my big toe. I asked for some tape for my feet and got athletic tape...this wasn't great, but it did the job. One of the aid station volunteers came over once the taping was nearly done and said they could do a better job if I wanted to wait, but he understood my desire to hurry up and get out of there...sub-24 hours was within reach. William sponged me off as I got my socks and shoes on. Spending all that time in the aid station I remember feeling really anxious to get going again...I definitely regret that I didn't acknowledge my crew a little better when I headed out. Ella didn't even get a very good high-five and was a little upset about it! Looking back, I think I was just really focused on the task at hand...I felt really good with the new socks, shoes, and pacer and wanted to get going. I knew there was a lot of runnable terrain coming as we headed down toward the river.
I was on a pretty big high coming out of Foresthill and I feel like I ran this section really well. As we got out of town and back onto the trail we had company...the Slovenian. He didn't have a pacer and I believe he said he would be the first from his country to finish Western States. He hung with us for quite a while, but we eventually dropped him...we would see him again, though.

Cal 1 to Cal 2 65.7-70.7 miles
After all that nice downhill from Foresthill, this section was noticeably more rolling and seemed long...I still felt pretty good, but was definitely coming off my high. I remember being a little surprised when Jill and Sean came flying by...surprised because I thought I was moving better than I guess I was. And as they pulled ahead Sean gave us a full moon! This led to some good back and forth between Sean and William, but they were out of sight pretty quickly so it didn't last too long. At that moment I didn't think we would see them again.

Cal 2 to Cal 3 70.7-73.0 miles
From Foresthill down to the river, a lot of things were generally going downhill...the elevation...this section in particular was relatively short with a lot of downhill, my energy...my pace was definitely dropping off as we got closer to the river, my memory...I remember a lot more detail from the first half of the race than the second half, the conversation...when I'm hurting I start talking even less...I think at one point I may have even requested one word answer questions!
At Cal 3, I remember one of the aid station volunteers saying to William, "get your runner to the river." William was doing a great job of keeping me positive with a lot of encouragement. He was also on top of my fueling, almost exclusively gels and SCaps now, and he was really riding me to keep draining my bottles between aid stations. I needed to stay hydrated...I didn't want to get stuck at an aid station if my weight was too low. I'm not sure it really helped, but there were actually a couple times that I even waited to pee until after the medical checks!

Cal 3 to Rucky Chucky Near 73.0-78.0 miles
This is the section where I feel like I really lost it...for the first time. It was starting to get dark and I hit a pretty big low. I felt like I was barely moving and I was getting discouraged because the terrain was very runnable. Too bad that deer we spotted wasn't a bear...maybe it would have gotten a little adrenaline flowing! It got dark enough during this section that I ended up needing a headlamp. And it was completely dark by the time we reached the river.

Rucky Chucky Near to Rucky Chucky Far 78.0-78.1 miles
Jason and Kane were waiting for us on the near side of the river. Other than sitting down, getting my headlamp on, and ditching my pack, I really have no memory of what happened here...definitely no memory of anything that was said. I don't know if anyone could tell, but I felt really out of it...I was in a daze. It seemed like there were all these bright lights, lots of people, and it was noisy...but I could be wrong.
So we got in a boat to cross the river...it was a high water year. I do remember them asking if it was OK to wait for another runner to get in the boat with us...what was I going to say, no? I don't remember being in a big hurry at that point...I'm sure I was happy to just be sitting down. And I certainly wasn't racing anyone at this point...I was just trying to get to the finish. If I run Western States again I really want to cross the river in the water and do so in the daylight.

Rucky Chucky Far to Green Gate 78.1-79.8 miles
When I got out of the boat I was pretty shaky, but I got back on solid ground and started walking up to Green Gate. I did not feel like running any part of the uphill...there were definitely a couple spots where it flattened out and I could have...William could not convince me. On the way up I noticed my lower back was starting to hurt. We missed the other half of our crew at Green Gate...turns out they ended up getting on the wrong shuttle bus in Cool.

Green Gate to Auburn Lake Trails 79.8-85.2 miles
I can't remember exactly what I ate at the Green Gate aid station, but the result was my best section of running in the dark. Just a few minutes out of the aid station I got this incredible boost of energy...I was running everything, even the ups, and it felt like I was flying. Not only did I suddenly have all this energy, but all the pain was seemingly gone too...my back, in particular, felt fine. The whole idea that this can happen in a long distance race is hard to believe, but very cool to experience...it was actually very similar to the feeling I had at Corban College. William and I were talking about how I was going to come down off the high and crash eventually, so I really tried to take advantage of it...I felt like I was going nearly as fast as I could, considering I still had over 15 miles to go. By the time we got close to ALT, I was definitely coming down.

Auburn Lake Trails to Brown's Bar 85.2-89.9 miles
At ALT we figured I would just drink some more Coke and chicken broth and I'd perk right back up, but unfortunately I never could get that good feeling back. I also started experiencing a really weird sensation while running this section...if I took too long of a stride, my whole foot would get a numb, tingly feeling...I was thinking, is this bad? It was a tough section for me because I was hurting and I believe it was in this section that I finally broke down and started asking William how much further to the next aid station. He was keeping careful track of the distance between aid stations with his Garmin and he had his fancy cheat sheet from pacing Cameron Hanes last year with all the details on the terrain of each section. He had talked a lot about Brown's Bar, so I was excited to get there. James Elson got some video of his approach.

Brown's Bar to Highway 49 89.9-93.5 miles
If only I felt like partying...this was the place to do it. I sat down again while William got me some more Coke and chicken broth. Once I got that down we headed out. After a pretty good downhill it flattend out for a bit and I believe it was somewhere in here that we caught Jill and Sean. Now it was William's turn for a full moon...I'm pretty sure this happened. It looked like Jill was having a low and I felt bad about it, but passing those guys definitely gave me a boost. We started up a pretty tough climb before dropping down to Highway 49...I was surprised at how tough it was, but I felt like I was hiking pretty well. Then I finally puked...Craig Thornley told me I would. I was a little surprised that I did...my stomach wasn't really bothering me too bad. I guess that gel I took just didn't agree with me. In general, I was pleasantly surprised at how well my stomach did do for the entire race...it was one of my biggest fears going in. After it happened I still felt OK, so we just kept rolling.

Highway 49 to No Hands Bridge 93.5-96.8 miles
The Highway 49 aid station was kind of a blur...again there were lots of lights and people. I remember my weight was actually up slightly from where it had been most of the day. This was good because we wanted to get in and out of there quickly...William wanted a sub-23 hour finish for me and I think it was definitely possible at that point. I was out of the aid station just before 2:00, so my thinking was I had 3 hours to go 6.7 miles...I felt like sub-24 hours was in the bag. We could both smell the barn.
Besides a cup of chicken broth that I had trouble getting down, I don't think I took anything else...I don't even remember having any Coke...maybe I did. Heading out of the aid station, there was a short climb. By the time we got to the top, things really started to fall apart for me...I was running out of gas. I felt like I was barely shuffling...it was more like stumbling. From here, there was a pretty good downhill to No Hands Bridge and I did not enjoy it...with every step I took, I was making all kinds of noises...it was very painful and my energy levels had almost completely bottomed out. Then the Slovenian caught me just before we reached the bridge...the whole situation was very discouraging.

No Hands Bridge to Robie Point 96.8-98.9 miles
At No Hands Bridge I didn't really feel like taking anything because my stomach was bothering me now...I couldn't even get much chicken broth down. Crossing the bridge I felt really shaky and light-headed. On the other side we started to climb and it wasn't too long before my forward progress came to a grinding halt. It was at a point in the trail where it split...I went to the right and there were these huge steps that I could barely make. I was really unsteady. Once I made it up these steps I felt like I had to sit down and gather myself or I was going to fall down. I'd guess we were less than 2.5 miles from the finish and I was sitting down! There was even a nice log to sit on right on the side of the trail. As I was sitting there I realized I really needed to eat something, so I started sucking on a gel...I also realized I really needed to take a crap for the first time all day! So I dropped my shorts and went right off the back of the log. Then as I looked around for something to wipe with, William takes off his shoe and gives me one of his socks...this guy is my best friend!
I don't have any idea how long I sat there...I remember asking William what time it was at one point, but I was never concerned about missing sub-24 hours...I knew I would still make it. People seemed to be streaming by. It wasn't long before Jill and Sean passed us...I think this may have helped give me the motivation to finally get up and hike to Robie Point. I can't believe it was this section where the bear was causing trouble...the whole time it felt like we were just a few steps from being in town.

Robie Point to Placer High School 98.9-100.2 miles
Throughout my training, any time I would experience adversity, I thought to myself, "the end of the race is going to be so much tougher than this." Turns out I was right!I was relieved to finally make it to Robie Point because I thought the climbing was over...I was wrong...there was still a pretty steep uphill on pavement. Kane and Jason were waiting here and hiked up the hill with us. Once we were over the hill, I started to shuffle the downhill because I just wanted to be done! At about 1 mile to go a few people on the side of the road offered some encouragement...turns out it was Andy, Kristin, and Tonya. Once they joined us I had a group of 6 people surrounding me on that last mile...I was getting emotional...there were so many people supporting me...I felt very lucky. Every step hurt at this point...I remember really getting a jolt in my knees with every impact. Finally the entrance to the track was in view...the kids and my mom joined me on the track...my dad was taking pictures. As I was making my way around the track, the announcer was saying some stuff about me...the only thing I really remember was him giving me grief for finishing almost 5 hours behind fellow Corvallis resident Meghan Arbogast!
The pictures below really tell the story of how I was feeling...look at the expression on my face as I approached the finish line...that is an amazing cross between pleasure and pain! And then nothing but happiness and satisfaction after crossing the finish line in 23:27:33. What an experience...thanks so much to my family, my friends, all the volunteers, and everyone associated with the race for a great experience. I'll never forget it.

Credit: Facchino Photography

Secret Weapon?

2011-08-06T22:59:00.000-07:00

Bad news...they're starting to crack down on this stuff.

Uhhh...Mustaches Rule!

2011-08-03T22:41:00.000-07:00

So I'm finally paying up for the White River 50 bet from last summer...loser wears a mustache for 2 months...my 2 months started on 7/23. The Pain Train was nice enough to let me pay up when I could and he even gave me an out...if I could beat him at the PCT 50 last weekend, I could shave it off. Well he beat me again...the mustache lives on!

BEFORE - I didn't shave for about a month after Western States.

AFTER

A WEEK AND A HALF LATER - It's really been a hit at work...a really nice guy even bought me this shirt!

TIM THOMAS - You know mustaches rule if Tim Thomas decided to keep his after the Bruins won the Stanley Cup!

2011 WSER - Chapter 3: Pre-Race

2011-07-21T23:58:00.000-07:00

MONDAY: The Guam Bomb, The Old Gunslinger, and his wife took me out to lunch. They got to watch me try to eat an entire pizza! I almost did it.
TUESDAY: My final heat training session in the sauna...I did 60 minutes and felt like I could have kept going...I was pumped. And the weather forecast for Auburn was only in the mid-80's.
WEDNESDAY: We left in the morning for a road trip of epic proportions when you consider the fact that we had 3 kids under 5 years old in the back seat. We hadn't even made it out of Corvallis before we were having problems. But similar to the Boston Marathon trip, it seemed like going was a lot better than coming back. Even with lots of stops we made it to Tahoe City in about about 10 and a half hours. My Mom's 60th birthday was the day of the race, so we had decided to rent a nice house to stay in before the race.
THURSDAY: I got up early and headed over to Squaw Valley for a hike up to Escarpment and run back down. There was an organized group doing this, but I started late. Other people did too and unfortunately I followed them up the wrong way...great, I thought, let's get the wrong turns out of the way now. It was nice to see a little of what I was going to be in for...the first 3 miles were snow free. The views from the top are amazing...you can see Lake Tahoe and all the snow covered mountains in the distance. That afternoon we all hung out in Squaw Valley awaiting the arrival of the rest of the crew.

When my parents and Kristin arrived we had dinner. And after dinner we walked around and checked things out. There was a WS panel discussion that night that I wanted to attend. I met up with William, Jason, and Kane there and afterwards we all drove back to the house together. One of my highlights from the discussion was Craig Thornley telling everyone that they will puke at some point during the race.

FRIDAY: I rode over to Squaw Valley in the morning with William, Jason, and Kane to get registered. This is when my nerves were in full force...I nearly flunked the medical check...my blood pressure was sky high! They told me to go sit down and relax for 15 minutes...the re-test was still pretty high, but they said it was acceptable. While I registered, William, Jason, and Kane did the hike up to Escarpment...pretty badass for a 9 year old. On the way down, William had a glissading accident, but felt like he could still fulfill his pacing duties...like shit talking with Sean Meissner! We did think it would be funny to tell my sister she was going to have to take over. Speaking of Sean, I ran into him while I was getting lunch...I was waiting for my sandwich and he made me go sit down and brought it to me when it was ready. Thanks for that! Once I had my sandwich, I headed over to the pre-race briefing. They went over the course conditions...they talked a lot about the snow...something like 13 miles of it...and I also remember specific warnings about ibuprofen and rattlesnakes. The big excitement for me was the raffle for free entry into next year's race. Yes, I bought raffle tickets again, but I swear they were not for me! The names on the first 2 tickets picked began with Mike...I was on the edge of my seat...but neither one was me. Then the last ticket they picked didn't have a name on it...they said the winner had bought the ticket earlier today and had told them he would be present at the raffle...this is exactly what William had said when he bought a couple tickets that morning! I'm holding my breath...damn, it wasn't meant to be. Afterwards, we all headed back to the house. Tonya and Kristin worked on a really nice birthday dinner and cake for my Mom. After dinner we went over the crewing plans, watched A Race for the Soul for inspiration, and went to bed. The final member of the crew, Andy Stallings, arrived later that night.

SATURDAY: I woke up excited at 3:30 on race morning...everyone else seemed a little tired! I pieced together a breakfast of bagels and fruit leather and William, Jason, and Kane drove me to the start. No one else was up when we left, so I wasn't sure if anyone else was coming to the start. It turns out my parents, Kristin, and Andy did come to the start, but I never saw them...it was really crowded. When I checked in, I got weighed again and I was down a couple pounds from the day before...I ended up having to explain this a lot because my weight was down for most of the race...there are limits for how much weight loss is acceptable. Talk about nervous energy...I was ready to get started. It was fairly cold, so, like most people, I stayed inside until just before the race started. Once we moved out, I barely had time to acquire satelites on my Garmin...I got it just in time and then we were off.

2011 WSER - Chapter 2: The Training

2011-07-01T22:07:00.000-07:00

This blog post is dedicated to my wife, Tonya Rosling...yes, we're still married. Thanks for supporting me!

I knew there were several elements to training for Western States that I needed to incorporate in a plan...uphills, downhills, long long runs, hiking, night running, snow running, fueling, heat training...but when it came down to putting that plan together, I felt like I needed some advice. One of the comments I made to Meghan Arbogast was, "Not suprisingly I've heard being properly trained for Western States is important. I'm willing to put in the hard work, I just want to feel like I know what I'm doing!" Besides the fact that this was my first 100 mile race, I haven't exactly had good success in 50+ mile races period. And I hadn't run that many either...I could count them all on one hand...
1) 2007 PCT 50 miler...my first 50 miler and probably one of my best 50+ mile runs...in the good old days when the race went all the way up to Timberline.

2) 2008 Where's Waldo 100K...I was very unprepared and endured much suffering.
3) 2009 PCT 50 miler...I like to attribute a sub-par race this year to the triple Mary's Peak two weeks before the race.
4) 2009 Where's Waldo 100K...DNF at mile 32, should have been a DNS.
5) 2010 White River 50 miler...ran it on not much more than marathon training, but ended up having a pretty good run.

In the end, with advice from Meghan and a lot of the other Corvallis trail runners with 100 miler experience, I pieced together my tentative plan. Craig Thornley's blog posts on Western States were another wealth of information specific to the 100 miler I was going to run! How nice. So I had a plan...here's how it played out.

JANUARY (averaged ~ 40 miles/week)
The official switch over to Western States training didn't actually start for me until mid-January. I ran the Capitol Mile and Hangover Run on New Year's Day.

One detail I didn't include in that post was that I paid the price for having two good runs by hurting my calf. Heck of a way to start the year...injured. I had to take a few days off and actually got pretty desperate...ended up trying some herbal healing wrap and massage. Luckily the combination of herbs, massage, and time off did the trick...a few days later I had a great 800 workout and thought I was ready for the Cascade Half Marathon. It ended up being the first in a string of 4 consecutive races that would really test me mentally which, in retrospect, I figure was probably good preparation for a 100 miler.

Test #1 - The Cascade Half Marathon included a steady dose of wind and rain this year. There's wind every year, but it's usually only a headwind in the last couple miles. This year it seemed like there was a headwind practically the whole way...and it's an out-and-back! To make matters even worse, it rained...everyone got soaked. I started struggling mightily very early on in the race and ended up running a slower overall pace than I did at the Boston Marathon this year!

Test #2 - The fourth race in the 2010/2011 Run Wild Aventures Trail Series was the Williamette Mission 5K/10K. It was such a wet winter that there was still some flooding at the park and the course had to be partially rerouted. Well, the water that did recede left some incredible mud behind. This mud was so slick that at one point I was sliding down a short hill like I was on ice. It was ridiculous, I couldn't run...I was completely spinning my wheels. Then I see Jason Hawthorne plow through like there was no mud at all...crazy.

Between the two races and also after Willamette Mission, I ran a couple 20+ mile runs in McDonald Forest. In late January I began doing the weekly McColluch Peak hike on Wednesday nights organized by Frank Schnekenburger. Essentially, it's a 4 mile hike to the highest point in McDonald Forest, then a 4 mile run back down. Between these weekly hikes and other runs on my own, I summitted McColluch Peak 24 times leading up to Western States. Looking back, all this hiking was definitely one of the most important parts of my training. By May and June I felt like a strong hiker. Another benefit of doing the hike in January and February was the fact that it included some night running.

FEBRUARY (averaged ~ 48 miles/week)
February was pretty crazy. The annual training run at Hagg Lake took place on the first Saturday of the month. For several years now, The Pain Train and I have done two loops around the lake 2-3 weeks before the Hagg Lake 50K. What gets me through that second loop is the thought of stopping at the Hagg Lake store for pickled eggs...I love those things now. This year we also got my sister, a friend of hers, and Andy Stallings to run with us. To make for a completely crazy weekend, the next day I drove back up to Hagg Lake to do some trail work as part of my volunteer service for Western States.

I spent the second weekend of February in Massachusetts with my mom and sister at my cousin David's wedding. At first I wasn't planning to go, but I'm really glad I did. They had a great wedding and it turns out it was the last time I would get to see my Grampa Merritt.

