ResPass 100M - Fasted Running in Practice

 

• 2 aid stations. Mile 42 and mile 68.5
• Race start time: 3pm
• Fasted except for a cookie at noon
• Salami and cheese packs 
• Carried: 2 each between aid stations
• Used: 2.5 total race
•  Tailwind
• Carried: 4 packs / had replacement packs at aid stations
• Used: 1 pack and 3 pre-mixed bottles total race
• Post race meal
• Subway sandwich 
• cookie

I want to document my 100 mile trail race with respect to how I would perform, or survive the run, given a year of intermittent fasting. For most of my life, I have trained by running at the noon hour and would not eat until after my run. I did that, accidental fasted running, because it came natural for me. I wasn't extremely consistent throughout as I tried different "diets" in an attempt to improve my weight and lower my body fat. As with a lot of running related things, I haven't really studied (i.e., researched) diets and the effects of fasting or what I ate, and how those factors attributed to my health. I've worked more on that as I'm getting older and want to stay healthy; not just running health. 

The ResPass 100 mile race is a fairly remote, medium technical, mostly single track trail with about 10,500 feet of gain. Black and brown bears are a real threat as they roam these areas, eating fish and berries, and hopefully not humans. By this time of year, bears aren't in their super hungry state and are less likely to bother runners. The weather during this race changes on a dime. In past races, we've started out in pouring rain and ended up in the heat; we've started out in the heat, had rain through the night, then heat again the next day. The race does start at 3pm which adds to the difficulty of logistics, the sleep depravation issue, and how & when to eat. The reason for the late start is to allow the race directors (RDs) to hold the 100 miler and 50 miler (6am Saturday start) and serve both groups. This aspect of the race, having the 50 mile runners intermix with the 100 mile runners late in the race, is very enjoyable to me. I would prefer to start at 6am on Friday but I understand how the timing helps the RDs. This is a free 100 miler so ANYTHING the RDs can do for us is awesome! 

In preparation for the race, I would rely on my high mileage over the previous 15 months. For the months between May 2020 and Apr 2021, I averaged 320 miles a month. Most of these miles were either on the road and/or in the snow (hard packed), and almost no trails. I mention this as I am not very fond of trial running. To some from my past, runners in WA and OR, this seems to contradict the racing I did for about half of my ultra running career. I ran a lot of trail ultras from 1998-2011. That said, I really prefer the road. In fact, I never ran on a trail until I started ultra running; about 25 years into my running "career." My mileage for May 2021 - July 2021, which included this race, I averaged 410 miles a month. I did run a 24 hour race in June and accumulated 104 miles. Then I ran a double-marathon (Hatcher Pass) on July 10th. This gave me high confidence of being able to cover the distance. The one thing for me to factor in was the fact that I don't train on trails. I did likely fewer than 100 miles total for the year which doesn't bode well for my body's adaptation to trial running; especially on this technical trail. In 2012 I did no trail running to speak of and came out of this race having a torn glute muscle; my worst running injury ever that kept me out of running for 8 weeks. Not wanting to repeat that, I would be cautious of lifting my feet over roots and falling versus trying to catch myself when I would trip. And I would walk if I felt too much back or hip pain. So this is the, "do as I say not as I do," part of the post. I recommend to newer ultra runners that they train with specificity. That is, train on the surface and if possible, the weather conditions that you will be racing in. I would never recommend to newer ultra runner running this race on "road runner legs." That's just crazy talk. 

I had Shawn walk through my plan for the race and the logistics with regard to what I would put in my bags. I had decided to go with my Solomon 8 pack from the start so that I could carry food, Tailwind packets, a headlamp, rain jacket, etc. I also wanted to go lighter from the 2nd aid station at Devil's Pass Trail Head (TH) to the finish and put my smaller Solomon 5 in that drop bag. 

I also used a gallon zip lock bag to separate my replacement fuel, hand warmers, etc., in each of my drop bags so that I wouldn't have to think much about what to grab when coming in to each aid station. 

An addition to my first bag was a headlamp that my son bought me for Christmas last year. It is super bright which would be helpful leaving Cooper Landing. It would be dark leaving there and the canopy of trees make it even darker. I wanted to avoid the tripping and slow running caused by my fear and distaste for running in the dark. Also, with regard to eating day of race, I decided to not eat. I would have a cookie (guilty pleasure) at noon just to have some calories in my tummy to burn, though it was likely unnecessary. 

With that set up, the race started in good weather; 60F and a bit humid but no rain. This year, as with last year, the race started with a 2 mile out, 2 mile back from the Hope TH, on the road leading to the TH. The start was mellow with 19 racers nervously chatting on the easy 4 miles of gravel road. Into the parking lot at the TH we were met with cheers from family and friends. Now it was over the bridge and into the woods where the race would be played out. I was in the lead pack that included Laura McDonough, Sue and Teri Buck closely followed by Krystal.

 Still chatty we ran and discussed the return trip with Sue who is from Vermont. A few miles later Teri and I started to pull away from the others. I expected to see Krystal at any time and soon we were being passed by Nobile G., the youngest runner of the race at 17. Teri and I continued to pull away, not really intending to do so. The pace felt comfortable to me so I just went with it. What I didn't want to do was to go out hard and pay for it early. at about mile 12 I could see Nobile ahead and picked up the pace a bit. He stopped to eat and I passed on by, now alone for the duration. 

I had started with a handheld bottle with water and Tailwind. That was emptied soon and I refilled at a stream. This course has so much water that I've never found it necessary to carry more than one bottle. This compared to Cascade Crest 100M that has 19 aid stations and where I've carried 2 water bottles ~ dry course. I also don't filter as my immune system seems to do just fine against giardia. I do try to be smart about where I get my water. 

Before I knew it, I was at the ResPass sign. That's 19 miles from Hope TH so 23 miles into the race. I didn't stop there as I was looking forward to seeing Mike Fisher at the trail junction a few miles later. Mike Buck was coming the other way on his bike right before I hit the junction. It's always nice to see others out on the lonely trail. Mike Fisher had put up signage and directions for both races to keep us from getting lost. He wasn't at "his post" as I ran by but I soon saw him filling up water jugs at a river crossing down the trail. 

