If you believe you can't you are right

Who am I

2012-01-08T07:28:00.000-06:00

I have been thinking about how I want to use this blog and after some thought I have decided that I want to be as honest as possible here. I will talk about my training and what is going on in my life. I will attempt to be as honest and open as I dare. Most people we talk to in our lives struggle to show us exactly who and what they are. I will try to open myself up in an attempt to touch on subjects and thoughts that are universal.

My fear is that you will not like me if I share who I really am with you. I fear that if I share my inner most thoughts, desires, insecurities and fears that you will not like me. I have said, "I don't care if they don't like me" in the past but is this really the truth. Haven't we all said something along those lines at one point or another? There maybe some truth to this statement, but I doubt that anyone of us completely buys into this statement completely.

I have said this too, but this is NEVER completely true with me. I have this desire to be liked, to be valued and listened to. I have a burning need to be liked and approved of. I want you to like who I am and tell me. LOL. This sounds crazy I know but this is part of who I am. Some days I care more than others but in the end I want to be liked and connected to others though this approval .

This is the beginning of who and what I am. I will talk here about "taking off the mask" that I wear to hide all that I really am to you and the world.

Denver

2012-01-06T09:11:00.001-06:00

Well, lots has changed over the last year. I am not going to rehash all that is different in my life today, but in the end I am happy to be in Denver and happy to be a have such a good friend and partner in Chelsea. We both moved here from Austin in Aug and have started a new chapter in our lives.

With all the changes last year I was still able to successfully finish the series of races (all in Leadville, 26.2, 50 mile bike next day 50 mile run, 100 mile bike, next day 10K, then the 100 mile run) that constitute the Leadman. I finished the 100 mile run on a Sun morning (27:22) and started my new job here in Denver on the next day. Now that was a SOB!!!! It was pretty comical to see me walking around and "acting" as if I was not tired, sore and completely physically and emotionally wasted. That even I check into a motel and lived there for the next month until our (Chelsea went back to Austin to finish her job for the next month) apt was ready.

Today, it's about four months later and we are trying to get settled in here. Not much consistent running going on over the last four months as I needed a break. In the mean time, I have discovered Crossfit. I have been going to CF 4 or 5 mornings a week and Chelsea and I are getting out most weekends to play in the mountains. Nevertheless, now it's time to start training again. This week I have run several days (only about 5 miles each) and I am starting my long slow build up to compete again in the Leadman.

Wake Up Blog Wake UP

2010-12-31T17:15:00.001-06:00

I have been inspired to wake this blog up!!!!

Hello Blog

2010-05-20T09:11:00.002-05:00

Well, I am not very good at keeping my blog up to date but every once in a while I do enjoy writing something. I am in the middle of a recovery week. Now, usually when I talk about a recovery week it means that I have cut my mileage by 20-40%. I am usually still running but my miles are cut to a point that I can allow my body to heal/rejuvenate and get stronger. But this week is different. After weeks and weeks of high miles and 30 to 50 mile long runs every Sat my body, mind and spirit need real rest. I am not running at all this week and it feels strange but is much needed.

Two weeks ago I went, with a group of friends to the Grand Canyon to do the Rim2Rim2Rim run. Some of the group ran down to Phantom Ranch, then up the box canyon a bit, then turned around and ran back to the South Rim. This run was about 22 -24 miles. BUT miles in the Grand Canyon are much different than "other" miles. From the South Rim you descend about 4400 ft to the Colorado River. This means you then have to climb back out. And I am here to tell you the climb out is serious.

Several others; Mike, JT, Carrie, John P, and me ran from the South Rim down the South Kaibab Trail, across the river, to Phantom Ranch, then up the North Kaibab Trail to the North Rim. At this point your committed. There is not much choice of what to do (and still have your dignity) other than run back across the canyon and back up to the South Rim. The North Kaibab trail climbs about 5500 ft. AND it is a bitch of a climb. Then you get a brief respite as you run back down to Phantom Ranch, refuel and then start the climb back out but this time we went up the Bright Angel Trail. Like I said before this is about a 4400 ft climb and after running most of the day it can turn into a "death march." There is something about that level of suffering that makes me feel so alive.

The suffereing one encounters on an all day run is significant. But in the middle of the suffering, in the middle of "fuck I just want this to be over," or "why do I do this to myself?" is a peace. There is a peace inside of me that I rarely find anywhere else. I enter into a place that is both painful and peaceful. It is rare that we get to experience such singleness of purpose. This singleness of purpose (to get to the "finish line/end of the run") is, for me spiritual in nature. What I mean by that is for one brief moment in time it's all about the "right now," it's all about being in the moment. I, we, don't get to experience this in our lives as much as we need to. To be focused on one goal, one task, and nothing else matter is a place that I find tremendous peace and comfort. Don't get me wrong, it hurts, the level of pain and suffering on my legs, and hips, and core and ........... everything else is tremendous. But the biggest barrier is the mind. The voices that scream, "Stop, it's too much," "This sucks, it hurts too bad." These are the same voices that tell you "your not good enough," "if they only really knew you they would not like you," "I am a not as good/pretty/handsome/fit/smart as ____________."

But in this pain and suffering is, I believe, a place where all the bull shit and the "mask" we wear everyday comes off. We get to see who and what we really are. We get to see how much we limit ourselves by our disbelief in what we are capable of doing. I like that place. It is a place of suffering and pain, but more than that it is a place where we learn the most about ourselves and to experience this with good friends is just that much better.

So, I am resting this week and in this rest my body, mind and spirit are getting stronger.

Ridin the Storm Out

2010-03-08T16:48:00.003-06:00

This morning was a nice recovery run on the Greenbelt. We started at Moonshadow at 5am and ran a really easy 1.5 hours. It rained on us for a bit, which made the rocks pretty slick. I love running out there in the dark. When we come to a stop (pee break) and turn off our lights it's beautiful. This morning the fog and drizzle had us pretty well socked in but even then the sense of being out there is nice. It's a great way to start the day. We have added a few new faces to our group lately. I am enjoying getting to know some new people.

I was also able to make it to the gym today and do some really good core training. I was pretty good about that last year but have been slacking as of late. I can do it now since I am still pretty much unemployed. My therapy clientele is building up still but not to the point I can make a living doing that. I am still looking for a full time job. I have a few things on the horizon that are promising but until I see the money I am being cautiously optimistic. One of these days I will have an income again.

I was really down about the struggle to find a decent job for a while. I had good days and really down days, I still do, just not as far down, but one morning I was running on Town Lake Trail (yes I know it's officially Lady Bird Lake now but I refuse to call it that) and I was listening to music on my ipod. The song "Ridin the Storm Out by REO Speedwagon came on and I really heard the message. I thought to myself I just need to ride this out. It will get better, just ride the storm out. I had used that line several times in the past as I ran. The last time I remember using it was a time when a few of us were doing a long run. I had put in about 10 miles and then went out and did another 20 with the Team Rogue guys. By the end of the run it was me and Andrew and Damon. We were rolling down Rio Grande St and the boys wanted to "play." The pace picked up between 6 and 6:15ish. I was really hurting but I kept thinking to myself just ride the storm out, they will slow and recover around 4th st. If I can just hang on (ride the storm out) a little longer I will be ok. I rode the storm out and as we ran back to Rogue down 4th, I thought sometimes you just have to ride out the pain for a little bit. Running is such a great metaphor for life. This is the situation I am in now (professionally) and I am just "Riding the Storm Out."

Another thought on that same run came to mind. It was a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. He once said, ""The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." This is one of my favorite quotes. I am holding on this his thought and putting one foot in front of the other.

Another week

2010-03-07T14:02:00.002-06:00

Another week of training has gone by and I am feeling pretty good. Although, one of the lessons I learned last year was to not put too much emphasis on any one workout. Sometimes you feel great and other times not so hot. What is important is that you continue to "check" each workout off the list. Jason and I have build a training cycle macro for the next 6 months and we really believe that it is a good one. It will need some tweaks as we go but for the most part we really believe it will work.

This past Saturday several of the group started at 3 am from Taco Deli. We ran the greenbelt for 6 solid hours and got 30 plus miles. We even picked up a group of about 15 people from the Hill of Life at 5 am and they ran about 14 ish miles with us. There have been some new faces in our little group and it is nice to see more people that are thinking about running an Ultra here in the next year.

At one point about 40 minutes after picking up the Hill of Life group we crossed the damn. The water was running pretty strong and was up over my knees. It was still very dark outside and I was the first over the damn. I looked back to make sure everyone was crossing ok and I saw a long line of headlamps coming through the water. What a fantastic and surreal site that was. The run continued and we covered mile after mile of the rolling hills back in the Moonshadow area of the Austin Greenbelt. It was a nice run and it was good seeing some new people with us.

This Is Me

2010-02-10T08:45:00.002-06:00

This week is off to a running start. I took Mon off from running but got in a Bikram Yoga class in the afternoon, Tue was an easy 1.5 hour trail run in the morning and another Bikram class at lunch, and today I did an easy 15 mile medium long run. Last week I logged 77 miles and feel really good. I have found that these days I can log 70-80 miles per week really easy. Plus the core work and other benefits I am getting from the Bikram Yoga class are fantastic. I have little aches, pains and tightness that I have had for years go away after 6 classes of this yoga over 2 weeks. I feel like I am right where I need to be at this point in the training cycle. I will increase my miles over the next few months and probably top out at 100-120 per week for four or five weeks before Leadville. That, at least, is my plan now. I think I am being a little more pacient this year with my running as I have the tendency to push in as many miles as I can possibly do real early. I am holding back a little now so that I build my miles slower than I have in the past.

On the job front there is not much going on right now. I have put out a ton of resumes and have made some good networking connections but as of right now - nothing. I have picked up several new counseling clients at my practice, but this is still a part-time deal. I can only bill one insurance company right now so the majority of my clients are private pay, which really limits what I can make there. I have to have a minimum number of "practice" hours and then take another license exam (the next level up, from LMSW to LCSW) before I can get on the majority of insurance boards. This is probably way more information than anyone wants to know, but this is my time to vent/think/write.

It's hard looking for work. I have found that I have good days and bad days. Some days I can bring the determination to my job search that I do with my running. Actually, that is bull shit. I don't have the same drive in my job search that I can muster with my physical pursuits. I am not sure why this is. That is not to say that I am not putting a good effort into this search. Other days I have this sense of "what the hell is wrong with me?" Why won't anyone give me a chance. Fuck, I have two fucking masters degrees, if nothing else doesn't this tell people that I can learn, I can work hard? And that is not to mention that I was very successful in my previous job. I went from a case worker to clinical director in 3 years. I have had days were I wonder why doesn't anyone believe in me? If this sounds a lot like self-pity it's because it is. I am not walking around depressed all day but there are times when the self-doubt is overwhelming. I am hesitant to put my own feelings of insecurity out like this, but I don't think many people read this anyway. lol. I am not looking for sympathy or someone to take (or attempt to) these feelings away. No, what I am doing, as best I can, is being real. I am, as much as possible, attempting to take off the "mask" that we all wear around everyday. This is who I am. I am confident and insecure, I am disciplined and lazy, I am a lot of things. I believe we all are. I have really good days and then times when the sky is falling. In the end, I am just another guy doing the best that I can. And my best today allows me to peel a layer of the onion back and let you know who I really am. Some people will like this while others will not. But If I am true to who I really am then that is a good place to be. I want to feel comfortable in my own skin.

Summer 2011 ? Hmmmmmmmm?

2010-02-08T13:08:00.002-06:00

No Hardrock 100

2010-02-07T18:42:00.001-06:00

Well I did not get drawn for the HR 100 I am 125 on the wait list so not any hope to get in this year. So, Leadville BIG Buckle and I have a date. I will see you at or before 4:59 am on Aug 23rd. :).

Sent from my iPhone

Tomorrow is a big day

2010-02-05T20:58:00.001-06:00

Sent from my iPhone

Tempo

2010-02-04T09:00:00.002-06:00

I had an excellent run this morning. Jason and I did a 2.5 mile warm-up, did the 7 mile loop around the lake at a nice comfortably hard pace with a good hard close the last 2 miles. We then did about a 2 mile cool down. The weather was a little chilly with drizzle and high humidity.

