Keep moving forward...

October/November running

2011-11-26T07:49:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've updated anything here. October has been a busy month for running. Heartland 100 was first. Kansas may seem flat, but in the Flint Hills.. it has some hills. When you're at 70 or more miles, those hills become big, steep hills. It was great to be back in Kansas for another 100 miler finish.

The next weekend was Pumpkin Holler Hunnerd in Tahlequah, OK. It's about an hour drive which made it really nice. The course again was similar to Heartland, basically all gravel road. But Tahlequah has much steeper climbs than Heartland. Finish time was under 25 hours. But it's great just to have a finish.

A successful back to back 100 mile finish. Hopefully next year, I'll have back to back to back 100's.

November also brings some good running. Again this year, I was a 5 hour pacer for the Route 66 marathon. Included this year was a detour to the center of the universe (added .3 mile to 26.2). Since it's beginning in 2006, I've ran this marathon every year. It's great running Route 66 marathon.

Happy running out there!

Hawks 100

2011-09-13T19:42:00.000-07:00

Sept. 10th was the inaugural Hawks 100 mile trail race in Lawrence, KS... Clinton Lake north shore to be exact.

This race was not open to anyone. Qualification was a successful completion of 100 miler in last couple of years. And to make matters worse, the race was basically unsupported in terms of aid stations...other than what you can stash at 3 spots on the course. This was "old school" racing.

The course was 4 laps of 23.sumthing miles, and about 8 mile out and back to finish 100 miles. Time limit was a generous 32 hours, with no cut-offs in between. Twelve people signed up, and eleven toed the start line at 6am.

My goal was just to finish...even if taking 32 hours. The first lap was good. I held back as much as I could. The trail was not easy...run-able in alot of spots...but only short sections. There were lots of roots and rocky in lot of areas.

At start line, I had my truck with food and all the goodies. At about mile 5 and mile 17 (on first lap), I only had gatorade, oranges, Ensure, and some gels, which was not enough to sustain a person for 4 laps of 23+ miles.

My first lap took 5-1/2 hrs complete...which was good... not really pushing it hard. Before starting my 2nd lap, I ate good and drank alot of ice water. There was only water available at 3 spots on the course, but no ice. Afternoon temps started to climb. At 30 miles, I started to walk more and more..thinking I need to save energy to make it back to my truck (mile 46), since I had minimal supply til then. I also figured I'll do my running when the sun went down..thinking it would getting cooler.

At mile 40, my stomach was beginning to turn on me. I was drinking OK... but my energy level was really going down, and I needed some food. I finally made it back to my truck (mile 46-ish). My stomach was now totally not happy. I took my time and ate good. I even thought about taking a short nap just so that my stomach would feel somewhat better. I had plenty of time left. I was at about 12 hrs into the race. I had 20 hrs left to do 55 miles.

But I got impatient, and got back on the course for my 3rd lap. It was less than 1/4 mile that everything I ate came back up. My stomach was completely tore up now. I was not holding anything down. Now the decision was...should I go back and just rest an hour and try to eat again?...or continue? It was now getting dark, and I would have to go 23 miles without eating anything...other than gels. With the stomach as it is, gels didn't sound good. I was slowly sipping water...and even that almost came back up as soon as it went down. I was in sad shape now. I finally made out to mile 55-ish at water aid station. My strength was pretty much gone. The first place runner had now lapped me. I wished him luck, and I called it "done". It was tough decision.

Sometimes things don't always go your way. Time to re-group and go for another 100 next month.

Happy Trails!

Midnight Madness 50 Miler

2011-07-04T21:53:00.000-07:00

July 1st, 2011...11:50pm...the Midnight Madness 50 miler gets under way here in Tulsa, OK. The temperature was going to be a factor this year. No chance of rain. Last couple of days leading up to the race has been in the 100s, and nighttime lows of 80s. It was going to be brutal this time.

The course is pancake flat, with short steep climb at Turkey mtn. from one direction, and long steady uphill from other direction. Course is 10.3 mile loop, with 1,3,5 going one direction, and 2,4 opposite direction. This made it really nice. You were able to see where and how everyone else is doing during the race. I like this format.

Up to raceday, I've done my heat training. I was prepared this time. At start area, I had my pedialyte, salt stick tabs, gatorade, and extra everything to change into. For Turkey mtn aid station, I had the same stash. My gameplan was start out slower than last year, and make up time in last two laps. And since I've been doing my training runs in vibram 5-fingers, I was ready to do 50 miles in the 5-fingers. But I did one thing that they say you should never do on race day...don't try anything new. Welll, I did.

During my training runs, I wore injinji socks with 5-fingers...and have had no problems with blisters or anything. I bought a new pair and didn't receive them until race day. When I went to try them on, they were quite snug. So I thought, if I put on my sock it will be very tight, and before I hit 10 miles I may have some serious issues. So I decided to go without sock and see what happens.

On my first 10 mile, I timed in at 1:35:09. Of course, being fresh, I was feeling very good. Vibram 5-fingers felt good... no issues at 10 miles. But I was going way to fast. I wanted to be at 1:45 or 1:50.

On my second (reversed) lap, I timed in at 1:35:53 (3:11 total). Again.. I was still going too fast. I was suppose to be at 2 hr lap time. But my legs were feeling good, and 5-fingers were working well... no issues. Somewhere around mile 19, I drank from water faucet on the trail...and before I knew it... I swallowed hot water from the faucet. Within minute, my stomach went south. I was beginning to feel sick. Soon as I hit the aid station, I took in some electrolytes and ginger..hoping to settle my stomach.

On my third lap, I decided to take it slower and try to get my stomach back on track. It was not happening. This really threw me off. After I left the aid station, I had forget to re-apply some bodyglide to my feet. At mile 26, my feet were beginning to feel some pain...some hot spots developing on the right foot. Mile 30, I timed in 2:08:17 (5:19 total) for lap 3. It seemed alot slower since I was dealing with stomach and foot issue now. At mile 30, I took off my 5-fingers, re-apply bodyglide, and changed to my racing flats and socks. I ate some food and back on course for lap 4.

Lap 4, I was still not feeling all that great, but I was moving again. Maybe not as fast as I would've like...but no matter. The sun was beginning to rise as I hit mile 45. Up to this point, the humidity hasn't really bothered me. I was hydrating well, taking in electrolytes, and eating good. Actually, it felt cool to me for the nighttime run. And my stomach was slower getting back to normal. I'll know better next time. Lap 4 (mile 40), I timed in at 2:19:40 (7:38 total). Considering the issues I was dealing with, it wasn't bad time.

Now the final lap to finish. I was thinking if I just keep a steady pace, I should be under 10 hrs, if not around 9:15 finish. I was thrilled to start again...the last lap! But everything went south. The sun was beginning to heat things up quickly. I was walking more and more...and less running. My legs were experiencing some cramping. The stomach issue came back again, and hit me hard this time. I was feeling a huge blister on bottom of my right foot now. At Turkey mtn aid station, I tried to get electrolyte and some food back in me. I put ice pack around my neck and some in my hat. I was off for the final 4 miles. I was beginning to run again for next 2 miles. But the last 2 miles... I was doing everything I could to get it done. Everything was zapped out of me. I finally made it to finish line in 10:21:46 (2:42:59 for last lap). I was sooo happy to finish.

nice finisher medal

some skin gone wearing vibram 5-fingers

small blister on right foot

50 miler finish...right and left foot!

Last note to add... this was an awesome race! Thanks to RD Brian H. for organizing a great event. And thanks to all volunteers who helped with the race. Thanks to Oklahoma Trail Runners Association for manning Turkey mtn. aid station. Congratulations for all finishers...and even to those that toed the line... it was not an easy run for anyone...no matter what distance they covered.

Andy Payne Marathon

2011-05-31T10:55:00.000-07:00

This past sunday was the Andy Payne marathon at Lake Hefner, OKC. For the past year, I've been running in vibram 5-fingers (Bikilas). And I was looking at this race more of a training run also.

The course was out and back, and repeat another for full marathon around Lake Hefner. I got up at 3am, and drove to OKC for 6:30am start. The gun went off exactly on time. Full and half marathoners were thrown in together.

For the first segment (to the out turn around), I tried to keep slow pace, but at times, I was going way fast..and I was going to pay for it later on. I was at 56:30 at turnaround. Coming back was quite abit harder due to strong south winds. I slowed down quite abit and threw in some walking. I got back to start area in 2 hrs 3 mins.

On my second out segment, I decided to take much slower and not push it. With strong south wind (tailwind), my quads are actually taking a beating. At every aid station, I just stop and drank lots of water. Temps were on the rise by mid morning. On this segment, it took me hour and 22 minutes. I had slowed alot. My feet felt fine. The wind was basically taking a toll on me now.

Coming back home on the last segment, I just slowed down and did alot of walking. This was a good time for walking. The winds are really fierce now. At about mile 22, my left quad was acting up. I walk some and run some. This worked out pretty good. I finally rolled into finish line at 4 hrs. 54 min. 46 sec. I had finished my first marathon with vibram 5 fingers. And my feet didn't really hurt much. I'm sure that if the wind was as bad, my time would've been better too. Everyone's time would've been better. Nonetheless, it was a great training run.

DG productions did a wonderful job with the race. Thanks to all volunteers at aid stations, just been out in these winds had to been hard too... maybe even harder.

I hope to run 50K next weekend. Happy Trails!

Run To The East

2011-04-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

Warrior Princess Trail Run

2011-04-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

It's been raining all weekend. But today, it cleared out early afternoon. And a special event was held near Lake Keystone. It was the Warrior Princess Trail Run.. 1.03 mile or 10.3 miles. Normally I don't run races that short... some may not think it's short. But anyway...this race was in memory of a little girl that lived only 103 days...thus 1.03 or 10.3 miles.

After doing 21 miles yesterday, I was just taking it easy today. The first 5.something miles were on trails. Then the next 5.something miles were on pavement with big time hill finish. I love hill finishes. After 10.3 miles (10.38 garmin time), I strolled in around 1 hr. 40 min.

Once again, the event was first class. Thanks to Runners World/Tulsa, TATURs, and all volunteers for putting this event on. Ken Childress (aka Trail Zombie) did an awesome job marking the course.

Cool tech shirt and bling

Nice!

Training runs, week of 4/3/11 - 4/9/11

2011-04-11T20:32:00.000-07:00

4/3 Sunday -        10.5 miles 1:49:36
4/4 Monday -        0 miles
4/5 Tuesday - am 5.5 miles    0:51:36
4/5 Tuesday - pm 8.16 miles 1:14:25
4/6 Wednesday - 0 miles
4/7 Thursday -     9.5 miles     1:28:12
4/8 Friday      -     9.0 miles     1:33:28
4/9 Saturday -     7.5 miles     1:19:36

Total ----------- 50.16 miles   8:17:06

After couple of weeks of 20 milers (licking my wounds), it was time to step it up a little. Weekly mileage is finally up to 50 miles. I felt good most of the week. Mileage should be on the build now.

Snake Run

2011-03-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

This year's Snake Run was great. The weather was perfect...hardly no sun, little rain now and then, cool breeze all day.

Snake Run start/finish

Two weeks ago, I ran A-OK 50K. I had strain my calf muscle pretty bad. Since then, I didn't do any running in hopes that my leg would heal up. By Thursday, I went for short 5 miles at easy pace. My leg was still feeling the pain. By saturday, I was still unsure if I should run for 6 hours...much less cover over 30 miles.

feeling good moment (photo-K2)

I started out very slow, and close to the very back of the pack. First 4 mile loop went good, second 4 mile loop went smoothly too. I wasn't pushing hard, but rather keeping steady pace.

Towards end of 3rd 4-mile loop, my leg was beginning to hurt. Fourth loop (mile 12 to 16), I walked most of it...hoping that if I can only make it to 20 miles...it would be a good day.

Fifth loop (up to mile 20), I was still moving. Time was somewhere close to 4 hours. I thought...if I can only do one more loop..I'd call it a day.

At the end of my sixth loop (mile 24.5), I had about 1 hour left. My leg was still hurting...but I thought...maybe I can put in 2 more miles to make it a marathon..then call it done.

I started on the 1/2 mile loop. In about an hour, I was able to hobble in another 4 miles. By this time, my leg was finally getting in tune, and I was able to run most of it. I was beginning to feel good. But time ran out on me. At 5 hrs. 57 min. 45 sec., I would cover 28.6 miles. Some days, the body is just not up to par.

However, the Snake Run was a great turn out. Some 250 runners came out for either the 3 hr or 6 hr of trail running.

bling...bling

Thanks to TATURS for a great race.

A-OK 25/50K

2011-03-07T20:41:00.000-08:00

March 6, 2011 A-OK 25/50K in Atoka (Stringtown), OK

Aaron and Rob (TATUR's)

The TATUR's had a great showing at A-OK. The weather was perfect for trail running. 8:00am start was mid-20s, gloves and long tech shirt was good. As the day progress, temps were in mid 60s though, but the winds kept it chilly at times.

Kurt contemplating a win!

Kurt and Jason (another TATUR) ran a strong race throughout. Kurt looked strong from start to finish. He went on to win the 50K (4:30-something), followed by Jason in second place. Kurt's wife, Shelly, won the womens 50K. She too look very strong throughout the whole race.

Me and Rob (TATUR twins)

I was hanging with Rob from the beginning, until we got close to 5 miles. We got to a rocky section, and Rob twisted his ankle big time. While he tried to walk it off, I kept on going. I was finally getting into a groove at about 6-7 miles. My pace was finally at about 8-9 min./mile. At about mile 10, I crossed Rob again, and his ankle was not looking good...but he was still moving.

I got back to base camp (halfway) in about 2hr.30min. For some reason, my right calf muscle started to hurt. I must've had a mis-step somewhere in the rocky section. And as I was about to face some more climbs on the second loop, I was really re-thinking if I should go out again.

So I start back out again. I basically walked about a mile and half until I reached the top where it was more flat sections. I was able to start running again...but with caution. I took it easy for the rest of the way. I was able to get back in one piece without major damage. My finish time was 5:42.53. It was a great training run.

Thank you to Mary Ann Miller, the volunteers, Dora (aid station specialist), and some friends who reward me with a special prize for finishing (Navajo frybread and mutton...Yummmm!...one reason I make the trip to Atoka every year).

Post Oak Challenge

2011-02-28T21:09:00.000-08:00

Sunday, Feb. 27, Post Oak Challenge Marathon.

Up to this point, my training hasn't been consistent. This weekend, I had scheduled a long training run. So I just decided to run the Post Oak marathon. I would rather have ran the 50K trail the day before, but had other plans going.

Saturday, the conditions were great for long run. But sunday, it was the opposite, good chance of rain, high humidity, strong south winds, and temps. in the 60s, maybe 70s. Not good conditions for marathon PR. However, I hadn't plan on getting a PR anyway, just a good solid training run.

From start, the course is mainly downhill for about 4-5 miles, then turns on an asphalt trail (flat) for the next 15 or so miles. I really treaded the flat sections. I ran pretty good for 15 or 16 miles (9:55 pace), then I started having issues with my right calf muscle. I slowed it down for next 4 or 5 miles. My pace was somewhat like 12:00/mile.