As I got on to the trail that heads to the Sterling Highway in Cooper Landing, I focused on my footing. This was also the point where I started getting a headache. At first I thought maybe it was the lack of calories but I soon put that out of my mind as I had plenty of energy. I did eat a GU as I was at the marathon mark. I stopped briefly to remove my hat (head swelling) and put my bear bell in my pack, wrapped in my mittens, in hopes that the quiet would make my head feel better. Again, at this point the trail gets a bit rocky and I concentrated on my footing. Since I hadn't run this race in 4 years, my memory was a little fuzzy on whether there was water on this trail. I didn't think there was but there are a few river crossings that I was able to dip in on the way down, and of course on the way back up. Most of the run down was pleasant. The trail was much improved and even the trail around Juneau lake was moved up so as not to be right on the shoreline. At times I picked up the pace and just focused on running comfortably and not walking. It started to get dark, mostly from the canopy of trees, as I approached the highway. I could hear the vehicles from the highway about 3 miles out. It's a good sound! As it turned out, I was able to run all the way to the aid station (about mile 42) before dawning my headlamp. 

I left that aid station and tried to push as much as I could on the return trip from Cooper Landing while I still had some light. I tend to slow down too much in the dark. It was a clear night so the views were awesome and the moon was shining. The other thing I was looking forward to on this section was seeing other runners. I enjoy that especially at night. Soon I had gone by all other racers and was heading to the top of the trail. As I was cresting the top I could see fog and that the wind was blowing rather hard. I still had on my short sleeve shirt and knew I'd have to find some protection from the wind in order to put on some warm clothes. I was a bit nervous with the cold but there was a clump of trees just ahead where I would change shirts and add my jacket; then swap out my ball cap for my skull cap. I was hoping that it would only be the couple of miles to the Devil's Pass trail that would be windy. I scurried through to the DP trail and was happily out of the wind. I started to slow in this section which was annoying because it's down hill. I wasn't low on energy; the lack of trail running hit me more than anything as the footing wasn't even. "You're not on the road anymore tc!" I made it to the 2nd aid station a lot later than I was hoping to so I made hasted of getting in and out of there. I finished the rest of my original food by the second aid station (mile 68.5). There I grabbed my smaller pack (Solomon 5) which had another portion of salami and cheese. 

I moved out of there quickly as I was getting cold. In my pack I had a dry short sleeve shirt I would change into as the day warmed up. I moved slowly back up the Devil's Pass trail and was happy again to see Lara, Teri, and Laura heading my way. There was a long gap and as I was heading through some thick brush I was taken aback by a noise. There had been plenty of bear activity during the night and evidence in the way of bear scat on the trail, so that gave me pause about the noise. It turned out to be the lead 50 mile runner blasting down the trail. Not too long after the first female (Meg) came flying by. Eventually I came out of the trail and onto the main ResPass trail (79 miles) where it was very sunny; not at all windy like I had imagined. I soon got too warm and stopped to put my dry short sleeve shirt on and pack up my long sleeve shirt and rain jacket. It was at this time that Lara passed by me. I tried to hurry up and pack so that I could try and hang on to her pace. That didn't last very long as she was cruising and I was faltering. I gradually slowed down to a walk, having the same tight legs/back issues that I had at the dome. It was great weather so I didn't worry about my speed. Instead I just enjoyed long walk to the finish. Teri Buck caught up to me with about 5 miles to go and we hobbled into the finish together. It was nice to have her company again. 

I hung out at the finish line for about 6 hours cheering on 50 and 100 mile finisher then retired to my car for the night.  1 week until next race ~ woah! 

2021 Planned Races

Key

* GOING

! WILL CONSIDER IF THEY HAVE IT

x CANCELLED

- NOT REALLY LIKELY

Jan

*2nd - Tony and Shawn Anniversary run 

x 9th - Frosty Bottom - CANCELLED

x16th - Iditasport - CANCELLED

Feb

x13th - Susitna 50M FULL (100M CANCELLED)

Mar 

x13th - Pacific Rim 24 hour  CANCELLED
x20th - Dizzy Daze 12 hour  CANCELLED

Apr 

*10th - KrrBrrr 8hour (Shawn is race directing)
        x11th - Mt Si 50M CANCELLED - virtual only

May  (consider one of these) 

x8th - D3 - Questionable  CANCELLED - virtual 50K only
-20th - Pigtails 200M 
!22th - Natalie 100M 

Jun

        *19th - 24 hour Six Days in the Dome (Sat 24 hour)

-19th - Mayor's 26.2 - (ENTERED - carry forward) but not running in Milwaukee

Jul  

*10th - Hatcher Pass (ENTERED)

!31st - Archangel 26.2 

Aug 

- 7th - Yeti 100M - (ENTERED- carry forward) 
*22nd - United 49K  - (ENTERED- carry forward)

Sep 

!04 - Beach Lake 1 day 

Oct 

*9th - Canal 100M - Akron, OH (ENTERED)

2020 Running Numbers through October 31st

Through  the first10 months of this year I've run alone quite a bit. I was able to run a couple races early in the year and a couple over the summer. Here are my stats thus far. Some of these are real races, some are virtual races, and some are just long training runs: 

Marathons: 5

50Ks: 11 

Double marathons: 2  (these were point-to-point races where I ran to the start from the finish, then ran the race)

100Ks: 5 (2 on snow, 3 on roads)

Here are some monthly/weekly mile numbers for this year:

January - April: averaged 167 miles a month/40 miles a week

May - October: averaged 321 miles a month / 75 miles a week

In addition to all the miles, I've added 20-30 minutes a day of core and light weights work starting in the summer. 

November is a rest month for me and I have run 134 miles through mid-month. I anticipate doing some sled pulling over the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend and more over the Christmas and New Year's weekends with Shawn. 

COVID Running and the COVID-rubias Diet

WARNING: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME or without a real expert in this arena. I am not qualified as a dietitian nor do I advise that anyone follow my methods for losing weight. This is just a chronology of how my year has gone thus far. It may  not be obvious but I did NOT lose weight because of the miles I ran but rather because of the diet (fasting) I did. I've had lots of experience gaining weight with increased mileage. Just sayin'.   

NOTE: I do have a wife, Shawn, who does know a lot about proper diet and makes recommendations on what I should and should not eat. I sometimes listen. One should not make her one iota responsible for my bad habits but 100% responsible for the good ones.

