Racezilla

The Quest for a Silver Buckle and another 100 Mile Endurance Run Finish

2012-02-17T15:43:00.000-08:00

2/17/2012 Rocky Road 100

It’s Friday and I’m sitting here too anxious for focusing on work. In a little more than 12 hours I will be toe-ing the line for my second official 100 mile endurance run.

After finishing such a stellar 24:34 at Rio Del Lago 100 in 2010, I’ve been a little shy to get back out there for fear that the accomplishment would not be repeated. But if I was afraid of such silly things then I would not be an Ultra runner… so here I am just hours from another fabulous journey of the mind, body and soul. It’s only slightly odd that I don’t feel overly nervous. Something about the quantity of races I’ve completed over the last 10 years has given me a very physical awareness of what it’s going to feel like during the invite. The good part of this is that it helps minimize the inevitable ‘butterflies’ in the stomache feeling.

Rocky Road 100 by the looks of it will be far different than my true 100 miler at RDL100. The terrain dare I say, looks quite manageable, and with a 15 mile loop I won’t even be carrying a hydration pack but rather just a bottle or two for each loop. I’ll grab substance from each of the aid stations and my vehicle (if I can park close enough).

Though I’m very excited for this race and know that I have the mental tenacity to get through I do have one somewhat regret. That my numero uno cheerleader, friend, and partner… my wife, will likely not be in attendance this time. She has only missed one ultra before which was a small one which I had repeated a couple of times. Even when I’m at my worst physically, mentally, and emotionally if I know that she is there it just lifts me up and quite honestly makes me feel like Superman. I don’t know how she does it or why I’m so moved by it but I absolutely feel convinced that I am a Superhero when she is near, especially at races. It was just unfortunate that this race dictates differently. I’m ok with it because I know she would be there if she could. Due to the looping of this course it will help that I have a few friends doing the 50 mile and one other doing the 100 mile option, I won’t be alone. My wife and I are so happy with such good memories that she will still drive me to the finish even if she were 100 miles away (pun intended), I only need to think about some of our fonder memories to make me smile... and a smile can carry me many miles in darkness and in light. No matter what I know she is already proud of me and me of her. We will enjoy the post festivities and she will be present for many many more races to come. It’s a Wonderful Life.

So with this race almost at foot (harhar), I can now let out my secret goals and divulge my hopeful efforts: First as always is simply to show up and go for the finish, secondly is a PR, and third and very desirable in my mind is it would be freakin’ awesome if I could shave off those 34 minutes for a sub 24 hr finish. I will indeed be thrilled simply to receive a buckle no matter what but a Sub24 hr finish would just be cou’de’gras….

So with that I will just keep moving forward one step at a time, and by the end of this weekend let’s see just what color that buckle is !

Joey

Western States 100

2011-12-09T11:03:00.000-08:00

The lottery is tommorow.. and all I can do at the moment is sit and wait... waiting... waiting...

Everyone seems to have their own opinions or thoughts on how the lottery percentages work, but it seems as this being my second time official lottery entrant (two additional years but those were raffle entries) it somewhere about 10% chance of being selected.

I'm honestly not certain how I feel yet about the potential of being picked but one thing for sure; I'm going to be COMPLETE RACEZILLA until raceday if it happens!!!

Best luck to all in the lottery

Wagon Tail Saloon

2011-12-08T13:13:00.000-08:00

The Saloon continues to take shape. I'm often finding myself anxious to do more work on it so it can be done, but I don't want to sacrifice my design or quality... so easy goes it. Since tearing down the first version Bar#1 (it was not following my idea from the beginning, but the ball was already rolling and I had to jsut wait for it to come to a stop before picking up the pieces and moving on), I've been very pleased with this rendition of the DIY L Shaped Bar #2. I was careful this time to build the framing from my design before letting anyone else in on what I was doing, this ensured that now I have no-one but me to blame if something does not work or fit ;) You may also noticed we've modified our Saloon name to something a bit more fun with some word play on it.

The bar framing is complete and decorative stained planks are becoming the bar top and working counter top (as you see in the above pic). I'm having some trouble locating the edge piecing for bar top but patience is key I've learned. Sadly it will not be even close to ready for our Christmas party but at least the form works and I can cover it with tarps until I get around to finishing the stain and clear coat for top.

Last night I started on electrical and some audio wiring. Also test fit the fridge and whew it's a perfect fit! I'm hoping another month for completion and then we can have our ribbon cutting to the 'Wagon Tail Saloon'

Remember the Planjo Banjo project?

2011-11-18T15:24:00.000-08:00

Well, some may recall that over the summer I let myself get wrapped up in the project of trying to build an instrument. NO I am NOT a Luthier... and trust me the craftsmanship on this Banjo I built lacked a lot!

The important thing was more about what I learned and whether I thought I could suffer through learning an instrument. This project told me that if I had the patience to see this through, whcih I did... perhaps I deserved a well built instrument?

Lo and Behold I started looking around using the knowledge I gained while building my Banjo. I was first shocked at the cost of a new instrument. Like many other things though the theory "buy the most you can afford" holds true for instruments as well. I just began scouring ads and postings for a decent lightly used Banjo. Then after many weeks and months of looking I came across a perfect price point for a Classic Goodtime 2 Banjo made by Deering, and the best part is that it was new and un-opened. Could not pass up the deal so yes I treated myself early... now I gotsta' lern to play the banjer'

Tired Dog Saloon - The adventure begins

2011-11-18T15:07:00.000-08:00

For a couple of years now we've been tinkering with the idea of building a bar. Not just any bar with a top but something themed. We took an excellent roadtrip to Montana last summer and did some extensive research all along the way. I can't count how many bars and saloons we checked out, but by far and without doubt our most succesful research was of that in Virginia City, Montana. This place has the most incredible history and some great stories that are still being told.

Where the bar will go

Upon return from our trip we tried to sort through what pictures we could and make a pile just for Saloon and Bar ideas. It seemed the right thing to do for conveying an appropriate theme was to remodel the entire room, not just add a new piece of furniture. So forward we go!

We are taking the front room space and over the next 6-15 months (due to other project constraints and cost) and will turn this space into a an "Old West Saloon". It's going to be a lot of creative work since we still want some current technology in this room, but not detract from the theme.
The plan already went into motion by tearing out the grey carpet and installing a tile floor which mimics the color and shape of old wood planks. Now we are starting with the bar...

The Banjo moves forward through the knowledge of its past

2011-11-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

The piano may do for lovesick girls who lace themselves to skeletons, and lunch on chalk, pickles, and slate pencils. But give me the banjo... When you want genuine music—music that will come right home to you like a bad quarter, suffuse your system like strychnine whiskey…ramify your whole constitution like the measles, and break out on your hide like the pin-feather pimples on a picked goose—when you want all this, just smash your piano, and invoke the glory-beaming banjo!

~ Mark Twain

Nov. 4th, 2011 on PBS "Give me the Banjo" airs for the first time... I can't wait

"the BarkBox 1.0"

2011-06-08T15:36:00.000-07:00

“the BarkBox 1.0”

We are coming up on one of our favorite volunteer activities of the whole year, the San Diego 100 Mile Endurance Run SD100. Our Aid Station is one of the most critical, fun, entertaining, busy, and everything else... but this leads into my latest project the BarkBox. One of my duties is the music and means of supplying said beats. I’ve been using a really old analog super low power old school boombox, I think the abuse it received last year was the final straw and it’s speakers and internal amp went South and not in a good way… but that’s ok because I think I’ve owned this thing for something like 20 years! Geez , I think I earned a new one.

Well for most folks (and me included at times) would just go start shopping to find a suitable portable stereo. Of the plethora of varieties and prices out there it would be fun shopping; however, based on my unexpected success and results of my previous project the “Planjo”… oh yeah, and my lack of funds, I decided why not see what I can do with what’s in the garage. Thus BarkBox was given life, it has a long way to go and I got some really fascinating ideas for version 2.0 but you’ll have to wait and hear about those once I start building (after the current project of the Bryan Saloon is done). BTW - Thank you to my very very patient wife who endured my few 2am working sessions.. including one of those where I was testing Volume and Gain on the individual Amps.

The name BarkBox is derived because this was built mainly for the use of our Sunrise Aid Station at the SD100. Our station is themed and aptly named “the Dog Pound” so what better compliment that then to build “the BarkBox”!

Goal: My aim on this project was initially just to build a speaker enclosure for two fairly decent 8ohm 5” DVC speakers I had sitting around (well, actually they are gathering dust waiting for me to finish yet a different project.. surprise surprise). Though since the AMP I was using previously (my store bought boombox over 20 years old) could not handle anything larger than small room listening I needed something that could broadcast and be heard over the mountains in a wide open space. The objective here was to see if I could replicate something as a prototype with minimal funding and be creative with what I already had available to me. It also had to be low power and run of readily available batteries (2.0 will hopefully be solar) and be able to charge whatever device the tunes are playing from.

Cost: about $30 (not counting whatever I already had laying around like speakers and some of the electronics). I actually spent a great deal more than that but I was also replenishing my electronics toolkit and plan to return any unused items.

Time to build: All together about 20 hours, after all I did have to go back and re-teach myself soldering by deconstructing an old VCR (YES, a VHS VCR…ever seen one of those kids). This had the added result of harvesting some ‘new’ LED’s, Capacitors, and some micro switches and buttons… COOL!

Result: AWESOME! Somewhat surprising to me was how well this worked once everything got packaged back together.

Stats:

Two Amps, a Left and Right channel @ 7 Watts each
Two speaker enclosures capable of running any format speaker wiring since they are Dual Coil Voice; I can run them as 4 or 8 Ohm, 65Watts output capable, and can be in a single or double stereo setup
USB Charger (properly built circuit for you critiques out there, this is not a straight drop down from 9v to 5v regulator)
Rugged enclosures and very discreet. I love that it looks like nothing but packs some great performance
Can operate on 8v - 15v (9v battery or 12v setup like 8xAA which is what I use)

Other Notes: To save even more money, and since the store was not open at 1am durnig testing I fashioned my own heat sinks as amps and regulators tend to lose a lot of energy through heat. Yes, not the most efficient project but it works great, I LOVE how it looks, and I have some amazing ideas for version 2.0. Some of you may also note the kit boards on the amps. Let it be known I actually did build my own two Amps using the LM386 IC design, unfortunately those produced serious noise problems and static at anything over a Dishwasher volume level. Not satisfactory for my use so I opted for another IC designed for more power and just a better all around Op Amp. Only problem is that I could not find these IC's standalone and in my search came across a kit so admittedly I did buy the kit, funny fact is that the schematic was identical on the kit to the one on my breadboard save for some resistance and capacitance values.

We all love pics so here are a few of them and the rest of them will be in my Picasa library (links are on this page in the menu)

A plain old litter box which we have several of sitting around

Your basic $3 dollar cheapo plastic 'Stanley' box

Speakers with terminal blocks mounted on back-side

Terminal Posts used on bottom to allow for various speakers configs and add-ons, plus a little sound proofing for bass response

Getting Started and needed a based for mounts for PCBs and add to sturdiness

YAY! Breadboarding, which actually was fun and should always be done before soldering

Mounting of the different boards and connections on all sides

Bonus tray in tool box. Battery access without damaging electronics

RCA inputs, Speaker outputs and Gain/Volume control for each channel, oh yeah and a couple of fans to pass the heat through box

Switches, USB input and LED's Oooh ahhh

More breadboarding for the USB charger and my home-made heatsink

Tada! and IT WORKS!!!! :)

Project Success and the Banjo Planjo really exists now

2011-03-21T14:52:00.000-07:00

It is with a satisfying “twang” and grin that I declare my Banjo project complete. Now even though it’s complete does not necessarily mean playable. Keep in mind I remember nothing of how to play so it’s just plucking the strings.

Going through the full process of building this was an excellent learning curve and I think in some way even picked up a few lessons on how to play. The build process took a long time but I used it wisely to read, listen and watch everything I could about Banjos. Once I got the strings laced on this homemade project (after snapping 2 of them with my homemade pegs) I started giving my shot at the basic Scruggs rolls. My “Planjo” as I now call it actually turned out quite good considering I several lack in the woodworking skills department. It’s very light weight and has an open back. The neck is very thick, and the bridge and nut are super flimsy and I expect them to break anytime. Also, make no mistake that even though I don’t have an ear for what to tune-it-in yet I can tell you without hesitation it sounds like shit; the best part about all that is that I still LOVE it!

I set myself out on a mission and would not let myself get caught up in spending new money. I took whatever time I could get in between running, work, and errands to work on it and am glad that I stuck with it. The things I learned along the way were invaluable and at times eye-opening. It was really cool coming across new videos and information about all the varieties and possibilities of that sweet sounding 5 stringed instrument.