The course was basically out and back with few different turns here and there. The 4-5 miles from start is what we had to back-track. With legs trashed, it was tough going but got it done. The last 1/4 mile was brutal. Soon as I hit the top, I was able to run it in for 4:42 finish.

1/4 mile climb to finish line (garmin-20% grade)

nice bling.

Congrats to all finishers!! Thanks to all volunteers and race staff for a great race.

Snow Run

2011-02-05T11:36:00.000-08:00

sunny start, but cold

Snow and cold saturday... it was still a great run. I had hope to do a long run. But today, I just made it short 8.5 miles. There'll be another day.

roads mostly clear, but slick

Happy Trails!

DanMan 2011

2011-02-02T18:04:00.000-08:00

DanMan Challenge 2011...cancelled!

DanMan playground

DanMan 2009

I was planning on doing a nice and slow 50 miler. I like running DanMan trails. It's just a great event. I love the turkey leg after a long run.

Birthday Run

2011-01-23T14:17:00.000-08:00

Saturday, Jan. 22nd... I went on my birthday run. This year I was turning 48...so that meant 48 miles. (I wish I was 20 again...not really).

My start was Lafortune Park at 8:45am. I had planned on starting around 6am..but it was cold this morning. Since I was going to be out all day... I thought a later start with sun shining might be better choice. Temp was still in mid-20s...which was good. High was to hit mid 40s by afternoon. I decided to run in my bikilas. My longest run with the bikilas had been around 15 miles. Today, I was living on the edge.. since I will not be able to switch to my regular shoes til I get back to my start point.

I had to abandon my original route due to snow and icy conditions, which was going from Catoosa HS (finish of Mother Road 100, part III to Carl's jr (west tulsa) finish of Mother Road 100, part I) and back, plus 8 miles. So now, my plan was to just wander the streets of Tulsa, with some running on Route 66.

mile 4

Running in five fingers on ice is somewhat slippery since there is practically nothing on the bottom. There were times when I had to run on grass so that I didn't slip and fall.

Riverside Trail, mile 8

Riverside trail was in good shape.. no ice, but few wet spots. The wet spots did play some havoc...my toes got wet..and at times they were feeling numb. I did have an extra pair of socks if they were to really get soaking wet.

Finally getting on Route 66 at 11th and Peoria, I headed west from there. I continue west all the way to Carl's jr in west Tulsa near Turnpike entrance. This was the finish line for Mother Road 100, part I.

mile 15, 11th and Riverside

mile 12, getting on Route 66 (11th St)

mile 19.. Ollie's Restaurant

mile 21...Carl's Jr (west Tulsa)

I was getting hungry..so I went across to McDonald's to eat. I thought about trying Carl's jr. But I knew McD kid's meal works for me on long run. Coming back on Southwest Blvd, my legs were beginning to feel it. I was slowing down somewhat...doing more walking now. I was at marathon distance.

mile 25... southwest blvd

Will Rodgers sign

As I came back across 11th St. bridge, I made a detour into downtown Tulsa and follow Route 66 marathon course. I got back on 11th St and made it to 11th and Peoria and back to Veteran's Park. I was at 30 miles. My legs were really feeling it now. And my foot were beginning to ache now..after going 38 miles in my bikilas.

mile 30...Veteran's Park

I started back on Riverside trail. It was getting late in the afternoon. I had about 10 miles back to Lafortune, and it will be getting cold again. The next 10 miles was going to be tough. I was getting hungry, and getting cramps in my left leg. I would walk to relieve the pain, then start jogging again.

I made it back to Lafortune at sunset. Mileage is at 38.5 I thought I have to make it to mile 40. I took off my five fingers and put on my regular shoes, drank some pedialyte (works wonders for me) and downed some smoothies. I was off and did the 1.5 miles to make it to mile 40. The sun was gone...I was getting cold, and my son called and said he wanted pizza... I thought that sounds great... I can finish the 8 miles tomorrow.

Sunday morning... it was hard getting out...it was colder than yesterday. I took it slow at start...then finally got into a groove. I was able to manage 11 min. miles on this 8 mile stretch. That completed my 48 miles. It's a good thing I didn't opt for the 48 hr b-day run. Happy Trails!!

night run

2010-12-07T22:58:00.000-08:00

route

stats

After about week and half of the cruds, I'm finally out for a short night run. It was a tad bit nippy out...actually great for running. Temp was probably in low 40s.

I felt great from start to finish. I ran 8 miles, with average pace of 9:07 per mile. It was great to be out again. I just love night running.

Elevation chart looks like some where in Colorado mtns. Wish it was, but it's just scaled weird. I did hit a few inclines though...but nothing like a steep mtn.

T-TOTs

2010-11-30T08:06:00.000-08:00

photo TATUR

Sunday morning, 7:30, TATUR Training On Trails (T-TOTs) started group training runs at Turkey mtn. Some 75 people showed up to test their abilities on dirt trails. As for me, I was glad to be running some dirt again.

The morning started with a chill in the air..enough for light jacket and gloves. But as the run progressed, it got warm. There were about 3 or 4 groups divided, based on 5K times, or more like fast, medium, slow, and walking pace.

T-TOTS training group

After varying distances of 3 to 6 miles, the training groups were treated to pancake breakfast back at the start. Flap-jacks were flapped by none other than the Head Tatur himself...aka Brian.

Head TATUR

While everyone was eating pancakes, I went on to cover some more distance on the snake trail. I just couldn't stop at 6. At the end, I finished with about 9 miles. It felt great to be back in the woods again.

nice hill training

cruising flat section

nice climb

Happy Trails!!!

Route 66 Marathon

2010-11-22T18:40:00.000-08:00

mile 16.25

nice bling

Nov. 21st was the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa, OK. My duty for the day was pacing people who wanted to finish in 5 hours, or basically be a guide along the course as to where a person should be if they wanted to finish in 5 hours. To keep an even split (11:27 per mile) is pretty hard.

Today, the challenge was gonna be more with a strong south wind, and warm temps. As the day progress, people were having issues from cramps to dehydrations. Running in these conditions does take a toll on a person if not trained properly. Drink, drink, drink...was the call from the beginning.

At mile 12-ish, people were given the option of taking a detour to the center of the universe...an extra .3 mile added to 26.2...thus making the total distance of 26.5 miles. By this point, my group had fallen apart, and I opted for the extra .3 and went to the center of the universe. Just had to make it an ultra :) But as a 5 hour pacer, I had to make up time for the detour. We made it up in the second half of the marathon.

Center of Universe medal

From mile 16 to the turnaround at mile 21, we had a strong headwind. I was on pace at this point. Coming back with the tail wind, I finished almost 9 minutes ahead of schedule. I even tried to slow down, or walked at times. I finished with 4:51:46. It was a good run for me...totally relaxed run. For others, I'm sure it wasn't one of their best times.

I'm ready for some dirt trails now. Happy Trails!

Mother Road 100, part 3

2010-11-16T11:46:00.000-08:00

start line

The last 100 miler of Mother Road series is done! And it was a great race...from the race organizers to all the aid stations to the finish line. Thanks to Thomas Hill and Bret Sholar for scheming these Mother Road 100 milers. The 2006 MR100 was my first 100 miler, and been hooked ever since.

me and my brother

The start was Baxter Springs, KS. The morning was very cool. The rain had all but moved out. There was slight northwesterly breeze..just enough to donn some light jackets. My plan was to start out very slow the first half, and pick up time in the second 50. My goal time was 20 hours or less.

mile 10

Mile 18, Miami

From start to Miami, OK is 18 miles, my pace hit 9 min./mile. I was feeling very good. But I was going too fast. I knew I had to back down some if I was to maintain pace at halfway. My fluid intake was good...everything was working great. My crew was on schedule with what I needed. One thing they always say is NEVER try anything new on race day...wellll...I broke that rule. About a month back, when I was doing Heartland...I had bad stomach issues that forced me to drop at 67 mile...I think I took in way too much sodium. This time...I was not going to take any salt sticks or endurolytes. I was going with pedialyte..you know...lil kids drink. And it worked! (I learned the hard way at Badwater).

Coming into mile 26 (Narcissa), I slowed it down some...doing about 10:15 pace now..time is now 4 hours. Good time...but still pushing abit than I wanted too.

Afton, mile 34.5

Afton weigh-in, mile 34.5

On some sections before Afton, we got on the old R66 road with gravel. I was wearing a very lightweight shoe (7oz). Racing flats just don't work well on gravel road. Actually, it hurts. I came into Afton (mile 35ish) about 5 hrs 45 min. This would be the first weigh-in. My weigh-in the day before was 180...mostly from water and carbo-loading. My normal weight is 173. My weigh-in at Afton showed 172. I got a caution. I told them what my norm was...and that suffice. I took in some soup, and off I went again. Up to this point, I hadn't sat down to rest. My legs were feeling good. Everything was going smooth. But one thing started to bother me abit....almost 6 hours..and I haven't pee'd. I was taking in fluids..water, pedialyte, perpetuem, ginger ale, but just not getting the urge to go. I told my crew that I may need to take in more fluids and see what happens.

mile 40, drinking and drinking

For 10 miles, I slowed down more (12:15/mile)...so that I could drink more fluids and see if I could go pee. 7 hrs. 45 min., I was at mile 45...and still no bathroom break. I was really concerned now. I was hydrating enough, and sweating just fine. I was feeling fine.

mile 45

mile 47, climbing small hill

At mile 48, nature finally called. It was a relief to know the body is still functioning like it's suppose to. From there, it got back to normal. I had never gone 8 hrs without a bathroom break.

I came into Vinita aid station (mile 49.2) for another weigh-in. This time it showed 171. Again, I was told "you're borderline". Again, I told them what my norm was. It was all good. I told my crew to stop at McDonald's and grab me a burger...I was really getting hungry. I wanted some fries too..but I wasn't taking that chance. I told the crew to meet me at 50 mile mark where we had to cross a timing mat. I crossed the mat at 8 hrs. 51 min. It was my fastest 50 miler. I can't even come close to this when I do only a 50 miler. That's one reason I'm not crazy about 50 milers...I'm never happy with my time.

mile 50, plain hamburger and drink

After a short break eating my hamburger and drinking a coke, I changed into my night clothes, and put on my headlight. It was getting colder by the minute...temp was in low 30s. Slowly, I got back into a shuffle, then running again. I was getting ready for a good second 50 miler. Under 20 hour mark was looking good. Nighttime running is usually my best running. And on this course, daytime was abit of a downer..because there were miles of long, flat stretches that seemed to go on forever. I was looking forward to nighttime when I can pickup pace. And the cold temps is my most efficient running.

mile 60, leg issues

Somewhere coming out of Vinita, I may have stepped wrong with my left leg, or something. Between mile 55 and 60, my left quad just started to hurt really bad. Every step was getting painfully. I informed my crew that I needed something to wrap my leg with to keep it as stable as possible. I left my ace bandage at home...dang it! I had to wrap it with some pre-wrap spongey and tape it. It seemed to work.

Coming into Chelsea (mile 67), I had lost alot of time. My pace was about 20 min/mile for last 7 miles. I took a short break at the aid station...ate some chicken noodles, pig in blanket, fruit cocktails...I was hungry. I also took some tylenol. My leg was still hurting. I slowly got back on the road again. 68 miles in about 12 hours... I was still looking at a 20 hour finish. I was still upbeat.

I passed Bushyhead aid station (mile 74.5) in 13 hrs. 15 min. I was into a slow run again. My pace was now around 16.5 min./mile...not what I had hoped for...but I was moving.

TATUR A.S. (mile 77)

I reached Foyil/TATUR aid station (mile 77) just under 14 hrs. My energy level was going down. I sat down for about 10 min., ate a sandwich, some soup, and headed out into the night again. I had about 6 hrs to cover 23 miles to make 20 hour finish. On a normal day, it's no biggy. But this time, I was having doubts. However, I was now just focused on finishing. The 20 hour mark was out the door...just finish.

night time running

I hitted Claremore (mile 87) in 18 hrs. I was still running slow, and throwing in some walking. My pace was now around 14 min/mile. I was beginning to think..I might still make 20 hours. But I was really getting hungry. I down some smoothies, ate a small turkey sandwich, and off into the night again.

For the next 2 or 3 miles, I was just walking...I couldn't get into a running mode. Verdigris aid station (mile 93) was next. I got there in 19 hrs. 15 min. I had 7 miles left. Could I make 20 hr mark in 45 minutes? The answer was no..but I could still hit 21 hours. I was completely exhausted, but I kept running slow and walking briskly at times.

At mile 97, I looked east and saw the break of dawn. Now I was thinking..I have got to beat the sunrise. With 1 mile to go, I told my crew to go head to finish line. I was giving all I have. I came into the track, circled the track one time, and into the finish line. I crossed the line in 21 hrs. 38 minutes. 18 sec., and I beat the sunrise.

3 for 3 on the Mother Road! what a blast!

My crew was every bit golden. They were fantastic!

mile 23, drinking on gravel road

me and the crew

Finish!

Thanks to all race organizers, volunteers, and congratulations to all runners!

the bling!

2010-11-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

The final week of preparation. Taper week. Next saturday is the last of the Mother Road 100 miler series. or that's what they say.

Let's hope for some cool weather running...and chilly night.

"Get Your Kicks On Route 66"

Mock Marathon run

2010-11-01T20:20:00.000-07:00

Last long training run for Route 66 marathon this weekend. The run will on the marathon course, up to 22 miles of it. It should be a great day to cover 20-22 miles, at a nice leisurely pace...11ish min/mile. As for some of us Mother Roadsters 100, the taper will be all of next week. Rest..Rest..Rest...then party hardy.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-28T12:51:00.000-07:00

The kid in me will be out and about...I am going to enjoy eating all the candy this weekend.

Have a safe Halloween everyone!

24 The Hard Way Finish

2010-10-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

The event was "24 The Hard Way". And the name says it all. There was nothing easy about this event. This is the first time I've ran a 24 hour race on pavement. The object was to cover as many miles in a 24 hour period. There were also 6 hour and 12 hour portions of both pavement or trails.

Saturday morning, we were greeted with some pretty strong winds, and possibility of rain. We got the rain during the day, and went away. But the wind was to stay...and it was brutal for the roadsters.

9am sharp..the 24 hour race began. My plan was to start out slow, and keep a steady pace for as long as I could (10-12 min./lap). I did for about 30 miles. For there, the wind took its toll on me. I was fading away slowly. But still tried to keep a 15-18 minute per lap.

At 1am, I finally ended up taking a short 20 minute nap. Sometime around 4am, I took another nap, about 40 minute. It was tough to get going again after each nap...but just gotta do it.

At the 20th hour, I was around 80 miles. I thought..should I push hard for 4 hours to reach 100 miles, or should I just keep steady pace and make it to 90?

Of course, if this was the only race for awhile..I would've done everything I could, but since I've got another run in less than a month..I thought I better play it safe and opted for 90 miles.

I completed 90.4 miles (94 laps) in 23 hrs. 28 minutes. It was a great run...no blisters, no major soreness, just some pain in the right calf muscle.

One more note... big thank you to all the volunteers...you guys are the best!

Chisholm Deupree (RD) and crew put on a great show. Thanks a bunch.