DRUGS/VITAMINS: I take the following vitamins: My doctor recommended vitamin D for depression; Shawn started me on a daily multi-cap, a broad spectrum magnesium, and B12. For completeness, I have been taking Fluoxetine for over 20 years for depression and a daily regimen of Advair and Fluticasone (Flonase) for asthma for the past 3 years. 

WEIGHT: In my late 20s, I got up to a ridiculous 200lbs. I am about 5'8" with a small bone structure and my weight shows up in my back (back fat) and flabby chest (moobs). For the past 30 years my weight is about 150 lbs.; and in recent years going up to 154-158 lbs. during the Alaskan winters. The lowest my weight has been in recent history was about 140 lbs. This was after completing the 350 mile race from Willow to McGrath Alaska in 2013. That is definitely an outlier but you will see how that is notable by the end.  

* races that counted for Marathon Maniacs numbers

** not a real or virtual race but miles worth noting

2020 Be Like

00. Jan 1st - 23M in the snow ~ Knik, This was slow, taking me over 7 hours 

*01. Jan 11th - Frosty Bottom marathon + pre race run (47M [super cold run])

*02. Jan 18th - Iditasport 64M [super duper cold (like -40F) but fun run]

204.3 miles January/weight unknown

**03. Feb 2nd, ran 30M with group pulling sleds

**04. DNF mile 62M at Susitna 100M ~ stopped due to severe pain in my right side, below chest. I have had this pain off and on for 4 years (see Cascade Crest report here  8 races report)  ~ sonogram a year ago with my doctor showed no issues. 

174.4 miles February/weight unknown

--  No races. Job change and COVID-19 has me stressed/depressed. MRI on the liver area showed nothing, thankfully. My doctor recommended muscle relaxers for ultras ~ WHAT? No thanks! Frustrating and definitely made it difficult to get back on the running horse. Will pay more attention to winter hydration as this is the only thing I can attribute to the symptoms. 

73.5 miles March/weight unknown but muffin top seems to be an accurate description 

Stay home! But wait

One good thing that came out of COVID lock-down was the creation of virtual races. This was exactly the PUSH I needed to get back into things mentally. My end of March weigh-in was an unbelievable 164 lbs. This is the most I've weighed in 30 years. Note: "weigh-in" is my weight after my run for the day, before eating and with no clothes. This keeps the weigh-ins consistent. Shawn calls it cheater weight. I like it! Obviously, water retention/dehydration will affect weigh-ins but this gives me a good benchmark to start with and some measure (versus not weighing in at all) to see some progress. 

Off to the races, virtually

05. Apr 4th - Personal Peak Quarantine Backyard Ultra (33.5M~ way more than I thought I could run) massive cramping that evening

06. Apr 11th - KrrBrrr, I cheated and ran on the road (32M~ sore back so I stopped) 

07. Apr 18th - Bronze Dragonfly (26.2M) ~ I could only walk [back issue due to tight legs]

08. Apr 25th - 3AM Waterfalls 50K (31.1M) [very slow run at 6:12]

204.3 miles April ~ diet not really working. I determined that I needed to go from 2 meals down to 1 a day. weight = 160 lbs.

09. May 2nd - Treadmill Hero 26.2M (40M, 4:24 marathon plus 14 miles afterwards)  

10. May 9th - D3 (33M) ~ 21 trail miles (the trail miles hurt so I only ran 12 mile road afterwards) 

11. May 16th - Quarantine 50K (33.75M, 6:10) ~ decided to move from 12 hour to 50K 

**12. May 23rd - <no race> (26.2M, 4:24) ~ 13.1M trails on Sunday

13. May 30th - We Belong Virtual Series 50K (31.1M, 5:12)

300.2 miles May ~ 1 a day meals (fasting 23.5 hours a day) working as weight = 153 lbs. 

14. Jun 13th - Cinderalla - Virtual Run 50K (31.1M, 5:15) 

15. Jun 27th - Rise Up 12 hour (62.3M, 11:44) 

304.9 miles June ~ weight = 145.2 lbs. Also, getting serious about core. using roller for legs knots

*16. Jul 11th - Double HPM (53M) * real race Hatcher Pass Marathon, after running a marathon to the start 

 

Photo credit: Rob Deadmond

17. Jul 25th - QuaRUNtine 50K (31.1M) ~ 4:54, getting stronger/faster

305.4 miles July ~ weight = 142.5 lbs. Need to add 2nd meal back as I am sometimes running low on energy on my daily runs

*18. Aug 1st - Archangel marathon (3:44) [speed work] * real race (felt strong a week out of running a 50K)

*19. Aug 15th - Anchored marathon (3:46) [speed work] * real race. Also, reached 333 marathons/ultras for Marathon Maniacs (does not include virtual races per their rules)

321.0 miles August ~ weight = 138.9 lbs. Core and light weights helping. roller for knots in my quads

No more virtual races (well maybe)

**20. Sep 4th - 60M solo run (11:15) [10:15 moving pace] ~ no walking but I did sit between each 12 mile loop and stopped to pick up water that I planted at mile 6 of the loop. I had originally wanted to run 100M to make up for missing the ResPass 100M in August but I had no real interest in running in the dark. 

**21. Sep 19th - 50K solo run (4:54) ~ took it easy and still ran well

365 miles September ~ weight = 136.2 lbs. Continued to add core exercises. 

It's my party and I'll run if I want to! My 60th Birthday so 60 miles 

22. Oct 1st - 60M solo birthday run (10:02) / I signed up for the Carkeek 12 hour virtual to make sure I get in 60 miles. 

weight = 136 lbs. this week; down to 134 lbs. the following week (10/07) after a 4 day lay off while visiting AZ. Adding food (more protein) to lunch. 

Oct 21st update: Weight = 134.5 lbs.  I'm hoping for good results of my blood tests. Also took the flu shot and scheduled my colonoscopy.

What now? 

I have no race plans for the rest of the year and a big part of me feels like this is "wasted" build up of miles. That said, mentally I'm stoked that I averaged 70 miles per week (MPW) for 3 months, then up to 80mpw in August, and 90mpw in September. I haven't run miles like this for over ten years. I've also not been under 145 lbs. since the early 2000s. Back then I was lifting with a friend who also recommended I stop eating so many carbs; I did reduce my carbs for a while and that adversely affected my ultra performance, so I added them back. Now I am listening, trying to listen, to my wife about how to eat properly and without the carbs. I still take in some carbs (pretzels mostly) as one of my weaknesses. I also eat sweets from time to time. But I eat those way less than I did say 5 years ago. 

