Review of Training to Run CIM in 2:30

Buildup to CIM

Well, the immediate pain of running a marathon has subsided, I've started running again so it is time to review the work I put in. Let us discuss what went well, went went poorly, and what to improve upon next time.

First, an overview: I tried to follow a Renato Canova schedule by doing as much running from + to - 10% of marathon pace as I could handle. I also tried to get in a lot of mileage, much of it ended up being slower than 8 minute pace. I also did some short hill sprints, strides and some faster pace stuff to keep my legs fresh. I place a huge importance on recovery eating and nutrition as well.

Second, long runs: My 20+ mile runs came in at 23.5, 22, 22, 22, 21, 20, and 20 miles. That's eight runs 20 miles or longer. One twenty miler in 1:59, the 23.5 miler in 2:24 with the last 11 in 1:03 and pace variation, and a 21 miler in 2:10. Those are my three best long runs ever. I tried a Bill Squires technique, which is focus on the long run and involve some pace variation particularly during the end of the run. Bill would give the team moderate workouts during the week then put everything they did during the week into the long run. It's a genius technique, and I ran several 5:2Xs and a bunch of 5:3Xs more than 15 miles into my long runs. I'll be doing that again. Also, after a 5:2X or 5:3X mile I would often back off and run 5:4X or 5:5X, which is still rather fast, but feels slow after a faster mile. In short, my long runs went extremely well.

Third, long tempos: My 9+ mile tempos were: 14, 14, 12 and a half marathon race. The two 14 mile tempos were on the same day during my special block. Aside from that workout I totally failed to do an adequate volume of tempos this cycle. I did incorporate tempo training into my long runs, which I think is very effective, but there was still a lack of 9-18 mile tempos at or slower than marathon pace in my training. I would ideally like to get in a 12-18 mile tempo every week at about 90% of marathon pace. Failing to do these workouts contributed to hitting the wall my last five miles because I was not burning enough fat during the entire race.

Fourth, short tempos: I had a 20:12 for 6k, 27:40 for 8k, 38:47 for 11.2k, 21:27 for 6.4k, and 37:40 for 10.8k. There were several other tempos of similar distances with paces 5:40+. Those tempos were quite good for me because I had never run 5:24 pace for four miles in a workout before. In the area of 4mmol lactate threshold or anaerobic threshold I did the best I have ever done, which is lacking. A good 6k-8k tempo at that pace every ten days is what it takes, about two every three weeks. A 20 minute tempo is the best workout there is in my opinion, and I didn't do enough of them. I would like to do about twice as many during my next marathon cycle.

Fifth, mileage: I had nine weeks at 100 or more miles with the two highest at 140 and 116. I also had eight weeks between 60 and 99 miles. The 140 mile week destroyed me. I only ran 64 miles and took a day off the next week. While I was running it I was fine, but I crashed after it was over. Overall I am satisfied with my mileage, but I would have liked to do more in October and November (which is another topic). I did have quite a few good medium long runs (14-18 miles), but none at a tempo pace. I greatly enjoy my slow miles and the extra efficiency they give me. It is hard to say what I will change in the future. Perhaps alternating 120 and 100 mile weeks instead of trying for 140. Given that I will be stronger next time it is hard to say now. This is one area I really listen to my body. I feel that I rested better this cycle than I ever have before by taking easy days when I needed them and running miles slow when I was tired. Overall, a step in the right direction.

Sixth, intervals: a 5mi. fartlek with 2min on 1min off the on around 5:15 pace, 4x1600m in 5:07-5:09 with 400m rest in 1:45, a 4:49 1600m with 2x800 in about 2:28 each, and a huge like eight mile fartlek at 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1 with rest equal to the previous hard running. Again I pushed what I have done in the past by setting a mile practice PR (1600m 4:49) and an amazing 4x1600m workout that was very consistent. Again I would like to do more workouts on the track of this quality like the short tempos, but I was training for a marathon so this is a lower priority.

Seventh, muscular power: I did three short hill sprints and eight stride sessions and not much in the weight room at all, I would like to more like eight and twelve. There is no reason for me to skip these any week. I should be doing a set of short hills and strides every week, or at least three times each every four weeks. Still it was better than not doing them. Overall, not enough, but what I did went well.

Eighth, nutrition: I did the best job of recovery eating this cycle that I have ever had. I ate soon after almost every workout. I ate quality vegetables and pasta and protein. I probably ate better the last six months than I ever have before. In a way that is unfortunate because while I am skinny for an American I am fat for a marathoner. Due to a friend's eating disorder I long ago set a 120 pound minimum weight limit on myself but I have not been under 126 since then. In other words, I did well but there is room for improvement.

Ninth, racing: I set personal records at just about every race distance I ran. It is hard to complain about that. I think my half marathon came at a good time although a few weeks later or earlier or both might have been better. In the future I would like to do more long races in a build up like 2-3 15k+ distance races.

Tenth, cross training: I rode my bicycles a little under 2000 miles this summer. That is over 100 hours on the bike with most of that in June and July. I think bicycling was a great addition to my training. It helped me develop my aerobic capability and fat metabolism. The routine I had this summer of an hour run followed by an hour bike ride was great and I intend to do it again. However, the amount of time spent on the bike to get the same work out of it as a run makes it impractical during peak running mileage.

Those are the main point of my training. In summary, it was my best cycle of training ever, but there are inconsistencies that I desire to correct the next time I train for a marathon. It was great, it was good, I am blessed, but I want to do better next time.

My Second Marathon: California International Marathon 2011

Describing the marathon is not an easy task. There is so much suffering and work that goes into it and it feels insufficient to use only words to describe it. In shorter races you can try again in a few days or weeks. In a marathon you get one, albeit very long, shot. However I will try because the experience is so great that not attempting to explain it is a failure.

Over the next few weeks I will write the article dealing with my training highs and lows and another one about my next running goals. For now you get the race day excitement.

My day started at 4:45 AM and I was awake before the alarm went off. Despite only five hours of sleep I was raring to go. Well, as raring to go as I could when it was dark out and an uncertain future loomed. I happily ate half a bagel then I forced the second half down. I drank some coffee on the ride to the start line and tried to eat some chocolate croissant, but there came a point when I just could not stomach any more food because of the nervousness.

We parked near the McDonalds and started to walk up the hill a mile to the start but some shuttle school busses picked us up and dropped us off at the start. My host G and I walked around to calm my nerves. The 200 port-a-potties were emptry at 6:15 AM which is nice because no one likes to wait in line.

I just kept walking around to stay warm in the 37F chill. Finally 21 minutes before the start I went for a 11:37 jog out and back along the start, probably 1.4 miles. After some leg swings and active isolated calf stretches I lined up way in the back (the tenth row or so). I was even behind some 50s and 60s age women. In other words, I had to weave around a few people the first half mile. There comes a point when moving to the front of the pack gets negative looks from the people you are pushing aside. It is a hazard of the sport. A slow person can line up shoulder to shoulder with one of the best in the world if you don't mind some pushing and shoving. Try standing on the line beside Tim Tebow during his first play of the game.

The gun went off and I started my watch just before I crossed the line. I took it out at a pace that felt easy and manageable. The first mile is significantly downhill so it was very fast. I clocked myself at 5:18.85. By that time I was in front of the third pack. The leaders were off quick. The second pack was a mere 5 seconds ahead of us. Clint Verran and another Hansons runner were up in that pack and I had this strange feeling of living a daydream. I have many times on runs imagined running down famous runners in a marathon so to be there a few seconds behind a guy that has performed multiple times and consistently was realizing that I have arrived. I thought I would slow down on the flatter miles so I felt really comfortable with my place.

