just south of the dot...

Congratulations to me!!

2012-01-26T12:50:00.001-06:00

GZ pointed me to some clown that decided to list the top 100 running blogs.
Personally, I think mine comes in at #97, so I've awarded myself a logo he's encouraging all top 100 to put on their blogs.

Congratulations to me!

Thanks for the pretty logo, Rick.
(Although, I did change your link so when people click on mine on the right, it won't give you extra credits. Sorry.)

Farm Photos

2012-01-25T20:02:00.002-06:00

Baby broccoli (too late in year to plant from seed)

my photos suck... sorry

Farm pics 1

2012-01-25T19:52:00.002-06:00

Tomato plants and two eggplants were still alive on the plot I took over.

Farm

2012-01-25T19:51:00.001-06:00

About 2 years ago I out my name on the waiting list for a little plot of land in a community garden.
Finally last November, I got an email that my name was next on the list and a plot was available for me.
Quite excited I quickly paid my dues, which is a mere $35 a YEAR. I recruited my Amy to be my alternate gardener and quickly got to work.
I will let the photos posted speak for what has happened since...

Week after Colorado

2012-01-25T19:27:00.001-06:00

Came home from Colorado late Sunday night, and rested Monday and Tuesday. The goal is to take two mellow weeks to recover from a long 2 months of hard running, to then start ramping back up for the spring season.

•Wednesday was an easy 7 miles around town with karma joining for 3. My legs felt fine but a little tired towards the end.
•Thursday, Karma and I met up with Cindy and Domingo for our Friday trail run, as I was traveling for work on Friday. 7.5 miles felt great.
•Friday - 2000 miles of round trip flying to Tampa, Florida for a 1 hour meeting.
•Saturday I ran another 7.5 miles easy on the trail. Felt really good.
•Sunday a friend asked me to keep her company on her long road run, so she ran with one person for her first 7.5 miles, then I ran the other 11.5 miles with her. Pace was nice, but I got a weird intermittent thing going on with my right knee for the last 2.5 miles.

Ended my first of two weeks of recovery with a 34 miles.

Colorado pics 5

2012-01-25T19:01:00.000-06:00

Colorado pics 4

2012-01-25T18:59:00.000-06:00

Colorado 3 - The Incline

2012-01-25T18:58:00.000-06:00

Colorado pics

2012-01-25T18:55:00.000-06:00

Colorado and since...

2012-01-25T18:50:00.001-06:00

After Bandera I took a couple days off then ran a couple of days to try and loosen my legs for my upcoming trip to colorado.
The trip was great fun and loved running the trails up there. I will go back and run more, and have a couple of races planned as well. (refer to my prior year schedule). However, I already know I have to make some adjustments.
Instead of writing a dissertation about the Colorado trip, I'll jut share photos.

the WORST war zone in the world.

2012-01-24T17:13:00.000-06:00

I went and saw a movie last night: 8 Murders a day
It will be out in February nationwide, and currently just playing in 3 movie theatres nationwide. One here in Austin, one in Las Vegas, and one in Los Angeles.

The movie is a +/- 90 min documentary about the violence in Juarez, Mexico; the border town and drug cartel war zone.
I decided to do some research when i got home and thought I'd share the numbers I found:

Iraq total nation population: 30million nationwide
Juarez, Mexico - City population: 1.2million
Austin City Population: 790k
Washington DC City Population: 617k

In 2010, DC had 132 murders. In 2011, DC had 108
In 2010, Austin had 37 murders. In 2011, Austin had 27.
In 2010, Iraq had 4,045 civilian deaths, in 2011, there were 4,087. (nationwide)
In 2010, Juarez had 3,113 murders, predictions were for 5,000 murders in 2011. (couldn't find official count)

Here's the trailer for it:

It saddens me that somehow this city that borders the most powerful country in the world isn't getting the coverage that it should. Why don't people care?

An interesting letter in the Australian Shooter Magazine this week.

2012-01-24T16:37:00.000-06:00

"If you consider that there has been an average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theater of operations during the past 22 months, and a total of 2112 deaths, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers.

The firearm death rate in Washington, DC is 80.6 per 100,000 for the same period. That means you are about 25 per cent more likely to be shot and killed in the U.S. capital, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the U.S., than you are in Iraq."

Conclusion: The U.S. should pull out of Washington .

Funny, in a weird way.

2012-01-24T09:28:00.000-06:00

here's why

2012-01-18T08:26:00.001-06:00

The SOPA legislation is so far reaching, that it would put all blogs (and websites) in legal jeopardy if they linked to a site anywhere online that had any links to copyright infringement.

SOPA = Death of blogs.

2012-01-18T08:08:00.002-06:00

SUPPORT THE FIGHT AGAINST SOPA HERE

2012-01-18T07:33:00.001-06:00

2012 Schedule is filling up

2012-01-17T08:13:00.001-06:00

** = committed
no star = tentative

Feb 19 - Austin Marathon**
March 18 - SXSW week**
April 7 - Hells Hills, TX - 50k or 50m
June 2 - Dirty Thirty, Golden, Colorado**
June 23/Aug11/sep1 - Captain Karls Night Trail Races, TX - 60K
July - Trip to Sweden**
Aug 3 - Lollapalooza**
Sept 21 - Havasu/Zion/Bryce/Moab Trail runs**
Oct 12 - ACL Festival**
Oct 27 - Cactus Rose 50mile, Bandera TX
Nov 11 - San Antonio Marathon (Pacer)**
Dec 8 - El Sendero, TX 50k or 50m**

What am I missing??

crazy prices

2012-01-11T11:27:00.004-06:00

For once in a very long time, I actually like some of my race photos.

But, I'm sad to say, I'm forced to steal them with the watermark of the company across my body,and not pay for them. Why? The price.

Here are three of the many purchase options. The smallest print, and then digital download:

1 printed postcard size (5x7) for $14.99
Each photo digital download: $29.99
All photos digital download: $69.99

Yes, I understand that there are costs involved with having multiple photographers travel to the race site, pay them their fee, and costs of doing business etc., but there's also a thing called economics, supply and demand, and optimal prices.

FAIL #1

Not many people care for a print copy these days, unless they're going to frame one. Typically, people want digital copies so they can print on their own, and store like every other photo they ever take themselves. Online photo storing sites charge way less than $15 a photo.

FAIL #2
Digital photos should not cost me $29.99. If this was the finish line photo, and it was AWESOME, and I had just run 100 miles, maybe I would pay $30. MAYBE. But probably not.

I personally have only ever purchased one race photo and that was at the Boston Marathon. Simply put, prices are too high. I had a discussion with some friends about this and everyone seems to agree. We came to the consensus that we would be willing to pay, and probably would buy more race photos if they were priced as follows:

Each digital photo: $2.99-$3.99
Entire Album of my race photos: $11.99

While I haven't done the statistical calculations and don't pretend to know if this would be viable for the company that takes the photos, I'm pretty sure they'd be happier to have ($11.99 x 3 = 36) $36 dollars from 3 different runners who would have paid for all their photos, as opposed to zero dollars for zero purchased photos.

I recently read an article about Kodak, and how it lost its leadership. Essentially, the article said that Kodak failed to understand that they were in the business of making memories, and not selling a specific product. They failed to embrace the way the world of memories went, and everyone passed them by.

I also read this quote, which touches on a similar concept about record companies and how they need to adapt to their changing market. Stop trying to sell CD's and embrace the digital world:

"You record company guys THINK you are in the wine business, but you are really in the bottling business. What happens when the bottle goes away?"

What would you pay for 1 digital photo, and for a whole set of say 8 or 9 photos?

6 miles

2012-01-11T08:50:00.000-06:00

The garmin says 5.93miles but I'm not one of those idiots that runs around the car to get the extra 0.07.
Karma came along for almost half of that.

Legs are still quite dead. 8 and a half minutes per mile felt like I was racing a 5km.
Feels like I have a ridiculous Charlie Horse on the left quad.

Chances are quite slim that I will survive the Ponderous Posterior 50km this weekend in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Who wants what?

Tim is awesome

2012-01-11T08:39:00.000-06:00

I didn't know much about Tim, the winner of the Bandera 100K before this weekend, other than he had a great 2011. Thanks to THIS, I don't need to know anything else. Class act.

