JFK 50 mile Nov. 19th 2011. Third 50 miler in 4 weeks.
What the ^%$# is wrong with me?!? Why am I lining up for another 50 mile race? especially in 4 weeks. Didn’t I have enough from Masochist? Well, yes I have. But, this is JFK! My first ultra race and one of my favs. Fav for reasons that I can sleep in my own bed, for once, the night before a race. I know the course, I know the RD, I know many of the volleys, and I know where it’s gonna hurt, and where I’m going to see that cute little….
. This would be my 9th JFK, of course if I finished. I had 7 terrible races at JFK and one outstanding run in 2010. I ran a 7:11:51, my 50 mile PR. I hoped today that I would at least match it, but of course I wanted to go under 7 hours. I know that I have at least one sub-7 hour in me and I was hopeful that it would be today. Next year will be my 10th year and I think that I would like to stop running the JFK for a few years. There are other races this time of the year, such as HG, and others. Also, as rumor has it, 2012 may be the last year on the Appalachian trail due to some politician type tree huggers that feel that the runners of JFK are causing trail erosion. Well, if I may, if we were to take geological measurements of the trail the day before the JFK, then again the day after the JFK and compare the two measurements, I seriously doubt that any erosion would’ve been caused by the thick rubber cushioned shoes that most runners are wearing on the rocks and boulders that make up that section of JFK. It’s a freaking mountain people! Rubber shoes are not causing trail erosion! Anyway, the race was packed and Mike Wardian was favorite to win. He was so bold as to say that he was setting a new course record. It started out as a pretty chilly day but promise to warm up nicely. Sunshine was predicted and no precipitation. The trail was dry and the river was low. No expected problems setting up a high chance of going under 7 hours. Nut shoots the gun and the race is on!!! I trot along with a certain pace that is gonna allow me to conserve energy til late in the race. My two crew members, Dan Mowers, and Chris Pereschuk had their instructions and were more than ready to do whatever I needed to get across that line in short order. However, my body had a different idea. By the time we ascended the cell tower, I was beginning to feel bilateral hamstring cramping. Strange, I thought. But was it really? Afterall, my quads have been overworked the past year and the hamstrings have been ignored. Many people experience hamstring cramps late in races and most times its an electrolyte imbalance. However, this early in a race and after making a moderate ascent, this is more indicative of weak hammies. These continued to flare up when I would attempt to push the centric/eccentric movements of my legs. So, I got to a pace that I was comfy with and would allow for that evasive sub-7 to be within reach. I made it to the notoriously bad, boring, single muscle group destroying C & O canal. I was within reach but I would have to maintain a set pace for the last 35 miles. Mile after mile was ticking by and I was feeling pretty good. But all good things must eventually come to an end. I began to feel some G.I. problems, maybe as a result of trying to force too many calories in. There were about 6 miles of suffering and struggling, which caused me to slow and utltimately lose my goal time. In fact, I was losing more time as each mile became a bit longer and harder. I completed my 9th JFK in my 2nd best time of 8:09. Six or so years ago, I would’ve been elated with such a time. But after one hits such a high PR, anything slower is only an insult. Many factors could’ve played into this result: the fact that this was my 3rd 50 in 4 weeks, attempting to eat my way to the finish, just a bad stomach, the sudden death of a friend the day before, the eve of the race not as I had planned due to the unexpected death of a friend, only one person knows, and I don’t think he’ll tell me. I still view the finish as success and overall pleased with my performance. As many of us know in order for a race to come together there are many outside factors that must come together to have an ideal performance. Things could’ve gone worse, much worse, so I am very pleased. Mountain Masochist 50++ miler, Nov. 5th 2011. Second 50 in two weeks
David Horton is a very nice man, outstanding runner, in fact, legendary and respected professor at Libery & Lynchburg Univerites under the exercise physiology science department. Students flock to his classes because of his incredible knowledge of exercise physiology and runners flock to him because of his incredible running achievements. Not only is he a great prof. and runner, he has a side job of race director. He is the race director for a series of trail races in the southern Va. area and co-director for two more in the same area. Four of his own races are: Holiday Lake 50k+ held in Feb., Promise Land 50k+ held in Apr., Grindstone 100 mile held in Oct., and Hellgate 100k+ held in Dec., which begins at 12:01am on the second Sat. of Dec. He is the co-director of Terrapin Mtn. 50k+ held in March, and Mountain Masochist 50++ miler held in Nov. If you’re wondering why I keep putting + signs after the distance, it’s because there is another measure of distance that many people are not familiar with. There is the standard measure of a mile which all have become familiar with at an early age. Then there is the Horton mile which is not universally known. In distance there isn’t any normalcy in a set distance because one Horton mile may be longer or shorter than the next Horton mile however, in pain we all know that it’s just over a standard mile. Mountains