My next three miles were 5:22, 5:25, and 5:21. I ran with the third pack and I would pull ahead five or ten feet on the downhills and get caught into the second row of the pack on the uphills by maintaining a consistent effort. I knew I would slow down but it was so fun see these splits! I felt so good! I have felt terrible the last three and a half weeks and I have not totally figured out why I felt amazing Sunday.

Going up one of the hills I let the pack run away from me. I have to run my own race and not get lulled into going out over my head. My next miles were 5:33 (27:00 at five miles), 5:31, 5:33, 5:38, 5:43, 5:35 for a 54:59 at ten miles. Every mile was exciting to look at my watch and see that I was putting the feet to the pavement. 5:20s, 5:30s those are not terribly fast mile times but to be able to do them over and over after barely training at those paces was rewarding for all of the training that I did.

With every passing mile I was getting more excited. I figured I would probably slow down, but I also figured there would come a point when all I had to do was run six minute miles to finish and get under 2:30. As I gradually drifted back through the other runners I hit 11 in 5:31, 12 in 5:43, 13 in 5:40 and the half in about 1:12:27, which is a mere 39 seconds slower than my PR. It is also my second fastest half. I felt so good! Well, I felt really good considering that two months ago that would have been a PR for me. In other words, to run a great marathon I think you need to feel totally fresh at halfway and I did not feel fresh. I felt strong and consistent but a 1:12 half is not a walk in the park for me as it needs to be for me to even split at that pace.

I came through 14 in 5:37 for a 1:17:32 total and my first PR of the day. Likewise 15 in 5:49.8 (I list the decimal on that one because I can't usually see the decimal when I am running and there is a mental difference between seeing 5:4X and 5:5X even though in this case it was about 1/5th of a second actual difference) for a 1:23:21 split, 16 in 5:47 for a 1:29:08 split, and 17 in 5:43. At that point I was really excited mentally. That's about 2/3rds of the way through the race and I was averaging something fast. Physically though, things were going downhill. My vison was a little blurry entering the flages for 17 miles. That is typically not a good sign.

My eighteenth mile was 5:51. Not terribly slow, but 5:50s counts as slow in my book. I didn't put negative thought into it because at that point I was working pretty hard and I knew I would run whatever times I would run and as long as I didn't "give up" I would run as fast as I could on the day.

My nineteenth mile was 5:50, 20 was 5:53, and 21 was 5:55. Those miles went... well enough.  Passing 20 I made sure to check the little numbers on my watch that gave my overall time: 1:52:27. That was super exciting. I managed to calculate that 37:30 is what six minute pace would be the last 10k. So when I knew that all I had to do was run sub six pace to the finish I was thrilled to know that I would break 2:30.

Alas, no one is done until he or she is done. My 22nd mile was a plodding 6:01. I figured I had something like two or three seconds a mile slower than six minute pace to get to the finish before 2:30 so I was still happy. I hit 23 in 6:05. No problem, I can easily throw down a sub 18 5k. Unfortunately, my legs, specifically my quads and calves, were in pain. Additionally, the sports drink that they gave us (Ultima I believe) was a terrible choice for a marathon as it had no carbs or sugars. I was living through "the wall".

The 24th came and went in 6:08 and I was feeling worse and worse. The 25th passed in a painful 6:09. At that point I knew I was close and I thought, 'less than 2k, less than five laps around the track and if it is good I am under 2:30.' Any energy reserves that I had left I threw into the boiler of final-marathon-mile-torment. I felt that everything before was leading up to this part of the race and I was giving it everything I had. My legs were so heavy as I tried to deal with the pain and accelerate to faster than six minute mile pace. You could have tripped me with a chopstick.

However, as races go, we run them to see what happens. My 26th mile was 6:17 and yes I did look at my watch because I hoped that I had hit sub 6. At that point I really did not have a great idea of how fast I was going. I think some people passed me in the last few miles, but I was pretty much at war in my head with my body.

As I made the turn to the finish there were crowds directing me to the men's finish, and when I made the final left turn I saw the clock had already flipped to 2:30 and I was to remain a 2:30s guy for another cycle. I ran through the finish and the finish staff caught me before I fell over. It was over 2:30:20 (gun time was 2:30:24) after it started and six and a half months after I started my build up.

I will of course write more about this in the next few weeks but I am not disappointed with my race or huge positive split. Yes, had I gone out in 1:14 I would probably have run sub 2:30. I felt so good. The thing about the whole experience that does disappoint me is that the sports drink did not have any calories. I learned the hard way that I do not tolerate gels well at 5:40 pace, but sugar water I can drink at that pace. Had I even been able to get in a cup or two of sugar water the race might have turned out better for me the last four miles.

I headed strait for the chocolate milk and then the massage tent when I had my calves and hamstrings stretched. I talked to Kenny of Boulder Running Company who ran 2:19 a 3.5 minute PR, and while he missed out on the Trials, he was really happy with such a big PR. Someone else ran 2:30:04 and was really disappointed about missing the 2:20s but a few seconds. Soon enough I walked the four blocks to my host G's car. We stashed a quart of chocolate milk, orange juice, chocolate croissant, and water there which I proceeded to down on the way to the airport.

Already less than an hour after the race ended I knew I wasn't done. The way that race went down I feel like I have so much more running ability left in me. My training was mediocre at best. Even on my best weeks I only managed two strong workouts. My mileage, while good, could have been better. There was a conspicuous lack of 12-18 mile medium pace tempos (5:55-6:10 pace) that would have been better included weekly. Plus, I went through 10k about 25 seconds away from my PR, and less than 40 seconds off my half marathon PR. That is ridiculous. Had I been totally crazy and ran with the pack that I started with I would have PR'd in the 10k and likely half marathon if I managed to stay with them. I would of course faded harder than I did, but it is not reasonable to set personal records in the 10k and half marathon during a marathon. In other words, I need to get faster at the shorter distances.

How do I feel about not making the Olympic Marathon Trials for 2012? Not terribly bad. I've only had two marathons a 2:34 and 2:30, both with big positive splits, and less than optimal training. I am running marathons 10 seconds per mile faster than I raced the 5k in high school. The progress has been rewarding.

Overall, I had a great weekend in California! I ran a great race (probably the fastest in the US).  I spent time with amazing hosts. And I know I can do better in the future. Since I can't help my self I will tell, I am going back to the track for 400-3000m training during indoor season and then outdoor probably 5k/10k and after a trip to Alaska around June, there is a little 100 mile race in Leadville in August that I have been thinking about for eight years...

Coming Together or Falling Apart?

My last good workout was November 7th. Since then I have not had a single workout at the level I feel I should be running. October was unquestionably the best month of running I have ever had. However, I had a series of small injuries in my lower legs the last few weeks (plantar fasciitis in my left foot and some lower left leg pain that could be anything from a stress reaction to a calf knot), my grandma died, the time changed so that I am now running mostly in the dark, and my two training partners have been injured or busy when I am trying to do a workout. The combination of all that stuff has hampered my training. However, it might be a benefit.

Emil Zatopek was a and these days Zatopek Syndrome is what we say when a well training person, dare I say training too hard, has to take it easy for an extended period of time and has an amazing performance. He was hospitalized before one of his European Championships for two weeks I think, not running a step until the day before the race, and eventually racing against doctors orders (I could be wrong) he won, or at least did really really well.

I am not sure if my low mileage the last few weeks is making me perfectly ready for a marathon or if I overextended myself a few weeks ago and I am going to race slow. I am leaning toward the former. I have to. I have had a number of just amazing workouts this cycle which are so far beyond anything I have done in the past. One simple example, before this cycle my best 20+ mile run was 20 miles in 2:06. This cycle I have done 21 in 2:10, 23.5 in 2:24 (with the last 11 in 1:03), and 20 in 1:59. That's a night and day difference between where I used to train and where I am now. The question is, did I get derailed these last few weeks?