4 miles

2012-01-10T09:10:00.001-06:00

My legs are dead from the race this weekend, and my calves are still really sore from the cramping so those where 4 of the least enjoyable non-race miles i've ever run... but a couple of hours later, my legs feel a littlebetter from it.

If only i hadn't started my dishwasher and washer 15 minutes before taking a shower, my water would have been warmer than "not cold". brrrr...

2012 Bandera 50km - Race Report

2012-01-09T13:20:00.038-06:00

Green is elevation

Blue is my pace. (big spikes are stops at aid stations and cramping walks)

I had some goals: none were better than others, they were simply different goals I hoped to hit:

DO NOT get caught up with what others are doing, and instead run my own race, with the paces I felt that I could hit. RESULT: Best managed trail ultra I've ever run. Kept the pace where I wanted it instead of getting caught up with the fast crowd at the start.
Improve on my personal course record of 4:59. RESULT: Finish time of 4hrs50min
Finish Top 15th: RESULT: Finished 13th
Finish as close to 4hrs30 as possible. FAIL
Finish Top 10: FAIL

Race report:

I was feeling good. I immediately counted 15 or possibly 16 people take off ahead of me at a faster pace than I was determined to stick to. I then had another clump of 4 pass me about 2 miles in, so I figured I was about 20th.

My goal was to keep it between 8:20 and 8:45 mins per mile (which is my cruising speed these days between roads and flat trails) and the aid stations and climbs would add some time to that to get me in around 4 hours 30 to 4 hours 40.
I got to 15.5 mile (my half way point) right at 2 hours 14 which was exactly where I wanted to be (8:40 pace) Especially with the major brunt of climbing being out of the way.
I slowly and methodically reeled about 12 of those overly excited runners back in, so I now figured I was maybe about 8th place. And I was feeling great and really fresh. At the mile 22'ish aid station i had my ipod waiting, which I knew would give me the music stimulation I would want for the last 9 miles, or 80 or 90 or so minutes. Things couldn't look any better.

But by mile 23-24ish, my race time decision to not carry two water bottles from the start caught up with me and I cramped on both calves really bad even though I was drinking tons of Gatorade at every aid station, got salts from gels, and acted like a crack addict popping salt pills.
Initial discussions with Mer, leads to simply not getting enough water in, and needed more salts.

I limped in for the last 7-8miles and lost about 5-6 spots to finish 13th in 4:50 instead of around 4:30-4:35.

So despite very bad cramping over the last 8 miles that slowly reduced me to a jogger/walker, I achieved three of my goals, which I'm pleased with.

Scientifics:

Click here for my Garmin data. (splits bottom left)
(disregard anything past mile 31 as I inadvertently restarted the timer for almost an hour!)

How would I reach 4hrs 30?

My goal was to run smart, keeping it between 8:20 and 8:45 pace, then have time added for hills and aid stations:

5 aid stations + 5 "major" hills = 10-12 additional mins. (rough math)
8:20min/mile pace is a 4:18 (+ 10mins = 4:28-4:31)
8:45min/mile pace is a 4:31 (+ 10mins = 4:39-4:42)

Hills and Aid stations reflected in the Garmin data:

Mile 6, 10, 16 and 22 are in the high 9's and 10's from aid station stops leading up to crossroads aid station at mile 22.
Mile 1, 3, 7, 24, 25, 29 are hills. Mile 8 is ice cream hill where i really took it extra easy. (longest climb)

And then the 9:27 at mile 23 was the beginning of the cramping and then it all went to hell.

Rough estimation is that I lost 12-14 minutes from the cramping, which would have put me in at 4:36-4:38 range. Had I not been cramping, the idea was to have run these comfortable paces, so I would be fresh enough to give it all i had for the last 4 miles, shaving maybe another 2-3 mins. which puts me around 4:33 or 34. (Ideal world, or course)

Overall I'm happy, as I improved my course best, but I'm competitive so the cramps are still a major source of disappointment, as I know I had plenty in the tank.
Oh well, we'll get it done next year!

But dang... my splits through Mile 23 are a thing of beauty!!

Bandera 100K national championships video

2012-01-09T11:13:00.001-06:00

Here's a video someone took of the first 12 or so miles with the lead pack.
Pretty cool.

Last few days.

2012-01-03T10:12:00.000-06:00

Friday was a fun trail run with the dogs at Emma Long:

Saturday was a another mellow trail run with Cindy and her dog Domingo for 7.5 miles.

Then Sunday (New Years day) I ran the 17th Annual Runtex to Runtex to Runtex run. About 150 people showed up for the 13 miles. Good times.

When all was said and done, my friends and I were the last ones there and were left with the task of finishing off the leftovers.

Took Monday off, and this morning, I ran an easy 4.5 or so. Race day is Saturday, so really trying to keep things mellow.

Day 3 of the weekend workout.

2011-12-29T11:57:00.000-06:00

Friday was a 7 mile trail run followed by a 5 miles of hill repeats. My legs were seriously tired after that.

Saturday was a 20 mile run with 12 of those miles at a faster than comfortable pace to further tax the legs.

Sunday was another 7 miles followed by 3 repeats up a ridiculously steep and very rocky 1/4 mile hill. My legs had nothing left.

When I mean nothing, i seriously mean nothing.

That was the last 3 day hard weekend before my race on Jan 7.

I took Monday off, then joined my road running club for 9 miles on Tuesday. The route was moderately hilly, and I quickly realized I made a big mistake going the full 9 miles. By mile 6 my legs just needed butter and jam, as they were burnt toast. Decided to take Wednesday off, and didn't make it out to a run today either.

I am definitely taking Karma for our weekly Friday trail run with Cindy and her dog Domingo tomorrow (7ish miles), then will run 5 or so on Saturday, then 13 for the yearly New Years day run.

Monday - Friday of next week will be a little heavier than this week, as I have just felt dead in the legs this week.

2012 Challenge

2011-12-29T11:45:00.000-06:00

2010 I drank 100 milkshakes. (never doing that again, and still haven't had another once since Dec 11, 2010)
2011 I drank 100+ Green Monsters, and am closing in on 120. It's something I enjoy and drink several times a week, but certainly don't think it was a "fun" challenge.
2012 is here, and my new challenge is to drink 100 "yellow"(crappy) beers in 100 different places. If you want to join in, read more about it, or simply follow along, here is the site for that challenge. Already have 37 participants from all over the world. Should be fun as everyone is required to post a photo of the beer and location.

Day 2 of 3

2011-12-24T23:02:00.001-06:00

Knocked out a 20mile run today.

A solid 14 miles then we shut it down and cruised in for the final 6 so I would have some legs left for day 3.

Legs felt great for all but the last 2 miles where I just wanted the run to be over and they felt heavy and had nothing in them.

I bet they would have felt great for 20 had the run been 22 miles.

Day 1 of 3

2011-12-23T11:29:00.004-06:00

Last hard 3 day weekend of training before 2 week taper for Bandera 50k on Jan 7.

Today I went for an easy 7 mile trail run with Cindy and our pups, then ran up the hill of life 6 times.
Pretty happy with getting up to the top in under 5 mins every time.

Bring on tomorrow's 20 mile run.

"2011 Marathon (and 1/2) State of the Sport Report".

2011-12-21T18:59:00.000-06:00

Always fun to read all the "2011 Marathon (and 1/2) State of the Sport Report".
http://www.runningusa.org/statistics/reports

There are multiple reports in that link. here are some stats that are interesting:

2010 AVG Men's time 4:16, Women's 4:42.
1995, men's was 3:54 and women 4:15
Fastest marathon by median time: Boston 3:44.
Highest percent masters: Boston 56%.
U.S. finisher total surpasses 1/2 million mark for the first time(507K) which is still just 0.16% of the population (assuming 300 million).