All together I probably spent about 20 hours building two “Planjos”. One broke a few times in different places and got glued together, while the other faired ok in the process and actually is what I used to play the basic rolls on.

Knowing that I stuck with this process to the finish and the duration was a little over two months it gave me a smile to show what’s capable when you are really motivated. I went from almost knowing nothing of instrument building and certainly barely anything of playing as you may recall from my last story.

For the curious ones there, I really did just use what I could find in the garage. final parts included 5 eye bolts for tuners, 1/4" plexiglass for the head, and a 4x4 sheet of plywood that was cut, glued, and manipulated to resemble a banjo. My only cost basis was about $6 for the strings.. WooHoooo

“Twang Twang, play on my Hillbilly friends”

The Happiest Sound on Earth …

2011-01-19T13:21:00.000-08:00

A BANJO of course. How anyone can turn a frown on a banjo is beyond me. I don’t recall why I had initially thought to pick one up when I was a kid, but I suspect it had something to do with me being a teenager and needing to show I was different (as if Junior High School was not hard enough).

I took up some lessons after acquiring a 6 string banjo at the young age of about 13 or 14. Sadly the lessons nor the banjo lasted long. As you can imagine I did not have much influence around me to play this instrument and never really was encouraged to keep it up. When learning anything it seems to always be the first several lessons over the course of a couple of months which are the hardest. Though I have learned that as long that you can get past that “introductory” phase of anything your chances of being successful are significantly greater.

Without influence or good motivation I found it especially hard to stick with the lessons. In part because I sat in tiny cubicle sized room in the upstairs of a chain type music store with a chain smoking guitar only player trying to teach me some cords. Even though I knew Bluegrass is what I wanted to learn he only taught me everything in guitar style and had no knowledge of actually playing a banjo of any type; in fact he never even took my instrument to show me a proper way to play my variety of instrument. Oh well, with age comes wisdom, and with wisdom comes the knowledge to stop wasting money or money in unknown returns.

It was much less than a year after after acquiring the banjo that it became obsolete in my teenage life and went the way of the DoDo bird. Fast forward almost 30 years and I’m pretty sad that of all the instruments I tried and played I never stuck with playing one even off and on, imagine had someone helped me stick with it I might actually know something about music or at least enough to keep a party going. All things I played were from 4th grade when I played the Violin and Cello (Violin being my favorite even still). Shortly after that came Piano and Organ, after all my mom was the best Church organist I’ve ever heard. I do miss the times when I was young being able to sit next to her at the organ and she taught us to play and use the foot pedals…. Ahh memory lane but ‘tis a story for another day. From the stringed and keyed instruments I still managed to find my way into a a banjo, and now as an adult find myself longing for that sound again. I’m certain that part of my renewed interest lately is because life is challenging and we need things that make us smile as often as possible. For me it’s that good old fashioned frailing and picking of a five string banjo. Go ahead try to be mad when you are listening to one. I find it impossible.

Over the last couple of months I have been researching and listening to as much bluegrass music that I can find. Utilizing modern day resources of the Internet, satellite and that old brick and mortar place, a Music store. It also helps that one of my co-workers is a very talented stringed musician and singer, and though he does not know it yet I’m about to embark on a musical journey and will surely have an endless string of questions and discussions with him.

Well here I am in modern day world of January 2011. I find myself challenged by time and money (don’t we all?) and have a thirst to to learn an instrument (it’s on my bucket-list, isn’t it on yours?). Given the constraints above where do I start? Well the Internet of course! This has just fueled my resources beyond what I could have imagined. I find myself day dreaming and having fairly consistent thoughts of playing some bluegrass again. I swear that even when the quiet has settled all around me I can still hear the backwards roll of Earl Scruggs, and I smile. Life is good. Though since I can’t stop thinking about wanting to learn I’ve force fed myself some proverbial sugar (or medicine depending on your point of view) and realized nothing stops you from doing what makes you happen. I still believe that if you want something enough and for the right reasons, a little logic, patience, and thoughtfulness can go a very long way to procuring something and resolving ideas to something tangible.

Sooooo, by now you are asking why all the rambling, and more importantly what are you going to do about it! Rather than sit and wish on something which I think I want to try (because wishing is often times a wasted exercise since you are still at the same place where you started). This time I am going off the fact that I’m done worried about what people think about the adventure and getting off my ass to BUILD A BANJO! Yep, that’s right, me build something that requires a little craftsmanship and patience. My only hope is that the process goes well enough that I’m left with something I can put some strings on and learn to play an instrument again.

Here’s how the process is going down. I’ve probably read through a hundred web pages and listened to a few more than that of songs. It’s time I told myself and to make this even more fun… or frustrating, I am going to do this on an incredibly low budget. If this works out I am already envisioning a much more honed project where proper materials and tools are used; though it will still be homemade.

What I learned in all my perusing of materials is that even a beginner banjo will run you an easy $500 and a playable used one will still cost you upward of $300. Yikes that’s a lot of cash for something that may not last more than a couple of months, remember how my story started? A small digression was that the banjo I had as a child was received as a gift by my uncle who was in a band. Although I’m sure he got a great deal on it, no doubt so money was spent and unfortunately lost since I don’t even know where the instrument ended up. Anyway, back to my project. Since I don’t want to buy a $100 replica from the far East, I decided to spend much much less than that in building my own. If all goes well I’m certain to end up with a nice professionally built and tuned instrument, but let’s first see what the next couple of months hold. Also just to speak my opinion I have nothing negative about products coming from other countries. I also think that some of the first Banjos were introduced and made in China, but to me personally I can’t ever think of anything else but good ole USA when I hear a banjo. Thus any banjo I purchase WILL be American made and I’m proud of that.

The Internet has brought forth many incredible resources in way of pictures, videos, sounds and forums. I’ve ‘picked’ (haha) out what might be useful in my workshop adventure. Step one was to go out in the garage, grab a micro-brew (of course, sheesh I’m not an animal and I do have priorities) and survey the contents as they might possibly relate to instrument building. A Luthier, I am not but at least I can try.

Most of the garage contents are your basic set of hand tools and hand power tools, along with an assortment of plywood cuts. Luckily I had a 4x4 sheet of ¾” ply and thought to myself… “self, why not?” and here the “Planjo” begins it’s journey on a sunny SoCal day in my garage. I took some measurements and generic templates I could find on the Internet (thank you technology!!) and printed those out. Proceed to grab another excellent micro-brew and starting cutting with my old jigsaw. I did make a great little jig to measure out and cut the circles which will become the RIM of my new banjo. For the peg head and neck I’m hoping to make that as a single cut. Since I don’t have any old wood or furniture suitable I took a bunch of left over ¼” and ½” plywood plank strips and glued those together to make a 26”x3”x3” piece which will become the one-piece peg head and neck.

As I drew out my patterns and started cutting into the wood I also patted myself on the back as I’m not a Craftsman but I was handling things well. I also realized that the way I was marking the wood and the sizes I had on hand (must be the Engineer in me) that it would require minimal extra time and no additional wood to cut two of everything. Thinking that if one piece breaks I’ll have another to make sure the project keeps moving forward. Worst case scenario I have a bunch of cut wood that will be easier to recycle and best case scenario is I will have two playable banjos… Dueling Banjos anyone? Really though I would be thrilled to even have just one semi playable instrument. It may not be tuned or look pretty but will have similar traits to a standard banjo and perhaps I can at least pick up some tab playing, “Do I hear Foggy Mountain Breakdown resonating in the distance?”.

As I ramble through this build I also can’t stop thinking about one of the songs that I can’t get enough of, “Over the Rainbow”played on a Ukulele. Understandably you probably should not play that tune on a Banjo, but if all goes well with this build I begin to wonder how difficult to build a Ukulele. That even has a bonus of only needing four strings. Hmmm can I possibly learn a few Uke tabs after gaining some ground with some 3 finger pickin’ or clawhammer…

Ok, back to the project…

I Buckled!

2010-09-14T16:20:00.000-07:00

Rio Del Lago 100 Mile this weekend was a huge success! I'll have plenty more notes to post once I can sit still and collect my thoughts.

Best Crew and Pacer helped get me to a 24:33 finish.

Story to be Continued...

About to embark on the adventure of my first 100 Mile foot race

2010-09-08T15:52:00.000-07:00

Rio Del Lago 100 Mile Endurance Run

It's now official with Bib # 38... This Saturday 9/11/2010 @ 6AM I will begin my latest challenge of running a 100 mile race, not to be confused with my 24 hour race completion (of 106.1 miles).

Ridiculous and crazy and exciting and everything else you can imagine.. are the thoughts going through my head. I wanted to write more before the event but I realize I've not yet packed and am leaving tommorow bright and early.

We also opted to rent a GPS beacon and you should be able to follow my journey live @ http://www.trackmyathlete.com/tm360.aspx?name=271671

I will say though that I fell strangely confident and can't wait to get started. It will be grueling, difficult, emotional, exciting, rewarding, and probably one of the best things I've done athletically since finishing a Full Ironman!

Stay tuned for some hopeful race reports while I am recovering next week..

Happy Trails

Team Marathon Bar 2010

2010-06-10T11:50:00.000-07:00

It has been some time since I actually did any kind of an update here and I owe it to myself and any random person coming in to at least give a shout out!

I’ve had a couple of ramblings infrequently, and since the last set of posts I actually have kept running and have done many more races. The official Marathon (includes Ultras also) count is now 43! When you combine those medals and such with all the smaller stuff of ½’s and my incredible wife’s new collection of medals, it makes for a very fun and decorative wall in our house.

The most recent races which I wished I would have blogged about were San Juan Capistrano 50K (where I regained my FTJ title back), American River 50 (where I lost my title again to FTJ), PCT50 (where I was not even close to getting my title back, but did lose 30 minutes to stop traffic for a rattlesnake), and of course the Western States Memorial weekend training runs (where we pulled off 3 consecutive days of running and totaled 70 miles).
So you can see the last several months have been busy and yet wonderful.

I’m going to post a couple of other quick race bits because I really hope to get decent coverage for when I am pacing Jenny at Western States 100 this year!

The other big reason for posting now finally is, wait for it… I was accepted to be part of a Sponsored Team. From here on to the end of the year I will officially be racing as a member of “Team Marathon Bar” powered by Snickers. Their motto is “Stay on Keep On” and it fits because truth be told these bars are delicious, yummmm and do help you to keep going since you are not stuck eating just gooey packets of sugar but tasty energy bars.
This is a completely new experience for me and I’m really excited to on a sponsored team. Yes, of course we wear their gear but I found the clothing they provide to be very comfortable and the designs are well done. I’m proud to show off their kit while also getting to eat a bunch of bars provided to Team Members for free.

Our BIOs for Team Marathon will be hosted on www.marathonmoments.com. Check it out! So for any of you who ride or run with me I hope you show up to our training and races because I will have a fresh supply of Marathon Bars just for the asking.

“GO” TEAM MARATHON BAR

I just decided to start runnin'...

2009-10-30T09:56:00.001-07:00

When I think of the journey I just took of 24 hours it reminds me of this great scene from Forrest Gump. It so simple yet so intuitievely deep on an emotional level that for me at least, it embodies much of where the drive to do this stuff comes from.

Watch it for yourself and see if it emits anything from your inner runner...

My 106 Mile Journey

2009-10-29T10:44:00.000-07:00

106 Miles in 24 Hrs. for 6th overall finisher

Oct. 24 - 25 weekend was the San Francisco One Day run. The weekend is concluded and was simply incredible, I'll be updating this little story as my memory and muscles return.

To give you a very general synopsis though here is some info to ponder:

Stats:
Consumed During Event
• 10 Gel Packets
• 5 Shot Blocks
• 600 Mg. of Caffeine
• 4 Sandwiches
• 10 S Caps
• 3 Cans of Coke
• 1 Bowl of Meatballs and Pasta Marinara
• 1 Bowl Turkey and Pasta Soup
• 4 Gallons of Water
• 1 Cream Cheese Bagels
• 1 Double Shot Vente Starbucks
• 1lb of assorted soft Candy
• 2 Crew members
• Infinite = Amount of patience my crew had
• 20 Emails I received and read by lamplight while running
• 40 is Approximate number of laps I have no recollecton of
• 2 Days post race before I could walk on my own (Tuesday)

• Burned Approx. 15,000 Calories
• 4Lbs is the amount of weight I lost in those 24 hours
• 4 Shoe Changes
• 2 Clothing Changes
• 400 Right Turns (rectangular shaped course)
• 10 Minutes was the longest stop
• 0 is number of times I stopped to sleep
• 13 ½ Min./Mile Average
• 14Hrs a new 100K PR
• 22 Hrs. 22 Min. a new 100 Mile PR
• 24 Hrs a new 24Hour run PR
• 1.06 Miles is Distance of each lap
• 100 laps Completed
• 106 Miles total completed
• 106 Miles is distance my wife made me drive home to see how far it really is (Sun Valley/Burbank – Oceanside)

Post Race Events:
• Lunch = 2 Double Doubles from In-N-Out and 3 Beers
• Slept for 6 Hrs. post lunch
• Dinner = 2 Servings BBQ Tri Tip, 1 Baked Potato, 2 Slices Apple Pie, 1 Slice Chocolate Cake, 3 More Beers
• Slept 9 More hours post dinner

My 106 Mile journey….
I really can’t thank everyone enough for their support and thoughts while I fulfilled a very important personal goal for myself. This past weekend I completed a 24 Hr race in San Francisco. It was a day of many firsts, particularly that I ran (with no sleep or major breaks) 106 Miles all at once. It’s somewhat hard to give you a synopsis of the day as it unfolded but I’ll try.

