My grandmother made me do it...

What?!?! I'm actually updating and posting on my blog?

Why yes. Yes I am. I would tell you it's because I've had so many requests from all 12 of my loyal followers but that would be a lie. It's because the other evening my grandmother of all people asked me if I ever updated my website. Well Gram, this one is for you!

I'm gonna summarize my life since the last post in as few words as possible. This is gonna be a blur, so just hold on tight.

My last update was before the El Scorcho 50K. That was going to be my 7th or 8th marathon/ultra mary of the year. Well, I DNF'd that one. Why? Because I just wasn't having fun and went out SO ridiculously hard. Could I have finished? Yes. Does that matter now? No.

The week leading up to that race I was having some strange pains and that run (made it 22-23 miles) just made it way worse, so I took off another 6 weeks or so from running to make sure everything was good to go.

I decided to put my mountain bike back together so I could train on the trails. (cause everyone knows I love the trails) Well, long story short I decided to enter the Northshore 100 mile mtn bike race. Of 13 starters, I was the only finisher, and therefore I won. I decided after that, that I wanted to try a XC mtn bike race. I signed up for the Sansom Park CAT2 race and ended up winning that overall. Now I'm going to try the CAT1 race at Rowlett Creek Preserve on Halloween and see how I fare against the big guns. I also bought a new mtn bike a month or two ago picture below. It's a Scott Scale 29er with a few upgrades. Freaking LOVE this thing. 29ers are the way to go. i can roll over whatever I want :) Thanks to Jay up at Sun and Ski Sports in Frisco for helping me out. Those guys are awesome and definitely go the extra mile everytime I'm in there.


I did the Prarieman aquabike and ended up getting 2nd place there to Dave Jones who dominated the bike. By the way, I've only swam 2 other times this year and they were BOTH in triathlons, so a 32 minutes swim wasn't too bad for no actual swim training this YEAR! For the entire year I've now swam around 45minutes total and less than 4,000 yards.

I'm registered for the Louisiana Trails 50K on Nov. 13th, because I SERIOUSLY want to get back to my ultra running. For some reason I'd still rather mtn bike right now, so my running is very minimal. Like 10-15 miles a week minimal. Regardless, I don't think I'll hae a problem finishing the race. (I just want to cross Louisiana off my 50 states list!)

The next weekend I'm planning on running the Wild Hare 50 Miler in Warda, Tx. I know, I know. You're all laughing right now. But I think I can finish it... regardless of my serious lack of run training right now. Ultra running has A LOT more to do with your mentality than your skill/training than most of you know. I'm probably going to end up with another random injury, but I'm always asking for a good whooping and I'm sure a 50K followed by a 50 miler the next weekend should give it to me.

Courtney and I are still planning away on the wedding! (Ok, Court more so than me, but I'm doign what I can!) It's getting more and more hectic the closer we get. Crazy, because I thought we were wayyy over prepared, but apparently there is no such thing as being over prepared for a wedding. Haha. Courtney is doing an awesome job, and I appreciate everything she is doing. God has blessed me with an incredible woman that loves me like no other.

I've been SERIOUSLY toying around with the idea of doing the Tampa Double Iron Triathlon in early March of 2011. Actually I'm not really toying with it anymore, I planning on it. Court gave me the go-ahead, so as long as I can get registered before it sells out, I'm in. Again, I'll probably not be anywhere NEAR as prepared as I should be, but my mentality tells me otherwise...

Alright, well for right now that's all I've got for you. Obviously, I'm still working nights if you look at the time of this post :)

I'm running 20 miles on Monday morning at the Northshore with my friend Ben if anyone else is interested in going. Also, the DORBA CX race at RCP is this Sunday (Haloween) if anyone is interested in watching or just hanging out. I'll be there all day, not to mention racing the CAT1 race at 9am.

Leave a comment and let me know what you guys think of the new layout! Take care and train safe :)

_Jacob_

My doubts about running 100 miles...

Normally, I'm not scared of anything.

But, when I think about running 100 miles I now get scared. Yep, I said it. Scared. I can, and have "faked" my way through every other distance out there, but running 100 miles is not something you can just "fake" your way through.

I'm confident that I can finish a 100 mile run, but I think it's the fact that I'm pretty sure what I'm in for when I do try to finish one. So far this year I've run three 50 milers. Each one, getting progressively harder. With each one, I feel my performance got worse and worse.

Over the next few weeks/months I'm really going to work hard on getting back into the mindset of "training", something I've slowly worked my way away from. Too me, I've found SO much joy in just doing whatever I feel like when I feel like it. (not that I'm not going to be having fun as I train for my 100 miler)

The biggest problem I've had lately with my 50 milers is this odd sensation/feeling of not being able to eat ANYTHING. The thought of putting any food in my mouth at all makes me want to throw up. I've convinced myself that it's time I venture away from eating gels anymore, and try other things. I will definitely be trying different things as I train my way to the Arkansas Traveller 100 miler.

My question to any of my fellow readers/ultra runners (especially those of you with experience) is, have you ever experienced the sensation I'm speaking of? Is it possible that it's due to dehyrdation, or too much hydration??? I've definitely got to get this figured out before Arkansas, in October.

