Ultrarunner / RN

Ray Miller Race Report

2012-02-29T06:34:00.001-08:00

Photo by Natalie Kintz

Miles 0-5:

I was a little too excited at the start and took off ahead of everyone. While my plan all along was to just follow Jorge Pacheco and Jorge Maravilla right from the start, I didn’t for the first couple miles. After I was done running off my nervous energy I ended up running and chatting with Maravilla for a little while. Didn’t take me long to realize that I was speaking in short sentences a little short of breath, while he was speaking as if we were just chilling at a café sipping on coffee as we pushed it up the first climb of seven climbs spread out over the next 50 miles.

Photo by Jayme Burtis

Around mile 3 Maravilla passed me, and right after he did we came upon a little turn in the trail that wound around a bush that was 4 feet tall or so. Instead of running around it he just leapt over it like it was nothing. Sweet, I’ve got to try and chase this guy for another 40+ miles. Just before we got to the aid station at mile 6 Jorge Pacheco had joined us, along with Jonathon Toker (Mr. Saltstick) who was running the 50k. The aid station was well run, and it was great seeing friends Eric & Faye Wickland, and Eric’s parents, even if the aid station theme was all about the Dodgers.

Miles 5-11:

I stayed with the Jorge’s and Toker for the 6 mile loop up Guadalasca and down Wood Canyon.

Miles 11-19:

I was about 30 seconds behind as we hit the Dodgers AS again, but I caught up after hopping on a fun winding downhill section of the backbone.

Photo by Jayme Burtis

Once we got to the coyote trail around mile 14 I realized that I was hurting wayyyyy too much for it being this early in the race so I started running in “damage control” mode. Maravilla took off with Pacheco and Toker about a minute back. Kept eyeing Toker and Pacheco around longer straightaways and as I got to the Sin Nombre trail I saw them across Sycamore Canyon pulling into the superhero themed aid station a couple minutes ahead of me, and got report that Maravilla was 6 minutes ahead. I probably felt the worst right around this point of the race. I realized I went out too fast and I felt like the 2 guys running the 50 miler in front of me were going to leave me in the dust.

Miles 19-28:

I was dreading the climb up to Sandstone Peak, a steady 6 miles uphill. Not super steep, but steep enough to slow you down a lot. I actually started to feel better running up this though. I knew I wasn’t running fast, but I thought to myself, well… most of my training consists of running up long ascents at a slower pace like this, so I guess there’s no reason I couldn’t bounce back a little bit right now. Upon reaching the top and rolling along for a couple miles, hikers were informing me that there was a guy just a minute in front of me. That boosted my spirits a bit knowing that Pacheco hadn’t left me in the dust quite yet. It was a relief finally coming to the 2 miles of downhill to the Yerba Buena aid station and hearing Kate Martini-Freeman yelling for me as I came into view from the road.

Miles 28-34:

The 3 miles out and back to the turn-around weren’t too bad. I saw Maravilla coming back from the turn around, looking super fresh and cruising along pretty fast. I calculated that he was 18 minutes ahead of me at this point. Then I saw Pacheco and figured he was 3 minutes in front of me. Again I was relieved that even though I felt like dog meat, his lead wasn’t growing. Got my bottles refilled by Katie Desplinter, Monica and Sim then made my way back to Yerba Buena. I knew my buddy Dom was dealing with a calf issue, so I was a little surprised to see him about 8 minutes behind me at this point. He was looking pretty smooth, which motivated me to keep moving. Jimmy Dean and I crossed paths, he was looking fresh and spry. Saw the top for women, Amy Sproston, Shawna Tompkins, Meghan Arbogast and Angela Shartel, as I neared the aid station, all within a couple minutes of each other, looking very solid. Pacheco was entered the aid station about 30 seconds in front of me, but I lollygagged a bit as I filled bottles and taking a gel, so he was out of site pretty quick.

Miles 34-45:

The nice cool foggy morning quickly turned to a sunny warm day as I climbed up the steep pitch back up to Sandstone peak again. I kept on seeing Pacheco around a lot of the turns, but told myself not to get caught up with keeping up with anyone yet, that’s what got me into trouble in the first place. I was stoked to start the long descent towards Serrano Valley and get off the hot exposed tri-peaks area as I entered the shade of the thick brush. I reached the valley and canyon and soon realized that my legs were pretty close to cramping up, I maintained by Saltstick every 30 minutes regimen and staved off cramping, but couldn’t push it as hard as my mind wanted me to.

Miles 45-50:

Refilled the bottles at the Orange Aid Station, was informed that Pacheco was 3 minutes ahead, but I didn’t have it in me to chase him down. I wish I did, but I was overly worried about cramping and really wanted to hold onto third place. As I climbed up the Fireline trail I looked down on Sycamore Canyon and saw that Dom was not within striking distance behind me. While that was a relief, it also gave me less incentive to push it the last 4 miles to the finish.

Photo by Jayme Burtis

Slowly made my way up to the Ray Miller Trail, saw Jayme Burtis snapping some pictures with Sandstone in the background (the mountain pictured above that we went up and down twice), and leisurely made my way down to the finish, taking in the mesmerizing views of the Pacific.

Lessons learned:

I need to integrate more speed work into my training. Not being able to run kinda fast on the flats without totally straining my legs in the beginning trashed my legs for the rest of the race.

DON’T GO OUT TOO FAST. I can get away with doing this in shorter races, but ended up paying for it this race. I am realizing why I had the little bit of success that I had racing 50ks last year: you don’t have to worry about pacing yourself as much in that distance and you can just run hard. Also, the big dogs are more likely to come out for 50 milers versus 50ks.

Drymax socks worked great, as always. Love the lite trail running 1/4 crew height model, the extra height seems to help keep rocks out of my shoes.

Realizing that I went out too fast, and couldn’t hang with Maravilla was demoralizing. After all the hours of training and thinking about this race, I really wanted to do better, or at least be in contention for longer than 14 miles. On the other hand, it was inspiring to see him run as solid and in control as he did, and it looked like he was having a great time. I’m looking forward to hitting the training hard and seeing what I can do when we meet again at Miwok.

Can't thank Keira and all the volunteers for making race day a big all-day party. Loved seeing my wife out running around on the course taking pics as well. Ray Miller 50/50 is definitely going to be a classic early season 50 miler for years, glad I can say I ran it the inaugural year.

Up next: OLD GOATS!!!!!! I have heard nothing but good things about Steve Harvey's races and I'm excited to jump into this competitive 50 miler. Really looking forward to running with Jorge again, trying to outlast Fabrice, and seeing the look of pain on Wickland's grill on the out and backs - regardless of who's chasing who.

Putting in the work.

2012-02-05T22:56:00.000-08:00

For the first time in 9 months or so I’ve finally put together two consecutive solid weeks of running. The last week being my highest mileage to date so far at 110 miles. I do feel good considering the mileage I’ve been running. My legs are definitely more sluggish than normal, but I’m still able to run up most of the hills in the Front Range and I have no injuries to speak of (knock on wood).

My confidence to put in a solid performance at Ray Miller 50/50 has increased with the work I’ve put in, but as I see names like Jorge Maravilla and Jorge Pacheco start to populate the entrants list, along with Dom, Tom, Mark Hartell, AND 3 superfast females all capable of chic’n’ me, I can’t help but think to myself, “yikes, we’re going to be beating ourselves up out there in 3 weeks.” Perfect. While I’m less likely to place well at this race with all the speedsters, I do think I’ll be able to throw down a faster time chasing them around than I would if they weren’t out there. Awesome. Reminds me a quote from my high school’s basketball coach when he would say, “I’d rather lose by one point than win by twenty.” Competing with people better than me pushes me to achieve what was previously thought to be unattainable. My goal of winning a race 50 miles or longer should be qualified with the statement that I don't want to hunt out "easy" fifties to do so.

One are point of concern for me regarding this upcoming race is the terrain I’ve been training on compared to the terrain I’ll be racing on. Most of my running consists of running steep inclines for 5-10 miles, reaching a peak, then turning around and running downhill back to my car. A couple days a week I’ll hop on the treadmill and get in a tiny bit of “speed” work. I like running slow, up steep long inclines. Will my legs be able to run fast on shorter rolling hills on race day? Will only running 30 miles as my longest training run be long enough?

I love my job and I love to run. I wouldn’t enjoy either of them as much as I do, if I didn’t have the other there to help balance out my life. Working at a world renowned pediatric hospital, with crazy technological therapies, in the middle of metropolitan Los Angeles is fascinating. Part of me cringes every time I think about the freeways, smog and nastiness of such a big city. But, on my days off I am only a few miles from gorgeous mountains that feel thousands of miles away. I get to lose myself in the steep lush canyons and huff and puff up rocky pitches, breathing in pristine air.

Elissa running up to Echo Mountain with downtown LA and Pacific Ocean in the background.

In some ways I love that these two worlds are very separate and don’t overlap often. I am however excited that I’m taking a hemofiltration class at work in the near future. Hemofiltration is treatment modality used primarily for patients in renal failure.

I have begun to review and relearn information about the kidneys, what they do, what happens when they fail, etc., etc. The kidneys role in fluid balance is paramount. Proper hydration in running is crucial. Now is enhancing my understanding of renal physiology going to help my running? Highly unlikely. But, understanding the inner workings of the kidney – including but not limited to: baroreceptors, juxtaglomerular cells, the hypothalamus, anti-diuretic hormone, aldosterone, the renin-angiotensin system, nephrons, oliguria, and renal failure, empowers me with an appreciation of what is happening inside my body when I’m out there running, sweating and drinking. I like knowing what’s going on inside of me, gives me something to think about when I’m running around in the mountains hours on end. So far it has already scared me out of taking ibuprofen while running due to kidney failure stories like what happened to Erik Skaggs.

Another aspect of my job that sneaks into my running hobby is my appreciation of health. Helping care for children who are either temporarily or permanently disabled makes me feel almost obligated to take advantage of being healthy enough to run by running. I probably go overboard a bit with it, meaning I might be healthier if I ran a little less, oh well.

Lions and Pure Grits and Ramping up oh my.

