Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Cap't Karl's The Shoe 60K Race Report

Pre-Race:

If you’ve read any of my other Capt Karl’s race reports you know my pre-race routine. I work the night before, go home and grab the wife, then head down to the in-laws in Marble Falls before I finally crash around 11:00am. I slept from 11am-5pm and hit the road for Muleshoe park around 5:30.

If you haven’t read my other reports, HERE’s the link to The Lake, and HERE’s the link to The Falls.

Coming into the race I was 3rd Overall in the series for the 60K, but only 20 minutes ahead of 4th place.

I pulled in around 6pm and was happy to see there wasn’t a 30 minute line to get in the park! I grabbed a great parking spot, picked up my packet and quickly set up a good spot next to the start/finish.

After getting my gear in order and making sure I was good on gels/waffles/Scaps for my first two laps I ventured around looking for people I knew. Ended up chatting with Malea, Larry, Olga, and my friend Manton who I hadn’t seen since Warda Hare last year!

After the pre-race meeting that I missed, we lined up and I snuck up right around the front, but not too close.

The race started with a quick O&B so we could get the grand total of 60K. As always
I’ll break this into laps since the course was four laps total.

Lap 1:

We headed off onto the course and I put myself right where I’d been for the other two races. About 14th-15th place. We were soon on the single track and it appeared I’d seeded myself just right. I had run this course before and remember it being really twisty with some rocks. These both held true.


Soon we were through the first aid station and I was feeling good overall. For some reason my legs seemed a bit heavy which I was afraid would probably get worse later. We passed through some dense woods, and soon came to a pretty technical rocky section which would get much more fun as the night progressed.

Once out of the technical section it was around a mile to the next aid station. Once there I refilled the bottles again, and noticed the darkness had really snuck up on me in the dense woods. I really couldn’t see much but did see enough that I could still run fairly confidently.

The legs were still feeling heavy, but everything else felt good. I kept glancing down at my watch here because I was expecting my lap time to be around 1:30 per lap.

Darkness was now upon us and I was probably still 5-10 minutes out from the start where my light was. My eyes had adjusted well but my footing was still iffy. Finally I caught up with a runner going my speed and used her light the rest of the way back to the start.

Finished that lap in 1:37 which was pretty disappointing. I knew it would only get slower from here because it would be dark. I was doing the math in my head and figured that the best I could hope for now would be a sub 7hr 60K.

I grabbed my headlamp and headed back out.

Lap 2:

This lap was fairly uneventful for the most park. I was passing a lot of slower 30K’ers and just focused on running all the flats and downhills, while power hiking the uphills.

I soon passed through the first aid station again and was heading towards the rocky technical section. Once there A LOT of peole were walking here. I love technical trail so I was still running and passing everyone. I didn’t know who was 60K and who was 30K.

I pushed the pace just a little through there and was quickly back at the 2nd aid station.

I refilled my bottles and jumped back on the trail. Everything was going well but again, the legs were just heavy and felt sluggish. No snap. I glanced down at my watch and this lap was looking close to 1:45ish. I pushed the pace a little towards the end and came in at 1:46:34 for lap 2.

I refilled my gels and waffles but TOTALLY forgot to refill S-Caps. Thankfully I took two while sitting there and still had two left on me.

Lap 3:

I was still feeling ok here and thought I’d try to push the pace when at all possible. My race at The Falls where I negative split really gave me some hope.
I was still running everything except the uphills. The beginning section before the first aid station went well and I was through the first aid station quickly after refilling my bottles.

At this point I wasn’t really looking forward to the technical section, but knew it was my strong point, so I was mentally prepared.

Right before I got there somehow I tripped up on a rock and totally did the duck, tuck, and roll. Fortunately I wasn’t hurt, but I was now a muddy mess. Lots of sweat + dirt = Muddy Jacob. My bottles were covered, but literally before I could complain
I was running and checking out the damage. All was good.

