New Shoes

I've been running for a few years now, and there's only one thing that gets me more excited than running a race... that one thing is getting a new pair of shoes.

When I got a call from my buddy Kyle informing me that my new pair of running shoes showed up at Sierra Running Company yesterday, I drove over there right away.

Today I get to take my new shoes on their maiden voyage.  Hopefully if time allows it, I'll take them on a 10 mile (hopefully longer) run later today.

I've never worn Saucony shoes before, so I'm pretty excited to see how they feel.  I have a wide foot, so my selection of shoes are generally pretty limited.  I usually stick to New Balance shoes since they have such a good selection of wide shoes.  I also have a pair of inov-8 shoes that I really like.

I'm always excited to try new gear, so I'm totally excited about checking out these shoes.  Hopefully this pair of Saucony Kinvara 3's will be to my liking, and will find their way into my running shoe rotation.

2000 miles

One of my goals for 2012 is to run 2000 miles.  I've been keeping a really good log this year of every mile I have ran.  By the time December gets here I should have less than 100 miles to go in order to reach my goal.  Everyday I'm getting closer and closer to completing a goal and I'm getting more and more excited.  The closer I get and more fun I'm having during every run.  I know that every mile I run is literally one more mile that has gotten me closer to my goal.

I did 6 miles before I went to work today and it was an awesome way to start my day.

Running isn't just something I do, it's part of my lifestyle.

Until next time... Keep Running!!!!

turkey trot

Back in 2005 I ran my very first race.  It was the Thanksgiving day 5k Turkey Trot.  I got suckered into running it, and at the time I was not a runner.  I remember how difficult the course was (and still is) and how I though the race was never going to end.

Tomorrow morning is Thanksgiving, and I will run the Turkey Trot at Woodward Park just like I do every year.  The race gets bigger and bigger every year.  It's amazing how many people line up at the start line every year.  This has never been a race that I've been able to run very fast.  It's honestly the one 5k that I run the slowest.  The course is very hilly and challenging, but that's one of the things I enjoy about it.  Really flat and fast 5k races are fun, but hilly challenging courses are fun too.

This will probably never be a race where I set my 5k pr, but that doesn't mean I won't try to hit a pr for this particular course.

My 5k pr is 19:01, but my fastest time for the Turkey Trot is 20:48 (this is the time I ran the event in last year).  Hopefully I'll be feeling good tomorrow and I'll be able to run a good race.  Two weeks ago I ran a 125 mile race, and I'm feeling pretty recovered.  I guess tomorrow I'll see just how well I have recovered.

I also like running this race because over the last few years it has become a family event.  My sister Kathy talked me into running the event many years ago, and now we run the event every year with each other.  In the last few years my sister, Christine, has also joined us along with her daughters Samantha and Nicole.

Tomorrow I expect to see some very fast runners, some first time runners, some old school runners, runners is silly costumes, and families just out there having a good time together before they eat a crazy amount of food for Thanksgiving.

Now it's time for me to get to bed so I can get some rest before my race tomorrow morning.


Until next time... Keep running!!!!

 

2012 Fresno Marathon

Today I ran the Fresno marathon.  Last year I ran the event as part of the Sierra Running Company Pace Team, and this year I was able to once again run the event as a pacer.  This year I paced the 4 hour 30 min group. 

The thing that’s fun for me about pacing at a marathons is that you get to meet a wide range of people.  I’m not naturally a talkative person, but at running events I really enjoy talking to other runners.

I started off the race with about 20 people in my group.  Usually the weather is pretty cool when this event is held, but today that was not the case.  There also isn’t really any coverage on the course, so if it’s warm and sunny out you’re pretty much just out in the middle of it.  The same goes when it’s cold and windy, or raining, or… well, you get the idea.