I have been in this situation in regards to running once before in the spring of 2008. I had an injury in March that setback my training. Then in April my first few races were poor 5k performances. Finally, a week before the last meet of my undergraduate years I ran a strong 1500m PR. The next week I ran a 10,000m that was everything I had been hoping for the entire year.

Regardless of the outcome of my race I have decided that my trip to California will be good. Additionally, I'm still hungry to compete. There are moments in training when I am tired, sore, bored, and frustrated that I am seemingly not progressing. I wonder why I don't just throw in the towel and quit. However, I know why I don't quit, I have made the choice to see how far I can go. I mean "far" in the philosophical way. It's about working hard and committing to something and putting in the work to improve. In other words, at the moment running is like my girlfriend. The cool thing about athletics, unlike just about everything else, is that you have a finite amount of time to progress before you are in your 40s and start regressing. If one can learn the techniques and processes to progress to a high level in a short amount of time those techniques and processes experience can be reapplied in other endeavors. What are the similarities between a successful marathoner and Fortune 500 CEO? A marathoner must educate oneself on the history and technology of training typically through copious reading, mentors (coaches), and self experimentation.  A Fortune 500 CEO I would assume would be the person who knows the most about the company, their market, their strategy (all considered copious reading and mentors (colleagues and managers)), and has experience both in management and as an entry level worker (education through both the role of mentors (other managers) and self experimentation). I am sure that double parenthesis are not allowed in English, but they are in math!

Controlling Your Emotions

From my limited experience, you can't. Your emotions have the upper hand when it comes to you. When I had my psychosomatic incident in 2010 I had no idea that I could emotionally tear myself apart like that. During the University of Dubuque's most recent meet, when our top girl had a psychosomatic event I was reminded once again how much we love the idea of controlling something. Here is the problem: you don't control much of anything. Control is an illusion.

As a coach we want to control our athletes to get the best possible performance out of them. The reality is we only have direct influence over their lives about 90 minutes a day. An athlete can quite conceivably dawdle or hammer the given workout and thus not achieve the intended stimulus. When it comes to race day we have even less hands on input into their races because we can not be there running beside them or on a bike every step of the way. From an athlete's point of view there is less control over the entire activity so the desire to do something a specific way is not quite as present. However, the desire to perform well is always present. The difference is, as a coach we can take out our frustration through the athletes, as an athlete there is no outlet once the athletic endeavor becomes a requirement instead of entertainment. Now I do not mean take out frustration by yelling at kids (although some coaches typically outside of running do) I mean by changing the workout plan for the next week or asking why someone raced a certain way. In other words, at least from my point of view, the frustration is with myself about why one of my athletes failed to do something I thought he or she was clearly capable of. So I ask myself what can I do to get that athlete to do whatever it is we are trying to do?

By asking myself what I can correct before the next go around the emotional let down of failure takes a back seat to the excitement of trying something new when I know we are already in a good basic position, despite one race. I find that looking at the global situation often leaves me with a far better emotional understanding of the situation than looking at the details. Someone can get really angry about the results of one person in one race. For example, by announcing that I am not going to even try for sub 2:19 I have already disappointed several people. However, I still intend to try to run sub 2:24, which would be over a 10 minute personal record in only seven months. That is a huge, huge improvement. Even if I fail at that goal I know that my training this cycle just blows what I have done in the past out of the water. On Sunday I did 32.5 miles with 28 of that at an average of 5:54 per mile pace. That's amazing! That is more than a marathon, faster than I ran my last marathon. Regardless of the actual outcome I have made significant progress, and I did get a half marathon PR out of it so far. By looking at my global situation (and in this case I mean just running but looking at everything is even more critical to maintaining a positive outlook) I will be happy with the entire process.

In conclusion, you can influence your emotions by the way that you view the world and circumstances of the events in your life, but you can not control them. If they want to keep your from breathing during a race or give you back pain at all hours of the day, they will. Appreciate your emotions and try not to hide them so much. I know I try to hide them often enough. My grandma is going to die soon, and I am really sad. It is strange knowing that in all likelihood we will have her funeral before Christmas because she is still alive and even yesterday was talking coherently. It is strange to think about...

30 Dreamers

The results from the Chicago Mathon are online and everyone tried to get the Olympic trials standard. Five people ran 2:18 and I am assuming their first qualifying race for the trials. On the other hand 30 men went out in 1:08-1:09 and ran 2:19 or slower. That's 30 people who trained well enough to run halfway on pace but had problems in the second half. Statistically only one in seven of the people who hit halfway on pace made the goal. I am sure that CIM will be nearly the same.

It's eye opening. I mean I'm only a 1:12 half marathoner this week. Those guys ran three minutes faster than my PR and tried to do it again. What am I doing!? Okay I know that this is a long term process and I fully expect to PR huge even if I do not run 2:18. Plus, I just ran 140 miles last week with 24 of them under six minute pace. I doubt many 2:20+ marathoners put down 140 mile weeks.

I'm just saying, the odds are stacked against my time goal this cycle, but you never know until you try. Seeing that at Chicago the odds were one in seven for those that made it halfway is motivational. I didn't think the odds were that good.

I Live in Iowa: Week 15

I've got to give some credit to Nicki Minaj for some awesome lyrics in her song Moment for Life "...No I'm not lucky, I'm blessed, yes!" I think she hits the nail on the head with that one. I am blessed.

I worked 41 hours this week. It would have been more but I left work at 2:30 on Friday to drive up to Fairmont, MN to see my family and run a race Saturday morning. Work has picked up in our group and I've been busy working on several different projects. When I was in school, waking up at 7 was about all I could muster, and some days even that didn't happen. When I was unemployed, after the first month waking up at 8 or 9 was about all that ever happened. (The first month I still thought I was awesome.) Now, I'm waking up before 6 a few times a week to go running and I'm getting to work a few times per week before 7. The way I see it, I must be excited to go to work if I'm waking up that early to go. I feel the fact that I am waking up and going to work that early as of the biggest factors of my job satisfaction. In other words, work is going well.

I ran only 66 miles this week, but I had a race where I set a personal record in the 5 mile (27:39) and I had a 5x1000 meter workout that was easily the best 5x1000 meter workout I have ever had (total time for the 5000m was 16:04 with 400m jog rests at 1:45-50 in 90F heat). I'm not where I want to be this fall, but this is an extremely good introduction stage for my training. Thus far this year I have set person records at 4 miles, 5 miles, the half marathon, and marathon. I'm aiming for a 5k PR with my training right now, and later in the fall I will target the half and in the early winter I will target another marathon. I'm still plenty far away from my career running goals, but I'm progressing, and that is far better than regressing.

It is looking more likely that I will get an assistant coaching job and I am excited. I enjoy the team aspect of running and I have learned so much about running the past ten years that I look forward to sharing my knowledge and experience with younger runners so that they might not make the mistakes that I have made. I figure that because of the way that I have trained, or rather more appropriately neglected to train, the last ten years I am probably 3-4 years behind in my development as a runner. Which would be a problem if I was focused on the shorter distances and only my own personal running career, but seeing as how marathoners regularly peak in their mid 30s and I am interested in coaching, I think that my self-imposed and unintentional setbacks will serve me to help a greater number of young athletes and to do more appropriate training both for myself and for athletes I work with.

What else happened this week? I played cards and had a fire at a friend's house and I regaled them with tales of Pakistan and unemployment. One of the nice things about getting older is that I have a greater repertoire of stories to tell. On the negative side, another person died on Broad Peak. Two people I know were on the expedition with him. It is a struggle. I love the mountains and climbing, but people dying? It scares me because I am fairly sure that at some point I will be in a situation that is extremely personal regarding death on a mountain.