Through the technical section I went and was at the 2nd aid station before I knew it. Refill bottles, back on trail. I was feeling a little better here and again focused on maintaining the pace if not picking it up a bit.

Lap 3 came in at 1:44:58. About 1:36 faster than the 2nd lap.

Lap 4:

I headed back out on the course and was ready to rock and roll. When I was pulling into the aid station I saw someone pull out and his friend/wife/gf tell him he was in 6-7th.

My new goal was to find him and catch him. I headed back on the trail and kept glancing ahead to see if I could catch a glimpse of his headlamp. I kept seeing headlamps but they were all from 3rd lap 60Kers.

Soon I was at the 1st aid station again and after refilling continued my pursuit. I thought that I’d at least catch him in the technical section.

I pulled into the technical section and just didn’t have the umph that I’d had earlier. I was slowing and walking more of the technical parts than I had before. I was still moving well and power walking hard when I had to but I just wasn’t making up the ground I needed to.

Once out of the technical section I caught the shimmer of a headlamp behind me. It actually appeared that it was getting closer! I couldn’t believe it. I was getting caught 34 miles in?!

I pulled into the 2nd aid station and refilled quickly then walked out while waiting for the person behind me to catch me. I decided I’d let him/her catch me then run on their heels all the way to the finish.

Soon he caught up with me and I immediately jumped on his heels. He was moving REALLY well and I wanted on this train! I just put my head down and pushed on.
Soon we started talking and he informed me that he was 4th overall in the series for the 60K! He knew that I was 3rd. At this point I was REALLY determined to not get dropped. There was only a ~20 minute gap between us and a gap that small can EASILY disappear in trail racing.

I soon began feeling much stronger and realized the increase in pace was a good thing. As soon as I realized I wasn’t going to get dropped I started chatting with him a bit more. He turned out to be a really nice guy and we chatted about UTMB and racing in general a bit. We only had about 1-2 miles left and I was hoping we were in the top 4-5.

Since I was pretty much guaranteed 3rd overall at this point I told him that since he pulled me along the last 3-4 miles that I wanted him to cross the line first and I wouldn’t be racing him for it. Hopefully we’d be in the top 5 and he’d get some hardware.

We turned the last corner and pushed the pace to the finish line to try and break 7:05:00. Right before the line I backed off and we finished in 7:04:42 and 7:04:44!
Unfortunately we were 8th and 9th for the night.

Hilario, if you’re reading this, thanks for pushing me in! You were moving so well for the end of a 60K.

My final lap time was 1:45:14 which was 50 seconds faster than my 2nd lap and 16 seconds slower than my 3rd lap. All three of night laps were within 1:36 of each other! Talk about even pacing.

When I look back and reflect on this race I’m somewhat disappointed that I didn’t place and that I didn’t negative split more. On the other hand I really can’t complain! For having dead legs, I’m totally happy with maintaining an even pace. It’s good to see that I can push through and not let the dead legs mentally get to me.

After analyzing the results later it looks like 6th place was only 5 minutes ahead and a top 5 finish was less than 10 minutes ahead.

Again, Joe and Tejas Trails put on a great race. This series has been a fantastic experience and has been the PERFECT training tool for the Arkansas Traveller 100 on October 1st. Each race I’ve learned something and have applied it to the next race. Hopefully I can take everything I’ve learned here and apply that to the AT100 in 5 weeks.

For the series I did end up 3rd Overall! Going into the series my only real goal was to hopefully place for the series in the top 5 and I did that.

Below I’ve included a few photos of the hardware!

 This was for 3rd OA in the Series:


This was the buckle for completing the series:


And these are all three finishers medals:


Again, thanks to everyone for some great races! It's been a fun progression through all three races and an invaluable learning experience before my first shot at 100. 
-Jacob

Friday, August 26, 2011

It's not easy to be a Kenyan runner....

