Sasquatch in Public

Year End/Year Beginning

2015-01-05T13:12:00.001-06:00

Well it is time to kick 2014 to the curb like 2 week old chinese food in bring in all that fresh General's 2015 Chicken. 2014 was an interesting if not sub-optimal year full of way too many cases of lingering illnesses. That is rare for me, but, young kids are like little CDC emergencies so it was bound to happen. Goals were not met, ample fun was lost, spiders almost won. It was a letdown of sorts as far as results go.

However all was not lost, I had some amazing opportunities come up this year as well. First I was fortunate enough to be select as ambassador for a few awesome companies! Skora Running, Orange Mud Hydration, and Bioskin all allowed me the opportunity to promote their awesome products and I am very grateful. They make awesome stuff and you should definitely check 'em out as they have some pretty amazing stuff lined up for 2015. Looking forward to continuing spouting for these guys and who knows who else may allow me to jabber for them. Stay Tuned.

Far more importantly though I learned I am a dump truck and not a Porsche. Some of you may point out that I am wrong, I am a human and not a motor vehicle at all. Quiet you! What I mean is that I should not be quickly accelerating. I have this problem with wanting to put the pedal to the floor and go. I do this is races sometimes, especially right after I spend time walking, I go full speed again. I learned that I am dump truck and therefore need to go slowly. Slow my roll for training, slowly accelerate my speed/distance/etc. Don't just go 0-60, work up to is and then when I achieve that speed it will be hard to stop.

Another thing I found late in the year is a zest for Fat Asses. No, not those, very loosely organized "races" where the goal is have fun and go far, not times or medals. I found my joy in running again and that probably falls in line with the above lesson. Grinding hard kinda wore me out and my body and mind kinda weren't ready. So, thanks to my friends who organized the social running, it was fun to not have any worries other than the next few steps. In the same line I was also fortunate enough to pace a buddy through a tough Flatrock 101k. It was my first time pacing as well as first time on the trail. Gorgeous if not tough place to run through. Had an amazing view in the night time in a clearing turning our headlamps off. It was great to bring him back to the finish line and I was honored to be there.

So what is going on for 2015? Well, I am going to continue dump-trucking. Building myself back up and seeing what I can get myself into. We have been fortunate enough to get a little snow and get a nice little cold weather run to start the year off right. I am still of the mind that being first out on a trail after snowfall is a rare joy and must be taken when given the chance. As for beyond the now, I don't know. I have a lot of races and places I would like to do but in the end time will tell. I am more going to focus on what I am doing now and worry about that stuff later. I know for sure Flatrock 50k calls my name and I will more than likely do Hawk Hundred cause it's my favorite, but aside from that? I dunno? But it is time to start finding out! Cheers to you in 2015!

My Xmas List

2014-12-16T15:54:00.000-06:00

Orange Mud Gym Bag - (Preorder) This one is a doozy. I have been needing a better bag to start going to the gym on lunch hour and being able to shower and get back to work. This guy is perfect. As with everything OM does, it was built to withstand everything that rough and tumble trips to the gym entails. It's also basically of nesting doll of awesome for storage of all the stinkies that need to be kept contained. Pre-order yours right here with a 10% discount using the code 'Sasquatch'.

Amrita Bars - I tried these and found a hit! I had been eating Honey Stinger Waffles and they are quite good but these had more flavor but not in a excessive way. Also, it is a soft bar, which had me worried, but not a wad of clay like a lot of other soft bars. Think more like a soft-baked cookie. The bars were quite tasty and really did the trick while out running and bounding through the woods. I brought them out with me on my last Fat Ass race and they were awesome. I never once felt out of energy or ill. I think I need more.

Skora Tempo - Coming 2015- I cannot wait to give these guys a lot of miles I love the Fit and and cannot wait to see what the Tempo brings in terms of flexibility and feel with little extra protection for them extra pointy angry rocks. Another thing I love is Skora durability. I have had 6 pair and only 1 had had to be retired, and that was after almost 500 mi of tough as hell trail, rocks, roots, obstacle courses with what can best be described as nuclear waste ponds, etc. They earned their keep. And the Forms, my first pair, have almost 800 mi and still routinely kick out awesome runs. LOVE THESE SHOES!

Garmin Fenix 2 - I have always wanted a full-fledged GPS watch and HRM. This one seems to be one of the best of the bunch. I try not to dictate my workouts by a singular number, but I do like looking at the data post run and marrying that with how I felt. Besides, I not having to run my phone would be nice and, well, it looks nice. Cause that matters too right?

Titin Tech Weighted Shirt - Ever since I saw these on Twitter a few months ago and an AWESOME review by my buddy Ultrarunner Joe I have been intrigued. I am not a big "hit the weights" guy. I have bad form and sub-par knees (thanks collegiate tennis). but this seemed like a means to get a little more strength training in while I was doing what I loved, running. The premise and design seems so much more sound versus just a big bulky weighted vest that would bounce around. I really want to give this a good spin around our little hills and see how it helps when the big hills come into play as well as build better endurance late in races. (P.S. - If your looking be sure to check out Joe's review as he has a nice little bonus if you buy, an Orange Mud towel which is it's own bit of awesome).

The Hawk 2014

2014-09-22T13:44:00.000-05:00

Lumbering, I came out of the woods that marked the trailhead, followed the tree line past the playground, then made a 90 degree right turn right to a table and a big digital clock. The clock read 5:32:52 and beside that clock was Danny Miller, the Hawk Hundred Race director. Danny asked me how I felt. I mumbled something about much better than the half on the same trails the week before and accepted the medal he handed me and moved on past him to the area to sit down. I know he said something else to me, but it didn’t register. I found a way to a bench seat, and there, alone, I was overcome with emotion. This was last year and this was my first marathon. It was difficult, and the path was difficult and it all caught up with me and I was a bit choked up holding the medal, marathon finisher, in my hand. That was a high point. Unfortunately, things went downhill from there.

Fast forward a year and it was time to toe the line again. I had rebounded from a bad year and was feeling ready to change my fortunes. I was running with my buddy Josh and we were going to treat it as a long training run for FlatRock 50k in 2 weeks. Beyond that, things were all falling into place. Training had gone well, the weather was impeccable, it was time to chase my mojo.

I set my alarm for 5AM that morning which, of course, means I woke up at like 440AM. I quickly and silently got ready (I thought I was silent, but I always seem to make more noise when I am trying to be quiet then when it doesn’t really matter). I snuck out the door into the unseasonably cool air. For Kansas, in September, 37 degrees is about as rare as a free lunch or fast moving DMV line. The crisp air that morning was very welcome, but the fog is what made the day. There was a dense patch hanging over the river valley on my way to Lawrence as well as a dense patch sitting over Lake Clinton. I knew then, things were going to be fun. I got there, got parked, got checked in and found my buddy. We grabbed some breakfast and stood by the fire waiting for the ultrarunners to depart. At 630 they lined up and took off, headlamps dancing in the pre-dawn darkness. From our vantage point in the shelter area we could then turn around and see those same headlamps, dancing like fireflies, in the fog below us. It was really going to be an amazing day.

We were up next so I got my pack and everything and got ready. Soon it was time to get lined up and we slid into the middle with the intense determination to not go fast. Nah, actually we were watching the sun come up, looking at the ginormous dog that would be towing his owner through the marathon, and generally just hoping to keep the pace slow and steady. And with Danny’s call, we were off. Up the road and through the nature path we went, across the open field and back down into the trailhead we went to add the 1.2 miles we needed to make a marathon out of the 25 mile loop. Along the way Josh hit his head on a low lying branch in what would become a theme throughout the course, well, low lying branches was the theme thankfully not hitting our head. After we dove into the trail we almost immediately headed to Saunders Mound where we were treated to some of the coolest views of the lake and the dam shrouded in fog. Up and down we went then back into the trail.

Kansas isn’t the most scenic of states, we don’t have oceans or mountains or vistas that belong on postcards. We do have some gems though. To me at least, and I am writing this so my opinion wins, the Red Trail at Clinton is one of those gems. When you catch it at the right time as we did, you could stop and just take in the scenery. It is a rocky outcropping that runs right on the lake beach, slap some layers of fog, some cranes in the water, sun rising, you have stuff that pictures are made of. Unfortunately I suck at taking pictures and was kind of in the middle of a race, so I left the photo ops to the pros (Mile90) and kept on going. It was already becoming a special day.

Onward we went, continuously trading places with dog, and his owner. We were moving well, but not too fast, consistent I guess. We were running most of the time, walking the larger uphills, and generally swearing at the point rocks as appropriate. The day was getting warm enough that gloves and long sleeves weren’t necessary anymore so we were waiting to shed them at the next aid station. Through the branch hut we went and were on our way to Bunker hill to hit the aid station. As a side note, I LOVE the branch hut. It’s so random, a hut made out of large branches right there on-trail that you run through for no other reason than be there and probably house terror-spiders when it is really warm out. Well, on second thought that is probably why it is there, people trap. Alas, we weren’t dinner today, but I digress. Into the aid station we got.

I love this aid station. It has the best volunteer ever. She takes care of everyone without flinching, hugs all us sweaty folks, isn’t afraid of sweaty packs and gnarly clothing. However, if you are not paying attention to your nutrition or are loitering, she will tell you to get a d!@# move on. She’s the best. Out of West Edge we go, on to Bunker Hill and another one of the majestic Kansas views. Bunker hill is, shockingly enough, a hill. Who knew? However it is out in the open, outside of the trail, run through grassy field. As you weave your way up and down up and down again there is an amazing view of the lake behind you and this morning was no different. Also, Bunker hill has a bunker, because why name a feature Bunker Hill if it has neither. As you come down the hill, you see it, just right there, a door, leading to who knows what? It’s probably Narnia. Anyways, back to West Edge and another refill and a few snacks and onward we go back into the trail.

We were still feeling pretty good but this trail is back loaded and the hills and more angry pointy rocks awaited us, as well as the ever present huge dog dragging and his running mate. This part of the trail has a lot less interesting bits and requires a bit more determination. We kept going and going and going and started slowing down. This is where we needed to remember that this was still training and not a race for us. We did, we walked when necessary, spirits were good, we passed stairs that we have to run up when we did North Shore last year (I hate those stairs to this day). We passed the spot where I fell last year (and had a conversation about no one being around to see falls and getting back up?). We starting ticking off locations that I knew were drawing us closer to finish line. It was here I started to A) hurt more and B) smile more, at least internally. We were getting close and this just made me happy.