Congrats to all runners!!

Awesome Bling!

Five Fingers

2010-10-18T20:48:00.000-07:00

barefoot runner

The Five Fingers... I love them. These are the shoes,,if you wanna call them "shoes".. is what I like to run in. It's great for pavement...a bit tough on concrete...but not really for trails. This weekend...I hope to run part of the 24 hour run in my Bikila's. Just love running barefoot.

24 The Hard Way

2010-10-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

Oct. 23, 2010... I'll be running for 24 hours on pavement, and see how many miles I can cover. I know I can cover 100 miles in less than 24 hours... but how much more can I do before the 24th hour? who knows. But again, this race is all about pacing myself, not a complete burnout. My goal is keeping steady all day long, and all night.

My friend Chisholm Deupree, great ultrarunner, is heading up this event. The race is well organized, with lots of volunteers pitching in. I'm ready for another long run.

Heartland 100, Oct. 9, 2010

2010-10-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

It’s been 2 years since I ran Heartland 100. The weather was rainy and cool then. It made for good running. This year, the weather was expected to be warm (mid-80s)…hot to be more exact when running all day.

Friday, we had the usual packet pickup, pre-race meeting, and dinner. The dinner was great. After dinner, I went back to my hotel, and prepared my drop bags. I put what I might need at certain aid station, based on a time schedule I had worked out. The most important was the night gear. I figured I would be needing my headlight, and change of clothes at mile 63.5 (Ridge Line aid station).

Saturday, I wake up around 3:15am, and started getting ready… the usual pre-race prep. I get to the start area in plenty of time. The temp was cool, but I could tell it was going to get warm as soon as the sun comes up. I decided then I would just take my 60 oz. hydration pack, and one hand held bottle. Normally, I just take one hand held bottle, and I’m fine on a 100 miler.

Promptly at 6:00am, the RD yells “Go!”…and we’re off into the darkness. My game plan was to start out really slow, no faster than 11 min./mile… and maybe go as slow as 12 min./mile for the first 25 miles. I wanted to keep this pace thru-out the day, then maybe negatives in the night when it got cooler. This time, I didn’t have a goal time to finish, other than just to finish. My focus was to maintain a slow, steady pace thru-out the day, and pick up some time into the cool night.

I reached the first aid station (Battle Creek, 8.2 miles) about 1 hr. 27 min. I was pretty much on pace. My estimated time was 1 hr. 30 min. I knew some hills were coming up…which means some walking. This is the time when the sun comes up, and the scenery is just awesome. I continued with my slow pace looking over the prairies where the buffalos roamed once, it felt great.

I reached the second aid station (Lapland, 16.8 miles) in 2 hrs. 59 min. I was still on pace… the faster side of my estimated pace (ETA 3 hrs. 6 min.). Time is 9 am, and getting warmer. I changed out my long sleeved shirt, and ate some watermelon and salty potatoes. 4 or 5 minutes, and I was on my way again. I’m drinking plenty of water, and taking in salt stick tabs.

Between Lapland and Teterville, there’s a mix of rolling hills and long flat sections, nothing major. I keep on with my steady pace… trying not to push it. I pull in to Teterville (mile 25) in 4 hrs. 40 min. My ETA was 4 hrs. 41 min. Time is now 10:40am… and very warm. I had ran out of water in my hydration pack. I ate a turkey sandwich, some chips, and mtn. dew. I got my hydration pack refilled, grabbed some orange slices, and off I went again. I had soaked my hat with water, but it didn’t take like half mile before it was dry as a bone. The south wind was kicking up now. I’m not crazy about tail wind, and I was getting hot.

Teterville to Texaco is 6.2 miles. Somewhere in the middle of this section, my stomach was beginning to have issues. I took in some ginger chews, thinking that would settle my stomach. I was walking the hills now. For some reason, I was getting a bad feeling. I was struggling abit. I reached Texaco Hill (mile 31.2) in 6 hrs. 17 min., almost 20 min. slower than what I planned. I thought… that’s no biggy. It’s still early, I can make that up in the night. I ate a turkey sandwich, chips, and drank some mtn. dew. It was really getting hot now…close to noon. I took about 10-12 minute break, and took out again.

Texaco to Ridge Line is 5.3 miles. This section has rolling hills and long flat sections, and absolutely no trees nearby. The bad thing about this section is you can see for miles, and seems like you’re not getting anywhere. After a fair amount of walking, I was able to run some parts. I got to Ridge Line (mile 36.5) in 7 hrs. 46 min. I dropped another 26 minutes, so now I was 46 minutes behind schedule. But I thought to myself, I need to not think about time, rather keep a slow, steady pace. So I blocked time out of my mind. At Ridge Line, I took my time in eating some more and refilling my hydration pack. A few runners had caught up with me and took out ahead of me. It’s good not to get caught up in the rush.

Ridge Line to Matfield Green was 6 miles. I estimated about 1 hr. 15 min for this stretch. About a mile coming out of Ridge Line, my stomach went haywire. It felt like bricks. I was walking more and more. I finally made it to Matfield Green (mile 42.5). It took me 2 hrs. Every part of my body was fine, except my stomach. I wanted to run, but my stomach was not liking it. I tried to eat something, but now, nothing was tasting good. Water was not tasting very well either. I took a short break, then headed out towards the turnaround. If only I can reach the midway, I think everything will look up… that was in my mind.

Matfield to Lone Tree (mile 50) was 7.5 miles. My estimate was 1 hr. 30 min. I walked about 7.4 miles of this section. Things were really going south now. I was not feeling good. And it was only my stomach. My legs were feeling fine. I reached Lone Tree (mile 50) in 2 hrs, 15 min. I was now 12 hrs into the race. I had never reached mile 50 in that timeframe before. It’s usually been 9 to 10 hrs. Just about everything negative set in. I took a 30 min. break, and try to eat a hamburger with some sprite.

What worried me more was my night gear was back at Ridge Line (14 miles back), and the sun was about to set. I had no headlight. Fortunately, Lone Tree aid station had a spare headlight that I could use. I was glad for that.

From Lone Tree, it’s a long climb back out for 2 miles. The temps were finally cooling off. I was thinking to myself…this is it…I’m ready to take off and make up time. From Lone Tree back to Matfield, I was able get into a rhythm…a slow jog now and then. But my stomach was still not getting better. I was having a rough time.

Back at Matfield again (mile 57.5), I tried to take in some broth. It was not going down. And water was not tasting good. I had to make myself get up and go to the next aid station (Ridge Line). After a slow start again, I was into a rhythm again… mostly power walking. But more than anything, I was losing strength now, since nothing was going down for the last 10 miles.

I finally reached Ridge Line (mile 63.5). I was now 16 hrs. 52 min. into the race. I have 36.5 miles left. Now the question was… do I continue to walk like I’ve been for the last 26 miles, or do I just hang it up?? It was a tough decision, but I was not about to torture myself again with a “death march”. If I’m not able to run the majority of the race, I’m not continuing. This is my second DNF at a 100 miler. It was a good decision. But there will be another 100 miler.

Heartland

2010-09-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

The last week of hard training. I feel ready, I am ready... 100 miles in the Flint Hills of Kansas. This will be my second time running this race. I had high expectation last time (sub 20), only to finish 23:38. This time, I just want to enjoy a good run, a finish without a complete burnout or meltdown. Bring on the Praire Chickens.

2010-07-18T20:18:00.001-07:00

2010 Badwater Recap Video - The most popular videos are a click away

Lisa Smith-Batchen 50 miles in 50 states

2010-04-27T19:35:00.000-07:00

Beginning April 19th, and ending June 19th, 2010, one of the world's premier ultra-runner Lisa Smith-Batchen will be running 50 miles in each of the 50 states. Though many have ran a marathon distance in each of the 50 states, no one has ever ran 50 miles in each state. And she'll be running just about every day.

Accompanying her will be a nun, sister Mary Beth Lloyd, age 61. Sister Mary Beth is not new to ultrarunning. She has accompanied Lisa on many occasions, including the picture below which I took when I was at Badwater 2008. They are on the climb out of Panamint Valley, the second of three major climbs at Badwater.

May 15th, Lisa and Sister Mary Beth will be in Tulsa, running her 50 miler in the state of oklahoma. I will be joining them. I'm looking forward to taking part of an great adventure. Their cause is to raise funds for orphans in the United States and abroad.

2010-04-17T21:04:00.000-07:00

Today is my son's birthday. It is the most joyous occasion for the birthday kid. Welll... christmas is pretty high on the list too. But anyway... today we celebrated his 9th birthday. All the kids ate pizza, drank coke, mtn dew, & cake. Then sent them home. I bet the parents are hating us now for their kids being a bit hyper...haha. They had a great time though. That's what counts.

Then on the flip-side of the coin... some sad news from my family. My brother, Wally, had heart attack last week. They put him on a ventilator, but never regain consciousness. Friday, he left us for a better place. I will sure miss him. When my dad was still with us, he and I would always go and visit my brother Wally. We had some happy times.

My running is like a roller coaster. One week, I might put in some miles. Then the following week, it would be almost nothing. Working 60 hrs per week is really getting in the way of my training. Slowly, but surely, I'm starting to run more miles. Today was kinda short run... just 13 miles..at about 9:15 min./mile pace. Hopefully, I'll keep putting in more and more miles soon.

Warm weather is on it's way... (I rather run in cold weather..that's just me)... go out and enjoy the weather...maybe even run a few miles. Gets the blood to flow better.

Happy Trails!

2010-04-06T21:03:00.000-07:00

Work is running my life now... well for now. Since the snake run, my running is practically non-existance. I'm finally getting back out again. By this time, I should've been doing 20 miles, and have relatively easy time with it. But it's the opposite... it's a struggle to hit 10 miles.

Hopefully in couple weeks, I'll be back to normal distance of 30 milers.

Have a great week!

Springtime!... enjoy the great outdoors.

2010 Snake Run

2010-03-22T20:01:00.000-07:00

190 runners signed up.... 130 runners show up... 60 smart people stayed cozy indoors.

Conditions for 2010 Snake Run was cold (upper 20s), started with rain, then sleet, snow, wind gust up to 30mph (mainly from the north). Trails were small puddles, then deep mud, then cold, freezing muddy water that deepen throughout the day.

6 hours of trekking in miserable conditions. The course was a 2 mile out, 2 mile back, repeat for 6 hours to get in as many miles as possible. I started out great with 9:30 min/mile for first 4 miles. My plan was to do 10 min/mile for the day. I was going abit fast.

Beginning the 3rd loop, I slowed it down to conserve some energy. Believe it or not, I was getting hot so I dropped off my jacket and stocking cap. Around mile 9, I turned a corner, slipped, and went down hard on my right leg. And of course, I was now soaking wet. The wettness didn't bother me, but at about mile 11, my leg was beginning to feel some pain from the fall. From there on, the fun was diminishing fast. I was beginning to walk alot.

I finally made it to mile 16. I was seriously thinking about calling it quits. But I thought...I'll drink some hot soup and see if I can make one more loop, then call it quits. My 5th loop was very slow...doing about 14 min./mile (walking alot).

I made it thru the 5th loop (finished 20 miles now). I was thinking...I still have over 2 hours left...I'll make another loop. So, I went out again. Conditions were still miserable... but that didn't matter, as I was all soaked, toes freezing, face and fingers were pretty much all numb. Finished 6th loop (24 miles) and I still had an hour to go. So I grabbed a cup of soup, and off I went again. I pushed it abit this time. I knew I can make another 4 miles... and maybe some more. I made it to 28 miles in 5 hrs, 50 minutes. I still had 10 minutes left. But I left it at that.

28 miles in miserable conditions, and with right leg giving me fits.... I was OK with it... not too happy, but good outing. Hopefully next year, weather won't be soo crazy so I can hit my 35 miles in 6 hours.

Congratulation to everyone who went out and ran in this crazy weather. I just love trail running...weather is never (except for lightning) a cause for cancellation.

A big thanks to Brian Hoover, Ken & Dana Childress, and some great volunteers to put on this show.

My toes...only the middle toe didn't get punished. Not even close to Badwater damage.

Snake Run 2010

2010-03-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

6-hour Snake Run coming up this weekend at Turkey mountain. This run is on some of the easier trails on Turkey mtn. It's basically a 4 mile loop. The object is to run as many miles as you can in 6 hours. My goal is around 35 miles. But I'll be happy with 30+ miles.

Come out and run some smooth dirt trails. Run a mile..5...10...or 15. You never know how far you can go til you try. Let's hope the rain holds off.

Good Luck runners.

A-OK 25/50K

2010-03-08T19:59:00.000-08:00

A-OK 50K, Atoka, OK, March 7th
Above is the course layout for 25K...out-n-bak... a repeat for 50K. Coming into this race, my training has been pretty much non-existance. It's been around 10/15 miles per week. So I was just looking at this race as a 6-hr training run. 50K... a training run??? It's crazy. But really... I was doing this only to cover 30+ miles. I was in bad need of a long run.

This is the 3rd or 4th time I'm running this course. This is a great course if you're just out for a long, slow run, and not very technical. Most of it is jeep trails or logging roads...very few rocky sections.

This year the weather forecast was pretty good chance for rain. In previous years, it's been cold (mid-20s to 30 deg) at start. Sunday, start temp. was around mid-40s, and overcast. I was thinking... it's going to be hot today. I do prefer cold temps though. And sure enough, temps probably hit mid-50s.

My plan was to start out slow, do the first loop (25K), and then see if I feel up for another 25K. I was estimating my time to be around 6 or 6.5 hrs... worst case, a 7 hr finish would be OK too... but that would mean my body is really needing some serious workout.

At 8am, RD Mary Ann yells out... "GO!"...and we're off. This race has been a very low key race, with 50 entry limit. But this year, there were 70+ runners all together. I think word is getting out about this little race in the woods.

First 2.25 miles is steady climb...darn me...I went out little faster than I wanted too. I should've just walk it. This will come back to haunt me in a big way. After reaching top, it's easy going on some nice dirt roads to the turn-a-round. I slowed it down just to save some for the second half. I got back to start/finish line in 2:43.

Coming back on the last mile or so, I was beginning to feel some leg muscle titching... not a good sign. I kept drinking more and more water, and taking in some Endurolytes. At half-way, I took a break, took in some salty food. The body was telling me to call it a day...but my mind was telling me to go back out again. I thought... that's weird. It's usually the mind that screams... stop. So, I thought, let's see how far I can go on the second loop... anything is just bonus.

The 2.25 miles back out was definitely hard... I struggled to reach the top... 18 min/mile. I had to stop a few times to massage my legs... it was cramping bad. I almost quit at that point. I seriously thought about just crawling back...but the next AS was a mile away... I'll stop there and get a ride back. I managed to get back into a slow shuffle, made it to the AS, took a short break, drank some broth... a big thanks to Dora Bray for being out there all day at the AS. She practically saved the day for me. I kept on going. I finally made it to the finish in 6 hrs, 16 min. I had hit my estimated time, but I didn't think I would have problems with my legs cramping.

Overall this was a great outing. I really needed to cover 31 miles. Now I hope to add more and more in the coming weeks.

Thanks to Mary Ann Miller, Dora Bray, and all the nice people for putting on a great race. Great chili too.