I’ve been to SF many times and already find it to be an enjoyable place, and I’m familiar with most of the scenery which was good in a way because it allowed me to focus on the necessities and mental planning for the race. Upon arriving at Crissy Field it looked to be a typical Ultra, it’s a lot of the same faces you typically see and not much fanfare. If you ever get into the sport of Ultra Running and need the glitz-n-glamour of a big money Marathon… forget about it because you won’t find it at these races, These are people who look to set personal goals and challenges and it’s not about the recognition or money that’s for sure. It’s also a big reason why I love being around these folks. These are people with day jobs and see the realities of the day to day world but yet are not afraid to venture out. These are people who like a sense of family and human empathy, we help each other.

Anyways, Leslie and I get to the field no problem at about 8:00am after getting about 4 hours of restless sleep. Check-in for the race took all of about 3 minutes since it’s only 65 of us and all we got to do is get a transponder and T-shirt. Since it’s a 24 hour event nobody is rushing to get started and we still have almost an hour so I decide we’re gonna go grab some Starbucks and breakfast. We're back at Crissy Field about 8:45am and all the runners gather to listen to the RD which is typical last minute run info. No surprises he announces, we are having a perfect weather day for running and setting new Course Records (CR) which I think they had 3 broken this weekend. In addition two runners qualified for the USA 24 Hr Racing Team; Brian Krogmann and Suzanna Bonn.. Congrats to both of them!

I wade into cluster of folks with my Ultra friend Norm Haines. He’s done this before not to mention he is also a Badwater 135 Finisher, so in essence I’m in good hands with his advice and companionship for a while. Norm and I get started and run a few laps together and although we had similar goals I was still worried about getting some miles in the bank. I know that the cardinal rule is DON’T try to bank time early in the race, this should be no exception but I was going off my concern that it was still a crapshoot whether I could finish 100 miles. My theory was that keep a faster than usual pace for the first 50 miles and have enough time that if I really bonked at that point I would still have plenty of time to stop and nap or eat to recover. I’m happy to say that everything went perfect and the faster pace I took off with totally helped me and I never lost my nutrition or muscle energy.

After a couple of laps my twin brother Anthony showed which now completed my Crew. My SUPERB CREW (and I cannot ever over-emphasis how awesome they were for me, I wish they could have gotten a medal themselves) Leslie and Anthony are now in force and working together to get themselves settled in for the long haul of 24 hours. Prior to the event I built out spreadsheet and charts for them to follow. My goals were very clear and it also provided them with some of my specific nutrition needs, and the types of encouragement I would need along the way. These charts came in really handy for me so I’ve posted a copy here… Who knows maybe someone else will find this helpful for their first hundred.

If you ever do a distance race I highly reccomend you get a crew and treat them like royalty before and after the event because they are going to take a lot of gruff from you and they have a pretty demanding job.

So anyways, the race itself was terrific and I had one of those days where everything just went right. I'm really excited at the overall outcome and also thank my good fortune that my mind and body stayed in-tact and moving forward the whole time. Running this type of distance was completely new to me since the furthest I've gone on record so far is 50 Miles (Avalon 50 '07). Which actually felt ok so I knew that 50+ was feasible, I just didn't know how much beyond that my body would take me.

The first about 20 miles or so were pretty plain as most runners settled in to the pace and did the initial set of camaraderie. This time was also taken by the top competitors to feel out the competition and see what everyone's goals and hopes are. For some of these front runners that is a well kept secret sometimes.
Although the race supplies the initial Aid Station for each lap, many runners bring their own boxes of elixirs and potions... even me. We filled up on the staple from the aid station but then as you run down the corridor of lunch boxes, coolers, tents, boxes and such, you see all the specific things that each other runner has. This is the part where non Ultra runners get a kick. You see things like Hoagies, Colas, Candy, Cheese, and a myriad of delicious food. You will even note from my list of edibles I went through a lot of food. Seeing as I have a high metabolism rate I need to be constantly fueling and so it's more important that I continue eating anything. Since the pace is slower and I'll be out there for a long time my body has time to burn that food into fuel. It's totally different from my marathon nutrition which is one of the things that make it fun.

Another amusing day time activity that helped us stay smiling and amused was the reaction of the locals and tourists. Since Crissy Field is open and attracts many of the local runners for their daily jogs we were often getting asked what kind of event was going on. The race just had some small orange cones set up and a small 8x11 sheet of paper with the words "12 & 24 hour Event in progress", and naturally people stopped us to indulge their curiosity. I never hesitated to stop and talk to people as I found the reactions amusing. One guy when I responded that we are running laps for 12 or 24 hours by ourselves he asked if this was even physically possible. I was happy to respond with "that's what I'm going to find out for myself.. I'll see you tomorrow". He then looked down on the bib to see the "24 Hour" label and retorted "I see you're in the 24 hour, that's crazy"; I think all he could do was shake his head and continue along since he could not possibly fathom the non-stop run some of us were hoping to accomplish. I don't blame him as I think I would be just as flabbergasted.
So there you have it, the day time running was pretty great with excellent weather conditions and I was able to put in about 40 miles before hitting sundown. I wanted a milestone before my first sitting break so I made that magic number 51 miles since this would represent my new longest challenge yet. When I finally sat to eat a sandwich and do a shoe change, it felt soooooo good! to be off my feet even if for a short moment of time. Something I had given my crew was rules to treat and guide me by. One of them was don't ever let me sit longer than 15 minutes. Turns out my longest sit was 10 minutes, which was at 51 miles for my sandwich. Everything else consumed was while in motion.

Nightfall was interesting now because truly many first's were being experienced here. First interesting thing to note was that all the 12 hour folks were done at 9pm and they had their awards ceremony. I thought it funny that there background ambience of their awards was the 24 hour people who kept running by. It was also great because my mom and her man Thomas actually drove up from San Jose just to watch me do a few laps. This is what makes mom's so cool, they are always watching out for you. I did not really need any aid at that point but she still brought up extra water, cookies and other food as well as hugs and encouragement. I know she was really proud of me and when she looked firsthand what was going on it just made that time with her even more precious during those laps I could see her cheering me forward, while at the same time also wondering how we are accomplishing this no stop routine of running (even I still don't know how we do it).

At nightfall though I think a lot of the 24 hr runners were hitting their pre-determined milestones and began to create what I thought of as the "path of carnage". After crossing our timing mat and then the one aid station, we had about maybe 75 feet of a single track width path, which was littered on both sides with all the runners gear and personal aid tables and stuff. Getting into late night hours and wee hours of morning this path also started to accumulate runners sleeping and just too tired to move on. They laid in awkward positions with some looking like they planned to stop and had bundled in bags and blankets, while others just simply had not anticipated the possibility of stopping and you could see those folks scrambling for warmth anywhere they could get it and usually ended up curling into a ball. Many of these returns did not continue any more even when the sunrise, whereas some came back to life and notched out another few hours of running.
It was a site to see but also made me long for the chance to stop and do the same, I had to really push myself to go forward. This was the other rule I gave my crew... "No Sleeping!" Whenever I complained about wanting to stop or rest, they were to allow me a chair but never for more than 10 minutes. I'm so lucky though that they never had to push this rule too much because I had been consuming so many products with caffeine that I could not sleep no matter how much I tried.
With about maybe 10-15 runners left going through the night we were all reduced to a jog or shuffle just to eek out whatever miles we could until the sun came back up. I don't think I have ever longed for the sunrise more than during those 8 or 9 hours of solitary darkness. The course was just long enough and far enough from city lights that you really did feel alone , aside from passing or being passed by another runner. I opted to also use a headlamp which I'm glad I did if for nothing else to make sure the Raccoons were a safe obstacle. I never realized how big and scary they are at night, and always in a pack of three or four. When your mind is not functioning at full even Raccoons are an odd and somewhat fragile obstacle to find.
Up to this point I had Anthony doing a bunch of laps with me which was nice to have some company. In fact when it was really awesome was right before sundown when I could not find any Espresso gels and he veered off and ran to a sporting goods store, returning by the next lap with a bag full of goos and gels! Awesome! As much that I hate taking these gel packs I knew that the calories and caffeine were really needed.

Now that I'm engulfed in night-time, my body and soul is reaching new places for me. I was going through frequent bouts of being happy, sad, frustrated, disbelief and who knows what else. Though my crew really wanted to help out at this point because they could apparently see the shift in mood and attitude I had to politely explain I needed to be alone. So for the freaky night hours I re-invented myself and though of all those people and my running club that surrounded me in thought. It was a really nice chance for me to feel whole again and see what life was all about. No matter what feelings I went through I know I had to go through it and there were no shortcuts tonight, it was time to work it out and I'm thankful for the opportunity and experience. I knew that friends were thinking of me and really pushing for me. I had friends that wanted to be there but had other priorities, I knew though the whole time they were with me in thought. Word of advice to others is that it really did help to share my goal. I was quire reluctant to share such a loft commitment for fear that I may not do it or they would lack the understanding and personal importance to me. Turns out none of that is true and all the people I shared my goals with were completely excited and genuine about wanting me to do well. The important part was that I realized they did not care about what I actually did that day and night at the race but would be behind me no matter where I ended up in mileage totals. To all those friends and family that sent the emails it made the difference between me quitting and moving forward so my hats off to you for keeping it going. I hope that each of you can take a small moment of pride in knowing what you helped make possible.

The really rough part for me I guess was post imagination/hallucination time. I'll try to give you a visual. I think before I really got used to my headlamp it was hard to make out the shadows until you got right up next to whatever the object was. I'm sure when you hit fatigue and tunnel vision, both of which I clearly had by now, your mind starts taking that space of your brain you can no longer think with and fills it in with make believe. My most interesting moments were when the trees became giant people and they were crowding along the sidewalk cheering me on. On one side I was thrilled to have all these people cheering for me, and since no one else was out there I knew it was just for me. It did seem odd to me how big these people were but I did not want to complain since any cheerleader is a good cheerleader. The other oddity that I can't quite possibly figure out was the cement wall that was erected over the waters of the bay that blocked all shipping container access to and from the SF harbors. It was weird but I guess you had to be in my head to really understand that one, that image held me for several laps by the way. For many of those laps I had tried to figure out how did they build that so quickly since it was not there this morning.. and how in engineering marvels did it suspend above the water. About this time I can realize I'm emotionally breaking down (ya' think!) and really thought many many times of quitting, especially because I had convinced myself it was not possible for me to get 100 miles in. In basic terms I think you could just say I was wasted at that point physically and emotionally. It took absolutely everything I had to even want to continue no matter how slow that would be.. just keep moving forward... I profess that to my club runners all the time so it was high time I took my own verbal medicine and dig in! For several hours during the day I kept trying to force my crew to go sleep or at least take a nap in the tent. Finally Leslie did go back to the hotel for a few hours of rest and although Anthony claims to have taken a nap in the tent which we used our aid station, I don't think he really did. He knew it's what I wanted and tried to honor it, but I know he most likely saw me every single time I went by and had a silent moment of "Go twin bro go!"

So now came one of the highlights of the full journey. Keeping in mind I was pretty much mentally done, I came around for yet another lap and spotted the tent with Anthony and Leslie standing there. I had convinced each of them to take a nap or quick sleep because I knew somewhere along the trip I would really need them there for me. Well now was the time I guess because when I rounded the corner to see them after a few hours of complete solitude, I went straight over to Leslie for a big bear hug and just welled up with tears and gratification to have this kind of person and support in my life. From then on I just decided to kick ass and take whatever laps my good fortune would let me. I felt almost refreshed (well as much that you can be after about 80 miles) and picked myself up off the floor figuratively of course, and started running... I kind of had a Forrest Gump moment and just kept running for no particular reason, I just felt like running. Wouldn't you know it that after having so many miles I could still pick my feet up and actually produce a non-shuffling run. I was stoked! My other good sign was that in just the next two laps after seeing Leslie and Anthony I spotted four shooting stars and decided to run a few miles without my headlamp letting the sky direct me. Wow!