About 3 miles out I started walking. I was definitely feeling it and didn’t really want to strain too much as this we still all about being ready for Flatrock, however, we took it in stride and kept on talking and being in generally good mood, how could we not be? We got passed by the big dog for the last time and a few others came by. We came up on the road that we skirt by and talked to the volunteers there for a second who loved the OrangeMud packs and loved our VP2 vest (shameless plug). We were a mile away or so at that point, getting closer to the end. We got passed by the big dog for the last time, which meant it was about time to run it in. We got moving again, and surprisingly a lot of my hurt had went away. I am not sure if it was just the walk or being so close to the end or what but it felt good to run again.

Lumbering, we came out of the woods, followed the tree line by the playground, took a right turn and ran right up to the table and digital clock. There, Danny was waiting, medals in hand, asking us how we felt. This time I said something about the wonderful weather, he remarked it was better than last year and I agreed. I moved past and eyed the food hungrily. This year it was not a teary moment, not a moment for self-reflection. It was… a victory. I finished, did what I needed to do, and got my mojo back. It felt amazing, but more so it felt like I was ready for more. I didn’t run the race any faster (or really any slower) than last year but I felt so much better. After a quick burger and some fruit it was time to go home and play with the kids. That was it, the most beautiful of training runs, it was an amazing day that will hopefully lead to another in Independence.

P.S. - The AMAZING photographers at Mile90 took all these awesome pics. Check them out, they are awesome people and take the best race pics in my opinion and experience.

P.P.S - Massive thanks to all the people who helped make the race awesome. The Lawrence Trail Hawks for being awesome hosts, all the phenomenal volunteers taking care of the sweaty folk coming through, Orange Mud for keeping me hydrated, Skora for keeping me moving forward, Injinji for keeping my toes happy, Tailwind for making hydration easy and tasty, Honey Stinger Waffles for being delicious, and BioSkin for the recovery.

Come here running...I just want to love you again

2014-09-16T12:55:00.000-05:00

It’s be a crappy year. Well, no, it’s been a disappointing. I mean, I am still alive, have both legs, and running. But I have great expectations for the year and so far I feel a bit bummed that I haven’t really hit any of them.

This makes me laugh every time...

So what happened? Who cares? Life happened and I was wallowing in some woe is me. During the summer I even lost my running mojo. I was avoiding it. I was not enjoying it. I lost my way, figuratively of course, getting literally lost is occasionally fun. One thing, though, kinda kicked me in the backside and got me moving again and it wasn’t really what I expected it to be…an Obstacle Course Race.

Mountain for some, speed bump for others

A good friend asked me to do the Rugged Maniac with him in Weston, Mo. I reluctantly said yes because, free beer and good company. Only after saying yes did I realize it’s on the ski slope there. Oops. So, back to training for me. Up hills and down hills up hills and down hills up some more hills and down some more hills. In hindsight, some core strengthening would have helped, maybe a little legs and arms too. But hey, whatever, that stuff is easy right?

Not Pictured, me, but I did make it up the wall on my own

No, no it isn’t easy at all. First of all it had rained a good amount right before. EVERYTHING was muddy. Thankfully we were in the third wave but even then everything was pretty well torn up. Poor saps after us would have a hell of a time. Also thankfully it was relatively cool out at that point and not the unbearable hot and humid it would be later in the day. But enough about the weather, the race happened too. First of all, we started off by running up a mountain. AN EVERLOVING MOUNTAIN! Well, ok, technically it’s a tiny ski slope with maybe 200-300 ft of climb in say maybe 3/10ths of a mile. It isn’t Hardrock, but for us Kansas folk it might as well be. After that it was fairly standard stuff, climb over this, swim through the pond that smelled of sewage, climb over that, swim through another pond that might be glowing green from the power plant right down the road. Normal stuff. There was the crawl through the incredibly confined spaces made for little people (nope, NOOOOPPPPPEEEEE, claustrophobia demands I stay way the hell away from those ones), and the inevitable army crawling under barb wire. That one is always fun, nothing like being face-to-ass with total strangers, right?

Where are our beers?

It wasn’t until we go to the ladders with big inflatable balls swinging all over, and then a ring swing that things got fun. Of course, I let a ball knock me off cause I was too busy trying to be cute. I made it half way across the rings, which is basically like running a 4 min mile. The most fun, however, was running up a wall. If you have ever seen American Ninja Warrior, you know what I am talking about. This one isn’t quite as tall, but then again, I am not quite as in shape as they are. So after watching people run at it, some making it, some being hoisted up by the people on top, and some going face first into wall and cartoonishly sliding back down it was my turn. I charged hard and got to the top, clinging, and eventually scrabbled myself up, thank god. I turned around and tried to catch my buddy but failed, and caught him the second time around, ‘cause I learn from my mistakes, I guess? After that it was smooth sailing, well, except for the incredibly un-smooth and tailbone murdering slide down into the muck. Then, we were done. Then, we hosed off. Then we got our free beer, and it was good. I am not an obstacle racer but this was fun, it was different and it helped void my mind of a lot of stupid stuff that had lodged itself there.

Oh, there they are.

That is really just the beginning though. I knew it would be back to the grind, only a short time left for the Hawk Hundred Marathon and the FlatRock 50k. Finally, however, I was training like I wanted to train, hitting runs like I wanted to hit them. I was smashing through spider webs with purpose (although I still swear to all that holy that a squirrel jumped on my head on one run). I felt so much better, like a burden or stigma had been lifted.

Into the crypt where the beers (and bodies) are stored

I guess now that I have rambled this far it is time to get to the point. I learned that sometimes I am my own worst enemy. In seeing that I was really struggling, I kept trying to press and press and only mired myself in my problem. I should have stepped out and done something different, taken a breather to get a fresh look. Hopefully it wasn’t too late for this next 3 week stretch, and while I may be a little more under-trained than I would like to be I am in a better mental place than I was. You know in those “Should Have Had a V8” commercials where they bonk them on the head for saying they ate this crap or that instead of their veggies? It was like that only in the form or mud, rings, walls and one uncoordinated squirrel.

P.S. - Hopefully this also means I can get back to posting. I have so much to review: Orange Mud VP2, Orange Mud Handheld, Tailwind, Skora Cores, Skora Fits, BioSkin Calf Sleeves, Honey Stinger Waffles. Whew, that is a lot. I, also, have (and hopefully will have) more race recaps to work on too. Wheeeeee!

P.P.S. – If you find yourself in and/or around Weston, MO make it a point to go seek out the Weston Brewing Company (pictures above) and go down into the ~~crypts~~ cellar bar. First of all, their brews are tremendous. Secondly, the room is amazing and historic. Take the tour if you have time. You’re welcome.

I'm Famous...Kinda

2014-09-16T09:29:00.000-05:00

Some very cool links to check out:

Below is profile of me on the Orange Mud Blog Site - In case you don't know these guys are just taking over the world of hydration and running accessories! Check 'em out here! I am fortunate enough to be an ambassador for OM and absolutely love the products they put out.
The Runner Files: Geoff Alonso

Below is Hawk Hundred pics from Mile90 Photography - They are some of the absolute BEST race photographers around! They are incredibly talented and dedicated. Check them out here.
2014 Hawk Hundred

Skora Running #1 - Another company I am privileged to be an ambassador for is Skora. They were recently voted #1 shoe brand on Active Times, see article below. They make my favorite running and wearing 'round shoes. For a zero drop, low stack, super flexible ride, check them out here!
Skora #1

Pacing Flatrock 101K

2014-05-05T16:35:00.000-05:00

So, I have been relatively quiet for the last few months. There has been a lot going on. I have been in the process of selling my house and moving as well as a massive work implementation. So the time to write about my shenanigans has been few and far between. On top of that, after Cross Timbers I haven’t had any races. However, a couple months ago I was asked by one of my friends and training buddies if I would be interested in pacing him as he went for a finish at Flatrock 101k.

Finishers get a buckle, Pacers get a bib.

At first I was rather leery, I had never paced, I wasn’t really training like I wanted to, I knew the course was tough but had never been there, I was pretty much unsure. A little sweet talking and I was in. I really wanted to get some course experience as I would be running the 50k in September. So this was as good a means as I could think of. On top of that, the buddy that I was pacing has been absolutely instrumental in my love and growth on the trails so I owed him big time. Now that I was in, it was time to get down to business of being ready. I couldn’t think of a better way than getting eyebrows deep in a massive work project as well as sell my house and move out at the exact same time. On top of that I had a nagging foot pain that kept me from running as much and as well as I wanted to. In the end I decided that I should do 16ish miles of pacing instead of 21ish to keep the threat of me doing more harm than good down. He continuously reminded me that by the time I picked him up he would be moving very slow with a lot of walking, but still, would had to be the drag instead of the boost. So by the time race day rolled around I was undertrained and wee bit nervous about what all was going to happen.

Pre-race fireworks?

For as beautiful as the trail turned out to be (more on that later) the drive was the absolute opposite. A 2 lane highway through Kansas farmland can be very boring, especially when you are in great anticipation of getting where you are going. And I had a lot of anticipation. The weather-guessers had been predicting a chance for storms ranging from barely noticeable to fury of a thousand suns. It did storm in the area that morning as well, although, thankfully not on the course itself (on a sad note, there were storms that day and they were severe with loss of life). For us however, the day stayed basically dry. The real problem I would find out when I got there was the heat. No, for the record, 80s isn’t hot, not even remotely close by Kansas standards. However, having a cold, prolonged winter and have this be the first really warm day of the year made things a bit trickier on the runners. And this was the state of affairs I found myself in when I arrived on scene.

Some flat ground to run on

Surviving the drive of great boringness I closed in on the park and I could tell, even from a few miles out, this was going to be AWESOME. In Kansas when you come across noticeable hills, or landmarks of any variety it is exciting. This are of Kansas is a little more plush with this kinds of noticeable distractions compared to other areas. So as I drove in my excitement level went Defcon 2. When I arrived I scouted the race home camp, hosted by the awesome folks at Epic Ultras. Then, I got to business, time to go potty from that drive. After that important part was taken care of, I got dressed up, glide’d up, Orange Mud HydraQuiver Double Barrel ready and packed up, then, shoes. This was a predicament to me. I had been training in my Skora Forms heavily to be moving away from any need for other shoes on the trail, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to move totally away, but alas, there I was and I gave it a shot and I was not disappointed at all. Never doubt the Skoras. Even plopping the Newtons on afterwards to walk around in felt weird, but it was what I brought. Next time the cores come along as the cool down shoe. After I got my stuff ready I could see my ride coming and it was time to go, I wolfed down a sandwich and we were off to the turnaround point. I had questions along the way for my driver (my pacee’s wife) about how he was moving, feeling, weather, etc. By the time I got to the turn to wait, I had both a good idea and no clue what to expect, and it was fun.

