Marathon Maniacs!!!

So for the past few years I've wanted to be a part of ths group called the "Marathon Maniacs". There's a fairly strict set of guidlines to actually get into this group. The easiest way to get it in two run 2 marathons within 16 days which I easily did last weekend. (Not to mention running 100K in less than 14 hours)

Anyways, I actually qualified last weekend without even thinking about it. IT wasn't until a few days after that it hit me that I had qualified to apply. Well know I can gladly call myself Marathon Maniac number 2383!

In other news I did end up racing the A2A marathon (obviously) and finished 9th overall and 2nd age group with a time of 3:21:25. I started out super easy and actually ended up running close to 7 minute miles at the end. I felt great and was happy to get Oklahoma knocked off my 50 states list.

Now I have to big 50 milers coming up in less than 50ish days. I'm really looking forward to both. The first is Zane Grey which is supposed to be super tough, then I'm doing Jemez which is supposed to be equally tough due to the huge altitude.

I'll keep everyone updated on those races and anything else I add to the schedule. Hope everyone is training hard and enjoying this amazing spring weather!!

_Jacob_

My infatuation with the HR100....

I haven't been a part of the ultra running community all that long, but from what I can tell the majority of ultra runners dream race is the Western States 100. While this race seems incredible, I can't help but imagine why when the Hardrock 100 is out there.

Hardrock seems like a pipe dream at this point, but I can only hope someday soon I'm able to make it to that finish line. To me Hardrock seems like the epitamy of what ultra running is. It has single track, jeep roads, absurd climbs, uber remote locations, weather, and is just plain jaw dropping beautiful.

If you've never heard of the Hardrock 100, or even if you have, I'm sure you can appreciate genuine beauty. I'm posting a few photos I recently found that make me want to "run" Hardrock even more than I already do.

Train hard and live harder...

_Jacob_

Legit update!

I will be updating soon!

Some cool things have been happening and my running is coming along! I'm finally feeling ready to get some big mileage under my feet and start focusing on training specifically for my upcoming 50 milers!

Just real quick, I have finally decided on a 100 mile run for this year. The Arkansas Traveller 100 is definitely the race for me. It's relatively close, it's not multiple loops (just one), and it's all trail. The only thing I don't like about it is, is that it only has 8 miles of single track. The rest is jeep roads/double track.

So, I hope everyone is doing awesome and bearing through some of this ridiculous weather we've all been having! (1 ft + of snow in the Dallas area!!) Congrats to all the finishers at the Cowtown Marathon/Half Marathon/Ultra/ Etc! You guys did awesome.

_Jacob_

Rocky Raccoon 50 Mile Run

Well I have finished my second run of 50 miles or greater! Man, what an experience. I went into this race COMPLETELY unprepared. On the upside I came out a stronger runner with more ultra experience under my belt!

I completed my race report last night if you'd like to check it out. Just CLICK HERE and that will take you straight there!

The recovery went great. I raced about 9 days ago and got in a nice 8 miler today around a 7:20 pace. I'm looking forward to actually training for my next 50 miler which will be in late April, and is supposed to be one of the hardest 50 milers in the country!! On top of that I'm doing another 50 in May that's supposed to be just as hard if not harder!!

My 2010 race schedule is really starting to take shape. I keep updating little bits at a time, but it's looking pretty definite so far. The only things I see changing are the possibility of adding a few races, and taking away the pacing 50 at the Tahoe Rim 100. (Possibility my friend won't be racing)

I'm thinking of registering for the Ardmore Marathon (point to point starting at Turner Falls). I'm doing something the day before but figure I could make the drive up there on race morning and pick up my packet then! It looks interesting and I bet it will be fairly small. We'll see how my schedule unfolds and hopefully I'll be able to make it up there for a fun 26 :)

Hope everyones doing well and staying warm!!!

_Jacob_

Copperas Cove Road Race

Well my first road race is in the bag! Man, what an experience.

To be honest my training was great coming into it, but I knew that it would be a great test of where my fitness is cycling wise right now. I registered for the CAT 5 race which was technically a CAT 4/5 race.

My goal going into the race was to just hang around in the top 5-10 or so unless a break happened. If more than one person went I was going with them. Well during the first 3-4 miles I was in the top 5-6 people and I could see the first climb coming up. I made the split decision right there to go ahead and surge and see who went with me. I took a few glances behind me and it didn't look like anyone was coming, then next thing I know I see 2 guys come up right beside me. SWEEET. These guys looked pretty legit and I had high hopes for a good break.

We pushed the pace pretty hard to get a decent gap and then just held it around two minutes. Since this was my first road race I learned a lot from these two guys. Around an hour fifteen in one of the guys seemed to be hurting a bit and I knew that our gap was down to around a minute thirty or less. I pushed just a touch to maintain pace and he fell off the back.

Me and Eric, a fantastic cyclist from Texas Tech was now the only other rider with me. We took a right and hammered HARD with the tail wind. I wanted to see how much of a gap we could get back until we hit the headwind again. We took a right off that road and started the ride back to town with a stiff headwind. There was one nice climb here that I thought would possibly break us but I felt great once I got to the top.

Eric and I made the left turn back towards Copperas Cove and I knew we probably had it. Eric offered the win to me since he felt that I had down the majority of the pulling, but I didn't really want to take a win that way. Once I could see the line I sprinted with everything I had left and crossed the line in first with Eric just .3 seconds behind me.

This race was an absolutely wonderful experience. I met a few really cool people and some great cyclists.

Something that has hit me the wrong way is some of the responses I've read about my win on a cycling forum, but I'll definitely save that for a different post.

One more thing I want to hit on is the purpose of this blog. This website, in no way what so ever, is a self promotion website. This website is a BLOG, that I update not only for my own records but for my friends, family, and other people getting into endurance sports. I want nothing more than for other people to find the joy in exercise that I have found. (Hence my degree in Physical Education)

To those that made those comments regarding my results yesterday, I'm sorry you feel the way you do, but I, just like all of you, have to start from the very bottom of the totem pole, (That means as a CAT 5) regardless of my triathlon results. I am in NO WAY an "iron man pro" as someone put it. No where on this site do I claim to be a "pro" at anything.

My hope is that the guys or gals that made those comments decide to either stop saying such rude/false comments, or start training harder so that I don't have to ride 50 miles with two guys next time.

To all my friends and family I thank you guys SO much for supporting me in all my endeavors. You guys are the very best. I also thank B&B Bicycles in Cedar Hill for all their support. Without Beth, Jeremy, and Jeff I would still be on a broken down bmx bike riding around Ovilla.

Last but not least congrats to Krysta, Eric, and the whole Texas Tech racing team for a great show at Copperas. You guys are lucky to have such a huge cycling crew!

Hope everyone is training hard and playing harder :)

_Jacob_