I've been back running for a couple of weeks. So far, so good. My tendon burns slightly when I stretch it in certain positions. Otherwise all feels OK but I haven't run over 5 miles yet. My plan is to do slow 3 to 5 mile runs only for this first month I'm back and then slowly move back to my usual distances as tolerated over the winter.
I haven't made any decisions on which ultras I'll do next year. It all depends of it this tendon injury is really behind me or I will be forced to deal with it next year. I hope not! At the very minimum, I'd like to attempt the Bighorn 50 mile and the Lean Horse Hundred again.
A friend/co-worker suggests we try a 3 day multi-day 150-k stage trail race in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas: 3 Days in Syllamo. My friend is a marathoner whom I've been trying to convince to move up to "real" distances. Based on his marathon times, when he finally does, he'll finish hours and hours ahead of me. He has a few friends from Missouri who run it every year.
This event is run on trails over three days: 50 kilometer, 50 miles and 20 kilometers on March 12, 13 and 14th. The 50k has a 9 hour cut-off, the 50-mile a 14 hour cut-off and 20k a 6 hour cut-off.
Even if I must stop early or am unable to run one of the days, it'll still be a nice early season training run.
On the other hand, if I am able to run the entire 93 miles over three days, it'll be great training for doing 100 miles in less than 30 hours later in the year.
They limit the runners to 100 but as far as I know, it does not fill up quickly. There are only 4 registered right now.
Does anyone care to join us?
I have many interests...er, passions... besides only running. Because running provides inspiration about which I enjoy writing about, I spend most of my personal blogging time writing about it.
A friend once asked me, "why don't you blog about the other things you do?" Quite honestly, if I wrote about all of my other passions as I do about my experiences running.. I'd have no time left to do any of them.
My recent injury and following series of upper respiratory illness allowed me to rediscover some of my other interests, including music. We recently went to a friend's barn dance/jam session where I got to play with a variety of other musicians. It was inspiring.
The music I play is very unique (what a surprise: me being unique, huh?). I play old time folk music of the western frontier from about 1840 through 1920. I play many songs that do not exactly fit this definition but are in the spirit of this genre'.
It is definitely not country-western music nor is it bluegrass. I have nothing against either of those types of music. Indeed, I enjoy listening to them on occasion- they are just not what I play.
My music is the music that would've been played across the American South and West during the time from just before the Civil War through the westward expansion and into the time of the first and second generations of settlement. It includes the music that was sung and played by the cowboys before there was even such a thing as "cowboy" music.
Although I try to be authentic, I play to keep the music alive and that is all. I am not trying to be an accurate living history re-enactor. I have nothing against folks who do living history, who are buckskinners trying to re-live the mountain man days or cowboy action shooters who enjoy playing cowboy- what they do is important and even a lot of fun- but again, it is just not what I do.
So why do I play this little-known and obscure form of traditional music?
That is a hard question to answer. The reasons are personal. This music is as much part of me as it is part of this land. Music can speak not only to one's soul but also to a sense of place. And there is no place that speaks to me more than the wild open spaces of the West. Over the years, I have ridden my horses and pack strings over the mountain ranges and through the deserts; now I run where I used to ride. I have lived and traveled to many places but there is no place like home. It is part of me as much as I am part of the land.
I enjoy listening to a variety of music styles. However, unlike many other forms of music, the music I play is the kind best listened to while sitting around a campfire with friends and family. It is best accompanied by the crack of the fire and the wind in the trees and sage. If there are crickets chirping or the bells of the pack string ringing- so much the better...
Although you'll almost never hear this music on the radio, it is still being played by folks such as myself out here on the prairies and in mountain valleys of the West. We are keeping the spirit and traditions of the past alive, even if we are not trying to re-live history. As much as we might like to romanticize our past, we live in the year 2009, not 1909.
Some years ago, when I was first exposed to this music, I realized that many of the musicians were older and not going to be around much longer. Often I'd sit around a campfire and wish that so-and-so was around to play and sing a song. I then realized that if such music was going to be played, it would have to be by me.
So I taught myself to sing and play. With time, I learned how to read music and play the guitar. I learned how to sing and yodel. Yodeling is not authentic to the western frontier. It was not introduced into this type of music until the days of cattle droving had been long gone for several decades. Nevertheless, yodeling is what many people think of when they think of "cowboy music."
I also have been playing the Native American flute for 20+ years and even have a small flute which I play sometimes while running. It's like an I-pod that never needs batteries. Sometimes, it even attracts wildlife such as coyotes. I'm hoping to get a new low D flute in the future from a local flute-maker just down the road.
Maybe Santa (ie my wife Jeanne) will get it for me if I'm good?
I taught myself to play claw-hammer banjo. "Claw hammer" is so named because of the way the hand is held during playing. Also known as "frailing," claw hammer was original style of banjo playing for three hundred years before Earl Scruggs introduced three-finger bluegrass style in the 1940s. It is not as obnoxious as bluegrass (is it ever really possible for a banjo to not be obnoxious?) and allows one to sing along with it.
I got a harmonica and harmonica holder so I can play my guitar or banjo at the same time I play the mouth harp. Playing the harmonica while strumming on another instrument seems easy now but was very hard to learn at first. Much harder than walking and chewing gum at the same time...
During this entire time, I longed to play the fiddle. The songs played on the fiddle can be haunting, beautiful, stirring, mournful, exuberant, and/or joyful. The fiddle is more expressive than any other instrument I know.
Despite the scenes portrayed in movies, most cowboys during the time of the cattle drives and settlers traveling west did not play a guitar. If any instrument were brought along in the wagon, more than likely it would be a fiddle. Cowboys and former Confederate soldiers from the south looking to start over post-Civil war, might bring a banjo. However, until the 1890s and later, the guitar was primarily a parlor instrument. It was much too large and bulky to bring along on the cattle drives or during the overland migration. It wasn't until the 1920-30s that the guitar became a cowboy instrument.
Last week, my nurse's mom (By the way, I have the best office nurse) lent me her violin to see if I might be interested in acquiring a fiddle of my own.
I've been playing for only a week and of course I'm already hooked!
Long ago, I promised myself that if I ever learned to play the fiddle and I only learned one song it would be "Wild Ripplin' Waters" also known as "The Cowboy and the Lady." The melody itself has been around for a couple of hundred years at least. Only the words have been changed over time from a soldier to a sailor to a rake to a cowboy.
The following video was recorded on the cliff edge right outside our cabin this afternoon. I try to practice outside when I can to avoid irritating my family too much. We live in a rural area in the Black Hills where there are few neighbors. The neighbors we do have, live some distance away from us. Lucky for them!