Pace is for suckers.

After a little while, along came my buddy with another runner into the aid station. This was rather exhilarating as they were the first people I saw come out into the aid station. I knew my buddy was in 3^rd, but this looked like a 1^st place outing right now. He got food and drink and changed socks and stuff then we were off. Now it was time to see what was really going on. First of all, it was hot. As I said about this ‘warmer than it had been’ weather was taking its toll on most everyone. I say most because the person actually in first place was already nearly 10 miles ahead and almost done with the race!!!! As for us, we were sitting in 2^nd place, which was good news, but nausea was weighing heavily on my buddy and it would prove to be a factor the rest of the evening. This meant that walking was the name of he game despite not having any serious muscle fatigue. For me this was actually tough, once I knew the place we were in I wanted to tear off and preserve that, but, I also had not been out here for the last 11 hours. However, onward we went, ever moving forward.

There is a hand hanging there that you slap as you finish...or else.

We had another guy (The guy who rolled into the aid station with him) with us for probably a good 6 or 7 miles. He was laboring too, come to find out this was his first run ever over 13 miles…EVER!!! That’s some indomitable human spirit right there, or as he put it a lot of stupidity. He ended up taking off to try and run it out shortly after we had gotten passed after about 7ish miles never to be seen again, or, until after the finish. As the daylight was fading we got passed by the first place woman, 5^th place is where we found ourselves and 5^th place is where we stayed. The nausea lingered and reared its head on occasion, climbs were especially rough. But always moving forward we made progress. 5 hours later, down a dark road, head lamps on, we saw the end, heard the Epic Ruckus, and made our way to the line and finished 16:03:13. Even more epic, there his family waited and he was able to run across the finish line with his kids. It was AWESOME. And there, shortly after, he collapsed, happy and done. I was ready to turn around and go back, that was fun!

I think I felt better than he did at this point...

That is a brief account of 5 hours of solid walking. But I have left a lot of my personal observations to be expressed here, ‘cause while I was pacing and racing for him, I was also experiencing the course for me. Here is that part. From the outset you can tell this course is amazing. This is not normal Kansas trail. While we have our own bits of rocky, rooty, hilly joy, this is a different beast all together. It is a 16mil stretch of finding your footing while trying to take in the surroundings. The motto of the race(s) they have here is “If you look up you are going down”. This is a very valid warning, but truth be told it was hard as hell not to do.

As you start diving in to the trail from the back end, you carry along the Elk City river, and this is absolutely gorgeous. From that point things start getting rockier, and not the bad rockier, but literally, rock formations. That is the theme of the course, obviously named Flatrock, and it is truly a beauty to behold. As you progress you run along the awesome rock walls and eventually up them to a higher vantage point over the river and lake. This may not be a Tahoe, Squamish, Grand Canyon level vista, but it is gorgeous in its own right. However this is not the only remarkable feature. Throughout the trail you also have many instances of running rock “canyons”. Places where it looks like rock has pulled away and allowed a trail to form between. It was a very different experience for most of us here in Kansas. It’s also badass at night with a headlamp on (unless you don’t like that kind of thing in which case it could be terrifying I suppose). There as a point with a sort of waterfall that we ran past, I was told that in the more rainy times it is awesome to run through. From there we kept on meandering through and going up. As it got darker there was less to see, kind of. While it was a bit more difficult to take in the scenery there was still plenty to look at. The moon on the lake was gorgeous. But what really stole the show was when we came to a clearing, turned our headlamps off, and looked up. It was unlike anything I had seen before being so farm from a major light source. You could see so much, feeling so very small out there in the woods.

Just right of center frame is a person...

Sorry, this was long. But it was a truly awesome experience and I do recommend it if anyone feels like traveling to the area. I was very happy to get out and help give, and also get an awesome experience. It was just what I needed too with as much as I have had going on. I needed a reminder that stress rolls right off like sweat when you find something to get your mind right and my mind needed righting. So. Thank you Flatrock.

I'm terrible at trail pics.

I'm really terrible at trail pics.

Cross Timbers Trail Marathon Recap - DNF

2014-02-28T12:37:00.000-06:00

D-N-F, Did Not Finish, 3 letters that runners despise. Up until Valentine’s Day weekend they were letters that I knew existed, but had not experienced put together as a runner. They were mythical, mysterious, dreaded, like zombies and unicorns. Things that happened to other people. I had contemplated them, like my first trail race, but not allowed them in. Like door to door salesmen, they were banned from entering and thus, they couldn’t get me to buy into their scheme. Unfortunately, one snuck past the goalie in this case and there really wasn’t a whole lot I could do about it.

I have bad luck, well, more bad timing. Last year saw snowstorms cut short a race trip, ran a half on the hottest day ever (roughly), and had a clan full of super-sick before a marathon. Apparently just the challenge of the race isn’t enough, I must do it with a big sack of life on my back. This race, The Cross Timbers Trail Marathon, was no exception. I had been fighting knee soreness the last month or two and so I eased into training. I wasn’t quite where I wanted to be, but wasn’t completely unprepared. That was the small problem. The large problem came about a week before the time to travel. Kids got really sick, which meant that a few days before it was time to leave I got really sick. Luckily it was one of those in and out in 24 hours, drive through flu type sicknesses. But the damage was done. I drudged myself down to Texas, still reeling a bit.

I can be a pretty stubborn guy. If you tell me I cannot do something, I am probably going to try. I am strongly adverse to quitting or giving up. I think this tends to be a necessary trait for runners. Mrs. Squatch said I should have stayed home, and she was probably right, but I didn’t. So when race day morning came, I wasn’t quite sure what the day had in store for me. I didn’t have quite the same nervous excitement. It was more, anxious dread. I knew at BEST it was going to be very difficult day, and at worse, a DNF was in play. But again, my own head was telling me I may not be able to do this so I needed to try it. Besides, I didn’t drive 500 mi to go even lower and get a DNS (Did Not Start) right? Off we went to the race, very early in the morning, mostly me in my own head wondering if I had enough in me to do this.

I am going to start with the bad part of the race first and get it out of the way. I felt so much better Sat. morning illness wise. It was basically gone. However I still had some lingering, disruptions. I wasn’t eating as well as I had hoped/needed to be. When I got to the tent to get much bib, I seriously contemplated asking if I could drop to the half (in hindsight this would have been 100% the correct call). I didn’t, I wanted the full or nothing because stubborn. I got my bib and pinned it on and waited. Time soon came and off we went. This is a new trail to me, so I was rather cautious to not go too fast not knowing what all was in store for me other than the general reports/terrain map. It was not easy. It wasn’t by any stretch brutal or impassable, just more challenging than I had though. That really wasn’t a big deal as I wasn’t setting a blistering pace or anything. What really started nagging on me by about mile 3 was that I had no energy what so ever. Everything felt absolutely dead. I felt like I had finished running a marathon and was starting a new one. This was very disconcerting to me. What was compounding the issue was that I was still having trouble eating. It was around mile 9 that I decided to pull the plug and withdraw. I wasn’t necessarily broken at that point, I wasn’t in acute pain, and I wasn’t violently ill, I just knew that things were deteriorating rapidly and I was putting myself in a bit of danger. Out I went, back to the tent, phone call to my dad to get me, and some real disappointment and lament. My first DNF.

This is actually from the Ft. Worth Nature Conservancy Trail we hiked the next day. It was pretty though.

It wasn’t a total loss though. Now, on to the good stuff. First of all, I did 9 tough miles on what was at that point, basically a shell of myself. Could I have done more, probably, could it have damaged me, probably. I made a decision to protect myself and I was proud I wasn’t too stubborn for my own health and safety. Another reason I made my decision is due to the awesome terrain. There were lot of tricky ups and downs (for me, I mean, I am sure this would be considered a bunny course for them super gnarly trails) and some had decent drop offs to the side. I was getting really worn down and dragging my feet, which generally results in tripping. It’s one thing for this to happen on mile 20, but another at say mile 8. I didn’t want to injure myself, I have much bigger plans this year. So I was at least content with pulling out. Furthermore, I got to see 9 miles of an awesome trail. It was gorgeous. The lake at sunrise was worth the admission. It was misty/foggy out, really just one of those nature moments you soak in. The trail ran along the lake and had very nice views. It was tough enough to require attention be paid, but open in areas to soak it in. The sandy dirt was not super-tough, or super-slick where wet and muddy. The climbs were hard and had names. S.O.B. hill and Stairway to Heaven were aptly named. While not having gas in the tank, I had a lot of fun experiencing the trail. The aid stations were great as were the people in them. The one I stopped at to withdraw was awesome. They were playing catch and having fun until the next runners came, then right to action. They learned my name not just my number and took care of me, keeping my spirits up despite the situation. Plus, it sat right on the lake, so if I had to do the unwanted deed, it was at least a scenic place to do it and reflect for a few minutes.

Also the Nature Conservancy. I actually regret not getting more Cross Timbers pictures, it was gorgeous.

In the end, I am glad I efforted, I am glad I tried. I hate DNF, very very much, but I understand it. I failed to do what I had set out, but perhaps I also was successful at recognizing what was happening and preventing something worse from happening. It sucks that I was looking forward to this for so long and it didn’t pan out, but, there is always next year. I do need to come back and redeem myself, still stubborn after all. It was an amazing course with amazing people and I want the damn medal. I guess when I get there, it will be that much sweeter. Until then, I have a little motivational agitation.

Topeka to Auburn: Did a Cow Just Fly By?

2014-01-30T14:33:00.000-06:00

Almost a month in to 2014 and no race recap yet? Please forgive me for my failure to provide running ramblings. Let me fix that immediately. The first outing for this year was the Topeka to Auburn Half Marathon. It’s a local race put on by the local running group, the Sunflower Striders. It’s got a lot of things going for it: over 30 years of races, great hills for the area, Kansas’ standard could be anything weather, and varied scenery. I thought , when I signed up, it would be a good test to get ready for my goal races this year. It was.

Let’s start off with me. I have been nursing a nagging knee nearly 9 (yeah, take that alliteration) weeks. I had basically decided I need to back down and really re-build things. Slow slow slow was the name of the game and it seemed to be working relatively well. I decided I needed to carry that into the race too. Which meant slow the eff down and don’t mind them people passing you. Oh and something about enjoying the scenery along the way yada yada yada.

