running, life and living the dream

Can you imagine running Camelback Mountain, Piestewa Peak, North Mountain, and Shaw Butte all in one day?  On Saturday, February 18th,  I attempted this along with 30 plus ultra runners in hopes of completing Grandpa Jim’s 50K (Arizona’s Toughest 50K).   We got to the North Mountain Visitor’s Center a little after 5 a.m.  The visitor center would play host to the finish line and the mile 23 aid station.  It was also where we would park and be shuttled to the start of the race.  We piled into the 3 vans and headed to the starting line. I knew this was going to be one very demanding journey through the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. The starting line for the race was at intersection of Cholla and Inverngordon.   When we got to the intersection, got out of the vans, and gathered awaiting the start. Some stretched, others ducked into the bushes for a last minute potty break, and I nervously fiddled with my watch hoping it would sync before the race started.  I was relieved when it finally di...

The night before the race as normal I was anxious and a bit absent minded. I laid out all my gels and tried to picture in my head how many I would need to maintain 200 to 300 calories an hour. I had an idea of what I wanted to wear taking into consideration that it would be chilly at the start. My buddy Giles told me he would be picking me up between 5:30 and 5:45 a.m.   I set my alarm for 4:45 but snoozed until about 5:00 a.m.   Once I got up time seemed to fly.   I got dressed, drank half a cup of coffee and ate a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich. Giles picked me up and headed to Estrella Mounting Regional Park. We pulled into the parking lot of the Rodeo Arena, where the start and finish of the race would be. We had about 40 minutes until the start.    After picking up are race bibs we walked back to the truck to prep for the race and stay warm.   I pinned my race bib, #19 to my shorts.   I was curious about the live web cast.   So using ...

4 days until my second ultra marathon.  I really have not been too nervous about this race up until today.  Also taking into consideration in little over for weeks from now I will be running my third.  I got quite the line up.  I really feel like it is possible for me to run and finish these races. I am feeling confident in my training.  I wish could say my nutrition, I am eating more, but not so much the most efficient foods I could be.   A friend of mine asked me the other day if I run these races to win or place.  I kind of laughed and said no I mostly run to challenge myself, beat my own time and survive the challenge.  Truth be told, I do day dream of winning a race or being an elite, but I realize my limitations and I am completely satisfied with them.   I really enjoyed watching the coverage of the US Marathon Olympic Team Trials.  It made me curious about refocusing my mind from ultra trail running to marathon road races. Honestly right now I know I have just barley peeked ...

Keeping up with this blog is a bit more challenging then I imagined.   But I still enjoy it and hope to do it on a more regular basis.   I have had quite a few running experiences since my last post.   As I write/edit this I am counting down the minutes to the US Marathon team trials being aired on NBC.   Pretty exciting!   I was happy to see that some ultra trail runners qualified to run in the trials.   A few names include Jenn Shelton and Max King.   I am routing for Kara Goucher on the women’s side.   Don’t tell my wife I said this, but she is a babe! Last Sunday, February 8, I ran the Xterra White Tanks 20K trail race.   I was really excited for it.   I had it in mind to treat it as a training run for the Cold Water Rumble 50K coming up on February 21 st at Estrella Mountain in Goodyear, Arizona.   I still wanted to push myself to the limit and get a good time at the race.   I feel like I accomplished that.   I ga...

Been almost 2 months since I updated this blog; A lot has happen.  I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and looking foreword to a great 2012.      In November I put in a little over 70 miles of running. So far this month I am up to 90 miles.  I am feeling good and excited for the New Year.  Of course I wish I had more time to run and train, got to remember balance!   Yesterday my wife and I set off on a run with the kids and our dog, Honey.  I pushed the girls in the buggy while Honey pulled my wife, ha.  We had no plan on where to run.  My wife told me to lead the way and we ended up at Friendship Park in Avondale, AZ.  As we approached the park I had devised a plan to get me a few more miles.  The plan was that my wife would stay and watch the kids at playground and I would run back home and get the car and come back for them.   With 4.2 miles in the bank I kissed my wife and sped off towards home.  I took the shorter route back, 2 miles.  I pushed hard, wanting to get in som...

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...