Hold It! What am I doing?

What's Your Problem?

2010-01-06T21:00:00.000-08:00

I'll spare the whole "I can't believe it's been so long" and "Forgive me for I have blog-sinned" and "Never again, I'm back" and all the other usual messages reserved for the end of a blog drought. Besides, I've already done it before and I made myself sick. I'll save that for another 6 months and try to explain here what the heck has been happening.

So it's 2010. Whoa. Last year was a rough year for me in more ways than I care to think about. So I'll just go ahead and throw them out here in convenient list form:

Running: Since this blog is mostly about running (and other physical activities), I'll start there. The year started out great with one of my best runs ever at the PCTR Woodside 35k in February. This was to be my last race until the Miwok 100k. Unfortunately (as documented previously here), I ran into a nasty bout with Achilles tendinitis and as a result, had zero training leading up to the race and eventually had to DNF at mile 28 of Miwok. Interestingly enough. a funny thing happened during the race (before the DNF that is) - I regained my love for running (just by the fact that I was out running again). However, it just wasn't meant to be with the awful conditions denying me any chance to finish combined with a lack of training. (At least my pacer-to-be Victoria, ended up having a great run with Suzanne Carrier - but that's another story.)

Over the rest of the summer, I took it easy but slowly started building up so that I can do at least one more race that I had on my radar - Firetrails 50 miler. The race ended up being a blast and turned the whole year around. I called it my redemption from Miwok and I was back on running cloud 9. A race report will be pulled out of the archives when I'm gone in 2065.)

Being paced by my better half. How cool is that!

That was it for the events but I did hit some bad luck at the end of the year for race lotteries. I knew Western States was a long shot (big negative), but I was fairly confident with my chances for Miwok (another big no). That was disappointing only for the main reason that I loved that trail and really wanted to get my running revenge. (Try again in 2011) Luckily, I did get into Way Too Cool 50k and that ended the year on a positive note.

Family: In the grand scheme of things, running is definitely meaningless next to family. For the first time in my life, I almost realized what life would be like without my dad. Early in the year, he came within hours of losing his life to a major blood clot. A big downer that really shut me down for most of the year. He basically went into get a blood test because he was feeling weak and tired and he didn't leave the hospital for five more days. Yikes. He's made a huge recovery since then but it's really made me realize how important my parents are and they won't be around forever.

Dad with Owen looking good after Firetrails.

Almost lost it emotionally here. Thanks for the support family!

What made Firetrails so special? Seeing my mom, dad, wife, and two boys waiting for me at the aid station at mile 41.5. I almost started crying hysterically when I saw them. Go give your family a hug. Right now.

Job: It's obvious that running events and activities cost money and for the people that know me, I was very absent this year at many events that I wanted to attend (a ton of PCT events!). The biggest reason for limited events and funds this year was me losing my job. Obviously, not the biggest shocker in today's economy, but still quite a shocker to the system and something that really alters your life. This is what amplified the previous two downers to another level. I had a great 13-year run at Applied Materials in Santa Clara but things finally caught up to our department. Although, I'm excited to try new challenges, it's been a tough year/time to focus on new ventures and challenges that I want to explore. Looking for a job is definitely a job in itself. You might start understanding why this blog was left for dead. Eventually, I will be back on my feet and in the end, things will be better off as I tackle new challenges.

Business Mike.

(By the way, if anyone is looking for a successful, problem-solving IT Project Manager with 9 years of experience managing software projects, plus a prior 4 years developing software, please send me an email or check out my LinkedIn page).

Next! Ok, now that I've brought the house down, let's get back to kicking some butt in a positive way. I have many things to be thankful for and being a positive person, I like to use those things for motivation. Health is good. Family loves me. Have good friends. Opportunities are out there and I've learned a lot of new things over the past 6 months (Yes, I've been taking advantage of not working). Also, being able to spend some great Mr. Mom time with my boys (especially my oldest going to his first day of kindergarten) has been great.

What about running? After a nice fattening up period over Christmas, I'm back on the trails/road/firetrail running again. Thanks to my parents Xmas gift, I have one race on the schedule already - Way Too Cool 50k in March. Assuming I start earning some money soon, I have a few more races that I'm targeting (including a big one!). In April, I'm thinking about doing the PCTR Diablo 50 (a serious ass-whooping race that might be more difficult than Miwok). I really love doing PCTR races and it's been way too long since I've seen the crew (especially RD Sarah Spelt). After that, I plan on returning to the sight of my first Ultra, the Ohlone 50k. Missed this last year due to it's proximity to Miwok and now I'm really excited to go back. After Ohlone, if everything is in order with me (financially, health-wise), I'm giving serious thought to running either the Headlands 100 or the Tahoe Rim Trails 100. I would love to get to 100 miles this year. After that, I'll probably recover and then run Firetrails again (I really loved that race).

Yes it was a tough 2009, but also rewarding in so many ways. I'm looking forward to some butt kicking in 2010. My foot, somebody else's butt. Oh and the blog is alive! Have a great day.

Next Chapter Begins

2009-07-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

Hello inner-Mike and any stragglers out there. This is obviously not the follow-up that I had in mind after my last post about my Miwok destruction. Nor was it supposed to be this long for a follow-up. My next post will summarize what's been going on over the last couple months (plus put a ending on the Miwok stuff). Also, I needed to make sure I got something done because I (1) needed to light a fire under my butt and (2) wanted to say hello to the outside world.

Next chapter begins now. Here I come.

Under-Trained and Frozen = DNF at Miwok 100k

2009-05-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

Reality struck big time this past Saturday (5/2) as I ended up taking my first career DNF in a race (my long 1-year history of ultra's) at the Miwok 100k. Lots of emotion for me on this day and much of it was positive. The DNF basically came down to two things: Under-trained due to nursing injuries and frozen due to wind and cold rain. The combination ended up being too much for my body to overcome. More on this later. Before I get to the details, here are the final stats for the day (I would show this if I finished so I have to do it for a DNF):

Distance: 28 miles
Time: ~6 hours
Core Temp: Frozen

I setup reservations at a hotel in Sausalito for the weekend so I would have a quick ride to the race and a nice place to stay afterward to avoid driving all the way to Stockton. Plan was for my wife (Kristin) and I to arrive on Friday and enjoy some alone time and then have my parents and boys come in on Saturday to see the late stages of the race. So far so good. Enjoyed a great pasta dinner in dowtown Sausalito and then managed to get to bed at a decent hour after getting my drop bags and race gear ready for the next day. Set two alarms for 4:30 AM.

[Insert that stupid alarm clock sound and some extremely annoying music] Got up with no issues and the wife and I headed out the door at 5:00 AM. I had easy directions to the race but of course, never actually checked the route the previous night. That would have been a great idea since of course we ended up missing the key turn (too dark) and were heading straight for the Golden Gate Bridge. "Babe, please flip a U-turn now or I'll never make it back here". That would be right as we're about to cross where it says "No U-Turns". That was close. As we turn around I pick up the directions but we've now added on an extra 15 minutes. After trying to see in the fog and dark, we eventually make it to the starting area, 15 minutes until start time. No problem - I didn't want to wait out in the cold anyways. Only thing I wanted to do was register, fill up my water bottles, set out my drop bags and see if I could find anyone I knew. Will Gotthardt came by and said hello while I was in line to register and I found Rick Gaston and Suzanne Carrier and said hello to both. I had never met Suzanne before but had seen her all over the place and knew who she was through my friend and pacer for the day, Victoria. Was nice to meet her finally and didn't realize it at the time, but she would be mixed up in my later events and memories from this race. The race director called everyone to the beach for the start. Kristin walked me down with the rest of the runners and within minutes, we were off.

On the beach - ready to roll. Just fog here but the wet stuff is coming.

To be continued. Next up: Unclogging the start, "Oh my God, I'm running in a race!", 1st 10k done and changing weather. A few pictures as well. (if I could find my camera cable)

It's Time

2009-04-29T10:57:00.000-07:00

It's been one hell of a couple months since my last race. After running Woodside, I felt great and had a feeling that my running would be going to the next level this year. Unfortunately, I may have jumped back in too hard the next week and paid the price over the last 2 months. And hey, just like that, the Miwok 100k has arrived this Saturday.

What I originally thought was strictly a calf-related injury, turned out to be more of an achilles tendinitis issue. Over the last few weeks I've been strengthening my support muscles and have learned some new techniques for taping and wrapping my legs to provide comfort. Up until this week, I wasn't sure what would happen this weekend. Now, I'm feeling much more confident and excited to get out there and just be apart of a race environment.

Looking out towards the Marin Headlands from the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley. I'll see you on Saturday.

Normally, I'll set up some nice goals for my races ranging from super conservative to "wow that would be cool". This time, I'm not going to do that (at least not use the word goal). However, here is what I'm looking forward to on Saturday:

Enjoy the race environment. The course, runners, scenery, etc.
Seeing running friends that I haven't seen since at least February.
Running with my pacer, Victoria.
Watching some ridiculously fast runners out there.
Finishing the race!
Post race festivities - beer, food, hallucinating, leg replacement

I'll be staying in Sausalito this weekend with my better half on Friday and then my boys and parents will be coming in on Saturday. We decided to stay another night on Saturday so we wouldn't have to drive back to Stockton after the race.

Looking forward to the weekend!

No Foolin'...It's Healin'

2009-04-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

Happy April Fools Day. I think I can actually say that my leg is healing up. That's what not running on it will do for you (OK, I lied, I played softball on Monday night and was running). Here's what I've been doing to save my sanity and let me be able to run healthy soon...

Stretching - Three+ times per day I'm doing 3 types of wall push-ups and some other stretches. Looking to add some yoga days in here.
Rolling - I'm gonna unleash my dog on this thing soon and let him tear it to shreds. Just a big, blue foam piece of crap. Works and is less expensive than getting a massage (Oh yeah...I'm in the process of scheduling a massage). Great at getting those knots and junk out of the legs.
Not Running - Ok, this isn't really saving my sanity, but it's probably the #1 remedy for not re-injuring myself. (What an awful thing)
Cross-training - I've been all over the board with this but I've been working on a few different things: swimming & biking for cardio; weights for hamstrings and thighs; Core exercises for, well, the core. Need to support those calf muscles.
Positive Thinking - What good is it if I'm depressed and complaining all the time about not running? Since my training is going to be nowhere near where it should be for Miwok, I'll have to rely on mental toughness and positive thoughts to make it through. Good time to start is now.

Glorybelle (from Get Out There and Run Already!) had a great quote today about courage from To Kill a Mockingbird (excuse me for stealing this)...

“I wanted you to see what real courage is... It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.”

I don't think there is any better quote for me right now heading into Miwok. She's also having some of the same injury issues I'm having and has a nice entry today on basically starting over and rebuilding her base miles for a future of 100% healthy running (instead of 90%).

Good luck with your training and races everyone. Stay healthy!

Losing, But Not Lost

2009-03-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

It's been rough for the past month and a half from the running front. My left calf continues to be a nuisance and I can't really figure out what to do with it. Just when I think I'm past it, the discomfort comes back the next week. "Think positive".

Last Saturday, after my boys basketball game (organized chaos), I headed out for an 11-mile run home. Running felt great and things were going well until the last mile - had the old junk in the calf pop up once again. I stopped for a second, wrapped the hell out of my calf, and then continued on my way home. What's really weird is that after icing and rolling and stretching, the leg is basically fine again. This is where I'm confused on this injury.

Yesterday, I decided to do a 1.5 hour treadmill hill workout. Strangely, running up hills right now is the only thing that really doesn't bother my calf (I guess that's a good thing for Miwok). I might just have to keep any outdoor running to 8 or less miles of maintenance. How can I not run in this weather?

Congratulations to all my running buddies who've been hitting the trails and performing in races. I've really enjoyed reading all the blog entries. I've been itching to get out there and can't wait to see everyone again.

I'm not doing any races before Miwok, but I'll probably head out to Diablo on 4/19 to volunteer. Lots of faces and fast runners to see there. Hopefully, I'll be healthy the next time PCTR is back at Diablo in June.

Happy training and racing everyone!

Phewww!

2009-03-04T15:42:00.000-08:00

OK, I never really make that sound, but if definitely explains how I'm feeling today. I've been icing the hell out of my knee and as I hoped, the swelling and pain are down considerably. I think I can safely say that it was just a good tweak on the ligament and no damage. I actually walked 2.5 miles today and it only really hurt me when I went down a step or made a severe right turn (which I tried to avoid). I'll keep icing it tonight and then hopefully it will be completely gone within the next couple of days.

I managed to find my old knee brace and I've put that to good use the last couple days. It basically

restricts the lateral movement at the knee. Perfect! The "good" thing about this injury compared to a muscle pull/strain/etc., is that I'm not really worried about re-injuring the leg when I'm running. (Nobody move or say anything). Gotta love the optimism.

Take care and happy training. Here I come.

Give Me a Break Already

2009-03-03T09:43:00.001-08:00

I'm ready to drop-kick my computer right now creating this post. First the good news- the calf muscle is feeling good and passed the running & softball tests yesterday. Great. Now comes the bad part...As I was backing up the 3rd baseman on a throw, my right foot caught the ground and caused my knee to twist a little (and I thought I heard a pop). That hurt kind of bad but the pain went away after a few minutes and I didn't notice any swelling or soreness. It's the outside of the knee, which I believe is the lateral collateral ligament (LCL). Last night when I got home, I put it on ice and it was still not swollen or very sore.

Fast forward to about 4:00 AM this morning and I semi-wake up to change positions ... ouch! That sucker tightened up and swelled up in those few hours from the previous night. It's now relatively painful to bend my leg and definitely painful to try and turn it in or out. (Insert swearing here)

Of course what this all means is no running again. Oh man. This is not what I planned on when I signed up for the Miwok 100k. I'm still planning on running but my goal is turning into pure survival at this point. Where I had once thought of breaking 12 hours, I'll be lucky to finish the damn race. Yes, this is the point where I'm extremely bitter and frustrated. Talk about your fluke injuries. All I can do is hope that it was just a stretch of the ligament and nothing else. You and I both know the routine...let it heal and then resume training. This probably guarantees that I won't be doing the Diablo Marathon now. I'll save everything I have until Miwok.

Still need to be optimistic because in the grand scheme of things it's just a race (I deleted this line 4 times already - go to hell optimism). I really want to just run. Is that so hard?

Bye for now, happier entries soon.

Shhhh...You Might Wake Me

2009-02-26T10:30:00.000-08:00

Alright, time to come back from wherever the hell I've been. I still owe a race report from Woodside (and I'll get to it), but here's a quick summary of what's been happening.

On Monday (2/15), I managed to do "something" to my left calf and it has prevented me from doing any real running since. I think what it comes down to is the fact that I was a little hard on my training after the Woodside run (where of course I felt great). That's right, it's my friend the overuse injury. The "good" news is that this isn't the same injury bugging me last year (oh and the ITB is fine).

I spent the rest of that week stretching, icing, rolling, praying, and doing anything to get it heeled and feeling better. By the end of the week, I felt it was good enough to continue a lighter training schedule. So this past Monday, I did a 3-mile easy run and the leg felt ok. Problem is, I didn't have a chance to ice it or stretch it properly. Guess what? I played softball that night and after cruising around first base on my way to second base, I could feel it tighten up and bite me a little bit. So back to square one.

Returning to today, it feels ok again. I'll continue icing it and doing the normal voodoo stuff to make it better. Once again, I'll wait until Monday to test it out again. However, this time I'll ice it and stretch it properly before beating it up at softball again.

This definitely puts me behind on my Miwok training. I am an optimist so all I can say is "who gives a rat's arse". I'll be fine. I'll continue to work on my leg strength and resume hill workouts once the leg comes back around. Motivation is still high and this unintential rest could be good for me in the long run.

I've been reading everyone else's blogs so thanks for the entertainment. More to come soon. Good to be back.

Woodside Fun

2009-02-08T10:02:00.000-08:00

Great time yesterday in Woodside for the 35k. Here is the brief summary:

Distance: 35k (22 miles)
Time: 3:22:52 (9:13 pace)
Place: 16th (7th in M30-39 age group)

Ran better than I thought I would run this early in the year. ITB is a bit sore but should be ok. Beautiful park. Great race setup (PC Trail Runs are the best). Great runners and volunteers.

Race report coming soon.

Rain

2009-02-05T09:57:00.000-08:00

We got some much needed rain today and it looks like it will continue on through tomorrow. I'm happy to see the rain because I'd like to be able to shower this summer (drought). However, I'm curious as to what this is going to do the trails in Woodside for the race this Saturday. I read some of the PCTR message board posts after the last rain and most folks seemed to agree that the trails don't get to that sticky mud condition. For me, only sandy trails are worse to run in than sticky mud. For a 200-lb guy, you quickly pack on another few pounds of mud on each foot. Regardless of the weather, I'm really fired up for the 35k. Time to see what kind of early-season shape I'm in. (Cue the bad news sound effect from Sesame Street)

So speaking of too much weight...I weighed myself at the gym yesterday and was not pleased with what came up on the scale. I think I gained back everything I took off after the holidays - probably all on Sunday and Monday. Sunday was obviously the Super Bowl party pig-out festival. "You mean I can stop eating and drinking at any time?" Then Monday, we had our softball playoffs (we had the #1 seed but our offense took a dump in the title game and we lost - sorry sponsor). We normally have our after-game beers but of course this time, we had to make a bigger deal and have more beer and food. Somebody shoot me. At least the motivation picks up after that.