Test #3 - The third Saturday of the month was the Hagg Lake 50K which started off on ice and ended on mud. I came to realize I had been very spoiled over the past 3 years with near ideal Hagg Lake trail conditions. The ice didn't last too long, but the mud on the second loop really got me down mentally. Similar to the Willamette Mission 10K, I felt like I was just spinning my wheels out there. I came away from the race just itching to race something I felt was runnable. There were several positives, though...The Old Gunslinger and Andy Stallings finished their first 50K...my sister finished her second 50K...and The Pain Train and I entered the Hagg Lake Hall of Mud...5 consecutive 50K finishes.

For the second time this month, I went back up to Hagg Lake the next day to volunteer at the 25K to fulfill my service requirement for Western States. I rode up with The Pain Train and my sister met us there. We all worked the last aid station...it was a blast...we got to see Sam (2:56:54), The Guam Bomb (2:57:36), and Gimpy (2:58:46) come through, all very close together. A big thanks goes out to the Hagg Lake RDs...they treat their volunteers very well. That being said, I had certainly had my fill of Hagg Lake for the year.

Test #4 - The final weekend of February was the Run Wild Adventures Buck Mountain "Snowslinger" Trail Run. Talk about epic conditions...we had sub-freezing temperatures and knee deep snow in spots. It was so cold The Pain Train had to stick his glove down his shorts during the race...desparate times call for desparate measures. I felt bad for the poor bastards who had to mark the course, so I helped sweep with The Pain Train after finishing the race. It certainly wasn't ideal running conditions but it was my first race since New Year's Day that I felt was a solid performance. I also got some additional snow running earlier in the week on my own street.

MARCH (averaged ~ 56 miles/week)
No running the first weekend in March...I spent it with family at the Great Wolf Lodge.

When putting together my plan, I was pretty excited to find an Oregon ultra in March...2011 would be the first running of the Gorge Waterfalls 50K. James Varner did a good job building up his own race..."I am certain this will quickly become known as one of the most amazing races in the country!" High praise for a race that had yet to be run, but it got me to sign up. Eric Jensen also signed up for his second 50K...he was looking for a 50K PR after running in pretty tough trail conditions at Hagg Lake. I had heard enough about James Varner's races to be wary...they're usually tougher than advertised. This one was no exception. The trail for much of the race was pretty technical...lots of rocks which made the footing tricky. It wasn't too far into the race when I started thinking, "this is way more than Eric bargained for." Heck it was more than I bargained for, but I was just thrilled that I was getting good footing and not spinning my wheels. Eric showed a lot of guts in his performance. After a hard fall on some rocks early in the race, he ended up finishing the race with broken ribs! That's the stuff of legend!

The next weekend was the Run Wild Adventures Santiam Canyon Scramble. Sasquatch ran a hell of a race. My plan was to have fun and try not to get seriously hurt. I had a good race, but really got hammered by the blackberries...I won an award for bloodiest.

The day after the scramble I ran Meghan's patented double McColluch Peak run with The Pain Train to try and trash my quads...34 miles all on gravel roads with 4 summits...2 from the Oak Creek gate and 2 from the Sulphur Springs gate. It went pretty well, but I felt really run down the rest of that week. Then on Saturday a Run Wild Adventures group met at the Santiam Horse Camp in Gates for a long run. I had wanted to do 3 loops on the trail which would have been 27+ miles, but it didn't work out. From the get go, my legs felt very heavy. I started to feel a little better on the second loop, but my calf also started to bother me. I was thinking, "I cannot afford to get injured...it would really screw up my plans." So rather than run a third loop, I took a nap in the truck. I was pretty nervous about the calf, but I think I stopped running in time and then gave it some time to recover because it didn't bother me again.

APRIL (averaged ~ 65 miles/week)
April was another crazy month. It was also when it became apparent I was racing too much...something I would do differently if I had it to do over. The first weekend of the month was my Grampa Merritt's funeral on Friday, Tonya's brother Jeff's wedding on Saturday, and then a run with The Pain Train on Sunday...the McDonald Forest 50K course. I remember feeling really good early on in the run because I had taken a few days off beforehand...looking back, I ran the first 20 miles too hard because when I finished the run up on my own, I hit a low and felt like I slowed to a crawl. I still finished in about 5:30...too fast, it seemed, for a 100 mile training run.

The next weekend was the beginning of back(40)-to-back(26.2)-to-back(9.3)-to-back(50) races for me...is that ever a good idea? For the third year in a row the whole family stayed in Sisters and I ran the long race at the Peterson Ridge Rumble...this year it was a 40 miler. Since Sean has changed the course to incorporate all the new singletrack trails being built in the area, it's really become an even more enjoyable run...the terrain is not too tough and the scenery is great. Heck, even the weather has been good every year I've run. We drove over on Saturday before the race...it's always fun hanging out with the kids at the llama hotel. On Sunday morning, The Pain Train picked me up at the hotel and drove me over to the race...he was sweeping the 20 miler. Tonya and the kids got to hang out in Sisters with her parents and even Tonya's brother Lee stopped by after the race. Before heading out of town we had to stop for milkshakes and a banana split. I felt like I ran a solid race...some other notable performances included Andy Stallings finishing his first 40 miler and The Guam Bomb (3:36:37) and Gimpy (3:44:30) running the 20 miler in preparation for their upcoming goal races.

Just a couple days after getting back from Sisters, we packed up and flew to Massachusetts! It was already my third trip back there this year. My sister and I would be running the Boston Marathon...her first Boston, my sixth. Getting there went pretty smoothly...everyone was happy and excited at this point.

Taking the whole family back to Massachusetts is definitely about more than just running. It has to be...flying cross-country with kids is not easy! Since having kids, it's been important to me to have them meet their great grandparents. Here's Audrey meeting Grampa Rosling for the first time.

We arrived on Wednesday night and stayed with my Aunt Sue and Uncle Ed in Milton which is not too far outside of Boston. They are so generous and took such good care of us...we all had a great time staying with them. Thank-you! After Kristin and my parents arrived, we had a very special moment...Tonya had made up shirts that said "RUN IT FOR YOUR BIGGEST FAN", a tribute to Grampa Merritt. That really choked me up. He really was our biggest fan...he always took an interest in whatever we were doing. On Saturday, Aunt Sue and Uncle Ed invited the whole extended family over for a spaghetti dinner. And that morning, my cousin David and his wife Elizabeth drove my sister and me into Boston to pick up our race packets. David really got into it and got himself a sweatshirt at the expo too!

Although I was training for Western States, I had been preparing for the marathon too. For many weeks I'd been doing marathon tempo runs of increasing length based on heartrate and I was also doing Yasso 800s on a trail weekly. Based on these runs at home, I felt like I was ready for a good effort and I was targeting about a 6:20 pace for the race. Unfortunately, very soon after we arrived, I acquired some kind of stomach bug...I felt like I was constantly in the bathroom. I did a couple short marathon tempo runs in Milton...they went horribly. I could barely keep my pace under 7:00 miles at the same heartrate I was running sub-6:20 miles at home. Maybe it was part jet lag, part sickness, part wind...it was ridiculously windy in the days leading up to the race. But based on those runs, I literally had no idea what to expect for the race...though I was still promising sub-2:50! By Sunday I was feeling much better...I was spending a lot less time in the bathroom. We moved our base of operations to Auburn, we visited with the Roslings, and we had another spaghetti dinner at my Aunt Carla's house...we were carb loaded.
The plan for race day was to drive to Hopkinton State Park to drop off the runners. Then Tonya, the kids, and my parents would ride the train into Boston to see us finish. We'd all ride the train back together. When Ella woke up Monday morning, I could tell something wasn't quite right...she didn't want to eat anything for breakfast. We were nearly to the park when she threw up all over herself and the backseat of the car. It was pretty traumatic. As quickly as we could, we pulled into the parking lot and tried to clean things up...it was a mess. In the end, Tonya took the girls back to the hotel rather than trying to go into Boston with them...have I mentioned how great my wife is? Will still did get to go into Boston with my parents.

Kristin and I rode into Hopkinton on the bus and we walked down to Athlete's Village. We didn't have a lot of time...I got rid of my stuff, we wished each other good luck, and I headed back for the Wave 1 start. When I got into the starting corral, I made sure to move over to the far left side...that's where the elite runners walk by before the start of the race. I got to give Ryan Hall a high five...he looked really amped up. Another highlight was passing Joan Benoit Samuelson during the race around mile 9. As I went by, I told her it was an honor to be running with her. At the same time I was a little disappointed that Meghan Arbogast was not able to race her...Meghan started with the elite women while Joanie started with the rest of the runners.
From the start I was watching my heartrate and pace carefully. In training, my marathon tempo heartrate target was in the low 170s. Early in the race, I was running just below 6:20 pace while keeping my heartrate in the low to mid-170s...then, in the hills and beyond, my heartrate was in the high 170s and low 180s! I got a little concerned when I started to get into the low 180s with more than 5 miles to go. In the end, I was able to maintain it. My pace did drop off slightly in the second half of the race. I ran the first half in 1:22:52 and the second half in 1:24:34 and I finished in 2:47:26 (6:23 pace). I was really happy with my race...until I heard that the winner had broken the world record! I felt like I had run nearly the exact race I had prepared for. After I finished I found Aunt Sue and Uncle Ed at our usual meeting spot, the Park Plaza Hotel. We all walked back to the finish to cheer on Kristin. She ran a good race too...she finished in 3:56:45 and had a great Boston Marathon experience.

My parents, Will, and my cousin Johanna had also staked out a spot near the finish to cheer us on. Aside from watching the runners, a big highlight for Will was giving the Bruins bear a high five. We firmly believe this is directly related to the fact that the Bruins won the Stanley Cup! Will, it's a good thing you're on his good side...don't ever cross the Bruins bear...example 1 and 2.

Our original itinerary had us going back to Oregon the day after the marathon...everyone was ready to go home by this point. Unfortunately, getting back didn't go as smoothly as getting there. First we ended up having a flight cancelled and had to spend an extra day in Rhode Island. Then we got rebooked on different flights...we got that straightened out, but the flights themselves were pretty miserable. We were so happy to get home.

Just a few days after getting back from Massachusetts, I ran the Run Wild Adventures Monument Peak 15K. This race was on a really cool trail at the Santiam Horse Camp in Gates. I wasn't sure I'd have any legs left after the Boston Marathon, but I wanted to complete all the races in their series...I also didn't want to miss out on racing Max King. I remember the first 50 yards of the race very vividly...everyone at the front started off together on the flat gravel road, then just as the road started to climb, Max seemingly floated ahead...it was a little surreal. As far as the rest of the race goes, I ended up surprising myself and having maybe my best race of the series! Only about 13:30 back of Max!

The next week I ended up running 52 miles in the 5 days leading up to the the Capitol Peak 50 miler, so all I had to do was finish the race and I'd have my first ever 100 mile week. Originally I was planning to go up to the race alone, but The Pain Train decided he would run too...originally he was talking about running the 55K, but in the end he decided to to run the 50 miler. We started off running together and got stuck behind a pretty long train of people on a narrow trail. For some reason, I was feeling particularly impatient and finally worked my way around. I didn't see him again until the out-and-back section near the middle of the race. Just literally seconds after I got to the out-and-back turnaround and started heading back, here comes The Pain Train. I believe he said something like, "are you nervous"...I laughed because he didn't know how close behind me he really was. Surprising to me, I made it all the way back to the other aid station before he caught up. From that point, about 35 miles in, I had a pretty tough time...thankfully, the last 15 miles had a lot of downhill. It just felt like I was barely moving and a couple times I got passed like I was standing still. In the end, I still ran a 50 mile PR and The Pain Train finished in under 8 hours! On the drive up to the race The Pain Train had said, "no one ever says you have to run Capitol Peak". After running it, I don't think I'll be the first to say it.

MAY (averaged ~ 73 miles/week)
The Eugene Marathon was the day after Capitol Peak, but I still really wanted to go down to support my guys. Gene Wusstig was following a specific marathon training plan that I had created for him...I felt like providing support at the race was part of the deal! My plan was to pace him for the last 4-6 miles of the race depending on how I felt after the 50 miler.
I parked at Valley River Center which was near mile 19 and started walking toward the 20 mile mark. I got to see all the leaders come through which was cool. As I was walking, I was also looking for a bathroom...I finally found one near a baseball field, but I had to climb a fence to get into Marist High School. I had passed mile 20, so I decided to continue on to the bridge going back over the Willamette River. I waited on the bridge near mile 21. The Old Gunslinger rolled through first and looked like he was hurting, so I ran with him for a few miles. It wasn't the race he was hoping for, but he gutted it out and broke 4 hours. I ran back to mile 22 and Sam was coming through...he was hurting too and had seemingly decided he was going to walk it on in, so I let him go and waited for Gene. When Gene came through 22 miles he was having some issues with cramping...he took a few of the Endurolytes I had and we started off running slowly. I didn't tell him this, but my hope was that we could go the rest of the way without walking. Once we hit mile 23 I started keeping track of our mile splits. Even though he was obviously huring, he was able to pick it up a bit because we were literally passing everyone. For miles 23-26 he averaged 9:15 per mile which is way under the 9:52 pace he averaged for the entire race. I peeled off before he headed onto the track. He finished in 4:18:49...this was over a 30 minute PR. Great work, Gene...you really showed me something in those last few miles. If you keep at it, I guarantee you will break 4 hours. I didn't have any Eugene Marathon pictures, but here's a good one from the Cascade Half Marathon.

A couple other notable performances at the Eugene Marathon this year...Melodee Nolan, Cascade High School alumnus, ran an incredible race, especially considering it was her first marathon. I saw her pass by me near mile 21 and she was looking really good...most people are hurting pretty bad by this point. She finished in 3:37:45, a Boston qualifier! Amazingly this is the exact same time Kristin ran last year! My pastor Brent Kauffman also ran a great race...he finished in 3:38:58, also a Boston qualifer and, I believe, a PR. I was just disappointed I didn't get to see him out there. When it was all said and done, I ended up getting about 10 miles of running in...that gave me 112 miles in the last 7 days! I took the next couple days off.

All spring I had been wanting to get up to Mary's Peak, but there was so much snow this year that it wasn't really possible. But now that it was May I made up my mind I was going to go check it out. My invitation on the Corvallis Trail Runner Yahoo group was met by some rather unenthusiastic responses...this one was my favorite. "Good luck on that -- the snow is clearly visible from I-5 and that means it is deep! Also probably a lot of down trees from the winter not yet cleared." It was looking like it was going to be a small group.
Turns out only Gimpy, who probably didn't know exactly what he was getting into, was able to join me for the run. We got up to about 3200 feet before we hit the serious snow. It took a little searching, but we found the trail and got up to the junction with the Tie Trail. It was pretty obvious that the Tie Trail was impassable. So we had a decision to make...we could go back down or try to continue up the North Ridge Trail which did have a lot of snow on it, but it was marked with blue diamonds on the trees. Gimpy was up for an adventure, so up we went. When we finally popped out in the parking lot it was really nasty...strong winds and rain. I told him I wanted to summit, but he should probably head back down and I would catch up. I trudged through the snow to get to the top, patted myself on the back, and quickly headed back down.
So we made it back down with a total of about 9 miles...this was a problem since we both wanted something in the high 20s or low 30s. The next logical route to take was down the lower portion of the North Ridge Trail. Typically this section of the trail is not very well maintained, but we got a pleasant surprise...it was in the best shape I'd ever seen it. Thanks to whoever worked on this...it looked like a significant amount of work and it was really nicely done. At the end of the trail we turned back up the road and from there we followed the TOE 50K course as best as I could remember it. But we could only go so far before we needed to head back and refuel. After refueling we consulted the map and decided to head up the 2005 road toward Conner's Camp. From there I got out on the paved road and ran down to Parker Creek Falls and back. In the end, I think I got about 32 miles in a little over 7 hours and felt like I could have kept going. It felt like good 100 miler training. Thanks Gimpy for sharing the adventure with me.
I only summitted Mary's Peak two more times before Western States...once Memorial Day weekend and once in mid-June. The Saturday of Memorial Day weekend was another lousy weather day. It ended up being an afternoon run and I think I was lucky it was. As I was heading up I noticed there was all this white stuff that looked like little styrofoam balls on the trail...for some reason it took me a while to figure out that it was unmelted hail. I think if I would have run earlier in the day I would have been pulverized. And let's see, if there's hail that's not melting, it has to be pretty cold...well, I forgot my gloves and once I got up near the top I don't think my hands have ever been colder...to the point I was getting a little concerned. Luckily I didn't lose any fingers. There was still some snow on the Tie Trail, but it was passable. And this time I didn't hit serious snow until the East Ridge Trail junction near the parking lot...that was all passable, but the Meadowedge Trail on top was still impassable. So I was able to do the whole loop minus the Meadowedge Trail. In June, I was able to run the full loop because the snow was almost completely gone. I was surprised how much snow had melted in only two weeks. Looking back, maybe all the snow on Mary's Peak this year was somewhat of a blessing for me...it prevented me from doing something really crazy.

The second Saturday in May was the McDonald Forest 50K which didn't quite go as well as I hoped, but I still had a pretty good race. Thanks to everyone for coming out to support me.

The week after McDonald Forest was the Corban University 12 hour run. I completely blew it here...I wanted to simulate Western States in terms of pace and fueling, but I got caught up in running the race. On a postive note, the world didn't end.
This year there were 2 relay teams and 5 solo runners. One of the solo runners was Jason Hawthorne who took off at a very fast pace...so fast I was wondering if he was trying to get 100 miles in! His legend continues to grow, at least in my mind...how's this for a back-to-back-to-back...an Ironman in St. George, Utah, the McDonald Forest 50K, and 12 Hours at Corban. And who knows what he did the weekend before or after. From the start, I was running with Gaby, but I felt like I was pushing way too hard to do so. And that was confirmed by my heartrate which was too high for someone with aspirations of running at least 100K. In the end, Jason and Gaby both had great runs and had quite a race going for the overall win. They both ran more than 100K, the previous record held by The Pain Train, but it was on a completely different course...asterisk!
I hadn't even gone 50K before I was in a world of hurt. My legs were dead and my stomach felt terrible...it was really sloshy, like I was putting all this stuff in and I wasn't processing it. The Guam Bomb had come to run with me, so I sucked it up and did what I could. He got to witness the first puke. Puking actually felt great...it really was a puke and rally kind of feeling...suddenly I was pain free and able to run, but my energy levels dropped pretty quickly and eventually my stomach was hurting again. I never really felt good enough to eat much. I feel like I tried several things, but nothing was working for me. Later on I walked a couple laps with The Old Gunslinger. It was on one of these laps I realized I needed to keep going just to try to figure out how to come out of this. Eventually even The Pain Train broke out his running shoes and ran with me. He got to witness the second puke and rally.
With about an hour and a half to go, The Pain Train cooked up some chicken noodle soup for Fenny Roberts. Since I was just sitting there, I had some too. It was amazing...as I was eating the soup I almost immediately started to feel really good. I was a born again runner...I had never experienced anything like it. Everything felt better...in particular, my legs felt so good it was like I had just started running! It was nice to end on a high note...I only completed 86K, but I felt like I could have kept going. A big thanks goes out to everyone who came out to support me...Eric and his family, Gene and his family, William, my parents, and Will and Ella. My crew ran a superbad aid station! And you guys kept me going when I probably would have quit...the race became a really good reminder of what not to do at Western States! Thanks to The Old Gunslinger for the before and after shots.