The other thing that I did this week, slightly out of the ordinary, was listen to a huge amount of NPR (because they have a free iPhone app). I am not a political person. I have trouble spelling politics half the time. I guess that as I get older and listen to authority figures and talk with them, I keep coming to the conclusion that we are all so equal. That is to say, there is no person who is so brilliant that will fix all of our problems, specifically the US budget problems. In science and engineering we often break problems down into sizes that one person, or perhaps two, can solve. The budget and deficit deal in Washington is so massive, that to really solve it long term will take hundreds, and more likely thousands of people. Even with all of that brain power at work, they are still not going to make it better. It is never more fun to pay off your debt than to run up your debt.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt

It is interesting to note that our Federal Debt as a percentage of GDP rises and falls irrespective of party lines. I feel that is significant because it means that neither party is free from blame when it comes to our Federal Debt. Interesting to note, I thought that the 1980s enjoyed a great economy, why then did we raise the amount of debt so much instead of paying it off? Please educate me by commenting.

Have You been Watching the Tour de France?

This is only the second year I have been able to follow the Tour daily and it is always interesting. The current leader by over 100 seconds says there is now way he will win, the three time winner says he is tired from a long year and not that into it, the Schlek brothers want someone else to come and attack on the mountains instead of wait to win it during the final time trial, and a slew of people including major contenders have crashed and left the race with broken bones. In other words, except for the antics of Hushov, Roy, Hoogerland, Sanchez, and Delage you have not missed the interesting parts. Thursday, Friday, and especially Saturday are bound to be interesting. Two hard mountain days are followed by an individual time trial. For lack of a better description, the Tour is wide open this year. Any of the top eight guys could take it. They are all tired and none have shown he is particularly strong.

I find the Tour so interesting because it is unlike any other sporting event. A stage event like this for runners would be slow because the advantage of drafting is low compared to cycling. Plus you can't race up three ten mile long climbs in a day running and expect to do that the next day as well. It is similar to a mountaineering expedition, but those often hinge around one day that involves 16+ hours of climbing. Unfortunately, besides me who would watch a 12 hour summit push in real time and still complain about commercials?

Anyway if you happen to be around a tv this week, particularly the end of the week, there will be some good programming.

Waiting to Race

I am sitting in the back of my van with an hour to go before the Dubuque Duathlon starts. I have learned after enough races that warming up too early can slow me down. So I try and relax as much as I can until warmup time. Today the method of relaxing is blogging.

I have never done a duathlon before so I'm not entirely sure what to expect. The one bicycle race I did in the past went terribly. I was dropped by the peloton in the first mile. Today is different. I have a new bicycle, I am more fit, there will not be a huge pack to drop me during the bike portion, there is only one hill and I've rode up it so many times that instead of getting dropped on it I intend to drop others on it. It's going to be fun, whatever happens.

Bling!

So I run a lot and part of that involves running in races. Sometimes I do well in those races and they give me stuff. 

2nd Place 25-29 Male Green Bay Marathon 2011

 At Green Bay I finished 6th, and they give money to the top five, typical. I have finished first out of the money several times. That's the kind of runner I am. Not good enough to walk away with the check but good enough to get a huge heavy medal. It is by far the biggest I have.

1st place 25-29 Male Grandview Gallop 2011

This past Saturday the race I ran gave me a picture frame. That's kind of a unique item. I just have to find a picture to put in it now. At least it's useful. Often prizes have no practical purpose, like a medal.

What are the best prizes? Money, gift certificates to some place I will actually use (like a running shoe store or grocery store), and any sort of consumable. Rumor has it the Napa Valley Marathon gives the winners his and her weight in wine. While you may hear about $100,000 prizes for the winner of races like the Boston Marathon or the New York City Marathon, for guys like me, dreaming of being in the top 10 is almost a stretch let alone breaking the tape at something that big.

Until that point, I'll probably keep getting my race bling.

Green Bay Marathon Pictures

One of the disadvantages of not having friends watch me race is that I don't have a supply of pictures (like a picture every lap of the 10k, thank you Greg). Thus, I bought three pictures in this digital matting thing from the people who took pictures at Green Bay. In counter clockwise direction from the top left: that's me at mile 26ish, mile 22ish, and the 26.4 mile finish. I wore my WPI alumni singlet with a picture of a goat in case you can't quite see it.

I live in Iowa: Week 5

I feel this was an exciting week but of course you needn't agree. It all started at 4:00 AM Sunday. I drove up to Green Bay, ran a marathon, and drove back the marathon was a source of drama all week. First I thought I ran 2:35, then I found out the fourth mile was 800 feet long and everyones times were officially adjusted. So I ran a 2:34. The big problem is that I thought I was at 29:22 at fives miles and picked it up a bit to hit half at 1:14:42, but my adjusted half time was 1:13:50, which I can tell you was a tad fast. While I didn't hit the wall I did slow down the last ten miles.

I could barely walk Monday, which is okay because I have a desk job. Tuesday was just about my best day at work yet. In the morning I spent time driving the skidded and wheeled feller buncher. In the afternoon I went to Davenport with a coworker to study production. I was hobbling around the factory as the two engineers I was with walked away from me. It was funny. Eventually they would stop and I would catch up, breathing hard.

I worked a little over 43 hours this week. I also started a new project working on one aspect of tier 4 emissions for nonroad diesel engines.

My feet and ankles have been bothering me. Besides the four hours of bike riding I did this week (at least 5 miles every day) all I did was sit around. I am worried about my left ankle because it is still swollen and after about an hour on the bike it typically hurts more. I know, I know, I am addicted to exercising and I need to rest, but it is so hard for me to sit still and lay on the couch. I like moving around and aerobic exercise.

On the social life front, I hung out with people at least part of the night four nights this week. Bicycling with friends from work and then my cousin was in town. I took my single speed cyclocross bike out mountain biking and it is perfect! It is geared a little high for steep ascents and on sharp corners the front tire can hit my feet. However, it is so light and agile that it handles easy mountain biking single track really well. Moderate mountain biking it handles, and hard mountain biking equals walking because it has no suspension.

It was a good week. I mean I will probably only do 15-20 competitive marathons so everyone is unique. Plus, I have a job! It is amazing how after only four employed months I glaze over the fact that I have a job that I find interesting and that pays very well. Interesting note about my life and money, my net worth passed -40,000 this week! Soon enough I will be positive, hard to imagine now.

The Next Step

I have not run a mile since Sunday. I was toying with the idea of a 180 or 365 or 500 day running streak, but alas I can still barely walk. I have been doing some thinking over the past few months and weeks about what comes after this marathon. I was so focused for so long that I feel different now that it is done. Obviously I know what the process will entail in my running so that I can set more personal records this year and improve, but in some way I feel as though it is no longer new. I feel like there is no huge aspect of running that I have not at least tasted. It is a little sad. It is very relaxing. It gives me even more confidence and fuel for my ego.

It is strange, before the marathon I felt that my running life was leading up to that race and in a way I was restricted to running a marathon. Now I feel free to tackle other pursuits. I am planning on running and cycling a duathlon in July. There is also rumor of a trail marathon in July that I might contest. I am also due for a personal record in the 800 meters and 5000 meters.

I am also thinking about getting a coach and my major race schedule for the rest of the year. It is all pretty much up in the air. I am planning on a fall marathon, but I am not sure when or where.

My feet and ankles are healing quick enough. My left ankle hurts after an hour or more of biking and my right one has hurt less and less each day so it is probably not broken. I am so happy I finally did a marathon! After years of awe of my marathoner friends I can now say "I am a marathoner, and yes it hurt."

Marathon Dissapointment and Satisfaction

Without a doubt I am disappointed that I ran a 2:35. However, it was so windy and I placed relatively high that I am not disappointed with my performance. In any race the goal is to leave everything on the course, and I did. I mean they took me into the medical tent and I have barely been able to walk this week so I would say that a 2:35 on the day and course was everything I had.