Boy, the other night I was browsing my news feed on Facebook and came across an article a friend posted.

The article/blog was called, "It's not easy to be a Kenyan runner". I clicked on it expecting some American writer try to explain how life in Kenya is difficult, etc etc. Well I was quickly surprised to see it was written by a very accomplished Kenyan runner.

The article was breath taking, heart breaking, and completely inspiring all at the same time.

A line that stuck out to me the first time reading it is quoted below.

"I hate running but I love what it does for me when I win or make money out of it."
-Kiplimo Chemirmir

When I read this I realized something. Sometimes I TOTALLY hate running! haha. It's SO true! I know we've all been there. Regardless, I absolutely love the satisfaction I get. The accomplishment, and the fact that no one makes me do it. It's my choice. No one cares if I finish that tough 2 hour run, or the long 6 hr Monday morning trail shuffle.

I hope that you'll read this article and really take the time to read it all. CLICK HERE to go straight to the article.

I've always thought about trying to write one of those heartfelt blog posts about "Why I Run".... but I honestly don't think I know why enough to write an entire blog post.

What I do know is that I love the solitude of trail running and racing. I love the fact that no matter where you place in the field (first or DFL) you'll have the same crowd at the finish. I love the fact that I can cross the line and be offered two or three beers within two minutes. I love the fact that there's not any hype. It's just us, the trails, and the distance.

Why do I run? I really have no clue. I guess it's because I started and can't stop.

Running chose me.

Now listen to this music video I found and totally jam out. Get some good headphones, some coffee, and think.


-Jacob

Friday, August 19, 2011

Legitamite 100 miler training??

I read about people running 100 milers on training weeks of 50 or so miles.... Then again I've also read about people logging weeks of 120+ miles.

For me I've finally come to a period in my training that actually feels like training again. For the first time in almost two years I wrote a "training" plan (even thought it's still pretty loose), and I've penciled in a maximum week of around 85 miles.

This past week after the most recent 60K race, I logged 10 miles every single day for a weekly total of around 72.5 miles. While this isn't that big of mileage, I think the back to back to back 10 milers really started to wear on me. By the time I made it to the 8th day I was planning an easy 22 mile trail run. Unfortunately this run turned ugly real quick and not necessarily because the legs weren't cooperating!

I got out to the Northshore trail around 9:15 and was on the trail heading to far gate by 9:30AM. About 35-40 minutes in I smack my head on something and split my left eyebrow open. Blood. Everywhere.

I couldn't actually see the wound so when I finally ran up on someone I asked them to take a look at it. She immediately said I should go the ER cause I was gonna need stitches. I figured she was over reacting (which she was) and decided to at least finish up the loop I was on. I continued out to far gate, turned around and began my run back to MADD where the car was parked.


After about 40-45 minutes the thing finally stopped flowing blood but my bottle was stained pretty good and my hand smelled funny cause the dried blood. I was slightly concerned but figured I could take a photo when I got back to the car, send it to Courtney and she what she had to say.

Once back at the car I sent her a photo and she of course said I should probably go the ER. I told her I would call her back after contemplating my options. Of course I decided to continue on with my run cause I had 22 miles to finish up! Long story short about 15 minutes-20 minutes later I was feeling light headed and my legs were feeling pretty fried. At the Murrel park entrance I decided to walk it back to the car and head home to clean my head up.

I ended up not needing stitches but it was awfully inconvenient and a mess to clean up.


Since I missed the extra 10 miles I had planned, I had to adjust the schedule for the rest of the week. I'm aiming at another 75 miles this week, and then taking it REALLY easy next week to get ready for the last 60K and give my legs some rest before my final build to the AT100.

Once I get done with that last 60K, I'm planning a week of 60ish miles, 75ish miles, then topping out at 85ish miles with a two week drastic taper. My body overall is reacting well to the mileage and cooperating with me.

