Old, Fat and Beaten Up

Well, I have not posted since Umstead. I have been sidetracked by other interest and have in a word been very lazy. My lack of attention to training has manifested itself in greatly reduced endurance and an expanded waist line. I am back over 180 pounds (183.6 lbs!) and can’t run 3 miles non stop. Needless to say that the Columbia Triathlon this weekend is out of the picture. My little diversion has F## up a hell of a lot of hard training over the winter and I am extremely pissed with my current condition. There is no one else to blame—I screwed up!

I gotta kick my ass back into shape. I will do the Cascade Lake Triathlon even if it kills me.

Long Time - Still Alive

Well it has been a long time since I blogged. Lots have happen, but the big ones are:
· I have had a few minor injuries
· I am in love – God help the poor girl!

I took a hard fall during a morning run that resulted in a broken finger and bashed knee. This put me out of commission for about a week. During this time I had some minor dermatological surgery so I really was not in the mood to blog.

I won’t say too much on the relationship front but let’s say it is a hell of a lot more fun than blogging or running .

Oh I forget – the Umstead 100 is only 37 hours away. Oh crap! This came up fast and bit me in the ass.

We just checked into our hotel for the annual attempt at the Umstead 100. Three Snails are registered for the race which begins on Saturday at 6 a.m.

I am strongly thinking about only attempting 50 miles or maybe 62 at the most. I just don’t have the will to go the full distance. Things may change but I see myself taking a long nap while the others finish the full 100 miles.

Nap time.

Iron Horse 100K Report

In a word … Superior!!!

Race Director Chris Rodatz should run a boot camp for aspiring Ultra RDs. He puts on a well organized event that fully captures the spirit of ultramarathoning. Here is the course… We will support you … Go run.

Packet pickup was a breeze. It was held in the lobby of the race hotel which allow for some pre race bonding with some of the other 80 or so sick minded individuals that I was about to spend the next day with. For some reason our discussions centered around running and triathlons. "Didn't I see you at Rocky?" "Are you doing Umstead?" was a common theme. The true sickness of this little band was evident when someone said that they were only running a marathon next week and received heartfelt condolences from the group.

Chris had great news for me. The hard cutoffs were only for the 100 miler. The 100K runners could stay on the course for the full 24 hours if needed. The 100K became doable. As part of his race instruction Chris asked everybody to program his number into their cell phones with the instructions that this was the best way to get help to an injured runner.

The race was held on a 12.5 mile unimproved section of a Rail to Trail path about an hour from the race hotel. There were a few areas that required sharp attention to your footing but overall the course was relatively easy. Aid stations were set about 5.5 miles apart and were stocked with the necessary ultra running needs, water, Gatorade, PBJ sandwiches, coke and mountain dew. In the evening there was hot soup and a hot chocolate that was the greatest pick me up I could ask for at mile 58!

The volunteers were excellent. They went the extra mile to make sure the runners had a good day. Special kudos to Ultramarathoner and Blogger Dan Rose. Dan intended to run the 100 miler but was injured. In the truest exhibition of what makes our sport so special he stepped in and started to work an aid station. Dan served me water and Gatorade a few times with words of encouragement and reminders to keep up my electrolytes. Words of a master to a receptive student. I was also very impressed by the Striders that manned the last aid station on the 100K course. Being experience runners they did a good job in getting you fueled and fed while making idle chit chat in effort to assess your overall condition.

In true snail fashion, I was one of the slower runners on the course, finishing in 16:40+. The finish line crew treated me like a champion. I received a hearty applause and the congratulation of the RD as he handed me one of the best looking belt buckles I have ever seen. All in all it was a very good day. I will be back next year.

 

The Little Iron Horse that Could

It has been a rough week. I am having trouble focusing on this
weekend’s Iron Horse 100K. I haven’t packed or event
thought of what to take and the car service will be at my door in
less that 12 hours. Something is not right. I am usually very
casual about my runs but I am very apprehensive about this event. I
don’t know why. I came thought both the Angel and Rocky
feeling great.

Maybe it is the 15 hour cutoff, or it could be the extra 12 miles …
There is something that has me in knots over this race. Or is the
Umstead Curse visiting me early this year

Gotta change my mind set … Time to break our the self help books

I think I Can, I think I Can, I think I Can…I know I Can!

Stand Behind Me Satan and Don’t Push!

Today, I received an email about the Harrisburg Triathlon. Well, it is kind of close to home, and my brother lives in Harrisburg. The race does not looks too bad, short swim with the current, 14 mile bike and a 5K. Sounds like a nice way to spend some time before breakfast on a Sunday morning. What the hell – I am in. Let's hope that there are no more race applications in the mail. I am running out of weekends.

Cure for Burnout

Just after my last post, I had a pipe blow out under my kitchen sink. A plumbing emergency and a quick trip to Home Depot is a certain cure for running burnout. I need a run!

Burnout ??

Yesterday, I got dressed and drove the NCR Trail to meet the Snails. After parking my car, I just could not sum up the will to get out and run. I decided to just go home and spent the rest of the day in bed. I am not sick or hurt but I just did not have the will to get moving. This is a real change from the post Rocky Raccoon race high, I was feeling earlier this week.

Plans for today are to line up a training plan for next week. I hope to focus on swimming and flexibility with 2 sessions with the trainer. I need to get my head straight for next Saturday's 100K or it will be painfully long day.