One Last Chance

It has been quite some time since I updated the blog.  Unfortunately life has been extremely busy between Flatlanders, Work, Training and Racing.  To make matters even worse we started a new podcast Ten Junk Miles which has been extremely rewarding and fun.

I didn't fare very well at the Angeles Crest 100.  I missed a time cutoff at mile 30 and they would not let me continue.  I wish I had an epic story about this failure, but there is none.  It's just a simple fact that when I try to run really hard races often, I fail from time to time.  And that's perfectly fine.  Not in the sense that it's acceptable and I don't need to learn from it and try harder, but rather, in the sense that as long as I am giving my all I can't really beat myself up over the results.

I think after 23 years of sobriety and several years of ultra running I have finally reached a point where acceptance is coming quite easily.  I don't find myself worrying as much about what other people think.  I don't do these races to brag to other people.  I do these races because I enjoy running in beautiful places.  I love nature.  I love running.  And most of all I love the feeling of pushing my limits as hard as I can.  When I fail I do not feel shame.  I'm grateful for the chance to try to do these things.  I do the best I can and leave the results up to god.

I have one more chance to re-qualify for Hardrock left this year at the Bear 100.  I have around a month to prepare.  I really hope I can finish under the 36 hour cutoff and keep my Hardrock Lottery tickets, but.....it's not my decision to make.

If you have some spare time check out the Podcast (Ten Junk Miles on Itunes).  I'm really proud of it.  I've been getting emails from people all over the world telling me that it makes a difference in their life.  It's really amazing.  :)

Comrades - An unexpected reaction to a legendary race

I've known about the Comrades a Marathon since reading "A Step Beyond" when I first became an Ultrarunner.   The book has a chapter on must do races.  The Comrades is #1 on the must do list.

The specs a history of the race are the subjects of numerous books.  It's the world's oldest and biggest ultramarathon.  18,000 participants.  89k. (Around 56 miles).  It's a road race that changes directions annually.  One direction is more up than down. The other is the opposite.  This year was a down year.

It took forever to get to South Africa.  From Chicago to Munich to Johannesburg to Cape Town where I spent a week relaxing, touring and running along the ocean.  To say it was beautiful would be an understatement.  Within hours I was in love.  From the coastal scenery, to the roadside zebra...the sights, sound, smells and tastes were like nothing I have ever experienced.  By day two my wife and I were already discussing the next time we visit.  I could write three blog posts about the first week of this trip alone....but we had to leave Cape Town and fly to Durban for the race.

We arrived two days before the race and were warmly welcomed.  The whole city was about Comrades.  Everyone was wearing Comrades apparel.  The energy was intense.  The whole town was buzzing.

In the morning I had the pleasure of doing a shakeout run with some of the other Americans, Michael Wardian and British phenom Jo Meek (who would go on to finish 5th).  They were so nice.  It was amazing.

The expo was typical.  Booths of vendors, chaos, excitement, energy.   There was a great display of the history of Comrades.  Many people complained about the lines and the fact that a lot of the race branded products were sold out.   It didn't seem too unusual to me.   It became clear that this race is extremely important to it's participants.  In fact, your bib indicates how many finishes you have.   It also indicates your name and whether you are an international participant which provides a good conversation starter during the race.  "where you from Scott?"

I woke up at 1:00 am.  After a breakfast spread put on by the hotel we (me and a small group of strangers from Germany that I found myself with) headed out looking for the buses.  It took some scaling of fences but we got it done.

After an extremely long bus ride through Durban I found myself at the start of the race, in Pietermaritzburg jamming into my corral.  It was interesting being around so many different people, different languages, etc.  The excitement was extreme.

The start of the race was amazing.  Chills.  We started with the National Anthem.  followed by the song Shosholoza.  Everyone was arm in arm singing.  It was moving. I cried a little.  After this they played a traditional recording of a rooster and the theme from chariots of fire.   Then a cannon blasted and off we went.

We started in the dark.  We had to stay on out toes to avoid tripping on the clothing on the trail.  I quickly learned a few things.  1) this race was not going to be easy; 2) the "down" run wasn't really down, or all down, or didn't feel down.  This race was brutal.  It was warmish, in the 80's and we were constantly either running up (too steeply) or down (too steeply).   My goals going into this race were to : 1) finish; 2) NOT spend my only run across Africa worrying about my time.  I accomplished both.  (11:03ish).

