running, life and living the dream

There are many crossroads in life, forks in the road, moments that could be the game changer.   I once read an article about a guy who every so many years would clean his house as if it was his last day on earth.   Of course now and again I get the urge to really clean and purge but never to that extent.   This past weekend, as I was going through a box of stuff, and I came across an old local news paper article from when I ran cross country in high school.   It was the only race I had ever won. Besides the article there is a picture of me charging towards the finish.   It was a great memory.   I was featured in the West Valley View a few times for both running and wrestling during my high school days.   Back then I had more time to train and be competitive.   Now days my only competition is myself.   I’d be lying if I said I don’t crunch race splits and look at the race results though.   An elite runner I look up to is Geoff Roes. ...

It’s hard to believe it is all over.  I crossed the finish line of the Noble Canyon 50K in 7 hours, 5 minutes, and 39 seconds. It was physically and mentally the hardest thing I have ever done.  Although I am completely satisfied with the race and performance, I am dealing with a mix of emotions. Guess this is what they call post Marathon Depression.  In my case, I am going through post Ultra Depression.  (ha) I was not prepared for the cold, the website said this race was typically a warm race; it was around 40 degrees at the start of the race.  Guess this is one thing I over looked being my first ultra.  Although cold and shivering, I took the time to look at everyone lined up to start the race.  I stared at the clock, there was 7 minutes, and then 6 minutes left.  I began to jump up and down to warm myself up. Then the moment was upon us as everyone started to shout the last second’s, 10-9-8-………  GO!  In my first 2 steps I nearly tr...

Three more nights until my first ultra marathon, see how much sleep I actually get.   I decided to actually taper for this race.   Some books I have read suggest tapering over a 3 week period.   Once my taper is said and done it will equal a little over a week that I have backed off my training.   I usually do not taper in fear of being under prepared for races. I really think my body needed the time off because I had been feeling extremely exhausted, and feared I might have pushed my body too far.   Although I am a bit grumpy and got some pent up nervous energy these last few days it has been nice to spend the extra time with my daughters and wife.   Training for this race has really taken up a lot of my family time.   Balancing training and family time is something I will need to evaluate once I pick my next race or challenge .   Just a hint, this race is 31 miles and I got my eyes on a 50 miler in 2012. Even before I got back into running, cl...

As of today, I got 9 nights before toeing the line of my first ultra marathon, the 2011 Noble canyon 50k in California.   http://noblecanyon50k.com/ Running an ultra has been a dream of mine since I read the book “ Born to Run ” by Christopher Mcdougall.   I been training for months and it is hard not to be excited and want to share my journey with my co worker's, church friends, and family.   I ’ m not sure many of them really understand what I am doing. I get the feeling many think I am flat out crazy or weird.   Being a runner I am used to facing adversity on my own.   In many ways it fuels my fire to achieve.   Don ’ t get me wrong, there are times I want to skip a workout or feel sluggish in the first few miles; but once the runner ’ s high kicks in I get to where my only focus is putting one foot in front of the other, and enjoying my freedom from the stress of this crazy world.   I heard a great qoute from Jimmy Dean Freeman on www. ultrarunn...