I was thinking back to last year before Leadville and trying to remember any tempo type runs we did and for the life of me I can't remember if we did or not. I need to go back to my calender and see what I logged. Regardless, we are definitely going to keep up at least one tempo/steady type workout a week up. I believe without that type of workout mixed in that we/I just loose too much turnover. Today many of the miles were between 6:30 and 6:45 and for the first time in a while that is just starting to feel comfortable again. I am not at the place where I was last year before Boston (2:51) where I was able to maintain 6:30s for almost 3 hours but I don't need to be there now or really anytime this year. I will not try to PR at the marathon distance this year at all. I have done that for the last 4 years and I loved every second of it. But I am happy to have a change of pace, so to speak. Which brings me to another thought that I want to explore here.

Having trained for the marathon distance for several years and everything being about shaving a few minutes off my time, it's a whole different perspective with the Ultra running now. I have noticed that with many of my friends in the marathon training group even the questions that are asked reflect a certain perspective. There is nothing wrong with the marathon PR training perspective at all. As a matter of fact I love it and will do it again in time. But what I am saying is that for me the ultra training and racing is like looking through a different set of lenses. And with that comes a different set of questions, a different way to see the "world" of training and racing. I am also not completely discounting time/pace or time goals as I do still have those but they have taken a back seat to the journey and experience of training and racing. I feel that I am just at the begining of making this shift of perspective but it has definitely began to take place. I will continue this line of thought more as writing about it helps me to articulate in my own mind the difference. Have a fantastic day!!

Hello Again Blog.

2010-02-03T08:58:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I canceled my Facebook account. I thought I would miss it. I DID NOT! I did not miss it for a single second. I felt free. I was released from my compulsion to check my "page" every 2 freakin seconds. I even was able to read a book I had started a few weeks back. I am reading Jon Krakauer's latest book "Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman." I am really enjoying his book. I love the way Krakauer writes and his investigative journalism is outstanding. He gives a good brief history of the politics and development of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in the Afghanistan region. The parallels this with Tillman's activities growing up. Anyway, I felt more productive yesterday without the distraction of checking my page on FB.

This morning was MLR (medium long run) day. I woke up at 4 as is my usual weekday wake up call and the sound of pouring rain on the roof was a reason to begin the debate. Should I go, should I get back in bed, oh the bed is so nice and warm, no, no I have to go run, people are going to show up. I am one of the two coaches of our little Leadville group, I have to be there. Not to mention my own training. So, I employed my usual strategy of saying to myself "don't think, don't think, don't think, just get out the door." This is similar to the rule "never make a decision in the aid station." Just get out the door, or aid station and run. It works for me every time. I rarely miss a workout.

To my very pleasant surprise everyone showed up this morning. Our meeting time was 5 am, and in the pouring down rain and chilly air the entire team showed up. We did a 5 mile loop around the lake then a Mt Bonnell out and back. This gave us 15 miles. I really felt good on the run this morning. It's kind of cool to be out there in the dark and rain and getting your running. In the last month, I have raced the Bandera 100K then two weeks later paced the 1:30 group at the 3M Half Marathon. My legs have felt tired since Bandera but I am really starting to feel good again. Good thing because I am also pacing the 3:20 group next week at the Austin Marathon.

In less than a week, I will find out if I got into the Hardrock 100. Wow, I really hope I get in. The chances are slim but I am optimistic. I have already decided that if I do get in I will attempt to do both Hardrock 100 and 5 weeks later the Leadville 100. We will see.

Good Bye FB

2010-02-02T08:57:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I got very frustrated with myself. I am currently unemployed. I send most of my day looking for, applying to, and following up on job leads. Now, I also spend time checking email, surfing the internet, and Face Booking. I say to myself several times a day, "OK, no more FBing until I do xxxxxx." The next thing I know I am again sitting there on that stupid FB. I know most people would say, "Well, just don't go on so much." Stronger people and people who are way more disciplined than me can do that. I can't seem to be strong enough to stay off. Also, I recently pissed some people of by defriending them. I got ugly messages and there were evidently hurt feelings. Now, It not that I need or want their approval but It struck me in an odd way. I felt like I was back in high school and was being berated by some. The irony is that these are people that I went to high school with. I don't need that shit. I lost contact with most of these people because we don't have much in common, and our adult lives have gone in different directions. I did not communicate with most people that I have traded messages on FB with for 20+ years. I don't think I will miss keeping in touch with them now. Nevertheless, I did make some connections on FB that were amusing and fun. And I have had fun seeing what others are up to, joking and giving shit to others as they have me. I will miss much of that, but I have other things that I want to occupy my time with these days. I did not intend for this to be a long rant on FB but rather just a way to think out loud and write about my experience. So, I will post this entry, go to my account and deactivate FB. Good by FB and hello blog.

The Beginning - Team Rogue Ultra

2009-09-29T14:47:00.001-05:00

Welcome Team Leadville!

Jason and I would like to welcome all who have committed to this journey. This program is designed to train you to specifically finish within the time cut-offs the Leadville TR 100 in August of 2010. But let us be clear right up front that this is about way more than finishing a 100 mile trail run through the mountains of Colorado.

This will be an experience you will never forget. What we are embarking on is a journey that will require sacrifice and perseverance. This experience will ask you to dig deep within your resolve and access resources you don’t even know you have right now. This training will be a journey for us all. This training will not be easy. You will be asked to keep going past the pain into a place we normally don’t go. Over the next 10 months you will be transformed physically, emotionally, and spiritually. There will be times when you love this journey and other times you may hate the thought of doing what is before you. We will spend a lot of time together over the next year and we anticipate lifelong friendships will be formed. We will know each other at a level usually reserved for just a few people in our entire lives. We will be called upon to hold each other accountable and to hold each other up when we fall short. It is time to start clearing the path of anything that stands in front of you and the starting line in Leadville. Whatever it is in your life that takes the path divergent from your values is an obstacle. At 4am we will all stand together on the starting line of the Leadville TR 100 different people. Then over the next 30 hours you will be taken to a place that will stay with you forever. It is time the milieu of this training season becomes for each of us an opportunity to become who and what we are meant to be. You will never be the same again.

Announcing - Team Rogue Ultra!

2009-09-10T13:39:00.002-05:00

You may be ready for Team Rogue Ultra! Newly formed by Ken Fries and Jason Lippman, this 11 month program will focus on the Leadville Trail 100 and 50 miler, arguably the most challenging trail race in the country (yes, it is 100 miles long). Ken and Jason recently completed their first Leadville race – see the photos! – and had an incredible journey that they want others to experience. The group will meet three times a week (Tuesdays/Thursdays: 5:30a, Saturdays: 7:00a), and will take trips to run the Hill Country SNA, Lost Maples, Bastrop, other local Austin trails and on the race course in Colorado.

Whether you’re itching to hit the trails or are simply intrigued by this tough breed of runner (and tough they are!), make sure to be at Rogue Equipment on Thursday, September 24 to hear Ken and Jason talk about their life changing Leadville experience, get more information on the Rogue trail programs and, of course, enjoy the free beer that is always on tap during our “last Thursday” happy hours.

Trail Program Information Session
Thursday, September 24 @ 7pm
Rogue Equipment
500 San Marcos St.
Austin, TX 78702
512.493.0920

Thank You

2009-09-10T10:30:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to take a minute and thank everyone for the nice words about the Leadville 100 miler. It is nice to be in such a supportive community. This Austin community is such a positive place to live and run. Thank you to all my running buddies who I look forward to meeting many times a week.

Leadville Videos

2009-09-07T18:04:00.002-05:00

This is the video documentation of the Leadville Trail Run 100, 2009. This documents the progress of the runners, Jason and Ken, and what Kate called "the progressive picnic" of the crews.

Part I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbWDCMItD7s

Part II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDRQX7_8G0M

Part III
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCK9SbEe6Bw

Part IV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1JjyElcvkA

Leadville 100 Race Report

2009-09-02T21:30:00.001-05:00

Leadville 100 Mile Trail Run

Race Report.

August 31, 2009

It has been about a week since the Leadville 100 trail run. This was my first 100 mile run and it proved to be an amazing experience. I have been asked a lot of questions this past week, one of which is if it was as hard as I had anticipated. The answer to that question is an unequivocal NO. NO it was not AS hard as I had anticipated, it was WAY HARDER! So here is my perspective over 100 miles in the mountains of Colorado.

Before I begin let me introduce you to the crew. Jason and I had separated crews; although we shared people and all worked together over the next 29 hours. My crew consisted of my brother Adam (his wife Meredith also helped), a really good friend Toby (formally of Austin but now lives in Denver), and my wonderful wife Kate. Jason’s crew was our training buddy extraordinaire Kirk, Cindy S, John P (both good friends from Austin) and Jason’s wife Angie.

Two-thirty am came pretty quick on Saturday morning as the multiple alarms and wake-up calls began. I had 2 alarms set and a wake-up call scheduled for race morning. And although I got a few hours of off-and-on sleep though the night, the alarms were merely a formality. I was wide awake by 2 am and just lay in bed trying not to wake Kate and watch the minutes click off the digital clock. Finally it was ok to get up. The wake-up call came and I shot out of bed glad the restless night was over. I showered to help me feel fresh, went downstairs and got a cup of coffee, made my instant oatmeal, and peeled a banana for my morning breakfast. At 2:45 I knocked on Adam’s hotel door to wake him, and went back to the room to eat, drink, and chat with Kate. I put on my race clothing, Jason called and was on his way, and Adam was coming into the room for the last minute instructions. At about 3:15 am Jason rolled in with another cup of coffee for me and we began to head down to the parking lot for the short drive to downtown Leadville where the race would start.

Leadville to May Queen (miles 0-13.5)

The starting line was a bit surreal. At the starting line there were a little over 500 people lined up. The atmosphere was very exciting with all the headlights, the crisp air, the crews of people watching their runners. Jason and I found a place toward the front of the pack and settled in for the announcer to send us off. The gun finally went off after what seemed forever and we were off. I remember thinking how bizarre it was to run over the starting line knowing I would not see this place again for somewhere between 25 and 30 hours. We started down the long gradual descent and a couple times Jason warned me – slow down. The excitement and the downhill 4.5 to 5 miles make it really easy to get carried away and get running too fast. It wasn’t long before we had covered the 5 or so miles and started on the single track that goes around Turquoise Lake. I was feeling pretty good at this point but I had eaten too much the day before and was feeling that really full feeling that is not conducive to running. My nutrition plan consisted of eating about 250 calories an hour in the form of ½ of a “magical” cookie (cookie that Meredith T, my nutritionist recommends for long, long runs). I was also wearing an Ultimate Direction “Camelback” type hydration pack for water, taking electrolyte caps every hour, and drinking a mixture in a hand-held water bottle that had about 330 calories in each refill. I had my watch set to beep at me every hour to remind me to take electrolytes, and eat ½ a cookie. The first hour beep came and I was still so full from the day before that I did not eat at all. I did take an electrolyte pill and was drinking my liquid calories from my handheld water bottle. Then it happened. I was running along this beautiful trail with feeling pretty decent, the air was crisp the day was off to a fine start and then BAM! I was rolling on the ground. The first fall of the day and I had gotten it over with early. I got up, dusted off my knees, checked for any protruding bones, checked for blood, and was off again having not discovered anything too bad. Jason and I laughed about how soon I had fallen and joked about getting the first fall over with. We were in a really nice relaxed pace and the trail was rolling very gently as we skirted the lake. The sun was beginning to rise and the light revealed this beautiful mountain lake to our left. As the beauty of the scenery was sinking in I had a first row seat to Jason’s first fall. BAM! He too took a roller which shot his water bottle off his hand and he laid there for a brief second. He got up dusted off, check for the usual things and was off. We again laughed about both of us falling in the first 2 hours of the run. My watch beeped again indicating the second hour of our journey was complete. I was able to take more electrolyte pills and this time I also was able to eat my cookie.