I finally replaced my old Newtons that had about 650 miles on them and I'm now adjusting to having a brand new pair. It feels SO foreign after running in that old beat up pair for so long. It seems that lately my feet are getting more and more sore, so I've been giving them a nice ice bath after long hard runs.




I ran 15 miles this afternoon before I came into work and when I get off this morning I'm planning on getting in another 10, then 8 trail miles this afternoon before we head down to the in-laws this weekend. I'm looking forward to the easy week next week, but even more so I'm looking forward to the AT100. I'm meeting up with my EPIC crew this Tuesday to do some prelimary planning. We'll go over some course maps, drop bags, aid, etc. so they have an idea of what my plans/goals are.

Speaking of goals anyone wanna take a stab at my Best case/Happy case/satisfied case times are?? ;)

Lastly I've been doing reasearch on a R2R2R run. Anyone have any experience with this? It looks like I may go solo (which is kinda what I'd like to do), but would love any input. I'm well aware of how dangerous it is to do a run like that solo, but I know what I'm getting myself into.

I hope I haven't posted this song before. If I have it gets better with time. Listen to the whole thing, with good headphones if you have them.

Hopefully I'll get another post next week before the next 60K, but if not I'll see you guys on the flipside. After that keep an eye out for part II of my nutrition debacle!

-Jacob

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Cap't Karls The Falls 60K Race Report!

It’s hard to start this race report without mentioning a few things first. If you haven’t read my race report from the first 60K in the Capt Karl’s series then go do that now! Then once you’re done with that read my next blog post that will help you better appreciate the race report you’re about to read.

As always Tejas Trails put on a first class event. Putting on a trail run is not easy, and Joe/Joyce make it look easy every time.

**********************************************************

We broke stride as I pulled a gel out of my bottle strap. I heard something stir in the bushes to our right and I quickly glance with my headlamp to spot the creature making the noise but there’s nothing there. Not even any beady glowing eyes.

I suck down the entire gel. It’s delicious. I cram the wrapper back into my bottle strap and then reach into my spi belt to get an S-Cap. I shove two in my mouth and swallow them down with a big swig of water.

I look over at Ben giving him the signal that I’m ready to go again. We run up at a solid pace the base of the only good climb on the course. It’s not real steep but goes on for a bit.

We again break stride but I am sure to maintain a solid power walk. For a minute we turn off the headlamps and let our eyes adjust to the moonlight guiding us up the jeep road back to the aid station we came from.

We turn the headlamps back on and I again begin to run. We’re not to the top yet, but I feel too good to let this go…

But alas, I’m getting all sentimental and ahead of myself. Let me back up just a bit to the night before the race.

Pre-Race:

My last 60K was bad. Just plain bad. It made me question why I do this, and why I had the slightest bit of confidence in myself to run 100 miles.

I was not going to let that get me down. After doing some mass alterations to my nutrition plan I was again ready to tackle the 2nd 60K in the Capt Karl’s night time series. The night before I had to work just like the last race, so I made sure to drink PLENTY of water. Throughout my 10hr shift I had at least 80oz of water.

I headed home after work and Courtney and I quickly loaded the car and pulled out of Plano around 6:30am. We arrived at the In-laws in Marble Falls around 10:30am and I was in bed by 11:00. I set the alarm for around 4:30pm and tried to get at least 6 hours of sleep.

Before I knew I opened my eyes to see it was only 4:09pm. Well, no point in going back to sleep now. I’d probably be a lot more groggy if I tried that. So I got up, ate the PB&J my beautiful gracious wife made me and downed another 30oz of water. NO dehydration this time!

I grabbed my bag, lawn chair, ice chest and hopped in the car for the quick 40min drive to Pedernales State Park just outside Johnson City in the wonderful Texas hill country.

I arrived to the race site right around 6pm which gave me plenty of time to get set up. Ran into Larry & Olga, chatted with my good friend Malea, then set up camp with Ben and Jennifer.