The rest of the laps were slow and just simply waiting for the sun to come up. I think it was right around that time I knew that my 100 mile goal was completely realistic and boy did I want that bad. When I crossed the lap counter and had 99 miles, I told my crew to sit tight because this moment was all worth it and I continued to simply walk that entire mile for no other reason than to savory one of the sweetest victories I've had to date. I completed 100 Miles in 22 Hrs. and 22 Min. A new PR for sure. Of course with victory laps comes the turkey head. I promised my Ragnar team the Turkey would make a presence and indeed he did for both miles 51 and 101, both victory laps in their own right. Anthony and Leslie also joined me for the 101 victory lap and I'll never forget how amazed all three of us were at that moment what had just been accomplished. It was a very emotional lap for all three of us but somehow I know they were holding some of it back.. but it was there and the best part is that space in time of that one mile lap is a memento I will have forever and will become fuel the next time I think of quitting. They were saying things like "I knew you would do it", "I can't believe it"... This race produced many moments that I can never convey probably but for the three of us there and even the rest of the runners.. they know... we are all family.

And now comes in the final rule I issued to my crew. If I was lucky enough to still be standing after 100 miles and had time on the clock, you were absolutely not to let me stop no matter what! 100 Miles was an awesome goal but I still had to know if I had it in me to run for 24 hours. With the sun coming up you get a whole new inspiration and renew of energy, it's an incredibly welcome site. Getting to watch my second sunrise come up over the Palace of Fine Arts and being mesmerized by the beauty of Angel Island and the Golden Gate Bridge they did not have to work too hard to convince me I could totally surpass 100 miles. When you have the combination of believing in yourself and others believe in you, feats of grand scale are accomplished... But first, you MUST want it for yourself because nobody can do this for you, this is all you!

For the last hour and a half I picked up the pace if you can imagine that and slugged out another 6 miles. I completed 24 hours of running while also accomplishing a new 100K PR, 100 Mile PR, and my first 24 Hr run which of course also makes a PR. This was good enough for 5th place Male and 6th place overall of 63 finishers. It also got me listed in the Ultrarunner website as they post the top 5 Male and Female finishers! Woot: How frikkin' awesome is that icing on the cake.
My most memorable moments of the race were that the race had a system setup where anyone could email you and as you round the lap counter they hand you email. I received Email from about 5pm Saturday - 2am Sunday and had some doozies in there! They were all perfect and some had "Wise" words of wisdom and Coaching advice, while others were great for entertaining with their jokes and riddles, plus even a new Chuck Norris joke I had not heard yet. Then others were the perfect level of cruelty like "I think I'm drunk now", and "I'm gonna snuggle up with a nice IPA and book". The emails of course will be integrated into my personal 'Running Wall' at home. Make sure next time your over come and check it out.
The other memorable moment was completely underestimating how quickly your legs can seize from being able to move or bend. Due to the gravel I was getting a lot or pebbles that had to be shooed out my shoes (see 106 miles and I can still joke, I made stops to take them off and check the toes were still there. Also I was getting some aches and pains in my feet and had to switch up the shoes several times to give my arches a break. Problem is that after 60 or so miles any stop I made whether to grab food or change shoes I found it almost crippling to try moving my legs again. I swear that each time I left from a completely stop I looked like a very badly oiled Tin Man from Wizard of Oz.
Quick pieces of advice for me or anyone else that wants to experiment:
* Monkey Butt powder in the socks and on the foot. Great moisture wicking and a nice dry lubricant to ease the burden of blisters
* Caffeine
*Over pack! I took a lot of clothes and really glad I did
*Gators if I do this again
*Perpetuem
*Ginger candy

Well that about sums it up so until next time Happy Trails out there,
Joey

100 in 24? That is the question.

2009-10-22T04:22:00.001-07:00

I sit here on my comfy couch when it's 2Am, not because I can't sleep but because I am intentionally trying to reverse my sleep patterns as preperation for an upcomging race.

On October 24 @ 9Am I will be toe-ing the line for the San Francisco One Day event. This is a timed race of 24 hours... yee with the most miles in 24 hours takes the win!
Though running 100 Miles has been on my mind before, I've never really done anything about it. The 24 hour format seems like a good opportunity to test this ability and see if I have what it takes. The first goal of course is just to try and go the time distance which is to actually use all 24 hours. The secondary goal is to hit that triple digit barrier of 100 miles.

My hope is that I can run the 24 hours while acheiving at least 100 miles in distance around the 1 mile loop. It sounds crazy and yes, will be a little boring seeing the same things over and over; but having a well stocked aid station and all my personal needs items so close will be handy. Since I've never come close to this distance or time (Ironman being the biggest even so far) I'm ensuring I have as many comforts as possible near by.

It's going to be an interesting weekend for sure. Upon completion of this event I can only wonder what I'm suppose to challenge myself with next!

2009-09-05T07:51:00.001-07:00

Watch Out Kaitlyn!!

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2009-09-05T06:45:00.001-07:00

here at disneyland 5k with a couple of cuties!

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when the new day dawns,

2009-08-21T07:41:00.001-07:00

when the new day dawns, how do you start it?

Race Bag + Drop Bag

2009-08-19T10:05:00.000-07:00

Recently I've had a lot of friends making their debuts into the Ultra and Ironman communities. I'll be leaving random helpful posts and tips (most of which I had to learn the hard way.. someone had to forge the way :) )

Basic run-down of my routine for the 50K+ events:
-Stay very well hydrated from now until race morning. Drink another 16oz before bed and after you get up race morning
-Early to bed and I’m usually up at least 1 hour before I need to leave home or hotel
-The early morning time is used for breakfast coffee and as many bathroom stops as I can handle before leaving (squatting on the trail is NO fun)
-Some minor stretching as I wake up race morning
-Double check race and drop bag

RACE BAG – This is for race morning and packed before I leave for races and includes race gear:
-Hat
-Socks
-Sharpie
-Bottles and Holders
-Shorts
-Shoes
-Shirt
-Sunscreen
-Chapstick
-Breakfast munchies (Banana, Bagel, Jar of Peanut Butter, Instant Coffee)
-Race bibs
-Headlamp
-Safety Pins
-ID’s (Dog tags, Road ID Etc.)
-Warm Down clothes (Pants and sweatshirt/long sleeve) for post race

DROP BAG – To be left at approximately a ½ way point for races 50k and up. Drop bags are usually left at the start and volunteers drop them at various locations along the route at a specified aid station.
-2nd Shirt
-2nd Socks
-2nd Pair of trail shoes (depends on race)
-Fresh Water Bottles with powdered nutrients, just add water
-PnJ sandwich
-Sunscreen
-S! Caps
-Extra bottle with powder mix
-Gloves and Sleeves if nighttime running
-Extra Headlamp
-Batteries

40 Is Here

2009-08-07T12:09:00.000-07:00

40 is here
Well not just another year, but how about making it this far to say my 40th Birthday! It really seems unusual only in the aspect that I honestly do not feel like I am 40. I remember being in my twenties and looking at my teachers and career minded folks as being old, now I am actually one of them... I guess anyways in the respect that I'm kind of settled and have been working on my career for 10 years now by being with the same company for all of that. 39 is closing out with my stamp of approval. I've been incredibly fortunate to have so many great people that have been with me and helped me obtain my goals and dreams. This last twelve months have been terrific. I've sustained my health while improving my training endurance and spent great times with family and friends alll around. We've honed our Guitar Hero skills (though somehow Tom n Jan can still beat me in Wii Bowling!), kicked off a couple of race PR's, watched our two babies Riley n Maggey growing up, and even managed to do a room remodel at our home to create the 'High Roller Suite'(actually just our working office but it was a blast remodel that Leslie, Jan, Tom and myself all had a great time working on). Another great highlight of the year was that Leslie and I became aunt and uncle to Dylan. Dylan is a new Service dog that was just partnered to a friend of ours in a wheelchair, and we were fortunate enough to help sponsor Dylan making this partnership possible.

I think the biggest thing for me at this point is the realization that you are what you make of it. Since I'm having a lot of fun in my life, and since I don't feel anything like what the perception is of 40, I'm just gonna keep doing everything that keeps me feeling like 30 (now that was a scary one to hit). Which also means if I'm gonna be 40 but act and look as good as 30 then I have to keep on running. Not just a few miles here or there but put in something real.

With getting a little older also comes more frequent health inspections, so last year I went for the full physical and actually came through with results that posted me healthier now than I was 20 years ago! My secret is to be around people you like, make you laugh and have supportive surroundings, and a very great wife; Of course eating right and exercising might have something small to do with it also. Now that I'm going into this new decade with a clean bill of health from the doc it's time to see what's crossed off that 99 list and what to do next.

A quick race recap was that last year I wanted to do all the races I normally do and the Big goal of Becoming an "Ironman".. Checked! Onto the new year I not only get to race in a new division for 40-49 year olds I will also be right in the average age of 100 Mile finishers. Agahst you say..."100 miles, what ever do you mean?". It's true that people can and do run 100 miles for a single race. Along with all my standard distance races this year already scheduled (50 Miles and below races) my BIG goal is to succesfully run 100 Miles within 24 hours, which I am scheduled to attempt in San Francisco this October, anyone want to pace me :)
Look at it this way, for anyone to even contemplate this is either Crazy or Ultrarunner healthy... I like to think a little of both in my case.

I leave 39 with this final shout "Hey 40's give it your best shot I'm ready for another awesome decade!"

Happy Trails out there,
Joey

Rock n Roll San Diego

2009-08-07T12:08:00.000-07:00

5/31/2009 Rock n Roll San Diego
What happens when you put together 20,000 runners + 30,000 Spectators + 172 Running Elvis + 25 different bands on stage? One heck of a good time, which is the culmination of the San Diego Rock n Roll Marathon... 26.2 miles of laughs, sweat, pain, cursing, and a priceless memory you shan't ever forget.

It was a true pleasure that on Marathon weekend that our home was blessed with not just incredible company from the Tillotson's, Fowler's, Frankum's, and Yost's but amongst them a brand new to be MARATHONER, Jill. Through weeks and months of Emails and no doubt a few butterflies Jill decided to take on the monumental task of completing her first marathon and had already persevered through trails of miles and miles of trials as she physically and mentally prepared herself for the task ahead.

Having the momentum and courage to even toe the line is a feat, but to have completed the distance and declare your new title of "Marathoner" is FANTASTIC and for many can be life-changing. Being a veteran of such a distance I must say that I was honestly surprised at how cool and collected Jill seemed to be; she even went to bed way past me!!! I'm not sure how she did it but it was inspirational to see how she kept her head together in the hours before the brutal wake up call @ 4AM. You see, Leslie also being motivated herself and lovingly always wants to get involved, volunteered her time once again to assist runners at the Start line of the race. Being that we live a bit away from the race and the Volunteers have such an early start time Jill and I decided to go early and take naps in the car and just simply marvel at the coordinated mayhem ensuing all around us. Watching both athletes, workers, and spectators in one area at 5AM is a sight to see and hard to not get caught up in it.

Though Jill and I did not have the opportunity to run together during the race I had absolutely no doubts on her determination to finish, so I went along to assist many other runners whom I also coach in my own volunteer capacity. Though I'm sure Jill will share some of her stories as her race was memorable in some very interesting ways, don't be shy to ask her the details because even I was laughing with her... "Is there a good dentist out there!"

All in all it was a beautiful day and despite my warnings to Jill to stay off her feet the day before but it made me very proud to see her be added to the exclusive list of finishers whom I know. Last summer of course you remember James McClelland taking the honors of completing his first marathon, and each year in passing I sit back and wonder "Who is next?"... It could be YOU! So now for these other veteran marathoners of James and Jill I am frequently being kindly reminded of how much faster they are getting so apparently the challenge is on and I've no doubt that I better get my butt off the couch and keep training because we have certainly not seen the last of these athletes.

As for me this was another great race and was memorable in that it also signified my 30th finish of an official Marathon or longer distance.

Happy Trails and know that I am always here for anyone ready to take the Marathon plunge,
Joey

2009-04-02T18:39:00.000-07:00

party limo bus for work teambuilding. awesome trip with plenty o booze and disney scavenger hunt.

I am an Ironman

2009-02-12T08:17:00.000-08:00

I AM an Ironman

(part 1: see video at end of post) It’s about time I updated this story but what can I say but that I’ve been enjoying the afterglow of a successful finish of 140.6 miles around Tempe.

All the things you can imagine about undertaking such an event are true. When you think about how challenging it must be; or even how some people say I just don’t understand how the body can get through something so grueling… well I can tell you know from my own experiencing and knowledge that we (the athletes) all go through the same thoughts… over and over again! There were not any times where my confidence was overflowing for the event as a whole.

