Highs and Lows

This photo is one of my favorites. It's from the 2009 Mini. This is around mile 7 or so and by the time this image was captured my race was already over because of a pulled calf. I was limping my way to the finish. It wasn't my worst time for a half and I wound up getting a nice gear bag from Brooks for being the fastest ID member in the over 40 age group (probably the only one running that day).

So, last Saturday I was supposed to run the Owen-Putnam State Forest 50k. Well a not so funny thing happened on the way to the race. I was driving west on I-70 when all the sudden there was an object in the road. Not sure what it was, tool box, cooler, I don't know it was dark blue and I didn't see it until it was too late to avoid hitting it. I think it probably fell off the small pickup that was ahead of me but who knows. From the comfort of my drivers seat it didn't seem as though it had done much damage. It was very dark and our exit was just up ahead so I decided to not stop there on the interstate to inspect. The car was still running well when we exited the interstate, so we kept going. After a few miles the check engine light came on and very soon after the engine just died. It was still very dark and almost immediately a guy in uniform on his way to weekend guard duty stopped. He had a flashlight and we could then see that the radiator had been badly damaged. I called a tow service to come rescue us. About two hours and $160 later we were back in Avon at Terry Lee Honda. There wasn't much else I could do at that point so Tom and I headed down to Morgan Monroe State Forest and ran two laps of the Low Gap Trail. It was a beautiful day for a run in the woods. It turns out that the engine was completely fried. The repairs should be finished by Wednesday. Small ding in the front bumper and a slightly used replacement engine... just over $5000. Thank God for insurance.

That was the low, now for the high. Yesterday was the final DINO Series race for 2009. Ft Harrison is perhaps my favorite DINO course. It has hills, rough rocky ankle twisting trails, horse crap, even a creek crossing. And since it is an out and back course you get to cross the creek twice. On this course it is not a question of will you roll your ankle it's a question of how many times will you roll it and how bad will it hurt. It hasn't rained all week so the creek was only ankle deep this year. I went out pretty fast but felt pretty good at the turn around. I was starting to fade on the return, but passing everyone still heading out was a bit of a mental boost. The hills on the return were killing me, but I was still running well on the flats and downhills. With just over a half mile to go there is one last hill, not very big, but I was huffing and puffing by the time I reached the top. I glanced at my watch and thought I might be on record pace. There's no point in finishing with gas left in the tank. The downhill side is smooth grass and I was flying down it. The last half mile is mostly grass and flat. You can actually see the finish area from before the last hill and through the entire last half mile. I was pushing as hard as I could. I crossed the finish line at 1:06:00, I'm certain this course isn't quite a full 15k. Still that's a PR for this course by almost 2 minutes. I certainly wouldn't have been able to do that had I run the 50k the week before. I have been worried that I've haven't been getting in the speed work I need to, but yesterdays race is lifting my confidence a bit. I have a 4.5 mile road race coming up on Thanksgiving Day. Then December 5th is Tecumseh where, if the conditions are right, I'll be trying to beat 4:30. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I think I rolled my ankle about three times.

Stone Steps 50k

Last Saturday I ran the Stone Steps 50k in Cincinnati. The event was held in Mt Airy Forest which is a large park just north of downtown Cincy. The weather could not have been better. Well maybe a few degrees cooler would have been nice since I failed to pack a short sleeve shirt. This race is the 4th and last race in the ORRRC 50k series. Once again the ORRRC put on a spectacular event at a bargain price. I do have one suggestion for improvement. The race is run over two loops. The first loop is just over five miles and the second loop is just over 3 miles. You run the five mile loop first and then the 3 mile loop. You repeat this 3 times then run one more 5 mile loop. Both loops start and finish at the same spot so there is only one aid station. The aid station was stocked with all sorts of goodies. The one thing missing was my primary and favorite race fuel... pretzels. Preferably pretzel rods. I've already emailed the race director and volunteer to supply the pretzel rods for next year's race. That is if I return next year. I can't imagine why I wouldn't; this was a fun and challenging course.

The 5 mile loop is fairly easy for the first mile but then the trail gets pretty rocky and rooty. Then just past 2 miles you reach the infamous Stone Steps. I've read somewhere that there are 90 steps, but that can't be right because I'm pretty sure the elevation gain is at least 200 feet from top to bottom. One time up isn't too bad but by the forth trip these are killer steps. If you do make it to the top the trail back to the start/finish area is again fairly easy. At least that's the way I remember it but then I'm not sure how much brain function I had after reaching the top of the steps. The 3 mile loop is a walk in the park compared to the 5 mile loop. Part of this loop run over a Disc Golf course so the most challenging part of this loop was dodging the flying discs.

