12 wins, 5 CR's, plus four 2nd, five 3rd, 4th, 4th, 5th, 5th, 9th, 16th, 20th, 28th, 38th, and 62nd place, with 1 DNF
Short-Term Running Goals:
Goals
Enjoy running, stay fit (and maybe lose a few pounds). Play ultimate frisbee.
4 year coach of Langston Middle School- love it
Long-Term Running Goals:
Unretire at some point
Run a sub-6 hr 50 miler
Win a 100 mile ultramarathon
Personal:
I have five cute kids. And I have some rockin short green racing shorts- I wear them mainly because it embarrasses my wife so much. I like ultimate frisbee, trail running, reading, and cheering for the Denver Broncos! And I have the absolute best wife in the world. And I used to run for the now-disbanded national Team Pearl Izumi- Ultra!
Lunch- apparently pushed myself too hard the past few week, leaving me with some niggles. And they don't seem too insignificant. I was debating if I should train through my Harbison 50k this weekend or give it a decent taper and race real hard. Looks like I'm forced into Option B. Did a lot of stretching, aided by the great guys at the PowerStation, plus some xt. Definitely not on top of the mileage board for the year so far!
Lunch- 6 xt and a ton of stretching. Legs are coming around such that I might run tomorrow.
Anyone in Iowa or anywhere else with a primary coming up- if you haven't seriously studied Ron Paul, please do so. I won't tell you to vote for him, but at least give him a few minutes of your time. Dr. Thomas Woods has a 2 minute summary here of why you should consider Ron Paul:
Lunch- 6 ez. Legs are feeling better, but now I've got a nasty cold from my kids. Thanks for sharing, guys.
Racing the Harbison 50k to start off the year on Saturday. Per their website, you can follow results live. Hopefully both my blog followers won't overwhelm the system...
Lunch- 3. Really feeling quite sick. That's two races in a row where I get sick a few days before. It's a bad sign when you plan to run 4 but cut it short at 3 due to sickness, but have a 50k the next day. Anyone think I shouldn't race tomorrow? As Marci said, it's "only a 50k."
Harbison 50k- DNS. I had everything packed Thur night and loaded early Fri evening. Was very hopeful I would start feeling better and be able to run. Then, I was up much of the night coughing. Woke up at 2 am and couldn't open my eyes due to yellow crap oozing out that sealed them shut, and could also tell my cough had moved down into my chest. Race wasn't happening.
Sitting here right now pretty pissed. I am competitive and don't like getting beat. But even worse than getting beat is not getting the chance to even try. I was very determined to do whatever it took to win the race (and that would have come with a nice pair of Salomon shoes), but now I'll never know. Between my little injury at the start of the week, my sickness at the end, and my DNS, this is a pretty crappy way to start my year.
Sorry- I'm just venting. I had a lot of time laying awake in bed between coughing fits for my emotions to build. I even had a dream I showed up 20 min late for the race and still ran, trying to win.
Now my 3 year old just came out and smiled at me and sat on my lap. At least I get more family time today. And I can follow Bandera 100k. I might try to find a race to go kill next weekend, though, so I won't be upset all month.
PM- 3 miles with Marci and all the kids (2 in stroller, 1 on bike). 70 deg out.
PM- sick, at home, but pushed the kids around on the bikes a bit in the evening. Just don't want to be sick anymore.
Put up a brief review from 2011 with some goals/races for 2012. Since you were asking, Cody.
Read some interesting reviews of our Liberties as Americans. America is a great country with great people. Unfortunately, Washington DC seems to be trying its best to change that and is succeeding at a horrifying rate, even if most people don't seem to know or care. We, the people, need to say No to DC infringing on our natural and Constitutional rights. The picture below is sad but true, effective Dec 31, 2011, thanks to NDAA becoming law.
PM- Finally back running a bit. 6 very slow. Felt predictably crappy, and Ken and Michael commented afterwards that I looked paler than normal. But at least I'm moving again.
Lunch- my first run with the guys in a while. 8.5 outside, then 1 ez with my new Altra Instincts. I'm going to build into them very slowly. Just my one mile today left my lower legs sore. Still sick and coughing a ton.
AM- 12 miles with my new Test Shoes. Working from home today per boss's instructions, till I can stop hacking up my lungs and maybe getting my poor co-workers sick.
AM- considered a trail run, but body wanted to keep recovering and sleep in instead. Finally got up, ate breakfast with my girls, then went for a run just as the OT marathon was starting. Finished 2:37 later after 21 miles and 1350 ft climbing. Felt good the whole time- I think I've finally kicked the cold (other than some stuffiness and a nasty cough, which I'm sure I'll have for weeks). 6.5 miles the first 3 days this week, 42.5 the last 3 days. Should be back to regular mileage next week. Now I'm spending the rest of the day playing with my kids, watching the marathon on NBC, then watching to NFL playoff games (go Broncos!)
With the primary coming up in South Carolina, there's lots of political discussion. Here's an article by a Baptist pastor on why he will vote for Ron Paul.
Last week I put an item about the new NDAA law that allows the US military to indefinitely detain anyone, even American citizens, without charge. By human nature, most people may say they are not terrorists, so don't have to worry. It doesn't matter- the government does what it wants regardless of your innocence. Just ask an innocent German who wrote his account in the NY Times. I'm afraid this will become a common occurrence, but this time to American citizens. They can even choose to kill you without accusing you or trying you in a court of law. There are no Constitutional protections any more. Call me an alarmist if you want, but better warned than ignorant.
Lunch- 10 more. 38 deg with intermittent rain, sometimes hard. Brr. Glad I had a good group of guys to run with- bad weather is much better with something to distract you from cold hands and chafed nipples.
AM- planned to do a BW, but felt like crap and only did a minute hard. Slogged through 12 miles.
Lunch- 7
I've been neglecting myself a bit- not enough sleep and not eating enough (such as still being hungry right when I finish my lunch). So, I ate a ton today. And plan to sleep tonight. Hopefully I start feeling more recovered, which would be especially useful for my race next Saturday.
AM- 18.5 mile trail run with Justin that took about 4 hrs. Yup, that kind of trail. Ran the course for the Jones Gap 15k in March. Trail is very technical and extremely steep for much of it. We also added on a bunch of random trails at the top of the mountain. Miles 4 and 5 were a combined 2000 ft climbing in 42 minutes- sweet. Finished with 4500 ft climbing total. Glad I know the course for the race, now. Justin even humored me by adding on 2 miles at the end of the run just so I'd hit the century mark for the week. The run was fun, challenging, and picturesque. I should have taken my camera- we saw two of the most photographed waterfalls in SC- Falls Creek Falls and Rainbow Falls.
Marci and the kids have been out of town since Thur, so I've been staying busy and not at home. Today, for example, I was home for less than 30 min out of an almost 16 hour period!
Lunch- 6 ez. Planned on 16 today but woke up feeling sick-ish, so slept more and just did 1 easy run. The nice part of taper week is I can be flexible with my runs. Excited for my 40 mile race this weekend- feeling in shape, just don't want to be sick.
Signed up for The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 San Francisco in December, the most competitive 50 mile ultra in the US. Very excited to compete on a big stage again this year. Still a long ways away with many miles and races before then, though.