2012-01-29T15:09:00.000-08:00

Finally put in a solid week of training with 91 miles last week, and I feel pretty good considering. And I felt pretty fresh today running 28 miles with 9k of climbing after taking a day off yesterday. Maybe my body is slowly getting used to running a lot again.

A couple months ago I’m pretty sure I caught a mountain lion out of the corner of my eye on the Mt. Wilson Toll Road, a mile past the idle hour trailhead. A couple weeks ago my wife Elissa watched a mountain lion walk across the same fire road, in nearly the same spot… on one of our most frequented running routes. THEN, immediately after running on a trail (where there was a confirmed mountain lion attack in 1995) I come home to see this on my computer:

This situation totally reminds me of a situation I encountered when I used to surf back in the day:

While running, I know cats are out there watching me run by, usually not being interested in the slightest, and have probably seen me dozens if not hundreds of times. When I used to surf I accepted the fact that I surfed in areas like Marina, CA, where there have been two nearly fatal attacks in the last 5 years, and that great whites have probably swam by and saw me, but weren’t interested in having me for an appetizer.

It’s not like I’m going to give up running around for hours out in the mountains, just like I continued to surf in shark infested water. I love exploring and getting away from the hustle and bustle of civilization, immersing myself in the outdoors grounds me somehow. In a feeble attempt to decrease my chances of becoming a catamounts catch, I am doing two things. First, no more running in the dark all by myself, it just freaks me out. Second, have you ever seen those discover specials on people working in the jungle around Tigers?

Well here’s my trail running version:

Is it ridiculous? Yes. Will it work? Hopefully.

I recently purchased a pair of Brook’s new trail shoe, the Pure Grits. I really like them. Light, yet have cushion. They have good traction and they are comfy. They do have a silly split toe thing up in the front that I don’t really notice when running. There isn’t a whole lot of protection up in the toes, i.e., when I kick rocks it hurts bad. At first I wasn’t too stoked on their fit. Going around fast rocky turns if felt like my foot was sliding off of the sole, not staying directly over it. Considering how much I enjoy going fast downhill I was just about to return them, but then I cinched down the laces a bit I noticed that the stretchy material hugged my foot better without cutting off any circulation, problem solved. I am on the prowl for good 100 mile shoes for AC coming up this July. These Pure Grits may be the ticket, we’ll see how well they hold up at the Ray Miller 50 miler and possibly Miwok.

Giddyup.

Looking back at 2011 & Looking forward to 2012

2012-01-18T14:30:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty happy with how 2011 turned out. I was stoked to win a couple races, that always feels good. So far I've only won 50ks, one goal for 2012 is to win a longer race.

I did have my first DNF at Born to Run Ultras 100k. Very embarassing, but I learned that racing a competitive 50 miler two weeks before attemtping to run a flat and fast 100k was not something my body was ready for at the time. Other "big dogs" are able to run a crazy amount of races back to back to back, but not me, at least not at this point.

Running a 100 miles at San Diego, my first hundo, was something else. It took me to a weird place that is hard to describe since I don't have a lot of experience with being "in that place" mentally yet. Looking forward to venturing to that place again this summer.

Since I want to improve my racing at longer races I'm starting off the year at Keira's Ray Miller, running the 50 mile option... gonna be a sick course with 11,000' of climbing, tons of beautiful single track and ocean views, does it get any better? Here's my current racing plan for '12

Feb. 25^th,Ray Miller 50M

Mar 24^th, Old Goats 50M ?

May 5^th, Miwok 100k - Looking forward to toeing the line with big dogs and most likely enjoying some of this after the race:

May 26^th, Front Range 50k, it's going to be a fun, but slowwwww 50k with plenty of climbing.

July 21^st, Angeles Crest 100M, bring the pain.

I'm tossing around the possibility of going back to school in August for my MSN. If I do, I probably won't race much, or at least long races for the rest of the year. But if I don't go back to school (yet) here's what I'm looking at as far as races:

Oct 6^th, Cuyamaca 100k ? Can't go wrong running a race put on by Scotty Mills, and this is on some of the same trails as the beautiful San Diego 100 course.

Sep. 17^th, Noble Canyon 50k? Some of the same trails as SD100 and Cuyamaca 100k, had a ton of fun at this race last year.

ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR RACES I SHOULD RUN??????

Backbone Trail - Fastest Known Time

2011-12-12T18:18:00.000-08:00

We met at Jayme’s pad in Woodland Hills at 4am. He was generous enough to offer to crew us on our mission to set a new fastest known time on the Backbone Trail. We loaded up his truck with all our gear and headed for the coast. It was absolutely gorgeous, crystal clear skies, calm sea and bright full moon.

Eric Wickland, the wholesome Ohian Jay Smithberger and I started our run at the western end of the BBT, at the Ray Miller Trail just a couple minutes after 5am. As we climbed out of the La Jolla Canyon up to the ridge we weren’t a mile from the start when a ground owl flew up between Eric and I, bumped into Eric and hovered a foot in front of my face blinded by the light of my headlamp.

As we continued out of the canyon we caught the beginning of the lunar eclipse and got to watch it until it was 90% eclipsed before we started our descent into Sycamore Canyon. Once we reached the canyon floor there was frost on the grass, so stoked to have cool temperatures for this long fun run. The sun started to rise as we started our biggest climb of the day up to Sandstone peak. Half way up the climb we cleansed ourselves of our sins by slipping through butt rock. Up at the top we made a little detour off the BBT up to the peak, stunning views. Jayme met us up there and took some photos, can’t wait to see ‘em.

We cruised downhill aways, met up with Mr. Santa Monica Mtns., H’ard Cohen, and continued down to Mishe Mokwa. Filled up bottles, ate a bit and continued on through a couple miles of rollers, then 5 miles down to Kanan Rd. where we were met by Jayme again, snagged a quick bite, refilled bottles and left for Malibu Creek State Park with a marathon under our belts. Half an hour later Jayme rode out to meet us on his MTB and take some more pictures and let Eric and Jay know that they both made it into Western States!

Dropped onto the Bulldog Loop feeling good and were greeted by awe inspiring ocean views that never get old, no matter how many times I run up there. I’ve got fond memories of this section of the trail, from running the Bulldog 50k a couple years ago and the Malibu Creek 50k last year. We met up with my buddy Keith Yanov 5 miles out from Las Virgenes and quickly began a descent down a rock hard fire road that I tenderly remember as my least favorite part of the Bulldog race. We reached the parking lot, grabbed a quick bite, refilled and headed out towards the longest climb of the day, 6 miles up Piuma. I was surprised when the most veteran ultrarunner out of the three of us, with many fast 100s under his belt, started to slow a bit. Jay was having stomach issues and decided to pull the plug at mile 50… either that or he couldn’t tolerate Eric & I’s juvenile/immature senses of humor any longer. Either way the three of us had a great nine and a half hours together. Can’t wait to see you tear it up at WS100 Jay!

After crossing Stunt Rd. we cruised down five miles of playful, shady downhill to Topanga Canyon. Realizing that there was less than a marathon to go gave me a little mental boost and knowing that the warmest part of the day was behind us made running seem even easier.

photo by Jayme Burtis

Made our way up the gentle climb into Topanga State Park, meandering through little meadows and eventually through the Musch Campground that Elissa and I spent a couple nights at last year. When Elissa and I ran around here last year the trails were a bit overgrown and the poison oak was unavoidable. Someone had put in some work between then and now as the trails were easy to enjoy without rubbing up on oak. The whole trail in general wasn’t too overgrown with poison oak anywhere… but I’m sure I’ll still get some patches of rashes on my legs. Pushed on up to Eagle Rock in time to look back and see the sun setting over the Tri-Peaks/Sandstone that we were climbing during the sunrise. The dropping temperatures gave me a rockstar like energy boost, knowing that all of our climbing was over was a relief as well.

As the sun went down LA lit up and the twinkling lights outlined the gradually curving coast from Santa Monica out to Palos Verdes. The last handful of miles were fun, rocky, somewhat overgrown technical miles that forced me to wake up a bit and focus since we were running with our headlamps at this point. Petzl myo rxp headlamp worked flawlessly as per usual.

Made it to the end of the trail, then half a mile down to the parking lot where Jayme and Jay were waiting for us. I was excited to be done with gels for a while as I inhaled a banana and pounded my bottle of FLUID recovery drink. Also drank FLUID’s new performance drink during the run today, loved it.

Looking back at my equipment/clothing choices for today, things went pretty well. Rudy Project Sportmask Sunglasses were put on (after the sunrise) and stayed put, didn’t have to adjust or keep sliding them back up nose, didn’t even notice they were on. I knew my InkNburn shorts were good for a 50k, but didn’t know if they’d start chaffing further down the road, they didn’t at all, super comfy the entire run. Pocket in front was perfect for holding ziplock of TP and saltsticks (took about 10 capsules). My Drymax socks worked well of course, no blisters, even after running through a couple creeks and intentionally getting my feet wet. I do think I chose the wrong shoes for today though. I love my Inov-8 Rocklight 295s for technical trails/shale and mud, but they don’t have any cushion, and I really could have used some towards the end when we were pounding down the few miles of hard fireroad that makes up the BBT. I should have worn my Cascadias, even if they’re a bit bulky. I’m sure my feet would be feeling a bit better today if I did. Eric was sporting the new Pure Grit’s and loved them. I definitely want to try them out. Need to get my feet into the New Balance 110’s as well as I search for the right shoe(s) for next year’s long races.

Thanks again for crewing for us Jayme. Too bad that you’re on the DL and couldn’t run it with us this time, hope you heal quickly.

So how long will this BBT FKT of 12:47 last? It’s not like 14k of climbing over 68 miles constitutes tons of climbing, and it’s not like the trail is crazy technical, but there is enough climbing and a lot of the trail is technical enough to slow you down a bit. I think it will be at least a couple years until someone can crack it. It’s not that I don’t think the talent is out there, I know it is. There are a handful of locals who are capable of breaking it. BUT, it takes planning and knowledge of the trail to get it done efficiently. Eric’s knowledge of the trail allowed us to run all day without stopping to look at maps and kept us from getting lost even for minute down the wrong trail. Jayme’s familiarity with the trails also made our run 100x easier. While I do like the idea of running the BBT unsupported sometime in the future, being able to run with handhelds instead of a pack, and not having to drive out the night before and stash food and water makes the run more about running and less about the less fun stuff.