Being able to eat a little was a good sign. The single track dumped us out onto a road and we were minutes from the first aid station – May Queen. We pulled up into May Queen at about 2 hours and 15 minutes into the run and there was Kate, Toby, and Adam scrambling to get us refilled and reloaded with calories. It was funny to see the urgency on their faces. The crew was scrambling like an Indy 500 race car crew, we laughed, and I said in the calmest voice I could muster – relax its ok, everyone settle down. I will tell you this though; it was good to see the crew.

May Queen to Fish Hatchery (miles 13.5 – 23.5)

Jason and I were off from May Queen and were immediately shot onto some technical single track. Pretty quickly after hitting the single track we started to climb. After about 2 miles we were spit out onto a jeep road which I know was the back side of Sugar Loaf Pass. We both shed our long sleeves, gloves and hat and started up the pass. This pass was pretty gentle going outbound. We both made the comment to each other, “wow, that was no big deal.” On this section we had come up upon a couple of Austinites, Joseph M, and Jamie C. It was good to see other Austin athletes on the course. Joseph made the comment that he thought Austin had more athletes than any other “non-mountain” town. I bet he was right. The back side of Sugarloaf Pass (Power line) was steep and we ran this section pretty fast, but kept our energy output somewhat consistent. In this section we let gravity do its work. I had eaten my cookies, taken my pills, and was still drinking my handheld with the calorie mixture I was using. The sky was as big and blue as you have ever seen. It was a beautiful day in the mountains of Colorado and the endorphins had kicked in. We hit a road and then to Fish Hatchery. With twenty three miles under our belt I remember thinking, “Wow we’re just about at marathon distance.” The crew was doing a fantastic job and the urgency in the form of near panic had changed to a nice intentional forward motion and banter we hear in the 7th grade (but are still funny) by all members. This was also the first time we got to see Cindy and John. It was good to see our family and friends from Austin out to support us.

Fish Hatchery to Halfmoon (miles 23 – 30.5)

We left Fish Hatchery and hit the asphalt road section. This section I believe is about 3.5 miles. It was getting pretty hot and I felt myself feeling the high mountain sun during this section. About half-way between Fish Hatchery and Halfmoon there is an unofficial aid station, which is really just a place that the crew can access the runners again. I started feeling a bit nauseous on this section of the run. I was beginning to have trouble eating my cookies already. I knew the time would come when I would be really tired of the cookies but this was different. I wasn’t’ tired of eating them I just couldn’t put anything in my mouth without gagging. My stomach was hurting and I just felt off. I continued drinking my handheld and taking my electrolytes but now I was having trouble getting any other calories into my body. I knew this was not a good sign. I kept thinking of the words of Meredith T, nutritionist and accomplished ultra runner, when she would tell Jason and me over and over that ultra running is about problem solving. One of her last emails to us said, “It’s not a matter of IF something is going to happen, but WHEN something” out of the ordinary will happen. I pushed that thought out of my mind for a while and hoped that I would begin to feel better. We pulled into tree line, which is just a dirt road that the crew can pull their cars into, and found the crew. They had made me a turkey sandwich and I took that for the road. We kept moving and I hoped the turkey sandwich would help me feel better. We continued running toward Halfmoom and I tried to eat some of the sandwich. I put part of it in my mouth and immediately started gagging. I tried again. Same result. Shit, I couldn’t eat. I was in trouble. I again heard Meredith’s words, “problem solve, problem solve.” I told Jason at this point, “Jason I am in trouble I can’t eat.” We continued running. We pulled into Halfmoon and a nice man grabbed my water bottle began refilling and added the powder that I handed him to mix in the bottle. I was not able to eat but I was still taking my electrolytes and drinking my handheld that had my mixture in it. I had long since asked Jason to stuff the turkey sandwich into my hydration pack and had given up on attempting to eat that. At the Halfmoon aid station the crews don’t have access so we were in and out pretty quickly.

Halfmoon to Twin Lakes (miles 30.5 – 40)

I grabbed a PB&J sandwich from the aid station and headed out. I took a bite of the PB&J and immediately gagged it up also. Shit! I stopped on the trail thinking if I just stopped then maybe I could eat. I was able to get down about a ¼ of the sandwich. I was off again and caught Jason pretty quickly. Again the words “problem solve” rang through my head. I was feeling more and more nauseous all the time. What the hell am I going to do, I thought. I wasn’t sure what I WAS going to do but I knew what I WASN’T going to do. I was not going to stop, no matter what. I remember thinking if I get pulled from the course it will be on a stretcher because I will not stop no matter what. I was bound and determined to figure this problem out. I did not get up at 2, 3, and 4 in the morning for the last 6 weeks to not finish this race. And If I didn’t finish I was not going out easily.

The miles clicked by and I remembered how good just the plain water from my hydration pack tasted. It occurred to me to stop drinking my handheld for a while and see how I feel. After about an hour of not drinking the solution from my handheld I was beginning to feel better.
The course was beautiful single track with fantastic view in every direction. This section of the course had some minor climbs and descents and rolled along through tall pines. At one point my watch beeped again and after not drinking the handheld I was finally able to get down ½ a cookie. Holy Cow 250 calories! I was ecstatic, I ran up to Jason and said, “I ate I ate.” I went on, “It’s my mixture in my bottle that is making me sick.” I decided not to take any more of this mixture in. I would supplement with more electrolyte pills to replace the sodium I was not going to get through the mixture and I would then, I hoped, be able to get more calories at the aid stations and through my cookies.

The last few miles of this section, outbound, is about a 1200 ft drop. Jason and I bombed down this section and very quickly found ourselves at Twin Lakes. We had just covered the first 40 miles of the race and completed phase one of our race plan. I was pretty tired, my nutrition was way off, and I was hot. I came into the aid station and Kate immediately put a cool towel over my head. I walked into the aid station check-in and then the crew led me to the chairs they had set up. The plan was to take our first significant rest here as after this we had to go up and over Hope Pass – TWICE (out and back course).

I remember being a little confused for some reason when I came into the aid station. I was not thinking very clearly and, walking back to the chairs, I looked into Kate’s eyes. I am still not sure what happened but I was completely overcome with emotion. I began to sob under the towel. I recall thinking this is way, way, way harder than I had anticipated and I knew I was not in the best of condition after the morning hours. I sat in the chair and put my head into my hands and tried to compose myself. I looked around at the crew around me. I thought how unselfish it was for so many people to waiting on me hand and foot. I thought about the friends and family at home watching our progress. I saw Angie, Jason’s wife, and his mom and they were taking care of him in a chair next to me. I was trying to eat. I was telling the crew no more mix in the hand held. I was putting Chap Stick on, Kate was putting sun screen on me. Toby was refilling my water bottle. Adam was refilling my hydration pack. I saw him pull out the turkey sandwich that I couldn’t eat from earlier. I saw the concern on his face when he saw one bite gone. I saw the worry and fear in the eyes of everyone around me. All this fear and concern was directed at me. I looked up and I knew I was in bad shape, and I knew they knew it too. I was an emotional wreck.

John Peck stood over me, I looked up at him and he said, “It’s time to go.” No, No, No that is not the plan. The plan was to stay here for about 10 minutes. It’s only been 3 or 4. It’s not time to leave yet, I thought. He insisted. I felt myself getting up and I began moving. Before I left I looked again at Kate and saw the concern in her eyes. I looked right into her eyes trying to reassure her but I did not have the strength in me at this point to communicate this. We ran out and toward Hope Pass.

Twin Lakes – Winfield (miles 40 – 50)

Leaving Twin Lakes there is about a mile of flat section with a river crossing before you get to the beginning of the climb up Hope Pass. Jason looked at me somewhere along this mile and said, “I had to get out of there (meaning Twin Lakes) I was getting too emotional.” I was shocked when he said this. I laughed and told him about my experience in Twin Lakes. We both laughed a little and kept moving forward.

The climb started and we settled into a nice power walking rhythm up and up and up and up. Here the climb is about 3,500 ft over about 3.5 miles. We had figured it would take us about 3.5 hours to get up and over the pass. But as time went on our place slowed and our heart rates where off the chart. I was trying not to go anaerobic but this required a snail’s pace.

We climbed and climbed and climbed. I was able to eat again so this was encouraging but, I thought, does this fing climb every end? We stopped and sat twice I think. Jason looked at me several times and said, “Fuck, this is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.” I agreed! I had to dig deep to keep putting on foot in front of the other.

My heart rate was sky high, the pace was very slow, and time seemed to stand still. The further we got up the pass the slower the pace became. When we broke tree line I remember thinking ok this is about 11,000 ft (tree line in this part of the world) and we still have 1,600 ft to climb after this. I was able to eat and take my electrolytes so this was some consolation to me in that I had solved the first problem that had occurred on this run. I put one foot in front of the other time after time and slowly, slowly, slowly moved forward.

There is an aid station about 500 ft below the summit called Hopeless Aid Station. This is a group of people that bring up supplies by way of lamas. As we traversed this trail above tree line I finally saw a beautiful sight – lamas and tents and movement up ahead. I told Jason “we are almost at Hopeless come on baby come on!” We pulled into Hopeless and were swamped with volunteers refilling water bottles, offering assistance, food, anything they could do for us at all. I got a cup of ramen noodles and sat down for a minute. I looked back in the direction we had come from and, WOW, what a view. I could see Leadville way off in the distance. I could see Turquoise Lake and then a little closer Twin Lakes. The sky was a brilliant blue and not a cloud in sight. I was sitting at 12,000 ft having just covered about 45 miles and the world was whole again. I was tired but in a satisfied way. The way you feel when you have just accomplished something that was so hard you wanted to quit. I never really wanted to quit but there were times on that climb were I thought I just can’t move another step for a while. We left Hopeless and climbed the remaining 500 ft, which also seemed like an eternity but before I knew it I was heading down the back side. The back side (outbound) of Hopeless pass is shorter just about 2.25 miles but you descend 2,100 ft over a very steep trail. Parts of this trail are reported to be on about a 21% grade. Translation – Steep as shit! The descent from the pass puts you out on a dusty dirt road about 2 miles from Winfield. Going into Winfield this is a gradual uphill that also seems to go on forever.

I was feeling much better than I did at Twin Lakes and my spirits were up because we had almost completed half of what some call the toughest 20 miles in ultra running. I don’t know if this is true but to this point this is the hardest and deepest I have EVER had to dig physically.
As good as I was feeling at this point, Jason was feeling really bad. Jason and I had talked in the weeks prior and understood that there is no waiting for each other. During the race it is every man for himself. Jason was falling back and I did wait a few times on this stretch. I was very worried about him because he said to me several times he didn’t think he could make it back up and over the Pass. I assured him he could, but when you’re that low words don’t help much. I tried to raise his spirits but he was really down and not feeling good at all. He said several time for me to go on and not wait. After a bit I told him I was going ahead into Winfield and I would see him at the aid station. We shared this road with crew vehicles and it was dusty, dusty, dusty.
Finally, Winfield was in view and I picked up the pace for a bit. I ran into the aid station and was immediately directed into the medical tent for inspection. A doctor put me on a scale, got my weight and compared that to the weight on my medical arm band that everyone has to have. I had lost 4 lbs, not too bad. I then went out and Kate, Adam, Toby, John, and Cindy directed me to the area that the crews had set up. I let them know that Jason was in pretty bad shape but he was not far behind at all.

The crew put me in a chair and went to work. I was joking and having fun now and this put everyone at ease. The last time they saw me I was in really bad shape. They were very glad to see that a 12,600 ft pass and 10 miles can make one feel much better! But the truth is I was able to eat again and the calories make such a big difference. This is also the first time we could take on pacers, and Cindy and Kirk were there waiting to go back over the pass with us. It was good to see Kirk at this point too. He was going to run the entire 50 miles back with Jason. Kirk had done a lot of training with us and we had become good friends. We all exchanged some jokes and laughed. We ate some food and got resupplied.