Typical U.S. Female Runner demographics:
Average Age: 38.5
Average Weight: 137.6 lbs
Average Height: 5 feet, 5 inches
63.2% Married
78.2% College educated
70.3% Earn a household income of $75,000+
Last running shoes purchased: ASICS (26.4%), Brooks (16.6%), Saucony (14.2%)
Favorite brands of running apparel: Nike (64.8%), Under Armour (45.7%), Champion (34.3%), adidas (30.7%)

Typical U.S. Male Runner demographics:
Average Age: 43.6
Average Weight: 172.9 lbs
Average Height: 5 feet, 10 ½ inches
71.0% Married
76.2% College educated
76.0% Earn a household income of $75,000+
Last running shoes purchased: ASICS (25.1%), Brooks (15.8%), Nike (14.0%)
Favorite brands of running apparel: Nike (57.3%), Under Armour (40.4%), ASICS (32.2%), adidas (31.2%)

World’s Largest –
With 67,999 timed finishers, the Sun-Herald City2Surf 14K in Sydney, Australia was the world’s largest road race in 2010.

Average Age of Timed Road Race Finishers

	2010
Timed Road Race Finishers	36.1
Female Timed Road Race Finishers	34.6
Male Timed Road Race Finishers	37.6

According to SGMA (Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association)

SGMA Total Runners	Run/Jog at least once	49,408,000 (+12.6%)
SGMA Core Participants	Run/Jog 50+ days/yr	27,664,000 (+8.2%)
SGMA Frequent Runners	Run/Jog 100+ days/yr	18,338,000 (+11.5%)

SGMA Total Trail Runners	Run on Trails at least once	5,136,000 (+6.3%)

NSGA (1) All Runners	Run/Jog 6+ days/yr	35,524,000 (+10.3%)
NSGA (1) Frequent Runners	Run/Jog 110+ days/yr	7,358,000 (-7.4%)

Total USATF Active Certified Road Courses (as of June 2011)
*Course certification expires every 10 years

Distance	# of Events	% of Total
5 km	8,023	55.1%
10 km	1,849	12.7%
Half-Marathon	1,305	9.0%
8 km/5 mi	741	5.1%
Marathon	847	5.8%
1 km/1 mi/2 km/2 mi	478	3.3%
12 km/15 km/10 mi	462	3.2%
4 mile	220	1.5%
20/25/30 km	119	0.8%
Ultras	93	0.6%
Others	433	2.9%
TOTAL	14,570

Brand of Running Shoes Last Purchased – 2011 National Runner Survey

Brand	2009	2011
ASICS	29.9%	25.8%
Brooks	14.4%	16.3%
Nike	14.7%	13.7%
Saucony	11.3%	12.8%
Mizuno	8.9%	8.8%
New Balance	9.7%	8.4%
adidas	5.5%	4.1%
Newton	<1%	2.2%
Vibram Five Fingers	<1%	2.1%

El Sendero - 50KM trail race - Race Report

2011-12-19T15:56:00.000-06:00

I posted this a while back. So here's an update:

Weekend 6 - Thanksgiving 4 day camp - COMPLETED
Weekend 5 - Dec 3 - Recovery Weekend/Run - COMPLETED
Weekend 4 - Dec 10 - El Sendero 50km - Gauge fitness. COMPLETED
Weekend 3 - Dec 17 - Recovery Weekend/Run - COMPLETED
Weekend 2 - Dec 24- Final hard training weekend and week.
Weekend 1 - Dec 31 - Recovery/Taper weekend
Weekend 0 - Jan 7 - Race day

Last Saturday December 10 was the El Sendero 50km. Just as I wrote there, it was more of a race to gauge fitness and to regain some "race brain" practice as it's been 19 months since my last race.

If you look at the results, you'll think: DAMN! Mike killed it!
And yes, finishing 2nd overall is quite nice. But truth be told, the competition wasn't stellar, then again, you can only race whomever shows up.
But more importantly, race management was truly terrible. The race was two 15.5 mile loops. My personal goal was to try and run under 4.5 hours, or at least under 4 hours 45 mins. Worst case scenario, under 5 hours.
Right from the start 3 of us took the lead, and I kid you not, within 5 minutes of running, Todd, Chris and I probably had a 1 min lead on everyone else. The race would then play out between the 3 of us, and that's where race management went in the toilet. I don't run at the front of races. I have no idea how that works. So long story short, the first loop was fast. WAY fast. At times I would look down at my watch and for long stretches it would hover around 7:20 min/mile. that's FAST on trails.
My personal goal was to go our around 8:40-8:45 pace, to have energy in the last 4 miles to pick up the pace and finish on a high note. But this also was based on the fact that I wouldn't be leading the race. Long story short, the three of us ran the first loop in 2 hrs 10 mins, which translated to a 8:04 pace. (total run time including climbs, water refill stops etc).

By mile 14 I knew the pace would kill me, but when you're up front, you kind of go with what you have.
Hundreds of times I kept thinking, this is too fast, this is going to kill me, i wonder if i let them go if I'll be able to catch them, how will i know how far ahead they got. can i make up 30 seconds per mile over the last 4 miles if i let them go for 10 miles? All questions I didn't know how to answer, so I just decided that I would throw out the initial personal plan out the window and instead, I guess I'd play the game of see who blows up last.

At around mile 19-20ish, we reached the top of the biggest climb, and one then both of the guys stopped to pee, and refill their water bottles at a cooler at the top. (I think) I had plenty of water, so i bombed the down, and kept going. I'd pick up the pace on any long straight away so they wouldn't see me ahead, then would settle back into cruising speed among the trees. Anything to not let them see how far ahead I had gotten. About 10 mins in to this, i let up the pace and went back to cruising speed as I had already raced 20+ miles and didn't need to be going any faster for much longer as I would seriously crash if I did. Chris was running great and caught back up to me by mile 21.5 or so. I guess he also bombed the down and I never took that big a lead.

we proceeded to run together for a while until we hit a long uphill straightaway where my gas pedal wasn't working and I was just moving forward at a slower pace than normal. I had hit my low point in the race, and Chris was feeling good. He kept going, maybe picking up the pace a little, but it was enough to quickly put a 100 yard gap on me over the next 5 mins or so. I just had nothing in the tank, and that's where the "Fitness Gauge" showed me that I was no where near the levels I've been in 2 years prior.

The rest of the 9 miles consisted of moving forward as best as possible. I had no energy to chase, but I also didn't want to get caught by Todd and lose my 2nd place. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, the finishline appeared and I crossed the line in 4hrs 41seconds. Chris won in 4:37, and Todd came in third in 4:47. There was then a 4th place guy in 4:54 or so, and then 20-30 mins before 5th place.

Overall, i'm happy with second, but the race plan was not what i meant to do, so i really have no idea what I can do if I run a sensible first half to have energy for the second half.

And I can't complain over improving from a 4:59 to a 4:41 personal best in the distance!

This past week was a recovery week and weekend. I ran Tuesday 6 miles, Wednesday 8, Friday 7, Saturday 14.5 and about 6 on Sunday. Me legs felt fine on Friday and Saturday, but were tired all other days. This coming weekend is my last big weekend, and I think i'll head down to Bandera to train on the course and figure out what 8:30-8:45 pace will feel like out there. The goal for Bandera 50km on Jan 7 is 4:35 or under for the 50K.

Here are the ugly splits: (the loop 1 to loop 2 splits aren't exact as it wasn't a full mile at the turn)

Here's what we looked like at the turn:

.Here's what I looked like at the finish:

(I changed shirts because it was initially very warm and i was sweaty, then a very cold wind picked up and sweaty clothes in cold winds is not fun.)

Here's my 2nd place plant prize:

Can't seem to get stuff up here

2011-12-19T15:52:00.002-06:00

Been forever since I posted something, yet my head is full of ideas.
On the running front, I owe a 50KM trail - race report, and some other updates.
On the organic front, i haven't even talked about my vegetables.
Some day, when my job doesn't fill up every waking moment of my 9-5. Because after that, i have no desire to sit on the computer and type.
.

(re)ignite your fire.

2011-12-06T11:42:00.001-06:00

One of the guys that's part of my road running group qualified for Boston this weekend.
A park ranger by day, that could easily double as a rough and tumble cowboy villain in the next western you watch, if you saw him out and about you'd never believe not only that he's a runner, but that the heart of a lion lives within him.

If you need a little something to (re) ignite the fire in you, and/or simply like reading great race reports, here's what he did.

8 miles

2011-11-29T09:47:00.001-06:00

I know, boring post but just thought I'd add more content to this blog.

Today, 8 miles on roads. Legs were groggy for the first 4, and up a couple small hills.
Eventually they came to, just in time to run into a group of fast kids that were only going 6. Ran the last three with them as a progressive ending up at around 6:10-6:20 pace for the last mile.
43 degrees and calm wind, is divine running weather.