Training has been going well...

Sunday: 8.5 mi tempo run
Monday: 6 mi. EZ
Tuesday: 6 mi. EZ with some small hill repeats
Wed: Into the pool...1600 yds (300 warm-up, 10 x 100 repeats, 300 cool down) + 300 double-unders

Today I'll probably head to the gym for some light hill-work and some weights. I'm trying not to do too much this week (ie. mini-taper). Even though I'm calling this a training run on Saturday, I still don't want to have dead legs heading into it.

Next Monday, I'll get back to the longer runs and continue the push to Miwok. Everyone have a great rest of the week. Happy training.

So Far, So Good

2009-01-28T09:24:00.001-08:00

Monday was the start of the official training for Miwok. Sure enough, it happened to coincide with a new change in the weather once again - cold. Didn't stop me from what I had planned - 1 hour run in the morning and 1.5 hours in the evening. Total distance was approx 16 miles (7 in the morning and 9 in the evening). At this point, I'm worrying more about time on my feet than distance covered. Yesterday was an off-day for running so I hit the pool for a little workout. Today, I'll be going out for little LT (lactate threshold) run. These always make me nervous because my injuries tend to pop up when I'm pushing the pace. I'll be spending some extra time stretching following these workouts from now on. By the way, I'm basically following the training program that was in the Trail Runner race issue this past month. It's similar to what I wanted to do but it's based on time rather than distance.

I officially signed up for the PCTR Woodside 35k on Feb 7th. My first race of the year! I'm not sure if race is the right word here, but I'm really excited to be hitting the trails and Woodside has been on my list of places to run. I was looking over the entries for the races and noticed that Beverly Anderson-Abbs was running the 50k. She is a stud and I can't wait to see her run. Joining me on the 35k is Miss Flirty 'n Dirty herself. I'm looking forward to running with her since the last time we were in the same race at Skyline to the Sea, she ended up breaking a couple bones in her foot (Knock on wood).

Goals for the race? Stay injury free. That's the big one. Finish of course. Also, I'm looking to stay ahead of the 50k runners for as long as possible. They will be heading out 45 minutes ahead of the 35k runners and we'll all be coming back on the same route after they tack on an extra 15k. I'd like to see if I can make it to the turnaround point before they start coming back. Should be interesting.

Enjoy the day and week everyone. Good health to all...

What is this Stuff?

2009-01-22T16:23:00.000-08:00

Something weird is happening around here in California - it's raining! We've had some really strange weather over the past few weeks - really cold (again, using the California factor) and then really warm - 70 degrees this past weekend! The one thing that has been missing, and needed the most, is rain. Well yesterday and today it finally showed up. Thank God. Without a bunch of rain in the winter and a nice snow-pack in the Sierra Mountains, we end up having a serious shortage of water during the dry summer months. In case you didn't know, most of California is really a desert without the water. Getting dumped on by the rain is nice to see - let's try and avoid a drought this year - we have enough issues as it is.

Begin the random thoughts...

Last Saturday (1/17), I was out in Pacifica to volunteer at the PCTR Pacifica Trail Run (9k, 21k, 30k, & 50k distances). Unbelievable weather out in Pacifica (right next to the ocean). It was my first time that I've actually see the trails that are run on and they are amazing. Had a really good time volunteering and cheering on some friends - Christy, Victoria and JoLynn. They all did the 21k and seemed to be having a great time - well, maybe not Christy. Turns out she caught a branch or something and ended up taking a nasty spill. As of today, her arm is in a sling, she has a slightly blackened eye and some other various soreness. MRI is scheduled for today or tomorrow I believe.

Christy, JoLynn and Victoria after the 21k on Saturday - Christy looks better than she feels here.

Trying to figure out my next (or first) race is for the year. GB sent me a message saying she was doing the 35k at Woodside (Feb 7) and asked if I was going to run it. My plan was to either do Woodside or Sequoia (Feb 28). By the 7th, I'll be ready for the 35k but probably not the full 50k. I would love to do both dates but a certain thing called reality prevents me from doing that. I'm working on getting the boss to try out the 10k on the 7th at Woodside so I can go and run the longer distance with no questions asked (and no guilt) "Love you honey!"

Heading out in a few minutes to have a fun little 8-10 mile run in the rain. Should be fun unless I'm freezing at the end - next post will be describing the pneumonia process.

On a Mr. Mom note, child #2 has almost mastered going #2. The wife and I are almost ready to declare that our second boy is officially potty-trained. Yes, it's sad that he's growing fast, but wow, have you seen the price of diapers? I still have to wipe his butt so it's not like he's leaving the house or anything like that.

Ending with a clip my friend sent me. Ladies have their walk-in closets, but what about the guys?

Have a great rest of the week everyone. Keep the faith and get those runs in...

Rolling Along

2009-01-15T12:38:00.000-08:00

Almost weekend time and for most people this means a 3 or 4 day weekend. For my company? Negative. Haven't really figured out why MLK day isn't a mandatory holiday. Seems to me that it sends out a rather interesting (in a bad way) message.

As for running, good week so far as I've been adding on to where I started last week:

- Monday: 7 miles @ 52 min
- Tuesday: 6 hilly miles on the treadmill at the gym (yes, this year a lot more emphasis is being placed on hills)
- Wednesday: 30 minutes on the stair climber (the rotating version). Wanted to swim but the aqua-ladies were in the pool at the gym (not a big pool) doing their water aerobics stuff.
- Thursday (today): Heading out for a 10-12 miler shortly.

The weather is freakin' amazing right now. Cold (by California standards) in the morning and warm during the day (65 degrees yesterday!).

Other goodies:

Scott Dunlap (A Trail Runner's Blog) has a nice interview with with John Trent from the Western States Board of Trustees. Scott and John discuss the purpose and duties of the Board of Trustees.
I'll be heading out to Pacifica on Saturday morning to volunteer at the PCTR Pacifica 9k/21k/30k/50k. I've been wanting to volunteer for awhile but haven't had a chance due to holidays, kids, wife, etc. I love the people at the PCT events - and I could use some discounted entries for future races as well.
I have started training for the 100k already, but my official crazy training will start on the 25th of this month. I'm breaking up the training into 3 4-week cycles - each time, cutting back on the 4th week (plus a 2-week taper before the race). Unlike last year, I feel that I have a good base to work with now so I just need to be careful to avoid any nagging injuries (e.g. IT-band & calf). So far so good...knock on wood.
Oh yeah...saw Rick Gaston in the latest Trail Runner magazine (Race Issue 2009, Issue 56, pg 49). They had a nice article on the Firetrails 50 race and showed him and a couple other runners charging up the MacDonald Grade.

Good luck running this weekend. Stay healthy everyone and keep the faith.

Baby Come Back

2009-01-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

The hibernation is over and it's time to get the juices rolling again in the new year. First off, Happy New Year to everyone. As is the norm for me, once the vacation starts, I have a hard time getting near my computer for any sort of regular updating and reviewing of blogs. Oh well. That time is over and it's time to move forward in a brand new year - 2009.

I'll hold off on the extended recap of the break. Basically, it was a lot of time with my family and friends and limited time in the gym and on the road/trail. Let's call it extremely limited maintenance mode. In the end, that equalled 7 pounds on the scale.

So what's up for this year? Yes, it's going to be challenging again in all aspects of life - family, financial, athletic, spiritiual, etc. However, each success brings greater pleasure when overcoming such hardships. Last week, I got the lead out and started up the training again ("YES!"). Nothing huge, but accomplished what I wanted to:

Mon: 4 hilly miles on the treadmill + 5 minutes of Double Unders (~200)
Tue: 6 miles out on the levee @ 50 minutes
Wed: Into the pool - Swam 1 mile
Thurs: Deadlifts + 7.3 hilly miles on the treadmill @ 60 minutes
Fri: Off
Sat: 8 miles @ 1:10

So I got the cobwebs out last week and now will start increasing the miles and time on my feet. Body feels good (heavy, but good) and my motivation is flying off the charts. Go away holiday fat!

Got my first bit of good news on Saturday - I made it into the lottery for the Miwok 100k (May 2). That's right folks - moving up to the 62 mile mark. I'm so excited for this race due to many factors - amazing talent, historic race/course, incredible challenge, my first 100k distance. All things that are easy to utilize for motivation and inspiration. I'm looking forward to a great challenge.

My only other big running goal for the year (other than staying healthy) is to complete a 100-miler. Which one and when will be decided later in the year. I'll have to see what kind of shape I'm in after Miwok. For filler races, I'd like to do a 50k in later Feb or early March and maybe even one in April to get race-ready for the 100k in May. Enough for now. Good to be back!

Hills Are Alive With the Sound of Treadmills

2008-12-11T22:43:00.000-08:00

Too cold out there to run the normal 6 or 8 mile loop around the delta levees. Actually it was more of the fact that it was going to be dark that I decided to head to the gym and jump on the treadmill for a little workout. Came up with a fun plan for a hilly 5k. Started off at 3% incline and did 1-minute intervals followed by 1-minute 1% run (basically equivalent to flat outside) - did this up to 15%. After returning to flat ground, I decided to speed up the last part of the run gradually getting down to 6-minute miles on the last 1:00. Followed that up with 200 double-unders (jumping rope with two turns for every jump) as fast as I could go. Yowzers.

On Tuesday, the family headed out to get our Christmas Tree. We go to one of those lots in the parking lot - sorry not a go to the forest and cut our own tree down story - we go to the same place every year. The boys love going. However, it's also got 'lost child' written all over it. As soon as we walk into the rows of trees, the boys just take off. So now we have to spend half of our time trying to find a tree, the other half constantly in Stormtrooper/Power Ranger mode trying to find the boys (or play with them as they see it). Once we pick out a tree, they always give the boys an apple and they love it. Got all the lights on that night but we haven't had time to put ornaments on yet. I think that's scheduled for Saturday.

That's it for now. Time to go sit on the floor and stretch. Talk later...

Foggy Monday

2008-12-08T10:37:00.001-08:00

My brain doesn't seem to want to support paragraphs, complete sentences and/or other grammatically-correct blogging today so I'm gonna throw out random items in no particular order or fashion. Begin.

Congrats to my friends Lee and Glorybelle (GB) for tackling CIM this weekend. Lee was shooting for a Boston Qualifier (BQ) time but ended up hitting the wall and "settling" for 3:37:59. And of course, GB (Silly Lillie), had her own injury issues going into the race but still managed to finish up in just under 4 hours. They are both faster than this but circumstances were unfavorable for them this year. Great work anyways.

Nice work Rick Gaston on your 35th place finish at the North Face Endurance 50-miler. This just after finishing Quad Dipsea the previous weekend in 27th. You are one fast dude. Feel privileged to be able to call you a friend. Don't think I won't try and borrow your skills in the near future.

Jo Lynn and Victoria - I'm really getting jealous of all the places you guys are running. And now you go and run together. Come on, where's the love? Don't you dare run Diablo without me - I'll be free after 12/19. Looking for a good 25k fat-buster run with or without animals.

Nice to see the 49ers win a game yesterday at home. It was cold as hell at the game (oops, that's California cold - 49 degrees). I was a bit tired after a messy holiday cocktail party (think Jameson and Coke Zero) on Friday night and a birthday party on Saturday night. After the birthday party, we ended up watching Oscar De La Hoya get beat up and probably end his boxing career. I'm more of a UFC/MMA fan, but it was interesting to see how slow De La Hoya has become. He still made $50 million so screw him.

Had a blast in the gym last Friday - ran a very hilly 10k on the treadmill in about 53 minutes. No wraps, no slings, no pain - nothing. Legs are feeling great. Reading other people's race reports and adventures has kept the fire burning. I'll be more than ready to start charging towards 100 miles next year.

Softball tonight (old Detroit Tiger Stadium replica field). Always fun to get out and play - especially after having last week's game cancelled due to fog. Very strange.

Not sure if I'll be able to run today (softball, for one). My better half has also scheduled me for a lunchtime Costco run (replace aid stations for free sample stations). Then, our oldest boy (4), has decided that today, and no other day, should be the day to pick up the Xmas tree. (Cue Homer Simpson..."WHY YOU LITTLE S..."). Never a good idea to let the kids set any part of a schedule. These become funny memories right?

That's it for today. Don't forget to enjoy what you're doing.

Golly Bob Howdy

2008-12-02T15:00:00.000-08:00

Holy Thanksgiving breaks!

I got an email yesterday from my friend Jo Lynn (Single Track Junkie) wanting to know if I was still among the living since I hadn't posted anything or left my comments on any of the blogs that we follow. To summarize...still living. Diagnois...computer-lazy over the past week.

I had last week off of work and since I spend most of my day in front of a computer, I tend to shy away from the machine when I'm off. Howev

er, I was still checking in and reading all of my favorite blogs (see the blog list on the right). I didn't actually leave any comments for anyone, but I was interested to see what people were up to.

Ok, now how about this running thing? First of all, I didn't end up doing the Thanksgiving 10k like I had planned. Apparently, nobody else was motivated enough to get out there. Ok fine. I headed out at 7:00 in the morning and did my own Delta levee 10-miler. What a great frickin' day it was. Clear skies and a little cool but perfect weather for running. Felt grea

t and got me ready for a fantastic day of food, family and fun (fun = drinking a sh!tload of beer). Since I do

n't have any actual races to detail, here's my Thanksgiving "race" report...

As previously mentioned, I headed out of the house at 7:00 AM and had a great 10-mile run along the Delta levees here in the Central Valley (about 1.5 hours). After getting home, it was time to prepare for the day. My wife and I host the family every Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday). This year that meant 38 people (31 adults and 7

children). My job for the day was to cook the turkeys (2 of them) and make the stuffing (cooked separately). My method of choice for the birds is on the barbecue. This year, since someone else was bringing ham, we

went with a 20-pounder and a 14-pounder. (Last year it was (2) 22.5-lb birds) I put the 20-lb bird on the charcoal

grill and smoked the hell out of it with hickory chips and put the smaller bird on the gas grill with very little smoking. While those were cooking, we watched really bad football and continously drank several varieties of beer. As more family showed up (and more people started drinking), we were approaching full volume. Good Times.

Now time for the stuffing. (This is usually the highlight of Thanksgiving). I stole the recipe from an old Williams Sonoma Thanksgiving book and I usually triple the recipe so I can feed everyone. I'll take a big turkey roasting pa

n (since it's not being used for the bird) and fill up the entire thing with bread crumbs/crouton/thingies and then pour all of the rest of the recipe (onions, celery, seasonings, etc.) on top and mix it all up - a giant portion of stuffing that gets thrown into the oven for about an hour and a half. Yum! (Btw, when did this turn into Food Network?)

Before sitting down for dinner, the youngest of the family usually do a reading of a prayer or something that inspires everyone else and reminds us of why we're doing what we're doing. Very cool stuff. (I just wish I could remember what it was this year - Warning: bad parent alert.)

The rest is all food comas and more beer. Older adults take off and the younger ones stay behind to be jackasses. Oh yeah, the kids did get put to bed at some point by a random grandma or aunt or nina. Like I said, I'm responsible for cooking and that's it. (Goodbye 'Father of the Year' award). I'm kidding, Child Services.

So that's done and I've put on the standard 4 - 5 lbs. I've been running and hitting the gym about once every 3 days. Not much else is going on as far as events. Sign-ups for some 2009 races that I want to do are approaching (Miwok 100k, Way To Cool 50k) so I'm in the process of registering for those.

I'll be throwing around my comments to my fellow bloggers and trying to update this blog more often. (Bad grammar and sarcasm are back!)

Thanks for stopping by. More to come...

Friday and Feeling Good

2008-11-14T10:01:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's Friday! I'm looking out the window from the home office (the room with the desk/bed combo - real fancy) and I see blue skies and no wind. I just watched the better half and the two crazies walk across the street to the park. What an amazing day. Come on...what global warming?

Look...it's a tree.

What could be better than today? How about yesterday? Finally got to a point where my legs felt strong enough to get out and run. Did the old faithful 6-mile out and back along the delta in the early evening. (I really wish I had my camera or cell phone with me). Heading out, I watched the sun drop and slip behind Mt Diablo (you can see it clearly from our house in the fall when the crap is out of the air). Perfect weather. I left my watch and ipod at home and went into Forrest Gump mode. On the return trip, I decided to up the speed a bit (I can't help it) and it felt great. Cruised the last half mile for my first run over 1 mile in 2.5 weeks. I'm back! Grabbed the dog and headed over to the park to let him chase the ball around for awhile. Damn I missed running. Today, I was thinking of running to the gym but I don't think I want to go inside more than I already have to. I'll probably take the dog out running and let him jump in the delta today.

Have a great weekend everyone!

BTW, I really need to shave today. I'm starting to get that Mutual of Omaha/Grizzly Adams thing going on. Working from home is bad for your hygiene.

Grizzly Adams did have a beard!

Some fellow bloggers are running the Javelina Jundred this weekend. Here's the link to the live tracker for the race. I put it here so I don't have to go find it later.