I can’t say it enough nor can I express how important and what a big job our friends and family all played in this race. Jason was eating and getting some nutrition too. At the weigh-in he had lost 14 lbs! This is a lot of weight to lose and he had to get some of that back to be able to get though the night that was ahead of us. It had taken us over 4 hours to get up and over the pass, which was way longer than we had anticipated.

It was now just after 4 in the afternoon and we had been going for over 12 hours. I knew that it was going to get dark at about 8:30. And if it took us the same about of time to get back to Twin Lakes as it did to make the first crossing we might get caught on the pass in the dark. We had planned on getting our headlamps at Twin Lakes but now I knew we might need them before. To get caught on Hope Pass without a light in the dark would be a bad mistake. I told my crew and Jason’s crew to get the lights. There was a little scrambling with the change in plans but everyone finally got their light and we were up and out of Winfield. Jason was still not feeling the best and he told me several time to leave him. I know what I had agreed to in the week prior but I was not going to leave him now. I was not going to leave him without knowing that he got back up and over the pass. I figured that once we got up and over the pass for the second time this would be a huge turning point in the race. We would have covered the most physically demanding part of the course and would have completed the second phase of our race plan. We jogged back down the dirt road.

Winfield to Twin Lakes (miles 50 – 60)

The gradual downhill over 2 miles ended and we were back on the single track heading up to 12,600 ft again. The trail on this side is very, very steep in most places. Kirk and Cindy were ruthless with Jason about taking more and more electrolyte tabs and drinking water. I thought he was going to snap. They were on him constantly about taking salts and water. I got into a rhythm and with Kirk and Cindy stayed back with Jason. Kirk and I climbed and climbed and after about an hour he would tell me to just focus on the next turn. He would say, just make it to the next turn. I would focus on the turn in the switch back and just power to it. I would make the turn, rest for a second and then focus on the next turn.

This went on for a few hours but eventually we broke above tree line again. One foot in front of the other, relentless forward progress, don’t quit no matter what, are the mantras that ran though my head over and over again. I was focused and I thought about the words of my coach Steve, “if you quit make them take you off the mountain in an ambulance.” I was not going to stop moving forward, I was as determined as I have ever been in my entire life.

The top of the pass came and again the views where fantastic. The air had a bit a chill in it now and the sun was getting lower in the sky. Kirk and I went down to the Hopeless Aid Station got some nutrition and waited a very short time for Jason and Cindy. Before I knew it we were on the way down. After about 10 to 15 minutes my legs changed from climbing to descending and I felt really good. I thought to myself I want to get down off this mountain. I began to push the pace pretty hard. With Cindy in tow we flew past Jason and Kirk. They both jumped on the train and we all pushed letting gravity do its work. Three and a half miles of bombing down down down. At one point we passed Jamie C, a local (Austin) professional triathelete, and he had blown his IT band. We stopped for a moment and lamented his circumstances. I am only acquainted with Jamie but was bummed nonetheless for him. Closer to the bottom of the descent we also ran across Cindy H, who is also a friend of ours from Austin. She was moving well and said she was saving her legs for the last 40 miles. With about a mile to go we sent Kirk ahead to let the crews know that we would be pulling back into Twin Lakes very shortly. Twin Lakes came into view and as we ran up the little dirt road to the aid station Cindy S (our crew and pacer), who had earlier said she had something to show us at the top of the pass, pulled about 20 feet in front of us, stopped, dropped her pants, and mooned us revealing the words “you rock” written across her butt. We laughed.

Twin Lakes to Halfmoon (miles 60 – 69)

Once leaving Twin Lakes I knew that we had just completed phase two of the race plan. The first part of the plan was Leadville to Twin Lakes (40 miles), Twin Lakes to Winfield and back to Twin Lakes including Hope Pass twice (20 miles), and now the final phase which was miles 60 to 100. Toby was going to pace me for the next 14ish miles to tree line (halfway between Halfmoon and Fish Hatchery).

This was also the time to prepare for the night ahead. We had made it back over the pass in about 3.5 hours, much faster than the first trip over, but the time was now close to 8:30 pm. We had been going for 16.5 hours now and night was falling.

Toby and I left just behind Jason and Kirk. It started to sprinkle on us a bit and we all stopped and put on our rain shells. After about 10 minutes the sprinkles stopped and I was hot again. On the way into Twin Lakes the descent was quick. Now that same descent was a 1,200 ft climb. Toby was fantastic company and we continued moving forward through the night. Off in the distance we could see lightning and hear faint thunder. Looking back down the trail we could see head lamps snaking their way up over trail we had just covered. We could also look back into the field between the Twin Lakes and the beginning of the climb on Hope Pass and see more headlamps making their way through the darkness.

I felt some rocks in my shoes and kept trying to move them around without taking my shoes off. One foot was hurting pretty bad but I just didn’t want to stop and get the rocks out.
Jason and Kirk were moving pretty fast over this section and I found that my feet were hurting so much that I could not keep up with Jason and Kirk at this point. I didn’t think much of it because I figured we would catch them at some point down the road a little. This was the first time in the race that Jason and I split up. At the time I never thought I would not see him and Kirk again until the finish line.

Toby and I ran the down hills, shuffled the flats and, power walked the ups. We arrived in Halfmoon at about 10:45 pm.

At this point the rocks in my shoes were really hurting my feet. I also realized I had not been eating much over the last few hours and this too made me nervous. Toby got me several cups of watermelon, which really tasted good at this point, and I took off my shoes to get the damn rocks out. I dusted off the bottom of my socks and emptied my shoes. I put both shoes back on, retied the laces, and ate a little more watermelon.

Realizing I was not eating much now, and that the watermelon was going down so easily I took advantage of eating as much as I could. While I ate I noticed a white board next to me. It said, “Halfmoon cut-off 12:45, Fish Hatchery cut-off 3:00am, congratulations you have just covered 69.5 miles. This was the first time in the race that the enormity of the distance hit me. I thought holy shit, 69.5 miles wow, that is a long, long way. With the rocks out of my shoes and some nutrition, however inadequate, I was ready to keep moving. That stop was about 3 or 4 minutes and the next stop would be in 3.5 miles at Tree Line where I would again see the crew.

Halfmoon to Fish Hatchery (miles 69.5 – 76.5)

Within minutes after leaving Halfmoon I felt those damn rocks again. Damn I thought to myself as I continued to move forward. Soon we came across a woman laying in the trail in the fetal position vomiting. There was a man standing there with her and we offered assistance but he said he was going to take her back into the Halfmoon aid station. We continued.

The rocks continued hurting my feet more and more all the time. It was about 11pm now and my calories were way too low and I knew it. My pace had really slowed since it hurt so bad to run to fast on the down hills. I was heading back down into the dumps and I knew it. Over the next 3.5 miles Toby did a fantastic job talking and passing the time but I was quickly losing energy and the pain in my feet was getting worse and worse. I thought to myself that the rocks must have somehow gotten into my socks. I thought, at Tree Line I will change socks.

Toby and I finally got to Tree Line where the crew was waiting. It was about midnight now and I began to worry that I was becoming in danger of not making the 30 hour cut off for the finish. I began to ask people at Tree Line if I was in danger of not making it to the finish before the time cut-off. Everyone was saying I was in good shape, time wise, but I didn’t believe any of them. They tried to get me to eat some real food but I just couldn’t get anything down. Angie handed me some grapes and I was able to eat them. She then made me a sandwich size baggie of grapes for the road.

John was my pacer now, having been handed off by Toby. I changed socks and as Kate and Cindy looked at the bottom of my feet what became obvious is that the rocks were not rocks at all. The rocks that had been getting more and more painful were BLISTERS, and lots of them. I had developed blisters on the front pads of my feet. The front pads of my feet are where I land with every step as I run. This was not good news. Adam asked if I wanted them taped up. I told him no I was just going to roll with it. I said I don’t want to get out on the trail and have the tape roll up and have to take off my shoes in the mountains. This was a mistake.

John and I left and he fed me 3 to 5 grapes at a time. I remember thinking, “I know that a cup of grapes is about 80 calories so 4 or 5 grapes is insignificant.” But the crazy thing was just a few grapes and I felt a little better. I don’t know if this was psychological but my job was to keep moving forward no matter what.

John and I did a lot of power walking. We kept a good even pace and passed a number of people on the asphalt section of the course leading back into Fish Hatchery. We got into Fish Hatchery after the 3.5 miles. I walked past the check in and called out my number, 677. I saw Anton K (the course record holder and the guy that was in first place by 17 minutes the last time we saw him bombing down Hope Pass) and he called out my number to the person who was writing it down. I thought that is nice, he won the race then comes back out to help on the course. Later I would discover that he dropped out of the race at Fish Hatchery because he had gotten dehydrated. John and I were in and out of Fish Hatchery pretty quick. Adam, Kate and crew were all over me refueling my hydration pack and attending to my every need. These guys were off the chart fantastic.

Fish Hatchery to May Queen (miles 76.5 – 86.5)

Sugarloaf Pass! Holy Shit! Remember when I noted earlier that Jason and I had said it was no big deal? Well, that was the outbound side and only after a few hours of running. It is now after 1 am and things have changed.

First, the inbound side is much steeper and climbs A LOT more. John and I got into a rhythm. He broke a stick off for me to use as a walking stick which offered more support than I expected. We got into a good pace and kept it up for several hours. We were passing people and hooked on to a train of about 8 guys and we are all pushing, pushing, pushing. We passed people on all fours off the side of the trail heaving and vomiting.

This at 3 and 4 and 5 am in the morning after 70 to 80 miles is not that unusual a sight. We walked by as if this is business as usual. Thinking back on this scene it seems funny.

During the night several times I would ask John, “Are we almost to the top yet?” John would typically respond with something like, “I think we’re close.” I knew he had no idea but just to hear him say this was reassuring for me. At one point he responded in his “I think we’re close,” right after that I thought I saw an airliner’s lights in the sky in front of us. As I watched the light I realized that what I was seeing way, way off in the distance and way, way up above us was not an airplane but the headlight of runner on a switchback further up the pass. We were a long way from the top! I continued to think about the time cut-off. I went over and over in my head how far I had to go, my estimated pace, and the time I had left for reach Leadville under the 30 hour time limit. I kept coming up with different answers. One time through the calculations I was safe and in no danger of missing the cut-off, the next time through I was right up against the wall.

At this point it was closing in on 4 am. I had been moving forward, sometimes faster and sometimes much slower for 24 hours. My feet were hurting more and more. John and I thought we were at the top of the pass several times only to find another incline. At last the road quit climbing. The sky was clear and there were more stars than I ever remember seeing in my life. We were on top of Sugarloaf pass, over 11,000 ft up.

The road started its gentle down that Jason and I had found so easy earlier in the day. I tried to run but the pain in my feet was excruciating. I didn’t say much about the pain as I thought articulating this would not do a bit of good and I only wanted to stay focused on getting back to Leadville. I tried running, landing on my heals as I had done off and on throughout the night. I would then switch to landing on the sides of my feet to minimize the pain of the blisters where I would normally land. I power walked as fast as I could and, believe it or not, we were still catching people on a pretty regular basis.

We hit the single track leading down into May Queen. I heard a guy at the top of this section say it was 2.1 miles to the aid station. I looked at my watch, it was about 4:30ish. I thought if I can get to May Queen and have 5 hours to cover the last 13.5 miles I would be in decent shape, time wise. I pushed as hard as I could push. I power walked, shuffled, jogged, walked, but kept relentless forward progress no matter what. I knew that the crew was anxious about me getting into the aid station getting out and still having the time to make it to the finish line before the cut-off. I thought about Jason and Kirk; I hoped they were doing well. I had no idea where they were but I hoped all was well with them. John said he could hear voices from the aid station. I got excited to get there and was pushing harder and harder.