My playing is a little scratchy and hesitant. I need to work more on how to bow properly. However, considering I've been playing for only a week and this is my very first fiddle tune, I don't think I'm doing too poorly!
The words of one version are as follows:
Wild Ripplin' Waters
One mornin', one mornin', one mornin' in May,
I spied a young couple a-comin' my way,
One was a lady and a fair one was she,
And the other a cowboy and a brave one was he.
Oh where are you goin' my pretty fine maid
Just down by the river, just down by the shade
Just down by the river, just down by the spring
To hear the wild ripplin' water and the meadowlark sing
Oh they had not been gone but an hour or so
'Til the cowboy from his satchel drew a fiddle and bow
He tuned his ol' fiddle all on the high string
And he played her a tune caused the valleys to ring..
"Oh ho," said the cowboy, "I should have been gone,"
"Oh no!" said the pretty maid, "just play one tune more,
For I'd rather hear the fiddle all played on one string
And hear the wild ripplin' waters and the meadowlark sing..."
Music like this is timeless. Although you won't hear it on the radio, it is still very much alive. I'm grateful to be playing one small part in keeping up the tradition.
After my torn anterior ankle tendon at mile 50 during Lean Horse in August, I intended to take off about six weeks from running entirely to allow everything to heal. My sports med doc was very reassuring and didn't think it was that big of a deal. Just take some time off, if it hurts then don't do it and when you're healed, you can start running again. In the meantime, you might want to think about other sports such as biking or swimming.
"That is all excellent advice," I thought but I also wondered: "how many other patients do you have whose next goal is to run one hundred miles?"
During the last six years I had not taken off more than 7 to 10 days from running. "Who knows what other overuse or degenerative injuries there might be lurking around the corner?" I thought, "It's the off season, what better time to take a break?" Taking some time off would be good for me.
At first, it was difficult for me to not run. Running is an important part of what I do. It is a time of queit reflection where I let the stresses of life fall away, like the golden leaves from a quaking aspen in an autumn breeze. I missed my time of relaxation, meditation, escape and communion with nature.
To avoid feeling too sorry for myself for not being able to run, I devoted my free time into other acitvities which I had neglected. I spent time with my family. Jeanne, Nathan and I cut and stacked firewood. They joined me on trips to Tucson, Arizona and then to Casper, Wyoming.
We threw an Oktoberfest party. I wore lederhosen and sang Bavarian beer-drinking songs (Photo above). Friends emptied almost all the beer from my kegs. So much the better; it's fall and time to start brewing beer again. One of my other hobbies beside ultrarunning is homebrewing. I can't make more beer until I have space to keep it. I appreciate when friends rise to the occasion and help make space in my kegs to store new beer.
We went to a friend's barn dance and I got to jam with other musicians. That was very insipiring. I hadn't played much the past year. Hopefully I'll get to play with others more often. I play guitar, harmonica, claw hammer banjo, ukulele-banjo, Native American flute, and sign/yodel old time folk music of the American West from about 1840-1930. My nurse's mom has lent me her violin so I could start learning how to play. I'd always wanted to play the fiddle.. now I am. The songs were pretty scratchy but I'm already improving. I don't have any desire to be at the level of a concert violinist, I only want to be able to play a few old time fiddle tunes around the campfire with friends.
During these last weeks, I did not write anything on this blog because no one wants to read a long drawn out whining post: "This sucks. I'm injured and I can't run" I avoided reading or commenting on other's blogs- not because I wasn't interested- but because I did not want to be reminded of all the things others are doing while I can't. I'd end up feeling even more self-pity.
Just as I was ready to start running again, I came down with bronchitis. After three weeks of coughing and right before the remnants of that was almost gone, I then caught a cold. I was frustrated and dejected. "This sucks!" I thought. Well, there's one thing I could be thankful for: at least I was sick without it being before any upcoming major races on my calendar, unlike how it had been so many times in the past.
"I'd do anything, just anything, if I could even go only ONE mile," I thought to myself. It's funny how humans, myself included, take so much for granted, including our fitness and our ealth. We don't realize what we have until we lose it.
Yesterday was sunny with clear blue skies, a mild beeze and a high temp of 74 degrees. Even though I still have a trace of cough and reactive airway, I just couldn't stay away from running any longer. It has been almost ten weeks since I've run more than a few hundred yards. If I had to stop and walk back home, so be it. I wasn't going to put off returning to running any longer.
I put Ruby on a lead and my Vibram Five Fingers on my feet. We padded slowly, silently down the gravel road. It was Friday afternoon and we saw only a handful of vehicles. We saw deer, horses, cows, wild turkeys and one other jogger (rare here in the rural Black Hills of South Dakota). The vanilla aroma of fresh-cut ponderosa permeated the warm afternoon air where wildfire suppression crews had been thinning the forest.
I would have loved to run on a trail instead of a road but thought I'd better not push it. I only expected to go a mile or two and see how I feel. The first mile I coughed and coughed and coughed until finally the remnants of post-bronchitis mucous were gone. Running clears my airways even better than a nebulizer treatment. My legs felt well if not strong. The area of injury felt tight but there was no pain. Every few hundred yards I thought about turning back but felt so good that we kept going. At mile 2.5 we finally turned back.
Today, I have few minor tight spots in my hips and calves. That's no surprise, given that we ran 5.1 miles and it's been almost ten weeks since I had gone for a decent run. I will take it easy the next couple of months before I think about races for next year. It would be foolish to push myself too far, too soon and then end up re-injured.
Perhaps a short ultra such as a 50k or a 26.2m trail marathon in March/April might be possible? I have no idea how well I will recover my fitness and whether that tendon injury is truly gone.
No problem.
I have plenty of time to think about future races. I'm just glad that I'm running again. My only goal now is to simply keep running without injury. Ultramarathoning is all about persistence and taking the long perspective on things. This philosophy applies during races themselves, during those up and down times between races, as well as to life itself.
Enjoy the seasons of running and of life, my friends.
Float softly and quietly down those forest trails.
Run well and run strong.
I haven't posted at all since Lean Horse Hundred because I've been injured, sick, traveling and not running. No one wants to read a long discourse of whining self-pity about someone injured and not able to run. So I haven't been blogging.
For all of you who are still out there running and being physically active: don't ever take your health and fitness for granted. We are all one misplaced foot step away from injury and one unwashed handshake away from a cold or influenza.
More to come soon... I hope.
My family and I did have an interesting experience with bedbugs a few weeks ago. Fortunately, we saw them before they had a chance to enjoy us as the main course. It is good to be someone who pays attention to detail and is curious about the natural world... including insects.