Someday it’d be fun to run it in the opposite direction, as most people consider it the faster way to run it. If you’re reading this, and you’re a fast cat... BRING IT! I want someone to raise the bar.

Santa Monica Mountains 50k Race Report

2011-11-21T15:03:00.000-08:00

It was rainy and windy from the start. Perfect temperatures for running and great trail conditions, except for a little slip'n'sliding on the muddy downhills. It was awesome seeing so many friends racing and hanging out: David, Evan, Timmy, Christian, Sarah, Tim, Sean, Josh, Jayme, Todd, Patrick, Robert, Vanessa, Todd, Keira, Jesse, Dom, Katie, Jimmy, Kate, Eric, Howard, Keith, Mari, Jorge and many more.

I jumped out in front at the start, I think I run better being chased so I put myself in that position. Trucking up the first climb, it's easy to look back and see how close people are behind you on this course. Marcelo Mejia and Dominic Grossman were a minute or two back at this point, definitely too close for comfort. Heard some people up on the peak cheering as I neared the top, they started singing happy birthday to me (it was in fact my birthday). Then I saw it was Kate, fully clothed, with Eric, Jimmy and Howard all mooning me.

I couldn't help but do a 6 cheek run by spanking, turned back around and saw the amazing photographer Jayme Burtis catching it all through the lens of his camera. Thanks for the amazing shots Jayme!

Photo by Jayme Burtis

Wound around the coast before heading inland to the little valley, all gentle rolling hills through here. Then back into La Jolla Canyon for a nice gentle rocky downhill back to the start/finish area. This really is a gorgeous area, even in the rain. Can't wait to run here again in February at the Ray Miller 50/50.

After grabbing a new bottle I headed up the beautiful Ray Miller Trail and I loved how much easier it was to run up this climb in the cool temperatures. I was able to run with just my InkNburn shirt and shorts, which worked perfectly. I didn't quite get cold enough for a jacket/windbreaker, but was too cold to go shirtless, unlike the toughguy Keith pictured up at the top.

After cresting the RMT we took the fire road down to Sycamore Canyon and it was super muddy. I was hoping to clock a sub 5 minute mile on this section, but it wasn't in the cards this year. Shortly after the turn around I saw Marcelo about 3 minutes behind me, and Dom just a minute behind him. Dom looked as fresh and goofy as ever so I decided to push it up the fireline trail climb, which connected to the fire road, then back onto the RMT and down to the start/finish area to do it all again more or less. My wife and I crossed paths at this aid station when she was coming down the RMT and I was about to head it up, stole a quick kiss and we were on our ways. So proud of her for finishing a tough, muddy 50k with 5k + of climbing for her first ultra! And today I'm watching her limp around like a 90 year old =) Love ya honey.

It was great seeing the PCTR RD Sarah again. Always fun running her races, especially at this race since I won a cash prize, other goodies and she had a birthday cake for me at the finish! Can't wait to watch PCTR grow and I'm stoked to be the newest member of their racing team.

After we finished up racing 8 of us met up at the Wolf Creek Brewery for delicious brews, grub and goofiness. Special thanks to Mark for driving all the way out there with only one good arm!

Thanks to all my friends for making this birthday a special one!

THANKS FOR THE UDO'S OIL DOM! My whole body feels like a zillion dollars today, ah ha ha ha!

stuff

2011-11-14T21:42:00.000-08:00

My mood is a little weird, as it's taper time. I've been having great time with friends and family as you'll see in the pictures below.

Nailed the clay, I swear!

Wife & Father in law BOTH outshot me, again.

My wife and I purchased a sweet little new ride, a Honda Fit, and were loving it. Kinda weird that neither one of us have a pickup since we both did when we met... But I do see a Tacoma in our distant future.

Elissa & Lucille

I'm excited and nervous about this weekends race: PCTR's Santa Monica Mountains 50k. Excited because there will be tons of friends there and Sarah always puts on a fun run, not to mention it's a gorgeous course:

A group of us are meeting up at a restaurant, the Wolf Creek Brewery, for amazing food and delicious craft beers post race, can't wait. It will also be my wife's first ultra, and she's been training in the mountains a bit, so I'm excited to see her trear it up.

I'm Nervous because I haven't put in many solid long runs since Los Pinos and it's too late to sneak any long runs between now and race day.

I'm going to give this race all I've got, then forget about training for three weeks or so. I'm not going to stop running or anything, but I am going to push the reset button, letting my body and brain soak up the experiences from this year before jumping into planning/training/strategizing for next years races (already have four tentatively scheduled but I'm not supposed to be thinking about them).

After a run a couple days ago, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to a couple friends discuss fun and running long distance races. The first friend mentioned how he's been racing for awhile and doesn't feel compelled to run races in miserable conditions anymore, that he just wants to run and have fun, sounds pretty logical right? The second friend chimed in that part of HIS fun with running ultras is being able to keep pushing himself towards goals in the face of high mileage ennui and other times when running flat out sucks. Note: this is my skewed perception and faulty recollection of a conversation that took place days ago, so the accuracy of the statements from the participants may not be 100%. Regardless, I guess it all depends on your perception of fun.

Cruising down Sam Merrill Trail

So where do you stand in the all run V. all fun spectrum? I'm presently right about here:

The balancing act of life is tricky and I can't help but be critical of myself in my choices: why am I wasting so much time running, I should be working on a MSN (masters in science of nursing) degree. BUT, I am kind of in the prime time of my athletic age, why not spend a lot of free time training and competing while I can? I love spending time exploring wilderness and it helps balance my life while relieving tons of stress. This has alway been a facet of my life for as long as I can remember and its important to my being (whatever that means). I can always get my MSN in a couple years... but it would be smart to do it BEFORE having kids right? So when exactly are we going to start trying to have kids? What to do, what to do.

Los Pinos Race Report

2011-10-25T12:40:00.000-07:00

Wow, since last years race I totally forgot how tough this course is. Unlike last year, this year was much warmer and less torrential downpoury. While you were able to see the beautiful views this year, it was easier to run in the wet cold last year than in the moderate heat this year.

Miles 0-12:

I was nervous toeing the line with quite a few fast cats, and when the race started I took off in the lead, probably a little faster than I should, just because it felt good. One simple strategy I had going into the race was to get to the Los Pinos trail and its 8 miles of climbing before all the other guys, because they are better climbers than I, and I didn't want to try and keep up with them all the way up. The idea of trying to keep up with Jorge on that climb, or catch up to him on that climb sounded improbable. Like Noble Canyon, the first 1/3 of the race is rolling flats and downhill, super fun stuff. So I enjoyed it and didn't worry to much about saving some gas in the tank for later. Used one bottle for this section and it was more than enough in the cool shadey air. Averaged a 6:36 pace up unto this point, now time to slow down A LOT.

Miles 12-22:

It was a relief to get to the Lazy W aid station before the other racers. Threw on my 2L Nathan pack and took my time running on the short section of road to the Los Pinos Trail. Ran the first couple miles then started to hike. Looked back and saw Jesse Haynes looking very fresh. Oh well, I thought, at least I'll get a little farther up the climb before he passes me.

I slowly kept plugging away at the climb, appreciating each little saddle and occasional short steep decline until I tripped at mile 17 and landed on a cut off stump. I just layed there for a couple breaths as I assessed the situation. Wow, one second I'm running downhill, the next I'm laying on the ground in a bush with a smashed thigh. I walked it out for a minute, then was able to start running slowly again. A couple miles later I stopped to pee. I thought my leg was just crushed a bit but saw a nice little wound:

My leg was hurting a little bit, but not enough to really slow me down, so I kept going, slow and steady up the climb. Where's Jesse by the way? He couldn't possibly be going as slow as I'm going right now, I've got to see him, Jorge, Dom, Tom or Michelle any second.

I finally got to the top then descending on my way to the Trabuco Aid station, passing by Carl Tedesco who was working the aid station and had run out to alert the rest of the station when we were coming through. Thanks Carl! Thanks to all of the other aid staion volunteers, your hard work is greatly appreciated, even when I'm too weak and confused to say so.

Miles 22-30:

It was refreshing to be done with that long, slow, hot climb. The shade and downhill on the Trabuco Trail was just what my mind and body needed. Then I got to the Horsetheif Trail and the fun and games were over. Time to hike again, in the hot sun. A couple weeks ago I ran the whole climb, no problem at all. Today I walked the entire climb. Near the top of the climb I looked back and saw Jesse, still just a couple minutes behind me and looking way better than I felt. Well, at least I led the race for the first 26 or so, hopefully I'll still get 2nd or 3rd. Made it to the Horsetheif Aid Station and was stoked to see Dean Dobberteen as he filled my bottles with water. Since it was warm and I was drinking a lot, all the sugar from my Gu brew was getting to me, should have diluted it a bit when I was making it. Slowly kept running on the rolling, rugged Main Divide fire road, wishing Jesse would just pass me and get it over with. Strolled into the Trabuco Aid station again and got a little water for the short descent back into the Bluejay Campground and the finish, which I crossed just a couple mintues before Jesse.

What a sick event! Once again Keira put on a great race: awesome aid stations, cool race shirt, unique medal, and tons of other swag, including some new Ink'n'burn shorts to replace my ripped ones:

...posers.

It felt great to sit down and be done with this race, forever! Yes, this was the 2nd and final year of Los Pinos 50k. I do think it suites me, technical steep stuff and not too much flat fast stuff that would let speedy people take off on. Even so, I felt utterly misserable for most of the race it's nice to know that I won't be racing it again anytime in the near future.

I couldn't believe how many friends and running acquaintances were at the race! It sucked to see so much carnage, Harald cutting his leg up much worse than mine and having to drop. Katie getting sick and dropping, hope they both get healthy soon.

Top 6: Jorge, Dom, Me, Jesse, Michelle & Tom

I'd like to thank my sponsors: Drymax's Maximum Protection Trail Running socks held up flawlessly. My FLUID recovery drink was the first thing I grabbed to drink after the race, and my new Rudy Project Sunglasses were super comfy and worked perfectly.