Reset

2008-11-10T11:25:00.000-08:00

I needed a new post because I was tired of the last one already. I'm over that issue and it seems a bit too angry for here. Besides, tonight starts the new softball season in Manteca. We usually stay close to home to play, but when it gets late in the year, we move our team down to a new league, about 20 miles away. Check out these fields. Each one is a replica of a real baseball stadium. Very cool.

It's been 2 weeks now since San Francisco 1-Day and I'm ready to end my running vacation/recovery period. I can't stand it anymore and I feel like I've gained 5 pounds of Biggest Loser fat. My calf/back of the knee area still has some soreness to it but I'm able to stretch and roll it out. There's not a lot of explosion in that area so I think the best approach for me will be to start building up some support muscle in my legs (thighs, hammies) while going relatively easy on the running. In other words, it's Crossfit time again.

That's it for now. Good health to all...

My Team = Dog Sh...

2008-11-07T16:04:00.000-08:00

Brief detour from normal stuff to rant about my softball team. Last night, we had our playoffs scheduled for softball. We played at 6:00 and if we won, we would play again at 8. Well sure enough, game time comes and we're missing 4 players from our team (yes that's right - 4!). So we're sitting there ready to get up to bat (we're visitors) and we only have 7 guys. The rule is you can play the game until the end of the 2nd inning, and then you have to have at least 8 guys to continue.

We get up and end up batting around twice and go up 9 - 0, with our 7 guys. Of course, when we go out in the field, we're pretty much F'd because you have some big old holes in the field with only 7. Still, we "only" gave up 11 runs and the score is 11-9 after 1. No sign of anyone else. We get up again and this time only score 2 to tie. They get up one more time and finish us off 14-11 and the game ends due to not enough players. It was the funnest 2-inning game I've ever played. Super pissed at the no-shows.

If you're gonna be on the team, how about showing up once in awhile? Especially the playoffs! Damn!

Of course, we still had to have our post-game beers. Although, who in the hell brought the MGD 64's? That stuff is horse pee. At least give us the Belgian stuff (i.e. Bud).

Ok. I'm good. Next season starts Monday (minus a few people)...

Wash Me

2008-11-05T14:58:00.000-08:00

As you can see, I decided to clean up the blog a bit. I figured it was about time to modify the look and feel and add a bit more organization. I wanted to use a different template than the standard ones provided by blogger. Since I didn't have enough time to create my own template from scratch, I found something I liked and could quickly modify at OurBloggerTemplates.com. I also found the header image there which I ended up having a little fun with. I extracted my picture from the end of the Skyline to the Sea 50k and added it to the background. Makes me look really mighty! Ha Ha! It is very Tongue-in-cheek.

As for actual running/training...I haven't done any! And I'm Halloween fat! Ok, yesterday I did a slow jog around the neighborhood to test out the leg. It's weird, I think my calf and knee have merged into a new kind of muscle-ligament injury-pain. I can't really tell where the source of soreness is coming from. I'll keep rolling it out on the foam roller and see what happens. I am definitely ready to fire up the training again - or at least get moving and start maintenance mode until next year. The only thing I have planned right now is for a 10k on Thanksgiving morning. Since I'll be pushing either a 4-year or a 2-year old in a jogger and not going for time, I'm not concerned about "training" for it. My only concern will be on keeping said 4- or 2-year old in a jogger for an hour. Tell you the truth, I'm not even sure the 4-year fits in the jogger anymore. Oh well. We do have our softball playoffs tomorrow (make up from last week's rain), so I'll find out if my leg wants to play games with me.

Take care everyone. Please let me know what you think of the new look and good luck to everyone racing this weekend.

Oh yeah two more things... Congratulations and good luck to Obama. Time to clean up 8 years of poo.

And speaking of poo, I'm a bit embarrassed and ashamed to say that my home state of California passed Prop 8, which denies same-sex couples the right to marry. I have no idea how to talk to my kids about these things, but I do know that everyone deserves equal rights. By the way, I hate politics.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

2008-10-31T23:51:00.000-07:00

"Who are the ad wizards who came up with this one?" - Adam Sandler on Saturday Night Live.

On Saturday, October 25th, I joined 130 other folks for PCTR's San Francisco One Day. The concept for this "race" is pretty simple - run as many laps as you can/want around a 1.067 mile looped course in 12 hours (or 24 hours for the really brave). If you had to pick any place to do such an event, Crissy Field in San Francisco is probably it. Every lap consists of the following: People watching down the street followed by a turn up the dirt path heading directly towards the Golden Gate and then running parallel to the Bay and seeing Tiburon, Alcatraz, Angel Island, boats, blimps, wind surfers, and all kinds of beachgoers (especially dogs & kids). Not bad at all.

First off, a couple of heads up for this post:

Any mention of the words "far" and/or "fast" in this blog should be considered relative. I realize that this is a training run for a lot of people and my fastest mile is average for others. Oh well.
Prior to this run, my PR for longest distance run was 31 miles (aka 50k)
Since I forgot to charge my camera battery, all pictures have been "borrowed" from Rick, Jo Lynn, Victoria or my friend Jason.
This could be a jumbled mess of a report.

Wake up time of 6:00 AM for the now routine bagel w/ peanut butter and banana pre-race meal. Officially left the house in Stockton at 6:45 with a goal of making into Crissy Field in San Francisco somewhere around 8:00 AM. Crossing the Bay Bridge into the city, I could already tell it was going to be a beautiful (and warm) day in the city. Made it to Crissy field a little after 8:00 and grabbed my stuff so I could setup along route. Said hello to Victoria and Jo Lynn, who were there to volunteer at the aid station all day.

Funny thing about this event is the path right after the start/finish line and aid station. Every runner has set out a chair and their bags for any extra items and each lap you get to run down the line of goods. Makes for some fun viewing each time through. I found a spot and setup and then went back to my car to get my cooler. Coming back, I finally ran into Rick who looked like he was ready to run (but just volunteering on this day). Another unique and wonderful thing about this race is that you can have people send you emails and they'll print them out and give them to you when you pass through the aid station. Gotta thank Tamara for being in charge of this all day. I think by the end of the race, she probably knew every single runner and when they had email. Very cool.

At 9:00, Wendell counted down and we were off. I had no intention of maintaining an even pace for the entire race so my only strategy was to see how long I could maintain at least 6 laps per hour. For the first 5 or 6 miles, I run behind/alongside Andy Kumeda, who tells me a few laps in that he's famous for going out too fast. Perfect. Since he's out here for 24 hours, he's takes an extra long aid break somewhere after the 1 hour mark and I'm basically on my own. I hit the half marathon distance at the 2-hour mark and I'm thrilled at my pace - although being on target for 72 laps is not what I had in mind. I knew I would be forced to slow down soon. At this point, I'm basically in and around the top 5 for the 12-hour runners. Not too shabby.

For the next two hours, I keep trying to maintain hitting 6 laps each hour. At the 4-hour mark, I came into the aid station with 24 laps, which was good enough for 5th or 6th place. I was very happy at this point - basically just short of marathon distance at around 4 hours. Obviously not a flying marathon, but since I'm going to run another one, it's fast enough.

Up to this point, each time I've come through the aid station, Victoria and Jo Lynn would give me some sort of encouragement and that would fire me up for the next lap. I would also see Rick and Sarah D shouting out positive thoughts to everyone all day. Can't tell you guys how much that helped out there.

So at the 4 hour mark, I realize that I'm way ahead of schedule and I can take a little bathroom breather. Also, my feet are starting to get a little sore so I switch into my trail shoes. Ahhh. Love those Cascadia 3's. They're a bit heavier, but the cushioning comes in handy. No signs of discomfort from the calf or knee. Time to head out again.

The 30's
I quickly hit lap 30 and felt pretty excited about it. This was equivalent to 32 miles and for me that meant - distance PR time! From here to the end, every step I would take would be the farthest I've ever run. You better believe I used that for motivation. I wish I could say I flew through the 30's into the 40's but it seemed to take me forever to get from 30 to 40 laps. Physically, I was doing fine here, but mentally...yikes. I don't know if it was the Advil or the laps, but I had to remind myself of what I was doing a few times and not to forget all the incredible scenery around me.

The 40's
Once I hit 40 laps, all doubts of hitting 50 miles were erased. The only issues left to decide were if my legs would remain in one piece and how many laps did I want to try and finish. I was still getting emails at this point and no matter what the email said or who it was from, I would find myself getting way too emotional. There was one email from my parents saying how proud they were of me and thought I was gonna burst out crying. (Ok, no more Advil from here on out. Focus.)

My pace had slowed down to 11-12 minute miles here but I wasn't really slowing down on the actual laps. I found that I would take a longer drink and food breaks after every lap. Sure enough at this point, I started to notice some aching coming into my knee - yes the old ITB area. Booooo. And I'm supposed to pretend that this wasn't expected? Alright - we're still ok, just a litte sore.

In my head, I'm figuring out the laps and mileage to think of what I have to do to reach 50 miles and also see how much time I have. 40 laps in, 4 hours to go. Time is not an issue. Even if I had to walk, I was going to make it to 50 miles. Just needed 7 more laps to hit 50 miles. Out I went..41, 42, 43, 44, and then 45.

[The following portion sponsored by Rick Gaston Pacing & Motivational Services] I see Rick at the aid station after lap 45 and he asks how I'm doing. I tell him I'm 2 laps away from 50 miles and after asking me if that's my goal, he's says in his pacer voice "If you're feeling good, go for it". Rick has some strange power of influence and it didn't take me more than a second to get the hell out of there. Laps 46 and 47 turned out to be my fastest since the early hours of the race. I think I ended up passing 30 - 40 people on those two laps. As I came around the back stretch on lap 47 I was counting every single landmark that I'd pretty much memorized all day..."First bench. Second bench...Last bench. Bridge. Last trail with the drunk ladies. The turn. And the Finish. Beep. 50 Miles!!" At a few minutes after the 9 1/2 hour mark, I had made the #1 goal for me in this race - get myself to 50 miles. After the long struggle through the 30's and fighting off the knee pain in the 40's, the relief set in. It was time for a break. Laps 46 and 47 had knocked me silly.

I sat down in my chair along the path and sent out two text message to my parents and wife "Just hit 50 miles!". At this point, I wasn't sure when I was going to get out of the chair, but it didn't even matter. After hitting the restroom, I came back and filled up on fluids. I changed my shirt for the second time and put on a small running jacket - it was now getting dark and a little cool.

I think I basically made up my mind at this point that my day was just about over. Yes I had plenty of time to get more laps in - heck, even make it to 60 miles. But my knee and calf would probably have paid the price and I didn't want to be a complete mess. However, I did want one more lap and a chance to go around once in the dark. I took off and shuffled around the loop (trying to not fall at the bridge) to finish my 48th and final lap - 51.2 miles. Not quite the full 12 hours, but 10 was plenty for this day.

The Aftermath
Before I get to my post-race crumbling, I have to say a few things about two cool dudes that I had the pleasure of running with out there. First off is Aaron Doman, the 13-year old son of RD's Wendell and Sarah. Not only did he run out in front of the pack for the first few laps, he managed to stay out there and finish with 26 laps for 27.7 total miles. At times, he ran by himself, with mom, with another girl (sorry don't have name) - but always just kept going. Awesome, Aaron!

Even more impressive to me and someone I looked for throughout the whole event was 9-year old Trevor Craig - he stayed out on the course for 10 hours running and walking with his mom and dad. Everytime I would see him, I wanted to make sure that he knew how proud of him I was and how great it was to have him out there. You could see how proud his parents were and I still can't believe how far he went - 25 laps, 26.7 miles - more than a full marathon. Way to go Trevor! Those two guys made me miss my boys more than anything.

Ok, back to post-race destruction. I originally planned to stay until the end of the 12-hours and relax a little bit and share a few beers with Rick and Victoria. However, a couple of things happened. First off, my body was beat to a pulp. With my knee aching and my mind just exhausted, I think I would have passed out after one beer. My wife was heading out of the city and basically insisted that she drive me back to Stockton (wives really do know best). I got in the car, folded myself up into a ball, covered myself with a blanket and passed out for 45 minutes. (Not a great recovery process mind you). I woke up in Livermore and told my wife "Please pull over as soon as possible - I need to eat". I realized I hadn't really eaten any substantial recovery food and my body was not liking me. Best we could do was McDonalds, but never before have two cheeseburgers ever tasted so good (or eaten so fast). I topped it off with a milkshake and passed out again until I got home. Filled up the bath with hot water (again, don't try this at home - I was a bit chilly) and some epsom salt and took a quick bath. After the bath, I stretched a bit and then plopped into bed - game over.

Winners of the race: (24-hour) Shan Riggs - 122 laps (130.1 miles!) and (12-hour) Juan Sanchez - 72 laps (76.8 miles!)
Thanks to everyone who volunteered - this race would be impossible without you.
Thanks to Wendell and Sarah for another great PCTR event!
Will I do this race again? Well I definitely would like to volunteer. I'll get back to you on the running part. I need to run in the hills first and then I'll come back to the city.

So here we are (as of this writing) 6 days later and I'm feeling pretty good. I haven't attempted any running this week and probably won't until next week. My knee and calf are back to normal (which is right on the brink of hurting). I'm not sure what's left for this year. It's always a busy time with family so SF might be my last big race/run for the year. I would still love to do one more PCTR 50k (Woodside - either running or volunteering), but we'll have to see. I'm really happy that I got a 50-mile run in before the year is up. That gives me the confidence for next year knowing that I'm able to go farther.

Happy Halloween and don't forget to vote next Tuesday! Thanks for reading and good health to everyone.

Look kids, there's Big Ben, and there's Parliament.

2008-10-27T10:02:00.000-07:00

Race report from Saturday's San Francisco 1-day event will be coming soon. In the meantime, I'm still recovering mentally and physically. My one big goal for the race was to hit 50 miles - and I made it. Here is the summary:

Laps: 48
Distance: 51.2 miles
Approx # of M&Ms consumed: 138
Approx oz. of Coke consumed: 108
# of Salt Tablets: 10
# of Advil: 8 (maybe this is why I was hallucinating)

Beautiful day. Great volunteers, runners and spectators. One crazy event. More to come...

Hanging with my 2 superstar friends and volunteers, Victoria and Jo Lynn

And Where the Hell Was I?

2008-10-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

Good question and I'm not even sure what the answer is. Seems like I've been running around with my head cutoff this last week. Work's been busy, weekend's have been filled with weddings, kids' parties, etc. The blog has definitely suffered.

Coming up on the 12-hour race this weekend. I am super excited for this run. My training has been anything but stellar over the last 3 weeks. I've had some good runs but have had to hold myself back from going long distances, due to some mysterious tightness in my calf (can't quite figure it out). I've been rolling and stretching it and trying to baby it so it will be ready for Saturday. I'm not too worried though. I'll fuel myself properly and bring some extra pain killers for miles 20, 30 and 40. Heck, I don't even know if I'll survive that far. There's a good chance my left calf will blow up a la Forrest Gump's braces 4 hours into this thing. Whatever happens, I'm going to enjoy this race. I'm looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and experiencing a very unique event (for me).

These last couple mornings I've been without a car (my friend, Jeff is borrowing it) and have had to ride my bike to the train station in the early morning (had to go into the Bay Area for a conference). It's a nice 11-mile ride which isn't bad - if it wasn't 5:30 in the morning and I didn't have my computer bag and extra clothes with me. Also, I've only been riding my "leisure" mountain bike for the past 8 months and only for 5 miles max at a time. With my "racing" bike, it's basically an ass torture device. Just not used to that. I'm just glad to get the exercise in and also, this might help save my running legs for Saturday.

Oh yeah, few more things. First off...F the Dodgers and Red Sox. Baseball's been over to me for months (I'm a SF Giants fan) so the only thing I was rooting for were those teams to lose. Done and done. Ok, now I don't care anymore.

And second, Rick and Victoria...I have some Black Butte's and Lagunitas coming for you guys on Saturday.

Last but not least...we'll be at the 49ers game on Sunday having another great tailgate. If anyone is heading out there please let me know so you can come say hello. We park by the RVs. I'll be the one sitting down.

Have a great day/week everyone.

Update: If anyone wants to track runners this Saturday, there will be a live webcast of the results, starting at 10:30 AM. From there you can also send email to the runners which they'll hand out every hour or so. If you can't make it, please send an email to heckle me. That could be very entertaining.

Fat Guy, Little Coat

2008-10-10T15:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday to anyone and everyone. I've been doing some random medium-sized runs over the last week - even got the urge to speed up this past Wednesday. I like to play this game with my dog Miles - he hates to run behind me on the trails. So what I do is try to run out in front of him (basically cut him off) and drive him all the way to the side of the trail until he gets pissed off and then heads for the other side to take the lead. This forces me to pick up the pace big time so I can cut him off again. Repeat until my hamstring blows up or my lungs catch on fire. Btw, this only works after I tire him out for a few miles - he could blow right past me if he wanted to.

Miles in his younger days ->

Besides that, I've been eating plenty of food - some good (salmon, veggies), some bad (Del Taco, candy corn). I've backed down from training as much as I was for a couple of reasons -(1) my left calf (and probably knee) still needed to recover a bit from Skyline. I think the extra love and care has helped and (2) I'm being a little lazy (actually, we'll call it giving the body a breather. yeah.) Anyway, I'm not too worried about the SF 12-hr run. There are no hills and I can run/walk for a long time on flat ground (if necessary). I'll be out tomorrow morning for a 20-25 mile run and then head to a wedding later in the day for more abuse.

