2 for 2 - Big Horn 100

After having completed the race a week ago, I've had a chance to think about it. Overall, I'm happy with my results. Having run only 4 times in the 6 weeks leading up to the race, I can't complain.

The course was beautiful - unusual rock formations, wild flowers, green prairies, etc. The aid stations were well spaced and stocked with an incredible selection of goodies. The volunteers were great!....always asking if one needed something. The pancakes at Foot Bridge and the quesadillas at Porcupine were fantastic!!

I definitely felt much better here at Big Horn than I did at Wasatch last year. I was eating and drinking more regularly.

The weather cooperated. It was actually pretty hot (compared to Oregon weather) the last 10 miles - once dropping into the canyon and on the home stretch to Dayton.

Trevor G. ran a good race - finishing in under 27 hours. Mike finished just under 32 hours.

I'm greatful for my father for crewing me again at this hundred. I sure do enjoy having him there for support. His willingness to stay out in the cold and up all night is great! I'm also greatful for Melissa and Mike getting me out the door at Porcupine. My ankle was dreadfully painful but glad they were there to get me refocused.

My blisters are on the mend as well as my ankle. What is up next one may ask? Not sure. The John Muir Trail is still on the calendar. Just not sure if my ankle is up for a 220 mile jaunt through the High Sierra. If not JMT...well there is always Headlands 100, Leadville 100 or just some adventure that I could conjure up in my mind that could be pretty cool (Wonderland Trail? N. Cascades NP trail run? Olympic NP run?....the possibilities are endless here in the NW).

Big Horn 100

I'm all packed and ready to hit the road early tomorrow to head to Wyoming for the Big Horn 100. My Dad is supporting me again at another 100. He does a great job and it appears he enjoys it (at least I think he does....I trust he would tell me).
I'm lucky that I'm running at all. Thought I had a stress fracture in my ankle...after a number of diagnostic tests, it appears just an overuse injury. Haven't run much in the past 4 weeks -- longest run was 2.5hrs. The ankle didn't bother me too much riding the bike...but cycling isn't the same as trail running.
I'm sure I'll have a post-Big Horn blog. Until next time.......

Zane Grey

I finally have some time to write about Zane Grey (even before leaving Arizona, I starting preparing for the H1N1 flu virus situation that my colleagues back home were handling - the news of this international flu outbreak became evident during this trip.....my other life is supervising the Communicable Diseases Program at Washington County Health and Human Services).

In a nut shell, this race was hard. REALLY hard. I had no idea. It truly felt like running a 100 miles. Maybe I wasn't mentally prepared for it. The rocks. Rocks. And more ROCKS. There were stretches of the course that there wasn't a trail. And there were long stretches of "trail" that was basically overgrown grass with rocks underneath. One was lucky not to tweek an ankle or knee. Then the number of downed trees one had to jump over. Did I mention the rocks??

It became evident about half way through the race that I wouldn't be running the R2R2R run the following day.

To be honest, I think I went out way too fast. Also, I wasn't fueling properly. This was partly due to the fact that I ran out of water 10miles from the 33 mile aid station. I had let a volunteer fill my 2liter hydration bladder at the 17mile AS. I know for a fact I didn't suck down 2 liters of water in 1.5 hours. Thankfully Trevor gave me one of his water bottles that had about a cup of water left. Thanks buddy, I owe you one.

Trevor and I remained together up till AS #3. He pulled away and the loneliness settled in. I wouldn't see any one for lengthy stretches. I turned on the I-Pod to pass the time.

The last miles were a blur. I caught up to Trevor. We ran (I should say walked) to AS #4 (mile 44) together. We both had a bad stretch between miles 38-44.

I took off from the mile 44 AS feeling re-energized after downing a number of rice krispie treats (the only thing that seemed appetizing). The last stretch went by relatively quickly - running with some one else always makes the time go quickly.

I crossed the finish line in 16th place at 11hr 28 min. Upon finishing, I had no intent on participating in this race again. However, the pain in the knees and hips have passed, I'm looking forward to running it again. Maybe not next year, but soon.

Results: http://www.zanegrey.info/Highline_Trail_50/Results.html

Am I ready??

Sure hope so! I'm getting the final items packed for this weekend's adventures.....the Zane Grey 50 miler on Saturday followed by the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim run on Sunday. T-Man is meeting me down there - driving from Idaho. I fly out tomorrow at 6am. However, gotta catch the MAX train near my parent's house at 4:20am to get to the airport.

It is the first time I've done back to back 50's. Great training for the Big Horn 100 in June and the John Muir Trail in August.

I'll get pictures posted once I'm rested-up upon my return.

Cheers-

Time....