Running in purdy places... time to taper.

2011-10-10T16:31:00.001-07:00

Hit 90 miles with about 18k of climbing for the first time in months… and I’m feeling fine, no real issues to speak of. These aren’t super solid #’s, but I’m sticking to my plan of slowly & steadily increasing mileage and my body seems to like it.

Besides boring treadymill/stairclimber mornings before work, Elissa and I snuck up to Pt. Mugu for some fun running in preparation for the Santa Monica Mountains 50k.

Ray Miller Trail (Santa Cruz & Anacapa Islands in background?)

Maliboo-yeah!

Got another good run in from Eaton to Hogees and back in the cool, moist clouds (a big thanks to the
woman who shared the bottle of water she had for her dog with me, would’ve been a tough trip back
out of the canyon w/out it).

Finished off the week with 23 miles on the AC course from Islip to Mt. Hillyer with Dom and KD.

Mountains keep calling, I keep going.

Climbing out of Islip Saddle

The more I think about it, the more likely I am to run AC 100 and not even throw my name in the hat for WS 100 this year. We have friends getting married on the Saturday that WS is being held. At first I was a little bummed to see this, but then I thought to myself that being there for this marriage is way more important than a race. I could throw my name in the hat, knowing that my chances of getting in as a one time loser are pretty low, but I'm just going to focus on AC. Furthermore, its rugged course with more climbing and descending suites me better than WS, mostly because I’m slow on fast flat stuff and relatively faster on slow steep stuff. And if I didn’t have enough reasons to run AC, it’s right in my backyard. It’s also fun when a buddy has thrown down the gauntlet with a good time, to give me something to shoot for.

In two short weeks I'll be running Los Pinos 50k: I'm hoping to push myself really hard and see what I'm made of, but I'm being realistic as well. The major contenders on the men's side: Jorge, Tom, Dom & Jesse have won 67 ultras between the four of them. While I think I'm in good 50k shape, and in good shape for this type of course, I'm going up against some studs, who'll also be pushing it. While I do plan to be in the mix for some of the race, I don't think I quite have what it takes to take down the monster that is Jorge Pacheco, or the other guys for that matter, but it'll be fun trying. Competing with this caliber of runners will push me to my limit and I’m looking forward to it. I'm hoping to improve on my time from last year on this course by 30 minutes, which would be a time of 4:45ish, I think I can do this, IF it’s cool.

CHLA just had a nice health fair at work so I got to see how my blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, body fat %, bone density and other health indicators are doing. Everythings pretty good, except my systolic BP is a little high (130's). Probably related to stress and drinking a wee bit too much caffeine.

I'm stoked to be running for the Rudy Project Sunglasses' Ultra Team now. I've been running in a pair of Sportmask Performance Running Sunglasses and I love 'em. Super light and comfy. Definitely an upgrade from my last pair of expo specials.

Noble Canyon 50k Race Report

2011-09-23T14:07:00.000-07:00

all photos by AnaMaria Hardel

I chose to drive down the night before the race and camp in the back of my Subaru. I got to see a handful of friends who were also camping out, like John Hockett, who graciously let me graze on some good food he brought. A big thanks to the Shriner's for letting us runners use there camp for the San Diego 100 and Noble Canyon 50k, their camp and lodge make for the perfect race venue.

Always nice to wake up at the race site and not have to wake up at a ridiculous hour to drive there. Checked in and got my bib from the sweetest(sauce) RD Keira and finally met her beau the fastcat Jesse. I couldn't help think as we shook hands and said our "nice to meet you's" that I can't wait to try and make you suffer at Los Pinos 50k. He's got better climbing skills than I, so it'll be me suffering as I struggle to chase him, Jorge and Dom up the 8mi climb.

Elevation Profile:

31.3mi, 4k' of elevation gain.

Miles 0-6

The race started and I was stoked with the cool temperature, fingers were a bit numb and I was surprised to see frost on the grass in the first flat miles as we weaved along the forest edge through the pines, looking down on Big Laguna Lake. Dean Dobberteen took the lead early on, with Fabrice Hardel on his heels and myself keeping them with in 10 yards or so. We kept a 6:30 pace, which seemed reasonable in the flats in this cool air.

Miles 6-13

As we began to descend into Noble Canyon Dean started to pull away from Fabrice a little and I felt comfortable keeping up with Dean so I slipped past Fabrice and we continued to fly down the canyon. Considering how rocky and technical these miles were, I couldn't go much faster without being totally reckless, we snuck one mile in under a 6min/mi pace, which wouldn't be fast on a smooth downhill singletrack, but on this trail I was happy with that. Ditched a waterbottle at the Big Tree Aid Station where the bad rat Tracy was holding it down. If it weren't for Dean running ahead of me I doubt I would have ran down as fast as I did. I was tempted to hold back a bit but I thought to myself... this is going to be the funnest part of the course, I might as well enjoy it, so I did. We got to the bottom of the canyon, to the turn around with a 6:45 avg pace. I filled up my waterbottle and snuck out of the aid station before Dean, taking the lead, as I headed back up Noble Canyon.

Miles 13-26

Before the race I was concerned about the turnaround and how I'd be coming up this technical singletrack with about 200 people coming down and how all of us would keep from running eachother off the trail. It wasn't an issue at all, and I totally got a boost from all the people cheering me on, and I enjoyed cheering everyone else on and watching them cruise down the canyon. I saw Fabrice about 4 minutes after leaving the turn around and I knew he'd make good time coming back up the hill. I was a little releived to have this lead on him, but I knew it wasn't a lead he couldn't quickly overcome. Knowing that he ran UTMB 3 weeks prior (in a stellar time) eased my worries a LITTLE bit. Picked up the bottle I ditched on the way down as I ran through the Big Tree Aid Station again. Kept cruising up to Penny Pines Aid Station that Pam Everett was running, got some gatorade and headed out. Thanks Pam! Enjoyed a short flat stretch before the gradual climb towards monument peak where I was spooked by Jesse Haynes out on the course. Finally, done with the 13 miles of climing and time for some rolling hills.

Miles 27-31

Snagged some water from my homie Keira at the Rate Hole (aka Honey Badger Hole) Aid Station. When I asked how much of a lead I had she said 4 minutes. I was a little worried because I was starting to feel worn out. Then at mile 28.5 I tripped, felt on some rocks hitting my shoulder and head, and my hammstrings totally cramped up. I goofily rolled over and made it to my feet and started to walk/stretch for a couple minutes. Great I thought, had the lead up until 2mi from the finish then cramped up to give it away. Fortunatley, the cramping subsided and I was able to cruies to the finish in a time of 4:03 and change. I couldn't help but remember running these last 6 miles or so, which were the same as the last 6 of the SD100 course, except this time it wasn't dark and I didn't have Jimmy Dean Freeman pacing me in his argyle Giants pants. For anyone who ran Noble Canyon 50k and loved the course, you should give SD 100 some serious consideration as it is very similar, just 70 more miles.

'bout to kiss the rat

RD Brian Gonzalez, Fabrice, me, Scott Mills

You know it's going to be a well run race with guys like Brian and Scotty running the show.

Had absolutely no blisters and I still love my Drymax Socks, only feet issue was repeatedly stubbing my toe on rocks.

First thing I drank after the race was a bottle of pre-made chocholate FLUID recovery drink, perfect post run beverage.

Time to start training for Los Pinos!

Saw some camels near Julian on the way up to the race:

Those guys made me think of a great old song, enjoy!

Fire in my belly re-ignited

2011-09-06T12:27:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since my last post, mostly because Elissa and I recently moved from Thousand Oaks down to Pasadena. We were kind of living out of both places for a bit and didn't get the internet hooked up for awhile. A lot has happened since my last post, good times were aplenty.

Mt. San Antonio w/ Doberteen & Wickland

Hit up 9 peaks on that run pictured above (W. Baldy, Mt. San Antonio, Thunder, Telegraph, Timber, Bighorn, Ontario, Cucamonga, Harwood), I was suffering but Eric was nice enough to take it easy so that I could keep up. He's looking great for Wasatch 100 coming up. Here's the profile of the 32mi/11.8k hike/run:

Shortly after that jaunt Elissa and I snuck up to the motherland, Northern California, to visit my parents, brother, aunt, uncles and friends for about a week.

Spanish Peak with Mom

End of August and Spanish Peak still has snow, Elissa can hardly believe it.

Even snuck in some fishing at Buck's Lake with a couple new friends.

Now that we're finally settled into our new place in Pasadena, I've been able to get into a routine with running: hitting up the treadmill and stairmill before work on work days, and running around the San Gabriels on my days off. I've started to up my mileage a bit, nothing crazy yet but some decent weeks and I'm stoked to race again. While I only have two races offically scheduled, Noble Canyon 50k and Los Pinos 50k, I'm also eyeing the Santa Monica Mountains 50k, Ray Miller 50/50, Leona Divide 50M and I kind of feel AC100 calling me. Seems like yesterday I ran my first hundred and loved not having ANY races on the horizon. Now that I've seen some closely contested races go down at Mt. D and the Bulldog, I want to get in on that.

Living closer to work makes life less stressful and gives me at least an hour of more free time everywork day. Work itself has been trying lately, emotionally draining and the frustrations from moving into the new hospital building continue, but I'm working to fix the things that can be fixed and trying to accept the things I can not, but it is getting better and I'm determined to help fix things so that I can be more like my old self at work and less like the grumpy guy I frequently am.

Seems like everyone ends their blog posting with some silly music video. So here's what was hot in Australia about 15 years ago when I was lucky enough to be a Rotary Exchange Student for a summer:

Finally a decent week... but poison oak returns

2011-08-16T12:25:00.000-07:00

75 miles last week, which isn't anything to write home about, but it's more than I've run for awhile, and I had 2 good climbing runs this week. The first, Eaton to Mt. Wilson and back:

I really like running down in the San Gabriels because you can run long uphills and long down hills, really lets me lock into a rhythm and hone my climbing and descending.

