Monday, December 4, 2017
20 Miles on a Roundabout after the Capstone 50K
The title says it all. For a full race report, CLICK HERE
Monday, October 16, 2017
2017 St. George Marathon
Beautiful day for a marathon! 3 hrs 23 min, a personal best. If you're curious what the diet of champions is on race week its Albertos Mexican, Arbys, Little Caesars mostbestest pizza, capriottis, and a pier 49 pizza buffet. (Yes that's business casual attire you see)
Friday, August 4, 2017
Friday, June 23, 2017
2017 Bryce Canyon 50M Race Report
Hey, I just ran the Bryce Canyon 50M. Check out my Race Report by clicking HERE
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
From 50K to 100 Miler
The first solo race I ever did was the Zion 50K in 2015. I'm not sure how or why I decided to start out with a 50K. Without my brother, a fellow ultra-runner himself, telling me about this race I may never have discovered ultra-running. Before Ultras I wasn't particularly fond of physically challenging things. I had accomplished two Spartan races before diving into the Ultra world, and I did spend many Saturdays growing up either on the ski slopes or the golf course, but mostly I could be found watching TV at any other given moment, definitely not training for something hard.
I suppose the main reason for doing a 50K is because I thought it'd be fun to complete a race longer than a marathon having never even attempted a marathon (or shorter distance for that matter). How hard could it be? My overconfidence led me to believe you just run as fast as you can and don't stop until you hit the finish line. That mentality did work for me, at least enough to get me to the starting line and maybe 4 or 5 miles into the race. Beyond that, the only thing that got me to the finish line was pure stubbornness and making a self-commitment that the only way to quit is to be drug off the course by not making cutoffs. To this day, that is still my greatest advantage when running ultras: dropping is not allowed when it's optional.
Back to the 50K. I put in a lot of training for 3 months prior to the race. I didn't know anything about ultras or even running for that matter. My running shoes were whatever was on sale at the time, no hydration pack, and a handheld bottle I just learned existed a week before the race. The race included a 1,500 foot climb up Gooseberry mesa towards the beginning, running up, down, and around massive slick-rock boulders before dropping back down into the desert. The first 20 miles were fine, but the last 11 miles I was forced to walk due to knee pains and fatigue. My finish time was 6 hours 11 minutes, not too bad considering I walked 33% of the race. Despite the pain, I had found my new hobby. I never liked running, I didn't enjoy hiking all that much, but combined was a whole new experience. I guess two negatives make a positive.
Aid stations are worth mentioning here. I'll never forget my first aid station. It was at the top of Gooseberry mesa. Giant tents full of drinks and food. Water, Soda, sports drink, junk food, real food, supplements I didn't know what was for. It was an amazing site. If this is what running is, then sign me up!
At that 50K my brother mentioned he was considering doing a 100M, the Javelina Jundred, down in Phoenix later in the year. I made a mental note that "so was I". The weekend before the price increase to register for the 100M I decided to do my first ever run through the night. I figured the first thing is to make sure I can even stay awake for 24 hours. To accomplish this, I played golf from 11 am to sundown, walking the whole time. I got 60 holes in before it was too dark to see my ball. My wife got my clubs, brought me dinner, and I continued jogging into the night. I wandered all around St. George, before finding myself at the DSU Track. It was cold and rainy. I would walk/jog 2 laps then I would rest on the grass for 1-full song on my iPod. Finally the sun came up and I went golfing again. I played 18 holes (walking) making my 24-hour golfing record 78 holes. By the time I made it home it was 10am. I had been awake for over 24 hours and I had been moving for about 24. I think my total mileage was around 60. At this point the 100M was 5 months away and I figured that's enough time to train and be confident I could finish. So later that day I signed up for the Javelina Jundred.
This post is already pushing it's length limit, so I'll wrap it up. The day for Javelina came and I was as ready as I could have been. My brother and I stayed together for 3 loops (45 miles) before he had enough of going slow and left me in the dust. He ended up getting a sub-24 time. I got to experience all that you read about regarding pain in every muscle, but if I could keep putting one foot in front of the other then that's what i would do. My mental abilities stayed strong. I do a lot of calculating in my head during races, so I didn't hallucinate or zone out; however, over-calculating could have become a downfall. With about 40 miles left of the race I knew I had enough time to walk the rest of the way and still finish right before cut off. So that's what I did. I walked the rest of the way. I couldn't run anyway, If i took a "running" step my body would cry out in pain. Both feet were blistered and chafing was going on everywhere. Slow and steady I walked my way to the finish line with a time of 29 hours and 30 minutes (a full half hour to spare!). Physically, that had been the hardest thing I had ever accomplished. That title was soon moved to the 2nd hardest thing and replaced by sitting in a car for 7 hours getting home being the hardest physical thing I've ever done. We stopped at Mesquite on the way home and ate at a buffet, which was a mistake because you have to get up if you want more food. We finally made it home and I was bed-ridden for two full days. I think a normal person would have called it quits after that, but even though I was confined to a bed I still watched ultra-running videos on youtube and mentally was contemplating my next race. It took a full 30 days to recover enough to go out on my first post-race jog. I had finished my first 100 Miler, with a goal to not make it my last.