Corban really shook me up. All of the sudden I felt like I wasn't really sure what to do...basically I was thinking take a break or push through. The thought I kept coming back to was you're supposed to be really tired at this point in training for a 100 miler...so I decided to push through. Memorial Day weekend ended up being my last big weekend which started with Mary's Peak on Saturday.
On Sunday, while Gimpy was running a 50K PR at Forest Park, I decided to run from my house in Corvallis to my parent's house in Salem mainly because it was something I had always wanted to do. The route went something like this...head out of Corvallis on Highway 34, take Riverside Drive toward Albany, enter Albany through Bryant Park, get on Old Salem Road, head under I-5 toward Jefferson on Murder Creek Drive, Kamph Drive, and Scravel Hill Road, go through Jefferson on 99E and continue to Enchanted Way, and take Delaney Road and Battle Creek Road to my parent's house...about 36 miles. It was ridiculously flat until the very end. I kept my heartrate in what I felt was the 100 miler range, didn't worry about pace, and I experimented with pork and beans as fuel. Everything worked out well...it took me less than 6 hours.
On Monday I finished off the weekend at Rooster Rock with The Pain Train, Dennis, Ken, Frank, and Gaby. I went in with the expectation that I was doing a double, but as we started up I was a little nervous...I was definitely feeling the effects of Sunday. In the end, I loosened up and had a run that gave me a lot of confidence. The Pain Train and I were the only ones to complete the double. Heading down that first downhill, trying to keep up with Dennis, I was amazed at how much my quads were getting worked. I would have liked to have hit that run one more time during training...my quads have never been so sore. Rooster Rock is brutal!

After Corban I also had a memorable night run in McDonald Forest...if you want to get spooked just try running by yourself in the forest after dark. I started from Lewisberg Saddle a little after 10:00 and ran the last ~5 miles plus the first ~6.5 miles of the McDonald Forest 50K course. Not much more than a half mile in, I came across what I'm pretty sure were two dogs. My headlamp picked up their eyes on a side road and I just stopped...they were looking right at me and I heard a little growling. They had the body type of a greyhound and I'm sure I saw collars on them...after the staredown they turned and headed up the side road...I took off too. Other than a couple deer, there weren't any more really spooky sightings until I was on the Old Growth Trail. I saw a light out of the corner of my eye and I stopped and looked up toward the road. As I was looking up at this light, I could tell that whoever was up there was looking down at me! That creeped me out, so I took off fast. Who else would be crazy enough to be out here at nearly midnight?

JUNE
After Rooster Rock my quads were so sore I took four days off...for two days I was having trouble walking! So June ended up being the start of my taper. I was OK with that...I was satisfied with the training I had done up to that point. My original plan was to do one more long long run 3 weeks before the race, but at this point I was afraid it would do more harm than good.

June was also when I did the majority of my heat training. It was all in the sauna...the only hot day in Oregon I remember before the race was June 4th...we're past mid-July and it's still not hot! Craig Thornley directed me to the Badwater website for suggested heat training regimens. Based on what I found, my plan was to slowly build up to one continuous hour in the sauna over 4 weeks. One key thing that I remember reading was that it was important to do the heat training every single day. So I ended up getting in a routine of going every night right before the gym closed. I started with 15 minutes and that wasn't too bad...I was even getting a little annoyed when people would go in and out and leave the door wide open for too long. But by the time I got beyond 30 minutes I was welcoming any door openings! To help pass the time, I would bring in magazines...I was able to read for the first 20 minutes or so, then I got too wet and uncomfortable to continue. I was getting wet from sweat as well as all the ice water I was dumping on my head to keep cool. I noticed that if I ate a lot for dinner or ate something right before going in the sauna, my stomach would get a little upset. I guess the blood that was aiding in digestion in the stomach was being diverted to the skin to help keep me cool...a real science lesson! As I was building up, once I got beyond 30 minutes, it got pretty tough. Over the 4 weeks I only had to abort 3 times...that meant leaving the sauna and taking a cold shower...I was just so overheated I felt like it was getting dangerous. I ended up meeting some of the regulars...I was surprised at how many people were at the gym literally every night...I told one guy that after my 4 weeks was up, he would probably never see me in the sauna again. All told, I spent over 14 hours in the sauna in 4 weeks!

Two weeks before Western States I did a couple fast runs to test the legs...I did the McColluch Peak hike/run in just under 1:16 and I ran the Homestead/Uproute/Extendo/Homestead loop in 33:41...the fastest I've ever run it. That got me pretty excited...my legs were back! At that point, nearing the end of such a long taper, I was getting anxious for race day to arrive.

2011 WSER - Chapter 1: How I Got In

2011-07-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

I wasn't planning to run a 100 miler in 2011...after the 2010 Eugene Marathon I said this, "Might have to keep those beers on ice until 2012. That's my new target for a 100 miler anyway, hopefully Western States."

And nothing had changed in my mind when I went down to Western States in 2010 to watch The Pain Train pace Cameron Hanes. A few weeks prior, I had purchased 10 raffle tickets for free entry into the race in 2011, but they weren't for me. The Western States website says this, "You don't need to be a runner yourself to purchase raffle tickets. This is a great opportunity to surprise that special ultrarunner in your life!" How cool would it be to win the lottery then give the transferrable entry to The Pain Train.

So there we were at the mandatory pre-race briefing on June 25, 2010 when they conduct the raffle. I'll never forget how I was saying my name to myself just as they announced it. I let out a huge yell! What were the odds! Well, they said there were over 5000 tickets purchased for this year's raffle, so if a similar number were purchased last year, that's like a 1/500 chance of being picked. It's like it was meant to be.

But suddenly I have a problem...William is one of the best friends I've ever had and one of his best qualities is selflessness. Basically he was too good of a friend to take the entry from me. He told me this might be the only chance I ever get to run the race since getting in is so difficult now. We talked about it several times, but I still couldn't help feeling bad about taking the entry because I never intended to take it in the first place. OK, so he wants me to have this opportunity, but now I have a another problem...how could I convince Tonya to let me run the race?

It's debatable whether I ever really did convince her, but I officially signed up in early October. Now I had to start thinking about how to train for this race...I felt like I would be entering into a whole different type of running...different than anything I'd ever done before.

Western States

2011-06-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

Now that the race is upon us, I must say thank-you Tonya for letting me do what I love...all day and all night long...

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McDonald Forest 50K - 2011 vs 2010

2011-05-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

After running the McDonald Forest 50K 6 days after the Eugene Marathon last year, I figured I could easily run the 50K faster this year...but I didn't...luckily I have the mile splits from both years to see what happened.

Mile 1 - The first mile was quite a bit slower this year...I just felt like I should not be in the lead pack with Max King.
7:21 ----- 6:38

Mile 2 - Very disturbed that I can still even see the lead pack.
7:48 ----- 7:27

Mile 3 - Started to climb...I wore my heartrate monitor this year and noticed it was getting pretty high, so I did some hiking. I can't remember how much of the hill I hiked last year...it seemed like less.
10:18 ----- 9:56

Mile 4 - Topped out on Powderhouse and started coming down...I caught up to Jason Hill who was confused by an arrow pointing back the way we had just come from. I convinced him that I knew where I was going and he followed me.
8:29 ----- 7:11

Mile 5 - Cruised down the gravel road...a little more slowly this year.
7:07 ----- 6:46

Mile 6 - Hit the Old Growth trail and New Growth trail. Jason Hill is pulling away. In my opinion, the New Growth trail, which is a new addition to the 50K course, adds about 45 seconds.
7:32 ----- 6:47

Mile 7 - Nothing but a blur of cowbells and train whistles...hit the aid station and began the climb on the west side of Lewisberg Saddle. I figure I was at least 5 minutes slower to the first aid station this year.
10:15 ----- 8:40

Mile 8 - Headed down Alpha trail.
7:36 ----- 7:26

Mile 9 - And onto the gravel road. Caught back up to Jason Hill, but soon lost him again...for good.
6:52 ----- 6:24

Mile 10 - Began climbing and entered the Maze. I'm thinking..."here's where all the hiking I've been doing pays off." It seemed to make a bigger difference in the second half of the Maze. Also passed April and her wedding party just before entering the Maze.
13:01 ----- 13:19

Mile 11 - Out of the Maze and onto Extendo trail. Last year this is where I caught up to my neighbor Dominic Cusimano who had taken the early start...and this year was no different! That's back-to-back finishes for him at 60 and 61 years old. I can only hope to be running 50Ks into my sixties.
8:56 ----- 8:53

Mile 12 - Continued down Extendo trail to the second aid station. I was trying to push it on the downs this year...this was the first time I could tell based on the splits. Was able to catch Jason Hawthorne here...heck, the guy had just completed an Ironman the weekend before. Surely he would be taking the next weekend off...
7:08 ----- 7:39

Mile 13 - Propelled up Uproute by cowbells and train whistles.
9:15 ----- 8:58

Mile 14 - Topped out on Uproute and back into the Maze.
9:29 ----- 10:19

Mile 15 - Wow, maybe the hiking did pay off.
11:17 ----- 12:55

Mile 16 - That's almost a 3 minute gain in 2 miles. Ended up passing Matthew Carrell and David Larson somewhere in this stretch.
12:00 ----- 13:11

Mile 17 - Out of the Maze and onto the gravel road. This is where Dennis Gamroth is usually stationed with his truck. He told me there was a guy who was hurt and walking not too far ahead. As I started up the hill I began to wonder where the heck is this guy. Either he's walking really fast or I'm running really slow. It turned out to be Chris Rennaker and I didn't catch him for well over a mile.
11:43 ----- 11:22

Mile 18 - Headed up the gravel road to Dimple Hill. This is always a lively aid station. Everyone was in a giving mood.
9:12 ----- 9:02

Mile 19 - Down Dan's Trail...I really wanted to run this section better than in past races.
7:27 ----- 8:16

Mile 20 - Very happy to see a sub-7 minute mile.
6:44 ----- 7:42

Mile 21 - My momentum was still carrying me.
8:36 ----- 9:34

Mile 22 - Maybe I got a little carried away heading to Chip Ross aid station?
8:26 ----- 10:02

Mile 23 - Had a little trouble coming out of the Chip Ross aid station. Tried to take a couple SCaps, but couldn't get them down. My stomach was starting to rebel. Got some motivation from the cowbells and train whistles, but I felt like the wheels were starting to come off. I let the Pain Train know this when I saw him on the out-and-back.
9:44 ----- 8:41

Mile 24 - Hit Lower Horse trail. This is going to be a grind.
10:35 ----- 11:59

Mile 25 - I felt like I walked a lot more of the Horse trails this year, but overall I may have been a little faster than last year.
12:47 ----- 12:37

Mile 26 - Thank God for gravity. Made it back to the Saddle aid station. The cowbells and train whistles were motivating right until they were out of sight. I was out of gas.
7:18 ----- 7:23

Mile 27 - When I hit this mile I made a mental note..."I am so ready to be done."
10:07 ----- 8:47

Mile 28 - I struggled up the gravel road. There was a lady on a bike going back and forth giving me updates. She said no one behind me was even close which actually made me let up a little. One of the next times by, she mentioned someone was walking the downhill up ahead. This motivated me...I figured I could probably catch this person if they were walking the downhill.
11:42 ----- 10:22

Mile 29 - So I ran the downhill pretty well, but it took everything out of me. I did catch the walker...it was Will Kalenius. At the time, I didn't realize he was ahead of me, but after the race I guessed he may have dropped out earlier in the race and just decided to walk back to the finish.
7:20 ----- 7:18

Mile 30 - Really struggling here. This is supposed to be fun, right?
10:51 ----- 9:47

Mile 31 - Todd Janssen comes flying by me with probably about a half mile to go. I thought no one was even close! Great run, Todd. You're running really well!
9:45 ----- 7:42

Finish - So let's see...I lost at least 5 minutes in the first 7 miles and probably more than 5 minutes in the last 4 miles...there's always next year.
4:46:16 ----- 4:42:45

McDonald Forest 50K

2011-05-14T16:28:00.000-07:00

This is about how I felt at the end of the race today.

I'd like to give a superbad shoutout to Eric, Gene, and Roger for coming out to support me. Thanks, guys!

The New Season Begins Today

2011-01-16T22:51:00.000-08:00

A day like today really gets me excited about "changing gears" and focusing on a different kind of running.

Time to start working on my 100 mile pace...

New Years' Day Double

2011-01-12T21:11:00.000-08:00

The Capitol Mile has become a New Years' Day tradition for me. So when I heard that Run Wild Adventures was also going to have a race the same day, I decided I had to do both...two races less than two hours apart. No problem...they're both short.

There was definitely some unfinished business to take care of at the Capitol Mile. As I was standing in line to check in, I got interviewed by the Statesman Journal...I said I resolved to break 5 minutes this year after running 5:00.7 last year. Based on recent training, I believed I could...I was feeling good, but it was really cold that morning. I had time for a one mile warm-up but was still freezing at the start. The first half mile of the race was out toward the river and I didn't feel warmed up...I think I was running in 4th. Coming back I started to feel a little better and caught one runner to finish 3rd in 4:54.9. Based on my four finishes, I'm projecting a sub-4:00 mile by 2023.

2008 - 5:15.4
2009 - 5:11.5
2010 - 5:00.7
2011 - 4:54.9
2023 - 3:59.9

Thanks to great driving by the Pain Train, I got to the start of the Hangover Run just in time. I took off with Joe Dudman and was right on his heels. I tried to pass on a muddy corner shortly after we turned off the gravel road and almost went down. Patience, I thought...I made my next attempt to pass right around the 1 mile mark...just before the "unique aid station featuring "Adult" beverages." I opened up what felt like a small gap, but I knew I had to push hard to keep the lead. We finally turned back onto the gravel road and I could feel Joe closing the gap...luckily I had just enough left to hold him off. It was a fun cross-country type course with some gravel, grass, and dirt. Joe and I talked briefly after the race and he said he thought they should keep the race a 3K again next year...I agree.

So my double went really well...sub-5 minute mile and a win at the Hangover Run...but a double is not quite as impressive as Joe's New Years' Weekend Quintuple. Nice work!

Top 10 Running Lowlights from 2010

2010-12-31T00:51:00.001-08:00

10) Mile Repeats - These are never fun, but I guess training is not supposed to be fun.

9) Missing a turn at the Santiam Canyon Scramble - This would have been my best scramble ever...luckily, I still held off Sean Meissner.

8) Shotgun Creek Trail Blast 50K - I did have a great race here, but I wore the wrong shoes. I had heard the course would be mostly road, so I decided to wear my old Lunaracers. Unfortunately I had absolutely no traction going up the one long muddy hill and my feet got totally hammered going down the gravel roads...there just wasn't enough protection. And one foot is still bothering me today.

7) Missing the Where's Waldo 100K - I can't wait to run this race again...I think it's one of those races that will take me several years to get right. Realistically, my next shot will be in 2012.

6) 5:00.7 at the Capitol Mile - I think my time speaks for itself.

5) Missing the 2010 Boston Marathon - I had run in the race 5 straight years and was a little bummed that my streak would be broken, but it was somewhat out of my control. The race filled so fast I didn't have time to decide if I wanted to run it, so I just figured it was meant to be. In 2009 I had finally run sub-3 hours and I guess I didn't feel like I had anything else I really needed to prove there. Otherwise, I would have registered right away. The good news is my sister and I got in for 2011.

4) Sauvie Island Marathon - The Eugene Marathon was my number one highlight from 2010, but I had a dream shortly after that race of running an even better marathon just two months later at Sauvie Island. The key word here is dream. I tried to get back on track training-wise after Eugene, but it wasn't happening. All the workouts I was doing before Eugene felt so much harder before Sauvie Island...there were a few I even cut short because I couldn't get through them. In the race I managed to keep up with the leaders for the first 4 miles and then I watched them slowly pull away. About halfway through the race I even had to stop and take a crap which I've never had to do in a marathon before. By this point I'm laughing at myself and wondering if I'll even break 3 hours. As for the rest of the race, the miles kept getting slower and the pain kept getting worse. It wasn't much fun. Pretty amazing that I feel like I had a terrible race and still ran 2:54:48...makes me think that with the right preparation and good conditions this would be a fast course. I'm only smiling because I'm done.

3) Mustache for a Week - The Pain Train beat me at the White River 50 miler and we had bet that the loser would wear a mustache for the 2 months following the race. I didn't realize how much I would dislike wearing a mustache. I couldn't believe how self-concious I felt for the week that I had it. I was actually very happy that prior to our third baby being born, Tonya asked me to get a haircut and be clean shaven. I figured it was in my best interest to comply. The Pain Train understood and at some point in the future I will finish paying up on this bet. I did get to rock the mustache at the first week of the Bush Park Cross-Country Series.

2) McDonald Forest 15K - Without question, this was my worst race of the year. I guess if you race enough you're going to have at least one race here or there when you feel absolutely terrible and want to quit. The worst part was I didn't see it coming at all. A few weeks later I went out on my own and ran the course faster than I did in the race. Maybe because I didn't stop here and consider turning around.

1) Injuring Eric Jensen - I'm not sure if I really let him know how bad I felt about this. I know what it feels like to be injured and not be able to run like you want...it's the worst. He expresses an interest in trail running and I go and take him on some of the toughest runs around! Let's see...Mary's Peak, Dome Rock, a mid-week 13 miler in McDonald Forest...sorry for pushing a little too hard a little too soon. Looking forward to running with you in 2011.

Top 10 Running Highlights from 2010

2010-12-30T23:52:00.000-08:00

10) McDonald Forest 50K - I ran my personal best time here (4:42:45) this year after running the Eugene Marathon 6 days earlier. To me, that says there's a lot more room to improve in the future. This would be higher in the top 10, but I think this "double" really "hurt" me. I certainly wasn't ready (i.e. not recovered) for the Sauvie Island Marathon on the 4th of July.

This race makes the top 10 any year...it's my hometown ultra and it's always fun hanging out after the race to talk running...or bow hunting.