Good luck to everyone running races this weekend - especially the Firetrails crew. Have a great weekend.

San Francisco, Here I Come...

2008-10-02T09:24:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I officially signed up for the PCTR San Francisco One Day race, taking place on Sat, Oct. 25. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this race, instead of running a certain distance, the race covers a certain time - either 12 or 24 hours. I'm opting for the 12-hour time because, well, I'm nowhere near ready for 24 hours of running...yet. (Next year). The run takes place on a 1.067 mile loop course in Crissy Field in the city. Hopefully, it won't be too foggy and we'll have some killer views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Angel Island, Alcatraz and the SF Bay. My goal for this race will be 50 laps or about 53 miles.

My recovery from Skyline to the Sea has been going ok. For some reason, I decided to pick up the pace on Tuesday for a little 8-mile tempo run - and my left calf maybe paying the price a little bit. It was a bit stiff and sore yesterday and a little tight today. I've been icing it and rolling it on the foam roller so I think it should be fine come this weekend.

Should be a nice test tonight with softball - nothing like a bunch of quick starts and stops to put some pressure on the calves.

Starting this weekend, I'll start piling up the mileage for a couple weeks (no more speed/tempo workouts) and then taper for a week or so. Should be fun to see how much I can handle in 12 hours.

Now What?

2008-09-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

We're now 9 days removed from the Skyline the Sea 50k (Stts) and I'm suddenly trying to figure out what to do next. The runner's high from that race is still flowing big time. My original plan was to sign-up for Firetrails 50 if I came out of SttS injury free and feeling good (check to both of those). Oops. Forgot that we had a wedding for a family friend that weekend. Firetrails is out. These things happen and I don't have to remind myself that I'm fortunate to get to run at all. It's harder in this case because the fire (no pun intended) is burning bright and I really wanted to do this race. Ok. Moving on...

So what to do next? I know there are still a lot of races out there but there are some limitations as to what I can do. First of all, I don't want to have to travel too far (within the general SF Bay area). Next up is the type of race. After having so much fun on the Montana de Oro and SttS trails, it might be hard to run a race on a bike path or non-wooded trail (Helen Klein 50-miler, or PCTR SF One Day 12/24 hour) I'd rather be in the hills trying to figure out where the heck I am, than running down a bike path behind some businesses/homes (ooh sorry - I might have just stolen that line from Rick G). At the same time, I really want to take a shot at a 50-miler before the year ends. (We are playing with the house's money so let's have some fun).

Right now, I'm thinking of giving the HK 50-miler a shot - it's on a Saturday with no soccer game for my oldest boy and it's relatively close (within 45 minutes). If not HK, then I'll do the SF 12-hour race and stay overnight for the 49er game the next day. I love the PCTR races so I'll probably sign up for at least one more of those (Woodside) before recharging for the next year.

Speaking of next year, my goal is now about shooting for the 100-mile distance. I have the base miles under my belt and enough time to start building up to what I need. Plus, I've got some new friends that I can ask for (beg) advice from. I know it's only September, but I've already started thinking about races for next year (race sign-ups are coming up soon and family life demands early planning sometimes). Here's what I'm already thinking about...

Way to Cool 50k (3/14/09) or Rucky Chuck 50k (3/21/09)
American River 50 (4/4/09) or Diablo 50-miler 4/11/09)
Skyline to the Sea 50 (4/26/09) - Would love to run this again; a little too close to Miwok
Miwok 100k (5/2/09) - steppin' up to 62 miles
Ohlone 50k (5/17/09) - My first one! Looking forward to see how I've progressed
Diablo 50k (6/6/09) - Always wanted to do a Diablo event (will do this for sure if not the 50-miler)
(?) 100-miler in the fall (?)
Who cares after this (Montana de Oro would be great again)

Should have figured out my next race or two in the next post.

BTW, health is good. Did 3 recovery runs last week - 7 miles, 3 miles, & 6 miles. Legs were dead but after the 3rd run on Saturday, I finally felt like legs were ready for more action. Will probably run to the gym today and mix in a little weights (quick reps, low weight). Until next time...

A Stinging Good Time at Skyline to the Sea

2008-09-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday (9/20), I finally got around to running my second 50k of the year, the Skyline to the Sea 50k, put on by Sarah and Wendell Doman of Pacific Coast Trail Runs (PCTR). It had been 4+ months since my first 50k and I was more than ready to go out and tackle this race. "The password is BUZZ"

Stayed with my brother in San Jose the night before so I wouldn't have to drive all the way from Stockton early in the morning. Woke up at 6:00 AM to eat the standard bagel (w/ peanut butter this time) and a banana. Drank 20 oz. of water and started getting my stuff together. Uh oh. Forgot my sleeves for my water bottles. That won't be good if I can't find someone to borrow from. Except for that fact, everything else is good. Woke my brother up at 7:00 to get us going. We head out and get to the starting area at Saratoga Gap at 7:50. There are about 15 people at the start. Brother says good luck and heads back for home (and his bed). First person I recognize there is Scott Dunlap. Since his blog is what basically started my fascination with trail running (especially the long variety), I wanted to make sure I went and introduced myself. After saying hello, registering and making a nature call, it was time to relax (and figure out where to get some bottle sleeves). Once I found Sarah Doman, she put my mind at ease and said she had some to sell as soon as Wendell arrived on the shuttle. Nice. Time for people watching.

Set my stuff down and once again discovered why trail running events are the best - coolest people around are running them. I ended up talking with Jo Lynn and Christy (both attempting and completing their first 50k's - congratulations!). They mentioned their husbands were out golfing in Seascape. (Gee, if I wasn't running 31 miles, that really seemed like a great idea). As we were talking I spotted another speedster friend that I've come to know this year, Rick Gaston. Rick is definitely not an ultra rookie and I knew he would be flying over this course today. Later on, another of my newest trail running buddies, Vict oria Folks arrived looking anxious but ready to rock the trails today (check her link or hold tight for what happened). Catra was also there but I didn't get a chance to say 'Hi' until later at the Gazos Creek Aid station.

After grabbing my new bottles (actually just the new sleeves with my old bottles), we headed down to the starting area to get lined up for the 9:00 AM start. Wendell had us line up according to our projected finish times. "4 hours. 5 hours. 6 hours." My goal at the start was to break 6 hours so I decided to hang out right with the 5 hour folks. Plus I wanted to see how quickly the front guys took off on this course. At 9:00 on the nose, we were off and heading downhill.

Right away, the pace is fast (everything from here on out is relative when speaking of fast - wait until you hear what the winning times were). Of course, the top 30 or so guys immediately blast out of there and I get into as smooth a rhythm as possible. The first 10k to the first aid station is mostly downhills with random little uphills around every corner. To me, I feel like I'm going too fast but I like the position I'm in and want to see what happens. I Get into the first aid station a little after 50 minutes or so (not a blazing 10k time but fast pace for me for 50k). I top off my water bottles, grab a Payday bar and banana piece and head out for the next leg.

Out of the aid station, I latch on to two runners that I'll end up running with for the next 10 miles, Mike Nutall and Elizabeth McCleneghan. They were exactly the runners that I needed to pull me along and keep a good pace for the race (at least the first 25 - 30k). Mike had the lead, Elizabeth behind him and me bringing up the rear. A couple miles before the 2nd aid station, a runner caught up and asked if we had been stung yet. Say what? The three of us say no and start to wonder. Elizabeth mentions that she's allergic to bee stings and conveniently didn't bring any medicine along. We head into the 2nd aid station and I fill up my water and get some banana, payday and coke (yum).

We head out of the aid station and sure enough, within a mile or two, we run smack dab into a swarm of bee/wasp/hornet things - all three of us plus a couple other runners immediately try and swat away whatever number of "things" had landed on us. Three nice stings for me - top of the head, lower back and left calf. Decent little pain that actually made me forget about running for about 15 minutes. (My 3 stings are actually way below average in this race. Fred Ecks had 20!) Weird, wild stuff. In the meantime, we continue cruising mostly downhill on this incredibly amazing trail. Rock formations. Wooden bridges. Trees. Creeks. Awesome! Heading into the Gazos Creek aid station, I hear someone yell out "Hey Rookie!" - it's Will Gotthardt saying hello (referring to my Ohlone 50k male rookie award this year). I yell back hello and within a couple minutes, we're cruising into the aid station ready for our trip around the loop.

Mike N. heads out first up the big hill out of the aid station, followed by myself and then Elizabeth bringing up the rear this time. As I'm walking up finishing up my "meal", Elizabeth gets stung for the 3rd and 4th time (maybe 5th too). Not again. I wait for her to catch up and this time the sting is in her ear and can tell this one hurt. We get off the road and head up the steep portion of the hill and Mike moves ahead a bit. I follow and Elizabeth drops back a bit. After making sure she's ok I catch up to Mike near the top of the peak as we get ready to charge down back to the Gazos aid station. I tell him to go at his pace and I'll run behind. As usual, he keeps a great pace. About 2 miles from the aid station, Mike starts pulling ahead as my pace starts to slow down a bit. (This is right after the 25k distance in the race - where all my training runs have been ending so this is not a surprise). In another mile, Elizabeth catches up to me - this time with her ear swelling, chest turning red and slightly slurring. "Uh. Are you alright?" She's gives the thumbs up. She's fired up at this point and charges ahead to get to the aid station. I pass by Will G again and finally hit the aid station for the 2nd time. At this point Mike and Elizabeth have taken off and it's time to begin the solo portion of the race.

This is where I made the only fueling mistake of the race for me. Instead of filling both bottles with water, I filled one up with GU (I didn't even need the salt since I was taking a tablet every hour). I grabbed some food and tums, took an advil and started walking down the trail to head up and out of the basin. The climb out of here wasn't too bad. There were some parts that required me to power-walk, but I kept moving. After hitting the top of the hill, it was downhill time and despite the lack of speed, this was a lot of fun running down. I ended up catching 3 people before finally hitting the fire trails and long stretch to the final aid station. At one point before leaving the wooded areas by the creek, I stopped to dip my hat in the water before moving on. My water was getting dangerously low. At about 2 miles out from the aid station, my water and electrolytes hit empty. Damn! However, my pace kept steady. Finally, after what seemed like forever, I hit the last aid station along with four other people. Looking at my watch, I see that it's only a few minutes after 5 hours. "I'm gonna blow past my 6 hour goal! Yes!" I downed a full coke, loaded up the waters and then headed out with less than 2 miles to go.

At this point, I just wanted to keep moving at the same pace and not let anyone pass me. Finally saw the ocean and made a left turn at the mystery house on the hill. With about a 1/2 mile left, we're over in the marsh land and I'm actually wondering if I made a wrong turn. I finally see a ribbon and then hear some cheers up ahead. Nice, it's close. Round another few turns and then I see the cones. And my wife! And my mom and dad! Woo hoo! Across the finish in 5 hours, 23 minutes and change (42nd place), I hear Rick G yelling out "Good job, Mike" (he's been there awhile).

At this point I'm curious to see how the leaders did on this very runnable course.

Winning time: 3:38:33 shared by two runners (Lon Freeman & Leor Pantilat)
Four runners under 4 hours!
Scott Dunlap help off Rick G by 23 seconds for 7th place (4:24:30 vs 4:24:53) - impressive!
Elizabeth came in at 5:16:10 to win 1st in her age group (F21-29) - 34th overall - nice recovery from the beasts!
Mike N. came in at 5:17:40 to win 1st in his age group (M50-59) - 38th overall - thanks for the tow!

Headed over with my wife and parents to enjoy the post-race atmosphere. The weather was perfect and the racers are always friendly. Cracked open a beer and chatted with my family. Introduced Rick to the family and shared a beer with him (yummy Black Butte Porter). Thanked Mike and Elizabeth for letting me run with them. Last thing to do was see how Victoria was doing. Finally, she comes in not looking so great - beat up with 13 stings and even worse, a fractured foot! She managed to run for 10 miles on a broken foot! Great job finishing. I also later found out the Jo Lynn and Christy successfully completed their first 50k's! Great job ladies!

Final notes in bullet form (getting tired):

Knee felt great during and after race - can't tell you how excited I am about this.
Average pace for me was 10:30/mi.
This was my longest run (by 13 miles) since May
Day after race, my calves were tight - no injuries or major pain (as of Tuesday, feeling good and ready to run)
As promised to myself, I'm seriously considering the Firetrails 50 miler now. I'll do 6-8 miles today (Tues) and then work on a 20-miler on Saturday. If that goes well, then it's on.
Post-race Meal on Sunday night? Del Taco. We ordered pizza that never showed up so we said screw it and went to Del Taco. Nothing says "Go F yourself, body" more than burrito and fries.
Thanks again to all the volunteers, Sarah and Wendell and friendly runners.
Thanks Scott D, Rick G, Catra and Victoria for letting me "borrow" your pictures.
Speaking of Rick. He's a graphic designer and is starting to come up with some sweet logos and headers for his blog and race reports. Check out the one he made for this race:

Can't wait to run again. Hope to see everyone at Firetrails!

Buzzin' in Big Basin

2008-09-21T06:36:00.000-07:00

Had a great time racing yesterday at the PCTR Skyline to the Sea 50k. I'll work on the race report later tonight or tomorrow. The highlights were bees/yellowjackets, awesome trails, fast runners, perfect weather, great volunteers and friendly runners. Final numbers for the race for me:

Time: 5:23:18
Place: 42 (out of 210)
# of stings: 3 (head, back and leg)

Can't wait to do it again.

Feeling Good, Louis!

2008-09-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) from Trading Places for the easy title for this post. We're at the 9-day out mark for Skyline to the Sea and I'm feeling good. Had a nice 14-mile run on Tuesday and ran around with my son's soccer team yesterday (actually it was more like me chasing the kids around - not great listeners those 3 & 4 year olds). All joints, muscles, bones, etc feel like they're in good condition (knocking on a giant piece of wood).

I'm excited for this upcoming race, my 2nd ultra for the year (or ever for that matter). It's a sold-out race with 210 entries. Lot's of fast runners and folks that I've come to know and admire. It will be fun to see how quickly most of them disappear right away. I'll try to remind myself to not get caught up in the early excitement and start out slow.

Goals? Started thinking more about this and I've come up with a few. (1) Finish. Simple one but it's not to be taken for granted. (2) Finish in 6 hours or less. A bit more aggressive but if I can keep a good pace and stay healthy, this could be attainable. (3) Stay healthy. This probably should be my first goal since it will affect the other two. With my longer runs restricted in mileage, I'll be praying after 20 miles that my muscles hold up for the rest of the race. (Especially my left ITB). It was a good sign that my legs felt great at Montana de Oro with the climbing/ascending, even though it was only 25k instead of 50.

Oh and it looks like bib #s got assigned today - #817 for me.

Good Times at Monta de Oro

2008-09-02T11:52:00.000-07:00

This past Labor Day weekend, the family and I headed down to Avila Beach for a little vacation at the beach. Along with lounging around the beach and pool in Avila, I was scheduled to run the Montana de Oro 25k (PC Trail Run 8k, 12k, & 50k also). I had been looking forward to this vacation and especially this run for a long time. 3 1/2 months had passed since the last race (Ohlone 50k) way back in May. After spending Friday and Saturday on the beach with the boys and wife, it was time for some fun early Sunday morning.

Normally, I like to make sure I have plenty of time in the morning so I don't have to rush before the race and can be sure that everything is good to go come race time. It was an 8:30 race (check-in by 8:15), so I set my alarm for 5:00 AM so I could get up and eat a bagel w cream cheese and a banana. After that, I set my alarm for 6:30 and went back to sleep. However, this time I went auto-pilot and didn't wake up. Somehow, I woke up at 7:05, freaked out and then jumped out of my bed straight into the shower. Thanks to my wife, the whole clan was out of the door at 7:30 heading for Montana de Oro. In the end, I was able to easily make it there by 8:00 and could stop worrying. Got signed up and started getting my stuff ready.

My plan originally was to bring my camera for some sweet pictures - only problem was the fog was thick and you couldn't see anything from the trails. Camera stays back, Ipod goes with me. This was the first race I'd taken my Ipod and it worked out.

Weather at the start was perfect for running - overcast, foggy and a little cool, but not cold. With all the running I had been doing in the heat, I was super excited for this weather. Had two 20-oz bottles of water, my ipod & a couple of gels as we started out at 8:30. We ran cliffside along the ocean for a couple miles before heading left up Valencia Peak. I was running with a guy from Alaska who was mentioning that he had just run a 100-miler a few weeks back. Turns out, that was the eventual 50k winner, Evan Hone. Heading up the first peak, I wanted to see how much climbing I could do without going into a power walk. Surprisingly, I was able to get up a couple miles before I needed to shift down into a fast walk. Legs still felt good but I knew I needed to make it to the top before I went all out. Good thing because it got pretty steep towards the final half mile or so. Getting close to the top, we start seeing the front-runners coming back down the hill. I shout "good job" to everyone that goes by. I only recognize Adam Blum from his blog. Once I got to the top of the peak, I took a couple of breaths and then headed back down for the funnest part of the whole race. I was flying down the hill and caught about 4 people before running up behind Molly Friel, who ended up pacing us down to the last 1/4 mile before we cruised into the aid station (12k) together at 1:16. At this point, I was already happy about my time but wasn't sure what I would have left for the next 13k+. Filled up the bottles, had a quick drink of coke, and walked out with a Payday bar.