In 2006, a survey of hotels in the US revealed that as many as 20-30% have bedbug infestations. I posted about our experience at my professional blog: http://www.endocrinetoday.com/comments.aspx?rid=44959#com They don't carry disease but they do have quite a bit of "creep factor."
I hope that I will be able to start running and posting at this site again soon.
Good night, sleep tight.... and don't let the bedbugs bite!
“Don’t give up… no matter what happens…
DO NOT give up!
You can do it and you WILL do it!”
I repeated this phrase to myself over and over, the entire week before Lean Horse.
I had DNF’d two previous 100 mile races, Lean Horse Hundred last August due to hypoglycemia and the Javelina Jundred In November due to heat exhaustion, dehydration and dry-heaving.
This time, my third time, would be the charm. As long as I didn’t make any stupid race-ending mistakes, this year I would finish. I have run more training runs and ultramarathons over 50 miles than I can easily recall. There are only a handful of races in the 50 mile to 100 mile distance. The next step is to do a full one hundred.
“I’m ready. I will do this,” I thought, fully convinced that I would.
The Day before Race Day
Jeanne, Nathan and I headed down to Hot Springs on Friday. At registration, we were told I was the runner who lived closest to the race. There were a handful of other South Dakotans, but we live on the eastern side of Custer State Park, only an hour away.
I hoped that might give me some sort of advantage on race day. I was realistic and knew that any advantage would be minor. If anything, knowing every foot of the trail would make it easier for me to give up and stop, when I realized exactly how much farther I had to go.
At the pre-race meeting, race director Jerry Dunn made a point of telling us that cut-offs were "soft." What he meant that if we got to an aid station 15 or even 30 minutes past cut off time, we would be permitted to go on, the exception of course if we had to stop because of safety or medical reasons.
For a back-of-the packer like me, that was very reassuring. Making cut offs causes additional anxiety for those of us bringing up the rear. The only cut off that would count would be the final 30 hour cut off in Hot Springs noon Sunday. If we finished after that time, we would technically be given a DNF and would not recieve a buckle but our time would still be posted as an "unofficial" finish.
I promised myself that no matter what happened, I would keep going. I would not start to play the negative mind game in my head: "There's no hope of you making it by cut off anyway, you might as well quit."
Even if I could not make it to Hot Springs by noon Sunday, I fully intended to go 100 miles, even if it took me 31 or 32 hours. My family was crewing for me, they could follow along and bring me food and fluids, even after the race officially shut down.
Jeanne joked and told me that the car was in Hot Springs and it was up to me to get there. I was off of work Monday so I could take as long as I needed to.
We stayed at a house that had been converted to lodging by the owner. It was nice to not have someone the floor above you pounding heavily after they came back to their room intoxicated late at night or noisy kids running up and down the hall.
Chris "Haliku" drove up from Denver. Just like last year, the plan was for him to pace me from the 50 mile cut off on. He'd had some ankle and knee tweaks and wasn't sure he'd be able to go the entire 50 miles. However, by the time he would pace me, my running would be his walking.
All I needed was for him to not let me give up during the night. If I made to dawn, I knew I would finish.
The Fall River ran behind the house. Jeanne and Nathan enjoyed tubing down some of the rapids while Haliku and I arranged our gear. I preventively taped my feet as I now do before every big race. Since learning how to do that, my experiences with blisters have been minor.
I highly recommend the book "Fixing Your Feet," by John Vonhof as required reading for every ultramarathoner, adventure racer, fast-packer and long distance hiker.
Saturday- Race Day!
I awoke refreshed at 4AM. I had slept well not tossing and turning through out the night as I had before many big races in the past. I slept peacefully because I knew I in my mind and my heart that barring any unforeseen circumsances: I could do it.
If for some reason I did not, oh well, DNFing is not the end of the world, I've done it before, there would always be other chances.
I'm not planning on stopping ultramarathon running any time soon. I plan to be that 80-something year old guy winning my age group because there is no one else left in my age group (or at least placing second in my age group after Haliku).
After eating my usual pre-race breakfast of whole wheat waffles with lots of syrupm Haliku and I headed down to the race start at Mueller Civic Center.
Slowly the other runners gathered. I saw many other runners from previous ultramarathons. Teresa Verburg from Rapid City who had run her first hundred miler at Lean Horse last year. She is still the one and only woman from South Dakota to have finished Lean Horse. She was back for more this year.
We ultramarathoners are a tight-knit small community. It's always nice to catch up before, during and after the race.
The announcement was made and we all gathered outside. The weather was predicted to be hot, the mid-90s.
There's no reason to worry about that which is out of my control, I thought.
Elise from Montana was nervous. She had run only three 26.2 mile marathons before. This was her first 50 miler. I told her not to worry, she would do it.
"Just take it easy in the heat, hydrate and don't forget to eat- you'll do it! We all can do it!!!"
Suddenly, the race was on! We were off!!!
One of the most difficult challenges of running and completing an ultra is holding back for the first half of
the race... in a 100 miler, that constitutes concentrating on running as slowly and easily as possible for 10, 12 or even 15 hours.
"Hold back so you'll have something to draw from later in the race when you really need it." I tell myself over and over as the pack drifts away.
It is a lesson that I continue to focus on and re-learn.
I took it easy, walking for the first five miles even before I ran a single step.
I started out walking with a couple from New Jersey hiking the 50 mile race, Ned and Laura Gardner. They were long distance hikers, not runners.
Unlike many shorter races where walkers are sneered down upon by runners, we ultra-thoners welcome walkers with open arms. After all, every ultra-runner includes walking breaks as part of their race tactic. Many times we are grateful when we are even able to walk. Every step forward is a step closer to the finish line we believe.
Going 50 or 100 miles on your own two feet is still 50 or 100 miles, no matter how you got there.
On Argyle Road I left them behind and caught up with a few other runners. I jogged with Holley Lange from Colorado whom I had met at Greenland 50-k and the 24 hours at Laramie, last year. We stayed together for quite a while.
Then I met and ran with Mike Haviland from California. I met him last year at the Kettle Moraine 100-k. He is a past Badwater finisher but made an impression on me at Kettle Moraine when he passed out right as I was talking to him.
I remember thinking to myself, "If a Badwater finisher is passing out during this race because of heat and humidity, what the heck am I doing here?"
It turned out it was due to a medication he was on, one notorious for causing low blood pressure after standing, and in some people, fainting. After the medication was stopped, no more problems.
I was very relieved that he passed out because of a medication and not because of something I said. I have been accused of boring people to....well you know...