My knees hurt badly as this point as the heel striking I had been doing though out the night to minimize the pain of my feet began to take its toll. I had also developed new blisters on the back of both heals and on the side of my right foot. Everything hurt: my feet, my knees, my hips and at the same time I felt the excitement beginning to build. I was still very nervous about getting to Leadville in time but I felt myself focus even harder at this point. It was time to dig as deep as I possibly could into my body, mind and emotions to continue forward. I thought to myself many times over the last few hours how much harder this was than I had ever anticipated. I had to go places within myself - physically, mentally, and emotionally that I never knew existed. I was far beyond what I thought I was capable of doing. At the same time I knew there was much more to do before this would be over.

As we came into May Queen I saw the crew. They surrounded me and got me checked in and into the aid tent. I sat briefly, had a cup of coffee, and more watermelon. I looked around the scene inside the tent and it all seemed very surreal. It seemed as if everyone was moving in slow motion. People were moving from point to point and I saw what looked like “tracers” following them. I sat in what I remember as almost total quiet. People were moving all around me but it seemed strangely quiet. I saw Kate dressed in her running gear and was happy that she would be the one to pace me on the last leg. I had 13.5 miles to go, it was 5 am in the morning and I had been going for 25 hours now. I finished my coffee looked at Kate and moved to the door. I said,”677 checking out” for the last time.

May Queen to Leadville (miles 86.5 – 100)

Kate and I were off. We moved down this asphalt section and at some point I felt like we had missed the turn. I looked back and saw the headlights of other runners taking a turn we had gone past. We were only about 50 to 100 yards past the turn so no big time loss. We turned around and headed back. We hit the single track that would take us around the lake and Kate began to push. I heard her say “go get the next person.” I ran, running at this point for me was at best a shuffle, and caught a guy on the trail. We said, “On the left” and passed the first person we saw. My feet were on fire, I had not had anything but watermelon, a few grapes, and a couple gels that I gagged down with John, since about 8:30 at Twin Lakes. I was well hydrated as I did keep drinking lots of water and taking my electrolytes. Again, Kate whispers behind me go, go, go, go get the next person. I did and I did again and we pushed.

The sun began to rise at about 6 am and once again the lake, like 26 hours before, began to be visible again. We got to a place called Tabor Boat Ramp and there were a few people standing out cheering. The crowd said you have about 6.5 or 7 miles to go.

I looked at my watch; we had just covered 6 ish miles in about 1.5 hours. This,at this point in the race, was really moving. I was thrilled to have covered almost half of the distance of this leg. I looked at my watch and saw that I had 3.5 hours to finish the final 7 miles. This was the first time all night that I KNEW I was going to finish under the 30 hour cut-off. I looked at Kate, then the lake and the mountains surrounding and knew for the first time I was just a few hours away from completing my first 100 mile race.

The pace slowed and for the first time in many, many hours I started to relax a little. I had been watching my hands since the sun came up but now Kate noticed what was going on with my body. My hands were grotesquely swollen. Kate was alarmed and I kept trying to play it down but I too was a bit concerned. There was nothing that could be done now and I dismissed it as “I have just traveled almost 100 miles by foot over the last 28 ish hours. Kate offered to carry my hydration pack, headlight, and jacket. I let her. For the first time since 4 am the day before I did not have a water bottle, hydration pack, headlight, cap, or anything.

The single track culminated in a brutal downhill section. I moved very slowly down this section and grimaced with every step. At this point my feet, knees, and whole body hurt with every downhill step. At the bottom we made a hard left and headed into Leadville.

This section was uphill the entire way for 5 miles. The sun was up and the heat of the day was building. There were a dozen or so people heading in to finish the race. This was a pretty quiet section as people just kept moving forward. Some people ran by then stopped to walk some, others just kept an even pace. Kate and I moved quickly, or at least if felt like that to me, with a brisk power walk. Our pace was not fast but consistent and fairly even. The road went on and on and on and people would say, “you’re almost there.” Then we would turn a corner or crest a rise and see the road continue to rise out of sight again. It did not feel like we were “almost there.”
I thought to myself “enjoy” just “enjoy this for now.” I was ready to finish. I was exhausted and my feet were killing me. I kept moving forward. We hit a section of pavement and there was Adam. Some more people told us, “you’re almost there.” We laughed and said that we had been hearing that for hours. They laughed back and said this time it’s true. Only one mile to go!
Adam and his son Sol were waiting at the one mile mark to cover the last part with us. We turned the corner and son-of-a-bitch another hill. I just laughed and said does this thing ever end? Adam said once I crested the hill I would be able to see the finish line. I plodded on. Adam called ahead to the rest of the crew that waited at the finish line. He told them we were less than 15 minutes out. I looked at my watch. It was 8:50 am. I had been moving forward for almost 29 hours. The finish line was less than 15 minutes away. I crested the hill and saw up in the distance the big blue banner that read “START” on one side and “FINISH” on the other. This time my side read “FINISH.” I was about a quarter mile out now. I broke down. I put my hands on my knees and again, like I had done 60 miles before, sobbed for a moment. I would not stop for anything. I was as focused as I had ever been in my life and I would not let anything, any challenge, any problem, any obstacles get in the way of me finishing this race. As soon as I relaxed that focus, as I could now, the emotions poured out. Kate was emotional, Adam started crying. I hugged Adam. And then I heard Kate say “keep moving baby, keep moving.” I composed myself and again like I had done for the last 29 hours began moving forward again. I saw Jason. He came over and we hugged and said, “We did it.” He had finished 2 hours before but there he was waiting for me to make it in. Then as fast as all this happened I was standing alone in the middle of the street. Kate pointed at the finish line and said “run it in.” I ran down the red carpet that all finishers get the privilege of doing and “broke the tape” like every finisher before me did. I looked down as my body hit the “tape” and could not believe it was over. I looked up and standing in front of me was the Leadville 100 founder, Ken Chlouber. He was fumbling for a finisher’s medal to put around my neck. After what seemed like forever he pulled a medal from his arm and put it around my neck. I looked down at the piece of metal that read Leadville 100 Finisher. All I could think of to do was reach out and hug Ken. He hugged me back and said “you did it.”

I was then ushered into the medical check tent as all finishers are. I was weighed and had gained back a few pound leaving me about 2 or 3 pounds down over the last 29 hours. I sat in a chair and all the crew was there still getting me whatever I needed. I drank several cups of Coke and just savored the moment. Jason was in the tent with me and we spoke for a little bit. We had done it; we had reached our goal of running the Leadville 100 and finishing between 25 and 30 hours.

It’s been a little over a week since the run and I have had some time to reflect. The endorphins have worn off but the excitement of the experience has not. This was one of the best experiences of my life. This experience was in the crowds, trails, the beautiful Colorado mountains, and especially the crews of family and friends that made the journey with us. I am not sure what all this means or the significance of the journey completely but I do know that my life will never be the same. This event was life changing. My perspective on what I am capable of is changed forever. My perspective on what you, the reader, are capable of is also changed forever. What had become clear over the last week is that we limit ourselves to what we believe the possibilities for our lives can be. I have heard several people this week speak of what they can’t do, and I thought each time “yes you can.” Ken C has this saying that goes something like, you can do more than you think you can, and you’re better than you think you can be. Today I know what he is talking about. I have always believed this but today I have internalized this to the core of my being. I also believe that we can do together more than we can do apart. I would not have been able to finish this race without my crew. They pushed me when I needed it, they pushed me when I didn’t need it, they pushed me when they thought I might not make it. It is, in large part, because of this group effort that I was able to reach beyond what I thought was physically, mentally, and emotionally possible. Thank you to all who traveled this journey with me. I am in indebted to you and hope to be with you when you, too, discover your possibilities.

Race Report Delay

2009-09-01T19:42:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow is the day.

Sent from my iPhone

Race Report Under Construction

2009-09-01T08:10:00.001-05:00

Leadville race report to be posted today. Warning: it's long.

Sent from my iPhone

Quite from Cindy S who Crewed and Paced Ken

2009-08-25T05:06:00.001-05:00

"Being a part of Jason's & Ken's race crew was one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had."

Ken's Crew

2009-08-25T05:05:00.001-05:00

2009-08-23T12:10:00.001-05:00

Ken nearing the finishline

2009-08-23T11:33:00.001-05:00

Splits (unofficial)

2009-08-23T11:30:00.002-05:00

Cindy Henges is in!

2009-08-23T11:23:00.001-05:00

29hrs 22mins!!

Woohoooo!!!!

Ken at the finish!

2009-08-23T10:12:00.001-05:00

Ken is in!! Ken is in!!!

2009-08-23T10:11:00.001-05:00

29hrs 5 mins!

55mins to spare!

WOOOHOOOO!!!!

Jason's crew (attempting again)

2009-08-23T09:56:00.001-05:00

Guess what?!?!

2009-08-23T09:55:00.001-05:00

It's 9:54am AUSTIN and I just got word that...
"Ken is about 15min to finish line!!!!!!!"

Jason's WORLDCLASS Crew and Pacers

2009-08-23T09:33:00.001-05:00

Angie, Jason, John, Kirk, Cindy.

Jamie and Ken

2009-08-23T09:05:00.001-05:00

I asked Cindy S if she knew what happened to Jamie Cleveland (local
pro triathlete) as he's listed as DNF at mile 60.
She said:
"Ken & I passed Jamie coming down back side of Hope Pass. He was
hobbling along with blown IT band. Ken stopped for a sec to make sure
he was ok."

That's a heartbreaker. Jamie was attempting the "Leadman" which is
Leadville Marathon, silverrush 50mile trail run, Leadville 10km run,
Leadville 100mile mountain bike, And finishes with the Leadville trail
100. (all that over about a month to a month and a half's time)
: (

Expectations from local crew

2009-08-23T08:46:00.001-05:00

Cindy S just texted me and said "We're looking for Ken around
9."(which is 10am Austin)

Also texted me: "Cindy Henges, #237 at May Queen, mile 86.5. Jason
was #123, Ken #184 at that point."

Hang in there Ken and Cindy! Just keep. Putting those steps in front
of each other!

Jason

2009-08-23T08:40:00.000-05:00

Jason 27:04:09
Finished #103

Jason at the finishline

2009-08-23T08:27:00.001-05:00

... And Kirk his pacer kicked some major butt pulling him home the
second half! Way to go Kirk! You are amazing!

Also, looks like Jason has a new friend, Mr. Stick!

At mile 60

2009-08-23T08:25:00.001-05:00

(Photos from JohnP)

Jason is a Badass!!

2009-08-23T08:22:00.000-05:00

Woohooo!!
Jason crosses the finishline!!
(photo from CindyS)

Live!!

2009-08-23T08:05:00.001-05:00

"They're 200m from finish!!!"
Text from Cindy. (I believe she meant Jason and his pacer Kirk!)

Woohooo!!!

Hang tough Ken!!! FIGHT!!

2009-08-23T07:56:00.001-05:00

Updates from Cindy S;
Jason, last station, 13.5mi to go, In at 3:38am, out at 3:46am. Will coast in to the finish.
Ken, last station. In at 4:56am, out at 5:06am.

Update from John P:

"
No rain. Lippman was up on ken by 25 mins at mile 72. I paced ken to mile 86 where lippman was up by 1 1/2 hours. Our stretch was tough for ken with a long climb summiting 11k ft.

At finish now. Expect to see lippman any time now. Ken will be a bit later. "

Jason is through last aid station

2009-08-23T06:20:00.001-05:00

23 hrs 37 mins.
Only 13.5 more miles for Jason.

Calculations

2009-08-23T04:56:00.001-05:00

Haven't gotten any word for the last 4 hrs from the pacers/crews other
than what I just posted. Here's a time calculation for you.
With 23 miles to go...
Jason is on 27 and a half hour pace and Ken is on 28 and a half hour
pace.

Next aid station has a 7:30am Austin time cutoff.

COME ON GUYS!
COME ON!!

(womens marathon is on online)

Update from Cindy S(not the runner)

2009-08-23T04:34:00.001-05:00

Got this text from Cindy S:

"Jason thru mile 76 at 12:45am MST.
Waiting for Ken, not too far behind."