Saturday I ran with Dom and Tom, and Tom's dog Cormac, from Chantry up to shortcut, then to some other aid station of the Mt.D course, and back down to Chantry:

Absolutely loved watching all of the Mt. Dissapointment 50k runners pushing hard in the heat. Saw a ton of familiar faces racing and helping out at aid stations. Glad I wasn't racing it though, not quite ready yet. I'm ready to run that far, but I want to seriously compete at my next race and it'll be a few weeks until I feel ready. That next race will be Noble Canyon 50k, can't wait to go camp out and run a competitive race.

Got some poison oak running around with Dom again, hopefully it'll subside quickly.

Favorite Local Run - Elissa's Triathlon - New Hospital Building

2011-08-02T15:28:00.000-07:00

(pic from last time I was up there)

I was stoked to run up Boney Mtn. in the Santa Monica Mountains this morning. I haven't been up there in 5 months!. Why the hiatus? The last time I ran up there I got some nasty poison oak rashes. The trail is overgrown, so I've patiently waited for the foliage to dry out a bit. The poison oak didn't LOOK to bad today, and I scrubbed with Tecnu immediately after the run, my fingers are crossed.

Here's an elevation profile of my slow journey this AM... when I'm in shape, a couple pounds lighter, and do this on a cool day I can run every step to the top, not the case today unfortunately.

2,000' up in 3 miles, love it. Didn't love the heat though, guess I need to start hanging out in the sauna again.

IF I don't get a gnarly poison oak rash, my plan is to run this route a lot in preparation for the Noble Canyon 50k coming up in September. The competition will be stiff with the likes of Fabrice Hardel, Dean Dobberteen and Eric Clifton toeing the line, not to mention 220 or so others, and I'm sure someone I haven't heard of will tear it up... as per usual.

This trail is also great training for the next two races I plan on running: Los Pinos 50K & Ray Miller 50/50. My route today didn't quite include any of the Ray Miller course, but I was able to look down on a lot of it. It's going to be such a sick, tough race. Stoked to have an awesome event coming up right in my backyard! And I'm sure it'll bring out all the top dogs: it's a Keira race, there's a ca$h prize for the winners, and it's a gorgeous/brutal course. BRING IT!

Elissa's First 70.3!

There she is, yellow cap, turquoise suit

I had a great long weekend crewing/photag'n my beautiful wife up in Windsor last weekend as she competed in a 70.3 mile triathlon. Her fan club was rolling deep: me, her mom & dad, grandma, my aunt, cousin and cousin's daughter. She finished well under her projected time and was walking around the next day in wayyyy too little pain. Then we celebrated her dad's birthday and her birthday and dental hygiene graduation with her family up in Stockton. It was great finally getting to see all of them again! And of course we ate tons of delicious food.

Greg looks great for 15 doesn't he!

New Hospital Building: most of the units at Children's Hospital Los Angeles have relocated to the new hospital building on campus. I knew it would be difficult and there would be a lot of changes, but wow. I had no idea it would be this different and that the move would require so much time, effort and resources. I feel EXTREMELY fortunate to work with so many great people, and my hat goes off to all of my managers, putting in ridiculous hours to facilitate the move.

I had a tough time last shift, I didn't have a crazy assignment, or super sick patient, but there are many little stressors that pop up when so many actions I took for granted in the old unit, are now different, or require a couple phone calls before I can do what I need to do to take care of my patients.

I'm telling myself that it's like running a long race... there are times when you feel great, times when you feel like throwing in the towel, but persistence and tenacity will pay off and things will get better.

I'M BACK... almost

2011-07-11T16:19:00.000-07:00

After about a month of nagging injuries stemming from an awesome experience at SD100, I am almost 100% recovered. After running 100 miles I think that I should do more leg strengthening exercises like lunges, calf raises, etc. to prevent shin splints like I got after the race. I think I'll wear shoes with a little more cushion than the New Balance 101's as well. It could be that running 100 miles is just hard on the body, and running in cushier shoes with slightly stronger legs won't leave me feeling any better after the next 100 I run... but there's only one way to find out.

Man, after watching Hardrock 100, I really want to run that race, but doing so will require traveling to another qualifying race between now and this time next year... then getting lucky enough to have my name drawn in the lottery.

Can't wait to see how Angeles Crest unfolds, have a lot of friends and acquaintances running it and I'm sure the're be countless stories to hear when it's all said and done.

Elissa and I just got back from a sweet 10 day trip to Colorado. We both got a lot of training in for a vacation. She's got a 70.3 coming up at the end of this month and I'm training for... uh... I don't know yet. Mt. Disappointment 50k? I put in about 50 miles of running last week, about 30 miles of biking and even a little swimming. The biking seems like a good way to build endurance and strength back up while taking it easy on my improving legs.

While 50 miles isn't much running for a week, most of it was up in elevation and included some slow, steep stuff, and even some glissading. Here's a fun 10 miler I did out of Boulder, CO up to Bear Mtn. then over to Green Mtn.: Bear to Green by price.chris@gmail.com at Garmin Connect - Details

Elissa frolicking through the Garden of the Gods

Red Rocks amphitheater in the far left of the pic

Rocky Mountain National Park

Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs

Had a great time on vacation. It was nice to explore Colorado, but it also felt good to go back to work, doing something that I enjoy with a bunch of coworkers that are great friends and a pleasure to work with.

A week of recovery.

2011-06-19T17:38:00.000-07:00

Su: 0
Mon: 0
Tue: 0
Wed: 0
Thur: 0
Fri: 0
Sat: 0

Weekly Mileage: 0

Definitely took a couple days after my first 100mi race for the pain to set in. Had pitting edema in my lower legs for a couple days, and just continuous leg pain, mostly near my shins. Big toes hurt/tingled too, and still do a little bit but I'm feeling wayyy better today. Working 4 12 hour shifts last week probably didn't help any... I won't schedule myself like that after my next hundo.

Finally caved in on Friday and started taking some Ibuprofen, I really think it has helped.

Some people might be wondering why I had duct tape over my nips in some of the pictures from the race:

Here's why:

I've had hit and miss luck with lubing up my nips in the past, and I liked the duct tape technique, until it fell off and I used lube around mile 75.

Lessons learned:

After running 50 miles I felt like had run 50 miles - I was tired and hurting, I thought I was going to feel fresh at this point because I was running those first 50 at any easy pace, Ha! Right, like I would feel fresh after 50 miles.

Even if you hurt and are feel impending doom, you can keep moving and will likely feel better, or at least enter a realm of delusion which allows you to run again, so don't freak out at mile 52 thinking, "there's no way I can run another 50."

100mi races are really fun to be around. The worst part was how I felt during the actual race. Everything else was sweet. I really want to go to some more races to pace, crew or volunteer, the vibe and energy and all that good stuff is pretty amazing when you're around the kid of nut jobs that get together to run 100 miles in one sitting.

Even though I haven't even run yet since the race I'm thinking about my next hundred... any suggestions on which to run? I believe that ultra-amnesia is real... you forget about the bad every time.

Here's a video of the gun going of at SD and the fast cats taking off, including but not limited to: Dylan, Rod, Yasssine, Topher, "Buzz", Chrissy and Jenny.

San Diego 100 Race Report

2011-06-14T22:20:00.000-07:00

· Adventure began with a beautiful drive through Julian with pacer/photographer/videographer/crewer extraordinaire Andy Salinger.

· Toeing the line, let everyone take off at a pace much too fast for all but a couple of the people in this lead pack. Beautiful meadows, lakes, pine forested rolling hills for the first 10 or so miles

· cruised down into penny pines, felt good up until this point in the race – mile 23, but didn’t feel very good for the next 77 miles =)

· Thought I could throw down some fast miles down to the pine creek aid station 7 miles down noble canyon, I was wrong, so wrong. Trail was fun, but more rocky and technical than I thought and I had to take my sweet time, beautiful trail though.

· Around the pine creek aid station it started to warm up and we were totally exposed to the sun… and horseflies that kept buzzing around my head and biting me for about 4 miles. I was using a branch off a bush to swat them away, worked pretty well. At the top of the only 2 miles of pavement on the whole course a couple volunteers were handing out popsicles, definitely hit the spot THANKS!

· I was kind of excited when I got close to the Sunrise aid station, because I knew I was slightly more than half way done, but I felt soooooo bad, sick to my stomach and tired. I really thought that there was absolutely no way I could run another mile or two, let alone 49. Luckily, this is where I picked up my first pacer Andy, who reminded me that I’ll have up’s and down’s along the way, and that I’ll eventually get better.

Felt better after this

A couple weeks ago when we ran the training run up and down Stonewall Mtn. I thought to myself, this isn’t that steep, I’ll run this whole section on race day. Haha. I hiked the majority of it, then cramped up briefly on the way down on the rocky section. Made it to Paso Picacho, the coke looked good so I had a gulp, stomach didn’t like it at all. Put on my headlamp and started walking out of there. Saw Chrissy Moehl arrive at the aid station when I was leaving, and she quickly caught me.

Donning the headlamp

Saw her leaving sweetwater aid station when I arrived. Was great seeing Aid Station captain Keira Henninger here. Andy & I were both wearing race shirts from a couple of Keira’s races: Los Pinos and Leona Divide, she was stoked to see that.

Picked up my 2^nd pacer Jimmy Dean Freeman at Sunrise 2, mile 81. He was sporting argyle Giants pants, a Buster Posey Jersey and Brian Wilson beard… Hummmm baby.

Pacer #1 Andy Salinger, RD Scott Mills, myself, Pacer #2 Jimmy Dean Freeman

Jimmy helped keep me motivated, and lied about how well I looked and was running, I needed to hear that.

· He jumped in front of me to pull me the last 4 miles into the finish. He said we needed to run 12min miles to finish under 20hrs, so he was going to run 11min miles to play it safe. He later told me we ran 9min miles, and it felt great.

My primary goal was always to run sub 20 hours. Another goal, if I couldn’t obtain the first, was to finish quicker than a pathetic Dodger’s fan who ran the race last year in 20:18.

No poison oak yet!

Saw many friends and familiar faces, helped make my first 100M experience a special one.

6 out of top 10 were from out of state

· I finished 7^th out of 159 starters with a time of 19:44, 66% finished other third dropped.