A-OK 25/50K

2010-03-01T21:02:00.000-08:00

Wow!!! It's been forever since I posted anything here. Basketball is finally over. Now the fun can begin. I'm ready for some needed trail running. While my running has been less than par, I'll be out and about this weekend at A-OK 25/50K in backwoods of Atoka. I'm thinking my time may not be fast, but at least I'll be out on the trails. We'll give it a shot and see how far I can go on very little training runs.

I can't wait to get in some serious long runs. After Atoka, I'll be looking at 6 hour Snake Run on Turkey mtn. That should be a blast.

Let's Go!!!

First Run of 2010

2010-01-01T20:50:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!!

Jan. 1, 2010... I started the new year with a short 5 mile run at Turkey mtn. There was quite abit of snow still left from christmas eve blizzard. The temp. was somewhere around 20 deg. F, but no wind. Just perfect weather for trail run.

The trail still had lot of icy spot. But for the most part, it was running...but running with caution.

Today, it was just great to hit the trails. I was going at it about 13 min. miles...simply just enjoying the quietness.

I hit the north end of the power line about 30 min. The open spot was somewhat cold. I didn't stay there for long. I turned around and headed back into the woods. As I was coming back on the ridge, I managed to work up a sweat.

What a great way to start off a new year... a trail run in the snow at 20 deg. Life is grand.

Silver Spuds

2009-12-15T21:13:00.000-08:00

The "Silver Spud" Awards were given out during the annual TATUR Christmas party last night. Yours truly received the coveted Tatur of the Year for 2009. It was with great pride to have this honor bestowed upon me. A big Thanks goes out to Head Tatur (Brian), TZ (Ken), and Kathy, an outstanding ultrarunner and coach, for making TATURs the group that it is today.

And to the many others in the Tatur group who also deserve to be Spuds of the year.

TATUR's rock! Yeah!!

2009-12-13T21:39:00.000-08:00

A week after Route 66 marathon, I was rapidly going downhill with flu-like symtoms. I was down and out for about a month. There was absolutely no running. Finally, today, I went out for a nice slow run. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I thought..if I keep it slow,,,I might cover 8 or 9 miles.

The first 3 miles went great. I was at about 9:30 pace. Dangit.. I was aimming at 10 to 11 min. pace. But the next 3 miles, I was beginning to feel it. I was slowing down more. My pace was falling to 10 min. pace. I finally reached the 6 mile mark. I thought... OK.. enough punishment for today. I was exhausted.

Soon enough, I'll get back to my normal workout. But for this week and maybe next week, I'm keeping it around 5 to 7 mile workouts. Holy cow!!! I hate the crud that goes around this time of year.

It's all about the BLING!

2009-11-24T18:54:00.000-08:00

Cool Bling!!! Route 66 Marathon is done. Time- 5:05.22 (5:01.45 net). I had a fanastic time doing my pacing duties for 5 hr marathon finishers. I stayed on pace pretty much all the way thru-out. I had people come and go...some stayed up with me for some distance, then slowly fall off the pace. And most are usually first time marathoners. Sometimes it's just hard to keep even splits the entire course. At the end, I did catch up with a few people, and still got them to finish strong. It's a great feeling to get someone to the finish. Normally, I'm not sore from my pacing, but this time... my legs were feeling it. I think it's the concrete portion of the course. My legs just don't like concrete.

Well... time to up the mileage again. My next venture is Rocky Raccoon in February. I'm ready to hit the trails again. Congrats to all Route 66 marathon finishers, and those who didn't finish...takes courage to get out there and give everything.

Route 66 Marathon this sunday

2009-11-16T18:37:00.000-08:00

The long runs are done... 20 miles on saturday, and a short 12.5 miles on sunday. Time to relax and keep hydrated. I can't wait to get started. Since my finish time is already set...5 hrs, I'm ready to have a great time helping people attain their goal of finishing a marathon in 5 hrs. I really enjoy the time out there pacing other people. For some, 5 hrs may seem like a long time to finish a marathon, but for alot more, finishing a marathon in 5 hrs is a dream. And to see people's face when they finish in that time frame, it is time well spent being out there.

Come out and cheer on all Route 66 marathoners or half-marathoners.

2009-11-11T19:51:00.000-08:00

This weekend is "Oklahoma's Ultimate Challenge"... a 5 mile race that is almost entirely uphill all the way. This is oklahoma's version of "Pikes Peak Accent". The climb is about 2,000 ft in 5 miles. Not bad for Oklahoma. Should be great weekend get out.
After feeling abit under the weather for about a week...including no running for a week. I'm back on the road again. I was at a comfortable 60 miles per week for some time, until the "crud" set me back. But it might've been a good thing though. I really needed a week to relax and rest the ol'bod. Last night was a short 10-1/2 miles at a 9 minute pace. I really wanted to go slower, like 11 min. pace. I guess after a week off, my legs wanted to git going. Tomorrow, I'll make it slooooow pace. It's good to go slow and maintain a steady motion thru-out the whole 10-12 miles.
I hope to make it to Poteau this weekend for nice, slow 5-mile uphill training run. I'm not worry about time, but doing a relaxed hill run.
Happy Trails!

2009-11-03T19:43:00.000-08:00

"You will never FIND time for anything. If you want time, you must MAKE it." ~ Charles Bixton

In Nov. 2006, I ran Mother Road 100 miler from Arcadia, OK to Tulsa,OK. In our goody bag was a book... "Running With Payne" by Randy Ellis, a legendary ultra-endurance runner. And just a great guy to be around. Since 2006, I've been putting it off reading this book. Three years later, I finally opened the book and read it cover to cover. What a great book! When I grow up, I want to run coast to coast, like Randy.

A year from now, we'll be doing the 3rd running of Mother Road 100 miler. This is suppose to be the last of 3-part series of Mother Road 100. I'm ready to go!!

www.motherroad100.com

But before the last running of MR100, I would like to run the missed portions of the Mother Road in Oklahoma. Or maybe do them as training runs.

24 The Hard Way

2009-10-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

The weekend, near Lake Hefner in OKC, 24 The Hard Way was held. Above is me and Chisholm Deupree, great ultrarunner and 2008 Badwater finisher, co-directed this awesome event.

(Note: The shirt that I was wearing for Badwater mugshots was courtesy of chisholm. The symbol was the one worn by Andy Payne in the First Transcontinental Foot race across America)

I had planned on doing this race. Sometimes life gets in the way. However I was able to see some racers late saturday afternoon. But this race is on my list for next year.

Here's Randy Ellis finishing strong, and first place male in 6-hr road race. Way to go Randy!

Below, Rob Philip finishes strong in the 12-hr road race.

The two guys below, Bill Richardson (left) and Marvin Lee(right), went the distance, 24 hours of running. Bill doing the Double Dirty Dozen, and Marvin doing the road race.

Hats off to these guys!

click this for Badwater 2009 pictures

2009-10-17T23:11:00.000-07:00

hit slideshow. Have a great day!

TM Buzzard

2009-09-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

I was picking up pink poka-dot ribbons last weekend at Turkey mtn. I wasn't exactly sure about where I was at...just somewhere in the woods... I hear a big thrashing noise in the trees. I look up and see this big ol'bird looking down at me. Just about scared the crap out of me. I thought...welll.. I'm gonna be picked to pieces by a big ol' buzzard... I guess he thought I was shruggling, and on my last leg. But then I picked up on a dead critter smell...that made me feel abit better..knowing that I wasn't on his menu this time.

He was just roosting til I left the area, so he could get back to his feeding.

I covered about 3 or 4 mile stretch sunday afternoon tearing down ribbons...there was a bunch! I think just walking and tearing down markers was harder than running the course.

Happy Trails!

You never know what kind animals you'll run into at Turkey mtn.

2009-09-08T11:10:00.000-07:00

Go Cowboys!!!

TATUR's race

2009-09-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

Sept. 13th, come and run TATUR's 50K/25K/10K trail run. This is a great trail race. It has everything...rocks, hills, flats, shade, no shade, small creek crossings, great aid stations, and awesome post-race eats. I'm thinking about doing
the 50K. Hope it doesn't rain this year.

Have fun everyone!

2009-08-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

"You run Badwater because there's something in you that wants to get out there, in the middle of nowhere, and think about something. It's a way of freeing yourself, getting back to what I really believe people are supposed to be doing instead of relying so much on a bunch of material crap that only makes us weaker. We are built to run, to cover great distance, for survival sake."

~Marshall Ulrich

CNN about Badwater

2009-08-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

my badwater bling.

Check out CNN article about Badwater 2009.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/08/12/california.badwater.ultramarathon/index.html

Awesome video. I'm in one clip climbing Mt. Whitney portal road.

Have a great day!
AB

2009-07-28T20:29:00.000-07:00

The ol'bod is finally getting back to normal. Blisters are all healed up now. Next week, I'll be out again. Badwater 2009 is done....but it's really not over. I still have some unfinished business in Death Valley. I hope to return next year.

Next on the list... 24 The Hard Way.

Have a great day everyone!

Badwater 2009 Finish

2009-07-20T18:54:00.001-07:00

going up Mt. Whitney portal road...still hot!

climbing Mt. Whitney

Finish line!!!

We finished Badwater 2009!!! A huge gratitude to my crew (my family) for sticking with me. We started the journey together from Badwater, and climbed Mt. Whitney to the finish line. This is the race that I'll remember the most in my lifetime. We had our ups and downs...lots of downs...but never gave up. We kept moving forward!

A big thanks also goes out to Chris Kostman and his crew for putting on Badwater Ultramarathon. He makes it all happen. And the people along the course, they make it all worthwhile to trek 135 miles in 122 deg across the Death Valley. And if you ask me if I would do it again?... you bet!!!

Happy Trails!

2009-07-11T06:46:00.000-07:00

As we make way to Death Valley, we just had to run down vegas strip. Just a neat site.

We'll be heading to Furnace Creek, CA for our race prep. Wish us luck. We are going to have a great adventure.

Happy Trails!

2009-07-05T22:18:00.000-07:00

Dare to live your dreams and share them with others. Combine your dreams with those of others and you'll create an unstoppable reservoir of energy. ~RavenHawk

Final week of tapering. Time is reflect back on the long road to Badwater. Yet, not time to sit back and relax. My team is ready. I feel ready...I am ready. Let's go!

Have a great day everyone! Get out and enjoy the great outdoors!

Happy Trails!

2009-06-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Just two weeks away before the start the Badwater Ultramarathon. This week, I'm putting in my last long miles, and just baking some more in the sauna. Except for few supplies to pick up, I'll be packing things up this week. Holy cow!!!.. it's almost like moving.

This weekend, I hope to do some altitude training at 9000 ft for few days. Not hard training, but just to keep the feet moving.

Happy Trails everyone!!

2009-06-28T20:52:00.000-07:00

When you dream, dream big. When you picture results, picture great results. And when you visualize your future, visualize the most magnificent future you can.
~RavenHawk

Have a great day!!

2009-06-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

"For me, winning isn't something that happens suddenly on the field when the whistle blows and the crowds roar. Winning is something that builds physically and mentally every day that you train and every night that you dream." ~ Emmitt Smith

2009-06-22T19:48:00.000-07:00

Summertime is upon us...finally!!! welll... some folks may not be as thrilled as I was. Thrilled??...what is thrilling about hot and humid weather? With only a few weeks til the big run, I'm finally doing some serious road training in hot weather. Over the weekend, I went out west of Keystone lake along Hwy 412. I covered the frontage road from end to end. It was a great training run. I don't think the temps got to what the thermometer showed...but it was close. Happy Trails!!

Road to Badwater

2009-06-18T21:02:00.000-07:00

Only 3 weeks away from the start of Badwater Ultramarathon. It's finally coming together. My main concern has been the heat. Around here, it's not HOT!! enough outside. However, for the last month, I've been getting a steady dose of outdoor & indoor heat training. I've got 2 more weeks of intense heat training before tapering. Then I should be ready to go. I am looking forward to this awesome adventure.

Me and Cheryl Zwarkowski. I helped crew/pace her last year. She finished in 44 hours. Just a great lady to be around. She'll be running again this year. Her start time is 8am. Go Cheryl.

Mayor of Badwater, Dr. Ben Jones (Badwater finisher), in the middle. Not sure who the other guy is. He just happened to jump in the photo opt.

Left photo:Dan Jansen and me. Great athlete. Very few amputees to finish Badwater. His story is told on CD "Running on the Sun". Right photo:Jack Denness and I. Just a great lad from London. He had planned on running this year, which would have made him the oldest entrant. This man has finished Badwater numerous times. He is also featured on "Running on the Sun".

Badwater training cont.

2009-05-24T21:13:00.000-07:00

I'm just outside of town.

...very long road.

My Badwater training continues. Last week, I was out in Clayton, NM. Elev. 5050. The temps may not be reaching 120 deg, but the conditions were still harsh. Just the elevation itself made up alot for it. And the wind was blowing like crazy. I was able to do some road training. I'll be doing it again this week. Have fun everyone!

2009-05-13T18:54:00.000-07:00

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.
-Helen Keller

Hope everyone has a great day!

Badwater start times

2009-05-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

The field is set. Start groups are assigned. Have you ever asked yourself.... "what in the world have I got myself into?" When I looked at the start times, I was expecting to be in the 6am group...or maybe 8am group...since this was my first time. But they put me with the 10am group...that's the elite group. Holy Crap!!...has the select committee lost their minds? The bar is raised even higher.

However... ever since I started eyeing this race, I've been looking forward to the Badwater challenge. And the 10am group is where it happens. Bring it on!!!

Here's the field: http://www.badwater.com/2009web/2009roster.html

OKC Marathon, 4-26-09

2009-04-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

The night before the marathon, it was raining quite abit. Tornado warnings were being issued. I thought..."am I gonna run in the rain again tomorrow?" Just 2 weeks before, I had ran McNaughton in rain and muddy conditions. But little did I know that by next day, the rain would be gone. However, I never thought that it would be windy throughout the day...gusts up to 40 mph.
I was part of the Fleet Feet pace team. I was to lead the 4:45 marathon goal finishers. The day started out great. Temps. were nice and cool...a little bit on the humid side due to rains throughout the night. Gun went off at approximately 6:30am. For the first half of the marathon, the wind was behind us. At start, the wind wasn't blowing that much. But as the day progress, the wind picked some speed. It was getting very humid too.
At the half-way point, my group was still on pace. It was now noticeable that the wind was going to be a factor on the way back. As we approached mile 14, we now had a strong headwind. My legs were beginning to feel the effects. I struggled to reach mile 18. But I was still on pace for 4:45 finish. As a pace leader, I had to maintain 10:53/mile throughout the entire 26.2 miles.
I reached mile 20, I was really struggling. My legs were starting to cramp up. It was a good thing that another pacer was with me. He continued on with the pace, while I tried to regain my composer. I walked for about 1/2 mile, drank water, powerade, ate some preztels, took in endurolites. I think I was not completely recovered from my hard 80 miles at McNaughton. I walked abit, and run slowly for abit...did that for about 2 or 3 miles. Last 3 miles were still pretty hard, but I managed to get-r-dunn. I rolled in at 4:51 chiptime (4:56 guntime).
Man...was I hungry at finish. I downed 3 Carl's jr. burgers....yummmy. I wish I had a coke or beer with that. It really sucks that I had to drink water or Powerade at finish. I was drinking that for the last 26 miles...dang it!
Anyway, it was a good run. Now on with my training for BW. Yeah!!!
Congrats to everyone! It was not an easy day to run.