Followed by:

"Ken went through 76 at 1:30. Peck is with him for 14mi. Kate is
running him to the finish."

Text from Kate

2009-08-23T00:42:00.001-05:00

this just in from Kate 0:41am CDT:
"At about 72 miles, Jason and Cindy through, waiting on Ken. Trouble
on the downhills. Pain in his lower leg."

Toby update

2009-08-22T23:45:00.001-05:00

Kate has no phone reception but im still able to get an email or a
text across from Time to time. So I just asked Kate if Toby brought
his Makers Mark as he had some on my trip o Colorado with Ken a few
weeks back.
Apparently... No Makers Mark for Toby Tonight!
Hahha
Ok.

Oooo! This just in from Kate: "rumor has it there is quite a duel
between Cindy H and the boys. Both Jason and Kens crews are together
and are singing Kumbaya"

(ok, that's about 15 posts from me in last hour. Gonna get a little
Nap in and will be up later on for more posts in a bit. Not like I can
sleep with this going on! Cheers for now.. Mw)

Top 3 are in

2009-08-22T23:34:00.001-05:00

Leadville Trail 100 top 3 finishers: Timmy Parr 17:27:23,
Nick Lewis 17:44:26,
Duncan Callanan 18:26:40

Twitter

2009-08-22T23:24:00.001-05:00

If you follow people on twitter, you can look up keyword: #LT100 to
read related tweets.

Here's one about Cindy H her pacer just posted!:

"@kroam: Finished the steepest 10miles stretch of the LT100, Henges is
strong; i still have 13 more miles to run with her to the finish in 6
hrs"

From Kate at 11pm Austin

2009-08-22T23:06:00.001-05:00

We hear thunder. Its wicked dark at the spot we're waiting. Dont know
how we'll find them. I'm pacing Ken the final leg. I'm gonna promise
him ice cream at the finish. And a silver buckle.

Why Cindy H had a bandana covering her face

2009-08-22T22:58:00.000-05:00

From John P:

it was really dusty going into the mile 50 aid station. It's a 14 mile dirt road that you have to drive on and the runners go on the same road for about 3 miles. The cars kick up a lot of dust.

Anyone reading these notes???

2009-08-22T22:57:00.000-05:00

Don't be shy now!
Ken gets an email of all comments on his phone and Kate and crew can
read them to Ken and Jason at aid stations.
Any words they hear are of great help!

Update from the crew

2009-08-22T22:50:00.001-05:00

On Aug 22, 2009, at 10:28 PM, Mike W asked:

What mileage have our heros reached?
The website is very far behind on updates and ridiculously slow. Please give me/us a little recap of the last couple hours and what aid station you guys are at...
Thanks!

John P's reply:

They left mile 60 at 8:15. Both looked really good. Did well on the second summit. 4.5 hours over. 3.5 hours back. Came into mile 60 with Cindy H. Looking for them to hit Treeline (mile 72) around 11:30pm.

The nutrition photo that accompanies Cindy's note

2009-08-22T22:26:00.000-05:00

3 more from Mile 50

2009-08-22T22:17:00.001-05:00

Cindy H, Ken, and another view of hope pass. (from Cindy S via mw)

From Cindy S

2009-08-22T22:15:00.001-05:00

Time for nutrition!

I did mile 50-60 with the boys. They screamed down the back side of hope pass. They ended up negative hope pass, 4:30 1st time over. 3:30 2nd time.
The views climbing through the Aspen trees and and the landscape were spectacular!

50 miles!

2009-08-22T19:41:00.001-05:00

Hope Pass

2009-08-22T19:40:00.000-05:00

From John P

2009-08-22T19:35:00.001-05:00

Brownie was at mile 52 in 10.5 hours. Was looking good.

The boys hit 50 in 12.5 hours. Said the summit was tough. Handed them off to Cindy and Kirk to get them back over the pass.

Cindy H only 19 mins back at top of Hope Pass

2009-08-22T17:00:00.000-05:00

Same time as Jason

2009-08-22T16:53:00.001-05:00

They've reached the top of Hope Pass!

Mile 40

2009-08-22T16:09:00.000-05:00

Ken, Jason and Cindy

reposting photo that didn't load earlier

2009-08-22T15:03:00.000-05:00

Ken at Mile 39'ish getting taken care of by Kate.

Update on the leader

2009-08-22T14:57:00.002-05:00

John P just informed me that the leader (which I am going to assume is Tony K) has reached the 60mile mark in 9.5 hours.

A little background info.

2009-08-22T14:40:00.006-05:00

Hey there, this is Mike (mw). Ken's friend in Austin. Thought you guys could use some details on what's going on in the background here.

If you right click and open this chart in a new window, I can tell you a little about it. The course is a 100 mile out and back, turning around at mile 50. The big brutal climb is Hope Pass, and this is what they're now climbing. It's 2:45pm Austin time. The climb is a bit over 3,000 feet on the out, and then a bit less on the back, but the guys are turning right around at the 50mile aid station (crews will be there) and they then climb back over again. The climb is shorter, but MUCH steeper on the return, and this is where many runners just don't make it. Jason and Ken will fight and get over this. I know they will.

Their assumption is that it will take them 3:30 to get over, then 3:45 back over the other way. almost 8 hours of fighting. COME ON GUYS!

As the race progresses, you'll see splits posted on here at aid stations. Here are some times to help you follow along. ST column is the expected time on the slow side of things Ken and Jason expect to take to get from station to station, and cutoff is the local time they MUST beat to stay in the race and not get taken off. Yes, they have cutoffs along the way. Local time is one hour behind Austin.

from-to ST cut-off (localtime, one hour behind austin)

Pb - MQ expected time for leg 3:15 cutoff time 7:15

MQ - FH etfl 2:45 cot 10:00

FH - HM etfl 2:00 cot 12:00

HM - TL etfl 2:30 cot 2:30

TL - Win etfl 3:30 cot 6:00

Win - TL etfl 3:45 cot 9:45

TL - HM etfl 3:00 cot 12:45

HM - FH etfl 2:15 cot 3:00

FH - MQ etfl 3:30 cot 6:30

MQ - Pb etfl 3:30 cot 10:00

Here's what those initials mean:

Leadville

Mayqueen

Fish Hatchery

Halfmoon

Twin Lakes

Winfield

Twin Lakes

Halfmoon

Fish Hatchery

Mayqueen

Leadville

One more thing, as Ken mentioned earlier, once they reach 50miles, they get to pick up a pacer, and at 50miles, Kirk will be waiting to lead Jason home, while Toby and Kate will lead Ken home from 80'ish on. John P. and Cindy S I believe will also help pace Ken and jason from 50 - 80? We'll see. At some points the guys may split up and I'm not sure what the pace strategy is with John and Cindy, but I know they're ready to help any which way they can.

Hope this helps!

Cindy H 22 min behind Lippman & Ken.

2009-08-22T14:36:00.001-05:00

Kicking ass!!! Woohooo!!!

Jason headed towards Hope Pass

2009-08-22T14:35:00.001-05:00

This is where the big climb starts!
Come on guys!!
COME ON!!!

Mile 39.5

2009-08-22T14:34:00.001-05:00

Twin Lakes: in @11:45am, out at 11:56. They said they hit a wall, not looking to finish at 5am at this point, but they're well within range of 25hr finish.

From Cindy via MW

Two more around mile 24 I believe

2009-08-22T12:01:00.001-05:00

-mw-

The day before the race

2009-08-22T12:00:00.001-05:00

Jason hydrating, checking out competition and briefing.

Jack Murray and Cindy Henges

2009-08-22T11:02:00.001-05:00

Photos

2009-08-22T11:01:00.000-05:00

Tree Line - Crew Access Stop

2009-08-22T10:40:00.000-05:00

Ken and Jason are still on sched at mile 28.
They hit a rough stretch just before that stop.
A Henges sighting not far behind them.
Beautiful day in the Rockies for their kick arse support crew.

2nd aid station

2009-08-22T09:41:00.001-05:00

-mw-

9:35am text message update from crew

2009-08-22T09:36:00.000-05:00

Through 2nd station, 23.5mi.

-mw- (mike w)

Update.

2009-08-22T09:08:00.000-05:00

They're thru 1st aid station. 2:15 for 13.5mi

-mw-

Ken Is Getting The Lead Out

2009-08-22T09:02:00.000-05:00

Lookn very good at first aid station (13 mi).
4am race start temp in mid 30s.
He told his kick arse support team to relax and be ready for 25 more hours of fun.
We are waiting for him at The Fish Hatchery, mi 23.

Ken Is Getting The Lead Out

2009-08-22T08:14:00.001-05:00

Ken is thru first aid station (13 mi).
He and Jason looked very good.
4am start temp was in mid 30s.
His kick arse support crew is patiently waiting at The Fish Hatchery.
Stayed tuned for more posts!

Sent from my iPhone

Race Morning

2009-08-22T04:09:00.001-05:00

2:30 am wake up, some breakfast, quick shower, coffee.

The crew is here and ready to rock.

Jason is on the way to meet us in the motel room. Then a quick 10 min to the start line.

Iam feeling good surprisingly not to nervous.

Sent from my iPhone

Holy Shit I Think I Signed Up To Run 100 Miles!!

2009-08-21T21:41:00.001-05:00

Sent from my iPhone

The Wait

2009-08-21T13:29:00.001-05:00

Small course change due to military helicopter crash that killed several service men recently. Also, Twin Lakes aid station cut off time shotened from 2:30 to 1:30 pm. Justification is that if you start Hope Pass at 2:30 you will not make the cut off on the back side, 6:30pm, of Hope Pass. It's too dangerous to let runners start back up and over Hope at that late an hour.

Mandatory meetings rapping up. Now it's time to fuel, hydrate, rest and wait.

Sent from my iPhone

Med Check Complete

2009-08-21T09:20:00.001-05:00

I passed!

Something interesting.

They take a blood ox reading to measure the level of oxygen in your blood and you bloods ability to transport oxygen to your heart and lungs.

At sea level a person is typically between 97 - 100%

At 5000 ft asl it will drop to 95%

At 10,000 ft it will drop as low as 80%
which is a significant problem. This all assumes no time to aclimate to the altitude.

Right now we are above 10,000 in Leadville.

My Blood Ox 10 minutes ago with no aclimation was 97%!!!

That is a really good indicator of how I responde at altitude. So we start the day with goooood news.

Sent from my iPhone

Fri Morning in Leadville

2009-08-21T08:31:00.001-05:00

After a night of hour off and an hour on bouts of sleep this morning brings big blue skys and even bigger mountains. Yesterdays drive through many of the front range ski areas like Vail and Beaver Creek proved to be only the foothills compared to what awaited us with sunlight thus am.

I am waiting in line now, 7:30am, for my mandatory medical check-in. They get weight and baseline vitals to compare with the 5 medical checks we will receive during the race.

Sent from my iPhone

Arrived in Leadville

2009-08-21T01:04:00.001-05:00

Two hour flight from Austin to Denver. Two hour drive to Vail to have dinner with Jason and his family. Kirk and his family also joined the dinner. Who knew Jason is also a fantastic cook. Left Vail at 10pm and arrived in Leadville at about 11. Checked into the Super 8, showered and now about to try to get some sleep. The drive through the mountains was fantastic. Can't wait to get up and see Leadville in the day light. Kate and I stopped along the road between Vail and Leadville and looked at the stars and WOW what a display you just can't get that view in the city.

P.S. I wrote this naked ;)

Sent from my iPhone

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Live updates coming from Leadville Sat Aug 22 - Sun Aug 23

2009-08-19T12:05:00.002-05:00

Live updates from cell phone depending on service availability.

Race Plan For Leadville

2009-08-18T15:44:00.002-05:00

I am less than a week from my first 100 mile trail race - Leadville where the average course elevation is above 10,000 ft asl.

My race plan is to break the course into three parts.