Now, on to race day. This deserves it’s own paragraph. Kansas, we do love ourselves some weather. One of literal draws to this race is that it is in late Jan and not even god knows what the weather will do. Well, we knew a week out it was going to be windy. And it did not disappoint. Thankfully though, the temps were very un-seasonal. Upper 40’s to love 50’s is a rarity around here. That being said, it was still windy. Well, windy doesn’t describe if very well, gale force may be more apt. We had 30 mph sustained with 50+ mph gusts. If I had a sail, I could have taken off.

Thankfully the course was laid out so that for the most part, the first half of the course was either in areas where the wind wasn’t quite as strong, or was at our back. This was mostly residential areas, a couple hills, nothing too out of the ordinary. The second half, however was a different story. Starting at about the halfway point is Urish hill, which is the biggie. Now, I get it, you folks near mountains would think our little hill is a speed bump, but for us it is one of the best we have locally. That being said, it wasn’t race shattering. Doing more trail running lately, I enjoyed this part. They set a camera guy at the top to capture people slogging up it, sort of a race tradition. All in good fun. This point on, the hills rolled and we moved on to gravel roads. Another thing that changed is we moved out of the residential and into more open farm land area. This meant far less wind blocks as well as a turn back into the wind. And man, it really punched you in the face going up hills into a 30-50 mph wind with the lovely around of cow being rammed into your nostrils. Just for fun, it also started sprinkling a bit, or light hail, I couldn’t quite tell as hard as it hit us. Again though, it was fun. It was different, I enjoyed it.

Finally coming around a corner and over a hill or two we could see the finish area. At Cowtown I talked about passing a little girl that passed me previously, here, in a Karmic kick in the butt a 12 year old-ish girl absolutely flew past me. I did nothing but laugh and wish her luck. She was earning it. For me, it was a slow sprint (I know that is an oxymoron but it really is what it was for me) to the finish. I gathered myself and felt great. I bounced around a little to see how the knee felt and it was good. I saw friends, talked to them a bit, and rode a wind gust back to my car feeling like I actually followed a plan for once. I really wanted to use this a training run and I think it went well. Skora Forms took care of my feet, Orange Mud Hydra Quiver Double Barrel on my back felt amazing for carrying water and other gear and goodies, the Island Boost “gel” was delicious and rocket fuel as usual. I think I am ready for Cross Timbers in TX on the 15^th which means I am completely not ready or something incredibly odd will happen. But that is the fun right?

Orange Mud Hydraquiver Double Barrel Review

2014-01-13T08:40:00.000-06:00

One of the drawbacks of being human (or sasquatch-ean?) is that water is necessary to sustain life. While this is probably good news for companies that sell water, for people on the move it also means the need to schlep water around. A water bottle on my desk at work or in the gym cup holder is relatively simple and probably not worth much fuss. Running around in the great outdoors on the other hand is a bit more problematic. Once upon a time one could probably have stopped and taking a refreshing pull from a crystal clear stream to quench the thirst. Now, if you do that, you will probably die within 10 yards from some horrific cornucopia of parasites. This leaves us runners few options for carrying this necessary liquid. Bottle in hand, bottle stashed along your route, belt, or a hydration pack.

First and foremost I am not fond of carrying anything in hand while I run. I have an irrational (wait, I do it all the time, so totally rational) fear of falling. And I know if I fall with a bottle in my hand that my bottle, hand, arm, and/or pride are going to take a massive blow. I like to keep my hands clear to pretend at least like I could catch myself. Plus, you can’t fight off the inevitable werewolf attack with hands full of water. That’s important too. Stashing bottles is a flat out no, come on, that’s just asking for someone to tamper with, or drink it in a thirsty moment of panic. Plus it ain’t easy making your way out into the middle of a trail just to set water down then back so you can start your run. Unless you have a Iron Man suit or something, which I do not. Speaking of super heroes, belts always made me feel like bat man. I should be flinging batarangs not sipping Gatorade from them. And again, should I (ha, should I, how about when I) trip, having a bottle precariously close to regions of my body that should NEVER be used to cushion a fall is a bit disconcerting. This brings us to packs. Most packs are big and bulky with bladders that are heavy and flop around. That works about as well as it sounds. This leads to a tough decision on what to suffer with. Well, queue up your best infomercial voice. That is no more. Let me introduce you to the Orange Mud HydraQuiver Double Barrel.

Unlike an infomercial, this is a bad ass product. First of all it comes in 2 flavors for runners: the single barrel and the double barrel. That is how many water bottles it holds. “But you hate bottles” you say to me. Well these are bottles you hold these are bottles that sit in holsters on your back. Not low slung like a bladder but high on your back between your shoulder blades. This is awesome as it means that the swaying and flopping is very minimal and is so much easier on the back for long distances. The lightness of the pack cannot be understated as it was one of the toughest things I dealt with for my long trail races. I assume it’s called a hydra quiver cause it really is like reaching in and plucking out an arrow from a quiver, which, when you get down to it is awesome. Furthermore, you don’t even have to use their bottles if you didn’t want to, although they do make for a perfect fit in the holster. It also has abundant cargo space for food stuffs or whatever on the shoulders, making for an easy reach. On the back is another compartment for phones, wallets, cards, cash, maps, and assorted other small things needing carried. There is even a draw cord between the barrels for cinching down a shirt or jacket or whatnot.

I really cannot understate how comfy and easy this thing is to use. No water tube to keep clean or have a plastic taste. The padding is soft and easy on the back where it rests. Really it is exactly what I had been searching for out of a pack. My only qualm was really just getting used to putting a bottle back into it’s holster behind my back. But once I got used to where it was, the mouth of the holster is wide to guide it back in and it became a smooth action. I had been concerned that the straps that go under the arms to secure it to the body would chafe but I really didn’t even know they were there. I saw pictures of others wearing them with no shirt so I think they are very well placed to minimalize that kind of thing. I highly recommend this for anyone who needs a means to carry water (be it the single bottle or double) or doesn’t like their current method for transporting it. You won’t be disappointed. For the record, I purchased mine online at www. Orangemud.com so my opinion is my own and isn’t influenced other than my own squealing glee at having a pack I love instead of dread.

Last Runs

2013-12-10T13:20:00.000-06:00

While I try and figure out a way to write a year recap (been a really busy year) I thought I would share something awesome from last weekend. It has been, for the most part, unseasonably warm. I know one long run it was almost 80 out, in late December. Well, winter is a cunning warrior and was just setting us up. Winter’s distraction tactics are second to none. Little warm weather, holidays, ample food…then pow, hit them square in the jaw. Yes, winter is a ninja, and we forgot it was there. But alas, he has shown himself and the throwing stars of cold air are flying all over the place.

Luckily for me I like the cold weather much more than hot weather. I can put more layers on if need be and it offers a sweet opportunity for ice beards (more on that later). Something about some cold air in the lungs and seeing your breath is rather exhilarating. Also, the near total elimination in spider attacks cannot be understated. So really I was rather excited to see winter make an appearance in something else besides vague foreshadowing in Game of Thrones. I decided to go ahead and take advantage of this and get some good long runs in. When we started on Saturday it was a balmy 3 degrees with a -9 windchill. Not the coldest weather ever (see: Antartica) but it was a bit chilly. I was glad for that too, I had new cold weather gear to try out. What resulted was an amazing run. 2 hours and around 10 miles later I was still nice and warm. It really was a lot of fun and after about 5 min I didn’t really notice the weather except when I took the gloves off to snap a picture. Oh the punishment we take for a picture.

That night we got a nice dusting of snow. So I was very excited to get out and run again. It was a bit warmer but same general principle as the day before. The run was even better!. 2 hours and around 12 miles in the fresh crunchy snow. I really felt like I was flying. It was amazing. Special thanks to Island Boost For anyone who has not tried it, it's AMAZING. Straight rocketfuel, and tastes great, easy on the tummy, and most importantly…DIDN’T FREEZE! I really didn’t want to stop. This was really a great way for me to kind of wrap up my year (I know a couple weeks left). Now, if only those spiders would just leave me alone…

KC Marathon (The Low)

2013-11-19T14:48:00.000-06:00

I came To Kansas City for the KC Marathon on leftover fumes of awesomeness from Hawk 100, trepidation from getting back to this evil concrete, and an overwhelming stench of Vicks. Yes, because my timing is impeccably bad, my body decided this in between month was the right month to run down the list of illnesses sweeping the nation like they were the hot hits top 20 or something. I had some sort of plague flu, some sort of stomach adverseness to eating (which if you know me, if I am not eating it can be safe to assume I am probably beating on deaths door), some violent reaction to breathing and using my throat in general properly. And because my family loves me so dearly, everyone decided that they should pitch in and get sick in KC too, ‘cause they care.

Skora Forms with the loot

So the hotel room was a bastion of illness and little sleep. There was even consideration of packing up and going home. Even after waking I wasn’t sure I should be out there. But instead in the dark and quiet (or as quiet as you can be getting race gear ready in the dark) I got ready. My hotel room looked out of the opposite side from where the race start was so it wasn’t until I got down to the lobby and out the door that I could see the throng of people. It was, jolting. Not the “touched a live wire and now have no eyebrows left” kind of jolt but really a “this is freaking awesome”. I have never experienced a race this large before. This many people toeing the line all at once. It was amazing to see and even more amazing to swim through the people to find some friends and get in our areas to start.

On to the race itself. First of all the course was gorgeous. If you have never been to KC I would highly suggest a trip down. It goes through a cool area of town from the Power and Light district, by the hotels again, up to and out of the War Memorial (incredible in the early morning), through the plaza, through the very upscale neighborhood, then through the not so upscale neighborhood, and back home. It was a scenic route. It was billed as hilly (for around here anyways) but I didn’t think it was THAT hilly. Maybe that’s the recent trail running spurt talking but there were hills and they were manageable. You probably won’t set a PR here if you run other super flat courses, but it was a very solid course. Perhaps the most evil part of this course was running by Gates BBQ while they were smoking ribs. Slight aside, KC is really known for 2 things, fountains and BBQ and you get both on this route. Again, come check it out. You will not be disappointed. Back to the route, the day was also perfect. Cool in the morning, sunny, just warm enough by the time I crossed the finish line.

War Memorial - Not befitting of the awesomeness

I had high hopes for this race despite the fact I wasn’t feeling nominal. My goal was under 4 hours. I had felt good coming out of the Hawk in Lawrence. Well. Things were ok for a while. I was hovering around that 4 hour pace for about 16 mi then I really started laboring. Then it really just fell apart. Started feeling pain in my right hamstring and had to stop and walk. That was really the last thing I wanted to do. If this was a trail race I would have been running with intermittent walking, but this was not and walking was the absolute death of me. The slower I moved the more things tightened up. I tried to run/walk/run as best as could. It would work for a while until the pain crept in. Slowly I crept towards the finish getting passed by people, encountering other “walking wounded” (that’s another post for another time). Finally getting close enough to hear the finish I had to pass a group of people sitting, tailgating really, with a sign saying “Free Beer if you quit”. That was when I started running and carried me right up to the finish line with many adoring fans lining up to see me finish (sorry what I really meant was a few people left over waiting for others to finish who really wanted me to get out of the way). It was one hell of a feeling to stagger across, grab my bagel and fruit, grab my water, grab my medal and correctly put one my neck and the others in my pie-hole.