McNaughton 150 race report

2009-04-22T08:25:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting to my race report. Life has a way of getting in the way sometimes. Note: first pic is first day, sitting in my truck trying to stay warm. The rest were taken on following day, after the rain stopped.

April 10th, Friday morning, I’m driving into Pekin, Ill. And it’s raining steadily. The rain has been coming down all night long, and it didn’t seem like that it would let up soon. However, the forecast for Saturday is sunny, clear sky. I thought…those 50 and 100 milers are lucky that they don’t have to deal with the rain. But for some of us crazy 150 milers, our start time was Friday high noon…rain or shine. What a way to begin 150 miles…soaking wet!

I rolled into McNaughton Park around 10am…thinking that would give me enough time to set up tent and what not. Temperature was somewhere in the upper 30’s, and the wind would pick up now and then… making the temps a little cooler. I got my race packet and chatted with the RD. He was pretty sure that the rain will stop in few hours. I was just hoping it didn’t rain into the night again. I commenced setting up my tent near the start/finish line; since I didn’t have a crew…this would be my staging area. I unloaded some necessary stuff that I’ll need for the next day and a half. The rain was still coming down, and the wind was just whipping’ around…making really hard to pitch a tent. I thought… this really sucks… setting up a tent in the rain with wind blowing every which way, and somewhat chilly temps… and I’m doing this by myself. After about 20 minutes or so, I finally got the tent up and secured…so I thought. But I was drenched, and quickly changed into my race gear.

Above picture is just before major downpour. After completing my first loop, with ground all soaked and pretty strong wind, my tent got partially uprooted, and top got blown over. My stuff was all wet. It was going to be a long day.

At 11:45am, we gathered for a quick race briefing. The course is the same for everyone. It’s a 10 mile loop. For 150, it’s 15 laps in time limit of 54 hours. I should know the course well by then. Again, the RD says the rain should let up in the late afternoon, and that “we should just to take it easy all afternoon, and save some for tomorrow”.

Forty-seven toed the start line for 150 miles. There were also a few early starters for the 100 miles. Straight up 12:00pm, the RD yells “Go!”, and we’re off. A few take out like jack rabbits. I start out at a snails’ pace. From start, it’s a short downhill…but this short downhill was more like short downhill skiing. The footing was absolutely terrible. It was mud fest from start. Just staying upright was going to be a challenge. We then came out into an open field for about half mile. This is the only part that is easy. We see several white-tailed deer’s prancing around in the open field…enjoying the cool, wet conditions. After circling the field, the hill climbing begins. The short, steep climb is nothing but mud. There was not a dry spot to get any good footing. We all basically claw our way up. When we get to the top, there would be a short flat, then back down, then up again. This was going to be a very long day.

This part was very slick at start, the day before. And the open field.

This was a day that I’ll be walking/crawling all the hills…and then sliding on the downs. Any downhill was going to be tough to manage. These downhills were also short and steep…with the slippery trail; a lot of us will be falling down.

Short and steep climb. Day before this was all muddy.

After 2.5 miles, we come out to the Totem pole Aid Station…grabbed some snackies...and off into the woods again. The next section…about mile or so…we hit some sandy area, known as “The Beach”. On a few flat spots, the rain packed the sand down…that was a good thing. But it was short lived. At about mile 3.5, we hit the first creek crossing.

Cold water feels great on the feet.

No one was staying dry today. First time though, the water was about mid-calf…not bad…but very cold. With all the rains, the creek was kinda swift in couple spots. I thought this is going to be tricky tonight. After crossing the creek, the single trail was just muddy and very slick, and slowly becomes another climb. My energy level was going down quicker than I expected. Most of it might’ve been due to the fact I’m fighting the mud and trying to keep my balance, rather than making forward progress.

At about mile 4, we hit one of the toughest climb on the course…known as “Golf Hill”. A person has to use a rope to climb up this beast. I’m thinking…the RD must be totally sadistic to include this section. Then again…what RD isn’t sane to include such obstacles…it’s all part of trail running. Once reaching the top, it’s a very short flat, and back down again. After some rolling hills, we hit “heartbreak hill”…long stretch up. Again, after reaching the top, we come back down again. Basically, this course has a lot of ups and downs…short and steep for the most part, but a couple spots were long steady climbs. The climbs don’t usually bother me… I rather enjoy them after awhile. But when you throw in rain and mud, the climbs are not very fun. You’re just finding anything possible to pull yourself up. And that makes it slowly going.

At about mile 5, and after a long climb, we came out to an open field. It was nice to get back to smoother or grassy surface. We would circle a big field before coming into Heaven’s Gate A.S., about mile 6. We would make a short 1 mile loop, and come back to this same A.S. But this 1 mile loop was not easy either. The A.S. is at the top of the hill, so that means, we had to come down a steep hill, run along a creek, into another open field…which people were calling this area the “rice fields”. You guess it…imagine a rice field, water standing in open field. My shoes got stuck and sucked off a couple of times. I was not having fun through this section. Once pass the “rice field”, we had to climb back up to the Heaven’s Gate A.S. This would be last A.S. before getting back to staging area. The last section was about 3 miles.

On this last section, we did a lot more rolling hills, and another creek crossing. Now, the cold creek was beginning to feel good on the feet. At about mile 9, we came out to an open field, and across a dam, before hitting the last steep hill before the last stretch back to start/finish line.
On my first loop, I was able to run most of the flat sections, and some brisk walking on the hills. My time was 1 hr. 58 min on the first loop. I thought...dang it! I’m going faster than I wanted to. My goal was to do around 2.5 hrs per loop. But with the rain and all, I would’ve been happy with 2:45 or 3 hrs per loop.

(Second creek crossing)

The rain was still coming down, but decreasing to a drizzle now. I begin my second loop, but this time I was going to go much slower since I know what the course is like. I would finish my second loop in 2:37 including a 15 minute break. I was much happier with this time. I took another 15-20 minute break at start/finish line before beginning my third loop. It was late in the afternoon now; the rain was finally breaking away. However, the trail was still muddy and will probably stay that way all night long. My third loop was under 3 hours including my 20 minute break. So 3 hrs per loop is still not bad. Keeping that pace though the night would put me at 70 miles by next morning. That wouldn’t be bad considering the trail conditions. And with no rain the next day, I should be able to make good time all day long…so that was my strategy. A person gets to think a lot...plotting and scheming.

OK...back to the real world. I finished my third loop; I’m about 7.5 hrs into the race. I ate some chicken noodle soup, and some munchies, and head out into the night for my 4th loop. I’m feeling great, everything is finally clicking. It’s crazy that it takes 30 miles before I find the right pace. I’m doing great up to 37 miles. I came back to the last A.S. before the last section back. I debated to take in some chicken noodle soup, or wait till I get back. I opted for the latter….big mistake! I only filled my water bottle, and started on my last section. After going about half mile, all of my energy was zapped out of me. I was following 2 guys…they were walking. With every step, I was getting hungrier. I wanted anything to eat. My energy level was way down. I should’ve asked the other two if they had anything for me to munch on. I swallowed my pride and kept walking. I had taken off my waist belt on my last loop…trying to minimize any extra weight. I was beginning to struggle to make up the last hills. I finally made back to start/finish line. It took me almost 4 hours to complete my 4th loop. I was totally exhausted and hungry. I sat down, ate a sandwich and some soup. Then I was beginning to get chills really bad. I thought…I’ll just sit in my tent for few minutes and warm up. That didn’t work… I was getting colder by the minute. Of course my clothes and shoes were all soaking wet. I changed shirts and crawled into my truck and cranked up the heater till it was nice and warm. Next thing you know, I was asleep. I slept about hour and half. It was almost 2am. My plan was to wait until after I finish my 5th loop before I slept a little bit. Things have now changed for the worst…all because I didn’t take in anything but water from last A.S. Lesson learned the hard way.
2am, I get back out of my truck and proceed to get moving again. It was slow to get moving again, but after reaching the A.S., I was not skipping any soup from there on. And I was also taking in some hot chocolate. That tasted sooo good. I finally complete my 5th loop. My time shows as 6:25 for that loop. But I stopped and slept for 2.5 hrs.

About 5:30 am, I started my 6th loop. The rain was all gone now. And it looks like Saturday was going to be a great day. Halfway thru my 6th loop, the sun has risen now, the 50 milers and 100 milers started catching up with me. Their start time was 6am Saturday. I would just let them fly by me since they had fresh legs. I finished my 6th loop in pretty good time… a little over 3 hrs plus 20 minute break. On my 7th loop, I was still feeling good. I completed loop 7 in about the same time.

But I was now at 24 hr mark. I had hoped to be at 90 miles by 24 hrs. I was falling behind. My right ankle was beginning to flare up abit too. Again, I was doing some heavy pondering…if I can do 3 hrs per loop with 15 or 20 minute breaks…I can still finish this race in 48 hrs.

Starting out on loop 8, I changed clothes and ate a little more than just soup. I knew I was in for a long haul. I start out slow. It’s in the afternoon now, and the trails were drying out in lot of places. Very few spots were still slick. I walked and I walked. I climbed the hills. I was still climbing them well though. But on the flats, I try to run…my legs were just completely trashed. I was succumbed to walking now. I basically walked the entire 8th loop. I got back to start/finish line in about 4 hrs. My overall time was now at about 28 hrs for 80 miles.

I went over to my tent and sat down for a little bit. Next thing… I was sleeping for an hour. I tried to regroup again. But this time, it was not happening. I just wasn't getting it together. My worst fear had been realized. I was going to DNF. If this was the only race I had schedule, I would have toughed it out and kept going. It might have taken me all of 54 hours to complete though. But on the other hand, there is another race that I definitely would not miss it for the world. And I was not putting that in jeopardy.

I had made the right decision to stop. I have some unfinished business. It’ll just have to wait another year. I looked at this race as a great training run. And I’m thankful that I didn’t get hurt in any way. RD Andy and his crew did a wonderful job putting this race together. The aid stations were well stocked. I look forward to next time.

My results below.

McNaughton 150 coming up

2009-04-06T09:15:00.000-07:00

Every race is different...course layout and difficulty, weather, time of year, etc. For McNaughton 150, 10 mile loop...15 times. This will be a challenge in itself. I'm just going out and having some fun. For me, it's going to be a long training run. Send me some good vibes. I'll be out there alone again. I kinda like it that way...don't have to worry about dragging someone. Noo...I'm just kidding. Company is a good thing when you're out there for over 20+ hours, hungry, tired, sleepy, cranky, etc. But hey!!...it's all fun!!

The word is that this maybe the last year for McNaughton 150. This makes it all the more spectacular event to run and remember.

Have a great day everyone! get out and enjoy the spring weather!

Happy Trails!

Taper week for McNaughton

2009-04-05T19:39:00.001-07:00

A view of Turkey mountain from the parking lot. Pretty soon, all that brown stuff will be replaced with greenery scene. Spring is on it's way...a new beginning. I had a wonderful time doing a slow 7.5 miles on friday, and 9 miles on sunday.

It's less than a week now that I'll be doing my farthest run ever... McNaughton 150 miles. I'm looking forward to a long slow run. Let's hope it's not too cold, and that the creek crossings are shallow.

I got some new shoes just for this run. I've heard some good reviews about Ascis Trebuka. I've had good luck with Ascis shoes..especially Kayanos for the road. Let's see how trebuka hold up.

A-OK 25K/50K Race Report

2009-03-03T20:57:00.001-08:00

March 1, 2009...Atoka A-OK 25K/50K

Race morning,,,it was very chilly. Temps probably in low 20s at start. For me, I like running in the cold. This is my 3rd time here in the boonies. And all 3 times, it's been cold morning start...brrr!!

It is a very low key race...about 45 to 50 toed the start line. The start line is near this outhouse..as well as the finish line.

Of the 45 or so runners, most would do the 25K. I think they are the smarter ones. Anyway...my strategy was to take it easy on the first loop, and save some for the second loop. We head out around this pond, then head into the woods to to the right.

Then you pop back out near the pond again (on the right) and continue around, and into the woods again.

This year the course was changed somewhat. But still, most was on jeep trails or logging road. It has a good mix. There are areas of ups and downs, some sandy, or very loose, spots, as well as rocky areas. It is just a good course. If you need a PR for 50K...this is the course to do it.

Back to my race strategy...for my first loop, my time was 2:17 I thought maybe this was a little fast. I took a little time to eat and rest abit before I head out again. On my second loop, around 22 miles, my legs were beginning to feel it. I had ran pretty good up to this point. I slowed down quite abit, and just get thru my achy IT bands. Finally, at mile 27 or 28, my legs started moving again. I thought...I can still make it under 5 hours. But towards the end, I really didn't push it that hard. It's soo easy to turn an ankle. I have too much at stake to risk injury. It was just a great day to cover 31 miles. I was just happy to finish. I came in at 5:08. Just an awesome day to run with some of my TATUR friends. Congratulations to everyone who went out and finish.

Thanks to Mary Ann Miller and crew for putting on a great fun race. The chili and pasta was great. And the one of a kind finisher award.

Badwater Invitation

2009-02-16T21:22:00.000-08:00

It's official!! I'm in for this year's Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley, CA. I wonder now if I really went over the edge. But it's gonna be an awesome ride. Never in my wildest dream that I would be doing this race...and now, I'll be trekking with some the world's toughest athletes. And I'll be there with them... holy cow!!!
I am looking forward to this adventure this summer...yep...the race is July 13th-15th...nice and toasty..temps will be 125 to 130 deg F. Dang hottt!!!
My training will now shift to a different level. I think that's what I like about Ultras...every race is different, so training regiment shifts for every race. I love it!!
Happy Trails everyone!!

DanMan Race Report

2009-02-09T19:19:00.000-08:00

DanMan Run, Madill, OK., Feb. 7th, 2009

weather: strong south wind and warm day, temp. 70+

The temperature was definitely going to be a factor today. My plan was to go out slower than normal on the first loop..just to get the feel of it. The course kinda follows a figure 8 pattern. From start, the first loop is 10K. It has it's share of ups and downs along the way. We come back out to a gravel road back up to Dan's house.

From there, the course heads north and follows a trail along what looked like a gas pipeline. We head into the woods after going about a mile or so, and follow a nice jeep trail. We come out to a nice gravel road.

After a short distance, half and full marathoners go straight back to Dan's house, while 50K'ers and 50 milers turn right up a slight incline for a short 3 +/- mile loop. This short loop is the toughest part. At one part, you go up a sandy road. When you think it's over when you reach the top... guess what.. the flatter section gets more sandy. I ran the first loop, but my legs became jello at the end of this section..which was about 3/4 or a mile. I was soo glad to have come back out to the same gravel road the heads back to Dan's house.

I finally made it back to Dan's house on my first major loop. For 50 miles, a person has to do this 3 times. It took me almost 3 hours to do the first big loop (mile 16.5). It was almost noon. And the sun was out, and temps beginning to soar. The wind was blowing swiftly out of the south. At this point, I was beginning to have some issues with my stomach. I thought if I just take it easy for the next 10K, maybe my stomach will settle down.