My "new normal" day and long run diet 

Weekdays

1. sleep until I wake up. Generally at around 6am
2. start work from home at 6:30am
3. coffee and water in the morning. Lots of peeing
4. run 10-12 miles at 1pm. Light weights and core workout after
5. lunch (literally break-fast) at 3pm while working
6. finishing working at 4:30pm
7. dinner at 5:30pm or so
8. bed by 9:30pm 

Weekend long run: One of the following

• Run of up to about 25 miles. I will usually not drink much water until 18 miles or so; then it's Tailwind and water. Maybe a GU. 
• Run of over 30 miles. Same as above. Maybe 2 GUs 
• Run 50 miles or more. I will start eating after 10-15 miles. Food includes meat (Salami) and cheese with Tailwind and water. I will then eat ever 10-12 miles with a GU here and there as feels right. Water only in the middle of long loops of 10-12 mile.

What happens this winter?

I don't know. My fear is that I won't be able to get in the same miles; I'll have to take time to drive somewhere to be able to run safely, because snow and ice on the roads, versus just taking off out of my front door. I can still run long on the weekend so that's good. But the number of miles probably doesn't matte

I am concerned that I will start to gain weight quickly as I sometimes do from being cold, so I will pay more attention to that. 

**** Jan 24,2021 update ****

We've actually had a mild winter; unfortunately. That actually makes it tougher to run with all the ice
(from rain) and slushy snow.

"My 300 miles per month," streak is still in tact, running 329-Oct, 321-Nov, 302-Dec, and 252 so far in
January. My weight dipped down below 130lbs for a couple of days after a fast-ish 37 miler Jan 16th. I'd been
hovering around the 132 mark for a while. Still eating two meals a day; the first at around 2:30pm (after
my daily run); then at around 6pm for dinner. So I am still at a 20-hour fast.

I'm feeling more confident about being able to maintain my weigh over this winter. Good eating habits prevail!!

Goodbye Barbara June ~ This race is dedicated to you!

Mom was character, to say the least. She brought us kids up in a very liberal and, I must say, strange way. There are many things I learned about child rearing from my mother, most of what I would consider how "not" to raise your children. But in the end, she instilled in at least me a self-worth; and while I think that "self" is over emphasized today, and to the detriment of our society, I don't think I would have survived my 20s without the feeling that I, well, not belonged but had a right to be in this world. You see I didn't have the faith in God growing up that I do now. In fact, we were taught that there, "was no god, that believing in god is like believing in ghosts," my mother said to me once, "and that would be silly to believe in ghosts." Thankfully, graciously on God's part, I came to a saving faith by my early 30s; not the least of which by the influence of my mother. That's right, when I was a teen, she "made" us go to church. And thankfully for me, there were cute girls at church; why else would I continue to go. Though my juvenile infatuation with the opposite sex drew me back week after week, and even on Wednesdays nights, I really didn't grasp my need for a Savior until I became a hopeless drunk in my 20s.

My mother has died and much too young; especially by her calculations: "I'm never going to die," she would often proclaim. And there was no real reason that she did die. That is to say, she did not have huge health issues less the dementia that had haunted her for the past 10 years. At 80, still able to quip with the best of 'em, Mom wandered out into a hot summer's day in Grants Pass, Oregon. Smoke from fires of Northern California and throughout the Southern section of Oregon filled the sky on this 26th day of July. Temperatures easily into the 100s, she ventured out with clothes that would keep her warm in the dead of an Alaskan winter. No one knows what was going through her mind nor how her life eventually ended, but it's certain that it was not pleasant. As for me, when I received the news, and after I got over the frustration of her care to this point, I felt a relief for her in her suffering. I know she must have had moments of clarity where she realized just how much her memory was failing her, and how difficult that would have been for someone with a mind like hers.

For me, I am at peace knowing that Mom is in the presence of the Lord; something that eased the grieving period for me. As I've said to some, "I have been grieving her loss for years now."

Danielle being pinned by her brother Kris Hernandez.
Son Matthew in tow.

My summer had started with some great physical healing that made my running more than just tolerable. I was running 80-90 miles a week easily by the end of May and decided to join my friend David Johnston in signing up for a 24-hour race that would be held in Ohio, late September. My running continued to be strong, albeit slow, through late July when I got the news of my mother's death. I wasn't depressed, maybe melancholy, like I had gotten the wind knocked out of me. I would make plans to be at my mother's funeral in Oregon; head back to Alaska for a couple of days; then head to my daughter Danielle's Nurse pinning in Arizona. It was difficult separating the emotions of the two events. I'm extremely proud of Danielle yet it was difficult to put my full attention into her and my grandchildren during this stressful time. Running seemed ... well just silly I guess. I don't know; I lost my mojo. There were other incidental "life events" that occurred at the same time car engine froze up due to shoddy workmanship at the local oil changing shop and our water heater that failed and flooded our guest bedroom. Each of these things in and of themselves are stressful and yet occurring all at once, I almost had to laugh. God, who is always faithful, is my refuge. I felt a sense of calm after the tumultuous end of July and the month of August. I continued to run but more as a habit than with the usual joy that accompanies running for me. I cut my daily 10 milers to 6; skipped some long runs; I felt like I was just maintaining my miles. I didn't feel like going to Ohio to run the North Coast 24 hour any more. I texted Dave one day and told him I wasn't sure I was going to run. It's good to get outside perspective. Left to myself, I don't make the best of decisions. Dave told me we would go and enjoy the company of his family; have a fun, relaxing vacation, and oh by the way, run for 24 hours in-between with no expectations. It made the race less of a stressful event and I went in with no expectations of my performance.