The day began to warm up. I was surprised how fast the pack had headed out. Many runners who usually run at a similar pace as I do, took off. Starting out too fast was a mistake I made last year which I promised myself I would not repeat.
"They're going to pay for it later, " I thought. As long as I stuck with my average 15 - 16 min/mile as long as I could, I would be able to finish and still have enough of a cushion later if I needed it.
Finally we were on the Mickelson Trail. I began to see the fifty milers on their return trip.
I saw to Keith Happel, an internist from Bismarck, ND that I know. I told him "Lookin' good!"
He looked strong!!
Then I saw Chris Stores, one of us local ultrarunners-bloggers from Bell Fourche, SD. He looked strong too and I wished him success.
Right before the 24 mile aid station at Pringle, I saw Elise who also was looking good, with a smile on her face, well on her way to her first 50 mile finish.
I wished every one of those fifty milers well and continued to head north.
"Lookin' good"
"Run on!"
"Nice work!"
"Good luck!"
"Keep on going... you can do it... just one step in front of the other!!!"
That is one of the best things about ultrarunning, we run with instead of run against each other. We're very supportive of other runners, no matter if they're the elite or the very last place finisher.
It's all about getting out there and doing your best.
It was then that I started passing some of the other hundred milers.
I passed Bob Wray, another back-of-the packer like me. He works for Fed-Ex and is from Rapid City. He always stands out in a crowd because of the patriotic American Flag colors he wears. I met him last year at the 50 mile turnaround and again this year at the Mystic Mountain trail race.
Bob didn't look too good. I think he mumbled something about starting out too fast. I encouraged him to not give up, take some time to rest and rehyrate at the next aid station if necessary but don't give up.
I didn't see him again after that.
At every aid station I put ice under my hat. At one aid station, they had no extra ice so one of the aid station volunteers pulled out some red ice from the sports drink for me to put under my hat. Beggars cannot be choosers, at least my sweat tasted sweet after that!
I started out drinking only about one bottle of sports drink (HEED or SUCCEED Amino) between aid station, or about one per hour. I took one SUCCEED! salt cap per hour.
Then, in the heat of the afternoon I switched to plain water only- two water bottles per hour, with some additional water from my Camelback if I emptied my water bottles before the next aid station.
Even though I lost my appetite from the heat, I forced myself to eat. I was not about to repeat the same mistake I made last year. For some reason, I cannot tolerate energy gels after about mile 30 or 35, they make me want to gag. I've found that "real" food I tolerate better.
I settled into a pattern of taking a half a turkey sandwich and/or banana at each aid station. If I couldn't eat it rght there, I would nibble on it so that it was gone before the next aid station. Sports Jelly Beans and Clif Blocks eaten a few at a time, after eating some real solid food, I did fine with.
I met Jim Newton from Texas. We flip-flopped all afternoon, alternating between who was in front and who was behind. At one point between aid stations, his crew offered me some ice to put under my hat.
A simple deed like that is appreciated more than any words can express.
Despite being from down south, Jim was struggling with the heat as we all were. I stuck with my conservative pace. I convinced myself that if I could focus on fast-walking as fast as I could slow-run, then why bother running?
I maintained my 15 min/mile average pace through the day, relaxed in knowing that I only needed an 18 min/mile overall average to finish before final cut off.
Last year at this point, I was averaging a 12 or 13 min/mile, much much too fast and part of the reason I bonked so hard later in the night.
My crew, Jeanne, Nathan and Chris "Haliku" met me at each aid station. A chair was set out for me. Jeanne gave me a towel soaked in ice water to wipe the salt and sweat from my face.
What a treat!
They filled my water bottles, put ice under my hat and replaced my food supply. They asked what I needed but didn't allow me to dawdle. I past many other runners simply because I was in and out of the aid stations faster than they were.
Some of the volunteers remarked how fast and efficient they were: "like a NASCAR crew!"
I had the best crew EVER! With support and a crew like this how could I possibly fail? Now if only I could be as fast at running as my crew is at crewing!
At Carroll Creek Aid Station, I felt a little dizzy and trace of nausea. "I must be getting dehydrated," I thought to myself. As soon as I arrived, I drank an extra water bottle and took two salt caps which seemed to settle the problem.
I believe that during this race and the training leading up to it, I've finally learned how to eat/drink while not upseting my stomach over long periods, incuding the afternoon heat.
Nathan decided to join me. The next aid station would be Harbach Park in Custer at mile 36 or so. Since I was mostly walking or jogging slowly at that time, I encouraged him to come along. Even though the temperatures was now 93-94, he stayed with me the entire way.
Jeanne stopped with the car every time the trail came near the road to ask if Nathan wanted to stop. She was worried he would hold me back.
Each time he paused before answered, "No, I'd like to go with Daddy. I can do it!"
He fast walked the entire 5.5 miles into Harbach Park without whining or complaining.
I'm so proud!
Someday, perhaps sooner than I will be ready for, it may very well be me who is the pacer and crew while Nathan runs his first ultra.
We've talked with him trying a 5-k or a children's fun run sometime. I refuse to push him into doing something he is not interested in or not ready for. He has his entire life to decide what it is he likes to do and what he is good at.
Too many parents push their children into too many activities too soon. It results in the opposite from what is desired- a strong dislike rather than passion for that activity.
Holley came in to Harbach looking tired and dizzy as I was getting ready to leave. I told her to not give up yet, drink and rest before she made up her mind.
As I headed out of Custer, I saw the front runner, Akos Konya, jogging effortlessly on the return trip. Amazing! I love out and back races because we get to glimpse the winners and front runners as the pass by us on the return.
On the way up the hill to Mountain Trailhead (mile 40 or so), I met a gentleman I had met at the Javelina Jundred last fall. Ultrarunning really is a small world. We talked about creation, the universe, science, religion, God and medicine- some pretty heavy stuff.
Conserving my energy, I actually let him do most of the talking, which anyone who has ever run with me will be sure to tell you, is usually not my style.
The next mile and a half to the entrance to Crazy Horse Monument is relatively flat. I went for a short time with a young man from Minot, ND: Ben Clark. At age 18, he was an anomaly. The average age of ultrarunners is around 55. On Monday he would be starting in college, with plans to study mechanical engineering.
If he is able to run a 100 mile ultra at age 18, who knows what he will be able to accomplish if he sets his mind to it? I wished him well as he jogged on.
Soon we were going downhill and I was able to pick up speed. The three or so miles past Crazy Horse Monument are all downhill on the way out....and all uphill on the way back. I had already promised myself that I would walk every single step up that hill on the return trip.