I tried keeping my group occupied with PG rated jokes (I’ll admit that I don’t know too many of those) and light conversation.  Around mile 10 my group was down to about 7 people.  At mile 13.1 my group was right on pace.  We hit the half way point at 2:14:58.  Not too bad since my group goal was 4:30:00.

I could tell that some more of my group was starting to fade behind a little.  I encouraged them the best I could, but by mile 15 my group was down to 3 people, and by mile 16 I was down to just 1 person.  We were still holding our pace to finish right at 4 hours and 30 mins, but I could see that she was starting to get tired.  I tried to distract my last running from her pain and discomfort by talking to her.  She told me that this was her 2^nd marathon, and that her 1^st one was last years the Fresno marathon.  I asked her what her finishing time was and she told me that it was 6 hours and 22mins. 

This was crazy to me, because this meant that she was going to finish about 1 hour and 50 mins faster than last year. 

She told me she was cramping up really bad last year and didn’t really know how to train.  This year she started training back in May and just kept slowly working hard and harder.

Around mile 21 my runner was starting to get really tired and her stomach wasn’t feeling very good.  I pulled out some ginger I had in my bag and gave it to her.  That seemed to do the trick and we were still right on pace for a 4:30 finish, but we had a good uphill section to battle.

I kept pushing the pace, and she stayed right behind me.  At mile 25 I noticed she was having a hard time keeping up.  I told her, “we just 12 more mins and this will all be over.”  She kept giving it her all, but she was starting to fade.  At this point I wasn’t about to abandon my last runner, so I did all the “You’re doing awesome!!!” and “You got this!!” speeches I could.  She told me to go ahead and leave her… like that was really going to happen after running 25 miles with her, and only having 1.2 miles left.

We got up to mile 26 and I told her to take off to the finish line and run as hard as she could.  She told me “This is as fast as I could go.”  I then informed her that I was going to take off and I expected her to stay right behind me.

I crossed the finish line at 4:31:05, just a little shy of my 4:30:00 pace I was suppose to finish in.  The girl I paced for 26.2 miles (my Garmin read 26.5 miles) finished in 4:31:07.

On a side note, my friend Chris and my niece Samantha ran their first half marathon at this event.

The age minimum for the half is 16 years of age.  After helping crew for me at The American River Run 50 miler last April of this year, Samantha told me she wanted to do a half marathon.  Samantha turned 16 just 2 days before the half marathon, and came in 3^rd place in her age group or 16-19 year olds.  My sister Kathy paced Sam, and she finished in 2:05:34, just 39 seconds behind the 2^nd place finisher for her age group.

My buddy Chris got suckered into crewing for my friend Kyle and I at the San Diego 100 last summer.  At the time Chris didn’t have an interest in running, but since he helped crew that day he started running, and even crewed for me again at the Headlands 100 this year and paced me for about 15 miles. 

Now Chris and Samantha are full blown runners!!

Until next time,

Keep running!!!

Dick Collins Fire Trails 50 Miler

A few weeks ago I ran the Dick Collins Fire Trails 50 mile ultra marathon...

The week prior to the event I had a busy week at my job.  We were busy changing out 35mm projectors for new digital projectors.  The projector change out took a lot of hours and kept me away from training the entire week before the 50 miler.  I figured this was good since I wanted to take it easy and rest the week before the race.  The only problem was that I didn’t have anytime at all to run or cross train at all.  I also was doing what I normally do when I get stuck working long nonstop days… I ate a lot of crappy food that I shouldn’t have been eating.  I normally don’t have the cleanest diet, but this week it was really off.  From all the fast food I ate while doing the install, and I was drinking soda all day, I put on a good 4 to 5 pounds over the week.

When the Dick Collins 50 miler came around, I was feeling a little heavy, but I wasn’t feeling too bad.  I ended up having a good time at the race.  While it wasn’t my 100% best effort, I had a good time out on the trail and spent a lot of the race running with different people and socializing.  The course was at times challenging and beautiful. 