Started up the next trail and noticed that Molly and some other runner were headed backwards up the trail, so I signaled them over to the right trail (I'll correct them again in about 2 miles). We headed right to start our run to the Hazard Peak and I'm cursing the ground - it's basically sand. I feel like I'm wasting a lot of energy trying to run on this stuff. I do my best to find the firmest ground and start running as much of the hills as possible. At this point, I'm needing to take more frequent power-walking breaks. Molly and the other runner are up ahead and my goal is to keep them in range and run as much as possible (100% of the flats and downhills, and intervals on the up-hills). After finally making it to the peak, we start heading down. At this point, I'm feeling good. Legs are tired of going up, but I feel great running down. I end up passing Molly and the other guy and we hit the fire road with about 3 1/2 miles to go. After another mile on the rolling fire trail, Molly catches up and she is looking good. I ask her our distance and she says we're at mile 14, so about 1 1/2 miles to go (we ended up running 16.1 by her calculations so we really had 2+ miles to). She's ready to pick up a gear I don't have right now so I tell her to get movin'. My only goal at this point is to not let anyone catch me and keep moving at a decent pace. I notice one lady up ahead of me, about 1/4 mile away. It looks like I'm reeling her in but I just don't know if I have enough time and/or another gear to bring her in. Finally, I see the cars and trees near the beach and know I'm close. As I head into the parking lot, the lady in front of me reaches the finish line 11 seconds ahead (thanks for the pace). I finish in 2:48:48 (last 13k in 1:32), good for 14th overall (of 48) and 3rd in age group (of 8). Best of all, my knee felt great!

Ate some soup and drank a coke and a Gatorade and then headed back to Avila Beach with the family. Had a nice big Roast Beef sandwich and a giant Anchor Steam Porter to celebrate the good race and then headed back to the beach for more vacation time.

I'll take it pretty easy this week on the run paces, but I'm already looking forward to a couple more weeks of training before ramping down for the Skyline to the Sea 50k.

Good times.

Gold Medalist of Something

2008-08-20T09:13:00.000-07:00

This blog has been running on fumes lately. No, I haven't lost interest. I actually just haven't been all that excited about my training lately. The good news is that my knee hasn't been bothering me at all over the last few weeks. I've been capping my longer runs off at only 15-16 miles but it's better than where I was at only a short time ago - couldn't run over 7 miles without the IT ouch.

But the excitement is building over my upcoming races. I'm 11 days away from the Montana de Oro 25k and 1 month away from the Skyline to the Sea 50k. It's about time. I've been going crazy reading other blogger's race reports - 50 milers, 100k's and 100 milers. I really want to get back on track for upping the miles and hopefully getting to the point where I'm able to do these races as well. One thing at a time. Every once in awhile I have to remind myself that I wasn't running any long distances at all coming into this year.

So am I tapering right now for the 25k? Not really. Since it's more of a training run than a full blown "race", I won't alter my workouts too much up to that weekend. Of course, I won't do any hill training (what's a hill?) but I'll try to keep the miles up remembering the ultimate target is Sept 20 for the 50k!

Happy training everyone and good luck to everyone who has races coming up (especially you Bob).

Decision '08

2008-08-07T10:21:00.000-07:00

The presidential race? Uh, no. I'd rather chew on my toes (if I could) then talk about politics. I'm talking about my upcoming race decision. I've decided to do (and just signed up for) the 25k race at Montana de Oro - a good distance for me and it makes sense at this time - (1) will be able to run and see the entire trail anyways (50k is 2 times around), (2) it will be good training run for the Skyline to the Sea 50k, and (3) I'll be able to enjoy the SttS 50k a little more knowing my legs aren't duct taped together in a makeshift fashion. I can't wait to get back out there and run those trails!

About to do Something Really Stupid?

2008-08-04T20:56:00.000-07:00

Hello again. Well I think I'm on the verge of doing something incredibly stupid for my current endurance status - two 50k's within 1 month. I've already signed up for the Skyline to the Sea 50k on September 20th. I'm really excited to run this race - seems likes such a great trail run - out to the ocean! Here comes the stupid part...

So lately my wife has been really wanting to take a quick trip with the boys somewhere. Most likely somewhere that has a beach - they just love it and it's easy for us to kick back and/or play with the boys in the sand. So what area of California does she instantly think about they we both love? Pismo beach. We met each other when we were both going to Cal Poly and we love coming back to the surrounding area for R & R. So kind of jokingly, I mentioned that the Montana de Oro 50k is on Aug 31, so we should go that weekend. (In case you don't know, Montana de Oro is an amazing state park in California. It's about 15-20 minutes north of San Luis Obispo - check it out on Google for details, maps, etc. The scenery there is amazing - cliffs, beaches, hills. Can you imagine how fun it would be to run a little bit of these trails?) Sure enough, she says OK, takes off and comes back 30 minutes later with reservations. Oh Sh*t.

Here's the thing. Way back in May, after I completed the Ohlone 50k, I was thinking about running this race. Again, I just couldn't imagine how cool it would be to run around the park area. So now that I'm here, not in the best long-distance shape, I'm a bit concerned. It all comes down to one thing - if my knee holds up, this won't be a problem (relatively speaking of course - it's still 31 miles!) There is a possible compromise here that I'm thinking might be better suited for me right now and that is the 25k race (8k & 12k races also available for that event. The 50k is basically doing the 25k loops twice). I'll make a decision in the next couple of weeks. Either way, I'm going to enjoy the run and have fun doing two trails that I don't want to miss. I may have to tie a log to my knee to finish, but it's gonna be a great experience. More on this to come...

Lost in Space

2008-07-30T09:40:00.001-07:00

My plane is crashing, my ejector seat is malfunctioning and I have no idea where I'm at right now. Alright, enough of that. Athletically, I've been drifting a little bit over the last couple weeks. I think I've let my knee issues get the better of me. Last week was ok. I was able to get some consistent mid-range running in and even hit the gym for some good Crossfit workouts. On Wednesday, I attacked the filthy 50 workout from Crossfit:

For time:
50 Box jump, 24 inch box
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press, 45 pounds
50 Back extensions
50 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
50 Burpees
50 Double unders

I really love doing this workout. It's tough, but it's so rewarding when done. Took me 40 minutes to complete it. Most of the time was on the knees to elbows. (Apparently, my abs are weak). My gym only has a 3 foot box to jump on so I get off to a fun start that way. On about my 12th jump, I ended up smacking my right pinkie finger into the box - it still hurts today (1 week later). Fun stuff. I'll probably do a run-swim double today to get my self going again. Talk soon.

One more thing...Today I officially registered for the Skyline to the Sea 50k (on 9/20). No more excuses!

Hi. How's It Going?

2008-07-22T10:39:00.000-07:00

If I've been sniffing glue, this would be a great time to stop. The last 10 day period (basically everything after my last post) has been one of my best tapers ever. The only problem is, I'm not tapering right now. After my nice 12 mile run on that Friday, I've done approximately 2 Crosffit workouts, two 6-mile or less ez runs and 1 tempo run that knocked the crap out of me. That means there were 5 days that I did nothing (morning/night push-ups don't count). I'm so tired of not running in the morning (my own fault). The noon/afternoon runs have been beating me up and taking their toll - physically and mentally. I've lost all my confidence on these runs because my legs get filled with lactic acid and get so damn tired too quickly. I run through fluids like theres no tomorrow. No good.

So last night, I'm basically yelling "pull yourself together" to myself ("allow myself to introduce myself"). Before hitting the hay, I set the alarm for 5:00 AM and had my running clothes ready to go. Let's just say I allowed a couple of Snooze operations, but was successfully out of bed, dressed and eating a banana at 5:20. Filled a bottle with water and one with Gatorade and headed out the door. 2 hours, 10 minutes later I was done with my 15-mile run! Finally, I was able to get a decent run in. It's amazing how much better I feel in the morning (and when it's not 90+ degrees outside). Wasn't all good though. Did have some pain in my knee at the end of the run (not totally unexpected. I was mad at myself for not wearing my knee wrap). I'm bouncing all over the place on my runs right now so I had a feeling this might happen. I'm not gonna worry about this now since I'm not running Skyline on August 3rd. Despite the knee pain (and general leg soreness), I'm really happy that I got this run in this morning.

I'll be ready for a lunchtime nap today.

Where Are You Hiding, Mr ITBS?

2008-07-11T21:15:00.000-07:00

Quick post today. Ran easy 12 miles (1:42) in the smokey, afternoon sun (actually not too hot today). And the knee? No pain! Nothing! Yes! First time I've been able to go 7+ miles without the pain. Funny thing is when I was approaching the magic 7-mile marker, my knee kind of gave me a little tingle and then went away. Hello mind games! Afterward, my body seemed to have forgotten what it's like running over 7 miles. I'm gonna need to do some serious stretching tonight along with some tennis ball-leg loving (whatever the hell that means).

Previous workouts:
Yesterday was softball night so I decided to take a rest day (our team was terrible, although our beer drinking was very impressive)

Wednesday I did the following Crossfit workout (from a few weeks back):

7 rounds of:
135-lb Sumo Dead Lift High Pull (7 reps)
30" box jumps (7 reps)

I forgot to save my time but it was 14 minutes and something. Box jumps were fine but the SDLHPs were pretty tough at that weight.

Please don't wake up my knee.

A Breakthrough Perhaps?

2008-07-09T09:15:00.000-07:00

So I'm in the middle of this training period and I'm just kind of rolling along, but not really training anything. In lieu of getting in my longer runs, I've been working on Crossfit trying to improve my overall strength and work on some core conditioning. Well yesterday, I had to go into the Bay Area to meet with some folks at work. I brought my workout clothes with me so I could get in a workout at lunch. Since it’s hotter than hell right now and I can’t breathe outside with all the smoke in the air, I decided to see what kind of workout I could get on the treadmill. My plan was to warmup for about 12-15 minutes and then do some 800s followed by 2:00 minute recovery jog/ez runs. After that I would ease it down for a few minutes and then crank up some 1-minute hill climbs (at 15%) and then run “downhill” for a 3-minute recovery. Turned out to be the best workout I’ve had in a long time – and no knee pain whatsoever! Here’s how it went:

14 minute warmup ranging from 9:00/mi to 8:00/mi pace and then...
(4) 800’s @ 6:35/mi followed by 2:00 minutes recovery @ 8:30/mi and then...
3-4 minutes @ 8:30/mi and then...
(4) 1-minute hill climbs @ 15% @ 8:30/mi followed by 3:00 minutes @ 8:00/mi and then...
After the last hill and recovery, did the last ¾ mile @ 6:35/mi. (sweat was dumping).
Totals => 7.5 miles in 60 minutes (added .25 in cooldown)

I was excited to see a Concept 2 rower in the room so I did that for 5 minutes afterwards. Whew.

Monday’s workout:

Did one of the Crossfit workouts from the Crossfit Games:

30 reps of 155-lb Squat clean-and-jerks for time – didn’t bring my watch, but it was around 15 minutes – a blaster of a workout.

(If you want some inspiration, check out this video of a 14-year old (103-lb) Kallista Pappas cranking out the same workout from the CF Games (100-lb for the ladies). She is competing against the adults. If this doesn’t inspire you and make you want to tear up at the same time, then God help you.)

Sunday: Off

Saturday: Golf (walking 18) + 4 miles with the dog at night

Friday: Ran a 10k from my house to the in-laws at hot/smokey time (time: 48:14)

Overall, my health feels pretty good. I think yesterday was the first day my knee didn’t hurt when I went over 6 miles on a run. I’m still not really sure if I’ll be able to run Skyline or not. I’ll shoot for a nice 6-8 miler tomorrow (early AM) and then try to crank up the miles this weekend. I actually got a tennis ball out this morning so I could start rolling around on it to break up the trigger points in my legs and try to get rid of the ITBS for good (for now).

On a side note (and another reason why I love working at home), the train (ACE) coming back from the Bay Area to Stockton yesterday had to stop on the track before Pleasanton because the track up ahead had buckled due to the heat. Are you kidding me? This is the 2^nd time I’ve been on the train in the last two weeks and it’s the 2^nd time I’ve been delayed in the exact same spot. This time, we had to sit there for 3 hours!! If the AC wasn’t working, I probably would’ve jumped off and ran home (give or take 40 miles). Sheesh. That stunk because I didn't get to spend time with my boys when I got home last night.

Have a great rest of the week!

Ultra...Painting?

2008-07-02T15:05:00.000-07:00

Whenever I'm out of work for for more than a couple of days at a time (a week off in this case), I have a tendency to get far away from the computer and everything that exists in computerland (the blog, other people's blogs, email, news, etc.). In other words, I feel like I drift away from the world for awhile. I really start to miss reading the blogs and I feel like I missing out on certain events.

This week has been even more of a "where the hell am I" phase. For the last few days, I've been painting most of the downstairs of our house (kitchen, family room, office) and I today my body feels like I've been pressing 500 lbs over my head for a week. Holy sore muscles! Yes, I am definitely a sissy office worker these days. Oh well, the house looks great and now I can do something else for the rest of the week -- like run.

With the wife working today, I took the boys to the gym so I could blow off some steam (i.e. do something other than paint). They get to play in the kids area and I did 30 minutes of a random workout that I made up - 5 rounds of: 45 double-unders, 20 walking lunges, & 10 push ups. Then I followed with 5 minutes of death on the stair climber (basically, as hard as I could still go without falling off). Due to the knee, I've only run once in the last week & a half (a fun little five miler on Sunday from my house to my in-laws). Since I haven't been proactively treating my knee, I'm hoping the time off will help it out a little.

Tomorrow is my oldest son's 4th birthday so we'll be doing whatever he wants to do- probably bowling (real, not Wii) and the park. I'll be shooting for a nice 6 miler in the morning. I'm ready to start beating myself up again. Hope all is well in the connected world.

Fire Down Below

2008-06-24T09:15:00.001-07:00

Yes, it's the title of a bad movie starring Steven Seagal (actually, I never did see this but ever since "Marked For Death", I just couldn't take him seriously anymore - wait a second - I never took him seriously. I just wasn't entertained anymore). However, the title for this post refers to other "fires" currently going on in my world.

The first intended meaning for the title refers to the incredible amount of fires that are currently burning all over California. This is causing the central valley (a notoriously bad air quality area to begin with) to become filled with ash, soot and smoke from all over the place (the winds push the air in but can't push it out over the Sierra's). That means no running or swimming outside right now. I went outside this morning and I almost couldn't see the sun. Yuck. Add this to the out-of-nowhere allergies that have hit me and I'm a complete wreck on the inside. Good day to head into the gym for some Crossfit.

The second intended meaning of the title is the ongoing BS that is going on in my knee - the previously mentioned ITBS. The fire being the burning pain that comes on at the 7+ mile mark on my runs. Yes, I've become a bit lazy on my stretching and I still haven't gotten a foam roller for massaging the heck out of my legs ("you dumb bastard"). I guess I was really hoping for the injury ferry to come and take my pain away in the middle of the night. Maybe leave me an entry fee for an upcoming race under my pillow. I think at this point, I might need to just take a complete week or two off from running and concentrate on Crossfit and swimming to keep me conditioned. And just when my body feels fresh again this crud keeps me down.

Ok, no worries right? Time to readjust the priorities, reset the focus, modify the goals, reset...(cue noise from record needle scratching off the record) Alright, shut the hell up Mike. I'm pissed but I'm not giving up on the Skyline 50k in August just yet. Since I can't run for long distance right now, I'm gonna blast my insides away in the pool with some killer workouts from triathlon-land and hit the 3 days on, 1 day off pattern of Crossfit. This will actually improve my conditioning overall and at the same time, strengthen my core and upper leg muscles, which will be beneficial to my knee issue down the road. Will I actually stay off my legs? Probably not. I will probably stick to low mileage and wait to start ramping up the miles again.

These guys make me forget about ITBS

Last T-Ball game for the year. Way too hot for these little guys.

I've Got a Dart in My Neck

2008-06-18T09:15:00.000-07:00

Some random thoughts...

What an amazing finish to the US Open golf tourney. I like rooting for the underdog as much as the next person, but WOW, watching Tiger Woods win that tournament on Monday in a playoff was something else. Turns out, he was playing with a torn ligament and will need to miss the rest of the season.

On a recommendation from Bob Gentile, I've been reading the book, The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook. It's basically a book on self-treatment for pain relief, using trigger point therapy. I just finished reading about the essentials and techniques of the practice and I'm starting to get into the actual sections that focus on specific pains and treatments. I think this is gonna be one of those books that I start wearing out the pages. Thanks for the tip, Bob.

I've been running in the late afternoon/early evening for most of my runs lately and I really need to stop doing that. Yes, it's great for heat training but what the hell heat am I training for anyway? I'm feeling so beat up after these runs. I really need to get back to running in the AM or I'm never going to get any significant miles in.