As the days neared to the main event you MUST exude and convince yourself that the challenge is a do-able task and not only that it’s feasible but that you yourself WILL be crossing that banner that gives you the right to say you’re an Ironman (for all those people who say you’re not an Ironman until you do Kona.. well I say “pshaw! With that”. Kona may be a more challenging full iron distance and requires qualification but you cannot take away the fact that when someone completes the 140.6 miles whether it is in some other non NA Sports sanctioned event or even training, in my eyes that person is an Ironman and I would never think of taking that away).

Ok, so I’m only days away and still sitting at home in Oceanside. I’ve gone through my race essentials to the point that I would make Monk proud. The relentless checking, double checking and combination of nerves have everyone around me a little anxiety ridden, but I must say that there patience is unrelenting and it is also to them which I owe my success in being able to make the sacrifices and preparation. For nine months I was in actual training. Though I had been registered for 12 months, and the first 3 of those were disbelief of what I did. Take this into consideration of what one of my beliefs are, if you make the financial commitment you’re rate of showing up at the start line are increased 10 fold, and for me, I know that when I make that commitment you can absolutely count on me toe-ing the line before the cannon goes off. This race was no exception, and with a $500 entry fee, not to mention the other miscellaneous thousands that were spent on a new bike, accommodations, random clothing and support people and items this was quickly becoming a race that I knew I not only must do but give it everything I had to finish. I did not want to let anyone down, let alone myself!

I’ll fast forward to arriving in Tempe: As we are driving to our hotel I was not able to get mush of a vantage point of the race course, but once we registered at the front desk and went up to the room on the 3rd floor I had a “oh shit!” that consumed my nerves and really scared me. Our room was facing Tempe Town Lake which is where the swim was. I situated my bike and threw all my gear down to go open the shades on the window… only to see a very very long channel looking lake. I immediately knew this was the swim location and had read how it goes from bridge to bridge, and when I swung my head from left to right I realized these bridges were very far apart. Realizing at that very moment I must somehow part those waters all the way from one side, only to have to swim back to the originating bridge freaked me out. I think Leslie immediately could sense my concern, and of course heard the wavering worry in my voice. However, in true Rock Lobster form (she is my rock lobster after all) she had no wavering doubt what so ever of my ability to complete this thing. Whether or not she actually was concerned she never let on and I am eternally grateful for her spirited supported and constant “you WILL do this” attitude. It made all the difference to me. In addition to my beautiful wife and her compassions and extra chores while I was always out training. I think for those nine months she made more sacrifices than me at times, but it did not go un-noticed. So anyways here I was staring out my hotel room in Tempe Arizona, pondering the task I’m about to take on single handedly.
We quickly put our things away and I worked to assemble myself mentally and try to calm the queasiness in my stomach, and we headed down to the registration are. “Ironman Village” as it’s known. The check-in process was both really great because it keeps you busy and somewhat entertained. It was interesting because they actually sit you down and talk to you about the day’s events and where to put this bag and that bag. Coming from the marathon and ultra scene I was only used to having one drop bag, and many times that did not even get used, but now for this event you have a bag for everything. All the bags were color coordinated and go into certain places at certain times. Literally I had to write it all down and do my best to make sure I did not screw up… there is a lot of planning even the day before the event, so don’t think you can totally relax. At least not yet.
Everything went fine eventually and after several hours and lots of bag prep and clothing prep and last minute bike checks I was ready for bed. Of course I didn’t sleep! What were you thinking… it’s the night before my biggest endurance event yet and sleep was not about to come easy so I decided to not fight it and just watched movies into the wee hours while trying to keep my arms and legs relaxed.

Morning (3:30am actually) came quite early. I had no real problems getting up and alert seeing as I never really hit REM sleep but I did continue to encounter problems in the morning with trying to get some coffee and breakfast which was not helping to calm me. I ended up scrounging my running bag for cliff bars and a quick bagel and banana, and resorted to drinking the coffee like substance that hotels usually leave near the sink now. After a long hot shower I was feeling much better. I put on my warm running gear (which by the way always makes me feel calm and comfortable. Some people have comfort foods but I have my warm weather running gear, works the same for me) and started to gather my belongings to load the car and head down to race headquarters. I also need to mention at this point what awesome and inspiring friends I have because my running friend April had no hesitation in joining us at this momentous event when I asked for extra cheerleaders… thank goodness for incredibly understanding wives and caring high spirited friends. So April was staying next to our room and came over in the morning and gave me the coolest motivational boost I’ve seen so far. She came in wearing a bright yellow shirt with a big logo on front that simply read “I <3 Joey” and even had one made for Leslie. With these two beautiful ladies donning their “I <3 Joey” shirts I knew today was my day and I was ready.

“Let’s GO!” I retorted immediately as I could not wait to show off my fan club, and was ready to get this thing started and stop thinking but doing.

The start area was a bustle of people and activity. When the tine got near we all started getting perfectly situated into our wetsuits to join the “Moo” like corral or athletes lining to jump in the water. It was a mass water start which means that everyone must be in the lake and treading water before the cannon goes off. I stood at the waters edge for a moment and allowed a moment for the last ‘scared-as-hell-nerves’ to leave my body as I gave one last “PKAH!” (In true fashion of Winslow Hall) and leaped forward into the lake before I could convince myself otherwise. The really interesting part is that that moment my head surfaced back above the water line I felt immensely confident and calm, it was really strange. All I can think is that with all that training many things became automatic once I was in the position. Though I was just another bobbing head amongst 2,000 others I calmly and coolly made my way to the middle of the pack, what was I thinking putting myself in the middle of a festival of swinging arms and kicking legs.. Oh well, I was just caught up in enjoying the craziness of the crowds of spectators now. I’ve never been so overwhelmed by the support and cheering of so many “fans”. It truly makes you feel like they are there for you, in which case they kind of are. I’ve seen it on TV but to see an Ironman start in person is totally something of which you should witness at least once. In a matter of seconds you see the calm lake waters just being lit by the rising sun turn into a whitewash of a washing machine tide pool. Arms and legs are everywhere and you cannot escape it. You are forced to swim on and stay focused on that around you.

...TBC in Part 2, but for now enjoy the above video!

2009-02-09T16:29:00.001-08:00

runningskirts.com ... with josh, me, and anthony at san dieguito half.... scary huh'

Don't worry Be Happy

2009-02-03T13:43:00.000-08:00

Hey All... I'm sure this message goes just to me because I seriously doubt anyone looks at (or even knows about this blog) this. No worries though because it was more for my own interpretation of the world and provides me some motivational push to get words out of my head and into electronic ink.

Anyhoo.. just a shout to say I am working on the next entry which will finally officially declare that "I am an Ironman", but a lot of things (almost all good) have been going on over the last couple of months and my computer time has dwindled significantly. I fully intend to pick things up a little and will be posting more info and pics in the next week hopefully.

Cheers n' Beers until next time.

To be or not to be... IRONMAN!

2008-11-20T19:25:00.000-08:00

I've been wavering for two plus weeks about wanting to make an entry here about my upcoming adventure. It has been something of which I have personally wanted to tackle for a while, mostly from the perspective of I just simply wonder If I can do it.

My thinking was that initially I did not really want to advertise it to many people in the event I did not.. 'you know'... finish. But then I also realize that to take on such a big challenge requires not just an insane amount of training and preperation, but I really do genuinely want and need mental support from my friends and family. So with that bearing on my mind as I prepare the last bit of physical tasks of packing and tuning my bike, I decided to make something short and sweet to clear my head, so here goes:

Several months back (12 months to be precise) I had the unusual opportunity to sign up for (and actually felt ready) for a full Ironman sponsored event before it sold out. Signing up is always the moment when you cross over the gray matter to a commitment, especially a financial one this big. Let's just say that between the race registrations, equipment and lodging... several thousands of dollars were spent so you can bet your ass I'm gonna go and give it my all.

For those who have not figured it out or bothered to look it up, we are talking about 140.6 grueling miles of tears, sweat and other unmentionables. I will be 1 of approximately 2,000 athletes in Tempe Arizona on November 23, 2008 for the Ironman:

2.4 Miles of Swimming
112 Miles of Bicycling
26.2 Miles of Running

Nothing like waiting for the countdown to start before making my endeavor public but hey this is for me and it's what I need to do. I love the idea of taking on a new race distance that actually brings the butterflies back, and this race is certainly doing that for me even as I write this. The weird part about when I pick a new race, and of course it's usually some all day thing or very long distance, I can no longer get people to understand the commitment required. Which is no big deal and I'm not complaining, but it sometimes make the tangible thing were about to do a bit surreal to us as the competitor. When you can't explain the event then you know you've achieved something special. Of course I also have to realize that most of this event this weekend is made possible by the support or my incredibly tolerant, patient, and understanding wife... something that only another married endurance athlete can even begin to imagine. However something I'm going to admit here and which I do not take or admit to lightly is that it was incredibly important for me to have someone there, and Leslie (my Rock Lobster) will be there. I've also tried on several verbal conversations to my family, how really important this is to me and how much it means to me. Though I am bummed that they will not be there I know they are going to wish the best. To prevent motor mouth diarrhea I'm going to stop the soapbox here and move on.

Friends are also some of the most incredible and surprising allies at times of need. I had several friends who genuinely wanted to be present and help root me through this all day adventure. Unfortunately not by fault of their own most could not make it. However, we will have my good friend April to keep Leslie company during the day. April on a whim bought her plane ticket and said she would not miss it for anything. I'm always grateful to friends that get on bored for things like this and I can only hope that maybe I inspire someone else to get out there and challenges themselves like I am doing; " I <3 April ". I also could not even get to the starting line without my " Cinday Bear"... she is unwavering and has of recently become another inspiration person in my life with her dedication to fitness (oh yeah and having the great side effect of looking pretty HOT now also, way to go Cinday Bear). Someone else who I feel the need to mention that has been with me through literally every single difficult moment in my life has been Winslow W. Hall. It's a novels worth of words to get into about Wins, but again for brevity and to not spoil the plot of a someday book let me just tell you that he was the only person whom I have ever seen as not just a role model but a father figure as well. Winslow was my Scoutmaster when I joined the Boy Scouts of America at age 11. He saw and made it possible for me and Anthony to reach the high honors of Eagle Scout. Though Winslow is not with us anymore, he is forever inside of me and not a single achievement goes by in my life that I don't thank this man for making it possible. So Winslow wherever you are "Thanks".

So it's been about nine months of swimming, biking, running, paired with many early mornings, late nights, and sacrificed weekends, but this Sunday I think that no matter what I will at least know I did my best that one can do in nine months of preparation. It's going to be a personal adventure and one I am not taking lightly, which can be displayed by the amount of crap I'm packing. As much that the bragging rights for even starting this race the Ironman are going to be AWE.. (wait for it).. SOME! it's the personal crusade I'm on that will fill my heart and mind with overwhelming joy. We all have demons and 'funks' in our lives but we all need to find those things that give us joy, happiness, and a sense of belonging and accomplishment. My race on Sunday is going to provide that personal accomplishment for me no matter how far I make it. Since this is my first Ironman it's especially emotional and thought provoking. Honestly I am so anxious to fulfill this adventure that I truly think the finish line will be a life changing moment for me, and one that will stay with me forever.

What will the next adventure be?

Woke Up, Ran, Finished Dehydrated, Got Stung, Recovered in Ambulance, Drank a Beer, Called it a Day!

2008-09-08T15:45:00.000-07:00

To share the race story I was gonna send a picture since they are worth a thousand words, but then realized it could be used against me since I’m laying on a stretcher in an ambulance (but I’m still smiling in it). Somehow I think Leslie is going to savor that picture for future torture though we are both laughing at it ;)
Essentially I was ill prepared at the time for a hard run at 6500’ elevation. When we got up to the mountain on Friday I felt fine and was hydrating early and often though only with water. Got our bibs and made dinner, went to bed early… all the usual you know. Race morning we went to meet Jenny, Norm, and Sandy (you’ll meet them all at Noble) since they were staying in their RV a block away from start line. We all walked over together and met a whole bunch of other Ultra runners, since apparently they are the only ones equipped for a marathon at elevation. Was really great ambience and the town totally embraced the Marathon with the help of Ryan Hall of course. Weather was perfect and scenery was unmatched as we circled the lake no foot.

I ran with Jenny the first 14 miles and let her set the pace of about 7:45’s. At that point I was feeling good and despite her warnings of the “big hill” about mile 20 I edged out front and said “see ya at the finish line”. Much of my inspiration was coming from the fact that I knew I was within the top 20 runners at this point and very likely placing in my age group. Next few miles were fine and then the hill. It was about 1.5 miles of climbing uphill. Since I was still passing the Male runners I kept chugging up the hill at a jogging pace, was tough and my legs were starting to feel tight and cramped, most likely due to lack of oxygen circulating in my muscles.
Mile 24 was complete bonkage for me. I actually had to walk most of that mile and could not even come close to doing a butt kick to loosen up my hams or quads. Not only that I had only been hydrating with one cup of water every 2 miles and some Heed every 5, which is clearly not enough and my salt tabs exploded in my shorts pockets so I also had no sodium. I did my total best to run through it but after the brutal uphill immediately followed by the brutal downhill, I was close to being physically done. After 26 marathons I still felt that this is the worst my legs have felt of all my races, and I had no energy.