Laboring

But that isn’t quite the end of the story. Another reason I had hoped for a 4 hour marathon was to give me time to shower, get dressed, get the van packed up , maybe stop by the free bbq/beer tent before I headed home. Well, that didn’t really leave me a lot of wiggle room before I was unceremoniously booted from my hotel room. The slower I went the slower I wedged up against that time. Sure enough the margin was too thin and the family packed up and checked out right about the time I was crossing the finish. This meant that no food and no shower. It also meant a stink van ride home. Sorry all involved. That seemed to be the worst part until I tried to get out when I got home an hour or so later…you know, once rigor mortis had set in. Getting out of the car may have been the hardest part of the whole weekend.

Where's the crash cart, with beer?

Hawk100 Marathon (High Point)

2013-10-30T20:16:00.000-05:00

I like to start my posts off with something funny or catching so that you, the reader, might actually hang around for another sentence or two. I am having a hard time starting this one off. I am quite literally that speechless about what I did on Saturday. In my previous post I stated I had signed up for back to back races. It was time to reap what I had sown.

Back to the North Shore trail around Lake Clinton in Lawrence for me. It wasn’t just the chill in the 5 AM air that had me shaking, I was nervous. The race the week before had shattered any semblance of confidence I had in what I was about to do. I did take solace in knowing I learned a lot the week before. Eat, drink, pace yourself, be smart. I kept going over that in my head. I took time to go watch the ultra-runners take off for a little extra inspiration. Something about seeing the headlamps dive into the woods like a pack of fireflies was pretty awesome. After that, it was watching the sun rise over the lake that really started getting me amped and ready to go. By the time we were lining up to start. I was anxious to get going. I felt ready.

This really has nothing to do with the race other than... JESUS LOOK AT THAT THING. I better run FAST lest I get eaten...

This race was completely different from the one before. First of all, the weather was amazing. We started in the low 50’s. A nice cool breeze blew for most of the day. Even at the end it as warm but not “I could catch fire if I trip and hit the ground” hot. It was awesome. As we took off the sun was rising, the mist was lifting, was really quite the sight to behold.

Aww that's just majestic, I bet it was fleeing that hellacious spider.

For me, cause of my terminal case of stupidity, it was imperative that I start in the back. This would keep my ability to go galloping forward to a minimum. The marathoners started with a little out and back loop through what looked like a nature preserve trail. Easy stuff, single file, CONGA LINE!!!! The group kept me in my place pretty well. Next up was Saunders Mound, a little uphill/downhill with a cool top and a cooler view. More conga line preventing my poor pacing decisions. Finally things started to open up and I had the opportunity to show my true colors and outrun myself. Lo and behold, I stayed put. I fell in behind a couple nice ladies that didn’t mind me stomping and clomping behind them (thank you). They were going about the right pace for me not to shoot myself in the foot. I should probably mention right now that my goal was under 6.5 hours. I had no idea what I should expect and I was rather skittish after the week before and it’s, um, horror?

My hands look weird cause I still had the creepy crawlies from that terror-spider.

So apparently I can be taught. I was running within myself. About 5 min of every hour was spent walking. The course wasn’t chock full of hills, so some time was just spent walking of my own volition. It was nice. It was peaceful, and what the course lacked in hills in made up for in good views. The shore line of the lake was magnificent. That was also the hardest part as far as rocks go. It was easy going honestly. I was gliding. It was about 11 miles in that I broke off from the people I was tailing. This was also one of the coolest parts of the course. It was circling up a hill with a bunker (or some structure) built in the side, hence the name bunker hill. At the top we could see across the whole lake/park area. It was exhilarating.

Bunker hill was sandwiched between rest stops. It should be mentioned that the Hawk had amazing aid stations. The food and drink were varied and plentiful. The people were amazing. I got my pack felt up one two occasions to make sure I wasn’t lying about my water situation. The best though was definitely the awesome lady who threatened to give me “angry mother eyes” if I wasn’t eating anything and that she would find me if I wasn’t telling the truth. Ahh, nothing says caring volunteers like motherly threats to eat. They knew me well.

Coming out of those stops I was about 14 miles in. I felt good, I was pacing well. Then something happened that has never happened to me up til this point. I fell. I was cruising along thinking about lots of things and nothing at the same time when that ghost root snagged me. Down I went, leaving an offering of blood to the trail gods. But thankfully no one saw me so it never happened. Back on the move I went. And on to the last Aid station.

I had been glancing at my watch from time to time, seeing how I was doing. I was pleased at my time relative to how I felt. Now here I was, about 5 miles from home and pacing well ahead of where I thought I would be. This was a jolt. I took off and ran and ran and ran. It was exhilarating. So exhilarating that when I came to the turn off to go cross the finish line I ran right past it. It wasn’t until I hit a volunteer about a third of a mile ahead that I realized what I had done and backtracked. Back to the turn, out and around the parking lot and down the finish line I streaked. It was…indescribable the feeling of crossing the finish line. The race director asked me how I liked it as he handed me my medal. “Incredible” was all I could think to say. I had done it, and in 5.5 hours no less. This was a high point for me. First marathon completed and conquered the trail that whipped me the week before. I even managed to play it relatively smart (minus the running right past the turnoff).

It would appear the bright green repels SUV sized spider monsters. Well done Trail Hawks.

Skora Affiliate

2013-10-14T20:25:00.003-05:00

Just a quick update as I FINALLY finish up my marathon update just in time to finish and write another one. I am now a Skora affiliate. I absolutely love these running shoes. I currently own a pair of Forms and pair of Phases. They are minimal and zero drop. They have really helped my running by helping my form. Helping me to shorten my stride and get away from hard heel striking. If you are interested check them out here and learn how they help you RUNREAL.

2013 North Shore Trail Half Marathon Recap (See: Hot)

2013-09-19T08:51:00.000-05:00

I am a firm believer in the words “There is no try, only do, or do not”. Thanks Yoda. I am also a firm believer in this nugget of wisdom from the gentleman scholar Ron White, “You can’t fix stupid”. Right now I feel both apply very well to me. Shortly after finishing (barely) the Psycho Wyco 20 miler I signed up for the North ShoreTrail Run Half Marathon. The intent was to really push the “no try only do” quote but as I found out, I was really testing the “stupid” quote the whole time and only working my way up to Yoda.

For those unaware, Kansas in the summer is insane at best. We may have 80 degree highs or 80 degree lows. I was very fortunate to have gorgeous weather for my first trail race. The second one, not so much. I knew it could be iffy signing up for a race in Sept., so I signed up for 2 anyways (more on the other later). Come race day, I realized I should have known better. Highs around 100, 9 AM start, it was time to SWEAT.

So before we get to the flame kissed Sasquatch, let’s talk about the course and other pertinent stuff. I got some decent trail running in before the race. However, this trail was a wee bit different. Very rocky compared to what I had been running. Not devastating, just different footing. Next, it was a bit more flat, except the stairs of impending doom. Those were less than pleasant and thankfully few. Course itself was nice. It ended up being a 2 loop out and back due to some park snafus which may have been a blessing in disguise as people were dropping due to the heat. The race was put on by the local Trail Nerds, and Ben’s races are top notch. The volunteers did a fantastic job tending to the numerous “casualties” from the heat and rocks. I know one person got ambulanced off and I also know runners, a ranger and volunteers did an excellent job helping that person. A gentleman that was in front of me as I came to the finish had a particularly nasty gash on his chin from falling on one of the rocky sections. We helped him up to the line. The day took its toll.

I was no exception. I started off strong and made it through the first loop strong. There, however, things started to deteriorate. It was @#$%^&* hot out. Before I said I signed up for a second race. One week after this one I signed up to run a marathon on the same trail. Remember that fixing stupid line? That’s me. But it sounded like fun. So as I went through the gate and back down for the second loop I started thinking should I slow down and save a little something-something for next weekend. I tried to run-walk-run for a while and it just kept getting hotter. Then I slowed down even further. I pretty much walked the last mile and half and that alone was a bear. And not a Winnie the Pooh bear, but a bear-shark from syfy wreaking havoc all over. Finally I got to the finish line pretty much crawling across. I was done. I got my medal, got a drink, and promptly crumpled like a wet towel dropped to the floor.

Generally this is where the race recap would end, but let’s go a bit further, overtime recap if you will. I sat in the shade and watched the walking wounded stagger in for a few minutes. I was legitimately scared for a few minutes. I hadn’t felt this bad for a long long time. And seeing others miserable wasn’t helping. I still had to heft my deflated self up off the shady grass and walk what seemed like 20 miles (.25) back to my car. Got there, poured myself in, and then felt REALLY bad. At Wyco I had drank too much. Not enough electrolytes to balance it out and gotten to feeling miserable. Here, I drank too little and surprise surprise, was feeling miserable. On the way home I had to stop at convenience store to grab some cold water and a Gatorade cause I was shaking so hard. Suffice it to say, I learned another hard lesson. Hopefully next week would be better.

Psycho Wyco Psummer Run Toto Run 2013 Race Recap

2013-07-17T21:42:00.000-05:00

So I have made it well known that I am not the smartest of all the upright mammals. A while back in a fit of gross overestimation of my ability I signed up for a 20 mi trail race. The lucky event, KC Trail NerdsPscyho Wyco Psummer Run Toto Run. The real problem with this was 2 fold at the time, 1) I had never run on trails and 2) I had never run close to 20 miles. But hey, I mean, it’s running, how hard can it be right.

Apparently, I am an idiot. I have been training hard for the KC Marathon. Miles, speed, hills, eating right(ish). Well, I am told this is not quite a direct correlation to trail running. I finally decided I need to work a few trail runs into my routine. Unfortunately by that point I was but a few weeks out. And then the panic set in. Why this isn’t the same thing AT ALL. While gloriously fun, trail running is hard. It requires focus that is directly opposite of road running, sort of. On the road I try and zone out and focus on nothing, well except for that semi barreling down the street. On the trail I was focusing on EVERYTHING that could send me flying, roots, rocks, branches, evil mutated horror spiders trying to trap me and kill me. Side note, early morning trail run was incredibly gorgeous except for the shock and awe display mother-nature puts on with her spider army. Suffice it to say, I screamed like a girl more than once and I am in no way shamed to admit it. Anyways, focus, it is required lest you go nose first down a hill. Speaking of hills, they are nothing like the paved gentle sloping roads I run on. They can be steep and tough even for little ones. All in all, I was screwed.