to most of us are rolling hills to Horton. River crossings to us are rain run off crossings to Horton. A hard run to many of us is a training run to Horton. Am I painting a good picture for you yet? Personally, I have run Holiday Lake 50k+ twice 2010, 2011. Hellgate 100k+ in 2009, and Masochist in 2011. Dr. David Horton is also a very devout Christian, except when it comes to his races. I think that he is actually the devil when it comes to designing race courses. He was the original director of Masochist and Terrapin Mtn. too, but relinquished the head responsibilities to his little devil helper and also runner extraordinaire, Clark Zealand. Clark has won many of these arduous races, owns a very high finishing time in the top American 50 mile finishing times, under 6 hours if memory serves, and many other incredible running accomplishments. He is also a professor at the U’s. The two little devils created two series with the 6 races; the Lynchburg Ultra Series include the Horton 4, but if you decide to run the Beast Series, it entails finishing all 6 races. Many guys have tried to finish all 6 but many more have failed. The 3 races in the Spring are relatively easy. Tough races when comparing to other 50k’s, but when one compares the spring 3 to the fall 3, they are considered warm-up races. My first contact with Horton was after I was accepted to the 2009 HG race. I received race updates via e-mail from this guy but I thought he was nuts. When I met him, it only made my thoughts come more true. During the email updates, he talked about reading a book written about HG, called Hellgate! Then he talked a lot about retinal freezing while on course, death from falling, freezing, loss of limb, wild animal attacks, and total humiliation. I thought to myself, who the hell is this nut? Why is he writing about this stuff? So, I got the book, Hellgate, and I read it from cover to cover and thought, oh dear lord, what am I getting myself into. Up to this point my running career has only included a few marathons, one Ironman finish, and my ultra resume consisted of JFK 7 times. All of which were very poor performances for one reason or another. I had done Boston earlier that year and a few other marathons earlier in 2009, but these races were no match for the toughest 100k in the country. The race begins at Natural Bridge Station trail head, in Dec. at 12:01am while standing in a very large puddle of water, albeit nonintentional. There are strict cutoffs. The first check in point by 6am around mile 25, and a second at noon around mile 42, with a finishing time of 18 hours. When I started this race on that fidgid freaking night, I had two stress fractures in my left foot that I suffered 4 weeks prior. I ran JFK one week after breaking the foot, and didn’t run again til the night of HG. I did all of my training on an ARC trainer and lifted weights. I knew that this was not going to be pretty, but I didn’t want to drop out of a Horton race unless I was going to my funeral. He said his prayer, sang the National Anthem, then yelled “GO!” and off we went. By the second step, I knew my foot was going to be very painful for the next….hours. I don’t want to turn this race report into a complete HG report, but I finished the race in 17:53 with 8 minutes to spare (the race really ended at 6:01pm). If you’ve ever been in my store, you’ll see the finisher’s shirt hanging on the wall with my other medals. This race was one of the toughest races that I have ever been apart of. I want to go back and try it again without the broken foot, but until I quit doing the 24 hour the end of Dec. I don’t want to attempt HG yet. But, I will someday. Back to Masochist. As promised, this is another Horton race that is harder than hard. The race is advertised as a 50 but turned out to be just under 55 miles, no biggie, just more time to enjoy the pain. The race began at the James River visitor center which requires a bus ride to the start from the race host hotel, the Kirkley. The bus ride takes over an hour which puts you at the start with over an hour of standing around. Doesn’t sound bad but it’s early Nov. and pretty chilly. I stayed on the bus for as long as possible to stay warm and off my feet. My thoughts were that I would try and be finished by 8.5-9 hours and that I would only eat Gu packs with Hammer Perpetuem and water. The first six miles were on the hard road leading to the trail head. Once hitting the trail, it became a total blur of pain, pain, and more pain. There were sections of the trail that seemed endless in an upward fashion. I could see other runners ahead of me and even tho they were only 100-200 yards in front of me, I was envious that they have already finished a few hundred yards than I have. Just when I got to parts that were runnable, I was shut down by another incline, tech trail or both. I worked my butt off going up, only to destroy my quads coming back down. At one section was the “Loop” that broke many a man and made some runners wish that a bullet would come out of nowhere and end the misery. I, at one point, thought that I was the only one with internal crying and screaming “uncle” but as I passed, or was passed, by other runners, I overheard their same cries of mercy. After a very long day on the trails, I finally came out of the woods to finish the race on the hard road leading to the finishing line. I crossed the line in 10:52!! A buddy, Dan Mowers, travelled with me and ran the race too. He completed his first 50+ mile race in about 10:20. Great performance and very proud of him. Unfortunately for next year’s race, the starting line may be different so this means that, shucks, I won’t return to see if I can do a bit better.