I suppose the main reason for doing a 50K is because I thought it'd be fun to complete a race longer than a marathon having never even attempted a marathon (or shorter distance for that matter). How hard could it be? My overconfidence led me to believe you just run as fast as you can and don't stop until you hit the finish line. That mentality did work for me, at least enough to get me to the starting line and maybe 4 or 5 miles into the race. Beyond that, the only thing that got me to the finish line was pure stubbornness and making a self-commitment that the only way to quit is to be drug off the course by not making cutoffs. To this day, that is still my greatest advantage when running ultras: dropping is not allowed when it's optional.
Back to the 50K. I put in a lot of training for 3 months prior to the race. I didn't know anything about ultras or even running for that matter. My running shoes were whatever was on sale at the time, no hydration pack, and a handheld bottle I just learned existed a week before the race. The race included a 1,500 foot climb up Gooseberry mesa towards the beginning, running up, down, and around massive slick-rock boulders before dropping back down into the desert. The first 20 miles were fine, but the last 11 miles I was forced to walk due to knee pains and fatigue. My finish time was 6 hours 11 minutes, not too bad considering I walked 33% of the race. Despite the pain, I had found my new hobby. I never liked running, I didn't enjoy hiking all that much, but combined was a whole new experience. I guess two negatives make a positive.
Aid stations are worth mentioning here. I'll never forget my first aid station. It was at the top of Gooseberry mesa. Giant tents full of drinks and food. Water, Soda, sports drink, junk food, real food, supplements I didn't know what was for. It was an amazing site. If this is what running is, then sign me up!
At that 50K my brother mentioned he was considering doing a 100M, the Javelina Jundred, down in Phoenix later in the year. I made a mental note that "so was I". The weekend before the price increase to register for the 100M I decided to do my first ever run through the night. I figured the first thing is to make sure I can even stay awake for 24 hours. To accomplish this, I played golf from 11 am to sundown, walking the whole time. I got 60 holes in before it was too dark to see my ball. My wife got my clubs, brought me dinner, and I continued jogging into the night. I wandered all around St. George, before finding myself at the DSU Track. It was cold and rainy. I would walk/jog 2 laps then I would rest on the grass for 1-full song on my iPod. Finally the sun came up and I went golfing again. I played 18 holes (walking) making my 24-hour golfing record 78 holes. By the time I made it home it was 10am. I had been awake for over 24 hours and I had been moving for about 24. I think my total mileage was around 60. At this point the 100M was 5 months away and I figured that's enough time to train and be confident I could finish. So later that day I signed up for the Javelina Jundred.
This post is already pushing it's length limit, so I'll wrap it up. The day for Javelina came and I was as ready as I could have been. My brother and I stayed together for 3 loops (45 miles) before he had enough of going slow and left me in the dust. He ended up getting a sub-24 time. I got to experience all that you read about regarding pain in every muscle, but if I could keep putting one foot in front of the other then that's what i would do. My mental abilities stayed strong. I do a lot of calculating in my head during races, so I didn't hallucinate or zone out; however, over-calculating could have become a downfall. With about 40 miles left of the race I knew I had enough time to walk the rest of the way and still finish right before cut off. So that's what I did. I walked the rest of the way. I couldn't run anyway, If i took a "running" step my body would cry out in pain. Both feet were blistered and chafing was going on everywhere. Slow and steady I walked my way to the finish line with a time of 29 hours and 30 minutes (a full half hour to spare!). Physically, that had been the hardest thing I had ever accomplished. That title was soon moved to the 2nd hardest thing and replaced by sitting in a car for 7 hours getting home being the hardest physical thing I've ever done. We stopped at Mesquite on the way home and ate at a buffet, which was a mistake because you have to get up if you want more food. We finally made it home and I was bed-ridden for two full days. I think a normal person would have called it quits after that, but even though I was confined to a bed I still watched ultra-running videos on youtube and mentally was contemplating my next race. It took a full 30 days to recover enough to go out on my first post-race jog. I had finished my first 100 Miler, with a goal to not make it my last.
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