What's three miles out of a hundred?
As the sun set, the temperature cooled down. I felt good. I began to see more runners on the way back.
One woman asked, "Are you Chris's brother?"
"Yes, I am!" I answered.
It was Joyce, a mutual friend of two of other running friends of mine, Jarom Thurston and Lisa Nicholls. Chris had met Jarom, Lisa and Joyce last year when they were running 24 hours at Boulder.
Joyce ran strong and fast. She was well on her way to a sub-24 hour finish.
As I ran down the hill, I man on a bike caught up with me, Raj. He had seen the Native American Flute I was carrying and was curious. I had played it earlier in the day. However now that the wind had picked up, I held off until night fell because the wind would steal away my notes.
Raj's wife, Anu Singh was running her first hundred miler being paced by their friend Rajeev Patel. Rajeev had given me a hug of encouragement at the race registration the day before. They had been conservative during the heat of the day and now passed me making up for lost time.
Raj and I spoke about the Wakan Paha Sapa or sacred Black Hills and how running, at least for me, is as much of a spiritual endeavor as it is a physical one. I explained how this place is sacred to the Lakota and many other nations.
As they went on their way, I told him to not forget: Mitakuye Oyasin- We are all related.
Others told me how strong I looked. I thanked them and agreed. I felt strong; but pushed such thoughts out of my head. Ultras are run one mile, one foot step at a time. It is risky to get overconfident and count your buckles before you've finished.
Just before Oreville, I started to feel a dull ache in the front part of my lower leg. It didn't hurt that bad, only a minor annoyance I thought. No big deal. I kept running and ignored the slight discomfort.
As I approached Buckaroo aid station I told everyone "I see you again in a few minutes!" It was only a half mile out to the 50 mile turnaround and back.
Suddenly, only two hundred yards from Buckaroo, I felt a severe excrutiating pain inside my leg, as if it was ripping open on the inside. I could not bear weight and almost fell flat on my face. I limped back to Buckaroo, frustrated and upset. I tried running and again I almost fell flat on my face due to the pain.
What was it?
I had no superficial pain or swelling. It was all deep inside. The pain came on so suddenly and without warning, I was deeply concerned that it might be a stress fracture. Whatever it was, there was no way for me go on. I know a woman who ran 40 miles on a stress fracture to finish a 100 mile race, I wasn't about to let that be me.
It was hard for me to stop, since I felt so good otherwise. My stomach had held up, I was still able to eat and drink. My legs felt strong, other than the pain inside my right lower leg.It was as if I had run only 20 miles instead of 50 miles.
I knew I had at least another 20 or 30 miles in me before it would have started to get really hard. What would have happened then? There is no way for me to know.
I was upset about stopping so early but trying to go on but the only option that made sense was to stop- so I did.
We drove back to Custer and Harbach Park. Chris was itching to run- last year I DNF'd on him just before Harbach Park.
Now the year he wasn't going to be able to run or walk a single step!
We thought that perhap we could catch Joyce or some other runner who needed a pacer and Chris could run with them. Joyce came in running strong and Chris went with her. For a moment, he was unsure if he'd be able to keep up with her.
Holley was still there. She had dropped in the afternoon after I had seen her but had not yet found a ride back to the race start. We gave her and another runner, Don Gibson from Georgia, a ride back to Hot Springs. It turns out that Don had passed me with another runner the final two miles of Strolling Jim 40 mile this spring.
Ultramarathoning is such a small community!
Sunday- The Day After
After a good night's sleep, we had a good breakfast and went down to the Mueller Civic Center to see the last of the runners come in. Many of the runners I had been running with were now finishing in 28 -29 hours.
"I could have been one of them," I thought sadly, "Oh well. There will always be next year."
I have no idea who this lady was, but she had her foot out for all of us to see and others were taking pictures, so I did too. It hurt me just to look at it!
I looked at the race results and saw how the others did:
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Akos Konya: won the 100 miles in 16:46, amazing on any day but even more amazing given how hot the day was.
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Keith Happel finished the 50 mile in 5th place overall at 8:54- strong work!
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Chris Stores did the 50 miles in 8th place, 2nd in his age group, at 9:31- also strong work!
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Ned and Laura Gardner, walked 50 miles in 16:28.
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Ben Clark, the 18 year old from Minot, ND, went on the finish the 100 miles in 28:13. An impressive achievement.
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Anu Singh finished the 100 miles with Rajeev Patel pacing her in at 29:13- congrats! I hope I get to see them again, they were all such a joy to meet.
Unfortunately, I was not alone in DNFing; many of my friends and new found aquaintances ended up DNFing as well. No one from South Dakota finished the 100 mile race this year:
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Teresa Verburg stopped at Harback Park, she was probably the smartest of all of us. Why go on if you're not having a good day? We have nothing to prove to anyone but ourselves.
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Bob Wray- I didn't see him after I passed him before Pringle. I assume he must have dropped there.
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Mike Haviland was moving along when I last saw him but also was on the DNF list.
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Jim Newton went on to mile 70 (I think).
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Joyce Forier was well on her way to a sub-24 finish but ended up have blisters so severe, she had to stop at mile 70. Almost the entire parts of her foot was affected. Ow!
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Two other South Dakotans, whom I met this spring at Bighorn 50 miles, also DNF'd: Loren Janke and Alan Richter. I didn't get a chance to find out what happened.
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Micheal Porter from Bismarck, ND also was at Bighorn this spring and dropped at mile 70 I think.
As we drove home, I thought about the race and my reason for DNFing. Making it to mile 50 feeling strong and having survived the heat is not something I should be ashamed of. Many much stronger and faster runners also dropped., I was certainly not alone.
Still I felt sad. I knew I had it in me to make it the full hundred. I knew I did. And yet after all of my hard work and training, something sudden and completely unexpected happened which forced me to stop.
Post Race Week
The pain in my leg was tolerable with walking but I was still anxious that it would be a stress fracture. Stress fractures can be deceiving. As the pain goes away, one may be tempted to begin running again when that is exactly the wrong thing to do.
Where a stress fracture in the foot might take only 6 weeks to heal, one in the tibia could take 8 to 12 weeks or more and a pelvic stress fracture as long as 6 months.
If it were a stress fracture, and I could not run for three months, I'd be a basket case.
I went to an orthopedic surgeon/sport med doc Tuesday. Dr. Papendick was very nice and did not tell me I was crazy for running as far as I do (even if he may have thought it).
An x-ray may not show any abnormality for 3 weeks, until bone remodeling begins. We decided to get an MRI. It proved to me why I had the feeling of something literally ripping apart inside my leg.