Thank goodness Leslie was with me at the finish. I knew that my body was depleted and something just didn’t feel right so I just asked her to follow me around as I tried to walk it off. “Just stay close to me and make sure I don’t fall or pass out” is what I think I said. After several minutes of walking and trying to put more fluids and fruits in me I thought I was starting to feel a little better and it would be safe to sit down in the shade. We went up to the awards area a block away with everyone and found some shaded ground to sit on. We were there for maybe 10 or 15 minutes and I was really starting to feel better as we verbally relived the challenge of this course in terms of elevation and hills. At one point I reached around and was painfully stung right in the crux of my first two fingers. A very sensitive area with plenty of nerves. I jumped up immediately from my sitting position and looked at my hand to see a big stinger sticking out of it. I also immediately started to feel lightheaded and was in a lot of pain from the sting. My hands must have been trembling a little bit because I had to ask Leslie to pull the stinger out. We started walking down the block towards the finish looking for ice to put on it, and the moment I started to walk my vision went so blurred that I could not walk straight or even see the curb or people in front of me… this was very scary! We saw a medic and asked if he could get me a place to lie down and make sure the sting was not something to worry about. Thankfully I am not allergic! Leslie was holding me up as we walked with the medic to his ambulance and during this time I know he kept asking me questions like where I was and my name. Though I could comprehend his questions I could not respond in full sentences or words and apparently could not even say my name right.
We finally got to his ambulance which seemed to take forever, and I sat on the step. As I sat there my vision continued to get worse and according to the two medics and Leslie I also had no color in my face, so they put me on the stretcher in the ambulance and also put me on oxygen at this point and tried to get my feet elevated to get blood flowing to my head again. While I lay there they took a full set of vitals and tests with a variety of instruments. Turns out my blood sugar was very low and below 40 (should have been at 80 I think he said). Also my heart beats were arrhythmic so they kept saying I needed an IV and they needed my permission to go to the hospital in the ambulance… while stubborn me I was not going to the hospital or getting an IV, especially since I usually will pass out from having blood drawn, let alone I did not want to pay for the ambulance ride (stubborn ultra runner was I huh!).

After maybe 20 minutes though I am not sure, color came back to my face and the oxygen was really bringing me around. So now I was able to look out the one open door on the back of the ambulance and felt weird as all the other runners (who were still finishing by the way) were staring into the ambulance wondering what happened to the guy laying in the stretcher; what a bizarre realization that the guy in the ambulance laying on the stretcher was ME! Took a few more minutes to compose myself and finally convinced the medics after they had started the ambulance and everything, that I was fine to recover on my own. Took a bit longer to get all the hooks and stuff of me and I signed their waver that I was leaving on my own accord and went against their suggestion for the hospital. As a runner we know those symptons and often have experiences close to this level of exhaustion. What I needed was carbs and juice. I was well enough to be on my own at this point and was with Leslie and her folks (if I was not with anyone to help no doubt that I would have let them take me to the hospital). We had a car and were near the hospital and co-incidentally next to a restaurant. Immediately from the ambulance we went next door for lots of Orange Juice and Strawberry pancakes, and in less than 30 minutes my recover was quicker having gotten some sugars and carbs in me. Things that I had not been taking before or during the run.

Finally we headed back to Jenny’s RV and I thought we could hang out and drink a couple brews. Somehow I managed to consume one beer and a few vegetables but everyone said I still did not look right, and my hand with the sting was incredibly painful. It truly felt as if I had a knife stuck in my hand that would not come out. Strange how something so small can be so painful. Though I later realized that the longer you wait to take a stinger out the more venom it releases into your body hence why the pain lasted so long since I did not take it out right away. I decided to heed the advice of the others and go back to the condo and lay down while trying to continue consuming carbs and juice. Leslie her folks and I went back to the time share just a few miles away from the Finish line and I plopped straight on the bed. My body was so weakened that it was all I could to keep my hand elevated with an ice pack.

Now here I am a couple of days later and I can say that I feel back to normal for the most part and even had my traditional post Marathon cheese burger! The legs are still shot and certainly not ready for my next ultra (yes I’m doing another one) in just a few weeks. So all in all it was overall still a great time and I am really proud of every one to finish the race including Leslie, Tom, and Jan for doing the 5K. I finished in 3:47:39 which is respectable in my own eyes and garnered me 34th place overall and 7th in my age group. As a bonus I was faster than Jenny, but just barely and put me in an ambulance. I’m now smiling about the event and all that came of it as they are stories to tell. The course and support was great and the scenery as we rounded the lake was really awesome. I’m definitely thinking of doing it again but would certainly train differently and take extra sports drinks and gels.

What a day!

2008-01-26T13:42:00.000-08:00

Ale works winterfest 2

90lb. Weakling to a 135lb. Pillar of Determination

2008-01-23T22:24:00.000-08:00

The beginnings of putting one foot in front of the other

Unlike many athletes I was never inherently good at sports, nor did I participate while in High School or College. It was not until I turned 30 that I really got started. Previous to that I had done several 5K races and soon after realized what a great personal sense of accomplishment I got. I’m the happiest and most fit I’ve ever been since running has become a part of me.

Running is a very personal and emotional part of what makes me who I am today and I kind of’ like that person. It takes me away from reality, stress, and many times is where I come up with new ideas and solutions to other parts of my life. It does not matter if I finish first or last, it only matters that the courage and determination was there to start, and for that I can be proud of myself and walk a little taller.

Once I began running as a regular method of exercise, it was with the intent to someday complete a Marathon, which is something I have accomplished…again…and again… When I started running with the goal of a marathon, those 26.2 miles seemed almost unrealistic for a person who was just barely able to run a 5K. To finish a marathon I knew would mean a new milestone in my life and it was a personal accomplishment I knew had to be done. When I started reading, researching, and sharing running stories and information with others I was surprised to learn of many other people who wanted to work towards the same goal. What I leaned in this exercise is that many of these people fell into two categories; the one’s who said “that’s impossible I could never do it”, and those who said “I think I can”. Those who could not even challenge themselves with the vision of running a marathon had given up before they even started. The other camp of people, the ones who said “I think I can” fell into yet two more groups; those with the will power and determination to make a commitment to themselves and actually take action, against those who simply just kept saying “someday”. All my childhood and early adult life felt like a “someday” that never seemed to arrive. Finally here was something in front of me that no one could alter or take away; it was completely up to me to finish what I started. So I knew that “someday” was actually ‘Right Here, Right Now’. No longer would I wait for something to happen I had to make it happen!

Once I started running a few miles and seeing the weekly and monthly gains in distance I continued to become more inspired that my personal challenge of a marathon was absolutely and unequivocally possible. It was only a few short weeks of doing some alternating days of running that I was sleeping better, eating better, and seemed to be generating more positive ideas and influences in my life. I continued reading inspirational words of other runners and athletes, and marvel at the intense inspiration that disabled athletes exude. How can we possibly be negative in the presence of such greatness? With each day closer to my goal I got my self confidence was also gaining momentum and I began to openly share my personal commitment of the marathon to others. When I was met with looks and comments of awe and “you can do it!” I knew now that I was headed somewhere special. As the little train that could, I was also singing “I know I can, I know I can” and set to lay out a calendar and seek more people like me, and if your reading this, people like you. Whether or not someone was interested in running, if they took on a positive attitude then I found myself eating that up like energy bars and getting stronger mentally and physically.

As the 5K race bibs began to collect on my “running wall” I found myself consistently wanting to take the next challenge. To find more support I surrounded myself with people like me who also desired more of themselves and were prepared to make the commitment of time and effort. Soon I found West Coast Road Runners, who quickly took me in and adapted me to better running through demonstration and communication.

The completion of my first marathon was more than just an event; it took on an emotional level in me that I get with each new distance challenge. It’s a moment I will never forget just as you will never forget your first marathon, no matter how long it takes you to get there. Just know that you will do it, and you will have earned it.

Not long after that first marathon I was still on a runner's high, which does not come frequently but when you are in the zone, you’ll know it and want more of it. It’s been a few years now since I got started and because I am still inspired by watching and teaching others, I have continued to accumulate marathon medals. After hitting double digit marathons I took up the personal challenge of an Ironman 70.3. Yet another goal which at the time seemed very difficult to obtain but don’t forget that I also said “any real goal is obtainable if you desire to challenge yourself”. I challenged myself and stuck to the program and made sure to get good advice along the way. One trick that I try to always remember is that with the abundance of information out there not everything you see, read, or are told will apply to what you want to do. It’s up to you to listen to not just the information but your body as well, but if you got this far chances are you know what I’m talking about and have already started to tweak your own recipes of success.

The challenge of the Ironman 70.3 has come and gone and it was again opportunity for me to see myself reach new heights in physical fitness and mental strength of commitment. That’s when I began this year with the commitment to begin running Ultras (that which is anything beyond the standard marathon distance of 26.2 miles).

With each new race or milestone completed I continually look for the new challenge to keep me inspired. One thing that really keeps me going is being able to see and help others reach their goals. True inspiration really does come from regular people doing extraordinary things.

I guess my motto of all this is that ‘You can never give up and no matter what anyone thinks or says, it’s never too late’.

2007 Races
1/21 Carlsbad Marathon
2/11 San Dieguito Half Marathon
3/31 California Ironman 70.3
4/21 Santa Cruz Half Marathon
4/28 Wild Miles Relay (5 man team 179 Miles)
6/03 Rock & Roll Marathon San Diego
8/11 Mt. Disappointment 50K Ultra
9/03 Disneyland Half Marathon
9/29 Noble Canyon 50K Ultra
12/02 Cal International Marathon

2008 Races so far…
1/12 Avalon 50 Miler Ultra
1/20 Carlsbad Half Marathon

Until next time Happy Trails and may you find the trail that goes nowhere,

-Racezilla

Avalon 50 CONQUERED!

2008-01-14T14:07:00.000-08:00

Shock and Surprise fill my mind right now. I'm pretty well recovered mentally from this jaunt around the island, but still find the thought that I just ran 50 miles to be a bit surreal.

A few months ago I had decided that after running three 50K's it was time to take on the 50 mile distance. It was kind of a scary decision but one which I committed to by paying my race fees!

We left Dana Point for Avalon on Friday morning. As you can imagine the nerves were sensitive and anxiety levels high, and as we neared the Island and you could see the shadow of the mountains... it also got very silent. Our conversations kind of halted as we stood in awe at the helm of the boat watching the mountain get bigger and bigger with each nautical mile closer we got. The great part was that our very experienced guide/part-time resident and Ultra runner Jenny, showed us a couple of course highlights which came in handy especially the last ten miles or so.
After the typical pasta dinner and large stein of Hefenweizen the night before, it was time to go back to the hotel and try to lie out and coordinate all the race junk we would need. Even I was surprised at how much thought I needed to put in for preparation. Somehow I managed to get my gear all ready where I felt confident nothing was forgotten... except for my potatoes still sitting on the counter back at home, oh well, I could not worry about it now it was time to try and get some sleep. Like most other runners I'm sure, my actual sleep time the night before was about four hours and very restless at that.

The race start was hilarious. About 160 of us all decked out in bottles of this and that type elixirs and flashlights and headlamps a-glo were congregating their at the beach front. The RD pretty much looked around and hollered "OK, all set... 3... 2... 1... GO!" and off we went. All you saw were a bunch lights bouncing on up the hill past the Wrigley Memorial (which also happens to be where Leslie and I got engaged 10 years ago). It was completely dark out but we knew the hill was step by the ascending elevation of headlamps you could see as you looked skyward. Maybe it was a good thing that it was dark :)
Once towards the top of the hill the sun started to rise and the serenity and painted like images below us were breathtaking. At this point we pretty much ditched our headlamps and extra clothing and at least for me, the race was ON. I settled into my pace and felt great the entire day. Of the 9 1/2 hours I was out there I sighted 9 buffaloes with two of them being close enough I could of hand fed them, but wisely decided to give me them all the room I could as I quietly toed myself around them allowing them all the space they wanted. To see something that big and graceful in the wild habitat sure makes you humble and something you can never ever match at a zoo, but only in something like the Avalon 50 race. In fact this alone almost makes it worth doing.