Through the first 2 circuits I was on pace to finish in around 6 hours. At the time I didn't feel I was pushing too hard. Starting the 3rd circuit I still felt pretty good and was running pretty well all the way to the stone steps. The 3rd time up seemed to suck some of the life out of me. I absolutely was determined to finish this race though so I throttled back a little to make sure I would have enough gas to finish. I used the relative ease of the 3 mile loop to recover physically and mentally. At the start of the final repeat of the 5 mile loop I felt pretty good mentally at least. I felt certain I would finish this race. I wasn't pushing hard, wasn't worried about time, just moving forward toward the goal. I would like to say I was enjoying the scenery, but I was too focused on the trail. I definitely did not want to fall on this rough terrain. Earlier on my third pass I saw another runner take a bad spill. He had hit his head and I think he may have received a concussion. I thought there was no way he would make it back to the aid station, but somehow he did. Anyway as I started up the stone steps for the forth and final time the muscles in my left leg suddenly cramped up and I stopped dead in my tracks. Call in the medivac, start spreading the jelly because I'm toast. Fortunately I still had a few Enduralytes left. I took one and within seconds the cramps eased up and I was able to continue. As I reached the top of the steps I felt lucky to have made it. I regained my senses and kept moving toward the goal. Another runner caught up to me and we walked, talked and even jogged a little together to the finish. 6 hours 42 minutes. Not bad at all. I think I can do better, but considering my lack of distance training I'm happy with it.

Next Saturday is the OPSF 50k. My plan there is to take it easy and just use the race as a final long training run for Tecumseh. If the weather and trail conditions are good on December 5th my goal will be to beat 4:30 at Tecumseh.

This is my son and I finishing the Indianapolis Half Marathon. It was his first half. He said it was the hardest thing he'd ever done, but he looks pretty happy in this picture. Next week he's doing the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon so I guess he's hooked. Now I just need to lure him over to the trails.

A Few More Photos

Lots of Balloons

Even More Balloons

A Bee Couple, Holding Hands

A Little of This, A Little of That

Balloons preparing to lift off at Balloon Fiesta

Making Hot Air

Me with Don and Aynslee at Jemez Falls

My wife and I on top of Soda Dam

And in front of Soda Dam

Well, I finally have a job, so there goes my training schedule. I'm back at Diamond Chain as Product Design Engineer and very glad to be back there.

Last Saturday I ran the DINO 15k Trail Series race at SouthWestway Park. It's a 5k loop repeated 3 times. This year they decided to run the loop counterclockwise. The RD said it was more challenging this way. I don't know. There are some tough hills either way. I actually preferred it this way. Not a big crowd so I finished 16th overall and 1st in my age group. My time was 1:12:51, 33 seconds slower than last year. I felt pretty good the whole race. Didn't start out too fast. Didn't die in the middle, had a strong finish.

Didn't get to run the Big Tesuque Trail Race in New Mexico, but did do some hiking and went to the Balloon Fiesta.

The Last Tri

After last week’s disappointment with the aborted attempt of a 50 mile trail run, a little success at yesterday’s sprint triathlon was just what the doctor ordered. The FAST (Fishers Area Sprint Triathlon) consisted of a 500 meter pool swim, a 10 mile bike ride, and a 3 mile run. The weather could not have been better. It did rain a little, not until after I finished the bike segment. I was faster in all three segments, but the swim and bike segments can’t really be compared with the previous events. The swim and bike courses at this venue were definitely easier and there was less distance to travel in transition. The run course was probably the most similar and I was about a minute faster there. My total time of 1:04:26 was good for 37th out of 246 and 3rd in my age group.

The swim was in a 50 meter, 10 lane pool. They were sending us off at 5 to 10 second intervals. I’m not a very fast swimmer so I don’t rush to the head of the line. A few swimmers passed me, but I also passed a few. I didn’t use breast stroke nearly as much as I do in the lake swims. I’m guessing I swam freestyle at least 70% of the time which probably accounts for my faster than normal time of 12:14. When I exited the pool there were no more participants waiting to enter the pool. Swimming is by far my worst event. My swim time was 157th, but I’m happy with the progress I’m making.

I felt a little woozy coming out of the pool, but I quickly regained my senses and ran for my bike. I had a little trouble with one shoe, but still this transition time wasn’t too bad. The bike course was a 5 mile rectangle with a few slight inclines, no hills, no hair pin turns. One of the corners was a little tight. I pushed pretty hard in the first lap and continued pushing hard in the second lap. I was passing slower riders most of the way. I think maybe two faster riders passed me. I averaged 20.8 mph.

As I approached the dismount line I slipped my feet out of my shoes and in the process came close to clipping the curb. This slowed me a little, but it’s still faster than running with the shoes on and then having to take them off in transition. I racked my bike slipped into my shoes, grabbed my race number belt, and off I went. After all the hard pushing on the bike, I felt sluggish starting the run. By the time I made it to the 1 mile mark I felt like I had been running all day. I was starting to loosen up though and mile marker 2 seemed to come up pretty quickly. Time to start pushing it to the finish. With a little more than a quarter mile to go I kicked it into high gear. Of course this only made me think that I should have been running faster a lot sooner. My run time was about a minute faster than at the last event so I can’t complain.