I was relieved to learn I don't have a stress fracture. I have a tear or partial tear of one of the tendons on the antero-lateral portion of my lower tibia. It won't take as long as a stress fracture to heal. Its only a minor tendon, not an essential one such as the Achilles.
So what did I do wrong?
Nothing that I can tell. Sometimes things like this just happen. If running ultramarathons were easy and finishing was guaranteed, then everyone would be doing them.
In hindsight, I did feel some minor point tenderness at exactly the same location where the tear is after my last long run, the 42 miler I did a month ago. I am sure that was the beginning of it. The pain went away in a couple of days so there was no warning how serious of an injury I would experience later.
I'm glad that it happened at the beginning of the off-season instead of in the spring. Hopefully with time and rest, I'll be back as strong as ever.
Some Final Thoughts
Even though I was and still am upset about not finishing or even going farther in distance than I ever have before, I have much to be grateful for.
I seem to have finally discovered the secret to staying hydrated and being able to eat during the heat of the day. I may still battle stomach problems in the future. However, with this run I have proven to myself beyond a doubt that it is possible for me to go far under difficult conditions while staying hydrated and well-fed.
I also did well in pacing myself conservatively but perfectly for the conditions. Not too fast and not too slow. I don't know what would've happened at mile 70 or 80 but I do know I did a good job pacing myself so I could get there.
In my heart and mind, I now truly believe, more than ever, that 100 miles is within my grasp.
Yes, it is.
Next time- and there will definitely be a next time- might be the time I succeed. If not, then as long as I learn and grow from each experience, it will be worth it.
I know I will finish 100 miles someday...I CAN and I WILL.
At the post-race ceremony, I looked around and realized, I was among friends. If anything, this race has proven to me that there is much more to ultrarunning than running.
We all start every race intending to finish. Ultrarunning, however, is more than buckles, place or even finishing- quite simply it is about the people.
We may all run for different reasons and at different speeds but we are all in this together. These are my friends, this is my tribe. In this group of people, I include not only other ultrarunners but also my family, friends, crew, volunteers and everyone who makes what we do possible.
Any of you who read this- runner, walker or a little of both.... don't be afraid to come run, jog, shuffle, hike or walk with us. What you do for a living, how fast or slow you are, your age, your gender or your ethnicity, how many races you've run, how many you've finished and how many you've DNF'd- none of that matters.
With open arms, we welcome you all to join our family of ultrarunning.
Mitakuye Oyasin....
The last week before a big race, I am a bundle of eager anticipation. Part of it is that I am looking forward to all that I have worked so hard to prepare for; part of it is that during taper, I’ve cut back my mileage so much that I have a lot of extra energy.
It’s difficult to find something to do during taper. My body and mind miss running. While I crave doing something, anything, I also need avoid doing activities that would be counter-productive or put me at risk for injury, such as try to cut an entire winter’s firewood in one weekend (been there, done that).
So Nathan and I decided to go fly fishing this afternoon.
Last week, he used a spin-casting reel and rod at Legion Lake and caught nothing, just like everyone else at the lake using bait or lures. At the same time, I caught a small mouth bass after bass, using dry flies.
Nathan has never been fly fishing before; this was his first time. It took a little bit of time for him to get used to fly casting. He still needs to practice casting delicately instead of whipping the rod back and forth (I know many adults who haven’t mastered this technique yet, even after years).
We went into the Grace Coolidge Walk-in Fishing Area of nearby Custer State Park. On small mountain streams, placing the fly involves more of a flick of the wrist than classic fly casting anyway.
One of the best aspects of fishing small streams is that if fish are present, you are guaranteed to see them. Catching them is another matter, but at least you know they’re there. Plus, even if the fish aren’t biting, you always are rewarded with seeing other things of interest.
Today we saw a small mink. Nathan was mesmerized. We watched it alternate between swimming and crawling out of the water. It was like an energetic tiny brown otter. As it finally disappeared into the weeds, we could smell its musky odor. Nathan will never ever forget what a mink looks, acts or smells like.
We had many strikes, but most spit out the fly. Setting the hook is another technique he needs to practice. It takes a light, quick but firm touch. Too hard and the hook is pulled away; too light or too late and the fish is gone.
Finally, one stayed on the line- it was a small rainbow trout!
After taking the photo, I taught Nathan how to gently revive he fish before releasing him back into the stream.
It was a great time. Before I know it, Nathan will be out-fishing me. He’ll be the expert teaching his Dad how to fly fish instead of the other way around.
Isn’t that the way it should be?
Next Sunday by this time (11 AM) I hope I will have already finished, or perhaps will be shuffling through the last couple of miles of the Lean Horse Hundred. I've started two previous 100 mile races but never made it past 64 or 66 miles.
I hope this year will be my year!
I'm putting together my drop bags and making sure my foot care/first aid box is fully stocked. My family will be crewing for me. Haliku is coming up from Denver to pace me. He's doing this even though he knows that by the time he does, my running/shuffling pace will be his walking pace.
There will be no reason for me to fail other than myself, my mind and my own mistakes.
As the ultramarathon saying goes: "If you have done 26.2 miles, then you can do 50 miles... if you have done 50 miles, than you can do 100 miles!"
Having done several 50-60 mile runs, I am beyond ready to move up to doing... er, FINISHING.... 100 mile races.
Barring unforeseen circumstances such as coming down with an acute illness this week, or doing something dumb during race day, like not eating or drinking enough- there is no reason why I will not be able to do it.
Of course, being able to and actually doing are two vastly different things.
I am less nervous than I have ever been before. Actually, I'm eagerly looking forward to this adventure.. and it will certainly be a grand adventure. Bring it on! Let's git 'er done!
I know that unexpected things can occur, indeed I expect that unexpected things will occur, but no matter what happens I will keep moving forward. There will be times when I will be exhausted, completely dejected and will want to stop. I know to expect them so I will be ready for them- but won't let them make me give up.
Before every DNF, I try to ask myself, "How will you feel about this in an hour after you've stopped and are riding in the car back to the hotel? You'll probably feel much better and as if you could've kept going. You'll regret DNFing all year until you get another chance next summer."
No DNFing!
Although I might be happy simply going further than ever before, I am not going to even think about that. If I start telling myself, "Going at least 70 or 80 miles would be OK," then it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy and that will be as far as I get.
NO! I will go the entire 100 miles this year! Not 70 or 80....
I know all about starting 100 mile races, now I just need to be confident that I can do the entire race. I have deep foundation of endurance built from all my previous races and training runs. I have run over 50 miles several times and know what to expect. The real challenge of finishing 100 miles will be continuing through that second 50 miles.