Skip forward to the race; it was difficult to deal with the time zone difference. Luckily, we flew into Ohio on Thursday and had an extra day to rest up. Our plan was to leave Dayton, Ohio where Dave's dad Frank lives at 4am to make it to Cleveland by 8am at the latest, for the 9am start. 4am is midnight Alaska so it came very early. I felt rested at the start of the race which was a good sign. With no pressure, the only thing I had to do was to NOT start out fast. I went at what felt like an extremely slow pace from the start. Not wearing a watch, I would glance up at the display only to see that my miles were registering. Eventually I hit 15 miles and noted I was under 10 minute per mile pace. Well it's early but I was curious as to just how slow I was going. By mile 30, I was still under 10 minute per mile pace and feeling good. I had planned sit and eat something near 30 miles; at least that was the plan before the race. When I got to 30 miles, I decided that I would continue to run (minus the short stops to retrieve my water and Tailwind) until I was forced to walk.

I know it's not a great plan and it's certainly not one that one should decide on the fly, but I was feeling good and I decided I would accept the consequences no matter how I ended up. I easily hit 40 miles and asked someone I was passing what the time of day was. I calculated 6:40, exactly 10-minute miles - WOW! And I felt great; so, keep running. It's the farthest I've run without walking in years. I now was thinking 50 was possible and set out to do just that. I fell short, stopping to walk at 48 plus miles, but only the length of a football field; then off I went again. I noted my 50-mile time of 8:35, a time I hadn't run in many, many years, then didn't pay much attention to my paces after that. I did note that I hit 66 miles by the 12-hour mark. I was now into my run/walk routine. Run until I had to walk, walk until I could run again. Repeat!

Photo credit: Stuart Siegfried

I got to about 90 miles when I was at pretty much just a walk. To this point, I was wearing the same short sleeve shirt that I had started with. That was effective in keeping me running more as I got chilly. I stubbornly would not put on warm clothes and that ended up biting me in the butt. I started to shiver and hurried to my clothes box to get out my sweat pants and a jacket. I was slow at changing as I could not bend over to pull up my pants; even sitting in a chair it was difficult to do. Frank came by and had to put my shoes on for me. By the time I got dressed I was freezing. I tried to get out and run but that didn't last for long. I was walking at a quick pace to warm up. I came around to the aid station to see if they had some soup. Nothing but a luke-warm Cup-o-noodles but I was desperate. I took the first spoon full and thought I was going to puke. I went to the drink station that was next door and grabbed some Ginger Ale. That made things worse and I scrambled to get behind a near-by tent to puke my guts out. Once finished getting that out of my system, I was shivering so violently that I sought refuge in Joe Fejes' tent. I laid down because I might as well sleep if I'm going to be stopped, and I immediately fell asleep. Mike Dobies told me he'd wake me in an hour which he faithfully did. I wasn't ready and asked him to come back in 15 minutes. I was trying to do the math in my head and thought I had plenty of time to get to 100 miles. Then I panicked and just jumped up and started walking. I was now warm enough and started walking with purpose. After a few laps, I started noting the time that it took to do a lap walking, then calculated how many laps I could do before the end of the race. I thought 104 miles was doable but that 105 would be tough. No matter, I would walk as fast as I could for as long as I could, and the results would be whatever they were. I kept moving forward and eventually ended up with 105.5 miles. I was super happy that I "mostly" was able to stay out the whole time and got over 100 miles in. I had thought to myself at 40 miles that no matter what happened after that, I was proud of my performance. I was running well beyond what I thought my training would dictate. With the help of God (Phil 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me) and a little stubbornness on my part, I had a good race that I could dedicate to Mom.

The Whites of My Eyes

See my post here: White Mountain 100

2017 Races ... I added more

Jan 14th - H.U.R.T (crewing Shawn) - Yay, Shawn won!!! 

Feb 3rd - Iditasport 200M - Planned DNF to get back to work - boo!

Feb 18th - Susitna 100M - SCRATCHED at 100K - conditions to tough for me. 

Mar 26th - White Mountain 100M - Finished in 36:30

May 13th - D3 24-hour (with Danielle 50K) - Completed 52 miles. Danielle's first ultra SUCCESS!!! 

Jun 17th - Mayors Marathon - signed up

Jul 14th - Alaskaman Extreme Tri - Support for Shawn

Aug 11th/12th - Resurection Pass 100M - Maybe the 50M this year

Aug 20th - United Physical Therapy 49K - signed up

8 Week, 8 Races ~ Well Sorta

Leading up to the summer, my plan was to run a BQ at the Mayors marathon in June. I had run a 100 miles at the D3 24 hour in Philly (21:40 for 100) in May and followed up with an 8:15 pace 18 mile training run a week later. True my body recovers rather quickly but 8:15 was a bit fast and happened to be BQ pace. So no problem right. I then made what was likely a bad choice in running a fast 30 miler 2 weeks before the marathon. Again, just a training run but I’ve been known to blow my race on a training run once or twice in my life. Race day came and went; I blew my BQ and cramped badly in the last 6 or so miles. I was able to “hold on” in order to run 3:43 but was sorely disappointed. Before this I had planned to run the Resurrection Pass 50 miler in August. Generally if there are 50 and 100 mile options, I go for the 100 ~ I’m disturbed like that. The reason for opting for the 50 was because I wanted to do well the following week in the 49K (30.4 mile) road race that I had signed up for. But after blowing my marathon, I gave up the notion of running fast. My crazy running logic reasoned, “What difference would it make if I ran 4:05 or 4:30 or even 5 hours?” So I switched to the 100 mile. That would give me a pretty aggressive schedule of races; aggressive in that I would be racing back-to-back-to-back (well 7) weekends in a row, with those up front being ultras. After the June 18^th Marathon, my schedule was barren until Aug 12^th. Then it would be time to party. Here was my schedule:

Aug 12^th: Resurrection Pass 100M – Goal was to finish healthy and to use as a training run for Cascade Crest (sub – 30 hour). Side note: This was my 300th lifetime marathon or ultra.

Aug 21^st: United Physical Therapist 49K – Goal, start out slow, finish strong (sub – 5 hour)

Aug 26^th: Cascade Crest 100M – Goal, finish (hopefully under 32-hours. The cutoff had been extended to 34 hours but I wanted to hit the old cutoff time).  This is an extremely difficult 100 miler and I didn’t have the mountain training that is really needed for it. I would rely on my experience on the course, as well as in past 100 milers in general, my steady diet of 30+ miler road runs, and some hiking on Pioneer Peak (vertical mile in 4.5 miles) to get my legs used to climbing.