Still I am disappointed I ran so slow over the last ten miles. When I was telling my parents Sunday afternoon I realized that to most people running a 2:35 is a huge accomplishment and if I was hit by a car and unable to walk the rest of my life today, I would be satisfied, but I am not. I have not reached my potential. Sure 2:35 is not a terrible time to start with, but I want more.

In many ways I have a certain satisfaction about finally having raced a marathon. After all, it was a personal record down from 2:57 during a long run. I guarantee that 22 minute jump is the biggest I will ever have in the marathon. I mean 16:20 more and I could "retire" of course those next 16 minutes could take years.

I feel relaxed and confident now that I have been through a marathon race. I have heard about them, but you never really know until you experience it just how it feels. Well, I feel like my foot is broken now and I've been coming home after work and taking naps instead of running. In other words, I'm in pain and tired, anything less would be disappointing.

You know, it's good and bad. I did what I could, and it was a step in the right direction, but it was still just a step and not the end goal. I suppose any goal worth achieving takes a lot of work. More work than I have put in thus far. Perhaps the best way to describe it that it is not what I wanted but it was what I needed so that I would not rest on my laurels or get lazy this summer. It has been three days since I have run a full mile and I am excited to get back at it once I can walk without a limp. My oh my how I have changed! Three days off and I'm ready to run again despite the fact I can barely walk, because of running.

Lessons from my First Marathon

Well I knew I would learn from this experience and I did. What did I learn?

1. Taking gels while running 5:40 pace after a nice half marathon might not be tolerated by my body. Solution: no more gels during marathons. I've been using gels for years. I like how they taste, the consistentency, and the whole concept of them, but running 5:40 pace when I tried to take one after 13 miles my body said no. The Africans, Asians, and even Europeans never whine about gels and I am as efficient as anyone, so I'm not going to take them at least until I bonk in a marathon.

2. Run a race with spectators. Running through a tunnel of people gets me excited and I was lonely out there the last half with so few spectators.

3. Run a race with more people around. I was alone the last 10 miles of the race. It was just me against myself knowing there were a few people ahead of me and more behind, but no one close.

4. More pasta less steak. I had two small fillet mignon and a huge sweet potato the night before. While I don't feel like I bonked, I think one steak, sweet potato and some pasta would be more appropriate.

5. Run a race with less wind. Now I understand that's hard to orchestrate, but winds of 27 mph at the start and 23 mph at the finish sure slowed me down.

6. Don't drink for the sake of drinking. Gatorade knotted up my stomach the first time I took it and my body was not terribly reciptive to water during the whole race. Now the temperature was a perfect 48 degrees so I did not need to drink as much as if the temperature was in the 60s.

7. I wore my new Saucony A4s which are light and have a very thin sole. I had some ankle/shin pain in my right foot around 23 but it did not hurt on impact and did not slow me down. On the other hand my right outside metatarsal has been in a huge amount of pain the last few days. I might have broken something. Also on my left foot the inside of my ankle has been in pain and is actually a little red and swollen. I have had the metatarsal pain before but the ankle is totally new. I am convinced it is because both my form detoriated over the last few miles and thin shoes mean my body was absorbing more force once my form detoriated. In other words, I can barely walk because of the shoes I wore, but they helped me run faster and did not hurt me during the race, so I picked a good pair of shoes to wear.

8. I jogged about two miles before the race and swung my legs like I do for every workout, and I felt it was a good warm up. I did not even attempt a cool down.

9. I slept about 4.5 hours the night before and 9.5 hours two nights before. While not ideal I felt it worked just fine.

10. Smile and relax. Those are my two basic techniques to put more energy into the ground and less into fighting myself. A marathon is a long way and it is tiring. Saving energy matters.

I feel a number of my weaknesses can be improved through training, but I will save that for another article.

I'm a 2:35 Marathoner

Well, I ran the Green Bay Marathon this morning. I placed sixth with a chip time of 2:35:15. I had a good race, and I am happy to be an official marathoner now, but it was not as I imagined it.

We started off running around town, mostly sheltered from the 27 mph winds. The mile markers consisted of rather small painted numbers on the ground and these flags on tiny stands that were about 70% blown over. So I missed mile one, had a 11:04 split at mile two, slowed down and ran a 5:33, amazed that I was running so fast I relaxed and just went with the flow. My next mile was 6:57. There was no way that I relaxed that much so I basically quit looking at splits and just ran on feel. My five miles was 29:22 which seemed on and I felt good so I just kept rolling. The eventual fourth place runner passed me around there and both of our goals was sub 2:30 so we ran together for a little bit but he pulled away. Around this time I took some Gatorade at a water stop, but it didn't agree with my stomach and made me feel knotted up. A rookie mistake to not train at this pace with Gatorade, admittedly.

 At ten miles I was 57:23 which was exciting because it meant that my second five was faster than my first five. At about 11.5 the half marathoners split away and a group of about four that I was close to disappeared. With the half runners also went most of the spectators. We turned and for the next few miles ran rolling hills with the wind I hit half at 1:14:42 as happy as can be. I then took a gel out of my pocket and proceeded to eat it. I have not had problems with gels in the past, but today after probably 20 calories got in my mouth my stomach said no. I forced most of the rest down, but after that I wanted to throw up, I even had a heave although nothing came out. At this point I could still see the guy in fourth, although I had no idea what place we were in.

After a little coughing and spitting and slower running I was back in one piece still going with the wind. I hit 15 at 1:25, extremely excited. About half a mile later the eventual fifth place runner caught me on the bridge crossing the river. We were turning into the wind and he basically just ran away from me. At 16 I was at 1:31 and I knew then that whatever the wind or wall I would hit I would break 2:40. From 16 to 22 was along a bike path, into the 20+ wind. At ground level it probably wasn't 25 mph winds, but imagine it was 15 mph, while I am trying to run 10 mph into that. Plus, there were no spectators. So I just ran, hard, for six miles, alone. There were gusts when I was really putzing along. Just before the bridge around mile 22 I came around a corner and the wind was especially horrific that I was hardly moving faster than a walk.

After crossing the bridge back toward the stadium, there were hardly any spectators and I didn't have the course memorized so I'm running hard into the corners in the middle of the road until I was like 50 meters away and knew which way to turn. The last few miles were really uneventful. No timing mats, I missed a few of the mile markers, few spectators and I couldn't see the guy ahead of me. I just ran hard. The last mile or so joined the half marathoners and when we ran around Lambeau Field the slower half marathoners were supposed to be on the left, but it's always that 1%... One woman didn't want to run on the left so I ended up running into her and like two other people as I reached my way around them. Then I ran into the finish.

I was pretty exhausted, I still am five hours later. I was wobbly on my legs so they took me into the medical tent and I asked for Gatorade then water. They took my blood pressure, 116/80, while asking about my medical history.

"Do you have any medical problems?" - Doctor
"No I'm as healthy as can be I just ran my first marathon." - Me
"Are you light headed or nauseous?" - Doctor
"No, I'm just exhausted. I just ran a marathon." - Me

After that I talked to fifth place Kevin, who was also debuting in the marathon. Consensus: it was windy, and lonely out there. I got my shirt and went to my unlocked car and drank a liter of water and my muscle milk and just sat there. I walked around some and asked them to mail my award to me then I drove back home.

I will of course write more about my first experience in the coming week. I am exhausted right now, kind of like I just ran two half marathons back to back.

Less than 12 Hours to the Marathon Start

Well, I've had my carbo-loading supper of steak and sweet potatoes. I've done my final 30 minute jog leading up to the race. My race clothing and shoes are laid out on my bedroom floor. My gas tank is filled. My food for the morning is ready to go. I have a gel in the race shorts pocket.