I had an awesome time at the event.  I ran with some old friends, and ran with some new ones.  My parents meet me at all the aid stations along with my 6 year old son Brandon.  When I was starting to struggle a little in the last 7 miles of the race, I started running with a fellow runner named Bill.

Bill had an interesting day out on the trail.  He was on pace for around an 8 hour finish, but early into the race Bill took a pretty bad spill and ended up having to go to the hospital.  He cut his arm pretty good, and I think he had to get somewhere around 9 stitches in his arm.  After Bill got his stitches he decided to not make his trip useless, so he got back on the course after getting several stitches in the ER, and just started running.

Bill and I started randomly talking when we come upon each other somewhere around mile 43.  He told me about his accident, how he dropped out of the race, and was just out there enjoying the rest of the day.  We ran the remainder of the trail together to the finish line.

Right before we hit the finish line my son Brandon was waiting for me, and he jumped onto the last stretch of the trail with me and we crossed the finish line together.

Sub 24

.....I'm running down a single track trail, it's foggy, and I'm getting closer to the finish line.  I run up a hill, then as I start a long rolling downhill the fog clears and I see the finish line.  My pace starts to pick up and the finish line gets closer and closer.  I can't think of what event I'm running, but I'm almost done.  I hit the finish line at max effort and hit the stop button on my Garmin. 

I hear someones voice shout out, "good job, silver buckle!!" 

"A buckle?" I think to myself.  I realize that I just finished a 100 mile race, and I'm guessing it was under 24 hours since I'm getting a silver buckle.  For some reason this feels familiar, but I can't figure out why everything feels so strange.

Then I hear a loud Russian voice from behind me. 

They tell me, "Good job!!  I guess you took my advice!!  Here's your buckle."

"What the FUCK!??!!?!" I turn around and see Michael.

Michael shacks my hand and hands me my buckle.  He sees the confused look on my face.  He asks me if I'm O.K. and tells me I should sit down and get something to eat.

I tell him I'm fine and I just keep looking at him.  My mind starts racing.  None of this makes sense.  What the hell is going on?

Then it hits me... and I ask him, "I'm dreaming... right?"

He laughs and shrugs his shoulders.

Michael grabs a hydration backpack, puts it on, and runs up the single track I just came running down.  It's still foggy at the top of the hill, and before gets out of sight he stops and turns around.  He yells down to me, "Don't be upset, I'm O.K.  Good job on the sub 24, I knew you could do it!!!!"  Then he ran off up the hill into the fog...

...My alarm clock goes off, I get out of bed, and get my running gear.  I get ready to meet Kyle at the running store to help out with the half marathon training group...


The last conversation I had with Michael was about how I missed hitting sub 24 hours at the Rocky Road 100 event last February of this year. I was on pace until mile 91, and then it all just fell apart.  Michael told me that next time I'm that close to hitting my goal, with only 9 miles left, that I better muscle through the pain and go for it.

After he passed away I ran a 100 mile race just a couple weeks later.  I thought about Michael the entire run.  I wasn't feeling very good at the end of the race.  At mile 91 I was on the side of the road throwing up and my friend Leigh passed me.  Her pacer asked me, "besides the throwing up, are you ok?"  I gave her a thumbs up.  Then she told me, "you're still on pace to hit sub 24... you got this!!!"

Then I thought to myself, "mile 91... I promised Michael that next time I was close to a goal, especially with only 9 miles left, that I wouldn't give up."

At this point into the race it was early in the morning and still dark out.  I looked up and saw 2 shooting stars.  I pointed at the sky where I saw the 2 shooting stars and said out loud, "These next 9 miles are for you buddy!!!"  I muscled out the last 9 miles and finished the race before the sun came up at 5:50am (23 hours 50 mins ).  My first sub 24 hour 100 mile race. 

10k Race

I decided at the last minute to run a 10k in downtown Fresno today.  I ended up coming in 20th overall and 3rd in my age group.