Part 1: From Leadville to Twin Lakes. This section is about 40 miles with two significant passes the hardest of which will be Sugarloaf Pass at over 11,000 ft asl. This first 40 miles my main focus will be to take it very easy, running at a slow but steady pace. I will also make sure that I never go anaerobic. I will drink and eat staying hydrated and fueled. My goal during this section will be to stay fresh arriving at the Twin Lakes aid station (mile 40) feeling relatively good.

Part 2: From Twin Lakes to Winfield and back to Twin Lakes - Hope Pass. This the the "heart" of Leadville. Hope Pass goes up and over 12,600 ft asl. This section is "only" 20 miles but going out (this is a 50 mile out and back course) we will climbing 3,400 ft then descending about 2,100 ft on a 21% grade (translation = very steep). Then we get to turn around at Winfield and do it again. One author calls this the hardest section of any ultra in the US. I don't know if that is true but I am expecting to have to really really work for these 20 miles.

Part 3: From Twin Lakes to Leadville. This section will cover miles 60 through 100. One veteran Leadville 100 runner, Dana Roueche (3 times) wrote, "If it helps to make promises to God, you will be inclined to do so during this section." LOL. He goes on to write, "The atmosphere of the race really changes on this section. It becomes very quite, dark and runners become scarce. At this point, half the starters have dropped out and the remaining half are spread out over 40 miles. The hike and picnic is over, it is now time to get serious and focus on what your doing." Shit, that gives me goose bumps just thinking about it. I can't wait to experience this race. I will take this same person's advice and begin to focus inward at this point. I will "put my head down" and drive forward. I have no idea what that means as far as pace goes but at this point I believe I will have to reach very deep into myself. I anticipate the excitement of finishing to slowly begin to build with every mile. This is the section were I plan to give EVERYTHING I have within me. This section, I believe, I will learn more about who and what I am. I will at least have the opportunity to go beyond what I currently believe is physically and mentally possible.

Race starts Sat Aug 22 at 4 am Mountain Time.

Aid Station from-to Time of Day Range Total accumulative miles
25hr pace to 30 hr cut-off
Leadville to May Queen 6:10am to 3:15am 13.5
May Queen to Fish Hatchery 8:05am to 10:00am 23.5
Fish Hach to Half Moon 9:15am to 12:00 noon 30.5
Half Moon to Twin Lakes 11:15am to 2:30pm 39.5
Twin Lakes to Winfield 2:30pm to 6:00pm 50

And back (out and back course)

Win - TL 5:45pm to 9:45pm 60.5
TL - HM 8:30pm to 12:45am 69.5
HM - FH 10:00pm to 3:00am 76.5
FH - MQ 1:30am to 6:30am 86.5
MQ - Ldvil 5:00am to 10:00am 100

If I am faster than the 25 hour paces for the first 40 miles I am in trouble. And If I am close to the 30 hr cut-off time I am also in trouble. I hope to be somewhere in the middle of this range for the first 60 or 70 miles. But my overall goal is to finish the race under the 30 hour cut-off with at least some dignity (control of my bowels).

Also, I am not doing this alone. I have a team of people that are crewing for me and the guy that sold this whole deal to me, Jason L.

My brother Adam Fries, Toby K, and my lovely wife Kate will be crewing/pacing for me. John P, Kirk C, Cindy S, and Jason's wife Angie will be crewing for him. There will also be some sharing of the crews/pacers. Kirk is running the entire second 50 miles with Jason as a pacer. If all goes well Jason and I should be pretty close to each other as all of our training has been the same paces. Also, Cindy and John will jump in and pace Jason and I during the night. The second to last leg Toby will pace me up and over Sugar Load Pass. And then finally Kate, and this is wayyyy cool, will pace me over the last 13.5 miles. How cool is that going to be? I am very very happy about that. Adam and his wife Meredith will be in charge of getting everyone from aid station to aid station in the crew vehicles. This too is a very very important job. At each aid station the crew will help me refill my water and food supplies for the course. They will also help me with getting the proper clothing for the time of day/night and the temperatures that will be expected (below freezing over night). And then the crew's most important job is to encourage me and not letting me quite when the going get really tough. When I think I can't take another step and just want to give up it is their job to get my ass back out on the course. From what I have read from people who do ultras the crew is often the highlight of the race. Many ultra runner report pushing on mile after mile and not wanting to take another step but the thought of seeing the crew keeps them going. I anticipate seeing the crews at the aid stations being one of the things that continues to pull me along especially when the going gets hard.

Thank you to all who have supported me though out this training time. Also, thank you to all who have either said out loud, in an email to others, or even just thought Ken has little to no chance to finish this race. I am rarely more motivated than when someone says, "Ken can't do it." In many ways the doubts, even within myself from time to time during this training, have a good argument. In Leadville less than 50% of the people who start this race finish. That's right, less than half finish the race at all. So, my chances, statistically, are less than 50%. One thing about that statistic is that it does not measure heart! There is only one way to find out and it begins at 4 am this Saturday. I may fail but I will do so with every once of heart I have!!!!!!

Hello

2009-08-14T11:33:00.002-05:00

About 5 weeks ago I decided to sign up for the Leadville 100 mile trail race. This all happened on a run with Jason L who has spent countless hours over this summer training for this particular event. I was doing a double long run weekend and my second long run was with Jason at Bastrop State Park. At some point during this run he suggested that I just sign up and run the race. I had already committed to going up and pacing him over some part of the last 50 miles. But, when he suggested that I do the whole thing I initially thought I did not have the training to tackle such an endeavor. We talked a little and I found that except for a few longer long runs our weekly mileage was about the same. After the run I went home and found out that this particular Sunday was the last day to sign up for the race. I had to make a quick decision. I talked briefly with Kate about it (she looked at me like I was crazy) and next thing I know I had entered my credit card number and was hitting "confirm."

Monday morning I was in shock realizing what I had just done. This slowly went away as my training progressed. I will not bore you with the specifics of the last 5 weeks but the long and short of it is that I have run a lot, a whole lot. One hunded miles a week with some really long and early hours on the roads and trails. By last Saturday after finishing our last 6 hour long run I felt really good. The 6 hours of running felt similar to what a 3 hour 24 miler felt like just a few weeks before. I was tired and ready to do some serious rest and taper but overall I really felt like I was in a good position.

I am a week and a few hours away from standing on the starting line. I have this old sense of determination that I have experienced in the past. The kind of feeling that comes from way way down within ourselves that says, "I am going to do this thing. I am not going to quit no matter what." This is not a cocky attitude, not an "I am going to beat the course" attitude but rather an attitude that I am about to experience again what it's like to breakdown the "walls" within me that limit what I am really capable of doing. I say this knowing that less than half the people who start Leadville finish. I know that anything can happen and there is no guarantee I will finish.

But, and this is a big "but," I am going into this race with a determination that I have not experienced in a while. I feel an inner strength building up within myself that knows how much suffering and pain I will experience next week but at the same time welcomes the opportunity to suffer like I have never suffered before and still have the courage to continue. This is not a race, for me, that pits me against others, the course, or even a time. This is a race that gives me the opportunity to discover within myself how much inner strength I can access. Where are my inner limits and can I push past them to discover new limits that I don't yet know about? These limits that I put on myself are really not my limits at all. Running gives me the opportunity to discover who I am and what I am capable of doing. Then, once these walls within myself are moved back I can apply that to the rest of my life.

Next Saturday morning at 4am will be the start of a discovery process and I can't wait!

I am still here

2009-05-04T11:07:00.002-05:00

I have not posted in a while but I have not closed the blog as in the back of my mind I would like to be able to post on a regular basis. Although to this point I have not made it a priority (only some much time in the day). Several times I have said I was going to post regularly and then failed to do this. So, I will not say that at this point. I will just for now say I posted something even if it trivial.

Just a Small Glimpse

2009-01-22T10:02:00.003-06:00

The group had a really nice run this morning. I ran with my regular group and most of us went 12 miles, although a few joined the Kamran train and went 14. I have planned for my miles this week to be in the 75ish range and as the week shapes up and I continue to "listen" to my body I am on track. The course we did today was a new version of the Rollingwood course. It is fairly hilly for a bit. I know one of my biggest weaknesses are in the hills. With this in mind I worked pretty hard today to keep up in the hilly sections. Our paces have been faster so far this training and today was no different. I worked through the hills and, although hard, I felt very good. Over the last few miles of the run I pushed the pace a little bit. It was not really a "close" type pace but just a step or two faster than I usually would. Based on a short conversation with our coach, Steve Sission, he is suggesting that we run a little faster if we feel good.

I will have to be careful with this and pay attention to how tired my body feels as the mileage and pace increase. Nevertheless, for now I am finally getting small glimpses of how I felt last year (before Boston). When I say that I do not discount my fitness before California, I think my endurance was better before Cali, but I struggled so much during that training that I never had the feeling I did last year at this time. Tomorrow is an easy run and then what Sisson calls the most important run of the week, Saturday Long Run!!!! I can't wait.

Cheers

2009-01-21T09:24:00.003-06:00

I am sitting at my desk enjoying a nice cup of coffee and blogging. I am attempting to make this little ritual a regular start to my day. Although as I have blogged the last few days I really feel like I don't have a lot to say. I report on my running and throw in some light commentary. I really don't know why anyone else really cares about my or my friends running. Although I do enjoy reading some of my running friends blogs. It is, sometimes, a little glimpse into things unsaid.

What I have found interesting is after spending hours and hours and hours with a small group of people is how relationships grow and change. Over the summer as we trained for California, and spent sooooo much time together, we all got to know each other and each others moods pretty well. Sometimes someone would show up and they would be in a pissy mood, other times someone who normally does not talk much would be more voiceterous. We learn about the trial and tribulations each of us have gone through in the past. And we experience the trials and tribulations each of us go through currently.

Something happens on runs, especially long runs, where people open up more or quicker than in other contexts. I don't know if it's the endoriphens or what but it happens. I'm not going to try too hard to explain this because it's something I believe one has to expereince to fully understand. We develop nicknames and make fun of each other. We plan how to "mess" with someone who is not there. We get mad, irritated or just plain tired of hearing one person or another's BS. But then we meet the next day and there is a whole other dynamic. I really don't think anyone stays mad or irritated for too long. We all cheer for each other, even though we are very competitive, and wish the best for the other.

This is my world today. I have other interest and other things going on in my life outside of running, but for the most part the people I spend the most time with are my running friends. I wouldn't have it any other way! So to the guys and girls I run with, CHEERS! See you at 5:30 in the morning.

Like a bump on a log

2009-01-20T15:20:00.003-06:00

Today we ran 14 miles at a pretty good pace (7:07 Avg) and I was able to close/finish fairly strong (6:30ish) for a few miles. I went off the front of the pack and was wondering who would come with me. I knew with all the competitiveness and with Sisson (our coach and an All American runner at UTexas, although he is 38 and just getting back into shape) in the pack someone would be sucked in. I was right, but what I did not count on was Sisson and Kristen (she is an Olympic trials qualifier hopeful for 2012 and has the talent to pull it off) passing me like I was standing freakin still. I heard footsteps after about a mile and effort wise I felt like I was about at a 6:15ish pace. But holy cow, they passed me like I was a bump on a log. When they passed I said out loud "Bull Shit" and tried to go with them but to no avail. Wow, they must have been in the 5:15 to 5:30ish range. Anyway, after I knew I could not reel them back in I just kept a consistent pace through mile 13 and used the last mile to cool down. At mile 13 I slowed to a walk to see who was close and low and behold there is Ramon, Mike and then Kamran not very far off at all. The whole group is getting faster and it is fun to see.

Time to Ramp

2009-01-19T09:16:00.002-06:00

This was a very nice weekend here in Austin. We ran a 21 miler on Saturday and although my legs felt a little tired at the end it was overall a good run. I can feel myself recovering from the ultra in Bandera. I am starting to "get my legs back under me."

Sunday was a nice easy 10 mile recovery run from Rogue with Mike, Kamran, and Jason. We did an out and back on the same course that some of us ran on Sat. I am really a believer in getting another run on Sunday after the long run. It's hard to get started but then just getting the blood pumping again seems to help my legs feel better.

