I'm retired from racing. Really.

Lunch- easy 3.5 mile day

Lunch- 3 with strides.  Leave tomorrow for Woodstock, VA.  Barry is coming along to be my solo crew and pacer.  Next entry will be my race report from the Old Dominion 100.

Drove 7 hrs to Woodstock, VA with Barry, went to pre-race briefing, talked to some people, then ran 1.5 easy.

"I went to the well, and the well was dry." 

-Scott Jurek, after 2009 Western States 100 DNF at mile 48

Old Dominion 100 report: DNF at mile 75, 13:15

UPDATE:  Full race report has been posted. 

I'll do a full write up on my blogger later, but I'll just put an update here for anyone wondering my result.  Short version is I generally felt good through mile 57, running exactly on my 17:10 schedule and in 4th place, then crashed hard.  A planned 80 min section took 110 min.  Nothing wrong like blisters, puking, hydration, blown quads, etc.  Just felt no energy, tapped dry.  Limped into mile 65 aid station where Barry covered me in ice for 20 min to get me moving again.  Had about 30 min of rebirth, then crashed again even harder.  Reached mile 75 over 80 min behind schedule and fading, somehow still around 6-8th place.  After an hour of sitting, I stopped my watch and pulled out of the race.

Like I often say, "Go big or go home."  I had tried to go big and just didn't have it today.  I probably could have walked though the final 25 in 7-8 hrs or so, giving me a 20+ hr finish, but that didn't really interest me.  I had shown up to compete all or nothing.  But my body was tapped dry, so I DNF'ed.  Barry went and had a blast running Sherman's gap without me, and I got a ride to our car at mile 86 where I spent several hours talking to crews and runners (and generally feeling pretty good).  

I'm sure some people will question not continuing, especially since a top 10, sub-24 hr finish was still likely.  But I weighed what I wanted, and acted accordingly.  I was there to compete, not to finish.  Unlike past ultras where I had multiple projected finish times prepared for my crew, this year I prepared only one, and went all in.  I missed, and bailed.  Cody and Paul, you'll understand what I mean when I say there was no "Oh Crap Slow" goal today...

A few stats: 50 miles in 7:53, 56 miles in 8:49 (9:26 avg).  Next 18.6 miles in 4:25 (14:17 avg pace).  Finished with 75 miles and 8300 gain/8600 loss in 13:15.

Big congrats to Neal Gorman, with a 16:16 win, and podium finishers Karsten Brown and Eric Grossman. 

No running at all this week.  Just recover from my race.  Marci and I are taking a trip to NYC (sans children, except Jr in her belly) from Wed-Sun, and I promised her I wouldn't even bring clothes to work out.  Should be a nice vacation.

Lunch- first day back running.  Had a great 5 day trip in NYC with Marci- lots of fun.  The Broadway show Wicked was the best.

Caught a bit of the sniffles and am warn down.  Still did easy 6 miles, plus some cross training afterwards.  Might do a race report soon. 

Lunch- My race recovery, combined with a ton of walking in NYC and not much sleep, have left me with a nasty cold.  I feel good in the mornings and during my runs, but tired all afternoon/evening.  7 miles running today, with 3 miles xt after.  Hopefully I start feeling better again- I'm anxious to ramp up my mileage and really get training for UROC.

Lunch- 7.5 with Aaron and Todd, then some xt.  Starting to feel better- I may actually do a decent long run tomorrow...

AM- 8.5.  Back on the horse, lots of mileage and doubles.

Lunch- 10 more with the guys.  Well, 7 with the guys, then 3 lonely miles.  94 deg and humid- the wonderful summers in SC.   

AM- 8.5 ez.

Lunch- no run.  Instead participated in obstacle course.  Our coed team set the fastest time overall!  (I heard a later male team beat us by 2 sec)  Won $25 gas cards.  1 mile.

PM- Barry hurt his back, so I was all alone at Paris Mtn.  First time there in a month, I think.  Very hot and humid- mid 90's.  I did a bit of a workout, running 1.18 miles hard up the Kanuga hill (600 ft climb, 140 drop = 460 net uphill) in 11:17, then semi-hard down in 9:00, then again hard up in 10:59.  Very tired and thirsty after the workout, and I still have 4 miles to go.  Finished with 12.5 miles in 1:54 with 2300 ft climb.  Hot, tired, and happy.