What I wore: The Runner’s Sole racing singlet, Swiftwick arm warmers, CW-X compression shorts, Swiftwick Compression socks, Brooks Launch shoes. Gloves & hat. Garmin 310 XT GPS that showed 54.6 miles. What I ate: not enough for the amount of calorie burn. Gu gels changed after 10 gels to solid food such as boiled potatoes, cookies, PB&J, Hammer Perpetuem, H2O, endurolytes. What I’ll do next time: Run a bit more, and cry a bit less…ha! Tussey Mountain 50 miler, 1st of 3-50′s in 4 weeks. Oct. 23rd 2011. I lined up on the starting line of this year’s Tussey Mountain 50 mile National Championship race very excited. I was excited because this is going to be the shortes race that I’ve ran since Boston in April. I’ve done 3 100′s and a 12 hour and a 24 hour since April. I kept thinking to myself that this is only going to be about an 8 hour day. This would be my first Tussey Mountainback race, but I really liked it so I’ll be back again. I was planning on a 50 mile trilogy over the next 4 weeks so I needed to be cautious but strong enough to get off the course as soon as possible. The race course was in the mountains (hence the name) in State College, PA. The race also served as a team relay for those, umm let’s just say, not-so-endurance guys, ha. I had some company because of a team made up with friends from Chambersburg and Hagerstown (CVAC) were running. The relay teams started one hour after the solo guys and my goal was to run as fast as possible for as long as possible to avoid CVAC passing me. Finally, they passed me about 4 hours of solo running. I held them off for a while. The course undulated on fire roads throughout the mountains and I really enjoyed the course. Mile 36 sorta slapped me around; I found myself in a carbohydrate slump. After a modest ass kicking of Gu’s and perpetuem, I got myself re-loaded and began to run strong again, until mile 40. I always find it amazing that race directors can make the last few miles of a race more difficult than the first 2/3′s of a race. Mile 40 was at the bottom of the mountain, and guess where mile 41 was? Yup, at the top. I thought hell, if I would’ve known that this was coming up, I coulda held on at mile 36 and waited til I got here to re-load my carbs; kill two birds at once. Well anyway, the next few miles to mile 46 were pretty tuff. I hit mile 46 aid station and was told that there aren’t anymore A.S.’s and that the next stop is home! So, I felt confident that I was going under 8 hours. The last 4 miles were a steady descent and by two miles into it, my quads said WTF are you doing to us?! I finished in 7:47 and was overall happy with my time. Maybe a few minutes faster would’ve been better for my psyche, but then again anything over Mike Wardian’s blistering time of 5:33 would’ve been too slow. I was pleased with the overall time. What I wore: The Runner’s Sole racing singlet, CW-X compression shorts, Swiftwick arm warmers and full compressions socks, Brooks Launch neutral shoes, Garmin 310XT GPS. What I ate/drank: Hammer perpetuem total of two 22 oz bottles, H2O about 4 bottles, 6 Gu gels, two boiled potato slices, and 1 cookie. I made a good time of the race because the night before, my wife, kids, and in-laws went to the PSU women’s volleyball game. I’ve never been to a Div. 1 v-ball game. They played and kicked Michigan’s butt all over the court. These girls were taller than I and put together very well!