Predictions:

I wasn't too far off. Yassine and Rod tore it up, as did Dylan. Guillermo, Josh and Dave didn't show, and Ben dropped. Chrissy chicked me as predicted... barely! I'm gunning for you next time girl =) Jenny Capel and Betsy Nye did well as well.

Taper Tantrums

2011-06-06T11:40:00.000-07:00

SD100 is less than a week away, 4 days to be exact. I have 3 days off from work... perfect opportunity to go explore some new trails, but I have to keep my running to a minimum. So what do I do instead of run? Lounge around, work on my abs, lift weights too much - putting on extra weight that I don't need, hang out with my wife more - "letting" her beat me in cribbage. Good thing the NBA finals are on, that helps distract me a bit... GO HEAT!

I'm heading into this race slightly under trained, but injury free and chomping at the bit to run.

All my drop bags are packed, I've met with both of my awesome pacers, Andy Salinger and Jimmy Dean Freeman. I went out at 4am and tested my new headlamp out in the drizzly dark this morning. I've checked the extended weather forecast for race (high of 71, low of 47 on race day).

I've over analyzed logistical minutiae and wish the race was tomorrow so that I would quit worrying about it! I'm planning on using an iPod during part of the race, never have listened to music while racing, but should be good for keeping the ennui at bay. Have my wardrobe all figured out too:

Here are the artists on my playlist for race day: Benny Benassi, The Bloodhound Gang, Kanye West, Fedde Le Grand, Lady Gaga, Lit, Queens of the Stone Age, Red Hot Chili Peppers and last but not least, Rob Zombie.

I've been stretching a little bit more:

Oh, before I forget... I forgot to mention Shawna Tompkins as a top female contender at the race, she's got a lot of solid performances under her legs and has run well recently.

I'm bummed that my buddy Hone is temporarily on the DL, so I'll have to wait to smoke him at some future race... Bear 100 perhaps?

Any sage advice on how to survive tapering?

San Diego 100 Predictions

2011-05-25T05:49:00.000-07:00

Had a couple fun days of training last weekend on the course. Thanks for letting me bum a ride out there with you Carl. I was pleasantly surprised with how beautiful the area is, was also surprised with how many people were there on Sunday (60) and how organized all the aid stations were.

RD extraordinaire Scotty Mills leading the way

Conga line up to Stonewall Mtn.

View from the top

Ran the last 10 miles of the course on Monday w/ Elissa, here she is on the PCT

Penny Pines Aid Station

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ MEN'S FIELD PREDICTIONS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Guillermo Medina: he's a machine
Ben Hian: hard not to put him at number one, but Guillermo runs with a little more honey badger like tenacity.
Yassine Diboun: solid Miwok performance recently
Rod Bien
Dylan Bowman: younger guy, did well at Leadville
Brian Polley
Dave James... but he's running WS 2 weeks later... can't run them both well, what'll he do?
Josh Brimhall
Tim Long
Chris Price: It's my blog so I get to put my name on this list, I haven't run a 100, so I don't really belong on here though.
Harald Zundel: just ran across the country, he's ready to rock it

###################### WOMEN'S FIELD ###################

Krissy Moehl: will place very high overall and probably chick me
Julie Fingar
Jenny Capel: Is from Reno, I like Reno
Tracy Dimino
Betsy Nye: Is from Truckee so she's tough

ADDENDUM:

Forgot about Topher Gaylord, he'll finish top 5. Word on the street is there are some other dudes that'll tear it up that I'm not to familiar with... Kinda like James Bonnet at Leona Divide. And just like Leona there will be a handful of fast peeps that can't hang for 100, hopefully I won't be in this boat.

First DNF =(

2011-05-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

Had a fun time yesterday up in Los Olivos at the Born to Run Ultramarathons. Saw some familiar faces and met some nice people. My wife was kind enough to drive myself, Chan & Hone at 3:30 in the morning. Was signed up for the 100k but realized at mile 17 that I didn't feel up to running 60+ miles, so I ran about 30 and pulled the plug. I ran 50 miles at Leona Divide two weeks prior and my body just wasn't ready to race that far again. I've raced 50k's two weeks apart and been fine, but I learned that my body just can't handle doing that with these longer distances. Friends have told me this, I'd I've read that I shouldn't race these distances this close together, but sometimes I like to learn the hard way I guess.

Hone, Chan - who PR'd in the 50k, and myself.

I really don't like the fact that I dropped because I like to think of myself as someone who follows through with what he says he's going to do. I told people I was going to run 60 miles on Saturday, but now I have to say that I didn't. No fun. BUT, while I could have slowed down and pushed through some pain to finish the 100k race, doing so (while saving some pride) would have hurt me for running the SD 100 mile race 4 weeks from now.

RD Luis Escobar

So I learned from my mistake and now it's time to focus on training for San Diego 100. Can't wait!

Jake about to tear up the 50k

Leona Divide Race Report - 2011

2011-05-01T07:19:00.000-07:00

Dave James and I took off in the lead at the start, we were quickly joined by Fabrice Hardel, Jorge Pachecho, Josh Brimhall and James Bonnett. We all hung together and leap frogged a bit, rolling into the 16mi aid station in single file, all on each other's heels. Leaving the aid station we crossed Lake Hughes road and started up the 3mi climb. Jorge, James, and Josh took off together. Dave was behind that pack, and was passed by Fabrice and I who were kinda running up the hill together, Dave dropped, I think at the aid station after the top of the hill.

Fabrice and I ran together a lot from there to the turn around at mile 30 - he's a super nice guy and chatting with him for awhile definitely lifted my spirits a bit. Good luck at UTMB Fabrice! On the way down to the aid station we saw Josh limping with an obvious hammy issue which lead to his DNF. We saw Jorge and James heading up from the turn around as we were en route to it, James had a big happy grin and Jorge had his game face on. I hung with Fabrice for a LITTLE while after the turn around, but couldn't keep up up this long steady 2mi climb - where I saw my friend Evan Hone, about 10 minutes behind us. Fabrice continued to put time on me from here on out - finishing 3rd in 6:??, behind James who won with a time of 6:26 and Jorge in 6:32. I finished 4th in 6:55, and Evan 5th in 7:05. Coming up the last climb around mile 45, I looked down on the switchbacks and saw Hone... so I kicked into a higher gear and luckily kept him off. Knowing how well he can climb I was definitely a little worried.

I felt pretty good through miles 1-20, then had stomach issues from mile 20-40. I couldn't drink much or take Gu's without upsetting my stomach... so I started getting dehydrated and hypoglycemic a bit and struggled to walk a fine line between not making myself puke and taking in enough fluid/calories. Luckily this subsided for the last 10 miles of the race. I did start feeling a little loopy in the last 2 miles, and felt pretty much intoxicated after finishing. Luckily my awesome wife was there to take care of me (after crewing for me all day). After consuming 2L of fluid, including FLUID recovery drink and ice cold Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, I felt much better.

Looking & feeling a bit haggard at mile 42

I need to sit down

Enjoying good company and lots of fluid at the finish line

Thanks for putting on another great race Keira! And thanks to all the volunteers/aid station peeps.

Lessons learned:

- Pouring ice cold water on my head from my handheld is awesome when overheating... do this again.

- Continue to drink FLUID recovery drink immediately after long runs, followed by copious amount of fluid.

- I had absolutely no feet issues today and will continue wearing my trail running lite Drymax Socks.

Dirty, but pain free and blister free

- Having my wife crew and care for me after the finish is sweet, now I'll return the favor at her triathlons =)

- The trail running community is so fun and friendly. Had a great time hanging out at the finish area chatting with friends and making new ones, including this guy:

How did my predictions hold up?

I was right about a couple top guys dropping, and one top guy DNSing (Dobberteen). But I forgot about the X-factor... someone off the radar showing up and rocking it. That someone was James Bonnett, everyone else knows of him, but I didn't, and/or he wasn't on the entrant list before the race. Jorge didn't quite win as I predicted, and Fabrice placed a couple places higher than I predicted, Hone finished as predicted, I did a little better than I thought I would, even sans snowstorm. Placing in the top 3 really would have been nice, but I did take 2 hours off my time from last year at Leona so I'm happy to see improvement.

As far as the women's field... I'm not sure exactly how that panned out, but I did see a lot of woman pushing it up front, I'll have to see when the official results are posted.

I apologize to any anyone I saw immediately after finishing and kinda of ignored... I couldn't muster up the energy and mental wherewithal to speak much, it wasn't because I didn't want to chat!

Hone cruising to a solid finish... he saw the basketball court at the finish/start and decided to wear his b'ball shorts in the race so that he could get in a pick up game immediately after running.

Thanks for not passing me in the last half mile of the race this year Salinger

!!!!!!! POISON OAK ALERT!!!!!!!

I saw a fair amount on the trail, avoided MOST of it, but I'm sure I brushed up against a little. How little? We'll see in a the next couple days. I Tecnu'ed when I got home, hope it wasn't too late =( If I do break out in nasty, purulent, oozing rashes I'll make sure to post some =)

Leona Divide Predictions & My Poison Oak

2011-04-20T10:18:00.000-07:00

L. knee

Two weekends ago I went for a sweet run with Dominic up to Mt. Wilson, but coming down from Newcomb Saddle there was a lot of poison oak sticking out into out path, and I got oak all over my legs. After a week and a half of taking benadryl around the clock, and applying different lotions to my legs it's ALMOST gone, wait let me stop typing for a second to itch... ah, that's better.

<<<<<<<< WHO'S GONNA WIN LEONA?????? >>>>>>>>>>

As I sat down and looked at the field of 300 runners competing this year I quickly realized that it is a stacked race. There are at least half a dozen guys who I could see winning. As I made these predictions I kept saying to myself, "man, how can I put him that far down on the list?" I'm sure people will disagree with me a lot over where some people are placed, but it always comes down to who feels good that day, is free from injuries, and doesn't blow up. Also, I don't really know what I'm talking about.

1) Jorge Pachecho - just set a CR at old goats, has a solid record at Leona, will definitely be in top 3.

2) Josh Brimhall

3) David James

4) Dean Doberteen - has won his last 2 races.

5) Evan Hone - amazing climber, will pick off a lot of runners on each climb, will he be able to keep up in the flat rolling sections? He'll finish in 6:45 or faster.