I was really slowing down after doing the next 10K (mile 23). I'm back at Dan's house. I try to eat some solids, fill my camelback and head out again. I get into a slow shuffle down the pipeline and into the woods. But soon after, I was forced to walking. My energy level had dipped way low. I tried nibblin on a Cliff bar and kept drinking water. My quads were beginning to lock up on me. I would just pop open an Endurolite cap and pour it under my toungue for quick relief. It helped somewhat. But I just wouldn't keep this up for the next 20 miles.

I was finally back up to Dan's house again for my second major loop (mile 33)...time was now at 7 hours. I gained an hour this time on my second loop. I thought, if I keep going at this rate, I'll end up adding maybe another 1.5 to 2 hours of my initial time on my third loop. This would put me at 12 hours for 50 miles. And on top of it, I may end up getting hurt somewhere. So at this point (mile 33), I decided to call it quits. I was somewhat abit disappointed. But considering the conditions for the day, it was a good call. If the temps were much cooler and not soo much of a strong south wind, I would have finished 50 miles in good shape. 50 miles will wait a few more days. The training continues.

Thank you to Dan Little and family for putting on a great race. I really enjoyed the post-race meal...BBQ ribs, turkey leg, and all the fixin's. I plan to do this race again..and hopefully with better results. Congrats to all who ran this race. It was a tough day for everyone.

Up next...A-OK Atoka 50K.

Athens-Big Fork Trail Marathon

2009-01-05T04:48:00.000-08:00

photo by Athens-Big Fork race director
Some 30 to 40 crazy people (including me) who ran Athens-Big Fork 26.2 miles of some bad hills near Big Fork, Arkansas. Great Run, Guys!!!

Athens-Big Fork Trail Marathon race report

2009-01-04T20:26:00.000-08:00

January 3rd, 2009, start time- 8:00am, weather- overcast, Hi 70 expected.

If you're looking for a marathon that is not your "run of the mills" type, try Athens-Big Fork 26.2 miler. Trust me... it is one tough dude. Check out the Elevation Chart below. The website states you should be an experienced trail runner to run this. For the most part...yes, that is true. This trail run has lots of big time hills. I say hills, because the climbs are somewhere around 3/4 to 1 mile (at a very steep grade), whereas mountains are somewhere around 3 to 4 mile climbs. But with 8 climbs one way, they soon become mountains. Thats the difficulty of the course. There are plenty of rocks along the course, but most are runnable. And some creek crossings.

The race starts at Big Fork Community Center on a nice paved road. That ends about 1.5 miles, then head west on dirt road for another mile. The fun now begins with a nice long steady climb. I get to the top in good time. As soon as I hit the top, it was downhill at good grade. I took it easy as not to trash the quads in the early stage of the race. I popped out at Tatur aid station (~mile 4) at the bottom of the first hill. We hit our first creek crossing. It was cold, but felt very good.

Not more than 100 ft, we started our second climb. I was beginning to have some problems with my right calf. About a week before the race, I did some climbs at Turkey mtn in preparation for this race. In the process, I must've stain my calf muscle pretty good. It hadn't completely healed up, but I thought it was gonna affect me that much. I was wrong. It really bothered me the first half of the race.

Back to the race. With each climb, I was trying not to push off straight up with my right leg. This really slowed me down. However, the downhills were feeling great after doing a couple of them. I got into a groove on each downhill. But I was still very cautious though. I knew that with each downhill, there is going to be an uphill coming up.

Basically, we went up and down hills for 10 miles to the halfway point. We did run about 1/3 mile on good dirt road to reach the halfway aid station. My time was 3 hrs. 13 mins. at halfway. Now, just have to do that again, and I was should make it back in good time. I down some chicken noodle soup and some bananas, and was off again. I finally getting into the climbing thing now.

The first climb back up seemed to abit easier this time, and my calf muscle was not hurting me as bad now. Guess it just needed some distance to stretch out. As soon as I hit the top, I would start running downhill. I was picking up pace now. When I reach the bottom, I was ready to attack the next hill. I was on a roll now.

I got down to the bottom of one hill at a creek. When I hit that creek, I noticed a white blaze across the creek, and immediately jump the creek, and kept going on a trail. This was at about mile 19. I kept going for some distance and it was just flat. Then it hit me.... DID I MAKE A WRONG TURN? I haven't seen any white blaze in awhile, and the trail is just flat. I turned back to the creek crossing. I thought...maybe someone behind me will show up soon and tell me I'm still on the right trail. But no one showed up. When I was almost back to where I jumped the creek, I met another guy heading the way I did. I told him he's going the wrong way. We got back to the creek crossing, and found out we missed the pink ribbons stayed along the creek. And the white blazes continued from there. I went 3 miles out of the way, and lost about 45 minutes. (see the map where I went wrong)

When I finally got back on the right trail, I started to pick up the pace again, hoping that I gain some time back. I did for the next two climbs. But then just about every ounce of energy was depleted. I was not really in the game now. My thought was now...if I can just make to the next aid station, I'm just walking in it.

I came into Tatur aid station all dejected. I took some downtime and chatted with Brian and Ken before I tackled the last climb. Up to this point after making the wrong turn, I had lost about an hour or more. After reaching the final top, I finally got back to running the last downhill.

I'm finally out of the woods for the last two mile stretch to the finish. I crossed the finish line in 7 hrs. 50 mins. 47 secs...for doing 29.1 miles. I was glad to be done. A little bit disappointed, but I'm sure next time will be better. It was a great practice run.

Below shows my worst mishap along the way. And this happened at the top of the last downhill. Thanks to the all the volunteers who help put this race together.

2008-12-30T13:22:00.000-08:00

Yr2008 is coming to a close. A new year is fast approaching. It's time to hit the trails again. Let's go for a long, slow run. It's great to be out and about. I'm looking forward to a new year with some new adventures.

Happy New Year!!! Be Safe.

long time...

2008-12-08T21:13:00.000-08:00

"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that."
-Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder

I'm ready to get out and run again... leaving negativity behind, and focus on the positives. Have fun everyone!

Route 66 Marathon - 2008

2008-11-18T19:26:00.000-08:00

Sunday, Nov. 16th, 2008. A week after a 100 miler finish, I am doing pacing duties for 5 hr group. I really enjoy this, because I get to help out people who intend to finish in 5 hrs. It was a blast!

Route 66 Marathon pace team... brrr..it was chilly at start.

Finishing in 4 hrs, 58 minutes.

Mother Road 100 Miler (II) report

2008-11-17T20:30:00.000-08:00

Mother Road 100, part II
Nov. 8th/9th, 2008
Elk City, OK to Ft. Reno, OK

Three weeks before the big run, I got the “bug” that usually comes with the fall season. I was doing everything possible to prevent it from becoming a full-blown crud. The week before the race, my stomach was still having some issues. I was eating fine, but it just wasn’t settling right. Two day before race day, it seemed that everything was finally backed to normal. I was ready to take on the Mother Road again.

This time my target finish was sub-20… but I wanted a 19 hr finish. I had my pace chart done, worked out all my splits to each aid stations, had my crew all lined out with what I was gonna need thru-out the race. I had also driven the course 2 weeks before, so there wouldn’t be any surprises. I was well-prepared.

My crew was my brother and my aunt. They had drove up the day before from Arizona, and met us in El Reno. I also had my son with me. He’s only 7 now, but he’ll be pacer in few more years. I had really thought about a pacer this time, since I was contemplating a sub-20 finish. I figured I might need someone to push me abit in the last 20 miles. However, it was not in the cards this time. I had never had a pacer before in any of my other 100’s. So not having a pacer didn’t really bother me; I’m usually in a zone anyway.

Saturday morning, 8 am, people are gathering near the start line. I got my time chip, and chatted with few people. It’s pretty awesome to see people from different states and countries to come and run the Mother Road. Two years ago, we ran another portion of the Mother Road, from Acadia, OK to west Tulsa. That was supposed to be first and last of such a race. The race directors then came up with a three part series of the Mother Road. This is part II, from Elk City, OK to Ft. Reno, OK. The third segment is to be determined at later date.

9 am sharp, the gun sounds and we’re off. The day looks great for running. Temps were about 50 at start, highs expected in mid-60s, nighttime lows in the 30s. Normal for this time of year in Oklahoma.

The first few miles, everyone was still working out the kinks. I settled in with a small pack, and we head out of Elk City in no time. At 5 or 6 miles, it’s starting to spread out a bit. I rolled into the first AS at Canute (mile 8). I kept on going since I had a crew. I was on pace at this point, doing about 9:00 per mile. I felt good, and I try to keep a slow pace.

The next segment was an 8+ miler to Foss. Everything seemed to working great. I was starting to throw in a few walking breaks here and there. There were some long stretches of straight road, and very narrow at some parts. A few times I had to get off the road for on-coming traffic. But for the most part, traffic was very light. I get into Foss (mile 16.5) about 10 minute ahead of schedule. Again, I bypass the aid station, and kept on trucking. Off we go to Clinton, just over 14 mile segment.

At about mile 22, I was beginning to feel abit sluggish. I thought, I’m eating fine, and drinking Heed. Then it hit me, I haven’t been drinking any straight water for about 15 miles. Immediately, I downed a bottle of water, and kept drinking water for the next 2 miles. I was on the verge of dehydrating. I’ve covered as much as I could with my crew the day before. But I failed to cover when I should switch between water and Heed.

I finally rolled into Clinton aid station (mile 30) just over 5 hrs. My 10 minute cushion is gone. But I was still on track. I took a short break to eat and regroup. Time was now past 2pm, it was starting to get pretty warm. After a 10 minute break, I head on out walking. Next stop was Weatherford, about 20 miles away.

There was an unmanned aid station at mile 39. I rolled in at 6 hrs,46 min., I was now 15 minutes behind. It didn’t really bother me, since there was still more than half the race left to go.

I continued on to Weatherford, about 11 miles to the halfway point. Time was now about 4pm, I was beginning to feel the chill in the air as the sun is making its way down. I reached the point where there is a detour outside of Weatherford. We had to run a short section of I40. It was a good thing it had wide shoulders; on-coming traffic was very fast. And it was pretty busy going through the town of Weatherford. The aid station (mile 50) was on the eastside of town. I timed-in at 9 hrs. 24 min. My goal was 8:41. I was now about 45 min. behind. Yet, I was not to bothered by the time. I took a 20 min. break to eat, and change into my night gear. The temp was getting pretty chilly now, and it’s only 6:30pm.

Half the race is over, now it’s nighttime…time to kick it up a notch. Hydro is the next aid station, only 5.5 miles away. I walked about 2 miles before getting back into a steady pace. I get into Hydro checkpoint in 10 hrs. 47 min., about 1 hr behind my predicted time. I downed some chicken noodle soup and head out again.

Heading towards Bridgeport, I was able to catch some people. I was finally getting back into a pretty good clip. Now, temp had really dropped, and time was around 10:30pm. I get into Bridgeport (mile 67) at 13 hrs. 27 min. Since I had a good clip going, I just go thru the checkpoint and continue on. I was still in good spirits that I’ll make my sub-20.

I finally reached the long Pony bridge. I thought that bridge would never end. I reached the Tatur aid station (mile 73) in 14 hrs. 37 min. I take a short break to eat some poTATUR soup, and switched to my trail shoes. The next section was a 6 mile dirt/gravel road to Geary. I get on the dirt road, thinking I’m gonna make up some time here. It was NOT HAPPENING! I’d tried to run, but the footing was not feeling right. I guess after being on hard surface for 73 miles, the traction was not there. It took me 1 hr, 45 min. to cover that 6 mile dirt section. I was exhausted. I thought…finally, back on some hard surface.

Geary aid station (mile 79), my time was now at 16 hrs, 23 min. Twenty-one miles to go, and I’ve got 3.5 hrs for a 20 hr finish, my 19 hr finish was not going to happen today. Calumet was the 12 miles away. I head out into the dark again. And it was still getting colder. I added another layer of clothing and put on another pair of gloves.

Just me in the dark cold night. Temp. 29 deg.

Coming out of Geary, I finally started going at a pretty good pace again. I managed to catch 3 or 4 people. I was passed by only one person in this section. I rolled into Calumet (mile 90) in 19 hrs. 7 min. I wasn’t really hungry, but I thought if I could eat some soup, then go all out to the finish. I realized in short time that the soup turned to bricks in my stomach. I was beginning to feel very uncomfortable. I walked about 4 miles, before I could start running again. At mile 95, I was now at 20 hr mark. My sub-20 was history. Sometimes, things just don't work out. I was now just focusing on finishing, my legs were hurting, bottom of my feet was on fire, my stomach was just turning round and round.

I finally reached Ft. Reno entrance. It was getting light, but the sun was not up yet. I have about mile and a half…and I’m was determined to beat the sun. I would run some, then walk a short distance, then run again. I kept this going all the way to the finish line. I crossed the finish line in 21 hrs. 54 min. 37 sec. I was sooo happy to be done. Some say that the finish line is not exactly 100 miles, but rather close to 102 miles. Guess we'll never know.

And I did beat the sun, with just minutes to spare. Mother Road 100, part I was done 2 years ago. Now, Mother Road 100, part II done. Part III is up in couple of years. I will be there again.

This is my crew, my brothers (right and left of me), my son, and my aunt. Awesome crew!

Congratulations to everyone who finished.

Mother Road 100 (II) Finish

2008-11-11T19:42:00.001-08:00

I'm finally crossing the finish line. Mother Road 100 (part II) is done. It was a great run. As usual, there were lots of ups and downs, some things worked well...while some didn't. But that's 100 milers.

No matter how bad it hurts, the end is still sweet.

A race report coming soon. Congratulations to everyone who finished...and even to those who didn't...running on concrete is painful.

Road Does Not End

2008-11-04T10:09:00.000-08:00

3 more days to the start of Mother Road 100, part II.

"GET YOUR KICKS ON ROUTE 66"

I'm getting antsy!

cool pictures

2008-11-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

Sunday,,, the plan is to do a slow 10 miler at turkey mountain. I needed a change of pace...I really needed to do some trails.

The fall season is great at TM. Temp. was abit high today (about 80F). I'm feeling alot better now. My stomach is finally feeling great. However, my throat is still quite not up to par yet. Another day or 2, I think I'll be back to normal. Just in time for MR100 next weekend.

I was really sweating last week if I'll be back to good health this week. I'm thankfully that the "crud" didn't completely take me down. Now, the prep for MR100 this week. I can't wait to get started.

A view from TM

Just me out on a slow 10 miler at TM. It was hot out there.

2008-11-02T17:59:00.000-08:00

Saturday.... TATURs are holding Route 66 mock marathon/half-marathon. It's been 4 days since I ran at all. I've been trying to get myself back to good health. I'm doing everything except make a trip to the doctor. The good thing is I'm not running any fever. My stomach and throat is giving me all sorts of heck.

I woke up saturday morning around 6am. I felt ok, and started preparing for a long, slow run. So I thought I'll go and run at least 15 miles. If I'm feeling bad, I'll just shut it down.