9) Sub-5 Minute Mile - I was pretty excited to see the All-Comers Track Meets this past summer in Corvallis on the calendar because I figured this would be my opportunity to get that sub-5 minute mile I missed out on at the Capitol Mile in January (a 2010 lowlight). I only made it to the meet in July and I only ran the mile. Even after getting horribly cut off right at the start (i.e. I got tripped up and almost went down), I ran a 4:58, but looking back, I'm not sure if it was really a mile or only 1600 meters. A big thanks goes out to Team Jensen for coming out to support me and taking some pictures. Thanks!

8) Adding to the "Crew" - This year I feel like I really started to assemble my own small group of runners at work - Eric, Gene, Roger, and Sam. It's been great to find more people excited and passionate about all things running. I really enjoyed running with you guys this year...looking forward to more.

7) Mt. Hood Scramble - Felt like I finally "ran" well at this race after years of trying. I was even lucky enough to catch the Pain Train the day after a long run and squeak out a win. This is another race that would make the top 10 any year. If you haven't tried it, you need to. One other thought...I prefer this type of scramble versus the Warrior Dash which seems to be gaining in popularity. I like the idea of "natural" obstacles rather than man made. Couldn't find any video from 2010 yet.

6) Payback - I finally won a bet with the Pain Train.

5) Sauvie Island Marathon - Got to see Eric run a huge marathon PR...by over 25 minutes, I believe! By all acounts, it was one of those "perfect" races where everything comes together. One of those, "this is the reason you run" moments. Sam also ran a half marathon PR here. For me personally, this race ended up in the 2010 lowlights.

4) 12 Hours at Corban College - I came away from this event feeling like I was part of something special. I didn't see any other 12 hour races last year, but I didn't need to. William Swint gets my vote for 12 hour UPOY, but not without a special shout out to Jason Nixon for getting him through it.
I was there early on and we were having a lot of fun...talking about the size of the field, trying to get William to compete with the relay team, telling him to try running an sub-18 minute 5K loop for a bigger donation, lighting a camp stove...but I left for Grandma Novie's birthday party after he hit 50K, I think, and I missed some of the drama around the 8 hour mark. However, when I got back for the last few laps to make 100K, I could definitely see that things had changed since I left. What I got to see in the end was a gutty, inspiring performance. I really hope they have this race again next year...I'd love to test myself here.

3) White River 50 Miler - I consider myself very lucky to have been able to go up to Washington for the weekend with Bullseye and the Pain Train to run this race in order to get a qualifier for Western States. I had a great time hanging out with those guys, the course and scenery was amazing, and I got to run with the best ultrarunners in the country. All I had to do was break 11 hours, but I decided to take a bet with the Pain Train...not really sure why. Loser has to wear a mustache for 2 months. I guess the only thing in my favor was the fact that he was training through the race in preparation for the Where's Waldo 100K. I would be running it on more like marathon training.
It was pretty interesting how the race played out. I tried to stick right with him early on, but as usual, I ended up getting ahead. I can't remember now if he caught up before the 3rd aid station (Corral Pass), but I know we were there at the same time. I left a little before he did and when I was leaving the 4th aid station (Ranger Creek), he was just arriving. Next came about 5 miles of downhill, which at first felt great, but by the end, I felt pretty hammered. He caught up to me on the way down and we arrived at the 5th aid station (Buck Creek) together. We left together too, but he slowly started to pull away. I still felt really hammered and was having a hard time getting going again. Up next was the 8 plus mile climb up Sun Top trail. I was walking a lot of this, but was surprised that I was catching a few people and very few people were catching me. At the 6th aid station (Fawn Ridge) I was totally shocked to see him just leaving as I was pulling in. The race is on! Between here and the top I finally got my legs going again and once I made it to the top, the 7th aid station (Sun Top), I was licking my chops in anticipation of the 6 miles of downhill. I ran it as hard as I could and mercifully it finally ended. Once things flattened out, I remember turning a corner and I could see quite a ways down the road. I saw someone not too far ahead in a red shirt...could it be him? Finally the last aid station was in sight. As I pulled in, he was just leaving! At that point I was completely spent and I felt like I had to stop and refuel (special thanks to Bullseye for crewing for me). The last 6 plus miles was on fairly technical trail and just seemed to go on forever. I never saw him again and was really questioning whether I would even make a sub-9 hour finish. In the end, I did, and was very happy to sit down. This is definitely a race I'd like to run again.
Look for the Pain Train's finish around 8:50 in the video. I was the very next finisher, but they decided they'd filmed enough, I guess! Look for my mustache in my 2010 lowlights!

2) Spectating at Western States - Prior to White River, again I was very lucky to have been able to go down to Western States with Bullseye and the Pain Train to essentially watch the race. The Pain Train would be pacing Cameron Hanes from Foresthill to the finish. Western States is a big deal in the world of ultrarunning and it was really cool to be part of it this year. We ended up arriving on Friday and got to check out Squaw Valley where the race starts. We attended the pre-race briefing and I won a free entry into the race for 2011 through the raffle. We ran the first few miles of the course and Cameron treated us to dinner. Finally we headed to Auburn for the night.
On Saturday we were able to check on-line to see how the race was progressing. Then we headed to Foresthill to wait for Cameron. While we were waiting, the Pain Train met a friendly dog and I met Cowman A-Moo-Ha. Once the leaders started coming through, things got even more exciting. Anton and Kilian were essentially running together and Geoff Roes was more than 10 minutes behind them. When the Pain Train headed out with Cameron, Bullseye and I headed back toward Auburn. We stopped in again to check the live race update...Geoff Roes had seriously closed the gap on Anton and Kilian! Let's head for Hwy 49 (mile 93.5) to see them come through! By this point Geoff had taken the lead and was only about a minute ahead of Anton! Wow, this is close! Let's head to the finish! It was a little anti-climatic...Geoff won by over 6 minutes, but it was pretty cool seeing them finish and hearing them describe their races right after finishing. Rather than try to backtrack, we waited there for Cameron to finish. He finished very well in 22:41:07. Hard to believe I will be running this race next year. Glad to know I'll have an experienced pacer.

1) Eugene Marathon - The Rosling's kicked ass! Two marathon PR's (mine, hers) and a trip to Boston planned for April 2011.

Eugene Marathon

2010-08-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

Guest post by Kristin Rosling

After reading my brother’s blog detailing his Eugene experience I felt inspired to do the same.

Typically I feel under-trained and unprepared on race day, and the Eugene Marathon was no different. I’m always wishing I could have got another 20+ in, but I’m a busy girl and running is not quite my life, but it’s certainly become a very big and very important part of my life. It keeps me healthy and its fun!

I slept at my parent’s house the night before, ate a good breakfast (banana and a bagel), and felt somewhat ready to take on the morning’s challenge. We picked up Michael and Will in Corvallis and headed down. Will was looking exceptionally cute with his pillow, his dog Fred, and his sweet little smile at 530 in the morning. I drank a lot of water (and a couple beers) on the days leading up to the race, but drank almost no water on race morning. I was thirsty, but I was really hoping this would keep me from having to pee. I went twice before the race started and felt good and empty at the start. I started at a fairly fast pace. I think my first mile was around 8:30 and I really had to weave in and out and run on the sidewalks at times to keep that pace up with all the people at the start. I saw my parents and Will early on, mile 2 or 3? Then again around 7 miles and 14-15 miles. It’s not easy to be a race spectator, but damn it is so great to see someone you know cheering you on! Thank you!! My first 9 miles felt great and I felt really good running around an 8-8:15ish min. mile pace. Around 10 miles I had the “wow, I still have a long way to go” feeling and started to notice my legs. I ran a ½ marathon PR of 1:47:12 and knew I had a definite fighting chance to qualify for Boston, but was still very unsure if I could keep up my pace for another 13.1 miles.

After I saw my parents and Will at the Autzen Stadium foot bridge I started thinking about Becky and was really hoping to see her! And I did, around 16-18 miles (can’t remember now). She was out there with her son Cameron and it gave me just the boost I needed to run my 8 min mile and smile and say hi. Cameron was looking very cute and confused. Becky told me later that he was asking “why, why?” Made me laugh, why are these crazy people running?!? I saw another friend Kelly shortly after on the course and this gave me yet another boost.

Things got pretty hard again around mile 20 and it felt like we were running really far away from where we would eventually finish on Hayward Field. We headed past the VRC and finally crossed a bridge to the other side of the river to head back towards campus and that felt good. My legs were hurting really bad at this point, but I was also at the point where I was almost certain I would qualify for Boston, but definitely not 100% certain. I thought my parents might be at mile 24 so I started focusing on this. I even thought I would have my mom run a little with me because I needed some help! Then something totally awesome happened. My dear friend Holly who said she would be out of town ended up staying in town and found me at about mile 22.5 right when I needed her most!! She was a vision in pink and I was so excited to see her. She ran with me for about a ½ mile and I had a serious shot of adrenaline coursing through my legs. It was awesome. I felt no pain for that ½ mile. This was the second moment where I thought I was definitely going to qualify. I couldn’t believe the pace I was maintaining. After Holly left me I was so close, but I also felt myself slowing and I was hurting real bad. I started to worry I would get that close and then miss it by seconds so I just pushed as much as I still could and told myself “pain is temporary” and “get yo money” and other good Reggie quotes from boxing. I had one more familiar face around mile 25, Lori, an occasional running buddy. I talked to her briefly and she told me I was looking great, and that was my last shot of adrenaline. By mile 26 I was breathing quite loud and snot and spit were flying out of my nose and mouth. I was in a weird state of extreme focus. Hayward Field was pretty sweet to finish on, but I didn’t have the push I expected to have there. All I knew was I had qualified, I was in pain, and I couldn’t wait to be done! My official time was 3:37:45, an almost 21 minute PR and well under the 3:40:59 I needed to get into Boston.

This was the first time I’ve used an iPod during a race and it was definitely useful for small boosts and also caused a few tears. At the beginning of the race I had a vision of an emotional race and that is what it became. Running has become more therapeutic than ever for me over this past year and this race felt like the culmination of one of the tougher years of my life. I definitely had something to prove and it ended on quite a high note! I love running more and more, and I can’t wait to see what it has in store for me and where I can take it next. Thanks to all my very supportive friends and family members!!

Next on the agenda….Amy and I will run our first ultra-marathon on September 11th, McKenzie River 50K (31 miles). Then we’ll head back to the pavement for the PDX Marathon on Oct 10th.

2010 Eugene Marathon

2010-05-21T23:30:00.000-07:00

Eugene was my target race from the beginning of the year. I had been running the Boston Marathon every spring for the last 5 years (just trying to get it right once), but this year it filled up before I could decide if I wanted to run it. I didn't get into Western States, I couldn't run the entire Oregon Trail Series, so I decided to focus on a marathon PR.

In years past, I would start to get serious about Boston preparation in November. Last year I felt like I peaked too early, then I got hurt. This year I started getting serious for Eugene in December and tried to be very conscious of my body to avoid injury. Thankfully, I had a great 4 months of training. I was racing a few times a month and doing pretty well. My confidence was high.

My original target for the race was 6:20 min/mile...or just under 2:46:00. But by the time the race rolled around, I figured I would take a shot at sub-2:40:00! The hardest part about it was probably believing I was capable. A couple years ago I never would have believed it was possible...I was struggling to break 3:00:00. I had run 2:52:13 (Newport '08) and 2:52:54 (Boston '09)...and I knew I could do better than that, but how much better. I had recently run a couple sub 17 minute 5Ks (16:55 and 16:43), and I was doing my Yasso 800s just under 2:40 and mile repeats just under 5:40...that helped me believe. And most importantly I had two guys really talking me up and building my confidence...the Pain Train and Eric Jensen...thanks, guys.

On race morning, my parents drove my sister and me down to the race (Will came too). On the way down we talked a little about race strategy. Basically, I believe we both agreed to "go for it" and see what happens. We got dropped off at the Hilton and took the shuttle over to the start. It was near ideal conditions. At the start I wished Kristin good luck and worked my way up to the front...even got to see William right before we took off.

I decided not to wear my Garmin during the race. It always messes with my mind when the mile markers don't match the watch. And it's also very deflating to continuously watch your mile pace or overall pace going up near the end of the race (that's usually how it goes for me, anyway). So for the first mile I wasn't exactly sure how fast I was going...first mile...5:47! Well, that's too fast. Early on I felt a little tight, but it worked itself out pretty quickly...in general, I felt really good...it was a beautiful day...everything was great. So naturally I had to let someone know it. Around mile 7 I talked briefly with a guy who was running his first marathon and his plan was to try and stick to a 6:00 min/mile pace. After hearing this, I started seriously thinking about what I was doing...I decided I too would see how long I could keep it up, even though I was pretty sure it was too fast. I wanted to try to get to 20 miles in under 2 hours.

Speaking of running too fast...I'm not sure if the half marathon split was really at 13.1 miles. It seemed like it was right at 13 miles during the race. Either way, it was a half marathon PR for me! According to the results, I ran 1:17:27...almost a minute faster than my previous best...1:18:23. You don't usually do that in a marathon, right?

I had lots of support during the race which always helps...a few miles into the race I saw Will and my parents and then saw them again after we turned and headed back toward the start. I was a little surprised to see Eric near mile 9...felt bad that he wasn't able to run the race. William and Jason were somewhere near mile 11. By that time it was becoming clear I was running a suicide pace and I let them know it. It wasn't so effortless anymore. And I saw them again somewhere after mile 16, when I started to fall off the pace. It was a weird feeling...I could feel myself slowly slowing down, and it felt like there was nothing I could do about it...that was as fast as I could go at that moment.

I ended up hitting 20 miles in 2:00:20...close. By this point the mile markers seemed to be so far apart...I was looking at my watch frequently. Around 22 miles things were getting worse and it was really starting to hurt...somehow I managed to average just under 7:00 minute miles from 22 to 26. Not bad, considering, but I'd say I got passed by about 10 guys during this stretch. There honestly were times when I felt if I took a misstep I was going to fall over. And another thing I noticed was that my head felt like it weighed about 500 pounds. That has actually become a very good indicator of when it's all over for me. Once the head goes back, I'm done. It's too bad I was so done before I even got to the finish, because I feel like I didn't get to appreciate the finish on the Hayward Field track. This picture at the finish says it all...credit to the photographer, Rick Russell...what a shot!

I finished in 2:42:51...over a 9 minute PR, and relatively close to sub-2:40. Now it's even more in the realm of possibility...I quickly signed up for the Foot Traffic Flat Marathon on the 4th of July. Hopefully I can get back on track and be ready for that race...start more conservatively and see what happens.

Once again, I was so impressed by Kristin's marathon...it's hard to put into words. She ran great at Portland last October...3:58:15. Afterwards, I started planting ideas in her head about qualifying for Boston, but I knew that would be asking a lot in her very next marathon...to take over 17 minutes off her best time. Realistically, I thought she should work her way up to it over a couple races. Well, she went for it at Eugene, alright...wow, she blew any thought I had out of the water with an over 20 minute PR...3:37:45. Boston qualifier! We definitely have to go back to Boston next April...we'll register early! Running is so dang rewarding. Work hard and it seems like almost anything is possible. I love it.

Help, I Race Too Much

2010-05-21T22:45:00.000-07:00

We're having another baby in August and I think that I'm subconsciously trying to fit a year's worth of racing into 7 months! Right now I'm on pace to have 3 races per month through June, and I'm seriously considering running two 5K races on the same day to make it happen.

Here's what I've done so far...

January - Capitol Mile (5:00.7), Cascade Half Marathon (1:19:12), Willamette Mission Trail Challenge (40:26)
February - Hagg Lake 50K (4:13:28), Buck Mountain Mudslinger (47:23), Tumor Shooter Trail Run (40:32)
March - Spring for Kids 5K (16:55), Santiam Canyon Scramble (48:24), Shotgun Trail Blast (3:22:06)
April - Peterson Ridge Rumble (4:45:01), Sophie's Run 5K (16:43)
May - Eugene Marathon (2:42:51), McDonald Forest 50K (4:42:45)

Right now my legs are telling me to take a break...only problem is I signed up for a half marathon this weekend!

Run Wild Adventures 2009/2010 Trail Run Series

2010-04-09T00:09:00.000-07:00

I'd like to give a shout out to Run Wild Adventures for a superbad series of trail races this past winter. Gary Terlecki and Shandi Maxwell really went above and beyond and created something special. Great job guys...I had a lot of fun. Thanks for letting me get involved.

Here's a quick recap on my performance...

12/5 - Shellburg Falls - It was a bitter cold morning...freezing fog in the valley. The drive up to the race with Matt Nahorniak was exciting when my truck got squirrelly on some ice. That really woke us both up. I had a bet on the line with the Pain Train and I figured my only shot to beat him in his own backyard was to put a gap between us before the big climb. I started off at what I felt was a very fast pace. I could hear a few guys behind me, but I didn't look back to see who it was. When we got off the trail about 1.5 miles into the race I looked back and he was right there...crap. He gapped me going up the falls trail and mountain bike trail and I could never catch up. There were a few spots where I would catch a glimpse, but he ended up finishing over 20 seconds ahead.

1/30 - Willamette Mission - One thing I remember distinctly from this race was that my stomach was off...it was really sloshing the whole time. I ran almost the whole race with Mark Robins right behind me and he got me right near the end again (same as the Capitol Mile). This course measured at 10K so I did have sub-40:00 in mind, but didn't quite make it. There was some pretty crazy mud in some sections of the course. I think I need to work on the mud running. A lot of times I feel like I'm fighting it and wasting a lot of energy. From the pictures it looks like I also need to work on my log jumping.

2/27 - Buck Mountain - This was definitely my best race of the series. Actually, I had a great weekend. I was one of several people who did the Buck Mountain/Tumor Shooter double. Two races in two days and both of them went really well...it was a big confidence booster for me. Going up that big hill at Buck Mountain, it just felt like I had an extra gear. And finishing up with those big downhills was fun. This was also the race where the Pain Train had to pay up for losing the Cascade Half Marathon bet. Good times all around. Looking back, the only negative was actually the fact that Erik Skaggs showed up and kicked everyone's ass. My point total for this race would have been a lot higher otherwise!

3/20 - Santiam Scramble - I decided to "take a weekend off" from marathon training, have fun, and try not to get seriously injured. Aside from almost being impaled by a tree limb...mission accomplished. The course was great...everything you'd expect in a good scramble. I can't believe I took a wrong turn right near the finish. This was almost my best scramble ever.

As I hinted at earlier, I took the liberty of calculating series points Oregon Trail Series style. Below are the nine finishers of all 4 races and points for each race based on the winning time of each race.

Your 2009/2010 champion is Alex Mcgladrey!