Sep 3^rd: Day at the Beach 24 hour – Goal was to have fun and run a leisurely 50 miles.

Sep 10^th: Bun-to-Bun Trail run – Goal was to get in a good workout on ski trails. This would hopefully help me at Equinox next week (sub-5 hour)

Sep 17^th: Equinox Marathon – I have done this 5 years in a row but as a 40 mile ultra. This year they removed the ultra from the schedule as it was too expensive for them to put no that part of the race with so few people who signed up (generally about 40 each year). I was hugely disappointed as this is one of my favorite races in Alaska. My wife and I look forward to driving to Fairbanks with the arrival of fall and the changing colors of the leaves. So rather than skipping the race (really? Who drives 350 miles each way and spends money on hotels for 2 nights, for “just” a marathon? Well, I guess we do). This is a fairly hilly trail marathon with a mixture of single track, country back road, a bit of asphalt and wide trail (Goal, sub 4:15)

Sep 25^th: Kenai Marathon – Flat road marathon. This is definitely a BQ worthy course. For such a small race, I’m surprised that it’s actually Boston certified. That said, goal sub-3:50. I will start out with the intention of running sub-3:40 and back off if I start to struggle too much. 

With the order of these “races” I don’t feel like I actually raced but a couple of them. But they were official races so I will count them as such and refer to them the same.

Race 1: Resurrection Pass 100M – For this race, my plan was to start out slow and just go with the flow; that is, run faster or slower or even walk more depending how I felt. The object here was to finish and get a training run in for Cascade Crest which would be 2 weeks out. 

Just beyond the pass

Juneau Lake at 11:00pm

All was going according to plan to the first of 2 aid stations (mile 42) where I stopped only long enough to get some food, water and drink a cup of coffee (Starbuck via packet). A friend, consistent and strong ultra-runner Laura McDonough was bundled up sitting in a chair. I could see she wasn’t getting up soon; I asked her how it was going. She told me she wasn’t feeling it; that was the same thing she told me at about mile 20 when she pulled away from me; Still here we both were. I continued to drink my coffee as well as a coke and ate some cookies there. I started to get cold which was my cue to get moving again. So I asked, “Ready to go Laura?” She responded as I’d hoped and got ready to continue. We walked out slow and threw in some running every once in a while. We were doing more running and less walking by mile 50+ when I started to get sleepy. Laura was definitely feeling better and took off leaving me to take a short nap under a tree which was the first dry spot I’d seen it a while (it had been raining a bit). I finally got moving and had an uneventful run down to the second aid station at mile 70. I wasn’t too far back to see the lead runners coming back. I saw Teri Buck and Laura coming back a couple of miles before the aid.  I was in and out of the aid station in 10 minutes flat (ate, replaced water, replaced pack, and dumped my headlamp). 

Tired boy

I didn’t feel spunky but felt good enough to run-walk out until I got to the pass. Again, no big moves or problems from here to the end; just a slow slog to the finish. It was fun seeing friends who were in the 50 as they passed effortlessly by. It took seemingly forever to get to the hill that marked 2 miles to go. I was whexting (whine-texting) to Shawn by this point. I was pretty beat trying to get in. FINALLY, I finished in just under 27 hours. It felt slow and I felt way more tired that I should have. Still, goal met. I had planned on sitting around eating a bunch of food while watching 50 milers and the last of the 100 mile runners come in. Instead I ended up getting cold so I got into my car, ate the Subway sandwich I had brought, and then promptly fell asleep. I woke up in time to get to the general store 4 miles away before it closed. They have a shower there which I was in desperate need of.  After the shower, I parked in Jeremy’s camp site where there were several family and friends of his camping. It was great to hang out for a couple hours before going to sleep in my car. I woke up at 1am to pouring rain; we dodged that bullet. It was a beautiful drive to Anchorage where I would meet Shawn for her triathlon on Sunday. 

Race 2: After feeling hammered during the last part of ResPass, I felt it prudent to take it easy during the week between races. I walked a couple of days and ran 4 milers Tuesday-Thursday. The race was on Sunday so that gave me a full 7 days to recover as much as possible. I started out the race conservatively, so much so that I was passing people by the 2^nd mile. 

Photo: Andrea Hambach

I continued to pass people until I found my pace spot and was basically alone on the course (around mile 8). The turn-around is at mile 12 and the only “real” hill on the course. This would allow me to see what place I was in. At about mile 11 the first guy came flying by. That put him 2 miles ahead of me. The second guy followed closely behind but he didn’t look as comfortable as the first guy. I went another half mile before I saw the 3^rd place person closely followed by 4^th and 1^st woman, so they were a mile ahead of me. Then a group of runners went by. Before I got to the top I saw Steve Walters (he ran 115 miles the week before in a 24 hour race) who was in 10^th place and then Lisa Drumm in 11^th, putting me in 12^th place. Not bad considering there were about 100 starters. Lisa gave me an awkward smile so I wasn’t sure if she was struggling or if it was something else. I focused on trying to catch Steve as he wasn’t too far ahead. Since turning around, I now got to see who was behind me and by how much. I had a pretty decent lead on the others so I focused on who was ahead of me and tried to work on keeping my pace as it was. I was clocking the run with both my RunKeeper app on my iPhone and my new Suunto watch but I wasn’t looking at my splits or time. This was mainly for an after the fact analysis. I soon caught Lisa who gave me the same awkward smile as I passed. Now at about mile 13 I focused on comfortable pacing and looked for opportunities to catch people. I still wanted to remain conservative at least up to 20 miles and did so. I had seen my friend Dave Johnston who was trying to run a sub-3:20 (his BQ time is 3:25) before he hit the marathon turn around. It was too hard to judge how he was doing but I could see he was focused. He caught me by mile 22 (for me) and I calculated that if he was running 3:20, I was running over 4:30 for the ultra. I continued to pass people all the way up to mile 24 where I saw the “leader” bike and the first woman who was walking. The cool thing about this race is that it’s an ultra, a marathon (that starts an hour later) and a half marathon. Each race has two leader bikes, one for lead guy and one for lead gal. So this guy was sort of weaving back and forth because the lead woman was relegated to a walk. I passed by her and one more guy putting me in 5^th place. I still did not see Steve so the likelihood of my catching him was remote. One more turn around and I saw how far I was behind Steve. He looked as tired as I felt and had a good lead on me, confirming my previous assumption. Still I felt strong and was trying to hold off even the marathoners who were gaining on me. I didn’t note my marathon time as I had the previous two years as I was trying to keep my steady pace. I felt pretty strong and kept pushing the best I could through to the finish. I ended up running a 4:25 (8:45 pace) which was good enough for 5^th overall and 1^st in my age group (55-59). Ends up Dave ran a 3:11. He was worried about getting his Boston time as this would be his last chance for the year. He runs Boston every year so this was an important race for him. Our goals, both met.  