I'm still not sure if I'm going to enter the Skyline 50k on Aug 3rd. This Saturday, I'll attempt to get in a nice 2 - 3 hour run and see if my body holds out. I'm really hoping this sluggishness I'm feeling is due mostly to the heat and running early will allow me to get out further and test my knee a little more. I've been wearing a strap above my knee for the ITBS and I'm already sick of that thing. If I decide to jump over something or squat down low, the stupid band comes ripping off. Lame. However, my knee hasn't hurt yet and that's saying something.

Workouts since the weekend:
Mon (6/16) - 8 miles @ 8:30 pace (turned to 9+ final two miles due to heat) - No problems with the knee again. I wanted to run a couple more miles, but I was completely out of fluid. The normal water cooler on the golf course by the trail was unfortunately empty, so I couldn't refill my bottles.

Tues (6/17) - Decided to head to the gym to avoid running in the heat again. Did the 6/16 Crossfit WOD:
(For time)
50 Sit-ups
50 Double-unders
50 Sit-ups
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Sit-ups
50 Burpees
50 Sit-ups

Ended up taking 20:54 to do this. I can't remember the last time I did 200 situps...and it showed.

For Today...
Since I didn't bother to get up early in the morning to run (for the 30th day in row), looks like I'll be out in the heat again. Think I'll do a little swim-run brick workout--> 1 mile EZ swim followed by 6 mile EZ run up the levee. Should be a severe butt kicking since I haven't done any double duty since last year. (And of course it will be hot outside again). Lessons learned: none.

Have fun out there.

Father's Day

2008-06-15T12:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Fathers Day everyone (especially to my dad). I'm looking forward to bbq'ing and lounging around the pool today with my boys and the rest of the family. I'll probably watch Tiger Woods win another major.

Update on the knee: Went out for a 6.5 mile run at the hottest time of the day on Friday and I'm happy to say that the knee was pain free. Probably try an 8 - 10 miler tomorrow as the next test.

Have a great day everyone.

Damn You, Knee!

2008-06-11T22:36:00.000-07:00

After a failed long run on Saturday and another attempt at some bigger miles on Monday, I've come to the conclusion that my left knee is suffering from Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS). On each run, at about the 6 - 7 mile mark, the outside of my left knee would start hurting, getting slowly to the point where I needed to almost shut it down to a shuffle - something you should be doing at the end of a 50k, not halfway thru a 16 mile run.

This pain started coming on the last couple miles of the Ohlone 50k and at that time, I was just hoping this was some muscle fatigue that would eventually go away. Well, minus the treatment and stretching, I really haven't done anything to help alleviate this condition. So yesterday, I did some research (along with bothering GB for advice) and found a good set of stretches to do 3x per day (e.g. Walt Reynolds's ITB Special & Running Times ITB stretches). I'll also add some ice treatment and more stretching following all of my runs from here until whenever.

Am I discouraged? Yes. Am I feeling down? Actually, not really. I've decided to look at it from a positive side - I really had no business completing that 50k with such limited training time, so I probably should have expected something bad might happen. Also, compared to other folks with this, I really feel like I have it easy. Once I start stretching it and treating it, I think I will be good to go (that could be wishful, optimistic thinking but that's ok - everything now for the rest of the year is bonus time.)

So now what? Well, I'm too stubborn to quit running so here's my strategy going forward for the next couple weeks: For the remaining few days this week, I'll keep the miles at 6 miles or less while doing the stretching exercises 3x per day and icing after the runs. Next week, I'll see how the knee feels and start increasing the mileage if it feels better. I'll also add some regular swimming starting tomorrow so I can keep myself in shape at the lower miles.

If none of that works and the pain is unbearable when running longer distances, I'll probably have to shut down the running for a couple weeks and stick to 100% swimming workouts while the knee heels.

Can't wait for this to go away (fingers crossed) and get those miles back up. I've been reading about some great (and inspiring) performances this past weekend (Rick Gaston, Bob Gentile, Mark Tanaka, Jean Pommier, Scott Dunlap, etc.) - I'm more than motivated to get out there and run.

Have a great end of the week and stay healthy.

[OK, I just got done reading Rick Gaston's Kettle Moraine 100 race report. After reading that, my injury feels more like a sliver. That dude is awesome. Way to go Rick. I'm gonna shut up for awhile.]

Progress Intelligently Planned (Or Not)

2008-06-04T16:47:00.000-07:00

I think it's safe to say I'm officially back on a training plan now. The body seems to have cooperated so far this week so I'll continue on as planned. Since I'm targeting the Aug. 3 Skyline 50k now, I'm basically at less than 9 weeks to go.

For the Ohlone race, I used a modified 16-week "rookie" version of a marathon training plan (from RW)- meaning it was designed for runners that ran consistently but rarely took their distances past 6 miles. Seemed to work well considering I was able to finish the marathon distance plus a bonus five miles on a ridiculously hilly course.

So for this next 50k race, I've decided to use the final 9 weeks of the "veteran" plan (man, I'm getting cocky). Last time, I did borrow the same quality and tempo runs from the plan, but held back on the long runs (to avoid overuse injury to my calf). We'll see how it goes this Saturday when I go out for my first scheduled long run - a 16-miler (I will definitely pull back the reins on the distance if my body starts to complain).

Sunday will be an easy 5-miler or I'll hit the gym for Crossfit if my legs says "screw you" to running.

Couple of last items...

Be sure to check out Runner's World online. Our good friend, Glorybelle Lillie is the Reader of the Week! Well deserved.

My middle toe nail on my right foot is now officially gone. Time to move on.

The latest training...

Today (6/6) - Rest

Thur. (6/5) - Tempo run - 7.5 miles - (included 1 mile warmup and 1 mile cooldown) - I'd actually label this as more of an in-between run (faster than EZ but slower than normal tempo pace) - I needed to tread carefully here out of fear of moving too quickly to the fast stuff. Whatever the label, it was rough. I think after this upcoming weekend, I should be able to be more aggressive next week. Body kicked my butt on this one.

Wed. (6/4) - Ran 6 miles with the dog (Miles) along the levee. If it weren't for the 30 MPH winds that somehow managed to be head-on for 70% of the run (weird on an out-and-back), I would have really loved this run. Felt good to get some more mileage on the legs. Felt a little sore in on the outside of my left knee on the last 200 yards of the run. This was the same place I was feeling pain on the last descent at the Ohlone race. My 3-mile split was 23 minutes and I think I was headed for a similar second-half split until Miles hit the wall. I forgot he hadn't been out for a few weeks while I recovered. He slept for 20 straight hours, passing silent, disgusting doggy gas bombs.

Sluggish, Like a Wet Sponge

2008-06-03T21:12:00.000-07:00

It's week 3 of the recovery from the Ohlone 50k and everything appears to be on track health wise. I've been doing a couple workouts each of the past couple weeks, combining Crossfit with small runs. I think it's the right amount of work up to this point (recap of last week's worth below). My body is still a bit sluggish but no muscle issues have popped up yet. I'll be out for a 6-miler tomorrow so we'll see how that goes with my first run of any significant distance. Looks like the middle toe nail on my right foot will be the winner for falling off first. Looks pretty disgusting but not as dramatic as I thought it would be. My other toes look like I painted them with black toe nail polish. It's my new Goth look.

Today: Did the following Crossfit workout (from 5/31), followed by a 5k on the Treadmill...
For time:
135 lb Thruster, 10 reps
50 Double-unders
135 lb Thruster, 8 reps
40 Double-unders
135 lb Thruster, 6 reps
30 Double-unders
135 lb Thruster, 4 reps
20 Double-unders
135 lb Thruster, 2 reps
10 Double-unders

Time for the Crossfit workout was 11:26. I flew through the double-unders but the thrusters were tough. My body is only used to the 95-lb thrusters in the Fran workout. Did the 5k in a comfortable 26 minutes - not in a hurry.

Sunday - Played golf - walked 18 (even did some shuffling/jogging down the long holes).

Friday - Did the 5/27 Crossfit workout:

Run 1 mile
Two minutes of each:
Row
30 pound Dumbbell thrusters
20 pound Medicine ball cleans
Double-unders
Pull-ups

Total time was basically 18 minutes --> 8 minute mile + 2 minutes for each of the 5 exercises. This was a great workout. The pull-ups were rough at the end. I forgot to count my reps for each of the different exercises.

Well, time to go watch some shows on TV while I stretch. I'm looking forward to upping the miles tomorrow to see what I have in the tank.

Calm Before the Storm

2008-05-26T17:18:00.001-07:00

We're staying with some friends in Southern California (Corona del Mar) for a couple of days before hitting Disneyland with the kids tomorrow (Tuesday). I'm calling this the end of my non-functional recovery (i.e. maximum eating, minimum activity.) We'll be heading back home on Wednesday and then it's time to start running again.

We were down at the beach today (Little Corona) and there was a big, steep hill going down to the beach. I couldn't help but take a couple of runs up the hill and then come flying down. Oh man. This hill/trail stuff is a powerful drug. I think I found my new hobby.

Looking forward to training again!

Cranking up the Engine

2008-05-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

I headed over to the gym yesterday for a light workout. No running.

Did two sets of pulls-ups and dips and then jumped in the pool for a 1000-yd workout. Mostly freestyle with a few laps mixing up the strokes. Also did some kick drills for a few laps to work out the junk in my legs. That alone woke up the soreness in my legs. I can definitely feel my body saying "Take your time ramping up the training." It was a nice easy workout but it felt great to get the blood pumping again. As for today, I might just take the dog out for a walk. Poor guy hasn't been able to get out lately due to the heat and my recovery from the race.

"I've got needs, you know?!"

Swimming in the pool brought back some of the triathlon desire again. I think I might keep myself in triathlon maintenance mode for the rest of the year and wait until next year to train for another one. I'm fairly certain I'm going to target the Vineman 70.3 next year as my first half-Ironman race (20th Anniversary of the race). My running and swimming should be in good shape. I just need to get some miles on the bike this summer and maintain until next year.

As for what's next this year? It's looking more and more like I'm going to give the Skyline 50k a try in August. (Have to run this by the rules committee (wife) first). Rick Gaston, from this new ultra world community I've become addicted to, mentioned the races from Pacific Coast Trail Runs as possible choices as well. I definitely see some great races I'd like to try there - especially Montana de Oro (close to my old Cal Poly stomping grounds). So many to choose from and just like with triathlons, I'm only limited by money (entry fees) and time (wife and kids - haven't figured out Mark Tanaka's secret powers yet). Probably saves me from destroying myself anyway.

There were also some smaller Tri's that I was thinking of training for this year, but I'm afraid I might burn out ramping up the training for those. I think I'll stick to the running since I've got my base training established now. Just need to proceed with caution and listen to my body.

Kids are going to grandma's tonight, so mommy and I get to do some drinkin' (I'm sorry, I meant talking and discussing things).

Have a great Friday everyone and enjoy the following 'Family Guy' video clip... it sums up my eating for the week...

3 Days Later...

2008-05-21T12:42:00.000-07:00

It seems that with every new day that goes by, the high from the race (2008 Ohlone 50k) gets better and better. Some more observations...

- Blisters are just about completely healed up already and my two big toes (and nails) are now down to a dull pain. I can actually wear closed-toe shoes now without wincing. Feet are back to normal size.

- Leg muscles are doing great. I've been stretching them daily and the stairs are my friend again. No pain in the knees.

- I know it's too early, but I really have the urge to get out and start training again. That's the feeling I was hoping for after this. I'm already finding myself looking at the ultra schedule a couple months out. Skyline 50k, perhaps? Easy tiger. Need to remind myself that I took a big jump in distance this past weekend so I have to be careful about training after this. I think I'll start hitting the pool soon - for swimming. I really can't stand running in the pool - bores the heck out of me.

- As I was running down the long single track after the Schleiper Rock aid station on Sunday, I couldn't help but notice all of the poison oak that I was running by (into). Well, today it showed up on my left leg and right arm. Hopefully, that will be all. I need to add 'Poison oak control' to the list of things to do for next time. I used a product called Zanfel on it that washes away the oil and relieves the itching at the same time. Time to put the sheets in the laundry.

- I can't help but smile when I think of the people I met or had the pleasure to be around on Sunday. A lot of the runners that I read about and inspired me to do this were there (Mark Tanaka, Jean Pommier, Will Gotthardt, Chihping Fu, Kevin Sawchuk, Beth Vitalis, etc.). Two+ hours after he finished, Will G happens to bring over my water bottle I dropped at the finish line and tell me what a great job I did. Very cool. What a great group of people and of course, ridiculous athletes. Even though he wasn't running Ohlone this year, special thanks to Scott Dunlap for providing me with the initial inspiration for doing an ultra. I have enjoyed reading his blog way before jumping into this. Also thanks to Glorybelle Lillie (Silly Lillie, the Skirt on RW). Reading her running tales and watching her turn into a running machine has been very inspiring. It's been great reconnecting with her and her brother. Now she's a part of something in my life that I'll never forget. Thanks, GB. You and your family are awesome.

- I'm sure it's the same at other races, but the volunteers at this race were unbelievable. Just thinking of them inspires me to want to volunteer as well. Time to start giving back to the sport before I start taking too much from it.

- I've had a blast eating this week so far. I forgot that one of the main reasons I train and keep in shape is so I don't have to have much of a diet. Oh yeah...and drinking beer too. Mmm.

- Good to hear that injured runner, Steve Shultis is getting better. He was moved from the ICU to a transitional unit and his wife Susie says they expect a full recovery. Can't wait to see him running again in the near future.

- Of course, thanks to my beautiful wife for her support. Not only did she support me during training and the race, she has turned into super mom/wife this week while I return to normal. You rock!

Ultra-Success!

2008-05-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (5/18/08), I successfully completed my first ultra marathon, the 2008 Ohlone 50k. What an experience it was. For the race, it can be summarized like this: hills, heat and, oh yeah, more hills. I'll ramble off some random details about the race as I move towards the end where the real interesting stuff begins, including satan, my savior, heat, pain, suffering, and a horse trough.

Course profile. Where are the flat sections?

-Average speed of school bus from Livermore to Fremont (i.e. shuttle from the finish to the start) was about 22 MPH, including the freeways. I was sitting next to Caren Spore (last year's female winner and course record holder) on the ride to Fremont. Told her it was my first Ultra and she started laughing like I was crazy. I understand why now. Previous record holder and this year's eventual winner, Beth Vitalis, was sitting across the aisle. Female ultra royalty. Very cool eavesdropping on their stories.

-Already warm at the start. Took off few minutes after 8 AM. Headed off with friends, Glorybelle Lillie (Silly Lillie, from Get Out There and Run Already fame) and Danny Bringer. I'm not sure if they realize how great it was for me to run with them at the start of this race. (Thanks guys). Oops, forgot to double tie shoe laces - pull over, tie and catch up.

-Quickly learning we'll be walking lots of hills today. Find myself very happy to make it to Mission Peak in 1 hour.

-Had a blast flying down to Sunol aid station (mi: 9.11)– actually had a chance to run at a good pace on this section. Come to think of it, might have actually been the last chance to run for that long a period. Felt good heading from Mission Peak down to Sunol. Good pace so far.

-Got sponged (or soaked) at Sunol - very hot already - and filled up the bottles and grabbed a quick snack before leaving. Looking back, I think I might have left Sunol too quickly – probably needed a little more fuel here. This is also the last time Glorybelle was with us. She turned on her turbos at this point. Heading out of this station, I started to lose some power in my climbing legs already. Again, next time I think I need more fuel, earlier (Note: Doing more hill training would certainly help as well)

-After struggling along, I happily arrived at the Backpack Area aid station (mi: 12.48), where I was honored to receive aid from ultra-legends, Ann Trason and Carl Andersen. Even though I'm a newbie to this, I'm well aware of the feats that Ann and Carl are known for. Very cool to be in their company. Ann kept telling everyone to eat up because the next 2.5 miles are uphill big time. She's wasn't lying.

-After leaving the station, the trail goes straight up a brutal climb. As i started up the climb, my legs felt they couldn't do it. "How in the hell can I keep doing this? Can I really do this?" I actually started thinking of possibly not making it. I really felt like crying. I'm a very positive person and would never think of quitting, but this was bad. My only thoughts were to move forward with whatever I have until I can't and then rest. Repeat until done. After struggling to go very far each push and more brutal climbing, I suddenly started to realize something happening. (Cue turning point music) My strength was coming back! My energy (fuel) was finally kicking back in. "I can do this. Yes it sucks, but legs are working. Let's go!" (note: After this, my energy/hydration management was mostly fine until leaving Satan's pit towards the end of the race - more on that later. (credit to Catra (Dirt Diva) for the Satan's pit term)

-From here to the top of the world (Rose Peak), I'm running anything relatively flat or downhill and power-walking the hills ( an endless amount of them)

-I catch up to Danny a few miles before Rose Peak and he's looking beat up by the heat at this point. I know he's hurting because I start to pull away from him. I pass by him again on my way down from Rose Peak and won't see him again until after the finish.

-It was very helpful running different segments with people. Strange thing for me is that I actually started catching people and eventually leaving them behind. For a long stretch heading up to Rose Peak and then to the 26 mile aid station, nobody was passing me. I found myself running/walking long stretches with nobody around me. "Maybe I'm not doing so bad after all."