4 day camp

2011-11-28T12:00:00.001-06:00

I've decided to finally put on a race bib again, and run the Bandera 50km in January, which means I need to put some effort into my training. (I have a wedding to attend that evening, so 100km would have been impossible even if I was ready for it)

The training schedule looks pretty decent, as I can take advantage of a 50km in 2 weeks to gauge what my fitness level is like, and get a supported 50km run.

Weekend 6 - Thanksgiving 4 day camp - COMPLETED
Weekend 5 - Dec 3 - Recovery Weekend/Run
Weekend 4 - Dec 10 - El Sendero 50km - Gauge fitness.
Weekend 3 - Dec 17 - Recovery Weekend/Run
Weekend 2 - Dec 24- Final hard training weekend and week.
Weekend 1 - Dec 31 - Recovery/Taper weekend
Weekend 0 - Jan 7 - Race day

This past 4-day camp, I put in 65 miles of trail running. The two longer runs (Thursday and Saturday) were 17 and 27.5 miles respectively, while the other two made up the difference. I really pushed the pace on the last 20 mins of the 27.5 mile run, getting final pace down to aroun d 6:40-6:50 on some flat trails.
Also felt pretty darn good on Sunday for the final run on tired legs, and really pushed the pace for the last hour once the sun was up.

In other news, a Spanish blog I follow posted a pretty cool write-up of a guy racing up Mt Olympus in Utah. (if you use google chrome browser, it'll automatically translate it for you)
WOW. Here's the video of the run. If you get tired of seeing him climb, hang in there, or at minimum, move to 5:30 and watch him go back down.)

Green Day at Red 7

2011-11-18T16:43:00.001-06:00

In college I bought Green Day's first big album "Dookie". I played that CD hundreds of times. I still play it! It's my absolute favorite house cleaning CD. I blast it and go to town on the cleaning!

This is what Green Day's shows are typically like, 65 thousand fans jam packed rocking away...

Just give this video below 30 seconds or so, to get the full visual of size and scope of a typical show.

... so when i got wind that 400 tickets had been sold in 15 seconds to a surprise "secret" show at a small venue here in Austin for a show last night, my plans for Thursday quickly changed. Long story short, i got really lucky and was one of the few standing around out front to find someone selling an extra ticket (for a non-ridiculous price) so i was in!

I'm not a fan of people who spend an entire concert taking 200 photos and 16 videos on their phone, but do typically snap about 4 or 5 photos and hope one comes out good; so when i read the posters EVERYWHERE that no photography was allowed and they would kick out anyone caught, that was music to my ears!

I did snap two photos just for memories sake, and that's all i needed. They both worked out ok.
Let me tell you, to see a band who easily fill up a 60 thousand person European soccer stadium, or multiple days at Madison Square Garden in a venue that holds 4-500 was incredible.
I couldn't believe that i was a few feet from Billy Joe singing "welcome to paradise" followed by "American Idiot" to start the show! 2 hours later, I was drenched in sweat and it took me till mid afternoon today for it to sink in that I actually saw Green Day at such a small venue!

One guy upfront snapped a photo of the playlist before the show started and I snapped a photo of his camera photo! ha!

A night I don't think I'll ever forget!

Crazy cool dancing.

2011-11-16T10:35:00.001-06:00

Break ton Neck from Alex Yde on Vimeo.

San Antonio Marathon 3:44:53 (Pace goal 3:45:00)

2011-11-14T17:38:00.001-06:00

The most difficult part of pacing, is when you have no one left but you still have to run that agonizingly uncomfortable pace till the end on your own. (My opinion)

This weekend I was fortunate enough to be an official pacer for the San Antonio marathon. My assigned time goal was 3 hours 45 minutes, which is an average pace of 8min 35seconds per mile. Lately my relaxed "long run" pace has fluctuated between a 7:50 and an 8:15 (depending on weather and distance), so 8:35 was slower than anything I comfortably run, meaning this should be a cake walk.

What is pacing? Simply put, we pacers volunteer to run a certain pace to help runners achieve their goal time. We put our time on our shirts, and we carry a time flag so people can choose to run along and know that this person will run an even paced run all the way to the end.
I opted to wear two watches (one for backup in case i inadvertently stopped the other one, etc.) and a pace band with overall times for every mile to ensure we were where we needed to be.

(Photo by Todd J. Husband to Kristal who is waving hello and was running the half. Half marathoners would split away at mile 11.)

I probably had about 25-30 hopefuls running the pace with/around me. I did my best to entertain the group, encouraged the spectators to cheer my runners on, had a multitude of jokes and stories to keep their minds entertained. Some people had music on from the start, and some hung back enough or a little ahead of me, and just used me to stay steady. Everyone had their own plan, except me. Mine was simple: run as close to an 8:35mins per mile regardless of terrain, all the way to the finish, and don't deviate from that plan no matter what.

While it sounds quite simple, it's actually quite difficult to be "on" for an entire marathon. Typically, if one has a time goal, you may pick up the pace on a downhill mile, or slow down on an uphill to then make the time up on the downhill you know is coming. Maybe you want to walk through and aid station to get extra fluids. Maybe you feel like crap for a few miles. Maybe you feel great. But most of all, on race day, you run for yourself, your pace varies, and well, if you fail, you've got no one to blame but yourself. I, on the other hand, had a multitiude of runners relying on me to stay steady and on pace.

It was great fun, but what I thought would be a simple long run, with an additoin of encouraging runners, turned out to be a challenging grind, mostly because of hot and humid weather conditions. It got hot in a hurry. New reports I've read say it got as hot as 79 F, but that's in the shade. This course had no shade, and the asphalt just made things even worse as the sun just beat down on your head.
As you can see from the photo below, i carried a water bottle, and i drank like a fish and took my own salts. I even drank cups from most water stations even if my bottle still had water. Destruction was everywhere, people were in trouble quite early. We passed many runners that had been reduced to a slow walk, were stretching out their cramps, etc. I can't begin to tell you how many times I told my runners to take both Cytomax (electrolyte drink) and water to stay on top of the humid and hot conditions. Heck, I was drinking like crazy, had my own salt tabs, and come mile 16, even my legs started to get a little tingly. (Personally, I doubled my salt intake from then on, and it thank fully kept any disastrous cramping at bay)
Most miles were within 5 seconds of goal time, and based on people's attitudes I really thought i would have some contenders late in the game. Unfortunately, even after 2 long miles full of encouragement, motivational quotes and stories, my last runner dropped off the pace a little after mile 21, so I was then on my own, and that's where this hot and humid party became a tough grind to the finish. My job was to run 8:35s no matter what. There could be someone in front of me or someone shadowing me, and I was their reference point, so there was no option to speed up to something more enjoyable, or pick up the pace to get the run over with. So there I was, passing fading runners, runners that were walking, runners that were limping, or stretching their legs. I had gone from a pacer that began the day with a goal of helping make people's dreams come true, to a runner who was now crushing dreams of runners as I caught and passed them, holding the dreaded 3:45 sign they so did not want to see. "oh no", "fuck", "ugh", "dude, you're running too fast, you're not allowed to catch me yet" were just a few of the things I heard people say as I was forced to be the bearer of bad news.

But I had a job to do, and that was to run my eight thirty fives and get in as close as possible to 3:45:00. The problem was, I was ready to be done, my legs were hurting from an abnormal pace, and it was hot, and i was tired, and I wasn't allowed to run any pace I really wanted. I HAD to stay on pace. And so I did. And it got tough. Those mile markers took forever to appear. And it was hot out. And no shade. And a pace that just plain sucked to run on my own. Just one runner. Just one is all I wanted. It would have made things completely different. The pace would have been great, had I had just that one runner! Funny how the brain works.

Some runners ahead would see me catch them and I'd encourage them to "hop on" and I'd lead them in. I so wanted to help people, but their minds had won, and they could only hang on for a few minutes until the invisible rubberband holding us together would snap and they'd yet again, be reduced to a death march.