 Watched some thunderstorms on the drive home.  Greenville and the South have awesome storms- at least 3 per week that are as bad as any I have ever seen in Denver.  Grabbed dinner at Wendy's and had to wait 8 min- that was annoying.  And since when does a meal cost $8+ at Wendy's???  I've got a few words for Bernanke and his "low inflation", except this is a family friendly website... 

AM- 6 ez run by myself, then 2 xt.  Felt predictably sore and exhausted.

Lunch- 8 even with the guys.  Still tired, but a bit better.  It's been 6 weeks of med-low mileage (other than the race), so my body is complaining about the mileage jump.  I'll get used to it.  

Going to see a podiatrist tomorrow about one of my big toes.  Want to get the toenail fixed, but hopefully nothing that requires no running. 

AM- 7.5 easy.

No surgery today.  But I scheduled to have my big toenail removed July 18.  Doc said he recommends no running for 2 days after, then as limited by pain after that.

Insert joke here: You know you're an ultra runner when you choose to have your big toenail removed.  Voluntarily.

Lunch- ran to the lake, then we did 4 tempo laps (.85 miles each).  I ran with Jim the whole time, averaging about 4:50 laps (~5:40 pace).  90 deg and humid, but didn't feel as hot as Monday.  8 miles total in 58 min.

AM- Adventure run today- 90 min drive to run the most remote section of Foothills Trail, the last portion of Laurel Valley.  Generally enjoyed myself.  Felt good considering the mileage on my legs this week.  The run didn't seem extremely hilly, but Garmin Connect put the total at 6000 ft climbing even (Sportracks said 8000, Training Center said 14000).  But the overall altitude was only 1100 to 2200, so no huge climbs.  Just steep stairs, on and on- it adds up.  Started at Bad Creek, ran .63 miles to FHT, then ran backwards all the way to Bear Gap (10.75 miles on watch, 10.1 on FHT).  Only saw 2 groups of people the whole time, one of which lent me a filter to get more water- I ran out due to very high humidity/heat.  22 miles in 4:17- rather slow.  But very technical in spots and hilly.

I'll throw up a few pictures after 2 notes to remember.  First, there are some huge spiders that make nasty, nasty, super sticky and thick webs.  Ugh.  After running face-first into my third, I started carrying a stick in front of me.  Second, I had some kind of red, biting bug swarm follow me.  I can only describe them as some kind of Spawn of Satan- they are terrible.  But they forced me to go faster, no matter how tired I was or how steep the trail- every time I slowed to a walk, they swarmed all over my face, biting me.  Beyond annoying.  Finished by meeting the family at a local farm to pick blueberries and blackberries for 2 hours.  Now watching Western States online.

Humid day when you can't see the trees on the drive there...

Yes, it is worth 90 min drive to run on this glory

You try running up these while being accosted by Spawn of Satan insects!!!  

Spider webs weren't quite this bad, but close...

Saw beautiful Hilliard Falls

Somebody hauled these stairs into the middle of nowhere.  Steep and long.

My Old Dominion 100 race report is finally posted.

Lunch- 12 with the guys on a very hot, humid day.  Some of the guys were even veering back and forth across the road just to find some shade.  Jim ran the last 30 min with me- it was nice to have company. 

AM- 7

Lunch- 10 with the guys under a hot, humid blanket.  At least that is how it felt. 

AM- BW.  Wanted 8-10 tempo.  Felt like crap during my 4 mile warmup (body is very tired and not sleeping enough), but the workout actually felt decent for a while.  By mile 5, though, I knew I would struggle to finish.  Took a break at 6.5 to get a drink since I seemed to be overexerting myself, but still finished ok.  Most I have ever sweat during a morning run- just dripping the whole time (that's what 90% humidity will do).  Finished with 14.5 miles in 1:40:34 including 8 tempo miles in 48:30 (all between 6:01-6:05).

Lunch- another warm, humid day.  And was reminded that 3 hrs is not long enough to recover from a BW.  Sluggish and tired the first 2-3 miles, then felt better.  Ran 8, then xt 4.  12 total.

I don't often do 26.5 miles in training.  Today reminded me why- cause it's dang tiring! 

AM- 7.  Legs are sore from mileage.

Lunch- 9 running on the trails behind GE, then 4 xt.  Leaving for a week in Missouri tomorrow at Marci's aunts/uncles, and just found out they don't even have internet.  I'm hoping they have electricity, but not sure... 

I think this is my highest ever Mon-Thur training mileage.  Not bad.  Shorter the rest of the week.  Next week will be a challenge to get in my mileage due to the busy vacation.  We'll find a way.