So race day came, I was completely jacked ready to go. If anyone is ever in the KC area, run a Trail Nerds race, just do it. It was amazing. The people are amazing. Most of the volunteers are trail tested and knew what they are doing, the runners are incredible, the organizer is top notch. He is the one the put eh medal around my neck and asked me if I had fun. he also paid for pictures, which I thought was amazing. They are the ones you see in this post. The trail itself was amazing as well. Tough but not impossibly so, especially for a newb like me. It was well maintained and incredibly well marked (One of my fears was getting lost). Like I said, if you can get in the area to do a race, do it, it is worth it.

As far as the race went, I DID TERRIBLE. I think they say that for trail races you should start slow and go slower. Well, I did that, for a while, ok like 5 min. Once the “conga line” kind of broke up I went into road mode and took off. I did ok for the first lap of two around the lake. However towards the end I was slowing down. Unfortunately the hills were there too so I was trying to save a little something. Well, that was dumb. I should have saved some from the beginning. I got through the first pass and started the second, I was gassed going through the gate.

Then it got worse. Cramps. I fought them from mile 12 to 18 when I got to the last aid stations. The amazing volunteers saw my patheticness amble in and asked if I was ok (I was not). At this point I was really contemplating stopping. I hurt, my stomach hurt, my legs were cramping all over the place, it was rough. They saw I was struggling and suggested electrolyte/salt tabs that they had there. I took some. Magic. After a little sitting and calming of myself I took off again and could move a little bit. Lesson learned. Once again the last mile was hills and it was not what one would call easy. That being said coming down the last hill to the finish line was like nothing I have experienced yet in racing. Never before had I considered walking no less quitting and here I had and here I had fought it off. So thank you aid station volunteers and random runners who urged me on, showed their confidence I would finish, and who made sure I was ok. It was my worst race but also my best race.

Cowtown Recap

2013-05-19T19:57:00.000-05:00

It's been a while, but I am back. Here is a much much much delayed race recap. So, as expressed before, I am fairly new to this running thing. I have spent the last year building up some meager skills in the running arena. Being the competitive idiot I am, I want to race. Mostly it is to beat my own times in an official setting, but deep down, I like to see where I stand against others. I ran 2 races last year, learned a lot, did ok for what I expected, and kept on training. So as 2013 started, I wanted to see what my training had wrought. Enter The Cowtown.

Papa-squatch offered to fly me down for a runcation. Hang out, do a little running, general merriment. I was excited. Took a couple days off of work, got entered in the 10k. I was pumped. Being a creature of nature I should have known that Mother Nature was not amused with my general excitedness and decided that she had had enough of them shenanigans. To bring me down a peg or two she pummeled us with a double-barrel shotgun blast of blizzicane. I was supposed to fly out late Thursday evening. It was a chance to spend a whole day with the family before fleeing for warmer temps. Well. Instead I got to shovel snow, a lot of snow. For the first time in memory they shut down the damn airport. Flight delayed. So I rescheduled for the next morning, nope. Not happening. Friday afternoon it was then. Got up ungodly early, took off on my trek to the airport. Kudos to the Kansas and Missouri road crews for making things passable. Lo and behold I got to the airport in one piece, met a few people that were going down and were in the same boat I was…stand-by. Sadly, I wasn’t a chosen one so I had to wait til my afternoon flight a few hours and $30 dollar airport lunch later. Finally, FINALLY I made it to Ft. Worth.

Well that was fun. But I was here for a reason and that reason was to run a race. So, we went to the expo and got our packets and wandered around. I had never been to a race with an expo so it was new to me. Got some gear cheap, some free Chobani , some other freebies and went to eat a dinner and get some sleep. I woke up the next morning early, got fueled up and was ready to go. I didn’t forget anything, got my bib and chip put on, I was ready to go.

It was a great morning out. Sunny, not terribly cold, but not terribly hot either. A great morning for a race and I was ready. The race area was a cool part of Ft. Worth which made for a good route and cool start/finish corral. I got warmed up, pumped up, and lined up. I wasn’t too far behind the big boys who were running for a win, I was just trying to not suck and not die. Looking around, I had never ran a race with this many people. 4108 10k finishers to be exact. This was going to be fun. It was time. Ready, set, GO. And we were off.

One thing I noticed getting into the starting corral was a lot of kids and coaches, which meant track teams. From the looks of it, anywhere from maybe late grade school to high school and maybe even small college teams. Mix that in with the normal group of runners, walkers, really fast, really slow, there was a wide variety. This would come into play later on. In the mean time, I was cruising along, dodging kids, generally sticking to my own pace. Things were going generally well, I was making very good time. Then around mile 4.5ish or so, it happened. I got chicked.

Now this in itself isn’t that big of a deal. There are tons and tons of females far faster than I am and I am ok with that. But this particular one was all but maybe 11 years old and I am fairly certain taking the speed powerup (pretty sure that is a banned substance) you get in a video game cause she flew right by me. Well, I may be a humble guy, but I still have some ego and pride. I was stung. I picked it up a bit, too late mind you. Well, lo and behold about a mile and a half later this young girl was struggling mightily getting up one of the larger hills at the end of the course. Yes, that's right, I was excited to pass an 11 year old girl. My shame knows no ends. Anyways. Moving on. So I left the girl and my shame in the dust and kicked hard and crossed the line, 44:17. My old PR was in the trashcan much the same as my breakfast was threatening to become. Once I regained composure (not barfy) I found my family and went through the breakfast line. Yeah. Nothing says you almost chunked after your race like fruit and yogurt. It was good. All in all I was thoroughly pleased with the race and my little part in it. Well done Cowtown. Cannot wait to see ya again.

But that isn’t the end of the story. This was supposed to be a runcation. Well. After running around Ft. Worth all day after the race, I got a call from home with a rather frantic warning of snowpocalypse v.2 currently aiming towards my future destination. So after some lengthy phone calls with the airline I got my flight bumped and came home early to avoid the deluge. And just as one last little nugget of awesome to remember my trip by, this happened. God bless Texas.

Belated Brooks Pure Cadence 2 Review

2013-03-24T15:27:00.000-05:00

My running life really started with Mizuno Wave Rider 15’s. Before that I had been doing elliptical machine work almost exclusively to get back into shape. When I felt that wasn’t enough, I started running, first on the treadmill then a track my in-laws house. The shoes at the time were some K-Swiss tubes and I knew almost immediately that things weren’t right. I searched and scoured and found the Riders and they seemed like a good fit, so I got them. They were amazing. Truly a great starting shoe. Over time my mileage increased, my pace increased and my knee pain/foot pain increased. It was time for new shoes. For the first time I went into a running store and consulted someone with real knowledge, not just what them wacky interwebs told me about my shoe choices. He said the Riders would still work for me if I wanted to stay, but there were other options out there if I wanted to try something else. Well, I love trying new things so bring on the shoes.

He brought out a few boxes of shoes and I tried them on. Some being too cushy, some being too stiff, I had a few that I liked, one still being the Riders, and then he handed me the last box. “If you are willing to try something a bit different, try these out” he said. The box he handed me was the Brooks Pure Cadence 2. He told me that they would be less drop, less cushion, a bit closer to minimal versus where I was. I tried them on and something felt right. So, that was the box I walked out of the store with that day. Now I have around 150 miles on the shoes and I thought a little review/recap was in order since I am already running in other shoes as well, with more to come. Building a nice little rotation.

So my initial reactions of the shoe were interesting. I have never had the “burrito wrap” tongue before. I liked it. The shoe laces had flares on it which I assume (hope) are there to keep my shoe laces from slipping. I still tuck them under some of the crossed laces just in case. That is probably a relic of the 18 mile long Mizuno laces. The most interesting thing I felt when I put them on was that just standing there, I hated these shoes. They felt odd, like I was standing on a ball. No way these would be comfortable running. Argh, this is why I have massive respect for all you guys working in a running store, cause you know what I want when I don’t. I kneel before you in reverence. Jogging around the store showed it to really flatten out and feel great. The toe box was very spacious, didn’t even know that was a thing, or comfy, until then.

There is a piece on the side of sole about midfoot that seems to be there for a little bit of stability. I was a wee bit anxious about this causing problems running. I was wrong for the most part. Occasionally as I got up over about 10 miles I could start to feel that “bump”. But that was very occasional. My one true gripe was the sock liner. It seems like every run at some point it would get a little folded over and become uncomfortable. Then, after a bit, it would up and vanish like a fart in the wind (thanks Shawshank Redemption). It never created a blister or anything and didn’t make me have to stop, but it was an annoyance to say the least and at worst made me alter my stride a bit to accommodate.

All in all, these were very solid shoes and probably a perfect fit at the time for what I wanted and what direction I was moving with my running. Of course I didn’t stop progressing and now my appetite for new shoes is voracious. But I do think that for a new runner or for someone that is really finding their own this is a great option. As well as someone who likes cushion and support coupled with flex, but doesn’t want to be running around on moon shoes.

4 Stages of Pre-Dawn Runs

2013-03-01T21:58:00.001-06:00

5 AM: Alarm buzzes, I mumble unintelligible obscenities and flip the alarm off (err, I mean turn it off as alarms cannot recognize middle fingers). As I look out the window I see a few things. First, a very marked lack of sunlight. Second, cold. Yes I know you don’t see cold, but trust me, I can see it is as cold as those things in the picture outside. Also, warm blankies. So why in God’s name would I get up and do anything when I don’t need to. The answer is simple, I am bat-shit insane. I am ok with that though. To help me cope with that, and maybe help others understand this affliction I have put together my ‘4 Stages of Pre-Dawn Runs’. They are as follows:

Blind Drowsy Rage

What?!?!?! Why in the hell am I up this early when I don’t need to. Oh you’re kidding me, I actually set this alarm? Why? I wanted to do WHAT? Run? It’s like 20 degrees outside, and dark. Come on, it’s so warm in here, and I am tired, and the kids were up late, and I got to work. Aww man, I got to get up and get clothes on? Yep. That is how early morning runs start. Suffice it to say, it takes a bit of willpower to not take a sledge to the alarm and go back to sleep in that cozy bed. Furthermore, now I gotta pack a bit of food and water in too. Ugh. It’s way too early for these kinds of shenanigans. Alas, I am up now, fine, let’s do this. BUT I AM NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT.