Thanks again, Run Wild Adventures...I'm looking forward to next years' races.

Payback

2010-03-16T22:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally got the Pain Train to bet on a road race and it paid off. The pay up was at the Buck Mountain Mudslinger. Thank-you Run Wild Adventures for getting these pictures...I forgot my camera. During the race he sported the "I Love My Bump" T-shirt and the "Winner Winner Chicken Teriyaki Dinner" shorts. Pre and post-race he really pulled off the muumuu...people were starting to believe it was some type of new ultra running gear.

And I just had to recap for myself...this was my first win after four losses.

1) Lost a team bet on the Mt. Hood Scramble in 2008. Had to wear this at the Stayton 4th of July 10K that year.
2) Lost a bet on the Pain Train Challenge at Shellburg Falls in 2008. Had to wear this at the 2009 Cascade Half Marathon.
3) Lost a bet on the TOE 50K/Mt. Hood Scramble double in 2009. Had to wear this at the Stayton 4th of July 10K that year.
4) Lost a bet on the Shellburg Falls Trail Run in 2009. Had to wear this (sorry, the video is no longer available!) at the 2010 Cascade Half Marathon.

Finally winning was pretty sweet...when and where will there be a next bet?

Hagg Lake 50K

2010-02-26T12:36:00.000-08:00

The Pain Train is back…he’s running well and getting the publicity he deserves. He ran a great race last Saturday…finished in 4:04:11! I’m glad I don’t have any bets on up-coming races with him…I would be nervous.

By the way, I’m not impressed with the winning caption for this picture. There were several better ones…in particular, by William’s Aunt Darlene.

All things considered, I felt like I had a pretty good race too. I’ve been telling myself that I’ve got a singular focus this year…the Eugene Marathon. My plan was to stick to the plan…that meant a high mileage week before Hagg Lake and not surprisingly my legs were feeling heavy. I could tell right away going up the hill on the out-and-back…there was no spring in my step. I ran the out-and-back and several miles of the first loop with Will Kalenius…enjoyed catching up with him.

Once we hit the trail, I was trying not to go too fast, but I ended up needing/wanting to pass a couple guys, and Will didn’t come with me. We unexpectedly did not take the detour for the bridge that is out…that was more fun than running the road, but was noticeably tougher on the second loop. A short while later, I could hear the Pain Train, not far behind, discussing with Will how he was lucky someone saved him from taking a wrong turn.

The Pain Train and Will caught me at the dam aid station. At that point, a group of five of us ran together for a few miles. Then the Pain Train decided to make his move…about 10 miles into a 31 mile race! One by one, our group broke up. I was trying to keep the Pain Train in sight and eventually I was by myself. Every now and then I caught a glimpse of him and then we hit the muddy section about a half mile from the start/finish area and he lost a shoe so I caught up.

All day I was making a point of going right through the mud/water on the trail…not worrying about getting wet feet. It worked well except at one point not too far into the second loop. I tried to go right through the middle of a big mud puddle…it ended up being a lot deeper than I expected and I went down. As I went down, there was a lady carefully making her way around the puddle and she accused me of trying to mud wrestle with her. Pretty funny. I shook it off and tried to get back in a rhythm…very hard to do on the Hagg Lake trail.

Before the dam aid station, I passed a couple guys and when I finally popped out on the road just before the dam I could see the Pain Train. He was about a dam length ahead of me, but I knew I had no shot at catching him. Mainly because after the dam aid station, I could tell I was slowing down. There are some short/steep ups that were tough and I was expecting someone to catch me at any time…surprisingly, no one did. I had finished the out-and-back plus first loop in about 2:12 and I was hoping for a second loop in at least 2:00. I actually ended up being pretty close, though there were points when I was trying to estimate finishing time and I was thinking I would be lucky to break 4:20. Then the good old one mile to go sign appeared at about 4:04…alright, I’m going to be faster than last year! I finished in 4:13:28.

After the race there was a lot of good trash talking between The Pain Train and The Colonel. They’ve got a little wager on the Buck Mountain Mudslinger and Tumor Shooter trail races this weekend. This should be fun.

My Running Family

2009-10-09T00:37:00.000-07:00

There's something really satisfying about getting other people interested in running. This year I've really enjoyed watching Tonya, Kristin, and Will get into it...sorry Ella, no racing for you until you're 3. Here are some pictures from races this year.

March - Champoeg Park 10K - Tonya had decided to run the Hippie Chick Half Marathon in May with some of her friends and I had put together a training plan for her to follow. By March, I told her to try a 10K to see where she was at fitness-wise. It was a great morning for a race...the rain held off until just as we were leaving. Unfortunately, the race was only 6 miles due to a downed tree on the course, but it was still a good test to see where she was at...Tonya ran 51:52, so we began thinking about a sub-2:00 hour half marathon. Thanks to Gramma C. for coming to watch the kids so Tonya and I could both run.

Ella all bundled up

Will cheering for the runners

Celebrating a 6 mile PR

The running protege and mentor

July - Stayton 4th of July 10K - Kristin came all the way down from Portland to run this race just to see what I would have to wear after losing another bet with the Pain Train. It was a hot day as usual, but Kristin and I both had good races and cooled off in the creek afterwards. Kristin and Tonya were now both preparing for the Portland Marathon.

I feel bad for anyone who gets beat by this guy

Great picture of the start of the race

Trying to hang on to 2nd place

There was something special about the outfit again

Kristin finishing off her race

A 10K PR

July - Coburg Run in the Country - Tonya ran a great first half marathon in 2:02:43...she really pushed herself in the second half and even puked near the end...but she was cheated out of a potential sub-2:00 hour finish due to the fact that the Hippie Chick race used timing chips but did not have a timing mat at the start of the race...disgraceful! She could have easily lost a couple minutes at the very congested start. For her Portland Marathon training, Tonya's long run was up into the 18 mile range, so I felt she was very prepared for this half marathon...the goal was to run 9:00 minute miles...at this pace she would easily break 2:00 hours. She ended up running 1:56:32...an 8:54 pace! I was so proud. This was also Will's first official race. I have to say, it's so dang cute to see those kids lined up at the start. He had a blast.

High five from Will on the homestretch

Super Mom

Lined up for the kids race

Will having a blast

He's a natural

August - Bush Park Cross-Country Series Week 1 - These races are held every Thursday night in August and are really a lot of fun. They have races of several different distances for all ages. We ended up going the first week. Will ran in the kids race and Tonya got her speedwork in for her Portland Marathon training by running the 5K.

Will explaining how fast he will run

Lined up and ready to go

This is intense

Will has his game face on as he heads down the homestretch

Very cute

Portland Marathon speedwork for Tonya

August - Bush Park Cross-Country Series Week 4 - We didn't make it back to Bush Park until the last week of August. Will had a tough race this week...he decided to line up in front and got knocked down when the race started. He was pretty upset and I thought we were going to have to bag it, but he got over it, started running, and we even managed to pick off a few stragglers. Tonya had a good race and improved on her 5K time.

At the start...maybe too close to the front

I thought this might be a DNF

Finishing it up together...this is my favorite picture

1st time down the big hill

This is fun

Focused

2nd time down the big hill

October - Portland Marathon - This race really became the culmination of the year for Kristin and Tonya. Word on the street was that Kristin's goal for the marathon, her third, was to break 4:00 hours...she had previously run 4:24:03 (1st marathon at Newport) and 4:14:11 (2nd marathon at San Diego). For Tonya, I estimated that 10:00 minute miles was a reasonable goal for her first marathon. In the end, both ran races to be proud of...Kristin took a huge step in the direction of a Boston qualifying time finishing in 3:58:15 and Tonya finished in 4:34:44 and recently said she wants to run another one! I was very impressed with Kristin's splits for the race...she ran very evenly throughout and had a negative second half split. Tonya likely started out a little too fast and had the "classic" marathon experience that I've had several times and I've had described to me by others many times...felt great for the first 18 miles or so, then in the last 8 miles began wondering when is this going to be over! I'll add more pictures as soon as they are available.

Tonya all set for her first marathon

Pretty good view from our hotel room

So, You're Telling Me There's a Chance...

2009-09-11T10:15:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a season for me in the Oregon Trail Series.

I had a pretty good Hagg Lake...I faded quite a bit in the end.
I had an OK Rumble...coming off a calf injury.
I had a disappointing PCT 50...story to come later.
And I had a DNF at Where's Waldo...coming off pneumonia.

Now with one race left to go, I still have an outside shot at winning the 30-39 age group. Gregory Smith is currently leading with 122.53 points and I've noticed he's not running McKenzie...so no chance to improve his point total. I'm currently at 95.13 points...27.4 points behind. As best I can tell, I would need to finish no more than 27 minutes behind the winner at McKenzie tomorrow to get the necessary points. Note to Todd Braje...if you're running tomorrow, please don't set a new course record!

There's no question that I'll have to run my best 50K...but it's just close enough to the realm of possibility that I'm going for it!

What's Been Missing in My Life...

2009-09-01T23:31:00.000-07:00

Blogging...I don't know if you've noticed, but lately my blog has been drifting aimlessly...it's time to start TCB.

I'm doing this just for me...clearly.

Actually, it's been quite an interesting past 6 months...

March - Calf injury
April - 10K PR (35:47), Boston Marathon PR (2:52:54)
May - Mike Luvin's Challenge
June - 50K PR (4:11:23), lost another bet
July - 10K PR again (35:25), Triple Mary's Peak
August - Pneumonia, first DNF

...definitely some stories worth telling.

Mike Luvin's Challenge(s)

2009-05-21T23:32:00.000-07:00

Challenge #1 - This challenge was born shortly after the 2008 Newport Marathon. The record has changed hands several times between the Pain Train and myself. Since I'm the current record holder, I'm putting my name to it and making it public!

The course: Start from Lewisberg Saddle and run the last ~ 4.8 miles of the 2008/2009 McDonald Forest 50K, then the first ~ 6.9 miles back to the saddle. http://www.oregontrailseries.org/mac/course.htm

The record: 1:23:34 (Mike Luvin - 5/20/2009)

Challenge #2 - For the short period of time that I was not the record holder for Challenge #1, I was working on another record...I had always wanted to try and run this particular route in under 1 hour. I recently went for it and was really flying until I got to the bottom of Dan's Trail and came across what looked like a few high school kids looking at a map. I figured they might need some directions so I stopped and pointed them the right way...at that point, I was pretty sure my sub-1 hour dream was dead for that day, but I kept pushing and by the time I hit the Upper Horse Trail, I knew I still had a shot. I made it, but I figure I lost maybe a minute...I guess what I'm saying is there's room for improvement here.

The course: Start from Lewisberg Saddle and run Road 600/650 to the top of Dimple, then run down Dan's Trail to Jackson Creek Trail, then run Road 612/610 to the Horse Trails, then run up the Horse Trails, then run back down Road 600 to the saddle.

The record: 58:28 (Mike Luvin - 5/9/2009)

Disclaimer: To the best of my knowledge, there are no other claims by anyone to these records so I am declaring myself the record holder. Please correct me if I'm wrong!

Fall Creek Run-Around 20 Miler

2009-02-28T22:24:00.001-08:00

My goal race for the first half of the year is the Boston Marathon. After last year's race, I had to go back. When I saw this 20 mile race on the calendar, I thought it might make a good long tempo run. The only questionable part about it was it was the week after the Hagg Lake 50K.

Initially, I was planning to wait until after Hagg Lake to see how I felt before signing up, but I got ahead of myself and signed up early...if I had waited, I probably would have skipped it. My right hamstring was bothering me enough after Hagg Lake that I took 3 days off from running and used a lot of RICE therapy. I ended up running 12 miles with the Pain Train on Thursday before the race and even a couple miles the day before at marathon tempo pace just to see how it might feel. It felt OK, so the race was on...I mean, tempo run.

The race didn't start until 10:00...that was nice...I left Corvallis around 8:00 and got there at about 9:20. My plan was to do a 3 mile warm-up, but I only had time for 2 miles. The area was pretty nice and the weather was perfect for a long road run...the reservoir kind of looked like Detriot...the water level was real low.

The race started off and I was in second behind John Leuthold, an RVR runner. I was pretty sure John had run the McKenzie River 50K last year, and I knew all those guys were in the 4:00:00-4:10:00 range...a little out of my range. We ran the first mile together...I found out he was training for the Way Too Cool 50K. We hit the first mile in a little over 6:00...not quite tempo pace...see you at the finish! As I slowed down, Jason Hawthorne caught me...he's a local guy, from Albany...I've seen him at a lot of races, but never really talked to him...we ended up running together until somewhere around mile 8 or 9.

For the first 6 miles or so, I felt pretty tight and was a little concerned that the race wasn't going to go too well...but a little after the 6 mile mark we turned a corner and started to run uphill and I started to feel better. Jason and I really pushed the uphill...and John seemed to be getting closer. I was surprised that we seemed to be catching up so quickly...at 10 miles I had left Jason and I was right behind John! He heard me, turned around with a shocked look on his face, and "put the hammer down". Now if I was racing, I might have tried to keep up, but as it was, I didn't even respond. He put almost 3 minutes on me in the second 10 miles of the race. I'll be interested to see how he does at Way Too Cool...turns out he did really well...finished 23rd in 4:12:18.

As far as the tempo run was concerned, the course wasn't real good for running a consistent pace...I ended up finishing in 2:10:51...a little slower than I hoped, but pretty good, I thought, with how I felt after Hagg Lake. Speaking of Hagg Lake, the course kind of reminded me of the ORRC Hagg Lake Road Run, only twice as long. All in all it was a really nice race...I finished in the top 3 so I got a free entry into the Oregon Marathon Relay in April...there's a 10K...it's the week before Boston...I might run it.

Hagg Lake 50K

2009-02-23T23:40:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday I ran my 3rd Hagg Lake 50K and 10th ultra...it turned out to be a day very similar to the 2008 race. I remember thinking earlier in the week how it seemed like the 2008 trail season had just ended, but really it had been over 5 months...I was very excited to race "long" distance again. The other great thing about these races is seeing all the familiar faces...some of the Corvallis group was there...Scott, John, Dave, Erik, and Sander...I got to congratulate Darin Swanson on his sub-3 hour marathon...and Sean Meissner was disappointed I didn't wear my liger shirt. I didn't tell him, but I'm wearing my Waldo shirt this year for the ultras...it's all about redemption there this season.

As Tom Riley captured in this picture below, it was a beautiful morning...if anything, I think it was warmer than last year.

I knew I was better prepared for the race this year and unlike last year, I wasn't coming into the race after getting over the flu. Realistically, I was hoping to run somewhere between 4:08 and 4:15. We all started off on the out-and-back...a little way up the road we heard a warning of roadkill, but as we got closer the Pain Train pointed out that he wasn't dead, just drunk...glad someone took a picture of this.

We hadn't gone too far down the trail when we saw Tom Riley taking pictures...thanks, Tom...it really makes my blog look a lot better. I ran almost the entire first loop with a group consisting of Brendan Trimboli, Will Kalenius, and Joelle Vaught. I had some aid station splits written down to give me an idea of how fast I was going...we were on about 4:00 pace at the first aid station. I had the feeling it was a little too fast for me, but did I slow down...no way. I continued to hit about 4:00 splits all the way around the first loop. Matt Daniels passed us without a word just prior to the Tanner Creek aid station...Brendan was the only one of us to go with him. And at about the 1 mile to go mark on the first loop, Will left Joelle and me. As I came back into Sain Creek, I stopped and picked up my full bottle.

After grabbing my bottle, who should catch up to me...the Pain Train...that gave me a boost and I consciously picked it up...I wasn't trying to break you...just a little bit of shake 'n bake! We caught Joelle and passed her after she took a spill...a short time later, we caught Will and ran behind him for a couple miles. Eventually he stepped off the trail and let us lead...and then, surprising to me, I could see Matt Daniels not far ahead. We caught and passed him as we popped out onto the road just prior to hitting the dam. Now for much of this time, I had the feeling that I was "running over my head"...then the Pain Train made his move...I was able to keep up on the road, but once we hit the trail again I fell back. And a few miles later, I really slowed down...it felt like my hamstrings and calfs were getting real tight. Soon after that, Will caught and passed me...then Joelle caught me at the Tanner Creek aid station. My only thought at this point was that it was going to be darn close if I wanted to finish in 4:15. Unfortunately, this last stretch is probably the toughest to run...I tried to push...I even fell once...but in the end I was a little upset with myself that I didn't push quite hard enough to finish under 4:15...4:15:36. The Pain Train finished another great race in 4:05:54! He continues to impress me.

After the race I took a soak in the lake...wow, that was cold! But I think it did me some good...everything feels pretty good a couple days later except the right hamstring. Hope I didn't make a mistake signing up for the Fall Creak Run-Around 20 Miler next weekend! Time for some road racing before the Boston Marathon.

Cascade Half Marathon

2009-02-07T17:28:00.000-08:00

The Cascade Half Marathon has become an annual race for me...it's really good motivation to start training hard in the late fall and winter months. Like the Pain Train, it's also where I went to high school...it's fun to come back and see familiar faces and run on familiar roads...and those roads are flat and fast.

This is a race that Tonya always comes to...she's managed to get a picture of me finishing every year...except this one when I was looking my best!

2005 - 1:33:13 - Looks like I'm about to collapse.

2006 - 1:26:35 - Redemption for the 2005 race.

2007 - 1:24:27 - Dry but cold...and the Pain Train showing off his hardware.

2008 - 1:21:36 - Fog...no wind!

2009
Mile 1 - 5:50 - The first mile felt great...under control...but I was shooting for closer to 6:00, so I backed off the pace slightly.
Mile 2 - 6:05 - I ended up running the next two miles with Ken Vendley...he was also shooting for a 6:00 pace.
Mile 3 - 6:07 - At mile 3 the pace felt a little too slow...so I slowly pulled away from Ken.
Mile 4 - 5:57 - That's more like it.
Mile 5 - 6:05 - I caught and passed Thomas Goodwin somewhere around here...he's been a measuring stick for me in the past...he finished just ahead of me at the Capitol Mile and past Cascade Half Marathons.
Mile 6 - 5:57 - First thoughts of..."am I going too fast."
Mile 7 - 5:45 - I hit the half-way point in this mile, turned, and headed into what felt like a strong headwind...I thought, "oh crap"...it really felt like I was slowing down, so I was really pumped when I hit mile 7 in 5:45...my fastest mile.
Mile 8 - 6:03 - Mile 7 was a little fast so I backed off slightly.
Mile 9 - 5:53 - I passed Michael Graham somewhere around here, I think...I started thinking about the headwind coming up, so I pushed harder knowing these next couple miles would be a little easier.
Mile 10 - 5:50 - Thought it was pretty cool to hit the 10 mile mark in under 1 hour.
Mile 11 - 5:58 - Started really thinking about the headwind coming up.
Mile 12 - 6:11 - My slowest mile..."be the wind."
Mile 13 - 6:02 - I'm sure the wind wasn't that bad, but it seemed like it was...I felt like I was leaning into it and it was holding me up.
Finish - 1:18:23 - I felt great when I finished...I want to say I could have held that pace a little longer!