Before I knew it Ben and I were on the start line ready to go!

What I had on me:
-Energizer headlamp from Home Depot
-Two Nathan hand held bottles with pockets (filled with JUST water)
-Four PowerGels
-Four Honey Stinger Waffles
-Lots of S-Caps
-Spi-Belt with pockets for my goodies

Joe shouted GO! and we were off . The pain train was pulling out of the station.

Lap 1:

The race was two laps of 30 kilometers (18.6 miles). We headed onto the single track to see the front group pulling away. Ben and I were running together (which is normally the case) and we tend to end up in that no mans land spot between the big front group and the big chase pack. It was just me and him, and that’s the way I like it. No one pushing the pace, and no one holding us back.

This section was fairly uneventful so I won’t go into too much detail. We dropped into the lake bed and ran up a nice steep little section then onto some WONDERFUL jeep roads. We were just maintaing a very comfortable pace and enjoying ourselves. I was monitoring the time very closely because I was taking some sort of nutrition every 30 minutes. After 30 minutes I took my first Powergel and S-Cap. I told Ben before hand that I walk when I take the nutrition so we walked for a minute or so while I took what I needed and were back at it.

There were one or two gully type things we had to go down and back up so we walked the uphills here. They weren’t too long but it was a nice break from the length of the jeep road.

Soon enough we were doing the short O&B section for the aid station. When we arrived I made sure BOTH my bottles were empty. I refilled them with nice cold water and was quickly back on the trail to see quite a train of runners coming for me and Ben.

Once back on the jeep road we just maintained pace and continued talking about our 100 miler coming up. We were still running comfortably after an hour as I reached down to take my first Honey Stinger Waffle and another S-Cap. We walked again for a minute or so then ran our way into the O&B aid station.

The people here were AWESOME! They were all very friendly and totally willing to help as much as possible.

I refilled my water and immediately headed out to walk a bit before Ben came out. Soon enough we were heading down a nice downhill to some nice single track. We ran down into the single track and maintained a very reasonable smooth pace.

It was at this point that Ben started slowly getting a small gap on me. I’m talking maybe 20 yards but we were no longer running together. I’m VERY aware of what’s too fast for me too early, so I made no effort in staying with him. I took another gel and S-Cap somewhere out here. Ben stayed ahead of me for maybe 20-25 minutes then on the small but steady climb back up to the aid station I caught him. We power walked up the rest of the climb and ran everything but big uphills.

Soon enough we were at the O&B aid station. I did the same refill here. All water in the bottles and that was it. I started walking out of the aid station to wait for Ben. We made it there in two hours exactly and it was now too dark to run without our lamps. It was my personal goal to go two hours without using my lamp and we had made it!

As we walked out of the aid station we turned on our lamps and I enjoyed another Honey Stinger Waffle and S-Cap. There was a quick uphill and then we were back on the single track.

It was at this point we caught our friend Jeremy and trained with him for maybe two miles. Again Ben started to pull ahead a bit. Jeremy looks back and says, “you’re gonna let your friend go?”

I told him I sure was, and that I was very confident I’d see him again. I ran with Jeremy for another 2 miles until we reached the last aid station before completing the first loop.

I again refilled my bottles with just water, took a PowerGel and an S-Cap and headed back onto the single track.

I pulled out of the aid station just ahead of Jeremy and slowly put a gap up on him. This section was just around 2 miles to the Start/Finish line but I didn’t know it at the time. I knew I was running pretty well but wasn’t too sure on what our lap time would be.

Once I was running alone in the dark here I re-assed where I was in the race. My body was feeling good. My legs felt smooth and comfortable. Everything was good and my body was giving me the go-ahead.

Soon enough the lap was over and I finished my first 30K lap n 3:10:31.