I started out slow,,,started at the very back. I kept up a steady pace up to 11 miles...felt pretty good. I was doing a 9:13 pace...I thought, dang it... I'm going to fast. 11 mile was our turnaround. On the way back, I slowed down quite abit..specially the last 3 miles. I ended up with 9:53 pace for the last 11 miles. Dang it again... I was still going abit fast. At the end, I felt good. My stomach did give me some problems around mile 18, I walked it off, and it did get better later on. I went home and took a long nap. Finally, I'm getting better.

Sunday, I'll do a short 10 miler.

the fall crud

2008-10-31T11:02:00.000-07:00

I like the fall season. But with the fall season comes with the usual "crud" that hits just about everyone... the flu, stomach virus, allergies, etc. With one week to go, I need to be back at 100%. The past week has been terrible. Almost flu-like symtoms has hit me. So with that, I've stopped running, and concentrate on getting back to good health. It really sucks when you have a big race coming up, and you're slammed. No matter how healthy a person can be, a simple cold can put a person down.

I'm coming back slowly. Lots of fluids, good nutrition, plenty of rest, and lots of patience. I'm positive I will be back to normal in the coming days.

Happy Trails everyone! MR100... in 7 days.

2008-10-21T21:18:00.000-07:00

Monday... I didn't get to run. I had too much stuff going on. But I was abit sore from sunday run. Just as well.

Tuesday... my legs feel good. I went to LaFortune park, and did a half marathon in 2 hrs. just putting in the miles.

Happy Trails!

2008-10-20T18:44:00.000-07:00

18 days to start of Mother Road 100 miler (part 2)

It should be nice and cool for a long run.

"What was hard to do is sweet to remember." - Seneca

click image button for MR100 course

2008-10-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

It's been 5 days since I ran. Life just gets in the way sometimes. :) But not all is lost. I drove out to Elk City yesterday, and drove the MR100 (II) course back to the finish at Ft. Reno. (pictures on the way)

Sunday, I thought I just stretch my legs and do about 15 mile run...slow and easy. My plan was to run the Creek turnpike trail... some good ups and downs. I started out at 101st and Garnett parking lot. I took it easy along the turnpike trail back towards Jenks. After going about 7 miles (at about 96st and Riverside parking lot), I thought.. since I'm feeling pretty good, I'll do about 18 or 20 miles. So I trucked on the riverside trail to 71st street. TM was looking awesome with leaves turning. I thought I'll just go to the parking lot and turn around. I then took a turn on the bridge, and headed towards TM. Instead of TM parking lot, I went back to Jenks and around the airport. I like running this loop... not much shoulder to run on, but still good. I made my usual stop at Mickee Dee in Jenks, and ate some fries and a coke... yummy, after going about 15 miles.

I went back across the Jenks bridge and back to the Creek turnpike trail. I took it easy all the way back. I ended up with 24 miles back to 101st and Garnett parking lot. It was good to get out and put in some miles.

Tomorrow, I'll do only 10 miles. My goal for this week is do about 70 or 80 miles. Weather is finally nice now.

2008-10-13T18:42:00.000-07:00

Mother Road 100 - part II is coming up next November 8th/9th. Fall weather is here, which means cool temps.

Get your kicks on Route 66!

training runs... last saturday, short 10 miles at 10 min/mile. sunday... legs are finally feeling good, but took the day off. monday... 5.5 miles at 9.5 min/mile.

Happy Trails!

AT100 race report

2008-10-09T20:20:00.000-07:00

Arkansas Traveller 100 miles
Perryville, Arkansas
Oct. 4th/5th, 2008

It’s 5am, dark and cool. The weather forecast calls for mid-80’s daytime/60’s at night, with 30% chance of rain. Well…the weatherman was way off. Lightning flashes in the distance. I figured it’s way off some way, and probably won’t come our way. Well…I was way wrong too.

Since I didn’t make the pre-race meeting on Friday, I had to be there before 5am for runner check and weigh-in. I drove up into Camp Quachita, and cars were already lined up along Hwy 324. I’m making my way to race HQ, and I hear some strange sounds in the woods… like sounds of animals being tortured. Maybe it was some sort of warning of what we are about to endure for the next 20+ hours. I thought… bring it on! I don’t get nervous anymore about 100 milers. If I get some good night’s sleep 2 or 3 days ahead, I’m good to go. And if I know that I’ve covered enough mileage to prepare, then might as well get the show on the road and have some fun.

I came into AT100 with the notion of a long and enjoyable training run. As always, I shoot for sub-24. I went over the race material, made out my pace chart, and anticipated a finish time. For AT100, if it happens…great. But in my mind, I was just going out for a good long run. That’s gotta be abit insane I thought... an easy 100 miler, and making it enjoyable? That’s nuts. Only some crazy person would have a mind-set like that. I have learned that you can make anything you want of trail running, or any 100 miler. You can give in to the rigorous terrain and eat you up. Or you can go out and enjoy what nature brings your way.

It's almost 6:00 am, runners were assembling at the start line. 6am sharp, RD Chrissy Ferguson yells... “GO!” And we’re off into the darkness. The first 8 miles was on well-maintained roads. It was abit hard to tell if the road was gaining elevation. About an hour into the run, it was beginning to get light. We were gaining elevation. While it was not steep, it was a gradual incline for some more miles. After hitting a couple of aid stations, we were off into the woods on a single track trail. I liked this part. The ground was really soft, covered with leaves and very few rocks. Light rain started coming down. And temperature was staying cool. And throughout the day, the temperature did stay cool. For a couple of hours in afternoon, it did get a little bit humid, but it was bearable. As we continued thru the woods, the rain was getting heavier. This would last for a few more hours. The rain was welcomed, but I was thinking… I really don’t want to run the next 20 hours soaking wet. My thought went back to “you have to deal with what nature gives you”. So I went on.

I reached Lake Sylvia AS (mile 16) in good shape. From start to this point, the course was not to be covered again. From here, it was basically an out and back course. I changed my shirt, and ate some food. Brian Hoover (aka Head Tatur) told me I was on pace for sub-24. I felt good about that. But in reality, I didn’t really want to be faster than that. Now after covering 16 miles of this race, I knew there was going to be more ups and downs…especially Smith mountain area. So my plan was to slow down, and not risk injury… because I will be running another 100 miles in a month.

The rain was still coming down heavy, and I’m off to the next aid station. While we were still running jeep trails, there were some areas that had large pools of water in the road, and you had to go straight thru them or around thru some bushes. It was abit tricky at some spots. For the most parts I manage these spots and maintain steady pace. My shoes are now completely soaked. Running over 20 miles in soaking clothes was beginning to bother me in some sensitive body parts. This made it kinda tough going. I was just hoping to reach mile 48 so I could change into some dry clothes. I had extra pair of shoes there too.

TATUR tent at AT100 aid station.

The rain would eventually stop after 6 hours of running. The sun peeked out for a short time, and it got a little bit humid in the afternoon. However, the temperature stayed cool most of time. The footing was a different story. The ground was all soaked, and very slippery on rocks…and there were lots of rocks. Even some parts of the roads were slick. The bottom of my right foot was beginning to feel it…a hot spot. I’m still 10 miles away from Powerline AS (mile 48). I continued but stepping gingerly so the hot spot doesn’t get worse.

Coming into Smith mountain AS (mile 42), I was still on a sub-24 pace. I took about 10 min. break eating some soup and crackers, I was now facing the big climb of the race. And most of it was just straight up with some poor footing due to heavy rain early on. I walked all the way up, and just barely shuffled on the way down into the next AS. My pace had really dropped off on... somewhere around 20 min./mile on this section. From there, I was just moving along and not really pushing to gain time. I was still trying to protect my foot. The hot spot was still there. But fortunately, it didn’t feel like it had gotten worse.

I reached Powerline AS (mile 48) around 10-1/2 hours. I was back on some good gravel road again. Again, I thought…I’m still on sub-24 pace. I kept thinking, should I continue at this pace and do sub-24? Or should I just slow down and stretch it out for 26 hour finish? My legs were beginning to tire more now. And off I went to the next AS. I reached the turnaround point (mile 58) just under 13 hours. OK… I’ll just take it easy on the way back.

At Lean Horse, it was a different story. From turnaround point, I was focused on catching people. I pushed myself all the way back to the finish. Here I just let people pass and not even think about keeping up with them, but gave them a “great job” they were doing. Through the night, I kept trudging alone. I was basically in a zone though. I was now doing about 18 to 22 min./mile. Trust me… going at this pace really hurts. As matter of fact, I was really hurting myself going at this pace than pushing the pace abit. My legs were beginning to hurt a lot more... especially my IT bands. Going downhill’s were now killing me. I could do the uphill’s much easier than slight downgrades. Strangely enough, I was looking forward to any hills. But we were now heading to the finish, which would mostly be downhill.

I reached the last AS (~mile 94) in 25 hrs. 11 mins. I had about 6 miles to go. I thought...forget the slow pace, my legs are really killing me, and I want to get done now. I just filled my water bottle and took off. I picked up the pace (17 min./mile) for the last section. While it’s not blazing speed, at least I was running at a good clip for the last 2 miles. At mile 98, Cheryl Zwarkowski, a runner from CA whom I had crewed/paced at Badwater this past summer, passed me. She was also doing AT100 to get up to speed for MR100(II). (note: see my BW report about Cheryl) I wanted to keep up with her, but she had a little bit more zip than I did. So again, I relinquished the chase. I finally made the turn into the finish line. I would cross the line in 27 hours, 1 min., 13 sec. I was completely exhausted. I got some cold water, and went to my truck for a 2 hour snooze. Breakfast will have to wait abit.

AT100 is not an easy course. But with every aid stations and some TATUR’s involved, this race was a great experience. Congratulations to all finishers!

Congrats to TATUR's Robin Saenz and Ken Childress for a strong finish. They finished right after I did. Not to mention another TATUR who looked cool as cucumber on his way to another fantastic 1st place finish.... Tom Brennan.

Also a big thanks to Team Childress for helping me out. Doing 100 milers solo is kinda tuff. That's the coolest about doing these races, helping each other out, no matter who they are.

My reward for finishing. cool buckle.

Already out running again. Next Mother Road 100 (II). I can't wait.

AT100 finish

2008-10-06T19:51:00.000-07:00

Finished Arkansas Traveller 100.

Time: 27 hrs. 1 min.

Report coming soon. I need to catch up on sleep, and let my old bod heal up.

Congrats to all the finishers! ...and hats off to all the TATUR's crossing the line. We'll beat those hogs next year in the team challenge.

2008-09-29T18:13:00.000-07:00

Coming up this weekend... Arkansas Traveller 100. Let's Go!!!

Don't ask for a light load, but rather ask for a strong back. - Anonymous

Winners this past weekend...

Go COWBOYS!!!!

2008-09-27T18:58:00.000-07:00

"For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. This perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one." - Souza

Have a great day!

Training runs for weekend 9-19-08

2008-09-22T21:13:00.000-07:00

Friday training run: starting at Lafortune Park main

parking lot, around 2:30pm. The afternoon got a little toastie. My plan was to do 10 miles. After going about 7 miles, I'll just add a few more miles. So I just kept on truck'n. I ended covering about 14 miles.

Saturday training run: my plan was to start at 5am, and cover somewhere around 30 miles. The alarm went off at 4am, hit the snooze button, slept til 4:45am. Anyway, I got started around 6:30am from 31st and Riverside bridge. The Fleet Feet marathon training group was doing their long run, so I just tagged along. I figured since I was going a long way, I might as well have some company for as long as I can. We crossed the bridge to west banks, went to 11th st. bridge, back to 31st st. bridge. Then went on small trail to some street, and meander around, cover some portions of Route 66 marathon course. We came back to 31st st. bridge. FF group finished their run at 12 miles. I continued back across 31st st. bridge to west banks again. This time, I headed south towards turkey mtn. I turned back at mile 16, and came back to my start point. Since I got started a little late, I stopped at 20 miles. I had to go out of town by 12pm.

Sunday training run: I kinda took a rest day. I ended up helping my bro build a fence.

Monday training run: my plan was to do 15 to 18 miles, since I skipped sunday. I started out around 4:30pm from 61st & Yale. I just went thru some neighborhood streets... ended up doing some hills. I finished just under 13 miles. Since I did some hills, I figured 13 miles was enough. Last 5 miles, I ran 8:30/mile. It was a great run.

After all these runs, my legs feel good. I'll put in several more miles this week. Arkansas Traveller 100 is coming up soon.

Have fun everyone! It's the first day of autumn.

Training Runs

2008-09-18T19:04:00.000-07:00

Scheduled training runs for this weekend.

Friday.... 10 miles (maybe 12 miles)

Saturday.... 30 miles

Sunday.... 15-18 miles... slow...sorta recovery.

Monday.... 10 miles

should be fun weekend. weather will be awesome. hope you get out and enjoy the weather.

Happy Trails!

Heartland 2008

2008-09-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

Heartland 100 from last year. I'm coming into Ridgeline AS (mile 36 outbound). It had rain pretty hard for about 10 miles... why I'm wearing a windbreaker/rain jacket. It did get a little bit warm in the afternoon after the rain went away. I had a great time.. I had some issues from halfway back to Ridgeline. But I pick it up thru the night. I seem to do better at night. kinda weird.

I'll miss the race this year. You guys running Heartland... have a great time out there!

Happy Trails!

2008-09-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

Tulsa Area Trail & Ultra Runners 10K/25K/50K

Sept. 14th, 2008

weather forecast - RAIN! and lots of it.

I'll be skipping this years race. Good Luck to all the runners.

doing some trail work

2008-09-10T19:23:00.000-07:00

Ken, Brian, and I did some trail work tuesday evening. This area had a mud slide a few months back. The trail was pretty much gone at this section. But it should be passable now. Just in time for TATUR's Trail race this weekend. And rain is expected. Yeah!!

new path across the mudslide... passable,,, should slow down some speedsters.

a little tuff,,,short climb to get back on the nice rocky trail.

just me

training runs

2008-09-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

Friday, sept. 5th.... 10 miles

Saturday, sept. 6th.... 12 miles, feels great to run in the rain.

Sunday, sept. 7th.... 9 miles, 3pm... very hot!

I feel great. Life is grand!

Happy trails!

here's few pictures from Leadville 100 training run, aug. 28th.

heading up from Mayqueen, our start point, about a 1/2 mile section that was fairly flat

but the rest (about 5 miles) is all uphill to Sugar Loaf pass.

looking down on Mayqueen AS... it was a long climb.

whatever goes up, must come back down... my quads were trashed coming down from Sugar loaf

the highway section after leaving Fish Hatchery AS.

coming into Twin Lakes AS (mile 26, end of our training run)

2008-09-02T21:27:00.000-07:00

Next for me will be Arkansas Traveller 100, Oct. 4th/5th. I'm just throwing this one in for kicks and grins. Just trying to keep up the distance.

Happy trails everyone!

Race Report

2008-08-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

Lean Horse 100 Miles

Hot Springs, South Dakota

August 23/24, 2008

Aug. 23rd, 6:00am. The sun is about to rise over the Black Hills. The weather is great. Temperature is low 60’s at start. However, the expected high is mid 80’s for the day. It’s a little warm for running. But I’ve done some heat training though. I was prepared for the high temps.