6) Fabrice Hardel - won his last race - Avalon 50M. Solid runner.

*******I could see any of those guys above winning the race*************

7) Jeff Kozak - great in hills and high elevation, but Leona has neither.

8) Chris Price - If a freak storm rolls through and it snows he'll win, if it's hot he'll probably die at the turn around. He's done okay in 50k's but almost no experience in anything longer.

9) Mike Carson - has raced a bunch of 50k's well, how will he do over 50 miles?

At least a couple of those listed above will blow up before the finish line. One or two probably won't show r/t injuries or race schedule issues or life getting in the way.

Will a CR be set? YES (unless there's a super hot heat wave). There are a bunch of fast runners that will be pushing each other to run fast and the winning time will be 6:20 exactly.

Women:

I'm not as familiar with the women racing as I am the men, but here's how I see the podium shaking out:

1) Aliza Lapierre - top 5 overall easily, top 3 maybe.

2) Maggie Beach - she's had 2 solid performances lately: 2nd overall at Labor of Love 100M and Malibu Creek 50k where I watched her finish 4th overall under 5hrs, I expect her to tear it up and finish high overall.

3) Katie Haldeman

The race for top female will be tough as well and I expect some cheap tactics like this:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RECENT REALIZATION

I went for a fun run with my buddy Andy Salinger (he's going to take it easy at Leona, cruise into the finish around 8:30 and I'll be damned if I let him pass me in the last mile like last year) yesterday around the Lang Ranch/Cheseboro/China flat area. I mentioned how I recently ran 5 weeks in a row without really taking a week off to recover and this left me drained and was not smart training. He agreed, and said that marathon running has had a lot more research done with it's runners and their training has a lot more science to back it up. Running 3 weeks of solid mileage followed by a week of recovering is a broadly accepting plan. I'll try to stick to this more in the future. I though a 70 mile week for me was a recovery week, but at this point I need to run a 40-50 mile week, or less, to truly recover and be able to log 100+ mile weeks.

While the marathon training paradigm does have a lot research guiding time tested regimens, ultras ARE a different animal without the thousand of studies to back up optimal training schedules. I love this because it allows all of us to preach different strategies that worked for so'n'so. We're all experimenting and striving to find the best plan for us, considering past experience, hear say, and by reading stupid ramblings on-line like this.

Recovery Week - 73 mi

2011-04-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

Sun: 0

Mon: 0

Tue:
AM: 9 mile loop from Chantry with Elissa. I'm stoked that she's about to graduate and we'll be able to run together a lot more!
PM: 6 mile interval training on treadmill.

Wed:
AM: 5 miles on the road before work

Thu:
AM: 10 miles on Los Robles Trail with Evan, always fun trying to keep up with him on the climbs.
PM: 6 mile interval training on treadmill.

Fri:
AM: 14 miles, up and down Bulldog with Evan.

Sat:
AM: 22 miles with Dom, Chantry Flats up to Mt. Wilson, then down through Newcomb Saddle to car. Fun running on a little dusting of snow on the top.

A couple pics from me & wifey's run:

Last Week

2011-04-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

SUNDAY:

AM run before work: 5mi

MONDAY:

PM: Los Robles Trail, up at the top overlooking the ocean I said a prayer for my buddy after learning this morning that he passed away today : 15mi

TUESDAY:

AM: Lang Ranch up to Simi Peak, through China Flat, then Albertson Motorway back to car: 11mi

PM: Los Robles Trail: 9mi

WEDNESDAY:

AM run before work, cut it short b/c my legs feel trashed and I wasn't really feeling it: 4mi

THURSDAY: 0

FRIDAY:

Sunrise run on Los Robles Trail... still feeling sluggish and unmotivated like Wednesday: 10mi

SATURDAY:

Super fun run starting at Eaton. Met Dominic, Katie, Sada and Adam in the parking lot. Hardest training run I've done... maybe this whole year. Legs still felt pretty blah from the start, but it was so gorgeous and fun running somewhere new with a good group of peeps, and unexpectedly running into people that my motivation improved: 32mi.

Post run lunch: Chocholate FLUID, Blue Moon, Doritos, egg salad sandwhich, Monster Energy Drink... delicious.

SUNDAY: 0

TOTAL: 87mi

Not a ton of miles this week, but a good amount of climbing.

Pictures from Saturday's run:

Race Report: Great Race of Agoura - Pacific Half Marathon

2011-03-28T09:12:00.000-07:00

Signed up for the trail race, the Cheseboro Half, but the National Park Service shut the trail down because of the recent rain and thick mud so we were all switched over to run the Pacific Half Road 1/2 Marathon. I was hoping to wind up on the podium but got 7th overall out of 1,676, 3rd AG. Felt good about my time of 1:19 (PR) though considering there was 1,400 feet of climbing.

Race website has a cool video here with clips from all the races.

Christian Hesch won the race with a time of 1:10, I kept up with him and the lead pack for the first half mile or so, but quickly realized that these guys were way out of my league, total studs. 2nd place was only 6 seconds behind him, and 3rd only 40 seconds behind him.

Got a lift to start with the Salinger's, always fun to run w/ Andy, I think he ran it in 1:32. Saw Mike Becker (2nd place at Bandit 50k), he won AG in 1:26, saw Christian Chiappe at start too, he was just out for an easy run since he's competing at the Oceanside 70.3 this weekend, good luck Christian!

Tried out a new pair of Drymax socks today, the Running Lite Mesh socks. Loved 'em, no feet issues at all.

I definitely slowed down a lot on uphills and got passed on 'em, but passed people on downhills. I didn't expect this. I consider myself a good climber out on the trails, I guess that doesn't exactly translate to running fast up gradual slopes on the road.

Hard to run a 6min mi for 13 miles! Not used to running at that pace, but it was fun to mix things up a bit.

SPILTS:

1: 5:58
2: 5:53
3: 6:15
4: 6:49
5: 5:12
6: 5:53
7: 5:48
8: 6:04
9: 6:12
10 6:10
11 6:10
12 6:06
13 5:55
last .1, 4:47

Here's a shot of me looking tired at the end:

The guy behind me to the right was about 30 seconds ahead of me for the last 6 or 7 miles... I felt bad passing him in the last half mile, but not bad enough to not do it.

My buddy Andy and his daughter Audrey both got 4th place in their age groups, way to go Salingers!

I tried a different flavor of FLUID recovery drink after the race today, chocolate...mmmmmmm. Tastes like the hot chocolate powder mixes, definitely hit the spot after the race.

Now it's time to train for Leona Divide! I did have a lot of fun running a road race for a change, but running longer distances on the trail is more enjoyable for me, and I think I'm more cut out to run slower, up and down mountains on trails rather than run fast on the road... we'll see!

Report on Chris

2011-03-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

During change of shift I either give or get report on the patient(s) I'm taking care of... thought I'd give report on myself:

75kg, 30 y/o male

Neuro:

· Alert & oriented

· Occasional complaint of pain related to muscle soreness

Cardiovascular:

· Sinus Brady. rhythm at rest

· BP WNL

Respiratory:

· Manages secretions with a snot rocket/farmers blow or by hawking a lugie.

Gastrointestinal:

· Drinks FLUID recovery drink immediately after exercise. Eats all the time, might have a tapeworm.

Skin:

· Poison oak rash present on all four extremities. Treat with Technu soap and benedryl topical gel BID. Zanfel scrub used PRN excessive itching.

· ALWAYS wears Drymax socks when running and never gets blisters.

Psychological/Social:

· Happily married to my beautiful wife:

Has tons of support from a great family:

What I ran this week:

2011-03-19T12:11:00.000-07:00

Pics from last week's gorgeous run are up on Hone's site. Were the views worth the poison oak I have all over now?... Sure.

Su:   0 miles (iPhone turned alarm off with daylight savings = no time to run before work =( )

M: AM: 16 miles on Bulldog loop
      PM: 4 miles running around neighborhood

Tu: AM: 17miles in Wildwood Park
       PM: 4 miles running around neighborhood with Elissa.

W: AM: 16 miles on Los Robles Trail
PM: 6 miles on Los Robles Trail with Elissa.

Th: AM: 17 miles, down Sycamore Canyon to beach and back

F: AM: 16 miles in Wildwood Park, first hour and a half in dark... thought I saw a Dic-Dic... but it turned out to be a bush.

PM: 6 miles in neighborhood with Elissa.

Sa: 0

So stoked that Elissa is on spring break and I got to run with her!

Total Mileage: 101.

What's been working for me:

2011-03-09T13:55:00.000-08:00

I would like to preface this post by stating that I don't have years and years of experience like many runners, but I have had a lot of luck lately so I want to write down my current habits so that I can look back at them in the future and to see what others think about them. A lot of what I'm about to list as things that help my running I learned while running and chatting with Andy Salinger and/or Evan Hone, two great guys that both know a lot about running.

What's been working for me:

Mileage, the more weekly miles I put in the better I feel and the better I perform. I don't put in as many long runs anymore, instead I'll run twice on some days - once in the AM and once in the PM. While long runs are important, splitting up the mileage like this had allowed me to put in a lot more miles.

Sauna: I try to hang out in the sauna at least twice a week for 20 minutes or so, because my body hates running in the heat, it slows me down a lot. I think using the sauna is helping me get over this issue... slowly.

Recovering after races by taking the next day off running and easing back into my normal routine. I've also been drinking Fluid recovery drink after every run or gym workout, seems to help a lot. Tapering a couple weeks out before an event also helps my muscles recover to and feel "fresh" for the race.

Yoga: Helps maintain a fuller range of motion for all my muscles - important for a good stride. I should probably do a lot more of this.

Weights: I only lift light amounts of weight, but I try to do a lot of reps. I think this helps prevent imbalances.

Nutrition: I try to eat as little processed food as possible. Ironically, during a run, all I eat and drink is processed. I haven't really been eating any dairy the last couple of weeks and my body seems to like this.

Researching: websites put up by other runners (Stan Jensen's is a great hub of ultra info), chatting with physical therapists, respiratory therapists, doctors, dieticians and other nurses at work for tips on training/injuries/nutrition, etc.