Northcoast 24 hour run. Saturday Sept. 17th to Sunday Sept. 18th, 2011. Have you ever ran in a circle for any period of time and either found yourself bored, dizzy, or both? Well, try running on a .92 mile, 3 foot wide asphalt path around a city park in Cleveland, Oh. for 24 hours. The race was the National 24 hour Championship. It would be my second year in a row of running this race. Last year, 2010 was my first ever 24 hour race. Needless to say I went into it physically prepared to run at a respectable pace, for a respectable distance, but no way prepared for a 24 hour race. I tore up the first three hours, then sort of slowed down a bit the next 6 hours, then wondered what the heck am I doing to myself for the next 15 hours. I managed to squeeze out 105 miles but it wasn’t fun, it wasn’t enjoyable, it wasn’t anything that I ever wanted to go through again. In fact, I remember at one point while laying in the cargo area of my wife’s Dodge Durango after about 12 hours of running thinking to myself that I’m calling it quits. I run because I enjoy running, I’m not enjoying this anymore. All of my close friends and family will understand if I just say the heck with it and call it quits. Noone will fault me for attempting a 24 hour race. As I laid on the floor of the car making pre-excuses for my quitting, I had one last flicker of pride that questioned why on one hand am I telling myself that it’s ok to quit, but on the other hand I am already listing out the excuses with follow up excuses. Hmm, I thought. Something isn’t sitting right about this. Then I jumped up and kept on running. I swore that I wouldn’t think such thoughts ever again because I have never quit a race nor will I begin to now. So, I didn’t quit, nor did I make the 24 hour national team which entails running a minimum of 135 miles in a 24 hour period, but so what. I didn’t quit and there will always be another chance. I think many times the experience of a race or training run teaches us much more than the physical advances that we make with our running. I have to admit, tho, that after the gun sounded indicating the end of the race, I immediately promised myself that I would NEVER do such a stupid and painful thing to myself ever again. Fast forward to Sept. 17th 2011. Here I am again, lining up on yet another 24 hour starting line. But, this time, there were some differences; like this wouldn’t be my second 24 hour race, oh no, remember that promise I made to myself? well that was forgotten almost the same minute that I made it to myself a year ago. Since the 2010 Northcoast 24 hour race, I had run another 24 hour race in Palm Beach, Fl. on Dec. 31st 2010 ending on Jan. 1st 2011. Yes, I ran throughout the entire New Year’s eve festivities. While most people were drinking, eating, being merry and fun, I’m running in circles…again. But this time it was on a 1.25 mile circular cement paver course in Palm Beach. I am an educated individual, in fact, I graduated magna cum laude from Mountain State University with a BSN. I have two other Associate degrees in Pre-hosptial Medicine (Paramedic) and allied health. So, I’m not a dumb guy, right? Well, if you were to look at my running resume, one may begin to wonder. Palm Beach, acutally Peanut Island 24 hour race was the Inagural year, and my second 24 hour race in three months. This time I went into this one with some experience with the 24 hour racing. After setting a PR at the 2010 JFK 50 mile race (7:11:51), I set up a course around my neighborhood which turned out to be exactly 1.25 miles so that I can train under specificity (see, I told you I’m not dumb, that’s a big word!). I recovered from JFK and set out to train on my new course. Physically I was prepared for Peanut Island (PI) but mentally I was a long ways off. So, I ran my course for hours as many times per week that I could find the time. I topped out at 55 miles for a training run in mid-Dec. and felt that I am mentally prepared for this long arduous race. Did I mention that this race was in Florida? The temps are a bit different in PA in Dec. than they are in Fl. in Dec. I was used to running in 10 deg weather in PA, but in the sunshine state, it was 80 on race day. The race started out pretty well but ended in the hospital. No, not from running, as one may expect (I finished the race with 114 miles and 2nd overall place, yay! A Canadian guy beat me by 1.5 miles, what do they know about running, eh?) but I cut my hand on a piece of coral while I got into the Atlantic Ocean at the sound of the race end bell. I wanted to sit in the cold ocean water to chill my legs; what’s a better ice bath than the Atlantic Ocean on Jan 1st? I sliced my hand like a soft pad of butter. It bled and bled and bled, then I realized that I’m into the water up to my chest, I’m bleeding like a stuffed pig, and there are a crap loud of sharks in these waters! I think that was my fastest running for the entire 24 hours! I got back to the start/finish line, which happened to be at the same spot, and showed my wife my hand. Well, needless to say that after we got back to the marina from the island, we drove around until we found a hospital. 