-After Rose Peak, I made a joyous stop at Maggie’s Half Acre aid station (mi: 19.7). I was so happy to be done with the climb to the peak (elevation: 3817 feet). I fueled up, got soaked again to cool off, felt "great" and started the charge down. The next 6 miles is basically a continuous combination of steep downhills (beating the quads) and steep uphills (beating everything else) with an occasional 30 yard stretch of "flat" thrown in. Again, repeat as necessary. "How are we going to get down to the bottom if we keep going up?" (Last 2 miles down at the end explains that one.)

-After basically taking a shower at the Stewart's Camp self-service water "aid station"(mi: 23.6), I headed up the next set of hills with another racer and then caught up with the Dirt Diva (Catra) and her boyfriend, Andy, towards the top of the big hill. Want to hear amazing? She was coming up to the end of 100 miles! (Fremont->Del Valle->Fremont->Del Valle + a bonus 7 miles) They looked exhausted. 100 miles in this heat is crazy. What a woman. I introduced myself and chatted for a couple minutes before powering on. (Note: Catra summarized what was remaining and told me that after the next aid station, at the bottom of the single track going down, to stop at the creek and cool off before heading up the hell hill out Satan's pit. (It's not that I didn't hear her, I was just too tired when I got there to remember to do anything) After leaving them and the other runner I was with, I was feeling about as good as I thought I could. Still walking the uphills, but found myself with unusual energy on the downs and flats. I Finally made it to the Schlieper Rock aid station (mi: 25.95) and fueled up as much as possible before charging down the crazy single-track. Ouch, more downhills. It actually wasn't too bad going down. I was sore but felt good running down. Seemed like I was completely alone out there until I caught a girl down at the bottom by the creek.

-Satan's pit. Here is where I should have stopped, dipped my head, rinsed off my legs,caught my breath, etc. before moving on. I didn't do any of those things. Didn't even think about it. Judgement gone. People had told me along the way that the last uphill was steep (and I believed them and could see that at this point), but I didn't realize it was steep and went up for a half mile! "What the f*ck! Are you f*cking kidding me! How can this be! This isn't fair!" Here we go...about 50 feet up the hill, I curse more. My body cannot handle this. It's not just a mental thing anymore. I'm starting to overheat, I'm breathing hard and my heart rate is going through the roof. This isn't good. It's hotter than hell on this hill with very little shade and I'm trying to think of how to fix this. My only strategy is to try and walk from any shade I could find to the next available shade (few) and then catch my breath and make sure I'm ok (i.e. cool enough/hydrated). After what seemed like 20 – 30 minutes of climbing this hill, I reach the top of the steep part. At this point the hill levels out a bit allowing myself to actually continue on. I'm not running at all anymore. I'm only thinking one thing right now…"How far is that last aid station?" I'm hot, my water is now empty and I have 2 bottles with maybe a ¼ left of warm electrolytes. I'm really hurting walking up towards the ridge wondering if I'm going to be ok. Other than earlier when I needed strength, I started praying for God to help me. It was right after this that I'll never forget. As soon as I asked for help, a nice breeze started kicking in across the ridge. It wasn't exactly cool, but it was enough to break the still heat. That breeze may have kept me cool enough and allowed me to get enough of a breath to keep moving. I was still out of energy and hot but I kept moving. And then, one of the weirdest, best and most unforgettable things happened in this race. As I was struggling along walking on the ridge, with my fuel tank (and senses) on empty and getting worse, I see this person coming towards me from about ¼ mile away. My first thought is bad.."What the hell? Do we have to loop around something and come back towards this way?" I keep watching and slowly my depleted brain thinks, "That guy doesn't have a shirt on...Wait, he doesn't have a number either. Wait a second. That's Oscar!" Oscar is my father-in-law, a former marathoner in the army and daily runner. Oh my God. What a sight to see! This crazy son-of-a-bitch had run up the final 2-mile hill and was coming across the ridge towards me. This was my savior. God was listening. (Side note: At my first triathlon last year, I was coming out of a hilly run - energy depleted and trying to finish strong and he met me with about 1/2 mile to go. He ended up running with me and helping me charge the finish line)

Post race with my father-in-law
At this point, with Oscar next to me, I knew I would be fine. He got me relaxed and gave me enough of a jump to get a shuffle going. I'm still hurting and way too hot and can only think "water. where is the water?" We made it across the ridge and finally hit the downhill while noticing the sign for the aid station saying ½ mile ahead. I can do it. I need to get to that aid station to cool down, hydrate and fuel up for the final two miles. And then finally,...The most beautiful sight I had ever seen (almost better than seeing the finish line). The last aid station, Stromer Spring (mi: 29). Let's just say that I almost took a bath in the horse trough there. I drank tons of water. I took Advil, salt, chips, candy,bananas. I drank a full can of coke. My body was toast and I still had to go downhill for 2 straight miles, but at the very least, my body temperature was back to normal and I felt hydrated again. Sore, but hydrated and cool we head down for the last brutal descent. Sorry toes. Oscar trying to encourage me all the way down. At various points, I have to stop for a few seconds. My left knee (or at least the outside) is really hurting going down these hills. We continue on until about ¾ miles left when we see a girl in obvious trouble. She was already being helped by another female runner trying to run down the hill, but things didn't look good for her. We tried to offer water, anything, but she was refusing (most likely unknowingly) to take anything. Just then, she breaks loose from the girl's grasp and tries to take off on her own down the hill but can only keep her feet for a few more steps. "oh shit!" It's there where she finally can't keep up with the steepness of the hill and has a terrible fall. The other racer, Oscar and myself run to help her and make sure she's ok. I tell Oscar to go down and get help and we'll stay and watch her. Of course, he won't let me stay there and says to go finish the race and get help. Feeling guilty, I charged down the rest of the way (about ½ mile) to the finish. (I can't remember feeling if this was hard or not - just thinking of the girl) For 1/2 mile, it still seemed like it would never end. Finally, I notice the parking lot is at my level and see the path to the finish. I hear people cheering and I see my family ahead cheering for me. Wow. Made it. It's over. After catching my breath, I tell RD Rob that there is a girl right up the trail that is in trouble and needs some attention. At this point, I'm very concerned about the girl, but my mind and body are so tired, I'm not even sure what I should be doing. I need to sit down with my family and figure out what I just did. (Oscar comes down a few minutes later saying other runners are helping and she should be ok. Thank God.)

Finishing the race, pulling myself together and then sending out help...

-Note: I didn't know it at the time, but another racer, Steve, had to be airlifted to the hospital and is still in ICU at time of this writing. My prayers and thoughts are with him.

-7 hours, 28 minutes and 46 seconds is the official time of the race for me. Good enough for Male Rookie of the Year (best time for first time Ultra runner). My friend Glorybelle (aka Silly Lillie), took home the Female Rookie of the Year award with an amazing 6 hours and 45 minute time (Top 5 women, 2nd in age group & 31st overall!). Dan came in a little bit later at 7:53, still happy despite the heat. (official results)

It's me. Male Rookie of the Year.
My original goal was 7 hours (other than the obvious goal of actually finishing), so I was happy to be within 30 minutes of that. With a little more respect and preparation for the climb out of Satan's pit, I would have come close to beating 7 hours. (yes, it was that much of a factor)

-As I sat at the finish area pigging out on all the incredible food, I felt better and better about the race. It was tough. It was hot. It was hilly. It was brutal out there. I overcame heat and water trouble at the end. I overcame early doubts. I finished a distance that I had never even come close to running before (previous PR for distance was 20.43 miles) over a course that I was nowhere near trained for (blame it on the flat California central valley).

-So what's the damage (next day)? Surprisingly, my legs aren't too bad (yet). I think my quads are about to announce their pain to the world in the next 12-24 hours. My right butt muscle area (technical term) is where I am really sore. It takes me a few steps out of the chair to get it loose, and I still walk like I'm 90. The real damage is to my feet. Multiple blisters on both sides of my feet and around the toes. I'll also be kissing goodbye the toe nails of my big toes on both feet (maybe my left middle one too). They're looking bad. Overall, I'd say my condition is better than I thought I would be. No muscle injuries or scrapes from falling. (Come to think of it, I'm pretty excited and amazed that I was able to handle every downhill on this course. Technical is an understatement. Those Brooks Cascadia shoes were awesome.)

-What's next? At this point, I don't know. I have some ideas but I'm going to wait until my body heals and see where I'm at physically and mentally. I'm definitely interested in doing more trail runs in the future. I know I'll be back next year for this race with better training, better strategy and hopefully an even better overall experience.

-Many thanks to the race directors, sponsors, and volunteers (especially the volunteers) for making the race possible. Thank you to all the racers who talked with me, walked/ran with me, shared stories and strategies with me, pushed me and allowed me to have a great time. Thanks to Silly Lillie and Dan Bringer for letting me be apart of your running squad for the early parts of the race. I needed that. And thanks to my family for being there at the end, especially my wife. She's so supportive of me when I get these crazy ideas in my head. I can't thank her enough for letting me have my adventures. Always great to have family waiting for you at the finish. Looking forward to next time!

Me, Victoria, Catra (Dirt Diva), Glorybelle and Danny at the post race picnic (photo by GB)

Post race with my mom (dad was playing in a softball tournament but met us afterwards)

Kids playing in the lake after the race

The Weather is Looking Scary

2008-05-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

If I wasn't running a hilly 50k this Sunday (Ohlone 50k), I would be very excited for the upcoming hot spell that we're about to run into. Probably be hitting the pool with the boys and just lounging around doing a whole lot of nothing.

However, since I am running the aforementioned hilly 50k, I'm getting a little scared of how much the heat is going to beat me silly. I've been running my tapering miles in the late afternoon this week just to get a little extra practice time in the heat (big difference between my 3 & 4 milers and a 31-miler). I guess I'll just need to pay extra attention to fluids on Sunday. Original plan was to carry 2 bottles with me..think I'll change that to carrying two hand-helds and keeping one in the waistpack. I'll probably fill two with electrolytes and one with water.

I bought some new trail shoes a couple of weeks ago and I'm loving them. They are the red Cascadia 3 model from Brooks. My wife took one look at them and said "You got red shoes!?" I love it. My normal running shoes are the Radius 7's from Brooks. I've been worried that they wouldn't work too well on the downhills with the loose gravel and other fun little technical difficulties. Normally, I like to break my shoes in for a longer period of time, but I did get a long run in with them and a couple weeks of other runs. They work great and are very comfortable. Can't wait to flash the reds on Sunday with grey socks. Goofier the better right?

What's left for training?
Yesterday I did a nice easy 3-4 miler through the fields and up to the levee. Coming back to the house, I almost broke my ankle. I was bounding over some grassy area and stepped my foot right into a hole. Luckily my ankles are made of rubber these days and I only had a little pain on the outside-top of my foot this morning.
Today - 2-3 mile EZ run at Noon today - little more heat practice. Tonight is softball night and we have a double-header so that will be some bonus running around.
Friday-All signs point to me doing nothing on Friday. Maybe a quick mile jog and that's it.
Saturday-Get off the legs
Sunday- Tear it up!

Last Week Before the Race

2008-05-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

As of today (Tuesday), we're down to 5 days remaining until the big day. I've only done a few races in the past and each time I've tapered, I've always felt like a fat slob the last week before the race. This week is no exception. I do realize that my legs are getting some well-deserved (and needed) rest before the weekend. I better remind myself to ease up a little on the eating/drinking.

For this week, we're going very easy...
Yesterday: Did "Fran" workout from Crossfit (21-15-9 of 95-lb thrusters and pull-ups). I haven't been doing much crossfit over the last few months and my pull-ups are suffering. Managed to squeeze this one out in 9:10. Also hit the pool for 20 laps and then a dip in the whirlpool.
Today: Mini-Quality workout - (2 x 1600 @ 8:00 pace w/ 3:00 recovery)
Wed: EZ 3 miles
Thurs: EZ 2 miles
Fri: Off
Sat: Off
Sun: RACE DAY!!!

Almost There

2008-05-08T09:50:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed yesterday's quality run - 5 x 1000M @ 5k pace (~7 min/mi). My legs were starting to scream on the last one. That's probably going to be it for the fast stuff until race day.

Today will be a nice EZ 6-miler with Miles (dog). He's been off the runs for a week now because on my tempo run last week, we went extra hard for an extra couple miles and he paid the price. Poor fella ended up cracking one of his paws and could barely walk for a few days. Well, he's flying around again and was really peeved when I went out on Monday without him. I wanted to make sure he was ok before I took him out again.

Tomorrow (Friday) - Wanted to get a last tempo run in but it's probably more important to just get some miles in - probably another 6-miler.

Saturday - I'll get up for an early 10-miler before T-ball starts in the morning.

Sunday - rest day - Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there!

#144

2008-05-06T16:44:00.001-07:00

Looks like I'll be sporting bib #144 for the 50k. I like it. 4 is my favorite number and hopefully having two of them means something. (Laughing at myself).

Yesterday's run -> 13 miles (8.30 pace) - I felt exhausted after this run for some reason. Not sure if it was the sun (little hot in the afternoon) or the 20-miler from last week still hanging around. Should be OK going forward with the lower mileage.

I decided to take it easy today and do nothing. Tomorrow I'll do my last quality workout.

Two Weeks To Go!

2008-05-05T08:28:00.001-07:00

Yesterday marked two weeks out to the 50k. Am I getting nervous? Yes. Am I excited to run this thing? Yes. I had an interesting weekend running (i.e. not much of anything). I was supposed to get a 14-15 miler in on Saturday (which I missed), and then really start tapering for the two weeks. No worries. I'll go out at lunch today and do 12 miles and then go easy for the week. I'll do one last 10-miler next weekend and then coast for the final week with some EZ runs.

My Goals for the 50k? #1 is to finish. I really have no doubts I can finish, but I need to remember this is my first ultra (shoot, first any long race) and I can't take that for granted. #2 goal (stretch goal 1) finish in under 7 hours. Can I do this? I don't know. A lot of repeat runners don't even make this time so how am I supposed to do this? Confidence, stupidity and maybe an extra gear that I don't know about. Hey, you gotta have something to shoot for.

On the schedule...
Today - EZ 12-15 miles (depends on time)
Tuesday- Rest or Miles walk day
Wed - Last Quality day (5x1000 meters @ 5k pace w/ 2-minute)
Thurs - EZ 4 miles
Fri - EZ 6 miles
Sat - EZ 10 miles

I'm Leaving You

2008-04-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

I saw this on another bloggers site and had to "borrow" it. (Thanks Mike H from Fatuous Drivel...from an ultradistance runner.) Great motivation...

All Legs Report In

2008-04-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

20.43 Miles. Mission Accomplished. I finally did it. A new PR for distance.

This last Saturday, I got my butt up at 4:30 AM for the longest run on my training calendar...a 20 miler! Going into the weekend, I knew it was going to be hard to get this one in. My wife and her two sisters (and the significant others) and myself, we're all headed to Napa for some wine tasting (OK, drinking) and we were scheduled to leave at 9:00 AM. I knew I wouldn't be able to run later in the day (due to not functioning). Sunday I had a golf tee time planned already with some old friends from San Jose, so early Saturday was the only chance.

Surprisingly, it wasn't too bad getting up and getting out. Weather was almost perfect for a long run...cool, but not cold where I'm bitching every few minutes. Started out at 5:00 AM running six 2-mile loops around the neighborhood. (~ 8:33 min/mi). At this point I was bored of the loops and also wanted to get off the pavement so I headed out to the levee for the final 8+ miles. The best part of this run was running on the levees with no wind. (Another benefit of running in the early morning). Once I hit the final mile, my IT Band started to feel like it was on fire and I struggled to get to the end. In the end, it took me 2:58 to finish the 20.43 miles (~8:42 min/mi). Took a seat in the pool for 10 minutes and then got ready for some wine adventures. Happy to say, the body felt pretty good the rest of the day. Just made sure that I drank plenty of water along with the plenty of wine.

Today (Monday), begins the downhill portion of the training schedule. This week is fairly similar to what I've been doing (minus about 8 or 9 miles) and then we really taper the final two weeks before the race (I can't wait). So here's what's on tap for the next few days:

Today (4/28) - XT for 60 minutes - Think I'll try the "Angie" Crossfit workout from last week - 100 pull ups, 100 push ups, 100 sit ups, 100 squats for time. That should keep me busy for awhile. Maybe hit the pool and just float around for a few laps.
Tues. (4/29) - Quality day - 8 x 800 @ 8:00 min/mi pace + 90-second recovery walk/jog
Wed. (4/30) - Easy 6 miles (Miles loves these)

Talk soon...

20-Miler Approaching

2008-04-25T09:30:00.000-07:00

Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day today in the Central Valley (California). Would be nice to get out and run today, but it's my day off so I'll save my legs for tomorrow. Yes, I will finally tackle my biggest and final long run hurdle tomorrow - the 20-mile run (probably push it to 21 so I can test breaking the psychoogical 20-mile barrier).

Had a nice easy 6-mile run with Miles (the dog) on Wednesday - Is it me or is it windier than hell this year already? Even the easy runs are starting to become a pain. Another good reason to get out in the morning - before the winds start to kick in.