I can't tell you how happy I was to see the Alamodome to my right, which meant less than a mile to go and I would be done. I continued to encourage runners I passed and motioned with my arms to the crowds crowds to cheer on the runners all the way to the finish (which for some reason works really well when you carry an official pace flag). I took the hard right, dipped down under an overpass, then the final hill about 300 yards from the finish (which i took a little too fast), and the final straight away to the finish line.

I decided to take the sign with my left hand, and proudly bring in the 3:45 pace group across the line.
Even if the pace group had long ago become a party of one.

My final time was 3 hours 44 minutes and 53 seconds.

(7 seconds off of perfection, but I had no interest in slowing down in the final 40, 30, 20, 10 yards to artificially get a closer time, so that was an honest, even paced, run to finish.)

(some official race photos. Clockwise, Early on around mile 3 or 4. Finish line photo. Two close to the finish.)

A while after the run was over, two of the people that had tried to run the time, found me (walking around with my pace flag). Eventhough they fell apart and finished at 4:03 and 4:09, they thanked me for what I did, and said there was no way they could have stayed on pace as long as they did without me. That was the best thing I could have heard all day, and all I needed to hear, to know that the hot, sunny, miserable grind, was worth every second. Can't wait till next year!

Kenyans and Faster

2011-11-10T19:55:00.000-06:00

GZ posted a link to a video. I took these two snapshots from it.

One is four Kenyans and their times this year. This doesn't even include the current Olympic champion. It's going to be hard to pick for their Olympic team.

If it was up to me, Geoffrey Mutai HAS TO BE PICKED. He won 5 out of 6 races he ran in this year.

This second photo shows the average winning time for the major marathons this year and last.
Pretty amazing.

Street art website

2011-11-06T21:09:00.001-06:00

Be sure to click in to each set.
Each photo is part of a whole collection.

Street Art Utopia

2011-11-06T20:59:00.001-06:00

Some pretty cool pictures of wall art around the world here at
http://www.streetartutopia.com/

Week in running

2011-11-06T20:48:00.000-06:00

- After a 20 mile road saturday and 12 mile trail Sunday, I decided to take Monday off.
- Tuesday was a 10 mile road run with Team Rogue. 2 mile warmup, then the next 8 were all faster than 7:20, even a few as low as 6:53. Fastest I've run since Boston 2010 where I ran 26 at 6:50.
- Met a friend for 7miles on road then ran 1 with Karma around the neighborhood.
- Thursday was a busy work day so took the day off.
- Friday I met up with Cindy as usual for Friday trail run. Karma and Domingo had tons of fun as the weather was in the high 30's and they loves that temperature. I continue to be amazed at how well Karma can run 6.5 miles as soon as the weather is cool and he has his little buddy Domingo to run with.
- 14 road miles on road.
- 13 miles on trail.

Looks like it adds up to about 50 miles.

I am an official 3:45:00 pacer for the San Antonio marathon, so I will respect that job and take it easy this week. (even though the pace, 8:35, is way slower than my normal easy pace.)

I tend to mention Domingo fairly often so I figured you should see what he looks like. I stole these off Cindy. I think he's in Colorado in one of them and no idea where they are running in the other.

Joy Formidable and Grouplove at the same time

2011-11-05T18:38:00.000-05:00

Thinking of taking a weekend to go see the Joy Formidable & Grouplove play one after the other.
That would seriously be awesome!

and

together!?
FUHGHETABOUTIT!!!

Like butter

2011-10-29T12:16:00.001-05:00

Really starting to feel the old mike fitness returning. 19.5 miles and 5 mins after being done I felt like I hadn't run. Legs were obviously tired some, but overall I was breathing normally and felt completely normal.
Another month of this (with added hill work) and I will be ready to start picking the pace up.
It's the Lydiard way.

Badass

2011-10-28T10:28:00.003-05:00

This may not appeal to you, but it gives you a glimpse into my other life.

Run Update

2011-10-27T09:35:00.003-05:00

Thought I'd write a quick update on my running. I'm finally starting to feel like my old self again. I still lack the ease I used to have of running 7:15-7:30 pace for 20 miles on roads every weekend, but the last 5 Saturday runs have still been decent.

35 miles on roads average 8:37 pace
14 miles on roads average 7:45 pace
40 miles Zion trail run
10 miles easy on trails
27 miles on roads average 8:04 pace (marathon distance time was 3:32:04 at very mellow pace)

This weekend I will probably head out for at least another 20 miler on roads then 2 hours on the trails on Sunday morning before eating my weight in BBQ meats at the sold-out Texas BBQ Festival.
Next weekend is probably another 20 or so, then the following week is the San Antonio marathon where I am an official pacer for the (quite slow for me ) 3:45 time goal.

During the week, I've been much more consistent in going to the Tuesday and Thursday group workouts I used to go to, but I'm not really concerned about running a specific hard pace, as I have no need to build back to my fast paces I used to run, and then doing trail runs on other days with Karma and sometimes Cindy and her superdog Domingo.

Last week I hit 60 miles in 5 days, this week will be 50+ in 4 days.

So all in all, better consistency, but still no concrete plans on my future beyond pacing San Antonio.
Ideas I toss around for end of 2011 and 2012 include:
Wild Hare trail run, El Sendero 50K in early december, Bandera 50K on Jan 7, Colorado Springs Fat Ass run January 14, Rocky Raccoon 50 mile in February, Pacing someone at Austin Marathon in February, Rogue Trail Series late spring, Captain Karl's 60k night trail series Summer, a couple of Northern California trail 50K races, Moab 50mile in October. And I think JT and I are planning some type of return to Utah for the spring.. Arches, Bryce Canyon, other parts of Zion, we're not sure. Then again, that's a lot of racing and I don't like wearing a number on my body and paying to run (unless it's a fun destination race).

Stretching? Not so fast.

2011-10-19T15:53:00.002-05:00

Got one of these articles from GZ a few weeks ago, then the other was a link off the first.

regardless, these are highly interesting to me, as I definitely can't touch my toes, and it seems like the less i stretch, the better i feel.

Want To Improve Your Economy? Stop Stretching

Then again, I'm not trying to break any land-speed records so it makes sense to me, but I do think a good hamstring stretch is worth $1,000,000 if you're doing a lot of speed work.

Sports Science Update: Inflexible And Fast?

Best explanation I've seen to date.

2011-10-19T13:30:00.003-05:00

Dust Storm Oct 17, Texas Panhandle

2011-10-18T10:42:00.003-05:00

This video is pretty incredible. Shows the big dust storm up in the panhandle (Northern TX).
Even if you don't want to watch the whole thing, make sure you pull along to the end where they are IN the dust storm. Looks like Mars.

Austin Style

2011-10-17T19:17:00.001-05:00

A friend took this photo of an Austin front yard today.

Happy Halloweird!

Zion Panoramic

2011-10-12T13:19:00.003-05:00

I took a few panoramic shots too.

The weird color change is due to sunlight.

Click on them to enlarge.

The last one is Bryce Canyon National Park.

All others are from Zion.

Zion Crossing Photos

2011-10-12T10:31:00.003-05:00

Click here to see the photos I took during the traverse.
(Click on the first photo then next next next...)

ZION CROSSING

2011-10-11T08:36:00.003-05:00

My training this summer simply wasn't enough to cover the entire 48.3 mile traverse without turning into a "death march" and risking an IT Band flareup, so JT started from the very southern entrance called "East Entrance", and then I joined in at the next entry point called "The Grotto", which was about 10-11miles later. We ran all the way up to the Northern trail head known as "Lee Pass".

While cutting off 10 miles was the best idea for my fitness, this also meant that I missed what JT described as his favorite part of the day, and also meant I started my day on legs that weren't very warmed up, in around 40-43F, going straight up for 90 minutes. (ouch)

We ended up missing 2 turns which meant back tracking, which added around 3 miles (and 35 minutes) to our day, so JT ended up with 50+ and I ran right about 40. My day started at 9:04am and lasted till 7:29pm. (10 hours 25 minutes) .

I have some photos that I will post later, that I think really showcase the park, just haven't had time to transfer from phone and regular camera. Hopefully in next 24 hours.

For those of you interested in seeing what crossing Zion National park might be/look like, here's a little video I put together from our weekend run. It is 15 minutes long, which means I have condensed a 625 minute adventure into 15. I filmed while running, so it's a little bouncy, but I think it gives you a great sense of the huge variety of terrain that makes up Zion National park.