I drove up to Lambeau Field in Green Bay to pick up my race bib. It seems like time is compressed. It was an hour and 15 minute drive yet it felt like it was only half that long. After preparing for this for so long everything seems to be happening fast. I walked in and picked up my packet, checked to make sure my chip was working, and attempted to partake in the exhibition. Compared to when I was there in 2007 the exhibition is about three times as big. I suppose that's what happens to a growing race.

After about a minute of looking at shoes my nerves got the best of me and I left. I felt and feel very agitated. There I was in the midst of people just like me, in a place catering to people like me, and I was freaking out in my head. My heart was probably beating like 80 beats per minute. Race exhibitions are the perfect place to hear about new stuff, yet being around all of that I felt that I already knew what I needed to know. I wish the race exhibition was after the race.

Part of my problem is that I haven't raced much recently, and have never raced a marathon. It is hard for me to relax when I have built up so much pressure on myself to perform well. I am sure that whatever happens the outcome will be good, yet I am not 100% sure. Plus, I am pretty sure that it will hurt quite a bit.

For the record, my plan is to run 5:43s for the whole race. Since I can't read the decimal seconds on my watch while I am bouncing up and down that means I want to be seeing 5:42 and 5:43 on my watch. Most of the hills are in the first 11 miles, which we run with the half marathoners. I plan to relax as much as I can while hitting that pace and then around mile 23 or so I am sure pacing will go out the window and I will simply be working as hard as I can to get to the finish. But the reality is, this is a race. Due to wind and the people I am running around that will probably fluctuate quite a bit. I am sure I will see 5:3Xs on my watch as well as 5:5Xs. The goal is just to relax and go with the flow and not hammer until at least after mile 20.

For the question about fueling, I will take a gel within 15 minutes of start time. I will drink water and gatorade along the route depending on what I feel like at that moment, but I plan to get gatorade at least twice. I am taking one Cliff Shot (Double Espresso flavor with the new formula) in my shorts pocket and I plan to eat it after halfway and before mile 16. There will be gels along the route, but not all flavors are agreeable with me, plus I like the caffeine. I will talk about fueling in the future, because after using gels for something like five years and doing ultrarunning and mountaineering I have a different view on fueling during racing than many runners.

If you want to get updates you can get text messages or an email of my progress on the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon website. I am bib number 551.

Goals for My Debut Marathon

I am all about the goals. With my first ever marathon race coming up, I of course have some goals. Here they are in order:

1. Enjoy the race and enjoy the day. I have known for almost four years that the marathon was in my competitive future not just my recreational future. I have had a number of setbacks over the last three years that have prevented me from having the kind of performance at shorter distances that I would have liked before my debut. That being said, I am happy to be where I am going into this marathon.
2. Don't screw it up. If I go out in 1:11 or something I am pretty sure that I will hit the wall. I can easily see myself getting convinced into running with a pack at low 5:30s pace, which is too fast for me now. I have to take it easy and relax for as long as I can, even though that means I'll probably be running alone most of the race. I would like to even split or negative split.
3. Finish sub 2:30. That's what I'm training for, that's what I think I'm capable of.
4. Finish sub 2:27. There is a marathon, the Fukouka Marathon, in Japan, with an A and a B standard. The B standard is 2:45 and the A standard is 2:27. It is the most prestigious marathon to qualify for in the world with the exception of national and international championships. Anyway, I would like to get the A standard so that I have the option of entering in December. Every serious road racer has the desire to run in Japan at some point. The Japanese are huge distance running fans and the atmosphere is supposed to be legendary. 
5. There is prize money for the top 5. Based on past results I am looking to finish around 10th place, but you just don't know. The reason that we run races is because you can not tell by training and past results what the results will be. If you could we would not run races. 

Those are my goals, in order. Whatever happens I plan to enjoy being fit and mostly uninjured on race day, which is an accomplishment in itself. Life is good.  I feel refusal to realize my gifts  is ignorant. 

The Life of a Contract Engineer: Week 11

As weeks go this was a good as any. I worked a nice 40 hours. Although, one day they did not have enough computer simulation work for me so I spent the day in the "lab". We were working on competitive tear-downs, which involve hundreds of pounds of steel and copper. I had the chance to wear my lab coat which was fun for the first two hours then I got tired and slowed down. Eventually my attitude eroded a little because I felt that my talents were not being sufficiently harnessed. That being said, feelings are not fact. The most important task is often the one at hand. It was nice to see a different aspect of the factory and work with an A-frame and a chop saw, but I enjoy my desk.

The engineer who I was replacing is back and I am quite happy that he is. Several times every day I consulted him about the modeling that I was working on. He has more experience than I do and always offers valuable input. Before he came back I was an island making guesses about the accuracy of my models. Now that he is back I have someone who understands modeling well and can very accurately critique me.

Regarding my move to Dubuque, Iowa, I had an apartment picked out but someone else picked the same thing and had the deposit check in before me and thus rented the apartment before I could. So Monday April 18th, I'm starting work, but I don't have a place to live yet.

While I was unemployed I spent hundreds of hours applying value to aspects of my life outside of work. That is an important outlook to have on life. Without those things outside of work I guarantee I would be a workaholic. This brings us to the subject of running! I had a week that started on a good note, went through a bad section, and ended on a good note.

I had a nice 24 mile run Sunday, the longest training run I have had in a year and a half. Plus it was at a half decent pace. Then Tuesday a knot in my upper calf tore something in my lower calf/achilles area and I was more or less out of commission until I could massage it apart. It hurt so much! Fortunately, I did exactly the right thing and recovered soon enough to run a half marathon I paid for a few weeks ago. That race went very well. I started out with the leaders but going up a slight hill after two miles they broke away and I spent about the next nine miles running my own race. Then they were slowing down and I dropped a couple of 5:19 pace miles to move into second from third and come within nine seconds of the leader. I finished in 1:12:48 an official personal record by more than four minutes. I split 56:01 at ten miles (5:36 mile pace) and finished the last 5k in 16:47 (5:25 mile pace). I am really happy to negative split that much. I was holding back most of the race because I was afraid of going anaerobic and it was nice to let my legs turn over like that after the ten mile warmup.

I went over 53,000 words on my book and I reorganized it so that the chapters are more equal and related in terms of content. All I have left to do before submitting it to agents is edit it and add some more stuff about Reaganomics. It is a good book. I am excited. I have so much information that I consider useful from interview tips to "the exercises" to economic history. I feel it is a rather comprehensive resource for people like me in January of last year, which really could be anyone unemployed ages 16-30.

I am heavily considering buying a motorcycle. The problem is they don't sell the Honda CBR125R in the USA so I'm having a hard time finding something I am really motivated to own. I mean who needs to go over 75 miles per hour and who wants to get less than 90 miles per gallon? If you have any suggestions email me. I'm looking at used bikes exclusively and there are a number of sub 200cc starter bikes available for a 130 pound lightweight like myself. I mean Ducati starts at 700ccs! I would surely hurt myself on that without some experience.

I ended the week watching Morning Glory, which is a good movie, and writing a three sonnet series. The more sonnets I write (I'm up to five) the easier it gets. Sometimes I can even think out a ten syllable line that rhymes on the first try. It's fun to write poetry because it is an even better way to express emotions than simple writing in plain english. Who knows, maybe I will write an entire book of sonnets eventually. If you are curious to read them, sorry, they are on the romantic and emotional side and you have not earned that privilege from me. You can read my first sonnet if you want. The rest of them are similar, but I'm not the kind of guy that runs around talking about that stuff in public.

I am tired. 40 hours of work is like vacation, but when you add in the running and social events it adds up to quite a few hours.

The Life of a Contract Engineer: Week 3

It is so exciting to wake up and have somewhere to be. Even more exciting after getting my first paycheck! That is about the highlight of the working week, getting paid for the first time. I spent most of my time trying to do a new simulation in ANSYS (a finite element program). It is still very much a learning process for me and with any learning process there are many hurdles that need to be overcome. Fortunately, hurdles can be interesting and I am certainly learning more about ANSYS.