My plan for this race was to finish around 21 hours. Altitude wasn’t going to be factor since I had trained for Leadville, but didn’t get to run it. Start elevation is around 3400 ft., and gradually climb to highest point about 5800 ft. near the half-way point. Turnaround point is at 5400 ft. My plan was to start out slow for the first 16 miles, since this would be a hilly country road. Well, mostly ups. The first 2 miles was on sidewalk and little pavement through town before we head off on the graveled Argyle Road. Front runners are gone by then. Most everyone had settled into their pace. The first AS was 4 miles out. I was on target at about 10:45 min./mile. There were still a bunch of us packed together , and I got to chat with a lot of people on the way out.

A gravel road is not one of my favorite running tuff. Large rock gravel tend to kill my feet after 10 miles. I hit the 10 mile AS in good shape, refilled my water bottle, ate some snacks and off I went. I reached the Argyle road AS (mile 16.6) in 3 hrs. I was glad to be off the gravel road. From here, we’re on the Mickelson Trail. A good trail with small loose gravel. This trail was converted from an old railroad line. And no where is it more than 3% grade.

After leaving Argyle AS, I settled into a slow pace to the next AS (mile 20). While this trail is fairly easy to run on, I was reminded again why I not too crazy about running Riverside trail… long and straight. But I think this was worse. I soon realized it was going to be more of a mind game. The trail is only 3% grade, but when you stared at it for 2 to 3 miles at a time, it becomes daunting. I kept my head down and not looking into the distance.
I came into Pringle AS (mile 24) kinda struggling. I was beginning to feel some tightness in my right leg. Other than that, I was still in good shape. My pace had fallen off abit (11 min/mile). I ate a sandwich and snacks with coke, refilled my bottle, and off I went again. I tried to keep stops under 5 minutes.

From Pringle AS, the 3% climb continued. Time was now about 11am. It was getting warm. I kept drinking water and Accelerade, which was not one of my favorite drink, but drank it anyway. I also kept taking in Endurlytes (about 3 or 4 on the hour). Heed is my normal drink for 100 milers. Somehow the supplier didn’t deliver Heed at the AS. I was bummed about that.

For the next 20 miles, I slowed quite a bit. The 3% grade controlled. I thought, I’ll just power walk most of this and run most, if not all, on the way back. A lot of people went by as I just power walk. I kept telling myself, I will catch you guys on the way back. I trudged on to mile 50. I was way behind on my plan. I got to halfway in 11 hours. I took a 20 minute break. I changed my socks, shoe, and sat and ate chicken noodles and crackers. More people were still going by. I just sat and relaxed for a bit. One guy came into the AS in bad shape. He wanted to quit so bad, and needed a ride back. He was having major stomach issues. He sat for a minute, and then hurled off everything. There were a few of us taking a break. We all encouraged him not to quit yet. That taking an hour break could get him back on the trail again. And that’s what usually happens. If you take a little time out, and get some fluids and solids back in your systems, you can be back at it again. I told him to hang in there and not give up yet, and left.

I walked for 5 miles so my stomach could settle abit. Coming back from halfway point, there is a 8 to 10 mile stretch at 3% grade climb again before the 40 mile downgrade back to finish..well for the most part. At mile 55, I was about 12 hours into the race. I knew the 21-hour finish was not going to happen. So my plan was now to finish in 24 hours. I thought, it was now or never. From there, going up a hill, I started into a small shuffle. For the next 10 miles, I passed 10 people. They were all walking back up the hill, while I was just shuffling along. It made me feel great to catch up with people. I know that these people are hurting just as bad as I am. In these ultras, it’s not really a race with other people. It is a challenge as how far you can push yourself to overcome obstacles to finish a course. I gave them encouraging words as I went by. That was now my focus… catching people and just pushing forward.

I got back to Pringle AS (mile 76) in 18 hours. I had 6 hours left to make 24-hour mark. It was now midnight, and temperature was getting cooler, mid 50’s. It feels great when you’re moving, but when you stop for a minute, the chill starts to set in. I had caught and passed several more people coming into the AS. I ate some chicken noodles, snacks, and ice cold coke. And refilled my bottle with ice and water. Even when it’s cold, I still prefer ice and water. I was still keeping my stops to 5 or 6 minutes, and some at 2 minutes. I put on my windbreaker, and off I went. My body was still fine, and my legs were still moving great. I continued with a little shuffling, and gradually get into a slow run to each aid station. Through the night, when I see a light bobbing ahead, I was determined to catch the light.

I got back to Argyle AS (mile 83.5) in 20 hrs. Time was ticking away. I had 4 hours left to cover 16.5 miles. And now I’m back on the Argyle road… the hilly country road. It took me about 2 miles before my footing got use to the road. My legs were now taking a beating. The short steep ups and downs were taking its toll. Even then, I caught a few more people on this stretch. Most were barely moving along…not even long walking strides. I kept pushing forward. I wanted the 24-hour mark so bad. I kept attacking the hills, and kept short strides on the downs. My back was really killing me on the downhills. My quads were screaming,, but I kept pushing. Time was ticking away faster…so it seemed. I got to mile 90 in 21.5 hours. I had 2.5 hours to cover 10 miles. I grabbed a turkey sandwich and refilled my water bottle, and kept on walking. I could only eat half. Food was not going down so easy now.

I had 5 miles left on the hilly road before a turn off to the last AS. The 5 miles was going on and on. And it was basically all downhill. I kept going, and thinking.. the turn off is coming up soon. A few times, I thought… did I miss the turn-off? I really don’t want to go back uphill again. Finally, I saw the turn-off. As soon as I got on the trail, I started to pick it up more to get to the AS, which was almost another mile. I got to the last AS (mile 96) at 23 hrs. 5 mins. I thought… I don’t have time to eat another. I have to keep moving. I got my water bottle filled. And off I went. I had 55 minutes to cover 4 miles. On any normal day, 4 miles in 55 minutes is a piece of cake. But after going 96 miles, legs completely trashed, no sleep for 24 hours, it was going to be tough to make it. I kept telling myself…. I can make it… I know I can…. I am going to beat 24 hours. I caught one more person in this stretch.

It was beginning to get light now, as I came down one last big downhill before coming into town. It was absolute torture by now. I had 20 minutes to go 2 miles on hard surface. With about ½ mile to go, you have to cross back over a river before the final stretch to the finish. I saw 2 bridges. As I came to the first crossing, I didn’t see any markings. I went across, but only to find out I took the wrong turn. I almost just quit then. While I only lost 20 or 30 seconds to get back on the right track, it was tough going the last final stretch. With a ¼ mile left, I gave everything I had left… which at this point… there wasn’t a whole lot. I came over a small mound, and saw the finish line. The clock was ticking fast. I ran through the finish at 23 hrs, 59 mins, 05 secs. I made it… sub 24,,, with only seconds to spare. Talk about cutting it close. I was so glad to be done though.

I congratulate everyone doing this race, and finishing it. Some say Lean Horse is an easy 100. 100 miles is still 100 miles,,, no matter how you slice it. My hat’s off to the RD, Jerry Dunn, and all the volunteers for organizing this race. As with any race, if it wasn’t for volunteers, races do not happen.

Next, Mother Road 100, part II,, November 8th.

My reward for finishing 100 miles. Just awesome!

No Leadville 2008

2008-08-17T15:34:00.000-07:00

Wellll.... Leadville Trail 100 didn't happen for me this year. Sometimes you can plan and prepare for a whole year... and yet not make it to the start line. But when it comes to family...especially my son, certain things just take a back sit.

This meant that I had to re-group quickly. Fortunately, I was able to sign up for Lean Horse 100 next weekend. I've rearrange my plans for another great race that I've been meaning to do. This should be a great outing. I look forward to running the Black Hills. I'll have a report when I'm done.

Happy Trails!

Leadville Trail 100

2008-08-08T22:52:00.000-07:00

Leadville Trail 100 is next weekend.... yeah!!!

I'm doing my last long training runs this weekend... then doing some tapering monday, tuesday, and wednesday. I can't wait to get there.

Badwater Ultramarathon race report

2008-07-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

Badwater Ultramarathon
July 14, 15, 16, 2008
Time limit: 60 hours

Monday, July 14th, 2008. Time is 8:00 am.

A wave of runners begins the 135-mile trek across Death Valley to Mt. Whitney Portal. Temperature is about 100 degrees, overcast and very humid. It had been raining off and on the past few days. There were several places along the course that had washouts. The day before at pre-race meeting, we were warned about the possibility of course change due to major road washouts. But that would only be a last minute change.

The 8 am wave consisted of 30 runners. One of them was Cheryl Zwarkowski from Victorville, CA. I was privileged to be part of her six men road crew. This would be my first crewing/pacing at Badwater.

Temperature is rising as the field heads toward Furnace Creek (17.4 mile marker). The field spreads out quickly after 5 miles. The veterans go out fairly quick, knowing from experience as to how they can pace themselves. While those making their first Badwater attempt, they cautiously make way to Furnace Creek. Cheryl reaches Furnace Creek in 3 hrs 24 minutes. Up to this point, crews are only allowed to aid runner’s needs, but no pacing.

Time is close to noon, humidity is all but gone, but the temperature is rising past 110. Cheryl begins her next leg to Stovepipe Wells (42 mile marker). I begin pacing Cheryl first. Since I was assigned to crewing/pacing her through the night, I wanted to do some pacing early. We get into a slow running mode. After going about 2 miles, the heat really sets in. Temperature was now around 115. We continue to take in fluids, and the crew sprays us with water. We walked the ups, and slow jogging on the flats and downhill. The crew leap frog us and waits at the next mile. They replenish our water bottles, and we take in Thermolytes and Carbo-pro mix drink. Cheryl and I continue. The road was very busy. As a pacer, I also had to make sure Cheryl does not wonder to far into the road, as well as watching out for her well being.

We reached the 23-mile mark. My pacing was done for the day. Day shift took over, while night shift, including me, head to Stovepipe Wells and rest up for the long night.

When I was pacing Cheryl, it seemed like I wasn’t sweating a lot. Cheryl and I were completely covered head, neck, and upper body from sunburning. At temperature around 115, any sweat was just evaporating. The crew would have to spray us down with water to keep us cool. After the pacer exchange, I got in air-conditioned van. I started sweating like crazy. It’s mind-bogging how the harsh heat can drain your body if you not replacing lost fluids.

Cheryl was expecting to arrive in Stovepipe Wells between 5 and 6pm. Apparently she had major stomach problems somewhere around mile 30 to 35. She took more breaks then she expected. She arrived at Stovepipe Wells at 5:49pm. Time elapsed 9 hrs. 49 minutes. Cheryl takes a break for about 30 minutes to eat, change clothes, and re-dress her foot. At this point, there were no blisters.

From Stovepipe Wells to Towne’s pass, it is a torturing 17 miles, 5000 ft climb. Most runners will walk this part of the course. Even the front-runners will walk at some point of this climb. The night crew takes over at mile 50. I begin the pacing duties again. The plan was to pace 2 hrs and switch off. Cheryl is having stomach problems again. As we begin to assess her condition, we encourage her to keep walking instead of completely stopping and re-coup. She needed more solid food. The liquid diet she was doing in the heat of the day took its toll. The body was going down the tubes. She begins to take in solids i.e. Potatoes with salt, chips, PB&J, and drinking Dr. Pepper, Coke, and Mt. Dew with Carbo-pro. The crew vehicle stops at every mile. At each stop, Cheryl eats a little bit. She continues to regain her strength up the climb. Her walking pace increases. Almost two hours into my pacing duties, I begin to develop cramps in my calve muscles. I told Cheryl that I’m not much of a walker for long stretches on an uphill. So I start into a small shuffle, and Cheryl continues with her power walking.

Time was now close to midnight, and we’re reaching 4000 ft. There’s a small breeze, temperature was getting cooling as we approach the top. But it was in the upper 80’s. Compared to a scorching daytime 115 degrees, upper 80’s was cool. About 6 miles from the top, severe cramps hit my calf muscles. I made the mistake of not eating several hours earlier. Now I’m paying the price. Fortunately, it was time for pacer change. Man …was I glad. I got in the crew vehicle and start eating solid food and drinking Gatorade. We continued our climb to the top. Cheryl reaches Towne’s pass around 2am, taking about 7 hrs from Stovepipe Wells.

Once we hit Towne’s pass, it’s bone-crushing decent of 14 miles into Panamint Valley and Panamint Springs, which is the next time station. After going about 7 mile downhill, Cheryl gets really tired and decides to take a 30-minute break. I didn’t sleep and kept my eye on the clock. Making sure the others don’t sleep past the 30 minutes. I take over pacing duties again on the final 7-mile stretch into Panamint Springs. Time was now 6:37am; Cheryl and I make it to Panamint Springs time station. It took almost 13 hrs to cover 31 miles. It was a very long night. At Panamint Springs (72.3 mile marker), we are now 22 hrs 37 minutes into the race. We have passed the halfway point.

At Panamint Springs, Cheryl takes 45-minute break for change of clothes, food, and re-dressing her foot. She was beginning to develop blisters on the outside of her foot. Time is now 7:15am. Cheryl hits the road to Father Crowleys’ point. She is feeling much better now, after taking in solid food through the night. Again it’s another hard climb, an accent of 2000 ft. in 8 miles. The day crew arrives around 8:00am. We go now to Lone Pine to eat breakfast and rest up for the ensuing second night on the road.

I managed to sleep about hour and a half. Around 3pm, we get a call that Cheryl had just passed the 100-mile marker. Lone Pine is at 122-mile marker. She was closing in. About 6pm, we meet up with Cheryl and the crew, she was 8 miles from Lone Pine. We relieve the day crew. Now it was our turn to get her into Lone Pine and up Mt. Whitney portal road.

I begin the pacing duties with 3 miles outside of Lone Pine. Cheryl decides to walk it into Lone Pine, saving some energy for the final climb up Mt. Whitney portal road. We get into Lone Pine time station (122 mile marker) just before midnight. Time elapsed is now 40 hours. Cheryl takes a short 15-minute break for food, change of clothes, and re-dressing her foot.

I continue with Cheryl up the portal road. It is a 13 mile climb. From Lone Pine, the grade increases with every mile. By mile 8 up the portal road, it becomes a steep climb for the last 5 miles. It is the hardest finish of any race. I finished my pacing duties to mile 127.

The day crew catches up at mile 130. While only 2 crewmembers take Cheryl up the portal road, the rest of us drive to the finish line. Cheryl made it to Mt. Whitney trailhead finish line at 4:26am. We all cross the finish line with her. Her finish time was 44 hrs. 26 minutes. 15 sec. She earned the coveted Badwater Ultramarathon belt buckle for finishing under 48 hours.

Out of 80 starters, 73 finish under the time limit of 60 hours. A new womans’ record is set this year by Jamie Donaldson with time of 26 hrs. 51 minutes, 33 sec.

Crewing/pacing at Badwater was a big thrill for me. It was more than I had ever imagine. I congratulate Cheryl for her accomplishment. It was an honor for me to crew and pace her. For me, I look forward to participating in next year’s Badwater race.

photos by AdventureCorp/Chris Kostman