As I pulled into the aid station I saw Ben grabbing his stuff and about to head out. It was also at this point that I saw Larry running out of the aid station, so I knew I wasn’t doing too bad. I grabbed my chair and sat down as I rummaged through my goodies to re-stock everything. Ben said hey and quickly headed out for his 2nd lap. I chatted with Jennifer and made sure to get everything I needed. 5 more gels and 4 more waffles plus lots of S-Caps. After 4:47 I was ready to get back out there.

Lap 2:

As I pulled out of the start area the feeling was surreal. I felt UNBELIEVABLY fresh. It was time to start this race. It was time to reel ‘em in.

This was foreign to me. I’ve never felt this good on the 2nd half of ANY ultra. So, I jump onto the single track and start to focus. Normally at this point I’m just focusing on not passing out, but now I’m focusing on catching people.

I’m still running and running strong. I run the jeep road down into the lake bed then up the other side. Here someone catches me but I power hike hard up the climb. I immediately begin running at the top and he runs with me.

We reach the fence line and I’m ready to rock and roll. I’m not breaking stride for anything. We talk and talk and talk. The time passes quickly and I almost forget to take another gel and S-Cap.

Soon I can see two headlamps bobbing up and down in front of us. We’re closing in quickly.

Before we know it was catch them and quickly move on. We reach the gully type up and down and I quickly run to the bottom and walk the upside. Once to the top and pick up the pace again. My water is running low but I know the aid station is coming up. Soon enough I spot two more headlamps ahead.

When we make the turn to the aid station with the really short O&B I pass them. It’s at this point that I see Ben coming the other way.

I now have a specific goal.

I refill my bottles and get out before the guy I’ve been running with.
I’m running solo, but determined. The legs are still cooperating and everything feels fresh. Strong.

I run back to the jeep road and turn left. I can’t see any lights ahead of me but know that Ben can’t be too far. I actually start to pick up the pace here. This section is really runnable, but the next section is very runnable so I know I can make up time and put time up on others.

Soon I see a headlamp head into the tree line. That’s the single track. I continue pushing the pace into the single track and can see the headlamp just ahead. I reach a short climb and headlamp ahead of me is walking.

I come up on him and it’s Larry. I ask him how he’s doing and vice versa. I quickly go on and focus on catching Ben. I hop on a bit more single track for a bit and within a minute or so see another headlamp ahead.

Once I reach another short climb I see the headlamp walking. I run up the climb and shout, “Beeeeeeeaaan”. It’s Ben. I walk up behind him and he says he’s feeling good. I was fairly confident that as good as I was feeling I’d probably be pushing the pace too hot for Ben, but sure enough when I started running Ben started running.
Once off the fence line we headed towards the O&B aid station that was manned. We pulled in and were the only ones there. I refilled just water and saw Ben drink some soda. I thought it looked good too and asked for a cup, but quickly changed my mind. My race was going perfect… why change something now.

I turned around and started walking out. Ben quickly followed and we ran downhill back to the single track. We were running deep in the woods and it was beautiful.
I was still taking nutrition every 30 minutes and was feeling 100%. In the single track we maintained a good pace. I knew I wanted to run ALL of this up to the one good climb on the course.

We were soon back on the jeep road and it was smooth running. It was at this point I realized Bens light was dimming so for a bit we ran with just my light.

We broke stride as I pulled a gel out of my bottle strap. I heard something stir in the bushes to our right and I quickly glance with my headlamp to spot the creature making the noise but there’s nothing there. Not even any beady glowing eyes.

I suck down the entire gel. It’s delicious. I cram the wrapper back into my bottle strap and then reach into my spi belt to get an S-Cap. I shove two in my mouth and swallow them down with a big swig of water.

I look over at Ben giving him the signal that I’m ready to go again. We run up at a solid pace the base of the only good climb on the course. It’s not real steep but goes on for a bit.

We again break stride but I am sure to maintain a solid power walk. For a minute we turn off the headlamps and let our eyes adjust to the moonlight guiding us up the jeep road back to the aid station we came from.