However, as another saying goes: "When you think you have gone as far as you can possibly go, you're actually only half as far as you could get." The mind is weaker than the body.
I've got my pacing chart put together to let me know when I am going too fast or to slow (and when the cut-offs are). I am already planning on walking the entire last 2 1/2 miles up the hill before Crazy Horse Monument so I don't bonk like last year. It's only 2 1/2 out of 100, I can afford to do that.
After about 1 mile south of mile 64.5 aid station in Harbach Park in Custer, it's almost completely downhill until the finish.
The cut-offs for Lean Horse are soft- if you look like you're going to make it, then they'll let you go. They'll be packing up all afternoon in Hot Springs and won't pull you unless you need to be pulled because of safety or medical issues. This year, Jerry Dunn the Race Director is making a special effort so that all 25 first time 100 mile attemptors will finish. I will be among them.
As long as I don't do any avoidable mistakes, or simply give up, I can do it. After all, to finish 100 miles by the final cut-off of 30 hours, you only need to average 18 min/miles. That's only a easy walk for most of us!
This time, my third time will be the charm! I CAN and I WILL do this!!!
What will it be? ONE HUNDRED MILES......or DNF?
NOT! NO DNFs for me!!!
I remember clearly the summers of my youth running barefoot through the woods, fields, swamps and creek bottoms. The coolness of the fallen leaves and the mud squishing through my toes felt natural- and good. I could stalk right up to deer and other wildlife without them hearing me. I could run through a blackberry patch without flinching. Only hidden bits of glass or old barbed wire slowed me down. At my very first 50-k ultramarathon, I saw a woman wearing a pair of Vibram Five Fingers. I didn't know what they were at the time but have been intrigued ever since. There is quite a subculture of barefoot and minimum footwear runners out there. I finally decided to get a pair of Vibram Five Fingers KSOs (Keep Stuff Out) myself. Perhaps they will enable me to return to that feeling of freedom and connectedness with the earth?
There may also be medical reasons to spend more time out of our shoes and walking and running barefoot. A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that many of the foot problems we see in both athletes and non-athletes are due to modern societies’ love of shoes. Many sports medicine doctors and podiatrists feel this way; it is no longer an opinion on the fringe. Calluses, ingrown toenails, blisters, bunions and corns might disappear if we got out of or at least changed our footwear. The Chinese used to bind the feet of their women. That sounds barbaric- but how is that all that much different from us squishing our feet into tight fitting shoes from childhood and never letting our feet develop the strength they were evolved to have? The difference is only in degrees. Think about it. How many other species put coverings on their feet?
The above photos were published in a 1905 study which examined the feet of native barefoot populations in the Philippines and Central Africa- note the difference!
Primitive cultures have been served well by minimum or no footwear for tens of thousands of years. Some cultures such as the Tamahuara indians of Copper Canyon Mexico run long distances barefoot or with footwear such as huaraches. Only us modern folks have become “tenderfoots.”
There are case reports of bare foot runners from Africa and other countries who “made it” in the international running scene and were then encouraged to begin wearing running shoes as part of their sponsors' contract. Soon afterwards, however, they experienced injuries that they had never experienced in a lifetime of running barefoot. Many believe it was their shoes.
I have met people from other cultures who had feet that were dexterous, almost like a hand. They could move each of their toes independently, like a finger.
Don’t forget, we are apes after all.
Wearing shoes changes our gait from a fore/mid-foot to hind foot landing. How many of you have heard another runner slamming on by and thought: “Ow! They’re going to be hurting later!”? The sound of someone slamming along irritates me more than the screech of chalk on the board!
One of the best ways to know if you are running efficiently is listen to how quietly you are running. If you go barefoot or in minimal footwear, you are forced to run with proper biomechanics. If you don’t, you will know it immediately- it hurts! Shoes allow us to get lazy and cheat. That’s fine for the short term but results in weak feet and injury later.
Once someone, a non-runner, wrote an article about me. In the story they referred to me as “pounding the pavement” which irritated me greatly and which I demanded they take out (fortunately they let me read the story before it went to press).
For one: I'm a trail runner and avoid the pavement whenever possible.
For two: I strive to never ever “pound”- if I am, I know that I am running incorrectly.
One of the greatest lessons I have learned from “going long” is simply how to run correctly and efficiently. Until I did, I experienced injury after injury.
Many new runners could learn much from going slow and long, while paying attention to the sound of the footfalls, how much they are bouncing while focusing on eliminating unnecessary motion such as side to side arm swinging etc.
You can get formal gait analysis at a running shoe store with the goal of trying to get you to purchase one type of shoe or another. However, if runners focused on simply running quietly and with minimal bouncing and extraneous motion, they would be way ahead of any info a gait analysis told them.
Running shoes and orthotics have been marketed heavily. If you don’t have this sort or that sort of shoe or arch support, all kinds of bad things will happen to us- or so we are told.
My experience has been that the majority of supposed “trail shoes” are simply over done road shoes, hardly suited at all for trail running. These manufacturers have experience selling shoes to runners who indeed do “pound the pavement.” They are now trying to market their trails shoes to that crowd.
For those of us who prefer to float silently and lightly down those mountain trails, our choice in shoes has been limited. I love my INOV-8s- they feel like moccasins but with traction.
Moving down to even more minimal footwear has been a logical next step for me.
I've been using the KSOs once or twice a week as part of my training to improve strength and balance. At first, I had muscle soreness in my feet and ankles as new muscle groups were used than had not been used in this way before.
One surprise: my plantar fasciitis all but disappeared after only two weeks of running in them. I've tried all other methods to manage plantar fasciitis: stretching, exercises, arch supports, orthotics, Strassberg socks, ice massage, acupuncture, NSAIDs- althought they all helped somewhat, nothing worked completely.
Maybe arch supports and orthotics to manage plantar fasciitis really is a bunch of hogwash as many barefoot runners claim? If you need arch support- strengthen and use your own arches!
Running in Vibram Five Fingers does take some getting used to. I can no longer run with a sloppy heel-first foot-pounding when I get tired. I must focus on landing quietly and lightly, as if I am a coyote or a mountain lion.
Another benefit: wildlife such as deer are not as afraid of me. They see me and smell me; they must recognize that I'm human. However, they don't run away until I am very close because I don't sound like one. If I keep running and don’t stop, many times they don’t run away at all.
If I ever take up archery hunting again, I will definitely wear these. Will it give me an unfair advantage?- probably not that much. Most animals have an uncanny sixth sense that tells them when you are interested in them out of more than just curiousity- such as for dinner.
