Featured on the Lupus Foundation of America's blog

I almost forgot to mention that I was featured on the Lupus Foundation of America's blog. You can check out the article here. Don't forget that I'm doing this for a reason. If you haven't donated yet, donate now! If you've already donated, go out there and ask someone else to donate!

Carrollton Marathon Report 2008

I couldn't be happier with how things went on Sunday. It really did help bolster my confidence that this whole 100 mile thing is possible. While I don't know if it was a good idea, I thought I would test out this sleep deprivation thing by watching TV until midnight before waking up around 4:00 AM to make it to Carrollton for the 5:00 AM early bird start time. Since the race consists of 8 1/2 loops, I positioned a cooler full of iced down Gatorade, energy bars, and a couple coffee/energy drinks next to a tree by the start. I spent the first 10 miles or so running with a couple ultramaratoners and a well-traveled marathoner. As one of them had run Haliburtan Forest in the past, it was great to get a first hand report of the race. On the downside, apparently Haliburtan is a pretty tough course. On the upside, it is apparently a very well managed event.

As the sun rose, it began to warm up and I was glad that I did the early bird start this year. It didn't get as bad as last year and I think the Eunduralyte tablets that I have switched to are superior to the Thermotabs I took last year. Or maybe I'm just in better shape this time around. In either case, the run was pleasantly uneventful. Since I knew I was planning on doing 40 miles, I tried to keep a relatively slow pace. I took electrolyte tablets every hour for the first 25 miles or so and then every half an hour after that. I sipped Gatorade regularly from a hand bottle, at a bite of energy bar every 3-6 miles, and drank a 16 ounce Rockstar Coffee Mocha energy drink at 26.2 miles (no Starbucks Doubleshots at the gas station that morning :( ). My fame preceded me and one person asked me if I was the guy in the marathon poster.

With all that I cruised across the finish line for the marathon around 4:15--much faster than last year. It was great to hear Elliott screaming "Daddy!" from Holli's arms just across the finish line. They hurried over from home to see me finish!

After taking a break for about 20 minutes to snap some photos, have a rest, and spend some time with the family, I asked the race managers if they minded if I stayed on the course for a bit more of a run. In retrospect, I should have been more specific as I'm not sure they realized I was planning on running another 14 miles. I relied on my own stash of Gatorade as it didn't seem fair for me to use more than my fair share of race resources. Several times people asked me if it was my final lap. Sometimes I explained I was going a bit farther and sometimes I just nodded my head.

Final time for 40 miles (excluding my 20 minute break) was 6:30 for an average pace of 9:50. Shockingly, that is actually faster than my average pace on the last two months--even including my short runs. Maybe my training plan is working out.

I moved a little slow the rest of the day and took the elevator at work on Monday. On Tuesday, my quads felt a little tight so I tried a rolling pin (yes, as in baking supplies) on them that night and that worked wonders after about 15 minutes. I spent about an hour and 40 minutes on a stepper this afternoon and feel 100%. The fact that I have recovered so quickly has me feeling really optimistic. Unfortunately, registration for the 100k I was planning to run next weekend is closed. I figure I'll still put in at least one more long run of 50 or 60 miles and then call it time to taper. Less than 40 days to race time!

New shoes!

I had a meeting in Bay City yesterday, so I stopped on my way home and picked up a new pair of running shoes at the local running store. After going through three pairs of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7 shoes I decided to go wild and bought a pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 8. Crazy, eh? The desire to try something new always flairs up amongst the racks of pretty new running shoes, but I haven't had any knee problems with these shoes so I'm not going to switch now. I do like the new colors though.

On the subject of shoes, I highly recommend the Crocs Scutes for after a run. Nice squishy insole and openness to let tired feet breath. Elliott gave me some for Father's Day and they even say "Dad" in jibbitz. Don't know what a jibbitz is? They are the little decorations on Crocs (I had to look it up too).

Good week, bad week

My once a week blogging schedule has fallen a bit to the wayside. Unfortunately, my running has similarly been irregular. Two weeks ago was one of my best weeks to date. I put in a total of 70 miles that week with a long run of 35 miles. I couldn't quite stick to my plan of waking up at 4:00 AM for my long run, but I was out the door at 5:00 AM and did enjoy another sunrise on the road. The weather warmed up quickly so I stopped at a gas station for a Starbucks Doubleshot, a small bag of potato chips, and a Gatorade refill. I believe that, over my 6 and a half hour run, I consumed about 100 ounces of Gatorade, 2 Doubleshots, most of a small bag of regular potato chips, and 2 energy bars. The run was pleasantly uneventful with no blisters, pulls, strains, or inflammation and I felt pretty well recovered the next day, although I was mentally a bit burned out on running.

Unfortunately, that mental burnout, a busy schedule, and some interstate travel left me with less than 30 miles on the books last week. I guess I'll just chalk it up to a recovery week. Next weekend is the Carrolton Marathon, which I'm thinking about adding 14 miles onto so that I can get a good 40 mile training run in. No excuses this week!

<60 days to 100 miles

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who has donated so far! We've just started and, as of this posting, we already have raised $1,170! That's great!

Training has been going pretty well. Feeling inspired by officially starting the fundraising, I pulled myself out of bed at 5:00 AM and ran 30 miles. The weather was pleasantly cool and it was one of the best runs that I have had in a long time. While I don't tend to think of myself as a morning person, it was worth it to watch the sun rise. This topped off a 55 mile week that I feel pretty solid about.

I was on schedule until last weekend when travel prevented me from getting my long run in over the weekend. Still, I had this strange 11 mile run on Thursday that had me doing about 6 miles at 7:00 to 7:30 minute miles (with one breaks in between). That isn't bad for someone who tends to average 9-10 minute miles. It was just one of those runs when it felt good to go fast. I should note that I wasn't pushing the ole' jogging stroller so that may have made a difference too. In the end, I only put in 30 miles last week. I'll just chalk it up to a recovery week and look forward to shooting for a 35 mile long run this weekend. I might try and drag myself out of bed at 4:00 Am to help prepare for the sleep deprivation of the race.

On a side note, be sure to check out the blog of Yassine Diboun, my fellow fundraising ultrarunner. He's also running a 100 miler this year and has done some great fundraising for the Lupus Foundation. By the way he cruised through a recent 50 miler, he is more than ready for his race. I'll be happy to just finish mine. :)