The course was incredibly beautiful in every single mile that passed. I was solo for the majority of the race and since I don't believe in running with tunes the sounds of the mountain were music to me. I could hear all the sways of trees, the ocean way below me and of course the munching of leaves and wild brush by the buffaloes. Towards the 25 mile turnaround was an out and back section through Two Harbors. Again this was an incredible sight to see from the top of the mountain as you descend for an up close look at the fishing boats and small beach. At this point I also saw all my friends and fellow ultra nuts. The camaraderie is never ending and regardless of whom you are or where you are in the race, everyone cheers and roots each other, it's a great "family". On ward back across the mountain tops to Avalon we go. The way back was just as pretty and scenic but I was becoming extremely focused on my race against the clock, so to be honest I was not really taking the time to smell the roses or party at the incredible aid stations along the way.
Once descending the North side of the hill into town you run through a few residential streets before turning the corner and seeing the banner and your adoring fans and the finish line tape! Funny how all of a sudden you forget that you have just gone 50 miles and can almost sprint the finish line. Once crossing and feeling totally happy with my 39th overall finish I went straight to the oceans to give my feet and legs a well deserved ice bath in the ocean... AHHHHHhhhhh.

After the post race repair of fuel and hydration it was already time to get ready for the Awards Banquet, this was our first 50 miler so we decided to go along with all the basics, not expecting anything of course. After dinner they began the awards ceremony where Kristen got 3rd place in her age group, as the age groups went on I was not even paying attention because though happy with my time I was not prepared for it to be a competing time against others in my division. Oh how wrong I was as they announced "Joey Bryan 3rd place in 30-39 age group". I was shocked and in fact Leslie had to tell me that they just called my name as I was in disbelief. I happily went up for my picture and Award which is an appropriate Beer Stein. First thing I did was walk back to my table and fill it with beer to begin the evenings libations, Mmmm yummy!
After the Awards we hung out at El Galleon and continued to drink and celebrate. We also met there Evan, Mark and his wife, all who also ran the event. As it turns out, Evan took the 1st place in my age group (his beer stein was much larger but he earned it) and Mark and I were battling for the 3rd place. The night was a fun finish to an exhausting day.

The next day's boat ride to Dana Point was also quite eventful. Twice our boat had stopped mid-way because the Whale Sensors were going off. The first one was a false alarm but the second one turned out to be a school of Dolphins, what a treat! We stopped in the midst of them for several minutes before proceeding slowly right in the middle. What a sight to see with hundreds of them swimming around, jumping and surfing the wake of the boat. Something that I don't think any picture or video could capture with all it's beauty.

The whole trip was worth every second of training and preparation and with luck and confidence I will be back next year. I did try to capture some pictures along the way and some of them goofy self portraits... what can I say my mind was exhausted and I was running for over 9 hours so anything goes. You can check a few of the Avalon pics HERE.

Thanks to Leslie for putting up with me and always being there at the finish no matter how smelly and out of sorts I am... you not only ROCK but you are the ROCK.

Yes, in case you are wondering I am planning to do another Ultra and by the way, this race happens to qualify me for Western States ... Hmmmm how crazy am I?

-Racezilla

Off to meet the challenge of my first 50 miler run

2008-01-10T15:13:00.000-08:00

Well.. it's due time I hit the distance of which the Ultra community finally considers a race to be an Ultra, 50 miles in one shot.

I've worked hard to get here, especially emotionally, but feel more than ready at this point. In fact I'm downright anxious. In less than 24 hours I will be heading out on a boat to Catalina where I will take on the Avalon50.
The traning has been ok but since the minor foot injury from CIM I did fall off my mileage charts for a while, but I am not to be dettered because I also believe that the mental and emotional challenge is just as hard as the physical training. I'm not going to talk about my goals here because one thing we all know is that it takes guts and determination to just toe the starting line of an adventure such as this; I must be honest that yes, I have other finishing goals but the only one I will mention is that I want to "Finish" and do so on my own two legs, everything else is a bonus.

Of note I will be running this with my running partner Kristen "Malibu". It will also be her first transcending to the world of Ultra running, though she will be leaving us for an undetermined amount of time to see the world Down Under as she will be traveling/living in Australia for a while... perhaps she will find both some Ultras and Aussie Rugby Players who look like Matt Damon and surf! Also aside from Kristen I will be running this with my new Ultra friends Jenny Henderson and Norm Haines who'm I met at Noble Canyon and worked the SD100 Sunrise Aid station with.
Joining us at the finish will be my numero uno cheerleader and favorite person.. My wife Leslie. She is coming out on the boat with Kristen's mom on Saturday morning to cheer us on and then join in the after party at the Casino.

I'm also realizing that I still need to pack all my gear but one thing for sure is that the "Green Lantern" from Wild Miles will be going with me on the first few miles until the sun-rises. And in case you're wondering what's on my iPod before a race like this it's Speed Metal, Acid Punk, and old school bronx style Rap.

Until next time Happy Trails friends and remember, we do this because we CAN.. and it's FUN

-JoeyB

Boston Bound at CIM with Turkey Tom and a Sweet Victory!

2007-12-04T13:14:00.000-08:00

Ahhhh I can finally say that I am officially a Boston Qualifier. I ran CIM on Sunday 12/2/07 and posted a final 3:14:06 chip time (which meets my Boston Qualification of 3:15 by just seconds!).

Of course it only took me 18 marathons, 3 ultras and 1 Ironman 70.3 to get here... but none the less I made it and am proud of the sore victory I am enjoying today. Truthfully I'm not sure if I am going to go (though everyone says I should) because it was just knowing if I could actually do it before I am considered in the Masters Division. '08 is already shaping up to be a very expensive and exhausting race schedule so I may postpone Boston until '09 since I have the 18 month window; we'll have to wait and see but if I do it in '08 it's going to be a bit last minute.

The CIM race in itself was an interesting adventure. Two major things were accomplished in this race: 1st I ran a 14 minute PR while also qualifying for Boston, and 2nd my brother completed his first marathon with a time of 4:25 (which bests my 1st marathon time by 20 minutes!).

What made it so interesting beyond that?
The first 13 miles were very predictable because I knew that holding a 7:20 pace was going to be tough even for me, so I held back and did the responsible thing by sticking to my pace from the start and not going out too fast. So the first half of this race was very nice, comfortable and relaxed. I even had managed to stay just an edge in front of the 3:15 pace group.
After the first split things got interesting. What I learned about Sacramento is that they actually have a sort of small country charm to them around Folsom (yes, the same Johnny Cash Folsom Prison Blues place). You know what else you find in country settings? how about wild fowl and animals... The weirdness began when at about mile 14 when a wild gobbling Turkey came out from behind the small town store and starting chasing the marathoners up the road. It took a moment for me to do the double take before I kicked my heels a couple of times and decided I needed to get out of dodge and away from the gobbling mayhem running up behind. The turkey was an odd and funny distraction and helped me relax a little and find my rythm again (wish I had video because it was a bit hilarious to see runners trying to scramble around and away from this "Tom"). Once I got my 7:20 pace and rythm back in place I was starting to feel a bit lagged but nothing unusual, I've been here before and kicked my own ass back into gear, I mean this is what all the tranining was for right?! So all is going well and we are nearing the 17 mile marker, perfect water stop, and I needed it. Should have been the typical stop and usually you would think the folks running around the 3:10-3:15 pace are not rookies... oh my mistake! Did anyone tell that guy that you are not supposed to stop in the water line once you get your cup, "Ouch"!
I was at a nice clip coming into the station and made my usually planned entry point about 3/4 up the water line which was just past where most people were making the water line exit. Unfortunately as I tried to slow down for the exiting runner in front of me, he decided to stop, yes STOP. He took his cup of water and took about two steps to the left (into running traffic) and planted himself to drink, so naturally you can ascertain the next event which was me plowing straight into him trying to make my path in. I was fairly worked already at this point and was all I could do to stay on my feet and keep moving... no water for me this time because I knew that I had no time to stop if I was to make the Boston cutoff. So I hobbled a bit out of the station with a cramped right foot but I knew I could work it out and there were more H2O stops so onward it was!

Things were still moving along nicely but at 21 I was starting to dwindle and really could have used some inspiration or a running partner. As I had gotten fairly close to the 3:10 pace group around 18 and 19, I knew the last couple of miles I was dragging below my required pace. The sound that made my heart drop and my feet kick was the huff and puff of the 3:15 group right behind me. At that point all I could think was there is no way I can let Boston slip away with less than a 10K to go. I dug deep and as the 3:15 group sidled right next to me I knew that I had to stay with them, then inspiration came from my blind-spot, literally. As the 3:15 group (which was about 20 guys and 1 girl) slowly grew around me a gentleman of my age who was in fantastic shape and looked amazingly relaxed passed me. As he made his way to be in front of me I was staring at his yellow vest that read "BLIND"... He was not running with an attached partner and seemed that he was intently listening to feet and breathing of those around him because he was completely in stride with the group and almost meticulously perfect in his stride. This gave me courage and realization that anything is possible that you put your mind to so I found another kick in me and stayed with the 3:15 group to mile 24. By now this group had dwindled to about 10 guys, most looking like this was just a simple 5k. I was starting to feel the sweet victory of seeing anything less than 3:15 on the clock and was digging in deep to visualize the finish, knowing that my family was at the finish watching and my brother was out there doing his first marathon I was feeling pretty high on life. Something hit me again though just yards before the 26 mile banner, and again I began to sag. I was using all my might to keep a visual on the 3:15 pace leader but I could not find anything in me to keep it going and as the 26 mile banner drifted behind me I was watching my Boston hopes in the form of the 3:15 group create a gap in front of me that I could not close. It was about this time with 2/10ths or less of the race to go that I spotted Tom, Jan, Leslie and my mom Shirley screaming and yelling to "Run Forest Run!!!" and wouldn't you know it that was exactly the inspiration I needed at that moment. In that split second of eye contact I had no energy to shout back or even raise my arms in acknowledgement but my shoes lit up with the wings of Mercury and lifted me to the banner where the clock read 3:14:45... yep just 15 seconds away from the cutoff! I crossed the line with my chip time of 3:14:06 and I could finally give the appropriate tribal "WootWoot" allowed to finishing athletes along with the raised fist pumping to show not just a finish but a "I'm going to Boston" confirmation.

The California International Marathon was a fabulous event. The Expo itself was hap-hazard and has need to improve in many ways, but the support, cheering and policing of streets along the way was very impressive and assured every participant along the way a safe and perfect opportunity for the perfect race. Co-incidentally our weather that day was also fantastic and the race become only about you and the connection to the road in front of you, whatever was accomplished this day was because of your inner drive and spirit, nothing would get in the way.

With this running high of Boston and CIM now accomplished I need to double time the mileage as I prepare for the Avalon 50 on 1/12/08!

Quicksilver 50/50 - Memories from my first ultra

2007-11-26T10:49:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know this is old information but I am about to embark on some very new territory and distances. But before I did I found it helpful to relive the memories of my first "Ultra" distance event with my uncle Bill Eilers. Now It will be Jennifer Henderson (AC100 winner amongst many other events) who will I will be on the heels of for my next adventure; the Avalon 50 miler!

--
Quicksilver Ultra (50k) - May 13, 2006 - Crazy? probably. This is the race that Uncle's running club sponsors, and it should be a worthy adventure as it would be my first Ultramarathon! Stay tuned for updates. WOO HOO - Not only did I complete my first Ultra Marathon but I took 3rd place overall of first time Ultra runners and 3rd place in my division with a time of 5:41:45. A shiny new 3rd place plaque and Quicksilver medallion proudly adorn my running wall . If you have some pictures from this even that you would like to share please send them to me for posting.Check for some Race Pics from Quicksilver 50k 2006 5/15/06 - Well, it took me a couple of days to figure out where I am, not to mention what I did just a couple of days ago. Turns out that all the warning and advice about running a trail ultra-marathon were totally accurate. Now if only I had taken ALL of the advice no doubt I would have faired even better. Though I must tell you that this was yet another incredible and emotional time for me. To think, sleep, eat, and dream Ultra Marathon for six months made the reality that much sweeter. Many many thanks go out to everyone for there amazing support during the day. My mom for coming out to see the big finish and my Bro for skipping away from work to also catch a photo-finish. Uncle and Auntie for putting me up for the night and great pre-race dinner of home-cooking. My crazy wife and her parents for driving 500 miles overnight just to be at the finish line. I love all you guys for helping me to make this happen. Uncle Bill and his running club were a big help by not letting me get off my ass all day on Friday, so all I did was fill water jugs. While I watched them enjoy beers in the sun on a hot day I got a lot of 'rib poking' and must admit it was the best fun i've had in a long time and I really took a liking to those guys. I would run with any of those gentlemen any day of the week as they are the tightest knit group of running friends I've had the pleasure of meeting. When I passed them at the aid stations along the way they were quick to look out for me by making sure I was headed the right direction (of which I usually was not) and they kept me well fed with potatoes and salt. One way I knew what direction to head was by hearing the Oscar Meyer Weiner song by non other than Ephraim Rosemberg, "Thanks Ephraim" I now know why you are an inspiration and 'guru' to my Uncle Bill Eilers. I have so so much more to tell about this race and what an affirmation it gave me that it may show up in "Huckleberry 2000" because it would make Wins proud!... But for now it's back to drinking beer and learning how to walk again since my whole body aches.