We turn the headlamps back on and I again begin to run. We’re not to the top yet, but I feel too good to let this go. I push the pace up the hill and am prepared to go solo if I have to.

We reach the O&B stretch and know that we’re almost to the aid station again. Before we know it we can see the lights and are the only people there again. This is a good sign.

I refill again with just water. I down another waffle and S-Cap then it’s back to the jeep road. As I walk out of the station I shout back at Ben to come on! He’s still looking really good. He’s putting in an awesome race and no matter what happens here we’re both gonna be happy.

Right before I pull out of the station they tell me it’s only 6 miles. This is when it hit me. We’re making good time and I’m totally capable of running this all the way in.

So, in my head I do the math and tell Ben it’s pretty much impossible to break 6:30. He says not totally, but I think he’s crazy.

We walk up the rocky climb and back onto the single track. Here I tell Ben that I’m going to push the pace all the way in. If I blow up, just pat me on the ass on your way in.

I put my head down and run.

I’m running like it’s a race now. We’re pushing the downhills hard. We’re pushing the uphills hard. We’re pushing the twisty flats hard. A few times I think this is stupid fast. We’re gonna blow up, but I don’t care. I’m 95% confident we’ll make it.
A few times I can hear Ben trip up behind me but not fall, but am starting to feel he may not be too comfortable running this fast in the dark on these trails. After about 2 miles of this his light fades from behind me.

Within seconds I’m solo.

Time to do work. I’m running on cloud nine and feel fantastic. I’m pushing the pace has hard as I possibly can within reason. I’m running everything now, even the climbs. I know that once I hit the water only station on the road I’m about 2 miles or 20minutes out.

Soon enough I turn the bend and there are the jugs. I fill both bottles. Just water. Here I debate on if I should take any food. I know I only have two miles but it’s time for something. Would it do me more harm running this quickly? I remember what Olga says here and take my gel like a good ultra runner.

It settles fine and I continue to run like a wild Banshee.

I keep thinking that I’m BOUND to catch someone at this pace, but I never see any more headlamps ahead of me. Soon I look down at my watch to see that I’m DEFINITELY going to break 6:30. By a lot. Heck…. It even looks like I’m about to NEGATIVE split! New goal. Go.

Within a few minutes I can see the lights from the start line. I look down at my watch and know that sub 6:20 is gonna be close. I round the last corner and push it into the finish line for a finish time of 6:19:48 and a 2nd lap of 3:04:29!!! A full 6 minutes faster than my first lap. I stop. Speechless.

Post-Race:

I get told I’m fourth overall and I actually get hardware! I still couldn’t’ believe it. I still felt great. I see Olga and some other friends and thank her for her great nutrition advice.

I walk on and get offered a beer that I would NEVER turn down! Ended up drinking two then relaxing with my new found friends.

Soon enough I see a set of lights bobbing in the distance. They cross the line and it’s Ben! He held on for fifth overall! What an awesome race. He ended up finishing in 6:35:16 about 15 minutes behind me. For the amount of mileage he’s been putting in that was awesome.

So finally I had the chance to reflect on what had just happened.

First off, that’s the best, most well executed race I’ve EVER run. That counts all the Ironmans, marathons, half anything’s. This race came together perfectly and I owe a huge thanks to just a few people.

First Lynn, Matt, and Buddy for replying to my initial email about nutrition. I knew I was in dire need of nutrition help and these guys pulled through.

Gotta thank Olga and Larry for being some helpful in their responses as well. Getting advice from people that have been there is invaluable.

Huge congrats to Ben for dominating that race and my friend Malea for getting hardware in the 30K!

I know that my nutrition is ever evolving, but it’s great to finally run at what I feel is my potential.

To the ultra running community, you guys rock and never cease to amaze me. Hanging out after these races is almost as much run as actually running them.