I also want to give a shout out to my crew for some superbad performances...all PR's!
Pain Train - 1:20:55
Dennis Gamroth - 1:30:58
Ryan Terlecki - 1:38:23
Kurtis Drake - 1:43:32

So I lost another bet with the Pain Train, wore the shirt again, and ran another great race...I'm happy about the race results, but when can we bet on a road race?

Capitol Mile

2009-01-22T00:40:00.000-08:00

For the second year in a row on New Year's Day, I ran the Capitol Mile. This is a one mile, out-and-back race in Wallace Marine Park in West Salem. Last year it was a little icy...I ran 5:15. This year, with how I was running, I thought I could be close to 5:00. Well, I've got a couple excuses...this year it was pretty windy and rainy and I felt like I got off to a bad start. I kind of got boxed in by a bunch of guys right from the start...at the time I felt like I would have started a little faster. I ended up running only 5:11...I was a little disappointed. All I could think afterwards was how quickly the whole thing was over and that I was really looking forward to the 13.1 miles of the Cascade Half Marathon.

The Pain Train Challenge

2009-01-18T21:21:00.000-08:00

What's your prediction for the race?

I should have known better than to challenge the Pain Train in his own backyard...looks like I'll be wearing my PR shirt for the Cascade Half Marathon!

For more details on the Pain Train Challenge, check out these links...
The Pain Train
Kurtis Drake

Fall 5Ks

2009-01-11T00:38:00.000-08:00

After the Fall 10Ks and the McDonald Forest 15K, there were a couple Fall 5Ks I planned to run. These races were folded into my training for the Cascade Half Marathon.

OSU Eat and Run 5K - 17:49 - It was the day after Halloween...let's just say, I ate too much candy...my stomach didn't feel real good that morning. I think I ran the first mile in about 5:33, but I was still probably at least 10 seconds behind the two frontrunners and not feeling very good...I slowed down quite a bit in the next two miles. I will say that the last mile of the course is a little tough in that there are quite a few sharp turns that really slow you down. I had run this race in 18:33 two years ago, so I was pretty happy with my time, but it was my first non-PR with the Lunaracers. I feel like I let my shoes down...but I did win a nice Beaver hat and gift certificate for lunch for my third place finish.

Oregon Mid-Valley Road Race - 21:16 - I've found that getting up early and running a race on Thanksgiving Day is really a great way to start the day. For the past 3 years I had run in the OAC Turkey Trot 5K in Corvallis. Unfortunately, they've had some trouble getting the course the right length...and based on this year's results, I'm guessing it was short again. Mainly for this reason, I decided to give the OMRR a shot. It was the first year for this event in Albany, and instead of the normal 5K/10K options, this race had a 3.75 mile and 5.2 mile race...there was no chance to get the distances wrong because they're based on the length of the roads! I do like the traditional distances because I do like to compare times from race to race...in the end, I decided to run the 3.75 mile race since it would fit in better as a tempo run for my Cascade Half Marathon training.

Everyone started together and I took the lead pretty much right from the start...I couldn't really tell how fast I was going because it was so cold. I did a good job of not looking back, but the race wasn't even half over and I was already running scared. I would say that I'm a frontrunner, but I felt a big difference being all alone in the front. Finally when I hit the turn-around, I could see that I was maybe 10-15 seconds ahead of several guys behind me, but I didn't know which race they were running. Although I ran the "easy" course, it was not exactly flat...there were some rolling hills and it felt like I was slowing down a little on the way back...I was afraid someone was going to catch me. Well, it turns out everyone that was close behind me at the turn-around was running the longer race because I ended up winning by over 3 minutes. The race organizers were good-naturedly giving me a hard time when I finished, saying I should have run the tougher course. The win felt pretty good...I even got my picture taken shaking hands with the main sponser of the race. The organizers of this race did a really nice job...I'd definitely go back next year...the question is, which race to run...defend my title or run the tougher course?

A couple sidenotes...I raced with headphones for the first time and didn't really like it...I think this was part of the reason why I couldn't tell how close the competition was. And a friend of mine who works for Albany Police was driving the tail car for the 5.2 mile race...so I got a police escort for my cooldown!

Beaver Fun Run 5K - 17:13 - I was feeling real good after a couple mile warm-up with the Pain Train. We ran most of the course for the warm-up, so I knew how it was marked. Early in the race, there were a couple spots where the marks went up onto the sidewalk and made some sharp turns...I was following them, but a few other guys near the front weren't...this pissed me off and really fueled me. I caught up to them, took the lead, and then proceeded to really mess with them...doing things like letting them catch up to me then putting on short bursts of speed to pull away...it was fun. Then we hit the first mile in 5:23...whoa...the only guy who was still with me started to put a gap between us...bottom line was I slowed down a bit and he didn't. But I did run the next two miles in about 5:40 and finished the race off feeling pretty darn good. Another PR...thanks Lunaracers! The Pain Train also PR'd in 17:42. Now the question was, could I beat him when there was a bet on the line?

McDonald Forest 15K

2008-12-31T03:43:00.000-08:00

I've been running seriously for 6 years now, and the McDonald Forest 15K is the only race I've run every year. My performance has improved fairly steadily each year, except in 2004 when I nearly missed the race...the conditions were pretty bad too...very muddy. But even after racing this course 6 times, I'd still say I don't know exactly how to run this race.

2003 - 1:12:39 - Tonya's friends from grad school told me about the race...I had just run the Portland Marathon, my first marathon, earlier in the month. I obviously had a good experience because I've been back every year since.
2004 - 1:18:27 - Almost missed it...actually, probably should have skipped it, but I had already signed up. I had some trouble making it home from Boston...the Red Sox had just won their first World Series in 86 years and I decided I wanted to go see the victory parade! It was amazing! I was supposed to get home Saturday night, but I missed my connection to Portland in Chicago...the closest I could get to Portland that night was Seattle. I remember being pretty desparate to make it back in time for the race, so I flew into Seattle, rented a car, drove from Seattle to the Portland airport...that is a LONG drive, returned the rental car, picked up my car, and drove home...I got home about 4:00 AM. Needless to say, I was not in any shape to run a race.

2005 - 1:10:42 - Not a memorable year, I guess....
2006 - 1:09:20 - Got the Pain Train hooked....
2007 - 1:05:40 - Got my 5-year mug...thanks to Steve Storm for the pictures.

2008 - 1:04:32 - I was pretty excited about the race this year...I had some good 10Ks earlier in the month and it was shaping up to be a nice day with good trail conditions. I started off well behind the lead pack and was shocked when I hit the first mile in 5:48! I eased up a little in the next two miles before the big climb began. This was where I started to feel a little off...I think I might have hurt myself a little by running about 20 miles on the Friday before the race...I didn't feel like I had that spring in my step. Once the big climbs were out of the way, it was time for the sick downhill...if the mile markers were correct, I ran 4:40 for mile 8...I felt very much out of control. I ended up having a pretty good race...bettered my time from last year by over a minute...but I came away thinking I could still run the course faster. The question was, what parts did I need to work on.

Well, it just so happened that Sean Meissner had a great race that day and he posted his splits...so I thought I would do a comparison with my splits. It became pretty obvious I need to work on the Mile 5/6/7 split...I was losing almost a minute per mile on average to Sean here, and about 30 seconds per mile on average during the rest of the race. Great race, Sean...thanks for showing me how it's done!

Mile 1 - 5:48 --- 5:26 --- 0:22
Mile 2 - 6:24 --- 6:01 --- 0:23
Mile 3 - 6:34 --- 5:56 --- 0:38
Mile 4 - 7:08 --- 6:30 --- 0:38
Mile 5/6 - 17:53 --- 16:02 --- 1:51
Mile 7 - 6:59 --- 6:02 --- 0:57
Mile 8 - 4:40 --- 4:32 --- 0:08
Mile 9 - 7:37 --- 7:01 --- 0:36
Finish - 1:04:32 --- 58:50

Fall 10Ks

2008-11-28T11:49:00.000-08:00

I love to race...all distances. And since I was a little burned out after the Oregon Trail Series, I planned to run some shorter distance races this fall.

NW Mountain Running Championship - 56:20 - This race was first up, about two weeks after McKenzie...it wasn't quite a 10K, but at 6 miles, it was close. The Pain Train talked me into running it...and I had to do it...there was prize money involved! Thinking we had a shot, we decided to form a team to go for the team prize money ($500), assuming that the normal X-Dog runners would show up. The Pain Train recruited Mark Robins and Mike Tyler...both fast and running very well. But when we got to Timberline we discovered that a little prize money attracts some serious runners...Max King, Eric and Kyle Skaggs, and Ian Torrence had made the trip and I found myself a little disheartened...I started thinking about the mid-pack prize money ($300)!

The race itself was brutal...see the video below...and for some reason I felt totally unprepared for the weather which was pretty bad...cold, foggy, rainy, windy...I didn't even bring gloves. We started off by heading down the paved road from Timberline Lodge and eventually turned and headed up the mountain underneath the ski lift. I'm not sure how long the uphill was, but it was very steep and seemed to go on forever. I can't say I'd call myself a "mountain runner"...I did a lot of walking up that mountain. At the top, we did a short traverse and then hit a crazy downhill...my legs felt like Jell-O and just staying on the trail was a challenge at times. By the time I hit the homestretch, the same road section we ran down at the start, I was dying...I wanted to walk up that hill so bad, but I knew there were a couple ladies not far behind me...have some pride!

Needless to say, the real mountain runners took home all the prize money...and it turns out I ran a few minutes too fast, so I missed the mid-pack prize money too! I do have to say, that's a race I would like to try again.

Fall Festival 10K - 38:50 - A week after mountain running, I was looking forward to seeing what I could do on flat ground. This race is an annual event in Corvallis, and I had run it once before in 2006. My pre-race preparation probably wasn't the best...I ran the course on Friday, ran a hard 12 miles in McDonald Forest on Saturday, and did not race well on Sunday. I should have run the 5K, because that's the point in the race I was wishing it was over. My first mile was about 5:45...whoa, I had never run a 10K at better than 6:05 per mile before. At this point I definitely slowed down, but in the next two miles I ran out of gas...a big group passed me...the group I should have been running with from the start. The second half of the race was not real fun...I had pretty much thrown in the towel...so much so that I didn't even beat my time from 2006...38:43. I was a little disappointed and planned to be smarter before the next 10K in two weeks.

Great Pumpkin 10K - 36:56 - I spent the weekend between the Fall Festival 10K and the Great Pumpkin 10K trying to find some new road and trail shoes. I still had a gift certificate from my birthday for Gallagher Fitness Resources, so I went up to Salem...they didn't really have any trail shoes I was interested in, so I decided to get a pair of road shoes. For road shoes, I have been stuck on the Nike Air Max 360 for some time now...only problem is they're pretty expensive and I was in the mood for something different. At the store, I noticed they had the relatively new LunarLite shoes that Nike had released this past summer...I had read about these shoes and was definitely interested. And if I hadn't read this post by Sean Meissner, I probably would have bought the trainer model...Sean gave a glowing review of the Lunaracer...that was good enough for me. I bought a pair of them. I needed road and trail shoes and only came home with racing shoes!

Needless to say, I was very excited to try out my new shoes...and my pre-race preparation was better in the sense that I came into this race fresh. At the start, I noticed that Penny McDermott was running this 10K too...she had run the Fall Festival 10K and was in the big group that passed me about 3 miles into the race...my plan was to not run ahead of her this time. This definitely helped me start off under control...the first mile was right around 6:00...and so were most of the other miles. I ended up keeping her in sight the whole way and finished in under 37:00! Based on my race at the 4th of July 10K this past summer, I figured I could run in the low 37:00 range eventually, so I was a little surprised that sub-37:00 seemed to come so quickly...could it be the shoes?

It's all about the shoes

Run Like Hell 10K - 36:09 - This race was not in my original plans, but I decided to try it for a couple reasons...I wanted to run with Kristin and Carlos again and FMR was the post-race entertainment! I was pretty satisfied with my performance at the Great Pumpkin 10K, so I didn't exactly take preparation for this race too seriously. I only ran a few times between the two races, so I was pretty fresh...a couple of those runs were on the McDonald Forest 15K course in preparation for that race. Since this race was in Portland, my plan was to stay with Kristin and Carlos on Saturday night...I made a few stops on my way up there. First, I went over to my parent's house to watch Game 6 of the ALCS with my dad...I had a couple burgers for dinner...not my normal pre-race dinner. Once the game was over, I stopped by my friend Josh's because he was having some friends over to watch a UFC fight...we ended up going out and I had a few beers...not my normal pre-race hydration strategy. I didn't get up to Portland until after midnight...and the race started at 7:30 AM!

I guess you could say I'm a big fan of 'running how you feel' because there was no way I went into this race thinking I would do that well...I felt so good through almost the entire race...I'd say it wasn't until about mile 5 that I started to feel a little uncomfortable...I was just cruising. After I finished, I was on such a high...I was walking around looking for anyone I knew to talk to...I ended up seeing a couple people. I talked to Mark Robins before and after the race...he ran the half marathon in under 1:21:00...and I talked to Darin Swanson...he was pacing a friend in the 5K. I also got to see Kristin and Carlos finish. After they finished we all went back to the car to get our warm clothes on...it was really cold. Then it was time for beer, buffalo wings, and FMR...but it was so cold that I didn't last too long, and unfortunately, by the time I got home, I was feeling very sick. I had planned to go back up to my parents to watch Game 7 of the ALCS that evening, but I could barely move off the couch. I did my best to make it through the game...but in the end, the Red Sox made me throw up...literally.

2008 Oregon Trail Series Recap

2008-11-20T22:43:00.000-08:00

First of all, I'd like to say...I train with the champ! The Pain Train has really made a name for himself this year. Here's a quick recap of the 2008 Oregon Trail Series...

Hagg Lake 50K - 4:21:03 - Possibly the best trail conditions ever at Hagg Lake in February...this race is known for mud and there was very little of it this year. Thanks to Jasmine Nahorniak for the pictures.

Peterson Ridge Rumble 30K - 2:50:52 - I ran the 30K instead of the 60K since it was about one week before the Boston Marathon. I wanted to run it in just under 3:00:00 since that was my goal at Boston and that would keep me from going too fast, but my Garmin was DOA...dead battery just prior to the start of the race, so I had no watch at all! I ran about half the race with Carlos, Kristin, and Amy. Then I took off...definitely faster than I wanted to, but I had no watch...psychologically I wanted to make sure I broke 3:00:00. It was a really nice day...and fun hanging out after the 30K watching all the 60K runners finishing. I'd like to try running the 60K one of these days, but the Boston Marathon has priority for at least one more year.

Amy, Carlos, Kevin, and Kristin before the start of the 30K

Carlos crusing down the trail

The Pain Train running the 60K

Kristin and Amy coming into an aid station

Photo finish on the track

Hanging out after the race

McDonald Forest 50K - 4:46:37

Siskiyou Out Back 50K - I didn't run this race, but would certainly like to one of these days.

Mt. Hood PCT 50M - I didn't run this race, but my son Will and I went over to cheer the runners on. Our plan was to meet the Pain Train at Timberline, the half-way point, then follow him back down. He had a great race...a training run turns into a 6th place finish in 7:40:26...and Will and I had a lot of fun going from aid station to aid station to cheer all the runners on.

The Pain Train arriving at Timberline

Headed back up and then down to Timothy Lake

Dennis Gamroth arriving at Timberline

Will doing some trail running

Waiting for the Pain Train at the Frog Lake aid station

Will doing some more trail running

At the Little Crater Lake aid station

The Pain Train on the homestretch

Where's Waldo 100K - 14:52:49

McKenzie River 50K - 4:21:56

Next year is looking like more of the same for me...I'd like to run the 50 miler and Waldo before trying to tackle a 100 miler in 2010.

McKenzie River 50K

2008-10-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

After Waldo, I was seriously considering a DNS for this race. Then I ran HTC, did really well, and decided to go for 4:15! What a difference a week makes. I came up with some splits based on one year of experience running this race...really there was no basis for them. I didn't really stick to them...definitely ran too fast from aid station 1 to 2...and missed 4:15 by about 7 minutes...4:21:56.

5.7 miles, 47:54, 8:24 pace
5.5 miles, 41:05, 7:28 pace
5.5 miles, 46:10, 8:24 pace
5.1 miles, 45:06, 8:51 pace
3.3 miles, 29:08, 8:50 pace
5.9 miles, 52:33, 8:54 pace

I rode over to the race with the Pain Train, Dennis Gamroth, and Mike Tyler...needless to say, it was fun ride. Big props to Dennis for running a great race even though he was sick...4:49:57. Here's how my race went...

It really felt like I was running hard from the start to the first aid station...I had the debate going on in my head...am I going too fast? No Garmin to know for sure. There was a guy right behind me for most of the way up...I felt like I was letting him push me a little too hard. When I got to the first aid station, I wasn't sure if the split was right there or after the short out and back. I hit it after the out and back and was actually about a minute behind where I wanted to be!

So naturally I pushed a little harder on the next section. I saw the Pain Train on my way back down the trail and was pretty surprised he was so far back...I wasn't really sure what he had planned for this race since he already had the Trail Series wrapped up. A short time later I caught up to Will Kalenius because he had made a pit stop off the trail...when he got back out on the trail, just ahead of me, he really put the hammer down...or at least it felt to me like he did...I decided I would try and stick with him, but I knew I was going too fast. This was confirmed a mile or two later when up ahead I could see a group of Rogue Valley Runners! It's one thing to try and run with them...it's quite another to catch up to them...so at this point I slowed down and let Will go. Needless to say, I was several minutes ahead of my split time for this section. By the way, Will ran an awesome race...4:05:07...it was nice to get to talk to him a little after the race.

The next section was the technical section...lots of lava rock...this was definitely not factored into my splits. I made it through OK...no trips. After this section I was still a little ahead of the pace for 4:15.

Surprisingly, I had trouble on the next section. I was running along on a nice flat/soft section of trail and must have missed a root, as in, I didn't see it...I went flying...landed face down on the trail and when I hit, my water bottle went flying out of my hand and over the cliff, down into the river! It only took a split second for me to realize it was gone for good, so I just got back up and took off. Luckily, someone at the next aid station had a bottle I could use for the rest of the race...thank-you! When I got to this aid station, I was pretty sure 4:15 was out of the question.