5 hours and a whole bunch of antibiotics, x-rays, and laughs later, we finally left and headed to the hotel for some much needed showers, food, and rest. By the day’s end, I was running fevers and a nice red line making its way up my arm. The laceration was at the meaty part of my thumb and since it couldn’t have been stitched up, it continued to bleed. Finally, the antibiotics began to work by the time I got home and after 4 days of continuous bleeding, the lac was closed with stitches and all is healed. I have the scar to remind me but what’s worse is my still very p’ed off wife who reminds me that I better not do anything so stupid again. Well, PI is in 3 weeks, again, so we’ll see. Getting back to NC 24 for 2011, I re-connected with some runners that I met last year and haven’t seen since the same time. The race started off at 9am and I had a strategic plan of running my way onto the 24 hour national team. This year, my wife (Kim, everyone say hi) and my kids (Rachael, 8, and Brodie, 6) were there. I thought this would be a good introduction for the kids to hang around a race course for 24 hours since I planned on taking them to PI this year. If they can keep themselves entertained and out of trouble in Cleveland, then they’ll be happier than a pig in the mud in Fl. They were great and played on the beach of Lake Erie, rode their bikes and scooters in the parking lot, watched movies, socialized with the other kids and families of the other runners, and just had a great time. They interacted with me on occasion, but of course, Dad is the least on their minds. That was ok because I just wanted to concentrate on running as well as I could. My plan was to not stop for any length of time and to keep moving as much as possible. 24 hours later, I managed to run 116+ miles, finish 8th overall, and 3rd in my age group. I didn’t have any of the G.I. problems from the previous year and kept up a good attitude throughout the entire race. I still haven’t made that qualifying distance of 135+ miles yet, but I’m optimistic that someday, when all of the running stars align, I’ll blow it out of the water. One thing that will always stay in my mind is the previous 3-100′s that I’ve done this year. How did they impact my physical and mental approach to this 24 hour? Who knows, it’s all a guessing game. Peeps always ask me what did I eat, drink, wear, etc. so for the remaining of my race reports, I will include this info. What I wore: The Runner’s Sole racing singlet, later a Mizuno jacket, CW-X compression shorts, Swiftwick full length compression socks, Newton MV2 shoes for the first 6 hours then changed into Newtons Distance shoes. What I ate: Hammer Perpetuem, about 6 bottles over the 24 hours, H2O, endurolytes, cookies, PB&J, boiled potatoes, pierogies, pizza, coke, ginger ale at times for an upset stomach.
Burning River 100 mile race report. Saturday, July 30th, 2011 Often times I think that I would’ve like to have studied Sociology and specialize in human behaviour. There’s nothing I like more than observing people and the behaviours that are displayed. I like sitting on benches at the mall and watch the dynamics of family shopping; I like watching people at airports scurrying about attempting to locate their departure gates; I like watching people in social settings such as company parties, meetings, and such; I just like watching people in many arenas. One in particular that has caught my eye the last few years is pre-race enviornments. Anywhere from the 1 mile road race to 24 hour races, the habits, the rituals, the nervous energy is extrmely entertaining. I’ve been caught up watching people doing their pre-race…whatevers…and have been thoroughly entertained right up to gun crack and nearly missed the start. Well, Burning River 100 mile race wasn’t any different. Most runners collected at the bus pick-up at 0300 on Saturday, July 30th to await the bus ride to Cleveland, Oh and the 100 mile journey that will take us right back here where we sit waiting on the bus. There are so many personalities and so many stories regarding the “why” of running a 100 mile race and many of these stories are very interesing. But nothing is more interesting, to me, than to watch the pre-race jitters. There are the warm-up guys, the yoga guys, the stretch out guys, the fumbling with their gear guys, the family guys, the “love ya see ya later” guys, the meditation guys, the spread out on the lawn and make everyone step over ya guys, the nervous nelly pee 5 times guys,the cool sit down by yourself and wait on the gun guys, and the list goes on. But, very entertaining. A lot of thought, practice, training, sacrifice, patience, planning, money, travelling, compromising, beggining, etc. goes into running a 100 mile race. And if you miss one key element your race can turn disastrous. I’m assuming most of the pre-race jitters that are exhibited are from either the fear of the unknown, or memories of other races going awry, or the confidence one gains from previous races going exactly as planned. Well, I’ve had all of thoses experiences in just three recent races. So, my next race what type of pre-race jitter behaviour is someone going to observe me for. I don’t know. I’m too busy watching everyone else to get caught up in my own jitters. This race was my 3rd 100 miler in 4 months
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