So here you go... here's my summary on how awesome this run was!!

(Technical: I filmed it in HighDefinition, and uploaded it in 720P which is an option on youtube dot com, so if you're picky about quality, then maybe go there and choose 720p from the 360default. Unless you can upgrade this embedded player.)

Logistics:

We ran Saturday.

Friday we stayed in:

Canyon Ranch Motel

(Great location, shuttle that takes you to Zion park is right across the street. Within a short 5-10min walk from multiple restaurant options)
http://www.canyonranchmotel.com/index.html

Saturday night we stayed in:
Days Inn Cedar City, UT

(it was the best "cheap hotel" I've ever stayed in. I think it was pretty new. Bathtub open till 10pm, which felt great on sore muscles. Dog friendly)
Exit 57 off I-15

Initially the plan looked like it would only be JT and I. This meant dropping a car off Friday night up north so we would have transportation out. JT's girlfriend ended up being able to join us, which not only was a big help to transport our stuff, but she was also a very irmportant piece to the puzzle, as she met us with about 13 miles to go. This was HUGE. There were supposed to be 6 water sources, but only found one. So being able to refill, eat, drink beverage of choice etc, was AWESOME. It would have been problematic to go an additional 13 miles without water.

Bit & Spur is the happening bar on a Friday night in Springdale. Decent selection of microbrews on tap, and pitchers weren't too expensive.

Cedar Point (north side) doesn't have much choice in original restaurants, to Chili's is pretty much your best bet post run.

Lee Pass trailhead is off I-15 on exit 40. About 25min drive from Days Inn and Cedar Point, UT.

It's $25 for a Park pass. It is valid for 4 or 5 days. KEEP the receipt ON YOU. I needed it 2 more times over the weekend.

After spending Sunday in Bryce Canyon (1.5-1:45min drive from Cedar Point), i drove back to St George which took about 2.5 hours, spent the night at the Days Inn (so much crappier, but still ok). Bear Paw Coffee Shop is just a mile away, and serves a great breakfast before the 2 hour 15 min drive back to Vegas to catch 12:25 flight.

(There is a 1 hour time difference between Nevada and Utah, so you have an extra hour to make it back to your flight. While Bear Paw was tasty, next time, I may get up earlier, drive to Vegas and fill up at a nice buffet breakfast on salmon, king crab, omelettes and whatever else the Wynn, Mandalay, or Bellagio serves up!)

Zion

2011-10-10T18:58:00.000-05:00

I am home from Zion.

What a fantastic run!

Give me a day or so and i'll post some photos and a little video i finished putting together on the plane.

This is one reason why people are protesting Wall Street.

2011-10-06T13:54:00.002-05:00

New trail season.

2011-10-02T15:54:00.000-05:00

It was finally cool enough to bring Karma along on a trail run this morning.
We ran about 3-3.5 miles, and he was so incredibly happy all the way through I don't even know how to explain it! Probably could have gone farther had he not sprinted all over the place for the first 15mins.
Not bad for the first run back as a 12.5 year pup.

Imagine her visit to Target!

2011-10-01T13:04:00.001-05:00

Quote

2011-10-01T08:58:00.001-05:00

Prayers for rain.

2011-09-30T07:56:00.000-05:00

Two days this week the sky has threatened to unleash a whole bunch of rain, but as usual, nothing has come of it.
How can is sky look like this and not dump buckets??? How???

(click on photos to enbiggen)

90 to 0

2011-09-29T16:16:00.000-05:00

Today marked day 90 of temperatures over 100 degrees.

During that time we have seen 0 days where all of Austin got a big rain dump.

Look below why is there rain everywhere, but not on us?

I'm convinced Mother Nature wants to kill some of its own.

SO DEPRESSING

Quote

2011-09-28T11:03:00.003-05:00

"Some people can't understand why a man runs. They don't see any sport in it. Argue it lacks the sight and thrill of body contact. Yet, the conflict is there, more raw and challenging than any man versus man competition. For in running it is man against himself... The other runners are not the real enemies. His adversary lies within him, in his ability, with brain and heart to master himself and his emotions."

Why Social Media matters...

2011-09-28T10:24:00.002-05:00

A fantastic video showing why Social Media matters, and its influence in the world.

I've spent the last 4 weeks at my job working on 2 social media projects to increase sales of a product you would never think would fit into Social Media. I even started to doubt it myself, until this video reassured me i am doing the right thing.

Dog

2011-09-28T08:13:00.004-05:00

This is great.

Anatomy of "All Day Pace"

2011-09-25T09:34:00.000-05:00

I had tons of issues with my Garmin yesterday.
Most of them due to the fact that: I forgot to turn it on, or back on after water stops, or I would press Lap split instead of STOP. Despite all that, here are most of the mile splits, not how my pace goes to hell towards the end as soon as I hit the Town Lake trail that I hate so much. Those slower paces felt like a snail would be passing me at any moment. (no offense to anyone that reads this. paces are relative. You'd feel the same running 30-45 seconds slower than yours)

The 9:22 is due to walking while eating and drinking stuff after a water break.
There's a 8:34 right at the end, but that's because I got a good song, and some guy ran by and I could sense he thought his 8:45 pace was cool, so I had to show him who's boss even though I was at 32 and he was probably at mile 3. "Don't test me, weekend jogger."

08:48.1
08:24.5
08:17.4
08:29.6
08:29.7
08:38.9
08:30.8
08:31.9
08:28.9
08:00.4
08:22.4
08:12.7
08:14.3
08:04.2
08:15.1
08:11.5
09:51.5
08:43.6
08:14.5
08:11.9
08:14.5
08:21.3
08:20.9
09:09.9
08:23.2
08:24.5
08:22.7
09:22.5
08:59.7
08:34.7
09:02.1
08:49.0

Finally, this is weird...
When i map out the route on GMAP, it comes out to 35.35 miles, but on my Garmin it's almost 1.5 miles less. I may have to start thinking that I accomplished 35.

Decent long run, but not enough.

2011-09-25T06:53:00.001-05:00

Weather cooperated which was a big plus.
My buddy Ross went for 40miles while I wanted 35. He got 41, I got 34.
It's one of those where you think you have it mapped out correctly and next thing you know you're 5 miles shy of where you thought you'd when you get back to one of the intermediate points; so instead of having an easy 6 left, you now have 11 miles.
So you improvise and head back up northbound, and stop at restaurants asking for water refills. And then you get to Jester Building on UT Campus with 5 to go. I know how to easily get 3.5 from there, I've done it hundreds of times; but have no set 5 miler back to the mystical magical waters of Barton Springs. And so you try and improvise, you take the north side of the Hike and Bike trail instead of deserted roads (having to fight walkers, strollers, uncontrolled puppies, idiots, cyclists etc).
But then you arrive within a mile of destination and it's very apparent that you are 2.5 miles short of 35. So you still try.
But honestly, by mile 31, your legs were heavy, tired, and your feet were sore. They're still sore from the prior weekend's music festival. (you knew walking barefoot on those grass fields probably wasn't ideal, but it felt so good)

So you try and add more, one more loop around Zilker park... Nope, not gonna happen. 34 will have to suffice. You just don't have the fitness for more... (or yet.)

I know what you're thinking. And I am thinking it too.

But the 34 were pretty darn good.
Average pace was 8:37min/mile.
It's the farthest I've ever run on asphalt.
It's the farthest I've run since pre-injury (june 2010).
Farthest since May 2010 - grand canyon 48miles. So i'm pleased.

Just wasn't enough.
And the legs were way to shot by 31.

42 on the week. Took Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri off due to Music Festival that wiped my legs out.
Thursday's run was dead leg central!
Two weeks to recover before Zion Traverse

The Zion route is set.

2011-09-21T09:38:00.004-05:00

JT and I are Heading out to Zion in 17 days.

Flight to Vegas - Check!
Car Rental - Check!
Hotels at both ends - Check!
All other logistics - Ummmm.... We still have 17 days, right?

Seems like hardly anyone knows where Zion is, so here you go. Red "A" marks the spot. I'll fly in to Las Vegas then drive up, while JT will drive in from Colorado Springs.

Here's what we were going to run:

The elevation chart below depicts the typical (and what seems to be the most popular) start from on the North Western corner of the park, then running towards the South Eastern corner.