This Monday I had a great run on the Northshore trail at lake Grapevine. Got a nice 22-23 miles in, with some pretty oppressive heat. I experimented a little bit with Sport Beans (which I've tried before) and enjoyed them. The packs are only 100 calories a piece so I'll have to work with that and see what I feel I need an each hour to sustain myself for around 24hrs.

Any advice is much appreciated!! Hope everyone is training hard and living harder :) Also, if anyone would ever like to trail run in the DFW area just let me know!

_Jacob_

Two Races, Two Weeks!

I'm super disappointed in myself for not updating last week after a great weekend of racing!

Last Saturday I raced the Metroplex Sprint Triathlon for Ironhead Race Productions based here in the Dallas/Ft Worth area. As most everyone knows by now, my focus as of lately has not been triathlon, but long distance running.

Well last weekend I proved that swim training is not all that important! I ended placing first overall, by 11 seconds! I had the 6th fastest swim, 2nd fastest bike, and 2nd fastest run splits for the day. I couldn't have been any happier with the result.

This past Friday night I raced my first timed ultra event in Abilene, Texas which is about 3hrs West of Dallas. The event took place in a park on a 1 mile loop starting at 8pm. The winner was the one who ran the most laps before 2am! Long story short I ended up running 36 miles in 5:57:34, which was good enough for 2nd overall. My original plan was to get 40 miles in, but that unfortunately did not happen.

If you'd like to read that race report, just CLICK HERE.

I have a another triathlon early next month, then I have a 50K at the end of July in Forth Worth starting at midnight. I'm going to train hard in hopes of getting the win out there. There should be a big crowd with lots of fast runners. I'm totally looking forward to it.

Hope everyone is training hard and staying safe in the awesome Texas heat!! See you guys and gals out there.

_Jacob_

PS- I'll post pics from the 6hr race once they're up!

The SUPERDROME!

For sometime now I've been wanting to race on a velodrome. AKA, "track racing". A velodrome is an oval banked track of various lengths. Here in the North Texas area we have a track in Frisco. It's one of three olympic velodromes in the USA. It's 250 meters with the most banked sections being 44.5 degrees, and the "flats" being 17 degrees.

To race on this track one has to be qualified, not only for their safety but other racers safety. I FINALLY had the chance to take the "development" class so that I'll be qualified to race on the track.

MAN, what an experience! This thing was incredible. It was a 4 hour class starting at 9am. A lot of the people in the class were brand new to track racing, and had pretty much zero knowledge. Track racing requires a "fixed gear" bicycle. Fixed gears obviously only have one gear, no brakes, and the rear cog is "fixed" so that one cannot coast.

To most people this concept seems unbelievably dangerous but it's for the opposite reason that it's so. On a track people ride really close together, and really fast. If you've ever been on the highway and the car 10 cars up slams on it's breaks you know the result. It's a chain reaction and everyone behind them will have to slow down. On a track the fixed gear bikes keep people from being able to slam on their brakes and cause wrecks. (not that wrecks don't happen)



After finally working our way onto the track and doing some practice laps we worked our way all the way up to the top. It was an unbelievable sensation riding so high. I'd say it was between 20-25 feet up from the bottom of the track when we were at the top of the 44.5 degree banked turns.

By the end of the class we were able to do some "mock" racing. There were two other knowledgable cyclists in the class. Due to my ridiculous type "A" racing attitude I ended up winning both races. (I actually meant to lose the last one on purpose, but couldn't do it) After racing I'm extremely excited to get to legitimately race. Unfortunately most their races are on Friday nights and that doesn't work too well for me.

Below I'll be posting another video of a group doing a "paceline" on the velodrome, and I'll also be posting a few photos I took of the track. If you're interested in track racing or the Superdrome in Frisco here are a few links.

Click HERE for the Superdrome.

Click HERE for track racing information.

I hope everyone is having a great week! Looks like the weather isn't going to be too bad for my triathlon this weekend. I'll try and give a good update early next week with some photos and results!

_Jacob_

TEXAS Heat!

The heat is on in North Texas!! I've been getting in some great trail runs recently, but they've been steamy. (My friend Alan can attest to that!)

I've been doing most of my runs around 1-4pm and it's been averaging between 96-101 everyday. Yesterday I was running one of my favorite trails in Oak Cliff just south of Dallas and the humidity had to be around 1,284% and about 100 degrees. I was sweating as soon as I stepped out of the car!

The run was superb. Get's me excited for my upcoming races/runs. This weekend I've got my first triathlon of the season. Unfortunately it will also be my first swim of the year as well! Haha. Man, this could be bad. Of course I'm still going for the win, and I'll be slightly disappointed with anything less. Despite my lack of any organized training, much less triathlon specific training!

The next weekend I'm doing a 6hr run in Abilene, TX that starts at 8pm and is on a one mile loop. I'd LOVE to log about 40 miles out there (which would be a sub 9min pace).

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up on my recent runs and some of the races I'll be doing soon. Next post?? My exciting adventures at the Frisco Velodrome. Aka, the SUPERDROME! I'm out for now.

(Photo is from the Jemez 50 in new mexico a few weeks ago)

_Jacob_