Death Valley Trail Marathon

The alarm went off at 5:30AM at the Furnace Creek Ranch "Resort" in Death Valley, Francisco, Andy and I rolled out of the rack and began getting dressed for the 26.2 mile trail run through canyons of Death Valley. Francisco, checked his email and an hour earlier a message had been sent out by Environ Sports the event organizer canceling the race......not cool. This event is open to the 1st 300 racers that enter. The average trail runner doesn't usually run this race, but instead it is made up of some pretty hard core dudes. So canceling this event due to the "weather" was going to make for an interesting conversation at race command at the 6:15AM meeting. The weather on this Saturday December 3, 2011 was about 48F, sunny with a good breeze. Earlier in the week California and parts of Nevada had experienced the Santa Ana winds that got up to over 120MPH. On this morning we were told that the wind gusts were up to at least 70MPH at the summit of the climb on the run and throughout the canyons were going to be challenging, with sand and dust blowing...neither of which are good for the lungs or eyes. It was official the race was canceled, there were a lot of very unhappy people that had traveled from all around the world to race. We collected our race tee's and gear and grabbed some breakfast, at which point in time Team Honey Badger began to organize the 2011 Death Valley Bandit Run. After all, Honey Badger don't give a shit he just does what he wants and today the Team HB was going to race DV dammit! Approximately 50 racers gathered at the entrance of Titus Canyon. Nancy and Ken, previous finishers of the DVTRM knew the course and had mapped a 13.1 mile out and back, which took us to the summit of just past Titus canyon at about 5,500 feet of elevation. We were warned about the high winds so we bundled up. We also all grabbed water bottles to drop along the course. So with warm gear, plenty of water and nutrition we began the 12 mile hike to the summit.

The weather was actually looking like to be a picture perfect day as we began our hike up through the canyon. It was sunny and about 50F, however, very windy. As we made our way up through the canyon the wind began to pick up and at about mile 5 it began to howl. With our heads down we pushed forward till the wind chill factor got the better of me and I decided to break from the group and run up the mountain. My strategy was to run the shady parts and walk fast in the sunny parts. This walk run strategy worked actually quite well. At about mile 9 I was hit by a gust of wind that ripped off my underarmor stocking hat, my visor and sun glasses off of my face. The wind gust hit with such force as I was running that it stood me up straight and pushed me back 4 or 5 steps from a RUN! It was at this point I thought, uh oh...this is why the race was canceled and we haven't even made it to the summit and the more wind exposed areas of the course. Fortunately, this was the only time that the wind gusts were that strong. Average wind speeds for the day I'm guessing were 35-40MPH. It was a punishing run, but thank God for the sun, otherwise the day could've ended short for us. I made it to the summit before the rest of the group and ran down the back side of the mountain to get in a full 13.1 miles on the out so that I could log exactly 26.2 miles. Met up with the rest of the group at the summit and snapped a few pics before the 12 mile descent back to the finish.

It took us about 5.5 hours to complete the run, however, there was a lot of stopping and it was a run that was "enjoyable" as opposed to a "race" per se. We were able to get our finishers medals at race HQ earlier that and today we earned it. We made it back to our vehicles and then sped off back to Vegas to get registered for the Vegas Rock n Roll Marathon tonight....the last race of the year. Brian and Timmy made it into Vegas and were awaiting our arrival so that we could go out and grab some dinner, which we did at Red Square at Mandalay Bay. Going to chill out today, watch some football at the sports book and bet a few bucks to keep the day interesting. Cheers!

The Dreaded Taper

Day 3 of the taper...got a great massage tonight from Amy...should be a big help for the marathons this weekend. Just finished watching HBO sports with Bryant Gumbell..not a big fan of his but a great series this evening. Can't sleep so I thought I'd blog... A good day at the office making progress on all fronts and very pleased with the management team. Looking forward to Jack's first basketball game on Thursday...a big day. Also looking forwad to the races this weekend. Ate well today, lite breakfast, then volunteered at food kitchen, snacked a little and had a great sushi dinner at Bara. Have a lot that I could blog about but think I should call it a night....tomorrow. Cheers!!