However, we've decided to do the reverse, which is depicted on the elevation chart below:

Start on the South Eastern side, and run up to the Northwestern corner instead. It seems like it will be a much more pleasant run, as I'd much rather have to dig my way out of that hole at mile 12-17 than at mile 37-40.

I'm going to need more than one turkey sandwich for this run.

More Bastrop wildfire photos

2011-09-15T21:33:00.001-05:00

These two photos are amazing.

This Kilian video is so great.

2011-09-13T10:26:00.000-05:00

This video of Kilian, (the greatest mountain runner on earth) is so full of great quotes, it simply doesn't get old. You hear stories on how humble, what a nice guy he is, and how he really just loves being out there, soaking it all in, and enjoying the scenery. Of course, he loves the competition and wants to win, but deep inside winning to him is much more than finishing first.

This video is great. The whole things just oozes greatness. But then at the very end, his real personality shines through. The written translation in the video doesn't do him justice, especially at the very end. Slight difference in editing, but vastly difference emotion.

"An ultra for me is not a competition, its much more than that.
when you finish a race and you have won, many times, well, you may not be satisfied.
you're happy, but something's missing.
The next day, there is someone coming into the finishline,
and you see him, crying from all the emotion, he's so happy,
and you think : "fuck man... this guy... this guy's really won".

How times have changed.

2011-09-11T14:37:00.000-05:00

In 1979 when I was 7, we visited NY.
The day we visited the Twin Towers was perfect so the observation deck was open.

Finally...

2011-09-10T13:28:00.000-05:00

...put up a good road run today.

Weather finally cooperated, giving us 68-75 degrees, BUT more importantly, low humidity to the point that my shorts, and socks were still dry at the end of my run.

Based on how I felt at the end, I'm sure I could have gone another hour (+/-7 miles) or possibly more, but opted to cut it short as I had breakfast plans and was already "running" 30 minutes over my estimated latest call time.

No rest for me... 4 hours sleep, long run, help a friend change her flat tire on her car, off to tailgate before the Texas game, then the Texas game till 11pm'ish, then up again at 5am to volunteer at a race in the AM.

"I can rest when i'm dead."

24 miles on the day, hovering around a relaxed 8 to 8:20min/mile pace.

"How I prepare for an Ultra"

2011-09-09T16:35:00.000-05:00

This video from Kilian is fantastic. For all you non-ultra runners, maybe it will give you a ton of insight on the sport. For all you who are wondering who Kilian is, just know that he is head an shoulders above every other mountain runner in the world. "Nutella and Pizza" is his diet.

Bastrop's Tahitian Village Fire

2011-09-07T13:41:00.002-05:00

Here's a video from last night (3 days after the initial fire) of one of the neighborhoods right across the highway from Bastrop State Park. My friend Kenny describes it best: "Looked like a war zone"

Bastrop Magic

2011-09-07T13:37:00.000-05:00

Loss of homes and lives has been absolutely terrible... and I don't want to take away from that for one second...

but focusing for a moment on trail running and Bastrop State Park, i'm heart broken.

It was such a magical escape to run out there. Like a foreign land. Not the typical rocky, limestone, Texas trail.

I'm at a loss for words.

Here are some photos from past posts over the last few years of what may never be again.

Panoramic

2011-09-05T21:34:00.002-05:00

Latest report before sunset reported that It has now destroyed 476 homes. It continues to be so windy and the ground is so dry that the fire is still 0% contained. (be sure to click on the photo)

Bastrop

2011-09-05T16:56:00.000-05:00

Newest numbers say 25,000 acres and 476 homes destroyed out west in Bastrop.
Fire in Steiner ranch continues with 20+ homes destroyed and 20+ more damaged.

35 miles away.

2011-09-05T16:22:00.000-05:00

Google maps says Bastrop is 35 miles from my house. I can clearly see the giant smoke clouds.
This gives you an idea of how big the fire is over there. Still 0% contained due to the winds and exceptional drought condition.

Fires and Weather

2011-09-05T10:12:00.000-05:00

For those of you that have heard about the Austin fires that are wondering what is going on and if I'm ok...yes, several fires all over Austin and surrounding towns due to our exceptional drought, and now heavy winds.But none are no where near my home. However, several friends have been evacuated out of their homes and don't know how their homes will fare.Preliminary reports say up to 300 homes burned out in Bastrop (35 mins east). (a great park i run in has burned. they say about 50% at this time.) Another neighborhood lost two homes (I lived in this one in 1999-2003). Another one, Steiner Ranch last 40 and counting. The winds are so strong and everything is so dry that they can't contain the two big ones. Bastrop and Steiner.Here are two photos from the bastrop fires viewers shared with KXAN.

Here's a cool map i found that you can use regardless where you live in the US. It is currently set up for Austin and the fires surrounding, but on the right you can choose all sorts of other stuff, and move the map to your home.If you're curious on what's happening in Austin and our fires... visit www.kxan.com or www.kvue.com or www.weareaustin.comEnjoy your labor day weekend. Cool weather finally hits Austin tomorrow with weathermen promising 57 (with 45% humidity) in the am, so you better believe that I'll be out there running tomorrow! I ran 21.25 on Saturday, and 10 this morning. Hoping for 12-14 tomorrow. I'm pretty sure the weather will make that easily acheievable after running in 78-95 and huge humidity!

Title run has begun

2011-09-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

The Harsin/Diaz era at Texas has finally begun and we are well our way to the National Championship after convincingly winning our first game against the mighty Owls of Rice.

While the first half showed quite a bit or rust, we have to remember that it is a complete overhaul of all coaching staff, and play books. For those of you who didn't notice, we had a ton of freshman playing in the game, which also will lead to uncertainties.

I for one am very happy with the performance. The second half saw great adjustments by both sides of the ball. GG adjusted well and started throwing the ball considerably better after first half rust wore off, seeing the shoelace throws come to an end. Malcolm Brown showed us our new power running game, and our defense overwhelmed Rice in the second half.

In the postgame interviews, OC Harsin was happy, but was very clear that we have tons to improve upon. It was pretty obvious that they tried to run a vanilla offense to attempt to keep as much as possible off the field for our bigger opponents down the road.

DC Manny Diaz pretty much said the same thing. Also, paraphrasing him in the interview he said "We are a body blow team, not a knockout team. Our identity this year is body blows. We want to grind them down. The whole team is excited to be a grinding team that will keep giving body blows an wear the opponent down. This is why it is critical and necessary that we have as many substitutions as we did."

Keep that in mind as you look for "63-9" wins, because that's not what we are about this year. At least not yet, but we are headed in the right direction!

Funny part of the night came when the Rice Band, known as the mob, ridiculed the $EC, A&M and Perry with short sketches. (Below is a photo I found on the web of the $EC they made on the field.)

21.25 = FAIL

2011-09-03T09:35:00.000-05:00

Talking Dog gets me every time!

2011-09-01T11:26:00.002-05:00

Italian Dolomites look AMAZING!

2011-08-31T16:31:00.000-05:00

After looking at these photos, i am drooling over the idea of running in the Italian Dolomites. Maybe next summer!

Ohio

2011-08-30T19:07:00.000-05:00

Really bad art and plastic flowers inside, and on the outside, the only hotel with a certified botanical garden in the US. The garden is no nicer than any others I've seen in my life. Its pretty but not THAT pretty.

Ohio... don't try to understand it.

How depressing...

2011-08-30T06:10:00.001-05:00

I am in Ohio for work.
It is 55 degrees outside, but I don't have any running gear because I had too much work stuff to bring with me, so running shoes and gear simply wouldn't fit all in one bag suitcase.

Never again will I not MAKE them fit.

Rain coming?

2011-08-29T05:11:00.001-05:00

Surely they all can't be wrong, or can they?

I think I've found my motivation again!!!

2011-08-28T12:36:00.002-05:00

A quite large number of local friends, have commented over the last month, how this heat has just about zapped all their motivation and interest in getting runs in. I shared that sentiment whole-heartedly, as I found it almost impossible to get out of bed and go run every morning I was home. I was tired from travel, so that was my pathetic excuse, but really, the biggest pathetic excuse was that i was getting tired of running in hot, very humid, weather. Or as I like to call it, brain-boiling conditions. Some love and thrive in this, I just break down feeling like my brain is boiling and want to crawl into an ice-cooler.