Sadly that’s the last sprint triathlon for this year. I can’t wait for next summer though. I hope to continue regular swim workouts through the winter and be ready for an Olympic distance or maybe even a half IM next year.

Exercising the 50k Option

Last Saturday I traveled to Caesar’s Creek State Park in Ohio for the Dawg Gone Long 50 Mile Trail Run. Twenty-four runners started the race and 15 finished. I was one of the 9 who didn’t finish. Physically I was doing ok, but mentally I just didn’t have the drive to finish. I rode there with Zach Mitchell, who won the race with a time of 8 hours 16 minutes and that’s after getting off course in the first mile and adding about 26 extra minutes of running. I finished my second loop about 20 minutes ahead of him finishing his third. I knew he would do well, but I was thinking more like 9 hours or so.

The course was pretty scenic, very rugged though, lots of roots and leg scraping vegetation. Parts of the course were on trails that had not been used in years. Not any major hills to speak of, just lots of little hills. Definitely more hills than the Another Dam loop in Englewood. A total of maybe 2 or 3 miles on pavement, including the bridge on highway 73. I didn’t care too much for running on that bridge with all the semi’s blasting past. I think I’d rather have swum across the lake.

My time for the first loop, which included a little extra out and back at the start to bring the total distance up to 50 miles, was 3:33. I don’t think that was too fast; although I was already having negative thoughts near the end of that loop. The bridge on 73 was maybe 3 miles into the loop. On the second trip across I was thinking I really didn’t want to run across this bridge again. After crossing the bridge, about a quarter mile into the woods, I was day dreaming and the next thing I know I’m hitting the ground hard. Luckily I was carrying two hand held bottles to help cushion the blow. I started paying closer attention to the trail afterward, but the fall didn’t help my mood any. Almost half way into the second loop I decided I was definitely not doing a third. From then on I really slowed the pace, taking time to enjoy the scenery. I was thinking there was no point in speeding to the finish area only to have to sit and wait for Zach. Of course at the time I didn’t know how close he was to lapping me. If not for his going off course he would have lapped me.

Even though I hadn’t trained for this event; I’m a little surprised and disappointed in my poor performance. My overall fitness level at this point is the best I can remember, but I guess training for sprint triathlons doesn’t prepare one for the mental challenge of finishing a 50 mile run.

Next Sunday I have another sprint triathlon on the schedule. The swim is indoors, 500 meters in a 50 meter pool, then 10 mile bike and 5k run. After that the only race I am already committed to is the Indy Half Marathon on October 17th. Oh, and of course the DINO 15k October 10 and again November 14th. Thinking about Stone Steps 50k and/or OPSF 50k. I’m going to Albuquerque September 30th. There is a 11.6 mile trail run north of Santa Fe October 3rd. This is the description from Active.com “Course is up and back a forest service road through quaking aspens and magnificent pines to the radio towers at the top of the ski area. Starting elevation is ~10,000 ft., summit is 12,038 ft. Total race distance is ~11.6 miles”. That sounds like a tasty little challenge. Now all I have to do is talk my hosts into driving me up there. Below is the elevation profile with percent grade.

Insanity Update

Last Saturday I ran the DINO Trail Series 15k at Town Run Trail Park. It’s a very flat course, but it has lots of tight turns and quite a few short steep rises, maybe 6 to 8 feet tall. With all the turns and “speed bumps” you can’t ever get in a rhythm. It’s almost 100% very narrow single track too, which makes passing a challenge. Bottom line, this course will tear you up. Brian the RD says the course actually measured 9.5 miles. Whatever the true distance was, it was slightly longer than last year’s course and yet I managed to run it more than two minutes faster than last year. That was a bit of a confidence boost going into this weekend’s event. Since I’ve been training for triathlons I haven’t been getting nearly as many miles running as I should have, but still I seem to be in pretty good running shape. I wound up 4th in my age group. The next day though, I was at a 4 mile race that my son was running. There I ran into the guy who was 3rd in my age group. He said he had realized he missed a turn on the course and cut off some distance and that I actually should have been given the 3rd place award. My recounting of this doesn’t really do it justice, but it really was an extraordinary coincidence running into that guy.

So, tomorrow morning at 3am I’m heading east to Caesar’s Creek State Park in Waynesville, Ohio to run the Dawg Gone Long 50 Mile Trail Run. As of today only 21 brave souls are registered for this new race. It’s supposed to be a 16.4 mile loop that you run 3 times. I guess technically then it will only be a mere 49.2 miles. Only 49.2?!!

I’m riding over there with another local trail runner, Zach Mitchell. He’s using this as a training run for the Oil Creek 100. Zach is a much faster runner than I, but he says he doesn’t mind waiting around for me at the finish.

Busy week ahead too. Job interview on Wednesday, drive to New York Thursday, fly home Friday, then sprint triathlon on Sunday.