Race 3: Feeling good about my 49K but wanting to be conservative before my next 100, I ran 4 miles again Tuesday and Wednesday. It was hot in North Bend, WA the day before the race and I was hoping the weather reports of a cooling trend were correct. 90-95F coming from mid-50s could be trouble for me. As it turned out, it was just gorgeous Saturday and Sunday. Nothing to worry about. I approached this race with cautious optimism. 100 miles is far; 100 miles with 23,000 feet elevation gain alone is too tough to fathom. So as I tell others, I took it one aid station at a time.

The Views are spectacular

I felt good most of the race and felt like I was doing well right up until it got dark (about 40 miles into the race). Then I struggled to stay upright. I’m not a very good trail runner and I’m even worse of a night time trail runner, so I fell more than was acceptable. I pushed through until I got to the tunnel (same as the tunnel marathon but in reverse, and in the middle of the night), where I could relax and not worry about my footing. At the end of the tunnel, mile 56 or so, I changed into warm clothes, ate lots of food, got water and headlamps, and then took off to run the second half of the course. I was hoping to gain some ground on this section as it was forest service roads and not too steep. But my legs felt like lead and others were gaining on me versus the other way around. I made it to the top of the ridge another 7 miles away and changed the batteries in my headlamp. Unfortunately it was not working; it wouldn’t stay closed. FORTUNATELY for me, Glen Magiantini lent me his spare. So I left with him and 2 others down the other side of the ridge which was still forest service roads. They were mostly walking but I had to jog to keep up. I normally would have run but I was having trouble staying awake by now. When I did try to pull away, I ended up staggering off the road so I decided to stay with the group. Their yammering kept me awake and we made the 7 miles down to the next section in no time. I got a Starbucks Via coffee here and ate some grilled cheese sandwich halves before heading out on the next section. This section is called the trail from hell. Usually run in the dark, this trail elicits some not so kind words from runners which are directed at the race director. 

My friend, the log

As it turned out, I was so slow that it was just about light by the time I made it there. So at least my trail legs could do better running in the day time. I passed a few people and felt good about this section as my sleepiness had gone away. There was a crowd of racers at the next station. I changed to a short sleeve T-shirt, ate a little, and then took off running the next road section which was 7 uphill miles. I walk-ran this section and passed about 8 racers. From this point you get on a section called “Cardiac needles,” aptly named because it’s so steep that you feel like your heart is coming up your throat. I actually climbed well in this section and was pleasantly surprised by the sound of a stampeding goat ~ thankfully he was heading down a different trail than the one I was on. But it was cool to see him move. I continued on and started to struggle on this section. We would climb to 6500 feet (the highest point of the course) up Thorpe Mt. I was having difficulty with a pain under my ribs about the location of the liver. I have no idea what that was about but it was precluding me from pushing through. I got up then down Thorpe and continued on. 

Mt Rainier

View from Thorpe

A few folks started to pass me on this section and someone advised me to sit down in the middle of climbs if I felt that extreme pain again. I did that on the next climbs and that got me through it. I struggled from about mile 82 to about mile 93 or so until I got to some nice single track trails. I knew how far it was to the finish so I pushed it from here on in. I caught and passed all but one of the people who had caught me on the previous climbs and then a few more who had been struggling the last few miles. I went through the last aid station at mile 96 without stopping. I was feeling too good and knew that I could push through to the end without walking. Shawn had already been finished for 2 ½ hours and was sleeping. Finished in about 31:30 – goal met.

Photo: Ron Nicholls

Race 4: This would be a 24 hour race on a 4 mile loop trail. The race started at noon. I had not run on this trail before so I wasn’t sure how hard it would be. Ends up it was a tough trail in that there were lots of ups and downs and one couldn’t get a good rhythm going ~ not for a road runner like myself anyway. It was also a recovery run and I had only planned on doing 50 miles (or 13 loops putting me at 52 miles). I was in the lead for 4 loops which was not good. I was trying to take it easy but everyone was being conservative. I was had determined  to continue to run until the first person passed me but it was becoming too much for me and I didn’t want to hurt myself. Too bad it wasn’t on the road. Anyway, I walked and ran until I got in 44 miles and it was time for a nap. I had set up a tent with a sleeping bag and I slept for 6 hours. Woke up in the morning and hung out by the fire they had going for a while. I only had 2 more laps and more than 5 hours to do them so I took my time. Again, this was just a fun recovery run so there was nothing spectacular about my race. I did have a great time and spent some time running with Shawn in the evening and again in the morning. She had to go home and back twice to check on the dogs and still got 40 miles in. I got in my 52 miles – goal met.

Photo: Brandon Wood

Race 5: I sound like a broken record now but this was just another “easy” run for me. I had done this run two years before. It was a low key trial marathon; but a tough course. Lots of rolling ski trails and ATV trails to follow. I had run just over 4 hours that year on fresh legs. This year was billed as a 25-ish mile trail run; it ran on some of the same trails but was in whole, quite different. Plus I would have to run extra to make it a full marathon. 2 of the 10 starters took off fast. Unlike the first year, I let them go. The gal was the one had won the first year with me coming in 2^nd. I figured she would kill me on this day. I also had seen the guy in a race before and felt like he would fade. Not that it mattered because I wasn’t going to start fast anyway. I took about a dozen pictures as it was a beautiful sunny day, a first for this 3 year old race that usually has wind to add insult to the rain. I went off course a bit early gaining an extra half mile which was fine – I needed the extra mileage. Eventually the half marathoners started to pass by and I got in with a group at about mile 15 for me. They pulled me along for a few miles until I could no longer keep pace. By mile 20 I passed the first guy, who was walking, and I had already seen that the first gal was close to 3 miles ahead of me while on a loop section of the course. I added a bit of distance on the last turn around and put in a bit more at the end to make it 26.2 and close to 4:30. Goal met. 