One of the more interesting comments I read was this one by my friend Lisa:

"when I studied to be a social worker one of the disorders we learned about was seasonal effects. Oversimplified, certain seasons can cause depression in individuals. In my mind it I used to relate it to changing to specific seasons. As we have not seen rain in months and temperatures have been outrageous here I am beginning to relate to the disorder, possibly personally, to unchanging monotonous hell causing anxiety and depression."

Clearly she's had enough, and she shed some light to what I've clearly been feeling for over a month.

So I lost my motivation, no point in even posting my log update, because it's terrible. 3 runs in the span of 17 days, etc. Some due to travel, but there was no excuse to skipping Fri-Sat-Sunday runs. (...but I did get almost 5 hours and 24 miles in last weekend on the trails)

I thought I was out of the San Antonio Marathon pacing club, as last year when i was invited, the whole thing was secured by April. I know this, because the Pace team organizer called me the afternoon of the Boston Marathon. This year, I hadn't heard a thing. I could have easily emailed him, but just didn't, so it was certainly a nice surprise to get an email mid-last week asking me to sign up. The guy has it set up as first come first served on the time you want to pace, so luckily I managed to register off the web browser on my iPhone. Last year's pacing buddy Ken recently moved to Colorado, so I was unsure if he was planning on coming in for it. I certainly prefer a friend to pace with me, so I anxiously awaited his reply to my text, so i could lock in a new buddy to the other slot with me. Eventually he replied, saying he's out, so the search for a pacer began. First choice was unavailable. Next up I decided to reach out to several as time was ticking. Long story short, I found a fun friend to pace with, and he appears to be locked in with me.

So with that said, now I have 5, 10, 20 heck, maybe 50 Boston marathon hopefuls needing to get in under 3 hours and 40 minutes that will rely on me to assist them in getting there. Seeing as this is the time needed for all women ages 18 to 34, this will be highly enjoyable for both Panther and I. Ha ha!

Anyway, Zion has been tough to train for. Just can't get past 5 hours of trail running without brain boiling. However, this new goal has put new life in me. While 8:23min/mile pace needed in San Antone is certainly not a daunting task, I want to be more than ready, and have to be. Exactly the shot in the arm that I needed.

So, this weekend, the road running began. I have thrown weather out of the equation, and went 9 miles on Friday, 14 miles on Saturday, and 20 miles this morning (Sunday). It went surprisingly well, even though my brain boiled by mile 17 today and my quads were pretty sore all run long today.

I will throw in longer trail runs into the mix, but I am shifting back to what I always did as I trained for marathons (that brought me success to trail running too) - more roads.

Sorry for the long boring post that didn't amount to much, so here's a sign of hope to end it on an exciting note: A local weatherman wrote this on Friday:

"An end in sight?!? Perhaps!! Long-range forecast models are showing that the massive area of high pressure that's been stuck over Texas for months, may finally begin to weaken over the Labor Day weekend! That could lead to a better chance of some rain, and temperatures actually BELOW 100° for a change! But, in the meantime, be ready for the hottest weekend of the year with highs near 110° both Saturday and Sunday in Austin."

By the way...

2011-08-23T09:30:00.001-05:00

...while my photos will never be earth shattering or take your breath away, I figured the 17 of you that visit this site would enjoy an image more than just the city's word typed on here.

Aug 22- Tampa

2011-08-23T08:15:00.000-05:00

Ok... There are some photos recalling work travel for last month or so.
I am now in Tampa for a tradeshow Monday-Thursday. Very humid all day long, and other than this, I will be in a convention center all day long.

El Paso, TX (at night)

2011-08-23T08:12:00.003-05:00

Heading towards Santa Fe, NM

2011-08-23T08:12:00.001-05:00

...from Albuquerque.

San Diego - Downtown Marriott...

2011-08-23T08:11:00.001-05:00

...used to be a bank.

San Diego

2011-08-23T08:10:00.000-05:00

Decided to "office" outside for a few hours in between meetings

Lollapalooza 3-day Music Festival

2011-08-23T08:08:00.000-05:00

Chicago

2011-08-23T08:07:00.001-05:00

Reds vs Mets

2011-08-23T08:05:00.003-05:00

Cincinnati in the distance.

2011-08-23T08:05:00.001-05:00

Vermont / New Hampshire

2011-08-23T08:03:00.001-05:00

My flatlander friends kicked ass at Leadville!!!

2011-08-21T11:42:00.000-05:00

For the second straight year, Team Rogue Ultra knocked it out of the park at the Leadville Trail 100 miler, with 7 of 8 finishers!

Ken F - LEADMAN! (3 for 3 time finisher!)
Mo F - LEADMAN!
Jason L BIG BUCKLE! (3 for 3 time finisher!)
Lesley H - 16th Female!
Carrie D
John P (2 for 2 time finisher!)
Sydney P

Huge Congrats go out to all of them!!!

Ken and Mo make history by becoming the first ever LEADMAN finishers from the State of Texas!!

Formula 1 Showcase in Austin

2011-08-20T15:48:00.002-05:00

I went down and checked out David Coulthard and Formula One team Red Bull downtown today. Good stuff! Can't wait for theUSA Grand Prix in Austin, November 2012!

(This is my first attempt at editing video through iPhone's iMovie.)

failed attempt

2011-08-19T11:40:00.000-05:00

I had this big update written up, with about a dozen photos and stuff on where my work life has taken me of late, but it won't load, and I don't care to rebuild it entirely. so maybe i'll just upload the photos and you can figure things out on your own.

so if you see photos, just know that I've been traveling a lot for work and also squeezed in a 3 day music festival within one business trip because the commentary will be sparse.

funny

2011-08-19T11:28:00.002-05:00

Zion Update

2011-08-15T16:01:00.003-05:00

It was painful to do, and I postponed the email for a few days, but I finally sent a note to JT today to let him know there's no way I'll be ready to run the full 50 miles and 10K of climbing by the first week of October.

I hate people who gives excuses for coming up short on day-to-day things, so much so that one of my favorite quotes is: "Excuses are the foundation to the house of failure.", so I guess I need to lump myself in with those weaklings. My reasons are simple:

Travel for work has been and will continue to be a little crazy.

In the last 4 weeks I've been on a plane to Vermont; Cincinnati & Dayton Ohio; Chicago; San Diego & Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The next 3 weeks have me going to Tampa FL; Columbus Ohio; and Portland OR.

(All were or will be 3 or 4 day trips)

I've really tried to run regardless of travel, but it's not as simple as one might think. Clothes and shoes remain wet and stinky throughout the trip. I have to carry 24 pounds worth of demo equipment in my suitcase which takes up quite a bit of room. The actual travel days make it a challenge to run as there's a meeting lumped in there after arrival, or prior to departure, so it's hard to squeeze in the run. If I was travelling alone, it would be a different story, but until I am 100% self-sufficient, these are 2 person trips, so I'm kind of forced to go to dinners, bfast etc., which makes things even tougher.

When I am home, the stupidly hot weather has limited me topping out at 28 miles or 5hr30min runs before my brain boils on my weekend long runs. I just can't get past that distance or time. I refuse to run any earlier than 5am start, which means I'm running into almost noon. It's just been brutal and impossible to to run more than that, especially on my own. I did run one night run starting at 7pm with a buddy, but night running is slower and I just don't like to do it repeatedly. I have done a decent job getting many 4+ hour, even 5.5 hours runs in, but it's simply not enough when the Zion traverse will take 12-14 hours.

It really sucks, but it's reality. Had I not been injured for 10 months, then I'd be be ready, but I'm not.

Oh, and then there's the little issue of stupidly messing up my back on Saturday morning so i wasn't able to run this weekend or today. It's getting better, and i should be able to run either tomorrow or Wednesday, but it just adds to the lack of running and time is running out.

There are some options out there, and we're discussing those.

Ok, I feel bad enough about this already, so i'm done venting.

Long term plan is to build higher mileage just as soon as the weather is more appetizing, as I while I won't be thrilled about going out for many hours on my own, at least the weather will make it less uninviting. I'm thinking 50K in Bandera, 50 miles at Rocky Raccoon, then some spring trip to wherever JT wants to go. (assuming I'm invited)