A few initial observations.  No headphones allowed and people really didn't use them.  I felt self conscious about it and only used them twice for about 15 minutes.  The race was painstakingly marked by kilometer (which I have no sense of).  I didn't like that aspect.  I like not knowing.  Also, aid stations were every couple of kilometers.   They served water and an extremely sweet endurance drink out of plastic tubes that you had to bite to squirt water out of.  They also had some random fruit, potatoes and energy bites.  I also had some GU's.  The spacing and type of food effected me, but not to a degree that it made a difference.

People were extremely friendly.  I met many people while running.  I even stopped at one point to meet a Doberman and her owner was the head of a Doberman Rescue in SA.  With the exception of the presumably drunk person near the end that yelled "be a man and run faster," every single person running, spectating and/or working at the race was AMAZING and acted as if my finish was personal to them.  My bib had my name and people used it.  I can't say enough about how important this event is....to the entire country.

I struggled.  I figured I would take it conservative until the halfway point and then cruise the down portion comfortably.  From a running perspective none of it was comfortable.   4,000 feet of vertical climbing over 56 miles.  It was crazy.  I wasn't prepared for it.   I did quite a bit of walking.

I made it to the finish in 11:03.  The race ends through the streets of downtown Durban and then into a huge stadium which is PACKED.   Everyone was screaming my name.  It felt like I won the Super Bowl.   I'll never forget that.

I learned a lot about life, the world, and myself on this trip.   In Cape town we stayed in a really upscale area and only saw the poorer neighborhoods on occasion (and quickly turned around).  During the race the magnitude of the poverty many South Africans live in completely devastated me.  I made a point of high fiveing every child on the course that was near me.  Sometimes with two hands.  Sometimes to the detriment of my race.  They wanted anything I could give them, but they settled for a touch.  They collected the clothing we threw away, they collected the unused water tubes and food.  I looked deeply into their eyes as they sang Shosholowza to me.  I thought about them every time I heard that song for the rest of the race and it brought me to tears.  I spent much of the race in a state of extreme sadness.   Seeing the wealthy folks later in the race only made that feeling worse.

I realize the race brings money and good to the community.  I know only a few of you will really understand this, those of you who have been there.  There's nothing wrong with the Comrades.  It was amazing.  But I can't lie, the poverty and sadness ruined the experience for me.  I completely broke down in tears of sadness at the finish.  I will forever be haunted by the looks on their faces.  I'm crying as I write this on the plane ride home.  A part of me is ashamed to live in a world where it is OK for people to live like that.  If I ever return it will be with something more for that community than high fives.

Strava Data:  http://www.strava.com/activities/148185220/overview

Up Next - Sean O' Brien and California Dreaming

Next up is the Sean O' Brien 50 Mile in the backcountry trails of the Santa Monica Mountains.

The good news is that I get to spend some time in sunny CA and get out of the cold (this morning's run was 0 with a -22 wind chill).  I also get to spend some time with friends Melissa Pizzaro, Jeff Moss, Cory Feign and Kevin Kwilinski.  I hope I get to see one of the most inspirational people I know - Jimmy Dean Freeman (View his Blog) and run with the SoCalCoyotes.  I'm also hoping to preview some parts of the Angeles Crest 100 Course (my "A Race" of the year).  See this Beautiful Blog for an example.

I love LA, I love running in LA.  And I am travelling equipped with a GoPro Camera for the first time, so you can expect some great video/pictures.  Keira Henninger is a great RD and this is going to be a great event!

The Bad News:

This one is going to hurt. Click here for a course preview  This race was put together to replace the Ray Miller 50 that I did last year.  (See, Race Report)  That race left me in tears.  I made some mistakes and learned a lot.  How much?  We will see this weekend!  I put this race on my schedule because it was tough.  I find that doing tough things makes training and runs close to home seem easier.  I'm not going to lie....just finishing this race will be hard for me.  But I intend to put my head down, plug in some good working music and get her done.  My hope is the hills of POT150 will look quite small after this.  Well, at least for the first few loops!