Dark Drowsy Denial

I am not really out here starting my run am I? Jeebus it is cold out. Can I go back to bed and get another hour of sleep? Please? No? Fine. Let’s go. Still not happy about it. Man it is dark out, I hope an equally drowsy driver doesn’t mistake me for a Starbucks and drive right through me. I have no rhythm in my strides, even Elaine is cringing at my awkwardness. Man this street is dark, if I don’t make it out of here alive I hope my family knows I love them. So I have started my run and things are still stiffer than a double shot of cheap whiskey, straight, no chaser. Yet still, onward I trudge. At least very few people are out and about to see me lumber along. Oh, and don’t mind me huffing and puffing with morning breath.

Fine, I am Running Now When Can I Stop?

Seriously? I chose this? It’s cold out. I could be sleeping. I haven’t even had my coffee yet. Did I mention it was cold out? What time is it? How far have I gone? Can I be done now? Well, crap I still have to get home. Well, I guess that means I can’t stop. Oh, and it is still cold out. I bet I look like a big icicle. So, I have gone for a good while and begrudgingly it hasn’t been the end of the world and maybe it is almost ok. I keep looking to see when I will be done, but occasionally a few minutes go by where I don’t even pay attention to the fact that I am running. Just know that I am moving and it doesn’t feel so bad. Is it possible that I chose…wisely?

Wow, that was a hell of a run

Wait, sorry, I haven’t been paying attention for the last 15. How far have I gone? And how long? Well that is faster than my average time. So wait, this was a good run? And did you see that sunrise? That was amazing! Yeah. Fine. Ok. It was TOTALLY worth it. Now I am going to have that awesome sore for the day. That one you knew would remind you that you did something awesome. Who needs coffee now? Ok, fine, it wasn’t that amazing. Regardless. I should totally do this again tomorrow…

And so the cycle goes. The 4 stages set to begin anew tomorrow.

The Hobo in the Mist

2013-02-16T22:10:00.000-06:00

Gather round my children and listen to my tale of the HOBO IN THE MIST….

It was a cool, quiet, dark pre-dawn morning as I pulled into the parking lot. I was the first. Out of the darkness appeared another, and then another, then 2 more, with one final one showing up rounding out our 6. As we gathered and shared pleasantries, I was nervous. I had never gone as far as I had planned to go and wasn’t sure I was going to make it. With that fear lingering like a dog fart, we took off. Into the morning we ran, oblivious to what would come…

We weren’t far into our journey when it happened. Our route took us down a main thoroughfare and then under a bridge to connect to a trail that runs throughout most of the city. What was lurking under that bridge? It was the horror, the unfathomable…the bridge hobo. At first it was hard to make out in the greys and blacks of the pre-dawn morning. One of our group had a headlamp and its yellowish tint briefly splayed over the object in question. Nestled up amongst the shadows was a patch that was decidedly not rock. Not fully believing what we saw, we quickly ran past. No matter, the damage had been done…THE CREATURE STIRRED! We had woken the HOBO IN THE MIST.

Oblivious to what terror had been unleashed we moved on, wondering if what we saw was real. It was turning into a very nice run. The sun was rising, cutting through the darkness and lighting the path ahead. The group was lively and moving at a decent clip. And then it happened. Due to prior commitments, they turned back. About half the group returned to brave the creature under the bridge…never to be seen again. (Until next week)

The rest of the outbound journey was uneventful. More bridges but a suspicious lack of hobo nesting. Finally, after just under 7 miles out it was time for me to turn around and face my destiny. It would be 6.5 long miles back to that point, to that shifting mass of uncertainty. The closer I got the more I worried that I may not make it out alive. And then around the bend I came and I could see it, looming. Under the bridge my eyes scanned the darkness as my legs ached; this was the longest I have ever run. Would I have the intestinal fortitude to do battle under the bridge?

Hell no. I am not dumb. That dude could be crazy and I was alone. I would prefer to not turn up on a Dateline NBC show. I cut up above ground and skirted the bridge, running across the open street. I could see the parking lot in the far distance so I dialed it up a bit. I LOVE finishing strong. Finally, FINALLY I got to my car. 13.93 miles under shoe I had eclipsed the half marathon distance I had been chasing for so long now. Of course, as tired as I was, I had 2 young kids’ birthday parties ahead of me. In the end, I think I would have been safer fighting the…HOBO IN THE MIST.

Shoe Wishlist

2013-02-08T19:07:00.000-06:00

I haven't posted for a while (working on a few), so I figured I would whip something up. I am taking the easy way out and making a shoe wish list. I don't know why ANYONE would want to read what shoes I would like to try out, but maybe a shoe company is out there that needs a shoe reviewed or takes pity on me. Maybe someone has used one or more of these shoes and has a few comments to give. Or maybe I am just deliriously optimistic (betting on the latter). Without further blathering...the list:

Skora Running Form R01-002M02

First of all it should be known that I am sucker for a company that interacts with people. I love twitter. I think it is a great medium to interact, even if briefly. Skora has a fantastic social media presence. That alone would make me interested. Their customers have given absolutely RAVE reviews about their shoes. I love their philosophy of "Run Real". Something I am working on in my own running. Another great thing I have heard from others who wear these is that they are absolute energizer bunnies. They just keep on going and going. I definitely like that in a world where 250 miles is the supposed max life on some shoes. Another cool thing about these is the different material on the uppers. Everyone needs more goat skin in their life really.

Altra Zero Drop The One
Altra is another company with a very good social media presence. I appreciate that. I have made a move to less drop to try and get my striking more forward. One thing I am intrigued about Altra footwear is their options as far as the inserts. That seems like a cool feature to be able to adjust accordingly. I am still learning about my running and developing as a runner. Those options would help a lot in my development. This is also another company that has gotten good reviews from most everyone I have talked to. This and the Skora brand are a little less widespread throughout the retail outlets, so they have very generous return policies as well. I like that. However, this shoe doesn't come out until March, so, definitely going to have to wait it out...

Mizuno Wave Ronin 5

My first pair of true running shoes were Mizuno Wave Rider 15 LE’s. I love them, I still have them, and I still run in them occasionally. I also tested a pair of non-running shoes for Mizuno (which hopefully I can/will review later). The company has a special place in my heart as they are one of the major reasons I love running so much. Of course, I am also competitive as hell, so I always want to race. Hence, race shoe! This was one of the first that I read about and the first that I wanted to try. Cannot have a wish list without this bad boy on there. Another shoe that seems very well recommended, with one recommendation being a tattoo of this shoe. That is good enough for me.

Saucony Virrata

First of all, I am sucker for color. As numerous scientific studies (I made this up) have proven, color = fast. Look at it. Just having it on my screen has made my computer process faster. That being said, it is a 0 drop, flexible shoe built to move naturally. I like flexible and I like natural and I like this shoe. And because that just isn’t enough, it actually says ‘bootie’ in their website technology description. The 12 year old in me finds that hilarious. I know and run with a lot of people that are die hard Saucony fans, wife included. Sign me up.

I don’t do much trail running, but I can appreciate the need for a good trail shoe to get ready for them mud runs, or just change pace from the pavement. So I am throwing a trail shoe in here because I have none and would love to get in one to run a few trails near my work/home.

Reebox ATV 19+

Haha, just kidding. I love trying new things, but this may be even a bit too far for me. I really don’t know what I want out of trail shoe, again, as I have not run much on trail. I am intrigued by the Inov-8 Trailroc 245 and the Merrell Mix Master Move. I could also see maybe the Brooks Pure Grit 2 as I currently log a lot of miles in the Pure Cadence 2. Maybe someone out there has some good recommendations as I am not very well versed.

So that is my list, really hoping my budget (kids, they’re expensive) and miles put in allow me to experience a couple if not all of these. I am sure once I do, I will only want to try more.

That's a new year if I've ever seen one

2013-01-21T08:55:00.001-06:00

Well, lo and behold, the Mayan's were wrong. We are still here, more or less. There was also a Christmas, a Haunakka, a Kwanzaa, maybe some sort of Pastafarian holiday, a New Year, a like 3 other non-holiday days in between. Each one being more devastating than the next. And again, in the legendary words of Bill Pullman in Independence Day: "We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive!" That is what I kept telling myself. And the fact that I am here writing this means that either I did survive, or, I have a very social ghost. Either way, it was a struggle. There was running, and injury, and gift opening, and injury, and New Years, and some horrific sickness which was like an injury. Let's take this one at a time here.

Let's start with the running shall we? Right before the holiday-splosion I was doing well. My legs were churning out some good runs. Got all the way up to 11 miles, had some good tempo runs mixed in as well. Life was good. And then, as Dave Chappelle would say, keeping it real went wrong. First, the aforementioned deathness (that is sickness to the second power, so as to be closer to death) arrived. It hit me like Mike Tyson punch. See left for an actual photo of me vs. the deathness. But there will be more on that later. So that kept me in comatose state for like a week. Finally, I got back out on the road (or treadmill). I got some miles in, and then injury. The left side of me decided it was going to violently revolt against this running thing. First it was the left calf, then a tendon on the outside of my left foot, and then my left knee. It was a protest, a bodily Arab Spring if you will. Come to find out, shoes have a life span and mine more resembled Bernie from Weekend at Bernie’s than the shoes I had come to love almost a year and 500 miles ago. Well, we all know what that means...yeah, these babies. Pretty sure I just dropped a nuke on those upstart protesting limbs. Target eliminated. I will have a review up soon for the new kicks.

Speaking of new things, there was some gift-giving occurrence that happened recently. Something about a fat guy, in red, in some flying apparatus? No, not this one, this one. Yes, Santa stopped by my house and left some treats for the little Sasquatches. There was much paper-tearing, some paper-eating attempts, a relatively sturdy bike construction job and an equally successful toddler toy barn raising. I consider it a success and they went bat-shit insane for it all. So. Well done fat red man. Me on the other hand got clothes to be less pathetic in (thank you mom and sister), clothes and aforementioned shoes to be a running machine in (thank you dad and Mrs. Sasquatch), a Nike fuelband + to have imaginary numbers assigned to my awseomeness (thanks mom and step-father and certain coworker), and finally some great freebies from a couple fantastic companies (thanks EnergyBits and Premier Protein, my shameless plug). It was good haul. I was blessed, and very thankful. Sorry, no joke there.