My friend Sam left me a catalog for Thunderbird Atlatls... Me running around in the forest in my KSOs carrying spears seeking big game- now that is a picture I can imagine. It would add new meaning to the phrase: "fair chase." (Note: there is no official atlatl hunting season in most places... if you choose to hunt primitively with an atlatl, check into your state's hunting regulations first).
I love running through puddles and streams with my KSOs. At the Mystic Mountain race a few weeks ago, I slammed through mud puddles and streams, splashing myself and all runners around me. While everyone else was trying to find a way to cross the streams without getting their feet wet, I ran right through them. I loved it…. it was like I was a kid splashing in the water! You wouldn't want to do that with shoes on because it would take too long to dry out and you might get a blister.
I don't know what the other runners thought. No one said anything. In hindsight splashing everyone with mud in my exuberance was probably a bit rude.
The Five Fingers leave a pretty cool foot print in the mud. I admit to picking out soft areas on purpose and leaving quite a few footprints for others to see.
What will tourists hiking will think when they see them? Could there be a Bigfoot living in the Black Hills?
It has been interesting to run up hills with them. My toes curl and grab to gain traction in the ground. The first few times I ran in up hills in them my foot muscles cramped. They were weak and not used to being used in this way. Now, I can feel my toes gripping but without cramps or discomfort. .
My longest run in them thus far was a 12.9 mile trail run in the Black Elk Wilderness (the KSOs are pictured above). I also placed 2nd overall at a 10-k race (my first 10-k race ever) in them in Iowa- on asphalt no less.
I ran the Mystic Mountain race in them but pulled a calf muscle from staying up on my toes to protect my heels from the rocks on the downhill. Fortunately, the muscle pain went away in a few days.
Wanting to give my feet a break, I returned to my shoes for a couple of weeks. In comparison my shoes felt tight and cramped without room for my toes.
Interesting….
I wonder what shoes would feel like to someone who has gone barefoot their entire life?
Some of my family and friends have gotten into wearing these as well. Jeanne found a pair of Vibram Five Finger Sprints in her size for only $20 at a resale shop (My KSOs cost $80 brand new). She is not a runner but loves to walk. I thought she looked great in them. Of course as her husband, I think she looks great no matter what she wears.
Our friends from Texas, Sam and Corinne and their two children came up for a visit with us recently. Sam had recently acquired a pair of KSOs for himself. We all went for a hike along the Grace Coolidge Walk-in Fishing Area in nearby Custer State Park. Sam, Jeanne and I wore our Five Fingers. I alternated between fly fishing and jogging to catch up with them.
I don’t think I’d ever run an ultra in them- well OK, perhaps I might try a baby ultra such as a 50-k or a trail 26.2 mile.
I LOVE my Vibram Five Finger KSOs!
I recommend them to anyone wanting to experience barefoot running without the pain. They are a great way to strengthen the muscles of your feet and lower leg. They also give you a sense of connection with the earth beneath your feet, difficult to acheive while wearing shoes.
My only regret is that I can't wear them all the time. I don't think they would go very well with dress slack and a tie. My patients would probably wonder about their doctor too, if I showed up to clinic wearing them.
I am not alone. There are many other ultra- and trail runners who run with Vibram Five Fingers. More runners are becoming converts every day.
One runner-blogger who has written extensively about his experiences in Vibram Five Fingers and inspired me is Keith-in-Training. If you have any interest in all in Vibram Five Fingers, I strongly recommend that you check out his blog.
One way to get psyched up about running an ultramarathon is to watch a movie about running an ultramarathon.I recently watched Massanutten- Two Runners, 100 miles.
As per the description at ZombieRunner:
"What kind of person runs 100 miles just for fun?
The answer to this question lies within the documentary Massanutten: Two Runners, 100 Miles, filmed at the 2006 running of the Massanutten Mountain Trail 100 (MMT) ultramarathon, near Front Royal, Virginia. The MMT gives participants 36 hours to run the 100 mile course, ascending 19,000 feet on roads and rocky trails. The two runners referenced in the title are Gary Knipling, 62, a gregarious 9-time finisher again taking on the MMT, and Kerry Owens, 43, a steadily improving competitor returning for her third run.
By following these personable runners throughout the course, the film emphasizes the social aspects while capturing the unique spirit of ultra-running. The idea is not to downplay the difficult nature of the sport but to show the many other facets of these long distance events - the participants' jovial camaraderie, mutual respect, and lasting friendships, and their enjoyment of the rigorous challenge. Other films have focused on the grueling task and the agony of the runners. While these elements do exist, the whole experience is another thing altogether. Although the race tests the runners mentally as well as physically, they support one another as they share its highs and lows.
Gary and Kerry, along with numerous race volunteers, pacers, and crews, reveal the true nature of competition in a 100 mile race, making this documentary a realistic picture of an event that outsiders can hardly imagine and participants come to love. "
This video might not be as "slick" as some of the other race documentaries I have watched. Still, I liked it. I thought it gave an authentic view of what it is like to be an ultramarathoner. The only way to get a better experience is to become an ultrarunner yourself, or perhaps be a volunteer.
It's available at ZombieRunner for $20.00
Yesterday, I ran 42 miles on the Mickelson Trail. This will be my last long run before the upcoming Lean Horse Hundred in less than a month. My total weekly mileage this week was 77.2 miles.
It was hot but not unbearable. I kept my heart rate at 130-140 and was barely breathing hard, despite running a full 1:30 min/mile faster than I normally do on my long training runs.
Today, I'm tired but not exhausted. I came home, ate a HUGE steak and went to bed. I was still hungry this morning. Oh, by the way, carb loading is for short distance (ie marathon and less) runners. Ultrarunners crave calories- that includes protein as well as carbs.
I thought about doing another 20 -30 mile run today but I don't want to push it and end up injuring myself with the ultramarathon only a few weeks away. Jeanne and Nathan have returned from Wisconsin. I have a "honey-do" list that includes putting a few plants into the ground and getting our succulent/xeri-garden in order.
Can I run 100 miles? You bet I can!
Now I only need to turn my potential into reality!
My Groups
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Let's Run! Updated: 14 hours ago
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Adventure Team Updated: 21 hours ago
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Voxercise! Updated: Yesterday
Links
ZombieRunner! is my favorite place to shop on-line for ul...
This is a excellent resource for current or aspiring ultr...
This is Stan Jensen's website. If you are interested in f...
This is Karl King's website for SUCCEED! products includi...
Runner's World Ultramaratho...
This ultramarathon training plan is desined for the 50 m...