The next short section went by pretty quick...but the whole time I was dreading the final long section to the finish. I was pretty much spent by this point and really just trying to hang on. A mile or two into the last section, Jeff Phillips went flying by me...literally...he was out of sight real fast. And a mile or two after that Mike Tyler caught up to me. I got the impression he was kind of hurting too...he didn't seem to want to pass me, so we ran the rest of the way together...I have to say, he really pushed me...I would not have been going that fast otherwise. So we finished, and before I can even catch my breath, here comes the Pain Train! I have to admit, I was a little surprised...he may not be real happy with the race he ran, but I was impressed. This guy has incredible patience...it really serves him well in these long distance races.

Below are a couple pictures of me from the race...thanks to Tom Riley for the pictures.

My lower legs, right below my calf muscles, were really hurting for days after the race. I hate to blame a pair of shoes, but I've had some trouble with the Montrail Streaks...I hadn't ever had this kind of problem with other trail shoes. I also don't think they have enough cushioning for me...I need to find some new shoes.

2008 Hood to Coast Relay

2008-09-23T04:59:00.000-07:00

For the 4th year in a row, I ran the Hood to Coast Relay with Kult Kevorkian. This is one of those legacy teams that has been around for something like 20 years. Look for our team on the Hood to Coast documentary. So how did I get hooked up with them? Well, it just so happens that one of Tonya's friends from grad school, Leah Henriksen, has been on the team for a number of years. In 2005 they needed runners, so Tonya and I both ran...and in the years since then, Tonya has been nice enough to let me continue to run with the team now that we have kids.

This van probably has more HTC's under its belt than I do

I have really enjoyed running with this team...they're out to have fun...they're not overly competitive, but they are very particular about getting the numbers right and keeping track of the details...time, pace, etc. And I have to admit, it's been a big ego boost for me every year...I am known as the fast guy and the long-distance runner. Because of this I have been type cast as the guy who should run the longest legs every year. I don't mind...it's been interesting to look back over the years and see my improvement. Some of the legs have changed slightly over the years, but they're more or less the same.

2008 Kult Kevorkian T-shirts and theme: 'Cause Tramps Like Us, Baby We Were Born to Run'

One other important note about Kult Kevorkian...they are organized! This is a very good thing, but it means commitment to participate has to be made close to 10 months in advance...at the time last year, I knew HTC was the week after the Where's Waldo 100K, but I wasn't too worried...I thought if I had nothing left after Waldo it wouldn't be a big deal...like I said before, this HTC team is not super competitive. Well, I had a tough time at Waldo, so I was really curious how HTC would go...was I over tired and in need of a break...if HTC went poorly, there would be no question. I made sure to wear my Waldo shirt because I was sure I was the only one out there crazy enough to run HTC less than a week later...but I wasn't...I saw Gary Lear in his shirt and I also recently heard that Randy Benthin ran both. Surprisingly, HTC went very well...I ran it all out...I guess I had something left in the tank after all...below are my stats.

Leg 9 - According to the HTC handbook this leg is a gentle downhill run...there is no way...it is definitely a gentle uphill run. By the time I was getting ready to start (about 9:00PM), the conditions were perfect for a fast run, except for the darkness...footing was sometimes tricky...part of the Springwater Trail is gravel. When I started off, I had no idea how fast I was going. There was one guy up ahead of me that I wasn't catching very quickly...I ended up catching him within the first mile, but I could tell he was going a little too fast for me...I let him go, but shortly afterward he stopped to tie his shoe or something. He caught me again with a couple miles to go, I think...I tried to find him after I finished because I wanted to know what his 10K PR was! I was surprised with my pace considering I'd never run that fast in a 10K.
2005 - 7.30 miles, 50:30, 6:55 pace
2006 - 7.30 miles, 46:18, 6:21 pace
2007 - 6.89 miles, 44:28, 6:27 pace
2008 - 6.89 miles, 40:48, 5:55 pace

After our first set of legs, our van stopped at St. Helens High School to sleep for a few hours. I was really looking forward to getting some Burgerville burgers and a milkshake...but our team had started from Mt. Hood much later than we had in the past, so it was too late when we got to St. Helens...Burgerville was closed! I paid a couple bucks to sleep on the floor of the St. Helens High School gym.

Leg 21 - I've decided that this leg is much better at night...you can't see all the dust you're breathing (it's a gravel road). In years past, I've always run it in the dark...this year I ran a little after sunrise. After my first leg, I definitely wanted to run under 6:00 minute miles. I knew the leg had a pretty nice downhill, but early on, I was wondering where it was...finally I found it and cruised.
2005 - 5.00 miles, 34:09, 6:50 pace
2006 - 5.00 miles, 32:15, 6:27 pace
2007 - 5.00 miles, 31:08, 6:14 pace
2008 - 5.00 miles, 29:26, 5:53 pace

After Leg 21

After our second set of legs, our van stopped in a big field near the last van exchange to sleep...it was hot and noisy. Darin Swanson describes this well.

Leg 33 - This leg is long and rolling...I knew there was no way I was going to run sub 6:00 minute miles again, so I just went hard...I definitely faded toward the end...probably the last two miles. It was early afternoon, so it was warm...I was glad I took some water with me. And it's always good to be done...we made it to Seaside, found a place to park, and got to the finish in time to run across the finish line with the whole team. Then, as is tradition for our van, it was off to pizza...I was so hungry. As we sat down to eat we got to watch the finish of the Men's Olympic Marathon...cool, I had wanted to watch it.
2005 - 7.90 miles, 58:46, 7:26 pace
2006 - 7.10 miles, 50:32, 7:07 pace (Leg 32)
2007 - 7.72 miles, 51:49, 6:42 pace
2008 - 7.72 miles, 49:37, 6:25 pace

Thanks again to everyone in the Kult for another great year. And good news...Waldo and HTC do not fall on the same weekend next year! I'm in....

Where's Waldo 100K Details

2008-09-09T23:09:00.000-07:00

Needless to say, this race did not go too well for me. The race starts at the Willamette Pass ski lodge and basically goes straight up the ski run...so it's a walking start...I remember feeling really anxious...I wanted to run. My Garmin stopped working a few weeks before the race...I had some aid station splits in mind, but I really had no idea how fast I was going until I got to the first aid station. I followed Kelly Woodke for a while...at one point I even tried to follow him into the woods for a pit stop, but he directed me back onto the trail...pretty embarrassing...sorry, Kelly. In my defense, it was still dark and I was just following the guy in front of me.

In hindsight, I was definitely going too fast, but I don't think that was my main problem. I got to the first aid station several minutes ahead of what I thought was a 12:00 pace...since I had plenty of time to spare, I stopped to use the Gold Lake Campground bathroom. Next up was the climb up Fuji Mountain...I definitely backed off a little here and felt pretty good up to the Fuji Mountain aid station. From there to the top seemed a little tougher...I had run this part of the course a week earlier with the Pain Train and Dennis...I definitely felt the altitude then, but I didn't really feel it as strongly during the race. Heading up to the top of Fuji, I was still a little concerned I was going too fast, but I saw plenty of people on their way down and felt better about where I was at. The view from the top was great.

Heading down Fuji Mountain to the Mt. Ray aid station, I could tell something was not quite right...the Pain Train caught me shortly after hitting the Fuji aid station for the second time. I stayed with him all the way down to Mt. Ray, but I didn't feel very good...I would describe the feeling as a lack of energy...it felt like I was running out of gas...a little early for that to happen. At Mt. Ray, the Pain Train made it out of the aid station just ahead of me and quickly disappeared from sight. Because of the way I was feeling, I got pretty down on myself and had a lot of trouble on this section...I knew it was going to be a very long day.

By the time I made it to the Twins aid station, I noticed it was getting hot. I literally stumbled into the aid station and Dennis and crew took care of me and gave me the race update. I headed off toward Charlton Lake and was a little discouraged that it took so long to finally get to that downhill section. Just before I made it to the Charlton Lake aid station I was surprised to catch up to Kurt Eisele...he wasn't doing too well either...he said he had walked the whole section from the Twins to Charlton Lake, which I think must have been where he dropped. I told him I had to start running again because my crew was waiting for me up ahead.

My Mom, Dad, and Will were waiting for me at the Charlton Lake aid station. Not only that, but the aid station was manned by the Corvallis trail running crew and families...so, as you can see from the picture above, I was pretty excited to make it here. My answer to how I was doing...I didn't feel terrible, just not very good.

Someone suggested I take a dip in the lake...it took a little time, but it felt really good. I took off for the Road 4290 aid station feeling a lot better than I did when I arrived. I don't know how long that feeling lasted, but it couldn't have been more than half way to Road 4290...this was a very hot section. I hit another wall and eventually Leif Rustvold and Robert Pool caught up to me. They encouraged me to try to run with them, but I was having a lot of trouble...I felt like I could run fairly normally for a little while, then this wave of complete exhaustion would come over me.

Eventually I made it to the aid station and my Mom, Dad, and Will were waiting for me there. The middle picture above does a good job of showing how I was feeling at this point. I never seriously considered quitting, but I was thinking, how long is it going to take me to go another 25 miles in this condition? It turns out that the answer was almost as much time as it took to go the first 37. I took some extra time at this aid station...sat in the shade, got sponged off...I knew the next section would be very long...and it was. This was another section of the course I had run before...it was nice to know where the spring was to fill up my bottles...I needed it. I finally made it back to the Twins...got another race update from Dennis, saw some carnage (several people dropped here)...it was really uplifting to hear the Pain Train was doing so well...sounded like he was going to hold on and win the Oregon Trail Series. That gave me a boost...I ran the next section pretty well, under the circumstances, until the trail started heading uphill to the Maiden Peak aid station.

I REALLY struggled going up Maiden Peak. That's all I have to say about that.

And once I made it to the top, I wasn't in a big hurry to head back down. Frank Schnekenburger caught me at the top...it was nice to see a familiar face, so I headed down behind him...and Ken Ward was right behind me, as you can see in the video above. Frank ran hard down to the last aid station and I tried to keep up...it took all I had. At the Maiden Lake aid station, he took off well before I was ready...he had a great finish. I saw some more carnage at this aid station...someone was being wheeled off on a stretcher. After leaving the aid station, I got to chat a little with Ken on this last stretch of trail...he's really a great guy...he seemed a little concerned about me. The Rosary Lakes were very nice...unfortunately, I didn't see any swimmers.

By the time I got back on the PCT, I was really wanting to be done. Thankfully, not too far down the trail, Kristin and Carlos appeared in front of me and paced me to the finish. I tried to run "hard" with them, but just couldn't keep it up all the way to the finish. They definitely helped get me there, though. If only they could have been with me for the last 25 miles!

I finished, got my hat, and laid down on a bench. The Pain Train got me some food and drink...thanks for that. It took awhile, but I eventually felt like eating and drinking again. Where's Waldo is one hell of a tough race...I guess that's why they say on the website, "It is not a beginner-level ultra and participation in the race should not be taken lightly." I feel like I had a healthy amount of respect for the race beforehand, but now I know I underestimated it to some degree. It's bothered me that I can't really pinpoint exactly what went wrong, but it only took a couple days off for me to start thinking about next year...I want another shot. I want to come back better prepared and run smarter.

While I was having my fun, Will was having a lot of fun waiting for me...he really wore my Mom and Dad out. After waiting for me at Charlton Lake and Road 4290, they went over to Waldo Lake, then back to the finish to wait for me again. Will had a lot of fun playing in the dirt and rocks...he even got himself a new girlfriend. Later in the day, the weather turned and we got some clouds and rain...and a rainbow too...from the picture, you can see Will was pretty amazed. Thanks, Mom, Dad, Kristin, and Carlos for all your help!

Where's Waldo 100K

2008-08-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

Please excuse the language used in this video, but the chase scene plays out a lot like this race...me trying to keep up with the Pain Train.

Congratulations William Swint, eventual winner of the 2008 Oregon Trail Series, on a great race and a great season...sure there's one more race, but it will be your victory lap. I know how hard you worked this year...you earned it.

Old-Time 4th of July 10K

2008-07-31T21:24:00.000-07:00

What better way to start off the 4th of July than with a race? This year I ran in the 25th annual Stayton 10K...it was my second year running the race. Last year, there were a number of factors that added up to make a tough race for me (I barely broke 40:00)...I was training for the PCT 50 miler, so I wasn't doing a lot of fast running (I remember my legs feeling "dead" during the race)...July 4th was in the middle of the week, so I was training right through the race...the course is pretty challenging (it's out-and-back with several significant hills)...and it was very hot. This year I was hoping for a better performance, but wasn't expecting great things because my recovery from the Newport Marathon had been pretty rough...most training runs were not feeling good, but things were starting to get better.

Another interesting subplot was that I had recently lost a bet and was given some clothes to wear for the race. Below are a couple pictures of me before the race...don't disrespect the half shirt...Will is looking like he doesn't even know me.

As the race began, I fell in behind the lead pack and watched the Pain Train lead us through the first mile...I remember thinking, he must be feeling good! I found myself right behind Mark Robins and thought I'd try and hang with him since he had just run a 38:04 10K a couple weeks ago. But just before we hit the first big hill heading into Sublimity, he stopped for water and I kept going. As I ran up the hill, I noticed I was getting closer to a couple guys ahead of me so I reeled them in...and at this point I was feeling good so I thought, let 'er fly. I caught one more guy on the way back and I also got a few interesting looks as I passed people heading the opposite direction...several smiles! As with most 10K races, I was able to "hang on" in the end and not get passed. I finished 5th in 37:43...a 10K PR on a tough course. Thanks to everyone for a great cheering section at the finish (see the video below)...and thanks to Bullseye and the Pain Train for not finding shorts for me to wear...don't think I would have been able to run that fast in cut-offs.

It was really nice to run a good race after all the tough training lately. Next up is the Where's Waldo 100K...not only is this race challenging with good training, but I'll have the added challenge of training with a new baby. Lately I've been doing lots of running with Will in the jogging stroller, the Pain Train has made many trips down to Corvallis to run with me, and the grandparents have been very supportive on the weekends helping Tonya with the kids while I try to get the long runs in...thanks everyone, especially you, Tonya, for the support!

Mt. Hood Scramble

2008-07-07T23:15:00.000-07:00

I should have known better than to bet on myself in a scramble...seriously, I've had some trouble in the past. This goes all the way back to the summer before my senior year of high school when I attended the Steens Mountain Running Camp in Eastern Oregon with three of my teammates (Joe Bartosz, Jonah Lynch, and Lafe Paulson) in preparation for my final year of high school cross-country. This camp was a defining running experience for me...I had such a great time hiking, running, and camping in the Steens Mountain wilderness. During the camp, there were many different activities...some of the highlights were the 30 mile hike/run, the uphill 5K, and the cross canyon race or team scramble. My team for the scramble included Joe, Jonah, and Lafe plus a guy from Tillamook, Josh Huffman (interestingly, I've noticed his name in marathon results lately...he was a good runner in high school and, not surprisingly, he broke 3:00:00 at the Boston Marathon this year...congratulations!). The scramble course was not marked...we had to run in a general direction cross-country down into a canyon, back out (I remember this involved a large snow field), and then find the finish. I was doing alright until we were probably about 100 yards from the finish...all of the sudden my calf cramped. Rather than hobble into the finish, Joe (on the left in the picture) and Lafe (on the right in the picture) picked me up and carried me...one of the rules of the race was that all team members had to be holding the ribbon when crossing the finish line. Getting carried across the finish line was not really something I am proud of, but it did make for a great picture in the Eugene newspaper...the expression on Joe's face is priceless.

Fast forward 12 years...Mt. Hood Scramble 2007...with a race description like this, I had to try it..."This event isn't designed for the pansy-ass front avenue runner -- DO NOT expect some cutesy lil' downtown 5K, or some wussy boy trail-run. This mother is packed with adventure: hills, creeks, rock, dirt, heavy brush and more. Wear clothes you don't mind ruining, and bring band-aids if you are concerned about some bleeding. As for aid stations...there is plenty of water on the course, but I'd think twice about drinking it...especially after you waded through it. As for the distance, well it’s about 6-miles or whatever "K". We'll time you, give you awards, probably some watermelon, and hell, we may even throw a few beers -- all you have to do is finish. Think you’re up for it? We are ready for you, and to quote Shakespeare’s Henry V, "he who shed his blood with me, shall be my brother" See you on the hill." I signed up and was planning to run the race with the Pain Train and Bullseye. Unfortunately, the night before the race I ate dinner at a restaurant in Albany which shall remain nameless, and got very sick...snakebitten again...my first DNS.

Mt. Hood Scramble 2008...return of the team scramble...the teams were the Pain Train and Bullseye versus my brother-in-law Lee and myself...lowest total combined time wins. The losers would sing karaoke...but since I like singing karaoke, I'd have to wear clothes picked out for me at the 10K in Stayton on the 4th of July. I was a little nervous about the race because my recovery from the Newport Marathon was pretty rough...the big problem was I got sick a few days after the race...it lasted several days and then seemed to hang on for a long time after that. I finally went to see the doctor and he gave me antibiotics for what he thought may be bronchitis. By the time this race rolled around, I was over it, but I hadn't really run at all since the marathon. My plan was to line up behind the Pain Train and try and stay as close as I could...then hope that Lee could beat Bullseye.

As I told several people after the race, if I had known there would be that much snow, I would have brought snow shoes...I'd say the course was at least 75% snow...it's really unbelieveable how much snow there still is up there. I lost the Pain Train pretty quickly...I was too busy postholing in the deep snow and trying to stay upright. I'd say the race for me was like one of those dreams when you're running in slow motion. It felt like I was giving it everything I had, but my body wasn't responding. When I finished and found out I was about 12 minutes behind the Pain Train, I knew we didn't really have a chance...Lee did beat Bullseye, but only by a little over a minute...too bad they weren't closer...that would have been some kind of finish. The good news was I got another great scramble picture...below is a shot of me I bought from Brian Conaghan...check out the rest of my pictures here.

So, another rough scramble for me...but a bet is a bet...I'll take my punishment like a man. Pictures from 10K in Stayton on the 4th of July will be posted soon...and I plan to get video of Lee singing karaoke.

2008 Newport Marathon

2008-06-02T22:01:00.001-07:00

I'll never forget going down to Sacramento in 2004 to run the California International Marathon...the day before the race they had a seminar where you could meet and talk to the pacers. At the time, I was trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon, but training-wise, I really didn't have a clue what I was doing. The 3:10:00 pacer was talking about his running background (he had actually just been picked to run Western States, which at the time meant nothing to me) and his strategy for the race. I remember feeling very confident after listening to him which, looking back now, is pretty funny...and I remember him saying one other thing...once you break 3:10:00 you move on to the next step which is breaking 3:00:00...and once you do this, "you own the marathon." Now that sounded cool...that sounded like something I wanted to do.