So what did I miss?

Anything up there ridiculously NOT important for running?

Thanks!

Malibu Creek 50k Race Report

2011-03-07T21:29:00.000-08:00

4:12, first place, CR whooooo!

Went out too fast on the first loop, just like when I ran the bulldog last August... felt good doing so, but paid for it on the 2nd loop. I knew I'd be hurting on the climb on the 2nd loop because of how hot it was getting, but I wanted to build a big lead so I did. One person not only stayed with me, but passed me on the climb at about mile 5, luckily she (Anna Frank) was running the 25k. I toyed with trying to catch her but eventually gave up. I think I got to the 25k turn around 2 minutes behind her. How someone from Bakersfield learned how to climb like her, I have no idea - awesome performance. Beat the next 25k finisher by 5 minutes.

Lukas Temer finished in 2nd place in 4:20, then Michael Alfred in 3rd in 4:25. It was great chatting with Mike and Sara, the RD's of PCTR after the race, super nice people. Looking forward to seeing Sara at SD 100 in June.

Halfway up the hill on the first loop I saw a couple guys standing on the fire road, one guy with his hands folded on his chest and... what the?! His shorts where around his ankles, working on his tan lines I guess... who the heck is that guy? Then as I got closer he yelled out... "yeah Price." What! Who IS this guy? Then I realized it was Keith, a buddy of mine to started chasing me when I passed. The other guy, another buddy of mine, Andy, BA'd me when I saw them on the next loop. Uh, thanks for the inspiration guys? The second time I went to cross Malibu Creek my hamstring totally cramped up, couldn't move my leg. Luckily they had a rope strung across the river that I used to get myself to the other side, stretch out and pop some saltstick pills. For a second I thought I was done for.

Chatted with tons of fun people at the start and finish... can't wait to see Luis Escobar's pictures of the race, here they are: http://www.photostockplus.com/home.php?tmpl=159&user_id=68927&event=792747&album=792748 he got a bunch of cool creek crossing shots.

Now, time to not race for awhile. Welllll, I do have a race in 3 weeks, The Cheseboro Half Marathon, but I'm going to run it as a training run. I'll run it hard, but I don't plan on tapering for it. With these races so close together recently I have been tapering too much and running too little.

Bandit 50k Race report.

2011-02-22T13:45:00.000-08:00

60 or so of us 50k'ers raced today. Started out with Trey Barnes (pictured above) and I hanging out together for the first mile loop in the park. Hung right behind him until the tunnel under 118 where I passed him. He was a minute or so behind me at the 118 turn around, then I heard he had hip issues and finished fourth, super nice guy, works or owns the fleet feet in Encino - the one that used to be Phidippides. He was fast on the downhills, but a little slower than me on the uphills, so I was worried about us leap frogging all run, but that didn't play out.

Beautiful Day! Mountains to the east and north blanketed with fresh snow, clean views of the ocean and Channel Islands... lush green mountains and meadows. Snow level was only 700' higher than where we were running. Nice cool temperatures, 40s at the start and 50s at the end.

Running with one bottle and having two ready for me at the drop bag location: miles 10 and 19, worked perfectly, took a gel every 30 minutes, took 2 salt stick pills.

On the first loop, at the top of Rocky Peak (mile 15) I looked back and saw Michael Becker about 7 minutes behind me... seemed like he was gaining on me... scared me a little, but at the same spot on the next loop (mile 25) I didn't see him so I knew I had the race at that point, as long as I didn't fall hard and hurt something. Michael finished in 2nd, 4:38.

Going into the race I was hoping to run sub 4 hours, but around mile 10 I realized it probably wouldn't happen today. I thought about picking up the pace a bit to try and do it, but my pace felt like a good pace to run without blowing up before the end... and I was having a hard time justifying pushing it harder. I also wanted to keep just a little in the tank in case someone did catch me. I’m sure the mud slowed us all down by a couple minutes, but even without the mud I doubt I would have snuck in under 4 hours.

I was worried about Sean O'brien (pictured above) after Brian Krogman told me before the race started, that Sean lurks at first, is a great climber and picks a lot people off at the end. He finished in 5^thplace. Talking with him afterward he said this was a training run for him and that he wasn't really racing, lucky for me.

It was nice having Keira there cheering for me at the start and finish, she reminded me about the cash prize at Leona Divide this year and asked me if I was going to try and get it. I laughed out loud because it is such a stacked race this year, but I can’t wait to run it again.

Also looking forward to the Bandit 50k again next year with a bull’s eye on my back =) The 805 boot camp sure knows how to put on a great event, there were so many volunteers cheering and helping out at each aid station, loved it!

I was stoked to see the Ventura County Star do an article on the event, here's the on-line version: http://www.vcstar.com/photos/galleries/2011/feb/20/thousand-oaks-man-wins-50k-bandit-ultra-trail-run/19211/#section_header

Mile splits:

1- 7:07

2- 9:50

3- 10:28

4- 10:34

5- 9:01

6- 9:54

7- 7:00

8- 7:27

9- 6:36

10- 7:31

11- 7:19

12- 8:04

13- 8:23

14- 10:35

15- 10:54

16- 7:13

17- 7:24

18- 6:56

19- 6:48

20- 7:18

21- 8:18

22- 8:47

23- 10:22

24- 10:51

25- 8:20

26- 9:08

27- 8:16

28- 7:34

29- 8:28

30- 6:19

What to do, what to do.

2011-02-15T18:01:00.000-08:00

This June I will be running my first 100 miler… I am currently registered to run a flat 100k (Born to Run Ultramarathons) four weeks before the SD 100. Shortly after registering for the 100k, I thought to myself… Four weeks is enough time to recover… right? I’ve asked a couple running buddies what they think about my situation and responses have ranged anywhere from, “Four weeks is plenty of time to recover,” to “No way… don’t run the 100k.” I’ve also heard, “you CAN run the 100k, but don’t race it.”

Obviously the SD 100 is more important to me and I do want to place well there, does that mean I should not participate in the 100k at all? I’m beginning to think that may be the smart route.

Enlighten me with personal insight, stories, links, anything, please!

Taper Time

2011-02-06T14:21:00.000-08:00

For the first time EVER I am looking forward to tapering. And I think it's due to the fact that I finally feel like I've put in some good training, well at least for the last month. I've worn myself out and I'm looking forward to running a little less mileage and running shorter distance at faster paces for the next couple weeks.

We'll see how long this feeling lasts. I'll probably be going nuts at the end of this taper, as per usual.

Beautiful Day for a Run

2011-02-02T14:17:00.000-08:00

Serrano Valley

Almost back to car at Wendy parking lot.

Went out for an easy 22 miles today. I haven't been out in Sycamore Canyon for a long time so it was fun to see it all again, especially with the clear skies and with everything being so green right now. It was nice not to climb so much for a change and focus a bit more on putting in some faster miles... but I've been putting in more miles than my body is used to so "fast" miles for me aren't really that fast. With some races approaching I want to make sure my legs don't forget what it's like to turnover more quickly.

Why do I run?

2011-01-29T14:52:00.000-08:00

LEONA DIVIDE TRAINING RUN
(lots of PCT single track... http://leonadivide5050.com/)

Every once is awhile I ask myself... why am I slogging away on the trails, hours and hours every week. Here's what I've come up with so far:

-It's fun (see picture above).
-The people I run with are amazing individuals (see picture above).
-It's a good way to clear your head/decompress.
-I feel so fortunate that I am healthy enough to run. Working as a nurse I see thousands of kids who are temporarily or sometimes permanently disabled. You never know when something could change your whole world in an instant... so I'm going to run while I'm able.
-My dad says, "it oxygenates your brain," and I could use some extra brain power.
-It's good for you.
-It gives me an excuse to wear short shorts.

So, why do YOU run????

"I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!"

2011-01-25T11:10:00.000-08:00

After watching a couple inspiring videos of Jack LaLanne this morning I was struck by a reoccurring feeling... that I must be taking crazy pills.

I work at a world renowned children's hospital... that has a G.. D... McDonalds inside the hospital. How can a place that exists to improve people's health be poisoning them, there families, and workers with such horrible food?!

Being a nurse obsessed with nutrition, exercise and overall health I am continuously baffled at how many in my profession, who are brilliant caretakers and much more intelligent than myself can ingest such filth and live such a sedentary life when it is so well known that this is bad for your health. I must admit that I cave in and gorge on cookies and treats that people bring in, but I don't like it, but no one else seems to care.

I think I'll go for a run to clear my head and cool my jets =)

Junk Miles?

2011-01-20T05:38:00.000-08:00

After watching the Krupicka, Roes, Mackey and Jurek interview: http://www.irunfar.com/2011/01/video-qa-with-jurek-krupicka-roes-mackey.html. I started thinking about what Anton said about "junk miles," and how some people might consider a lot of the miles he puts in junk miles.

Do I run junk miles? Doubtful, considering how little I usually run... but what about the 4 miles I run in the morning before I head into work, do those really help me in any way? Anyone have a good definition of junk miles?

Thousand Oaks Ultra Runners... join the T.O.U.R.?

2011-01-18T16:01:00.000-08:00

Went exploring a bit on my run today and found two new hills to climb... absolutely brutal in 80 degree temps, I am weak in heat, something to work on.

The more I run around TO, the more I realize how lucky I am to have so many great trails around here. I occasionally run with others around the TO area, so why not form a running group: Thousand Oaks Ultra Runners. Eh, sounds like too much work.

Here's a pic looking west from lizard rock, the three mountains pictured all have trails to the top =)

First 100 mile week.

2011-01-16T11:54:00.000-08:00

I know I have to step up my training to prepare for my first 100 miler this summer: San Diego 100. I finally started running before work, which means getting up at 4:30am. I've also started double days on my days off, running once in the AM and once in the PM. While I miss my single long runs on my days off, I am able to recover a lot faster and log more miles with these double days.

I wonder if running my first 100 mile week has anything to do with me sitting here sick? I hardly get sick, maybe running more and being around lots of kids with viral respiratory infections got the best of my immune system. I hated calling in sick for work today... but when I don't feel like getting off the couch I probably shouldn't be taking care of critically ill children.