Next up is the last race in the Cap't Karls 60K series. After the Falls I'm in 3rd OA for the series standings. Looks like there's no way I'd ever catch 1st or 2nd, but 4th place is just 19 minutes behind me, so no messing around at the Shoe! I'm going to be increasing my mileage a bit more before the Shoe and probably no taper much if any at all since The Traveller is my "A" race not the Cap't Karls races, but hopefully I can hold on for a top 3 finish in the series.

I leave with a song that was stuck in my head during the run. Best listened to with headphones to appreciate it :)


_Jacob_

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

July Update and The Falls 60K Prep

The end of July is here and what a great month it's been. Texas heat is doing it's thing and as of today we've had 31 straight days over 100 degrees. This week is promising to be one of the hottest weeks I've experienced in my 25 years of living in North Texas.


For July I didn't really have any specific distance goals but did end up running a total of 270.82 miles where as I ran 230.97 in June. I'm really happy to have added another 40 miles without any trouble. I had the Lake 60K this month as well as a trip to Pittsburgh where it was difficult to find much time to run. The first week in July I logged 51.88, then 60.91, 63.47, 54.20, and 66.47 this past week while traveling. 
I've been slowly increasing my distance (in hopes of keeping away the injury monster) and am really looking forward to some pretty big numbers (for me anyways) in the month of August. First goal is to log around an average of 70 miles a week. Towards the end of August and the first 1-2 weeks in September I'd like to log around 70-80 miles and hit that taper hard in mid September. 

I've been experimenting with the new nutrition plan and everything has gone great so far. The true test will be next Saturday night when I do another night time 60K in the Texas heat! I also got some new MT101s which I cannot wait to really break in at the 60K. 


Courtney and I had a great time on the trip to Pittsburgh last week. It was nice getting a few days off from work and not having anything to worry about. I did get to run 3 out of the 4 days which was fantastic. We stayed a mile from Carnegie Mellon University and right behind the campus is Schinley Park which was super hilly compared to what we have here in North Texas! 

 Above: Carnegie Mellon University

Above: Downtown Pittsburgh

I of course wondered off the beaten path and found some great little single track that winded up and down the hills. It was absolutely gorgeous. 


The trail dropped down a pretty steep ravine down into this little valley where a stream ran. I couldn't help but try to find all the climbing possible. Once I found as much climbing as I could I made a loop of it and ran that every time I got the chance. On the last day I was running quickly through the trees and flying down a steep section when all the sudden to my left I could see a deer. I stopped not 6 feet from the deer and we just stared each other down. I wasn't too sure what to do cause normally deer will run at any sound, but this guy just stared at me then got back to eating without backing away. I had my phone with me so I pulled it out and took a video. The video is on Courtneys phone so as soon as I get that uploaded to youtube I will share! It was incredible seeing a deer that close to downtown Pittsburgh. 

The ladies of course had to do a bit of shopping while we were there. At one point we were in an Italian market and I found two containers of Nutella (MY FAVORITE!) for $70 a piece!!


Let's just say buying them actually crossed my mind :) Even though we had a great time it's always nice to be back in the great state of Texas. I'm hoping to get in a few ten milers this week and maybe an easy 8 and total up about 65 miles this week. It's always tough to get mileage the week before and after a race.

Hopefully I'll have some good results in regards to the 60K this weekend. I'm again hoping for a top 5 finish, but above all that my nutrition will be spot on and just give me that much more confidence that I can finish 100.

Lastly I've been wanting to create a local running group for awhile now and finally took the initiative. I have some friends out in Arizona that have a running group called WMRC (Wed Morning Run Club) so I've decided to create the WMTR (Wednesday Morning Trail Run) at Arbor Hills Nature Preserve in Plano. If you're interested or just want to check it out I've created a Facebook Page HERE to check out.

I hope everyone has a great week and stays safe with the heat outside! Hydrate, Salt, Hydrate, and SALT! :)

I've been addicted to this video all week so I'll leave you with it.


_Jacob_