In reality, I've been humbled so many times by the marathon, I know I'll never own it. A lot of things have to go right for you to be successful. For the Newport Marathon this year, it's quite possible everything was perfect...good training, a great taper, finish times from the Eugene Marathon for inspiration, several recent "bad" marathons for motivation, perfect weather, lots of support, and no high expectations since I was flying home from Italy the day before the race.

Thursday night was my last night in Italy. Intially the plan was to take it easy that night...eat dinner in the hotel restaurant, go to bed early, and get a decent night's sleep before my 6:55 AM flight the next morning. From what I understand, getting good rest before a marathon is important! But the Italians would have none of this...you have to go out on your last night in Italy, so we made plans to meet in Milan for dinner. To make a long story short, it ended up being a late night...we didn't get back to the hotel until after 1:00 AM. So let's see...I ended up getting about 2 hours of sleep. It was painful getting up that morning, but once I got going, I felt better. Only a short flight from Milan to Frankfurt and then a 10 hour flight from Frankfurt to Portland and I would be back in Oregon. I fell asleep a few times on the long flight, but didn't get much sleep. Thankfully, I remember feeling really good when I got home Friday afternoon...I think I was just really happy to be home. That afternoon we packed up and headed for Newport. My parents had rented a house for everyone to stay in and my mom made a spaghetti dinner...thank-you! It was really nice to see everyone and I was very excited for my sister, Kristin, who was running her first marathon. That night I got about 6 hours of sleep and woke up before my alarm went off.

From the start of the race I felt really good and I remember thinking a few things...I was going to be very careful with fueling today...I wanted my legs to hurt, not my stomach, so early on I pushed a little harder then I might have otherwise (mission accomplished...I hadn't been that sore after a race in a long time). I also did not drink Gatorade the morning of the race! I drank much more water than electrolyte drink during the race, and I ended up taking only 2 gels, one at mile 8 and one around mile 16. There was something else too, something that I had been thinking about for over 3 weeks...I have to admit, I was very impressed and inspired by the results of a couple runners I know or know of at the Eugene Marathon. They ran great races, above and beyond their normal performances, as far as I knew. Raille Wilson ran 2:50:16...I knew he had broken 3:00:00 several times, but as far as I knew, never by more than 3-4 minutes. Chris Highfield ran 2:55:47...I've never met Chris before, but know he's from Corvallis. From race results, I could see he was in the same boat as me...trying to break 3:00:00 but coming up a few minutes short several times...as far as I know, this was his first sub-3 hour marathon...congratulations on a great race! My only explanation for their performances was they must have just gone for it...I think it's time to really push my limits. I wanted a spectacular finish or a spectacular crash and burn.

When I hit mile 4, I tried to back off slightly...let's not get crazy, I thought...but I was still running in the 6:30's. I hit the half marathon mark a little under 1:26:00, then the turn-around was a couple miles past that. At this point, for whatever reason, I put the hammer down and ran a few miles in the low 6:20's...part of this stretch was fueled by the huge emotional boost I got when I passed my sister going the other direction...she told me later she got a big boost too. Looking back at my mile splits, I noticed I started to slow a little past mile 20. But the Pain Train was waiting for me at the 22 mile mark...that gave me another huge emotional boost of energy which lasted about 2 miles. So at about 24 miles, reality set back in and I started to fade again...but by then there was no doubt...I was going to absolutely crush 3:00:00. I ended up crossing the line in 10th place with a time of 2:52:13...a 12 minute PR. That's still a little hard to believe, mainly because I know at some point my performance has to level off and based on my past three marathons, I was starting to think maybe it already had...now I'm not sure what to think. My sister finished her first marathon in 4:24:03...I'm really proud of her...she did real well with the training and ran a great race...it's such a great accomplishment. Now who's next? My marathon coaching services are free of charge at the moment.

I totally agree with the Pain Train, this is why I do this...for the occasional perfect day like this one. If there was one word to describe how I felt after the race, it was satisfied. But only temporarily, I'm not quite finished yet...I still have unfinished business in Boston...April 20, 2009 is already on my calendar.

Italian Taper

2008-05-26T13:41:00.000-07:00

I found out in early May that I would have to go to Italy on business and stay for 2-3 weeks…I wasn’t sure, until the middle of the month, exactly when in May it would be or how long I would have to stay. This was an important business trip…by no means did I want to say I couldn’t go, but I had a conflict in the back of my mind. In February, I had signed up to run the Newport Marathon. The race is on May 31st, and initially, it was looking like I was going to miss it. But when everything was said and done, my trip had me leaving for Italy on May 17th and returning home on May 30th. I’m just glad I’ll be back to see my sister finish her first marathon.

So I’ve been in Italy now for a little over a week…unfortunately, things have not been very conducive to running. The hotel is basically surrounded on all sides by busy highways, and even if it wasn’t, I’ve been driving on these Italian roads quite a bit and I know I wouldn’t want to be a runner out there. My only saving grace has been the hotel fitness room which does have a couple treadmills. Interestingly, running on a treadmill in Italy is just as boring as back home. The only added excitement is figuring out distances and pace in km and km/hour…it’s funny that running on the treadmill seems to take even longer when I have to run 8 kilometers to get 5 miles. I’ve actually been a lot busier in the evenings then I thought I’d be too…so I haven’t exactly been keeping up with the running schedule I had planned. The Italian taper includes several days of zeroes.

Right now it looks like things are still on track for me to return home the day before the race. I leave Italy on Friday at about 7:00 AM and get back to Corvallis around 2:00 PM…pretty weird since it seemed like it took a whole day to get here. I was pretty wiped out after the trip over here…my only hope is it will be easier traveling back the other direction. My plan for the race is really just wait and see how I feel…if things are good early on I’ll push, but if things aren’t good early on…actually…I’ll probably still push and completely crash and burn! We’ll see…it should be interesting. Who knows, maybe this Italian taper will do me good…I was definitely feeling rundown after McDonald Forest. Taking this time to recover might help me.

This past weekend I drove over to Mount Blanc to check out the area where the toughest foot race in Europe is run…The North Face Ultra-Trail Tour du Mont-Blanc…more on this topic later…I need to get back on the treadmill.

McDonald Forest 50K

2008-05-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, the week prior to this race was pretty crazy for me…I was very busy at work and I got very little sleep because I was still trying to squeeze a run in every day. With this race on Saturday, my total for the week would be over 83 miles.

Needless to say, I wasn’t expecting a great performance. Not only was it a tough week leading up to the race, but I didn’t think I was very well prepared physically, either. For the first 3 and a half months of the year I was concentrating on training for the Boston Marathon…this involved a lot more road running than trail running…I didn’t think I would be ready for all the ups and downs of McDonald Forest. And at one point during the race, I thought to myself, “You haven’t done any long runs of more than about 3 and a half hours in a couple months! And today you’ll be lucky to finish in about 5 hours.” Hills and endurance were definite question marks.

But what a great morning for a race it was…overcast, not too cold…and the course was dry. Last year was the first year I ran the 50K and I didn’t know quite what to expect…this year I was much better prepared in the sense that I knew every inch of the course. My plan for the race was to run the hills effortlessly early on…if I felt like I was pushing on the hills early, I figured I’d be really hurting later on. So from the start I ran comfortably…I just tried not to push it, and I felt good.

Heading up Powder House Trail, I was doing my best to not push too hard…so I was a little concerned when I caught up to Matt Nahorniak on this section. I asked him how he was doing…he said, in so many words, that he wasn’t feeling real good. Penny McDermott was also close behind, and she passed me on the last short section up to the top of Powder House Trail. She had just run the Womens Olympic Marathon Trials in Boston a few weeks ago in 2:49:32, so I figured trying to run her pace would be good for me. But Matt caught back up and passed us after we got to the end of Powder House Trail…I decided to try to keep him in sight since I knew he was shooting for a sub 5 hour finish. For a guy who wasn’t feeling real good, he was really hammering the downhills…even on a tough day, he still finished strong, several minutes under 5 hours.

After the first aid station, I ran with Sander Nelson for a while, trying to pick up some tips. In all his previous races here, he told me he felt like he hadn’t ever run a really great race…well, he can’t say that anymore…he ran a great race this year and ended up finishing fifth. We hit the first part of the maze together, but he dropped me pretty quickly going up that steep stuff…I really need to work on the hiking. I tried to take it easy in the maze, but of course, coming out of it, I still felt spent. From last year’s race, I remembered several places where I had trouble, and I was determined to do better on those sections this year. One of those sections is the seemingly never-ending climb up the road to Dimple Hill Aid Station. I was happy that I was able to run this entire section this year.

I was feeling really good when I got to the top of Dimple Hill. But interestingly, when I started down Dan’s Trail, my stomach started to bother me. I definitely didn’t run Dan’s Trail like I hoped to, but once I got to the bottom of it, the uphills actually made me feel better…and then Scott Jurek passed me going the other direction and said, “Good job!” That made me feel better too. I had been taking a gel at every aid station, but decided to stop doing this…thankfully my stomach started to feel better. I seem to have some sort of a fueling issue.

After Chip Ross Aid Station, I knew I only had two tough climbs to go…the Horse Trails and the road section after the last aid station. I walked a lot of the Horse Trails last year and was determined to run as much of them as I could this year…I ended up running, very slowly of course, almost the entire way. And once I got to the saddle, I knew it was only about 1.5 miles to the top of that last tough climb…this one definitely was tough…my legs were screaming at me to stop and walk…I gave in and did for a brief bit. Once I hit the downhill I just let gravity do the work…I pushed as best I could and was able to run somewhere between 7:00 and 7:30 a mile for this stretch. When I got to Powder House Trail I felt completely exhausted and ended up walking up the hill…I thought about 4:45, but it was just a thought…not worth hurting myself before the Newport Marathon. I ran the last downhill stretch as best I could and finished in 4:46:37.

From the time I got to Dimple Hill Aid Station, all the way until about 1 mile to go, I was thinking, when will he catch me? He may not know it, but William the Pain Train Swint really pushed me in this race. The usual scenario for ultras we run is me starting off fast, probably too fast sometimes, and him catching me at some point in the second half of the race. So when I made it to Dimple Hill Aid Station I thought, I’ll try and make it to Chip Ross Aid Station before he catches me…then when I made it to Chip Ross Aid Station I thought, I’ll try and make to the top of the Horse Trails before he catches me, and so on…it really helped push me. Unfortunately, the Pain Train lived up to his name and had another painful race…for the second race in a row his stomach was bothering him…it’s tough to run that way. He still ran a great time, 4:53:49, but I know how it feels to run a race and afterwards feel like you could have done better…I think we’re both suffering from the same affliction to some degree…let’s get this figured out.

I was surprised at how well the race went for me…I had such a tough week and still had a good race…maybe I have gotten a little tougher over the past year. I may have also been fueled by revenge since I didn’t have a great race at Boston. Well, now I start my taper for the Newport Marathon. Actually, maybe I shouldn’t taper at all.

ORRC Hagg Lake Run

2008-05-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I ran the ORRC Hagg Lake Run which is a 10.4 mile run on the road that circles Hagg Lake. As of last year, this race has become my post-Boston Marathon recovery test. It is a challenging course...it is described as having a few hills, but it's basically nothing but ups and downs. I ran it in 1:07:07 last year and this year I hoped to break 1:05:00.

My sister Kristin, my brother-in-law Carlos, and their friend Kevin were at the race too. Kristin and Carlos are both training for the Newport Marathon at the end of May...unfortunately Carlos has been nursing a knee injury since the Peterson Ridge Rumble 30K...so he was a race day decision. He jumped out of the car, ran a few hundred yards up and down the road and declared himself ready to run. In the week leading up to the race, I encouraged Kristin to run the race hard...I figured it would be a good test of her fitness 4 weeks out from the marathon. I suggested a goal of breaking 1:40:00. Kevin ran the Big Sur International Marathon last weekend in 3:18:24, a great time on a tough course, so I wasn't sure how much he would push it during this race.

As the race started, two guys took off in front of me and I could see they were going much too fast for me to keep up. We ran across the dam, made a left turn, and headed up a huge hill. I felt good early on and according to my Garmin, I was running the uphill miles in the 6:20's and the downhill miles under 6:10. I remember really starting to feel the uphills somewhere around the 5 or 6 mile mark. However, I also noticed that I ran about a 38:30 10K, which is only 20 seconds off my PR. By mile 8, I was just hanging on going uphill, but was still able to put the hammer down going downhill. As I approached the finish, I could see I was going to be close to 1:05:00. I was able to hold on and came in third at 1:04:55. Perfect...I was very happy with the race.

After I finished, I went back to my truck to get my camera to take a picture of Kristin, Carlos, and Kevin finishing. I got back over by the finish line around 1:30:00, and figured I had plenty of time before they would be finishing. Then all of the sudden I looked down the road and Kristin was finishing! I was totally unprepared with the camera...this is the best shot I got of the Future Cougar Star.

She finished in 1:33:47, well over six minutes under 1:40:00...I was very impressed. It's really satisfying to see good training paying off. She is going to do great at Newport because she is well prepared. Kristin wasn't too sure how Carlos and Kevin were doing...she last saw them only a couple miles into the race. To make a long story short, Carlos and Kevin still hadn't finished over 2:30:00 since the start of the race. I had to leave because I had to go into work that afternoon, and Kristin was going to drive down the road to try and find them. I found out later that Carlos had to walk most of the course because of the knee injury and I believe Kevin decided to walk with him. I was glad to hear they were OK.

As is tradition, after the race I stopped at the Hagg Lake convenience store for a pickled egg or two and was very distraught to find that they were out of them! It just didn't feel right leaving Hagg Lake without one.

Tomorrow is the McDonald Forest 50K...I've had a tough week...high mileage, very busy at work, and definitely not enough sleep...so we'll see what I'm made of.

2008 Boston Marathon

2008-05-01T23:03:00.000-07:00

OK, it's been over a week...I've had plenty of time to think about this race. For the fourth year in a row, I went back to Massachusetts to run the Boston Marathon. This would be what I consider my second legitimate shot at running sub 3:00:00.

2005 - I was training with William the Pain Train Swint to run a 3:10:00 qualifying time at the Newport Marathon, when I was offered unqualified entry through work. I took the offer and ran my most enjoyable marathon in 3:30:44.
2006 - I qualified for the 2006 race at the Newport Marathon with a time of 3:10:55 (talk about cutting it close). The Pain Train and I trained to run sub 3:00:00...I knew by the half marathon mark that I wasn't going to make it, so I slowed down quite a bit and finished in 3:09:18.
2007 - This time we trained even harder, with the goal again being to run sub 3:00:00. However, this year we ran different marathons. The weather prior to the Boston Marathon was terrible...strong wind and heavy rain...the race was nearly cancelled. Amazingly, it wasn't that bad during the race...wet roads and some head wind. I ended up running 3:05:10, and the only thing I can think, is the weather got in my head...I don't think I truly believed I could run sub 3:00:00 in those conditions. The Pain Train ran 2:59:38 at the Eugene Marathon...it was great being there to watch...that guy is tough.
2008 - Time to take it up a notch...I used a 2:50:00 training plan this year. Here's the story...

My Aunt and Uncle have a condo in downtown Boston and they have been nice enough to let me stay there the night before the marathon for the past two years. So I had some time to myself to think and get my plan together...I was going to hit every other aid station starting at mile 4...I was going to take a gel every 4 miles. I watched the Celtics beat the Hawks, then the news, went to bed and got a good 6 hours of sleep.

I felt good when I got up in the morning...I ended up eating two bagels and a banana for breakfast...this is pretty typical for me before a race...forgot to eat my grapefruit though (this has been a marathon tradition since 2003). And instead of drinking water, I had Gatorade.

At 9:30 I walked down to the corrals. Like every year previously, I stopped for one last bathroom break before heading up the street to get in my corral. For some reason this year the lines were extra long or people were taking their time, because I was getting worried that I wasn't going to make it to my corral before the race started. With chip timing I knew this wasn't a big deal, and I was trying to not let it bother me. But it still did and I ended up running a bit up the street to make it into the corral seconds before the race started.

From the beginning, I would say I didn't have a spring in my step, but I had no problem running about a 6:45 pace. At the mile 4 aid station I reached down to grab a gel I had pinned to my shorts and realized I had lost two of them (the rest were in my pockets). I remember laughing rather than getting upset. OK, I'll just take a gel every 6 miles now. Speaking of fueling, this year I made a conscious effort to get all the Gatorade or water down I took at each aid station. I had some problems with cramping at the end of the marathon last year I think because I was having a hard time getting all the liquids down at the aid stations while on the run.

I felt like I was doing a good job running a consistent pace. I ran the first 5K in about 21 minutes, so I tried to keep doing that. The half marathon mark was hit at 1:28:27...a little faster than I had planned, but I felt good about it. I continued to keep the pace up to the Newton hills...my overall pace declined a bit in the hills, but I expected that. There was only one thing that was bothering me...

I don't remember when it started, I think it got progressively worse, but my stomach started to really bother me. It felt like I needed to throw up...I did a few times...it wasn't a full fledged hurl, but I had stuff coming up in my mouth that I'd spit out. It looked like yellow foam...could it have been the Gatorade I drank before the race? Other than the upset stomach everything else seemed to be alright...up until Heartbreak Hill. I had a little trouble going up that one, but then I was encouraged when I followed that up with a sub 6:40 mile.

I thought I might be able to overcome the stomach problem, but everything seemed to fall apart around mile 24. When I went to take my last gel, I put it up to my mouth and gagged. I was pissed and just threw it on the ground...my stomach was really hurting at this point and I feel like I pretty much threw in the towel. The last two miles were a struggle. I hit the 1 mile to go sign at about 2:55:30...I thought to myself, all I have to do is run a sub 4:30 mile...it didn't happen. I finished in 3:04:17...a PR, but I could have cared less. Needless to say, when I crossed the finish line my stomach still felt really bad. The volunteers came over to me and were concerned that I was dehydrated because there was some salt on my face and apparently I wasn't looking too good (my cousin would tell me later I looked f'd up). To make a long story short, they ended up taking me into the medical tent and giving me an IV. I'm not so sure I needed it, but I felt much better after lying down for a few minutes.

After I got out of the medical tent, I met my crew at the Park Plaza Hotel. Tonya made Boston Marathon T-shirts again this year for herself, Will, and my sister to wear on race day...it's just a simple thing, but it really means a lot to me...it's just one example of how much support I get from my friends and family. Below is a picture of me with Will and Tonya after the race and a picture of some of my family that came out to support me on race day. Thank-you all!

Obviously I was pretty disappointed with the race results...everyone says, be happy, running a marathon that fast is a great achievement, but I won't be satisfied until I break 3:00:00 at Boston. See you in 2009.