2007-10-27T15:17:00.000-07:00

Oktoberfest at OAW!

All Clear and trying to get back to running!

2007-10-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

It has been a long and challenging week for all residents of Southern California. Fire still blazes around the county but most of them now have a sufficient containment that we are no longer threatened.

The air quality is going to be poor for a while so we are trying to stay indoors and minimizing aerobic activity while in the smoke filled air.

All of us have felt very cooped up and we continue to host an evacuated family in addition to Leslie's parents who were also in an evacuated area. No structure damage to any of these folks, but the cleanup of ash and soot will require some effort.

As I have returned to work and start to get back in touch with families and friends we are continuing to listen of saddening stories and frightening experiences of evacuations and what it was like to be so close (some just within blocks away). Also sad is that one of my favorite Ultra training runs in Blue Sky Reserve has been burned away and it will be some time before I can return there for trail running. This is not uncommon in much of San Diego county though. Most trails anywhere within where I or the club will run has been devastated and leveled by fire.

Just like anything else though we are determined as a society and will rebuild and move on because today is a new day. Today is one more day of healing and recovery for our beautiful city, and in time this will come to pass as a memory that we have learned from. Our strength of community and endless outpouring of support and volunteering makes us stronger.

Thanks again to all the friends and family who have been calling, it feels great to know all of you are watching out for us. We are safe and have no problems and will spend this coming weekend with respirator masks for the cleanup of ash that is all around the house and street.

..next time I log in here let's hope we are able to be out running again and can get on track for CAL International which is just a few short weeks away!

JoeyB

Still Burning...

2007-10-25T15:28:00.000-07:00

Well they did warn people not to become too complacent in all this craziness of wildfires. Of course I come into the office today, which is the first day we have re-opened for business since the fires began, and now I am continuing to see updates of just 20 minutes ago that fires around our area are still burning. Thankfully much of the ones still burning are on Camp Pendleton property, which means no political BS or lobbying for air support. The Marines are very quick and efficient and dousing these fires within their own boundaries.

While I sit here trying to get updates I have found this map quite handy at learning of any new activity: Google FireMap

Whew! we are safe and not evacuated

2007-10-25T09:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was quite a frightening experience. About 2pm a third fire broke out on Camp Pendleton at the Back (East) gate entrance. It just so happens that we actually live approximately one mile from that entrance.

*picture at left was taken while standing on my porch and it was a stone throw away in height, with the fire not much further away it seemed.

It only took a casual glance out the front window to see the bellows of black smoke quickly filling the sky. It grew in proportion and darkness exponentially quick, making it even more disconcerting. We did not want to jump to a conclusion since these things always look closer than they may be, so we hopped in the car to drive about three blocks away to the top of our hill for a peek... only to discover that the streets had already been closed and blocked by our local police. They were allowing people to leave the neighborhood but nobody was coming in!

We drove back to the house and got the cars facing the street and started to pack up. At that time the neighbor across the street came over to tell us, and everyone else standing outside wondering what to do, that he could now see the flames from his house. No sooner was this mentioned and about a dozen huge military helicopters with water drop buckets began circling the new fire with attempts to extinguish.

As our evacuee family staying with us and myself stood on the front porch while helicopters flew about 50 feet directly overhead of our house, we stood in amazement, and after a couple of loops of this we again realized we have to get our gear packed and ready to head. The black smoke and fire was obviously running running towards us as we could determine not only by the winds blowing South of us (which was bad) but also the circles the copters were taking for their drops.

When we turned our attention away from the sky we then realized the size of the ash falling was a little smaller than a dime and continuing to give us new ground cover over the existing ash already on the ground.

In any case though we quickly became grateful for being so close to a military encampment because we realized they have an amazing set of resources. All of the above transpired in a matter of 30-60 minutes and they had set an operation in motion that doused the fire extremely quickly, and giving us a great level of relief. The major downside though was that being it was on a military base we had absolutely no news coverage or reports other than what we could see. Watching helicopters with water buckets you don't need to be a scientist to know the best thing is to get out!

Through the night though we stood watchful shifts for flare-ups and wind shifts; not to mention the Fallbrook fire still burns with minimum containment. Fallbrook is still our neighboring city to the East so all of us are still on watch and our evacuees are still under formal evacuation and their streets are closed.

To all my friends and family we cannot thank all of you enough for the incredible outpouring of support and offers of housing. We are also getting word from most of our friends and co-workers in the devastation and evacuation areas that they are returning to their homes and to this point have not heard of any major losses in personal safety or homes and belongings.

We continue to watch and be prepared but we must get back to our lives and keep the city running.

Thank You again to everyone who has been in contact with us over this difficult time.

2007-10-24T17:30:00.001-07:00

Yikes it's my street and were all packing to evacuate since this housing development is within the evacuation zone.

Firestorm San Diego 2007

2007-10-24T07:32:00.000-07:00

Just four years ago, we lived through a huge wildfire situation where it almost felt like San Diego itself was on fire from all vantage points. Hard to imagine that we could find or experience anything worse in such a short amount of time again.

Now it's October 20th, 2007 and I'm heading home after spending 30+ hours volunteering at the Sunrise Aid Station for the 100 Mile San Diego Endurance Run through the Cuyamaca Mountains, yes, the very one which has pretty much now burned. Sunday 10/21 I was driving home through highway #79 listening to live fire reports about a little fir burning which at the time was not hardly news worthy. By the time I got home (and had a little nap) the fire turned into an out of control blaze that was growing wildly with the Santa Ana winds that began to whip up on Saturday evening.

The blaze continues even as I write this. At this time we are still in a 'safe' zone, one of the few in teh county. Our worst experience so far at this point is that the fire burns to the South, East, and North of us and the winds have been blowing West but the onshore flow is bringing them back around to the East, causing an uncomfortable continuation of the smoke filled air and everyone is still coughing and hacking, but we have not been under mandatory evacuation.
At one point on Monday evening we were under a voluntary evacuation. The notice was about 2AM but lifted shortly after so we remain in our own home with all windows sealed for smoke and ash which also continues to rain down on us. It has made for the last several days to be almost surreal but thankfully this morning (10/24/07 8AM) I can see some patchy blue skies and the sunrise is visible though still hazy.

Most of my friends and co-workers have all been displaced and are evacuated at all different areas around the county. We have continued to be a safe haven and are also housing an evacuated family and pets in our home. We are proud and thankful to still have this to offer to those who have or may still be in danger of losing their 'shelter'.

My company has graciously (and even mandated) that all San Diego employees remain home and telecommute if possible. This has been a big help for us to be able to help others. The fires in Camp Pendleton are still quite close to us and at one point actually crossed 8 lanes of the 5 freeway. Reporters and firemen were reporting that these fires would likely burn out when they hit the oceans coastline...scary!

We have had limited cell-phone coverage and intermittent internet access but all of that is stabilizing as of late yesterday, so I'm thinking and hoping that this brings us closer to better containment. We continue to vigilantly watch the progress but are confident all will be welll by the end of the day or week. The fires will not be out or fully controlled until the end of the month but each passing hour puts further and further from harms way.

* I was not able to get some good pics, but their are many albums already posted with some good images of the events as they unfolded.. such as this album (where I got the image above)

Sunrise Aid Volunteer @ SD100

2007-10-20T08:19:00.000-07:00

On 10/20/07 I volunteered with the SD100 at the Sunrise aid station. It started back at Mt. Disappointment when I had the pleasure of running with Jennifer Harris (AC100 is just one of the many wins and runs she has completed).

Jennifer runs an aid station at the SD100 that I though would be a lot of fun to take part in plus I really wanted to see what it took to run a 100 miler. Our station was at approximately mile 56 of the race. I reported to my station at 1pm on Saturday which was only about 2 hours before the first person came through which was also the race winner, Karl Meltzer, he was clearly on a mission as I barely had time to refill the water bottle before he cleared our station.

What I saw was an amazing determination of all the runners and their spirits were high. The combination of runners spirit the great ham radio vounteers and the other volunteers at the Sunrise station which included David Henderson and Norm Haines (a Badwater Solo finisher). We had a great time and although I found it to be a hectic pace the volunteers and the individual race crews did a fabulous job and keeping things running efficiently.

I now can say that I understand what it's like to be on the other side. Typically I have run the events but now as a volunteer it was enlightening to see the level of work, planning, and donations that go into this... So continue to tell your race volunteers "Thank You!" because it never gets old and everyone whether running or volunteering deserves a pat on the back.

The Infinite Road to Somewhere

2007-10-19T09:31:00.001-07:00

Being healthy is something all of us want but running is not really the method all of us choose to get there; for myself running does the trick but the important thing is that you find something to get aerobic! Running does not have to be extreme but for some reason I’m on a mission to find the limits of my own body and have found the world of Ultra Trail Running to be just the thing to push my buttons lately (Ultra Marathon is defined as any foot race which exceeds the Standard Marathon distance of 26.2 ).

The inspiration to keep putting one foot in front of the other at a rapid pace (sometimes called “Running”) shows no sign of letting up. The last couple of months were rather interesting since it included two more Ultra Marathons at the 50K distance, very aptly named “Mt. Disappointment” and “Noble Canyon”, kind of a sick joke… but then again what kind of person runs that far in the first place!?

Clearly for those who are on the other side of the fence you can see that Ultra runners are in a class by themselves and a little mental to boot, and I’ll be the first to admit it. Which leads me to the fact of how I am absolutely shocked at our abilities to find ourselves cheerleaders, particularly spouses and partners, who in their own right I think are a bit mental as well. I say this with an air of being in slight awe that someone is willing to sit on their duff for a very long period of time in the middle of nowhere while wondering just where in the heck you are (as they are foot tapping with anticipation of getting to see the slightly uneventful finish).

I could go on and on here and it’s easy to find plenty of antecdotes on the internet about running; but my main purpose is really to prove that even mere mortals, myself included, can perform amazing goals. Whether you do a 5K walk or a Full Ironman triathlon the key is to get out there and support your community. It does not matter if it takes you 24 minutes or 24 hours because the real heroes here are the ones just brave enough to toe-the-start-line.

Happy Trails,
Racezilla

It's Noble to finish Noble

2007-10-09T13:24:00.001-07:00

Yep, another one down and it feels great! Well no PR (5:41) for the 50K it was still a great race that I'd like to do again. In fact it has me considering the 100 miler....mmm maybe a little too ambitious but we shall see.

Though if I keep getting the great support from Leslie that I have been, then anything is possible. At this race we had good friends and a cool swimming pool to heal in after words, and the pool even had a floating bar! what could be better after a 50K but red meat, beer, and a swimming pool.

2007-09-25T10:02:00.001-07:00

My "woobie"

Way tougher than expected

2007-09-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

Wow, Mt Disappointment is done... finally!
Don't get me wrong it was an excellent race with great support (Thank You to all the volunteers and RD Gary). The challenge of this course was legendary, and had I known in advance the level of challenge over the last 5 miles I may not have convinced Kristen my running-mate of the day to be taking on her first Ultra.

But hey it's all part of why we do these things, personal fulfillment and the can-do attitude. Here's proof of our finish to an excellent day.

Read an excellent write up as I could not describe it any better than "The Run Down"

OK time to get some rest before the next Ultra this weekend at Noble Canyon. Happy Trails friends

Races so far in 2007

2007-08-30T13:48:00.000-07:00

I knew I was feeling a little tired and it made me start thinking about not the training miles covered; or even the time and mileage that I spend coaching; but just about what crazy accomplishments we had so far this year!

1/21/07 Carlsbad Marathon - 3:45:00
2/11/07 San Dieguito Half Marathon - 1:38:00
3/31/07 CA Ironman 70.3 - 6:30:00
4/21/07 Santa Cruz Half Marathon - 1:50:00
4/28/07 Wild Miles Relay 179 Miles/5 Man team - 25:+:00
6/03/07 Rock n Roll Marathon San Diego - 3:38:00
8/11/07 Mt. Dissapointment 50K - 8:00:00
9/02/07 Disneyland 5K - 45 Minutes

(A great walk with Leslie through the park)

9/03/07 Disneyland Half Marathon - 1:36:00

(Great run with Anthony on his 3rd half marathon)

9/29/07 Noble Canyon 50K - 6:07:21

And if that's not enough their is still more before the year is finished out!

10/14/07 Long Beach Marathon - still thinking about it
12/02/07 CAL International Marathon - registered

Whew... maybe less races next year, we'll see. So many great races to still accomplish I can't stop now.

Welcome

2007-08-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

Not that I really intend to maintain this on a daily basis, I do hope to at least make some interval comments. It's a way for me and you (whoever you are) to make an appearance in webland.

Recent Events to speak of:
8/11/07 Mt Dissapointment 50K - Finished!