We had a two and a half hour long meeting about some new software that we will be using, specifically I will be using. Wow, I will not tell you the name until I get to actually use it, but the demonstration was pretty powerful. It is amazing what some software is able to do. When I think about what one software is doing I suddenly realize, why isn't everyone else doing that? Curious...

I would say more about work, but to be honest many of the things I am working on are proprietary. The end result of most of my projects will be technical publications that are available to sales people so that they can certify that according to this computer model, the structures are capable of withstanding 150 MPH winds.

By the way today is Valentines Day gentlemen. That might possibly apply to you.

I ran this week. Big surprise right? In total 100 miles because I ran about 20 the last day of the week because I was just not going to be happy with 90. It's a mental game, I know, but it does help. I ran one race, two moderate workouts and one good long run.

Speaking of running a race it was... not quite as good as I hoped. That being said I was still leading at about halfway but due to about two miles of mostly snow covered trails I went sliding around and was summarily passed and beaten. I was also hoping for a personal record and the snow plus two hills put the brakes on that plan. Overall I am happy because it was a hard effort with some lactic acid build up. I feel confident in my training, but it was not the day.

What else did I do? I wrote more on my unemployment book and I am up over 25,000 words. It is going to be good. I ate supper with two of my cousins. I have am amazing family! I went out to eat with my family and paid for the meal. That is something that I have been wanting to do for a long time. I am always getting taken out to eat by my elders or splitting the bill with my friends and most of the time I would prefer that I could pay myself. Finally, I took my family out to eat. I also spent most of the week recovering from my trip to St. Louis. It was a great trip but tiring.

The week ended by me going to the movie 127 Hours about Aaron Ralston who cut off his own arm in April 2003. I will write a review on that and post it later in the week. I think that of all the people I know I have spent as much or more time soloing in the backcountry than your average outdoorsman so I have a unique perspective on his ordeal.

Running the Wonderland Trail

As with many of my adventures, this one began only two days in advance with a whole lot of encouragement from some of my friends. To be honest the idea was sparked the evening of Sunday the 12th of September after I ran The Enchantments. A friend suggested it and I could not stop thinking about it. Monday I decided I wanted to go for the unsupported fastest known time. The previous time was 33 hours and 45 minutes. Which for 93 miles is less than three miles an hour. I thought that would be very manageable.

Monday night I stopped by the Seattle REI and bought $35 of energy food including:

• 16 GU and Clif Shot energy gels (1600 calories)
• 1 GU Chomps (180 calories)
• 1 Sports Beans (100 calories)
• 1 Clif Roks (270 calories)
• 1 Clif Builder Bar (270 calories)
• 1 Clif Fruit and Nut (130 calories)
• 3 Clif Bars White Chocolate Macadamia Nut flavor (720 Calories)
• 2 Clif Shot Bloks (400 calories)
• 4 Chocolate Almond Butter packets (720 calories)

I also took the other gear in the picture as well as a long sleeve blue Nike shirt, Asics shorts with large mesh pockets and Discovery Channel cycling jersey.

Tuesday I woke at 6 AM with excitement. I started with an energy filled McDonalds breakfast with two sandwiches and a mocha. For six dollars it is hard to get so many calories at most places. I also stopped to buy gas, Gatorade, Five Hour Energy, and pick up some salt packets. One of my new friends, a former ultrarunner who still parties with the Seattle ultra crowd, highly suggested that I take extra salt so that I don't cramp. I've never cramped before but I took his advice.

I arrived at Longmire around 9:30. I checked in at the Wilderness Ranger station and told them what I was up to. I wanted someone nearby to know that a crazy kid was out there trying to do something ridiculous. I finished changing into my running clothes and packing food and gear into my eight pockets.  At 9:55:39 AM I took a picture by the sign to the Wonderland Trail. The weather was amazing! I started running...

I was more or less flying at the beginning. I filled my bottles with Gatorade so the first 40 ounces of fluid had 200 calories which was really nice. I passed the South Puyallup River trail intersection at 12:47:29 PM. Thats 12 miles in 2:52. I didn't do the math at the time but looking at it now that's moving well.

It was hard running carrying the three pounds of food and other pound of clothing and gear and two pounds of water. It all added up to make the running less exciting than running unencumbered over a trail. But then again I had the ability to go farther. I forgot the salt in my van so throughout the day I was trying to lick my own sweat from my arms, forehead, and hat. In fact, if you wet the brim of your hat a little you can suck out the sweat and get all of that sodium.

I believe I passed the bridge at North Puyallup River at 2:28 PM because that's when I took a bunch of pictures of a bridge and steep hills upriver which both match the time stamps and topo map.

Of course this whole section was going very easy. I drew on many past experiences to get me through this. Compared to the Presidential Traverse the trail was a piece of cake. In fact, the whole Wonderland Trail is just amazing. I am sure that it would make a great six (or 11) day backpacking trek. Compared to the Indian Peaks loop I did earlier this summer the altitude is no problem at all. Compared to my adventure on the Casual Route in 2008 (20 hours on the go) 12 or 14 hours is not a very long time.

The whole afternoon was really a blast. My legs were feeling great and I was just cruising. The weather was good. I had food. My super-glued shoes weren't falling apart. What more could you want?

I arrived at Mowich Lake at 6:22 PM. Arriving at the campground was strange. For the past eight and a half hours it had been just myself and backpackers. No day hikers. No car campers. No roads. Then all of a sudden I arrive at a family wearing cotton hoodies and grilling. I was very excited to be through about one-third of the trail in such a quick time. My mind started to fill with delusions of a sub 24 hour run. 

That being said, I was also getting a little tired. Not bad at all, but tired none the less. Look at my face in the picture, not exactly feeling fresh. I purified some water and watched a crawfish five inches long crawl inches from my open bottle. It was really interesting yet somewhat creepy. I've eaten smaller shrimp. 

I was a little slow moving through Mowich Lake. It took about nine minutes from the time I remember arriving until the last picture was taken. Obviously I was starting to move a little slower. 

I went out and over Isput Pass. That is just a phenomenal view. I tried to take a picture but after 10 seconds of struggling with my back pockets I gave up. So you will just have to visit Isput Pass to see it. The valley just stretches away. It is the kind of view that helps me understand why we have national parks. What I mean is, if Yosemite wasn't a national park there is a good chance that some private owner would charge people to look and climb. I mean that national parks are not a right. They are a privilege that we are very fortunate to have in the United States.

I ran down the pass as the sun set. At about 7:30 PM I decided to put my headlamp on. I turned my hat backwards and adjusted the light. I was a little frustrated that I had to put my light on so early because I had planned to turn it on after 8, but that is life. I mean with my lithium batteries I have hundreds of hours of battery life anyway. Those batteries are also almost fresh. I used them in my GPS in Pakistan but only on the summit push and then only for half an hour at camp three. 

I progressed through the night until the lower crossing at Carbon River. The normal trail to the upper crossing and the suspension bridge was out so I had to detour along the lower crossing. I made my way up to Dick Creek  and perhaps a quarter of a mile or half of a mile after passing through there my batteries died. I immediately halted. I pressed the on button again. The light flickered for half a second and went out again. I took the light off my head and gave it a futile shake. I tried the button again and the light went on and off as fast as you can think it. It was 9:10 PM. 

This was a trip changing event. I sat down on the nearest rock and ate one of my Clif Bars. I am a huge fan of the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut. They could probably be sold at Starbucks, unpackaged, for twice the price they are sold at REI. 

Anyway, I took out my iPhone to light the map and contemplated the future. I tried to lay out my options. I could sleep there on the trail. I had my iPhone light so I could use that to keep going. I could use my iPhone to get back to Mowich and end the run. 