Family, work, playing with the kids, visiting friends, training & racing, etc.............life is busy. Hence the two and a half month "sabbatical" from blogging. Many people ask - both at work and in my personal life - where I find the time to do everything. I call it being efficient. Others (and I would agree with them) call it ADHD.

I've done two races since my last blog -

Chuckanut 50K where I got a PR
http://www.gbrc.net/cms/view_document.php?id=386

and just this past weekend,

Peterson Ridge Rumble (~55K) also another PR: http://www.time2race.com/Results/Peterson%20Ridge%20Rumble%202009.htm

Both are really great races, run on great courses and organized by two (of many) of ultrarunning ambassadors - Krissy Moehl and Sean Meissner.

I felt great at both races with much improvement over last year. Not sure why. Am I fueling properly? Am I training better? Do I now know how to suffer more? Yes is probably the right answer to all of these questions.

To be honest, I really don't run all that much. Other than one week in mid-March, I haven't run more than 3x in a week since August. Excluding a week in which a race falls into, on average I run ~5hrs per week. Given this, I'm very pleased with my race results.

My next race is the Zane Grey 50miler: http://www.zanegrey.info/Highline_Trail_50/Home.html . I'll be running with with my buddy Trevor. Then the following day, we will be running the Grand Canyon - an adventure just the 2 of us will be doing. Others refer to it as the Rim to Rim to Rim run. It is a ~45miles. Good training for Big Horn 100 in June.

Gotta go end this blog a little short.......a sick 5 month old is needing my attention.

Hagg Lake 50K

Couldn't sleep so I thought I'd write this.

I'm sitting here, gazing at the computer screen, collecting my thoughts on the race. All I can think of right now are of my aching knees.....which are swollen and in more pain than usual..........................................

OK, back to writing. Here is a very brief summary of the race.
It was a great day for a race - the weather was perfect and I felt great. Having posted a pretty good time at the Capital Peak Mega Fat Ass 50K about a month ago, I was hoping to do the same at Hagg. Last years race ended in disaster (for me). I hardly slept the night before, having returned late that evening from a week-long work related trip in Atlanta. I really wasn't in the mood for to race, but did so anyways and it ended with me not finishing the 50K.

This year, the out and back part of the course had my legs aching once hitting the trail around the lake. Seems like my quads always take a beating on sustained, steep downhills (an area of improvement for me). The first loop around the lake went well - even though I took a spill about 5 miles from the start/finish line. Finished the first loop in 2hrs 11min.

As the second loop started, I knew immediately it was going to be a long 14 miles around the lake. I thought I had been taking in plenty of fluids, but had only polished off one water bottle. My legs were beginning to cramp so I ate one Luna Bar and downed my entire water bottle as I strolled into the 1st aid station - about 5 miles into the loop. It seemed to help a little but for the most part I settled into my own world of pain. I was wishing I had my I-Pod.

Crossing one of the many bridges on the course, I took another spill. I layed there for a brief moment, laughing at myself.

The several hundred 25K participants had done their loop and it showed in the trail conditions. The trail was far more muddy this time around than the first.

At the last aid station, I again refilled my water bottle and ate a few slices of oranges and bananas. I was now walking up the steep inclines and had to walk part of a road section. It was good to see the "1 mile to go" sign. I picked up the pace and stumbled into the finish line in 4hrs 23min. It was good enough for 10th overall. Results here: http://www.resultsdb.com/race_results.aspx?race_code=HAGG5009

PR at Capital Peak Mega Fat Ass

Trevor rolled into Hillsboro late Friday night after having been bumped from 2 flights in Seattle. We were headed up to Washington State to run the Capital Peak Mega Fat Ass 50K. It is a low-key event with no entry fee but a donation to support a good cause. I haven't been running much (maybe 20-30 miles tops per week) over the past few months due to my IT band. I wasn't sure how I would do over the 30+/- miles.
To cut to the chase.....the race/course were great. It consisted of two loops of ~15 miles. All of it was runnable...and most of it single track!! Even though we ran in mud (and water) for some of the course, it was fast! The first loop took 2hrs 3min. The 2nd loop took 2hrs 13 min (we were at the only aid station between the 1st/2nd loops for ~5 minutes).
I was extremely happy with my overall time of 4hrs 20min -- a PR at this distance by 25 minutes! Not bad for very little running. It was great running with Trev again. He too finished in the same time. It's nice running with a good friend with equal running speed.
My IT band and quads are a little sore today. Went to the gym early this morning to remove the kinks and rode the stationary bike for 1hr. Felt great.

Results:
http://www.capitolpeakultras.com/cpmfa30mileresults.htm
Next race - Hagg Lake 50K - mid February.