This is the deepest field of runners I have ever been in an event with.  The field includes: Mike Wolfe, Jimmy Dean Freeman, Michael Aish, Chris Vargo, Chris Price, Jorge Pacheco, Dylan Bowerman, Timothy Olson, Jesse Haynes and Dominic Grossman in the men's field and Meghan Arbogast, Cassie Scallon, Michelle Barton and Sally McRae in the women's field.  I am looking forward to seeing them on the out and back and perhaps at diner afterward.  If I got to meet one or two of these people I would be thrilled.  Unfortunately, they will likely be in bed when I get done!

Great race report and video (hopefully) to follow!

#yourmindmakesitreal

Reflections and the year ahead.

On top of Pinnacle Peak, AR

2013 is in the books.  Although I did not accomplish my goal of running in the Hardrock 100, I took some major steps toward it.  Looking back and looking ahead, there is a lot to be happy about.

Potawatomi 100 Finisher! - April

I don't know exactly how many miles I ran because between Dailymile, Garmin and Strava a lot is missing.  I'll guess that I ran more than ever before.  I had some hamstring issues and a broken toe, but I made it through the entire year pretty much injury free.  there really wasn't a period of time when I was unable to run.

Ray Miller 50 - February

I think I finally got my everyday dietary issues down.  A low Carb whole food diet with little or no refined sugar, carbs, potatoes or corn seems to work best for me.  After only a few days of eating that way every major aspect of my life improves.  In 2014 I hope to eat that way the majority of the time.  Special thanks to Phil Maffatone and Tim Noakes for the education.  If you are looking to change your diet or you have any struggles in this area you should check out Dr. Phil's Big Red Book.

I also got my racing nutrition down, which is in stark contrast.  Justin's Nut Butter for gells, Vitargo for carbs Ensure+ for extra calories and burger king cheeseburgers for filling seem to do the trick.  No GI issues or bonking in the entire second half of the season have convinced me of this. 

I went 2-1 in 100 mile races.  I'm not thrilled to have DNF'ed, but it is a fact of life.  I'm proud of the fact that I finished one graduate 100 (Potawatomi) and one post-graduate 100 (Superior Sawtooth).  I raced  one 50 (DWD Devil's Lake) but did three (Ray Miller 50 and Ice Age 50)  and a 24 Hour Race. I did 0 marathons.  I matched my best at a 5K (21:43) and I PR'ed at the 50K (Frozen Gnome). 

Mt. Elbert - the Perfect Storm - August

Most importantly I qualified for the Hardrock Lottery by completing Superior Sawtooth, but I did not get selected.  I am qualified again next year already though.  I have to keep in mind that Hardrock is the ultimate goal.  

I tried my luck at altitude by running at Leadville and up and down Mt. Elbert.  I'm pleased to report that I didn't have any major problems, so this isn't a major Hardrock concern.

I'm most proud of a few of the complete knucklehead training runs and fatass events I participated in.  I did 6 hour and 8 hours fatass runs with new Leaf Ultra Runs.  Some friends and I did some chilly muddy loops at McNaughton to train for the Potawatomi 100, a 29 mile re-taste of Chicago food run with 10 required eating stops, a run from Naperville to the Bean in the early winter greater than 50K and a 91.5 mile world's longest Turkey Trot from the Bean to Milwaukee.  I also got to help crew and pace Shan Riggs and Chuck Schultz in their 410 mile run across Illinois, crew Tony Cesario at Leadville and pace Kathleen Rytman on her 150 mile effort at Tbunk.

Re-Taste of Chicago - All You Can Eat - July

Water Crossing Practice - March

Crewing Leadville - Go Cory!!

Magic Starved Rock Run - Oct.

I think we did plenty.

Chicago to Milwaukee Turkey Trot (Orange you sorry you missed it?)

Superior Trail 100

Now, for 2014?

Sean O' Brien and San Juan Solstice 50 milers.  Each is sure to be one of the toughest 50 milers of the year.

Angeles Crest 100 and the Bear 100.  Two post-graduate 100 mile races.  Each is also a qualifier for Hardrock.

And finally, I am going to take a stab at the Potawatomi 150 mile run.  It seems simultaneously both impossible and stupid.  So it is right up my alley.

My only goal last year was to run 100 miles straight.  I sold myself short.  I made hundreds of new friends, ran hundreds and hundreds of miles with them and achieved more than I ever could have imagined.  In a way I'm glad I didn't get picked for Hardrock yet.....because the journey is most of the fun.  I'll get there someday soon!