Enough of the happy things, on to the epidemic sweeping nation: The Flu. As mentioned above, some sort of deathness attacked me over the holidays. I am pretty sure I lost the battle and got pummeled on my retreat. I should have seen the ambush coming, my kids both had it. One had to go to the ER on thanksgiving day and the other was so out of it Christmas morning it took her 2 hours to want to open gifts (it was a floodgate though, one rip and bedlam ensued). I thought I had survived the wrath, and I was sooooooo wrong. They (Wikipedia) say that the human body is around 60% water. I tested that theory by wringing every last bit out of my nose. Many trees, or whatever makes tissues, had to die to stem the tide of snot making escape vectors out of my nostrils. And that wasn't the whole part. Fever, there was a fever. Apparently you can have such a fever you hallucinate, because I woke up talking to my grandma that has been gone for over 10 years and then later waiting at the door for a friend, at 3AM. Drugs, we need more drugs, STAT! A face-melting fever wasn't enough, however, as this was a 2 front war. Asphyxiation was the awe to fever's shock. Apparently breathing is more important than I had previously thought. Every time I tried to do it, my lungs decided coughing was a more exciting way to draw in oxygen. And so, for a week and a half, I learned what smokers cough feels like. You will flu epidemic, you win.

And so, in the end, all is now right with the world. It is 60 in Kansas in January, major college football players are making up girlfriends and their deaths, Lance Armstrong went to Oprah to tell us what we all knew already, and KU is still winning the Big 12. So glad things have returned to normal.

2013-01-02T17:44:00.001-06:00

Some GIFs to make these cold winter days more awesome....

...and then dear God this...

Some Running and a Snowpocalypse

2012-12-31T09:02:00.000-06:00

So lets get things started, been a while. Been doing that running thing. Up to about 10 miles on Sunday. That's pretty much to my place of employment and back. Seems so much shorter in my car going 70 (give or take 10 mph). I have been regularly getting 5-8 miles otherwise. Sometimes early in the morning, sometimes later in the evening, occasionally on a treadmill. Early in the morning is tough, usually have more layers and less energy, and dear god, it is like 6 AM. I used to still be drinking at that time, man I am old. I actually prefer the early evening time run. The right after work time frame works best. Because, really, dodging traffic adds a degree of difficulty, and, probably pisses a lot of drivers off after a long day of work. Objective achieved. And as I have noted before, right now it is pitch black out by like noon, so night running is harrowing journey that can be bragged about after completion. Kinda like shopping at Wal Mart at 2 AM, or eating 2 AM taco bell. The most most mundane of these is of course the treadmill at the gym. Now, some people just bash and hate the treadmill or dreadmill for those with a penchant for clever spelling puns. Me on the other hand, I don't hate it, I think it provides a few great opportunities.

First of all, it's configurable, until I can turn my neighborhood into my own personal minecraft space, I am at the whim of the majestic Kansas mountains and valleys, and by that I mean, flat as a pancake. Also, I am no master of pace, so while I may try to keep up a consistent pace, I slow, I quicken, I slack, I effort, I, well, run. A treadmill I can do all sorts of fantastic things like go up, and go down as well as go faster and slower. MAGIC! And unlike street running, there are some pretty stiff consequences for not keeping up with the treadmill, see right.

Another beauty to treadmill running, no weather. I mean, unless your gym/room turns into rain forest levels of heat and humidity when the sweat starts dripping. When you live in the great state of Kansas, weather more resembles a person with Tourettes than some semblance of temperature and precipitation patterns. Pretty sure in no other place in the world can I be sweltering in the ice storm. Not entirely sure how that works meteorologically speaking, but it happens, I swear. Then we get what we lovingly call blizzicanes, that is if your definition of love is pants-filling pandemonium. Pretty sure, this was what happened last week.

So generally we as Kansans are used to this kind of weather, we hit the liquor stores appropriately, get our heavy blankets out, order pizzas as emergency meals, and forge through. This one, on the other hand, seemed to catch us by surprise. In all fairness, last winter we had had no winter, skipped it and went straight into 'Dear God its a hurricane out' spring mode. So I guess we forgot our snow manners. Well. After some panic stricken moments, we clawed out and drove like a-holes again, no worries. That's fine when you are in a vehicle with it's seat belts and doors and metal. Running in the white aftermath, on the other hand, is like ice skating on the freeway, which is also a minefield, and tanks. No, I don't know what tanks have to do with anything, but, I felt this link needed to be shared. Anyways, back to ice follies. So off I go, running through wintry awesomeness. Now, as my blog states, I am a Sasquatch fresh out the woods. I am not, however, a yeti. My snow prowess is less than optimal. Instead of a graceful gazelle darting up and down the streets, I was more of a lumbering oaf trying to keep his balance on a sheet of ice. Which, thankfully, I did. After 11 miles, I crawled back up my stairs, victorious. Well, victorious until the blood feud with the kids bicycle Christmas present...but that is another story for another post. Until then. Stay hairy.

Such Sorrow

2012-12-15T09:15:00.000-06:00

I will dispense with the normal wacky shenanigans as now is not the time. I, like most people, spent yesterday on the verge of tears at the news out of Newtown, Connecticut. 28 people dead, 20 kids, all under the age of 10. It's heartbreaking, it's tragic, there really aren't adjectives that accurately describe it. It's hits home that much harder having 2 very young kids of my own. 2 kids that will be in school in the coming years. I get worried when they crawl into the other room and I cannot see them, I could not fathom the terror that must have beset the parents involved in this. Not knowing if your child was ok, or alive, that just ate me up yesterday.

I think that we have become desensitized to mass shootings like this for the most part, sadly enough. When adults shoot adults, its sad, when peers shoot peers at work or college it is tragic. But when an adult shooting young children, it's unspeakable, it's unconscionable, it's...a true societal disaster. After trying to absorb all of this, I tried, like so many, to wonder why. I tried to step and make some sense of all this, and then I got angry, very angry. My anger was sparked by Tom's facebook post about not trying to scoop this guys name. An incredibly valid point that is always brought forth when things like this happen. However, like every other time, the news outlets have a race to "scoop" this kind of bullshit information. That is where my anger started. And the more I looked at what they were doing, the more I became enraged. Young children with mics being thrown at them, pictures being taken of them with the horror of what just happened still imprinted on their faces. It's despicable. If that was my child I would be hauled off to jail for punching out a reporter trying to make my child recount something so terrible. So haunting that they probably cannot and will not be able to fully comprehend for many years.

For the record, I am not against news outlets getting information. I think the country and world needs to know what is going on. But it is never just information. It doesn't stop there. It is outlets trying to out do the other. They reported the wrong person did it, wrong weapons, people who died that didn't, so many other things just to be the first. It's appalling. It shows an immense lack of respect for the situation. Maybe it's a society issue as well, maybe we shouldn't be so immersed in every aspect of these stories. Maybe instead of an overabundance of instant news, we need to see it and spend a bit more time reflecting upon it. I know I hugged my kids extra tight when I picked them up. Held them just a bit longer before bed time. Seems like that is a better reaction then salivating over another detail from CNN or NBCNews or whatever news group.

I will spare everyone a debate of guns here. Hopefully it plays itself out in the near future. I guess I just wanted to bleed off some emotional stress here, as if I wasn't already mired in a flood of it with the divorce, and missing the kids anyways and everything else going on. Suffice it to say, it weighed heavily on me. As it really should have. I hope that in this holiday season people take a few extra moments to think what's important. Like this...

Well, I'm still a Noob

2012-12-12T13:15:00.000-06:00

So, despite growing belief to the contrary, I am still a noob. On Friday I decided I was going to put in one hell of a run. I blew out of work, got dressed, and got out the door. It was a gorgeous night for early December in Kansas. Down the road, up the road, over the Buick sized cracks in the sidewalk. Before I knew it I had gone an hour and 16 minutes and almost 9.5 miles. Records for me, suffice it to say I was feeling pretty good about myself. Much like this picture, only, it was dark, there are no mountains in Kansas, I was too tired to raise my arms, and I was fairly certain some sort of ninja mercenary outfit was chasing me (not really but I thought the picture was hilarious and needed to be shared).

I know what you are thinking, that doesn't sound very noobish at all, what the hell? Well, let me explain. I had been invited to run with the Sunflower Striders on Sunday. This was to be my first time running with a group. I was excited for the opportunity, but also both intimidated and nervous. So I get out there and meet the group, very nice people if not a bit to a lot older than I am. I find my man and he gives me some intros and a brief overview of what is going on. "We are going on an easy run today" he says. "Just a little 6 mile morning roll. By the way, what kind of pace do you run at?" He asked me as everyone was getting all stretched out and warmed up. "Well" I replied, "I try and stay under 8 minutes per mile". "Great! You will do just fine, we should be going about 8:15 per mile".

Whaaaaaaaaaaaa?!?!?! That's easy? Well, in the words of the old knight dude in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, "He chose, poorly". Yes, good knight, yes I did. I was stil a little worn out from Friday and Saturday, but I did manage to keep up. They drug me all over west Topeka. I was huffing and puffing and these guys were just breezing along. I am speaking in one word sentences and sweating like I was a snowman melting, these guys, still, running like they were just walking to the coffee pot after waking up. I am both impressed and hurting from my above rocky-esque display of pride in my abilities. Humbled, some would say. So eventually we cruise around and end back where we started, all the while talking about running marathons, and running marathons faster, and runnign speed intervals in the 15 degree mornings. Yes, these guys are good. In the end, it was a good experience, I need something to make me work a little harder and go a little further. They will probably give me some good tips that a noob such as myself wouldn't have known otherwise. So, that's good right?

So there were non-running activities this weekend as well. Old friends made their way back to Allen Fieldhouse. Colorado, and ex KU player now coach Tad Boyle came out to Lawrence, and there was much handshaking and sweet words about missing each other's company. Things were just swell until about, oh, 5 seconds after tip off. Things escalated quickly, and I am pretty sure Travis Releford killed somebody with a trident (See evidence: Exhibit A). May want to lay low for a while Mr. Releford. It was good to see a good ol fashioned Big 12 style throttling of our old friends, please come back anytime. Also, Saturday was an Alonso poor man cooking extravaganza. First it was spaghetti with some Mrs. Renfro's Ghost Pepper Salsa mixed in for some flavor, delicious. But that wasn't it, oh no, that evening it was Chili with, yes, that's right, lots of Mrs. Renfro's Ghost Pepper Salsa mixed in. Thank's for the jar mom, you chose, wisely.

So I was going to put in some hilarious Halo hijinx here (alliteration, my 5th grade english teacher would be so proud), but I think we have decided to do a running commentary of a Halo session instead. Mostly because by this point you have left to look at cute kitties doing murderously cute things, or maybe murderous kitties doing cutely murderous things, I don't know. So stay tuned, cause it will involve me dying a lot, and Tom yelling things that are only mildly comprehensible, and a tank.