Back to Back Marathons to Finish 2011

I've entered the most frustrating period of training....the Taper. With a little extra weight put on over the Thanksgiving Holiday and unable to run 10 miles a day to burn it off, I'm having to do it the old fashion way.....eat really really healthy and calorie lite foods, with minimal carbs. Alcohol is not on my list of drinks that I can consume...so that'll help me drop weight. Today I got up at 3AM CST to catch my 6:10AM flight to Denver. I enjoyed 2 cups of coffee this am and a banana. When I got to the office I grabbed an apple and a yogurt. For lunch I had a 6 inch turkey sub from Subway, while dinner was a salad from whole foods with chicken. I was able to get in a 90 minute massage which actually was disappointing. He spent 1 hour on back and shoulders after I told the jack ass to work my calfs and feet as well as IT bands, moron! Tomorrow night I get a real massage from Amy with hot stones....she'll do it up right. Looking forward to seeing Jack's first hoops game on Thursday as well as Sadie's choir concert. On Friday I'm heading out to Vegas and onto Death Valley for an 8AM start to the Death Valley Trail Marathon. Post race I'm headed back to Vegas to run the Rock n Roll Marathon on Sunday late afternoon/evening. The Mexican Honey Badger, Hawaiian Ray, Ken and Nancy will all be doing the double marathons....a bunch of crazy Leadville runners...like me. These will be the last two races of the season and I'll be glad to coast into the Xmas holiday satisfied that I accomplished quite a bit, athletically in 2011. Lots of stuff to write about....but gotta get my rest this week so I go into this weekend primed. Will take a bunch of photos...Cheers! PS - I'm going to whip TP's ass at IMAZ......game on!

Post Turkey Day Weight Mgt

Well...I'm tipping the scales at about 185 pounds after gorging myself on turkey, pies and cheesecake. Haven't stopped yet either...as the leftovers deserve a proper intestinal burial as well. It's been quite a while since my last post. I've run one trail marathon and actually placed 1st overall with a time of 3:58. Got picked up by Team Healthways for the 196 Ragnar Relay, from Chattanooga to Nashville..a 196 mile run with an 11 man team. I logged in 35 miles over 24 hour period. A very challenging race given the start and stop nature of the run. I averaged slightly under an 8 minute mile overall...which left my calfs, quads and feet pretty beat up.

The Miamiman 1/2 IM was 2 weekends ago and I decided to scrap the race as my body was still pretty beat up from the Ragnar Race. It was a good decision as I prepare for my last 2 races on the 2011 season. A week from today I'll be racing the Death Valley Trail Marathon and the following evening I'll be on the Vegas strip with a bunch of good friends knocking down the Rock n' Roll Vegas Marathon. Training has been going well. I've been mostly on trails training however last weekend I banged out 22 miles on the roads around Percy Warner Park with Will Stinson and a few gals that are racing the Chattanooga 50 mile trail run in 3 weeks. My Plantar Fasciitis seems to have subsided and replaced with a mild tendonitis in my left mid achilles, or at least that is my preliminary self diagnosis. I need a massage in a bad way. As this season is fast approaching its end I have begun to plan for 2012. On the Official Race Calendar so far are the following races: IM St. George........May 5, 2012 (Registered) Western States 100...June 23, 2012 (Lottery to be drawn on December 10, 2011) Trail du Mont Blanc..August 31, 2012 (Lottery to be drawn on January 20, 2012) Berlin Marathon......September 30, 2012 (Registered) IM Arizona...........November 18, 2012 (Registered) Probably will not be able to do both 100 mile trail runs. The plan is to see if I get picked for Western States on December 10, 2011, which I have about an 11% probability. If I don't then I will register on December 16, 2011 for the Trail du Mont Blanc, which I should have a 67% chance at getting selected on January 20, 2012. If I can't get into either of these races, then I will try to do an IM in Europe. Lot's to do and so little time to do it in....and Oh yes, I forgot, I plan on crushing Timmy at IMAZ.