Yesterday was a fun 7-mile tempo run (= 1.5 mi warmup, 4.5 mi at 8 mi./min, 1 mi cooldown). I managed to squeeze this one in at lunch, which is becoming extremely rare these days. I like the idea of running at that time, but I just can't seem to do it that often. My body's hunger usually beats out the desire to run. Come to think of it, the earlier in the day I run, the better my body actually performs. So when do I usually run? Towards the end of the day in the early evening. Go figure. I think that's why I'm going for the 20-miler in the super early morning tomorrow. Before I realize what I'm doing, I'll be halfway done already.

Hopefully, my next entry will discuss the glory of my 20-miler.

Sure Would Help If I Did This More Often

2008-04-23T10:41:00.000-07:00

As the title indicates, I really need to update this more often. I think it would help me clear out some thoughts and not have to worry about rehashing everything I did for the last week or so. Ok, I'm over it.

Anyway, I think I lost an update somewhere in there so I'm gonna pretend that a week didn't happen. So last week, I ended up doing a 15-miler on Sunday morning and it felt great. I ran only 6 miles total on Friday and Saturday and I was glad. My legs actually felt fresh for once on Saturday morning. Ended up doing the run entirely on the pavement - a first for me lately since I've been running mostly on fire roads and dirt trails. I actually wanted to continue, but due to time constraints (life, kids, wife, church), I had to stop. I almost forgot...I did the whole run without water. A bit stupid but it was a nice test to see how the body would handle it. I figured it was cool enough that it wouldn't be much of a problem and my house was close enough that I could make a detour and get a drink if I needed it. In the end, I was fine.

So far this week:

Monday: Ran easy 4-mile recovery
Tuesday: Quality run- 2 mile warmup + 3 rounds of (1200 @ 8min/mi, 1' rec, 400 @ 7min/mi, 3' rec) + 2 mile cooldown)

Planned for today (Wed): 6 miles easy with the dog

Tomorrow will be a tempo run and then the big 20+ miler on Saturday for the last loooong run until the 50k. Can't wait to start tapering.

Overall, health is good, weight is ok (not really losing much because I eat and drink too much).

Congratulations to all the Boston Marathon runners - especially Silly Lillie with her new PR of 3:17:45!

Holy Hot Weekends!

2008-04-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

This last weekend brought on the first official hot days of the year. (Somewhere around the low 90's). I know this isn't hot for Stockton (CA) in the summer time, but the body just wasn't ready for that right now. Of course, my planned long run just happened to fall on Saturday. My plan was to get out for a 20 mile run and then fall in the pool and die afterward. Well, I didn't get out early enough and my wife took the coveted morning workout spot (which left me with watching the kids). When I finally got around to attempting my run, it was already in the afternoon and the sun was way too hot. Long story short, I made it 12 miles before my fluids ran out and I just couldn't see how pushing it in the heat was going to do me any good. (Better to under-train than die). Ended up coming home and going right to the pool. Normally, 68 degrees is too cold for me, but it felt great. (I'll try the 20-miler next week)

Rest of my runs: (BTW...if anyone is actually reading this, I noticed that my dates last post were completely messed up at the end of the list)
Wed. 4/9 - Hills - Ran 8 total miles including the following hill sequence:
(2) 4% for 90" - 3' recovery run
(2) 6% for 60" - 2' recovery run
(2) 8% for 30" - 1' recovery run
1 extra minute of recovery run
(2) 6% for 60" - 2' recovery run
(2) 8% for 30" - 1' recovery run
(2) 8% for 90" - 3' recovery run
(2) 6% for 60" - 2' recovery run
(2) 8% for 30" - 1' recovery run
(hills were at 8:30 pace; warmup,recovery & cooldown at 9:30 pace)

Thu. 4/10 - 3 mile jog with the dog and softball night
Fri 4/11 - Swam 3 miles at the gym (legs needed an extra day off of running)
Sat 4/12 - Long run - Planned for 20 but the heat said 12. Pace: 9:45/mi (and melting)
Sun 4/13 - Easy 3 miles recovery

Planned for today: Quality --> 400M @ 5k (30" recovery); 800M @ 10k (90"); 1200M @ 10k (2'); 1600M @ 10k (3'); 1200M @ 10k (2'); 800M @ 10k (90"); 400M @ 5k (30"); 2 mi WU and 2 mi CD.

I was supposed to volunteer at the Diablo 50 miler this weekend but ended up having to cancel due to my wife's grandma being extremely ill. We ended up spending part of Saturday at the hospital visiting her. She is ok now but family definitely comes first before volunteering.

5 weeks to go until Ohlone!

Still On Track (Knock on Wood)

2008-04-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

This is week 11 of the official 16-week training program. It's been about a month now since my calf tried to die on me. I'm happy to say that's it been holding up nicely. (Begin anti-jinxing ceremony now). Since my last post, I've had some very nice workouts including another PR for run distance - 17.3 miles. Here is a recap...

Fri. Mar 28 - Long run day - Ended up pushing my 3.5 year old in the jogger for 10 miles instead of a 12-mile run. I'm not sure how smart this was. Turned out to be a grueling little run. (50 lb kid). Very happy afterwards and sore.

Sat. Mar. 29 - Easy 4-miles on the treadmill
Sun. 3/30 - Off
Mon. 3/31 - Quality Running - 8 miles including -> 4 x 1600 meters @ 10k race pace (~ 7.4 min/mi) with 3-minute rec
Tues. 4/1 -Easy 5 miles
Wed. 4/2 - Tempo run for 8 miles (~ 8 min/mi)
Thursday 4/3 - Off
Friday 4/4 - Long run - 17.37 miles (PR for distance). It did take me 2.5 hours but very happy the body held up.
Saturday 4/5 - Easy 3 miles
Sunday 4/6 - Golf - walked 18 holes (i.e. no cart)
Mon. 3/31 - Some Quality running - 7 miles total including -> 8 x 800 @ 10k race pace (~ 8 min/mi). My dog Miles did this with me and was beat. He tends to drink all my water.
Tues. 4/1 - Easy 5 miles with the dog

Today I have a tempo run scheduled for 7 miles. I'll probably do some hill work on the treadmill instead (Stockton is very flat). Time to start getting the legs ready for hills.

After a day off on Thursday, Friday is another long run day and I'm planning on cranking out 19 - 20 miles. Scary.

I'll be volunteering at the Mt Diablo 50-Mile run this weekend to get a taste of racing and to see some of the amazing runners I've been reading about.

Day Off

2008-03-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

Today is my day off from workouts. I enjoy the workouts but I could use the day off. For the last couple days...

Tuesday: Easy 5 mile recovery run with the dog
Wednesday: 7 mile "tempo run" @ 8:30/mi - Not exactly fast but this is all I wanted to do at this point. I need to gradually speed up the tempo & quality runs to avoid the injury bug. I ended up going to the gym at 12:30 last night to crank this out. Paid for it this morning trying to wake up. I love coffee.
Today: No running - Softball tonight!

Tomorrow, I'll head out for the long run of the week. I'll drop down to 12 miles this week after running 15 a week ago. I think this will be good for my legs to recharge before bumping up the miles next week to 16 - 17.

Calf is feeling good. Body seems to be holding up. Other than tired legs, I'm not feeling any negative affects right now (knock on wood). Hoping to stay injury free the rest of the way so I can start working on some hills.

What's the Deal?

2008-03-25T10:44:00.000-07:00

Why the gap in the posts? Well, after the previous post week, the dreaded overuse injury to my left calf muscle popped up. It wasn't as bad as in the past, because I was able to catch it in the middle of one of my runs. I had to walk the last 3 miles of my 10 mile run. Luckily, after some treatment and a reduction of running for a couple weeks, I seem to have put the injury behind me. (knock on wood). So back on the horse...

Last Friday (3/21), I cranked out a long run of 15-mile (my PR for distance). calf felt good on the run and fine afterward. Made sure I stretched and iced it to make sure.

Saturday was supposed to be a recovery run but I ended up playing basketball for 2.5 hours (no wonder I get injured). But, the legs and body responded well and felt good (but tired) afterwards.

Sunday - Off

Monday - 8 mile "quality" run - At first, I was a bit hesitant to do any more quality or tempo runs for awhile due to the injury. However, after stretching and warming up for 1.5 miles, I decided to try and and pick up the pace every mile or so. Turned out to be fine and with the wind right at my face for the first 5 miles, I think I got myself some bonus "hill" training. I hate the wind, but the extra work pays off in the end.

For today (Tuesday), I plan on getting into the gym for a Crossfit workout and a 5 mile recovery run. Might substitute a 1/2 Ironman swim workout for the Crossfit workout.

Less than 8 weeks to go until the 50k!!

What a Beautiful Day

2008-02-28T10:03:00.001-08:00

I'm looking outside this morning from the home office and I can't believe how nice it looks outside. I'm looking forward to getting out and running today. On the schedule is a "quality" day - 8 x 800 meters at 10-K race pace with 90-second jog. I'm not really sure what my 10-k pace is these days, so I'll try to keep it around 7:30 min/mi. pace. Think I'll head out to the levee instead of the track for this one. There's a nice straight stretch of fire road that is approx. 1/2 mile.

So far this week...
Monday - Long Run 11.11 miles at 9:00 pace. (Longest run ever for me. Ahead of schedule and ready for more.)
Tuesday - Recovery Run - 4.19 miles at 8:20 pace (Faster than I wanted but still felt easy. Good sign. Legs felt relatively good after yesterdays run. I'm ahead of my training pace but making sure I don't progress too fast to avoid injury,)
Wednesday - Walk - 2.5 miles w the dog. (Wanted to do a xfit wkout but didn't make it. No problem - legs could use a rest and as I mentioned above, this could help me avoid injuries.)

Enjoy the sunshine if you're in California.

Catch Up Time

2008-02-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

I'm a bit behind on the old blogging, so I'll see if I can catch up a bit here. I've been very busy with work and home stuff so spending the extra time to update this blog has been on the back burner. Here's a recap of last week's training:
Monday: Xfit - Fran
Tuesday: Ran 8 miles
Wednesday: Ran 3 miles (windy as hell)
Thursday: Ran 5 miles (Tempo)
Saturday: Ran 9 miles
Total miles: 25

This week:
Monday: Xfit - 50-40-30-20-10 double-unders and situps
Tuesday: Nada - didn't get out - boo
Wednesday: 5.5 miles - (6 x 800 @ 7.5'/mile - rest at 10'/mile)

Today, I'll probably run 4 -5 easy miles and do some hand-stand push-ups as well. Might have to go to the gym since it's raining.

What day is it?

2008-02-05T10:54:00.000-08:00

Note to self: You are not in college anymore.

Ok, this last weekend was a bit rough. Let me recap: Friday was softball league night. That basically means it's our guys night out. We ended up winning our game in the last inning and that just fueled the fire. Then comes Saturday: Foo Fighters concert in Oakland at the arena. I wasn't driving and therefore was a mess. I think we got home around 1:30 in the morning. Then comes Super Bowl Sunday: My brother- and sister-in-law had a big party with all kinds of beers and crap.

Total workouts over the weekend: 0

I wasn't thrilled that I didn't get any running in, but at the same time, I'm happy with where I'm at so far. Thursday's crossfit workout + run was brutal and I needed a little break (ok, maybe not 3 days).

I was able to get out yesterday with the dog (Miles) and do an out and back on the delta levee for 6 miles. I meant to bring my watch to start tracking times, but my battery is dead (honest!).

I was gonna head to the gym today for a crossfit workout and a short run, but it's so nice today, I might just skip the gym and head out for a 3-mile loop.

If anyone's reading this today, don't forget to vote. I'm heading over to the polls in about 20 minutes before lunch time.

Feeling Good (Knock on Wood)

2008-01-31T12:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a very easy day - just a 2.5 mile run. The significance of that run was that it was the first back-to-back run days for me in about 3 months. I know what you're thinking. How in the hell are you going to be able to do this race in May? I'll be alright. I'm still on schedule for my training.

For today, I'm going to do a crossfit workout followed by 4 miles on the treadmill - I could use a good warm, indoor run today. I almost fell over when I saw the Crossfit WOD (workout of the day) today:

Three rounds for time of:
225 Deadlift, 15 reps
15 Handstand push-ups
15 Pull-ups
95 pound Thruster, 15 reps

This looks brutal. Not going to be a quick WOD. Might have to sub shoulder presses for the handstand push-ups to speed this up. Let you know the results tomorrow.

Happy whatever.

Hey Guess What? It's Raining

2008-01-29T17:44:00.000-08:00

Apparently, over the winter, my family packed up and moved to Seattle. Can we officially say that this year's rain total is close enough to normal to rule out a drought year? Good lord. well at least it made doing today's workout extra rewarding.

Ran 6 miles at decent pace along the delta levee to Paradise Point and back. (What does decent pace mean? Faster than EZ but still not breathing very hard) I'll get the watch on next week to start checking pace. Besides the battery's currently dead.

Knees are feeling a little sore after the run. This verifies the fact that I need to drop some weight soon and also beef up my quad and hamstring muscles to take some load off my knees. I have to go into the bay area tomorrow, so I'll be doing an easy 3 miles in the company's gym.

First Ultra Entry: It's Now Official

2008-01-28T12:23:00.000-08:00

There's no turning back now. The Ohlone 50k web site has finally updated their registered runners page. There it is in black and white - Mike Bohi (M36). My first thought was...holy crap, I forgot I was 36 years old. Then I realized that I need to get to the gym today for some good cross training. That's right - it's a non-running day today.

I didn't list my training for last week (17 miles of running + 2 good crossfit days and a swim) because 1) Didn't have time and 2) Didn't want to. I figured out on Saturday my specific training plan for the last 16 weeks leading up the race. Basically, it's gonna be a modified version of a marathon training plan I found on the Runner's World web site. Run 5 days per week (Saturday is the long run day), Cross-train on Monday, take a rest day on Friday - perfect for me since Friday is softball league night. Mileage will peak in week 13 and then eventually taper off in the final two weeks.

Today's workout:

Crossfit - "Cindy"
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats

Plus Swimming:

WU: 300 yds of different strokes.
MS:
5x300 Z1 (easy) - except laps 4, 8, 12 are fast. RI: 45".
10x 100 on 20" rest. 25 hard, 75 cruise.
CD: 300

The swim workout is from a 1/2-ironman training plan (the first day!). It's the one I was going to follow this year for the Vineman 1/2-ironman in Napa. I decided to put that one off until next year so I can do this Ultra. More to come...

Ultra Training: The Beginning

2008-01-23T11:20:00.001-08:00

I'm catching up on the initial entries today, but wanted to get this out there. First week of training is over. Obvious goal was to get the legs out and running and keeping the miles down low. Also, continue to do Crossfit for muscle/strength development. I need to keep an eye on the strength training because I don't want to pick up any additional weight up top (more to carry!). Here's what I did for the week:

NOTE: First few weeks, I'm not going to bother with time, pace, etc. Only looking for distance right now.
Mon (1/12) - Ran 3.5 miles
Tues (1/13) - XFit - "Fran" ( 21-15-9 reps of 95-lb thrusters & pull-ups)
Wed (1/14) - Ran 5.0 miles
Thurs (1/15) - XFit - "Lynne" (5 rounds for max reps of: body-weight bench and pull-ups)
Fri (1/16) - Ran 4.5 miles

weekly run totals: 13 miles

Good first week. Next week, I'll be shooting for 16-17 miles.

New Adventure (goal) for 2008

2008-01-23T10:31:00.000-08:00

Last year, my goal was to go out and tackle a triathlon. Mission accomplished as I trained for and completed 2 triathlons (1 sprint distance and 1 olympic distance). I had a lot of fun doing those and certainly want to do longer ones in the future (i.e. 1/2 ironman and full ironman). However, training for the longer distance triathlons (even the olympic), take up a tremendous amount of time. Since the boys are still very young, and are quite a handful, I need to give my wife a break from the extra training (at least in the beginning of the year). So for this year, I've set a goal to complete my first ultra - a 50k!

Inner-Mike: Hey Mike. You do realize that training for an ultra takes a lot of time?
Me: This is true. However, the main concern here is the running. With triathlon training, I have do that plus the swimming, biking and weights. I can run anywhere and at almost any time.
Inner-Mike: Isn't it true that you've never even completed a marathon?
Me: Yes. Next question.
Inner-Mike: Isn't it true that you've never run more than 10 miles?
Me: Yes again. I'm working on that.
Inner-Mike: What in the hell are you thinking?
Me: Um. I don't know.

As you can see, there are some big problems to overcome. The target race that I've chosen is the Ohlone 50k, on May 18, 2008. That basically leaves about 16 - 17 weeks to train for this thing. So how do I go about increasing my mileage without subjecting myself to injury? Good question. That's the issue I'm dealing with.

Going forward, I'll post my training logs and other info as I progress towards this race. Also, I'll share with you some of the influences and further reasoning for attempting this. Do I think I can do it? Absolutely. Am I worried about getting enough mileage in without injuring myself? You bet. In the end, I think this will be one of the most rewarding achievements that I've ever done.
Stay tuned.

Stanford - Notre Dame Game

2007-11-28T10:14:00.001-08:00

Ethan after waking up from his nap at the Stanford - Notre Dame game (11/24/07)

What blog?

2007-06-28T10:55:00.001-07:00

Sorry folks. I haven't figured out what to blog about yet.

Maybe I'll start writing about the triathlon adventures I've gotten myself into this year. Did my first in April and have my second one coming up in July. Hopefully, I'll figure something out soon. Bye for now.