Today, Monday, Kamran, Jason and me met for the usual 5:30 start at Barton Springs. Jason had to pull off after about a mile because his knee was hurting. I hope this is just a temporary thing for him. Anyway, Kamran and I put in 10 (he did 2 before we met) and focused a little on picking up the pace. Good run and I feel great.

With Bandera behind me my weekly mileage has been a little lower than I would like (about 60 miles) but now it's time to begin to ramp up the miles. I will run around 70 or so this week and continue increasing until I peak at about 100. Nevertheless, I am being very very careful to avoid what happened to me with the California training. I did not take adequate time off and ended up over training, which took me months to recover from. Not only did it take me months to recover from but also it was during a crucial training period. With this said, I kind of got my but handed to me at CIM, based on my original goal. That is all to say, I need to be smarter about my training now for Boston. Oh the wisdom of experience is good!

Friday is Rest Day!

2009-01-16T06:40:00.005-06:00

Friday is rest day for me. For the last few years that I have been training for marathons I have normally taken Friday as my rest day. I have run 6 days a week for most of this time and Friday has been a day that I have rested and let my body recover from the week.

While training last year for the California International Marathon, December 7, 2008, I alternated days off. Sometimes I would take Mondays off sometimes it was a Wednesday and sometimes it was Friday. As I start to train for this years Boston Marathon I am getting back to Friday being rest day.

Having Friday off also lets me rest for what is normally the most important run of the week - the Saturday long run. Every Saturday we do what we call a "long run." This run is the longest of the week and I believe this run is what really builds the endurance we need to have a good race in our goal marathon. For the California marathon several people in the group that I train with did a 20+ mile run almost every weekend thoughout the summer and into the fall. I personally had about 23 runs over 20 miles. This I believe is a key to the training that we are doing. I have talked to several people in the group training for Boston and the consensus seems to be that we continue this strategy. This is all to say, tomorrow is a 20 miler and today I rest.

Look at the ceiling but don't think

2009-01-14T09:42:00.003-06:00

The alarm goes off. I reach over and hit snooze. The alarm goes off again. With eyes still closed, I turn off alarm. I open my eyes and look at the ceiling. Our ceiling reveals time and temperature. We have this projection alarm clock in our room and as my eyes open the time and temperature hover over me in big red numerals. This morning the ceiling revealed 4:30am and the temperature was 29 degrees.

The very first thought that usually pops into my head is, "F it, I am not getting up."

I say to myself, don't think, don't think, don't think.

I kiss Kate and roll off the bed to my feet. Angel, our Labrador, always gets up with me. I take her outside so she can "tee tee." And as long as I am out there I tee tee too (great to be a guy). We come back in the warmth of the house and I have a cup of coffee. Angel helps me in the kitchen as I make myself whatever small breakfast I am eating before my run.

The first cup of coffee gets my thinking in order and I put on my running apperal. I'm out the door by 5am and off to meet the other brave runners.

We meet wherever the run is starting from and the run begins.

The run is over and I am ALWAYS glad I've been up and got a good run in.

So here is my point. DON'T THINK!!!

That is my strategy for early morning runs. My head almost always tells me don't go and I am always glad I did. So, I ignore the voice in my head and after a few years of early morning runs it still remains. And I will keep ignoring it. I will keep my morning mantra of "don't think, don't think, don't think."

This morning: 10 miles with friends and good conversation. It's a great day!

I Think I'll Go To Boston (hummed to Augustana - Boston)

2009-01-13T15:05:00.003-06:00

Dear Ken:

Your entry for the 113th Boston Marathon has been received, and your credit card has been authorized for payment in the amount of US $116.00. You may notice a pre-authorization draft on your credit card statement. This authorization will be removed in approximately three business days. The actual charge will not appear on your credit card until your entry has been verified and accepted. This process can take four to five weeks depending on how quickly we receive the official results from your qualifying marathon. Please make note of your Submission ID #: Little Farmer Boy.

You will be notified of your acceptance by email and first class mail. Your notification of acceptance will be sent as soon as we verify your official results from your qualifying marathon. When you are accepted, your name will be posted in the Boston Marathon section of the B.A.A. website, www.baa.org, under "Entrants."

Please contact the B.A.A. registration office at 508-435-6905 (or send an email to registration@baa.org) with any questions regarding your entry.

We look forward to your participation on race day!

Boston Athletic Association

Easy Run

2009-01-13T10:09:00.002-06:00

It was a beautiful morning here in Austin. The temperature was in the mid 40s with clear skies. Although it was hard to drag myself out of bed when the alarm went off at 4:30, I am always glad when I finish the run.

Team Rogue met at the store with people doing different distances I was off with Mike and Jason for an easy 8 miles. The run was just the right distance after the 50K on Saturday. My legs are not sore anymore but my body does feel a bit tired. The 8 miles is just enough to feel like I have done a run but not long enough to really feel like I had to put too much effort into it. I am not going to let my body rest this week keeping my mileage down a little. I want to be rested for the Saturday long run which will be no shorter than 20 and no longer than 24 miles. We are running a lot of the Austin Marathon course so I look forward to that.

My First Ultra Marathon - Bandera 50K

2009-01-12T10:08:00.005-06:00

In preparation for my first 50K, the Saturday morning the alarm was set for 3am. The plan was to meet the caravan of people going down to the race in Bandera (about 2.5 hours drive from Austin) and be driving at 4am. I woke up every several hours the night before and by 2am I was wide awake. I laid in bed thinking about the day for about 45 minutes and then decided to just get up and get some coffee and breakfast in me.

A quick breakfast and coffee then off to Mike's place. The group got stuff loaded in the respective vehicles and off we went. We arrived in Bandera in plenty of time and had about an hour to get our race stuff on and decide what exactly to wear. It was about 45 degrees with a strong wind. In the wind it was very chilly and the weather report was for the temperature to continue to drop throughout the day.

At 7:30am I lined up at the start with Mike and Meredith. We started and the first hill came pretty quick. My initial plan was to run with Mike and/or Meredith for a bit. But knowing they are both stronger on the hills than me I did not want to push too hard at the beginning and end up suffering at the end. They both pulled away from me pretty easy over the first few hills and I decided at that point to just run my own race. I would run/walk really slow on the hills, cruise nice and easy on the down hills, and stretch it out on the flats.

It is important to note here that last year when I ran a trail marathon on Mt Hood in Oregon (Timberline) I pushed way too hard and it killed my training for 5 or 6 weeks (that long to recover). I did not want to repeat that again running the 50K.

As I saw Mike and Meredith pulling away I kind of relaxed and just ran along enjoying the views and scenery of the Texas hill country. The miles clicked off and I was feeling really good.

My nutrition plan was to alternate between eating a gel and 1/2 of a secret race cookie every 30 minutes. Along with that I had a Camel Back on and was drinking every chance I got. In addition the the food and water I was also taking 2 electrolyte tabs every hour to replace what I was losing. This nutrition play worked really well for me. At no time did I feel like I was bonking and my thinking was pretty clear for the whole time. I didn't feel like I was having a blood sugar crash or dehydrated at any time during the 5.5 hours I was on the course.

At mile 20 I thought wow this is going pretty well. I knew I was not running too fast and the nutrition was working well. My legs felt pretty good and I thought to my self, "just click off another 6 mile and that is a marathon." I have been to the marathon distance many times and I'm not intimidated by that at all. So I thought just run a marathon and then I will just have another 5 miles to go. And 5 miles is just a walk in the park.

The miles kept going by, 21, 22, 23, and at 24 miles I thought wow 2 more and I am at the marathon distance. I was feeling tired but really not too bad at this point. There was an aid station at about mile 21. At that aid station I had a drop bag. I got a few things out of the bag, put my light jacket in the bag, went over to fill my Camel Back and out of the aid station. The aid station was a tent with both ends open. I was a bit confused as to which side to leave but after I got my water I looked out one end and saw the course continuing. So, I ran out following the flags that marked the course. I ran and watched the mile click by. At one point I saw a sign that said 1/2 mile to go. I looked down at my watch and saw that I was only at about mile 25 or so. I rounded a corner and saw Paul T he looked at me and said "wow, you are doing great." I though that was a pretty enthusiastic response for the slow pace I was running. I turned another corner and saw the finish line. I thought, Oh Shit. I must have missed a turn. There was another guy running with me at that point and he was in the same situation. His Garmin said about the same as mine (25 to 26 miles, the Garmins are not exact on the trails they just give u an estimate)but nevertheless we were both short on miles. The volunteers got the race director over, Joe P, and he figured out where we both took a wrong turn. We missed what is called the Inner Loop. It is about a 5 +/- mile loop. I did not want to DNF (did not finish) the race so me and this other guy, who had made the same mistake, asked if we could just run back out and do that loop and come back in to finish. Joe was very nice to let us do that. He even suggested that we get a ride back out to the aid station (it was right off a dirt road), go out do the loop, and then catch a ride back to the finish line and cross the finishing mat. This way we were not doing a bunch of extra miles and we will have run the entire 50K (31 miles) and not missed any of the course. We agreed and went back out to run our remaining miles. It was a little bit of a weird way to do my first ultra marathon and my time will not make any sense when the results come out, but I finished and according to my watch I was at 5 hours and 38 minutes. Wow, that is a long long long time to be running. But in the end I loved every minutes of it.

Five and a half hours is a long time to be on your feet and running over trails. But I can't wait to do another.

OU Number 1

2009-01-09T10:05:00.004-06:00

All you OU fans don't let the small details like LOSING THE GAME get in the way of your number one ranking. I mean OU has played the best in the country over the last five or six weeks, they have scored more points than any other team in the history of the NCAA. OU has the Heisman trophy winning quarterback and an outstanding defense that has crushed lesser opponents. The score on the field last night was just a snap shot of their season. We should not put ALL our BCS ranking considerations on just one game, win or lose.

Florida is a good team lets give them that but OU just has been playing soooooo well over the final part of the season there is no way we discount that. So, here in Austin we understand Florida's frustration when they just want to fall back on the argument "we won on the field." I know this could seem like it's a pretty good argument but let's not let this detail get in the way of how we determine the number one team in the nation.

Or maybe not! F--- OU! Go Horns! Fing Co--Sucking BCS Moth--Fers!

And that's how I feel about that.

500 Plus Calorie Salad!!!! MMmmmmm

2009-01-08T09:46:00.002-06:00

1 whole tomato 25 calories
1 whole cucumber 45 calories
1 whole apple 60 calories
3 cups romain 30 calories
1 oz gorgonzola 100 calories
8 oz shrimp 160 calories
dressing 100 calories

Total 520 calories

Last nights dinner.

Easy 10 from the Springs

2009-01-07T09:45:00.002-06:00

I met Bruce, Mike, and Kamran for an easy 10 miles this morning. The weather was chilly but it was ok once we started moving. I am looking forward to running the Bandera 50K this weekend but I vow to use it only as a training run. That is to say I don't care who is faster than me!!!! I really need to stick to this plan because I don't want to spend the next 2 or 3 weeks in recovery mode.

I am also logging my meals again and just after a few days I already feel better. It's weird when I log my food I seem to do much better with my nutrition. It's not a forever thing but for now I don't mind doing it.

Hello

2008-12-31T07:57:00.002-06:00

The recovery from California is about over and I am begining to ramp back up on my mileage. Last week was a 60 mile week and as my miles go up I am feeling better.

I hate all the food on the holidays. I know some might say "you don't have to eat like a pig." But that would be assuming I have some discipline. NOT!

I did a 4.5 hour trail run on Sun to prepare for my first ultra race. Many of the crew are traveling to Bandera to run next weekend. Some are doing the 25K and a few of us (Mike, Meredith, Me) are doing the 50K. We even have Jason L who is doing the 100K. Ouch. I have run 30 miles on two occasions but never on the trail. This will be a new experience for me.

ZZZZZZzzzzzZZZZZZ MMMMmmmmmMMMM

2008-12-09T12:34:00.002-06:00

First morning in Half Moon Bay

2008-12-09T12:27:00.004-06:00