Back on the Trails

After going to the TN Titan's football game today I made it out to the trails for a 7 mile run that ended up at 9.5 miles. I'm not too familiar with the above trails and took a wrong turn and the rest is history. It was a 80F sunny day for the game. The Titans won by 13 points over the thug Ray Lewis and his Baltimore Ravens. Jack and I went to the game and had a great time. Post run I hustled home to choke down some food before getting on a conference call for work and then packed for my weekly pilgrimage to Denver. It was a short weekend that started with Sadie's soccer game on Friday night, followed by another on Saturday morning. Bought a new Yukon Denali for Carla, which I'm glad is over...really don't like car shopping. Then on a series of calls all weekend and spent about 12 hours working.....all good stuff..but made for a jam packed weekend without much training. Last week in Denver I made it to a couple of spin classes and got into the pool a few times as well. Got a great massage :) as well. This week I'm only a day or so in Denver and then on the road the rest of the week. Gotta get serious about the bike and swim and really focus on my training for the Miami Man in November. I've still got plenty of time and I'm in pretty good condition still from all of my Leadville training. Still nursing some foot problems from the LT 100.....but feeling better. Cheers!

Getting Back Into Tri Shape

Ok...so for the past 3 weeks I have not run...at least till today. Tomorrow morning I go see Dr Stark, my orthopedic doc. Gotta get my left foot checked out. For the last week I've been in the pool doing an average of 1,000 yards each work out. It may not seem like much, but I need to work up to longer distances. My right shoulder that I jacked up 9 weeks ago is sore and I need to not take on too much mileage at this point. I managed to get in a 50 mile ride yesterday. Needless to say my crotch is sore from the ride. Trying to get as much time in the saddle as possible. I'm surprisingly strong on the bike right now and it feels effortless even though I've been hitting the hills. Think it's my leg strength from he past 4 months of training in the Rockies, trail running, along with the extra red cells. Weight is in check at about 176lbs....feeling fast...feeling light....feeling strong. Cheers!

Progress.....

Yesterday I went out for my 20 mile ride out and back in Brentwood. It's the same route as last Friday. With my left foot still giving me problems I'm focused on the swim/bike routine for the next few weeks. So...last Friday I went out in the windy afternoon heat with temps around 98F. It was hot. It was also my first time on the bike in quite a while. was 16.8MPH and it took me 1 hour and 13 minutes. Admittedly my goal that day was to just get in a nice ride, the heat had my HR averaging 139BPM. Yesterday with the temps around 65F, or less than 30 degrees lower than on Monday, and heavy rains and winds I hopped on my bike at around 12:30PM. With my speeds averaging 19.6 MPH I finished in 1 hour and 2 minutes. The clincher....my HR averaged 133.

I felt great in the cooler temps, my state of mind was clear, I wanted to ride so I pushed it. Throughout the 1 hour ride I probably also put on 2-3 pounds from the heavy rains. Overall I was pleased with the ride. Once again my 3 toes on my left foot went numb as did my 2nd and 3rd toe on my right foot. My bike shoes were not tight at all and I was not wearing my inserts, so no abnormal pressure to either of the feet. Thinking that today it was just the cold, wet weather.

During the ride I was thinking about why did I feel so good today, was it my state of mind, the cooler temps, a days rest from riding, improvement from my previous ride, the egg over easy on a bagel, my hydration, etc. I also, thought about what my aunt use to say when she worked at Harry's dry cleaners in Syracuse. She could never get out a blood stain if the blood was the result of a fight. There was a chemical in the blood, perhaps adrenaline, that made it impossible to get the stain out. So that got me thinking once again about the state of mind of an athlete, nutrition, body chemistry and its impact on overall performance. When you hear the saying mind over matter, I'm thinking that's what that means....This area needs much more attention. This is an area that I intend to focus on. I'm on a SWA flight right now and landing in a few minutes...more to follow.

PT