There was really only one decision that stuck out in my head. Use the iPhone to keep going. On the map there was a patrol cabin at Mystic Lake about 4.5 miles away. My iPhone battery was full so I thought I could make it that far. Then I could decided what to do next. Well, no time like the present.

I started hiking and I went slow. The light only provided about ten feet of visibility so I was moving at maybe 1.5 miles an hour. As the trail went up the side of the hill there were sections without trees where the night sky lit up the trail enough to turn my light off. There was about a first quarter moon but it was on the other side of the valley so it was not giving me any light besides reflection off of glaciers and clouds. 

The hike that would have taken not much more than an hour in the daylight or with a good headlamp took two and a half hours in the dark with an iPhone. When I was moving fast I was not feeling bad. As soon as the pace slowed it was like my legs and head were on the same page again. Realizing the 40 odd miles they had already covered they agreed to be tired. 

Hiking alone in the dark is one of the more scary things to do. In fact, it is one of the most scary things that I know of. I would rather sit at a hanging belay a thousand feet in the air than go hiking alone in the dark. I was not nearly as scared this time as I usually am. I think that all of the bear, elk, and moose encounters I have had this year have given me more confidence in the wilderness. During the hike by iPhone I did scare up some animal. I never saw it but it was a larger size of animal. At least deer size. Half of the fear is hearing a crashing in the trees 20 feet away and not knowing what it is.

At about 11:45 PM I arrived at the patrol cabin. At this point the enthusiasm for my ethics about being unsupported were low. I was planning to ask the rangers for AAA batteries. I pay lots of money for National Park entry fees and a few batteries would be a huge help. If they didn't have batteries I was going to ask to sleep inside their cabin for a few hours. 

Step number one, wake up the rangers. I pounded on the door and windows and shined light through the windows. I circled the cabin and finally realized that it was locked from the outside. Truly locked. I was alone. I was exhausted. 

Fortunately, there was a blue tarp behind the cabin folded on top of a wood pile. I took it off and went to the porch. I wrapped the tarp around me and put on every piece of clothing I had (a long sleeve shirt and wind shell). I ate and drank a little food then I passed out. For the next five and a half hours it was a mix of shivering and waking up to my phone alarm. The first alarm was at 3 AM, the second at 4 AM and at 5 AM I woke up shivering naturally. It was a terrible night. Not as scary as getting altitude sickness at 20,300 feet in Pakistan or sleeping on a ledge in Yosemite so I slept like a rock in between shivering sessions. 

When I woke up at 5 AM I rolled around another half an hour before I decided to get up and go. The night is coldest before the dawn and about 5 AM with a 6:30 AM sunrise is very cold at 5700 feet in Mt. Rainier National Park. I sat up around 5:30 AM and ate some more food. I folded up the tarp and headed back on the trail, with the iPhone lighting my way. Just ten minutes down the trail in a small meadow I scared up a rock. At least I thought it was a rock until I was 25 feet away. It stood up and lumbered 20 feet away from the trail. At three feet tall, bulky, and black, it was a bear. I started talking and yelling and trying to make noise and scare it away. After only a few seconds it ran into the forrest. I continued to make noise as I scampered down the trail. There was a fair amount of talking out loud during this time. Had the bear not moved when it did I could have touched it another five or ten seconds down the road. Encountering a bear alone in the dark is not high on my to do list.

The sun came up and I gladly resumed my trotting and speed walking rhythm. The above picture captures part of the north face at 7:34:07 AM on Wednesday the 15th. The North face of Mt. Rainier looks so interesting. Very difficult. I had no idea there was any face like that on Mt. Rainier. I would have taken a better picture but it was simply too dark for my camera from 7:30 PM to 7:30 AM. I arrived at White River at 9:00 AM on the dot after scaring several early morning backpackers. I was continually hiking or running up behind people so fast that I gave them a scare. I started to announce my presence 20 feet back or farther so that they had some time to know I was there. 

Again it was strange to arrive at White River with roads, people, cars, and industrialized stuff. From then on out the trail was amazing. I mean world class hiking. From White River to Summerland was seven great miles. That being said, I was getting tired. Uphills were not as fun as they had been. I had a fair amount of food left so I was eating more per mile than I had before. The whole run I was most concerned about getting up Panhandle Gap. At 6800 feet it was the highest elevation on the Wonderland Trail. It was also at the beginning of a long stretch without any way to get off the trail in case of emergency. 

However it was quite easy and I arrived on top at 11:17 AM according to the above picture. I think that mountain in the center right of the picture is Mt. Hood. This picture is looking south from Panhandle Gap. Then of course the token self portrait with Mt. Rainier in the background.

From there it was nice running, but starting to get a little painful. Down and down some more. I figured that I had 7000 feet of descending left and 3000 feet of ascending and just over 22 miles. I was almost done!

Just above Indian Bar I had a conversation with two rangers. 

Me, "I have a tough question. Vanilla or Strawberry?" In reference to which flavor of gel I was going to eat next.

Younger ranger female, "Vanilla, definitely."

Then we proceeded to talk about what I was doing for about 15 seconds and then I was off hiking uphill again. From there I just kept moving, eating and drinking. It gradually became more cloudy and was sprinkling slightly as I passed through a deserted Box Canyon. 

With 11-12 miles to go I managed to think of what I had left to do as only a 12 mile run. I thought I could push hard and pick up the pace and do it in less than two hours. For about a mile I moved rather fast. I probably did a sub 10 minute mile uphill. That soon ended.

Around mile 82 my right leg which had been hurting for 10-15 miles spiked to a five out of ten. That's not runable unless I am in fear for my life. My right ankle near the front was really hurting. It hurt most running downhill. Walking uphill was bearable so I spent most of the next few miles walking. I know from reading about ultrarunning that pain often turns around and people can continue on. That happened.

Around mile 85 when I saw the 7.5 miles to Longmire sign the pain subsided in my right ankle and I resumed a moderate amount of running. I passed some backpackers that were dong the Wonderland Trail in six days and of all the people I have met that is the fastest anyone has tried to do it.

At the sign that said 1.7 miles to the finish I started running hardish again. The rain picked up but not enough for my wind shell. At this point 12 minute miles downhill was my version of redlining. Every sign was nice to see. 1.6 miles. 1.4 miles. I was going to finish this massive trail. I popped out into Longmire at the same place I had entered the trail. I was slightly bewildered that the entry and exit were the same place. I took the picture below at 5:26:17 PM.

I walked over to the Wilderness Ranger Station and pounded on the locked door. The ranger I talked to the day before came down and we talked for a minute. She was impressed, and happy they didn't have to come rescue me. I changed into cotton clothes in the bathroom. Next, having forgotten the salt packets, I sat in the driver's seat, wearing cotton and ate a salt packet. I had a very strange feeling of all the muscles in my legs relaxing. They were not cramped up but they were tight and that salt packet was almost as good as a massage. I had five energy gels left so I ate about 3700 calories during the run. I also drank a quart of strawberry lemonade, my first Five Hour Energy, and a pint of water. That was enough to get me to Ashford. 

At the local watering hole I had a bacon double cheeseburger. I have never actually had a double hamburger and I devoured a huge one with lots of cheese and bacon. The fries didn't slow me down either. I followed that down with a salted margarita and a tall glass of milk. 

That got me to Puyallup where I stopped at Krispy Kreme and Jamba Juice for a few hundred more calories. 

That was enough to get me back to Ballard to a friend's house. I took three steps toward his house and he just laughed at how I was walking. I had hot spots on my feet, my legs were sore, and I was tired. Strangely enough I wasn't tired enough to go to sleep. I talked with him and his roommates about big wall climbing in Yosemite and other adventures. We watched District 9 which I managed to stay awake through. It is a good movie. I ended the adventure by collapsing in a spare bed and sleeping like a rock.