View of Denali (Bun-to-Bun)

Race 6: I would have to work hard for this one as it was a trial marathon and I wanted to actually race. A legit course with a big field of fast runners. Matias Sari, 5 time champ and who had won the last 3 years, was hoping to hold on to his title to add to promoting his new book about the race itself. He would have to run around 2:55 and hold off some tough competition in the process. Christy Marvin, who had won almost every mountain race in Alaska this year would also have to work hard by running under 3:20 and holding off a young up and coming speedster. Christy had run and won this race once before setting a woman’s course record of 3:17 in 2014. We also found out after the race that she had just turned 35 so she was in Shawn’s age group this year. On fresher legs, I have hit about 4:20 at the marathon split in the 40 mile race that we usually run. Given that, I was hoping to be able to run under 4:15 on tired legs and the shorter distance. The first 20 miles of the ultra was the same as the marathon so there would be no surprises ~ I know these hills. The last 10K of the marathon would be all new to me. I heard that it was downhill and on road. Well, slight exaggeration but that’s coming from trial runners. Any road is too much road; you get the picture. I started out like I had in previous years. The start is a steep uphill that no one in their right mind would run, but everyone did anyway. I was close to last to the top and started running along the side of the throng of runners once we got on the flat surface. I continued to run pretty fast, passing people on the trail, weaving in and out and taking the puddles rather than skirting around (no one wanted to go through the mud early so that lane was all mine). I caught some friends who were talking about running 4:30 before the race. I felt like I needed to be ahead of them if I wanted to run the 4:10-4:15 I had planned. I felt strong and passed people for a while until we got to some real climbs. I was surprised to see Shawn at about mile 7; and she was a bit surprised as well. Was she going slow? Was I going too fast? Or a bit of both? I moved on ahead and worked on the hills. There were some sections where I could run faster than others and some sections where I just could not keep up. My mile 10 was a 13 minute mile and my worst mile of the day. I ran the entire road section up to the dome. I normally walked part of this in the ultra. I tried to push the rolling downhill to the turn-around but I didn’t feel like I was making good time. My splits (seen after the race) showed that I was correct. To my surprise and delight, Shawn had almost caught me by the turn around (14.5 miles or so). To my consternation, I was not able to keep up with her on the climb out of there. Eventually she was just a small vision, a blur, then gone. By mile 17 I had been passed by a number of people and was trying to hold on. Down the shoot (I hate that downhill section ~ too steep for me to run) I was passed by Amber McDonough and then by Christie Haupert who SAID they were planning on 4:30. Amber asked if I was ok to which I replied, “Yes, I just suck on downhills; and trails!” Amber pulled away even after reaching the flat part and I kept Christie in my sights. I used her to pull me through that section until we hit the road. It was a dirt road but it was hard packed and very runnable. I moved on and started passing people again, running mile 20 in 8:00 and mile 21 in 7:21. I was trying to hold back a little but couldn’t resist hammering when I was on my type of surface. I caught a few more before heading onto trail again in the powerline section. There was no one in front of me that I could see and I didn’t want to turn around to give away my fear of someone catching me to those behind me. Mile 22 and 23 were at 9 minute pace. I hate that I can’t run faster on grass, even flat stuff. Thankfully mile 24 was asphalt and I put in another 8 minute mile. On this mile I saw a gray haired guy and thought he might be in my age group so I passed him fast and didn’t look back. Mile 25 was another steep climb that I eventually had to walk part of (quads were burning) and where I got passed by a younger gal. I tried to hang close to her to the top and was hoping to hammer the last ¾ miles to the finish. She hit the top and took off and I was not able to catch her. I finished in 4:05, 1^st of 17 in the 55-59 age group. I was very pleased with my effort on this race. I pushed hard most of the time and felt like I was racing. Goal met.

Race 7: I haven’t run this race in 5 years. Shawn and I had run it the first year we were in Alaska and a week after the 40 mile ultra in Fairbanks. Still just one week out, I would try again.

Kenai is a flat road marathon. This is definitely a BQ worthy course. For such a small race, I’m surprised that it’s actually Boston certified. That said, goal sub-3:50. I will start out with the intention of running sub-3:40 for a BQ and back off if I start to struggle too much. 

After Equinox, I decided I would recover by running 6 slow easy miles Monday through Friday, rest Saturday and race Sunday. I felt good Monday and Tuesday but I caught a head cold Wednesday. I still ran 6 miles but took Thursday off following my wife’s recommendation. I did run a slow 4 miler on Friday and felt terrible. I took Theraflu Friday night and Saturday morning hoping to clear my head. I was still undecided on going to Kenai Saturday night. The race was 200 miles away and I would have to leave a 4am to get there an hour before the start. Was it worth it to travel 400 miles if I could only run a slow marathon. I would be truly disappointed if I went down there and ran over 4 hours. 

I woke up to my 3:30am alarm and popped out of bed. My head seemed clear so I left by 4am to run the race. It was pouring rain in Palmer and all the way to Eagle River but that subsided by the time I got to Anchorage. It rained off and on all the way to Cooper Landing and it remained dark most of the way to Soldotna, just outside of Kenai. I spotted 5 moose in Soldotna and 4 in Kenai and made it to the race HQ right at 8am. 

It was a cool 45F, breezy with dark rain clouds in the distance. The weather called for 30% chance of rain during the time I would be out there so I wasn’t sure if I would wear a jacket or not. I jogged for about a mile warming up with my rain jacket and small mittens on. It was too warm so I ditched the jacket, kept the mittens. I used the bathroom one more time before the race hoping to go 2 weeks in a row without having to make a pit stop during the race. That would be a minor miracle.

Kenai is a small marathon that includes a relay that runs concurrently with the solo. At the start, no one wanted to move to the front. There were 4 guys who finally stepped up and when the race was started, they took off in a flash; I never saw those guys again. Two women also moved out quickly along with another guy who I guessed could be in his 50s; a few relay runners, then me. I caught one of the two women and the old guy who hung on to my tail for the next 16 miles. When the guy passed me he said thanks for the pacing job. 

I hurt the first mile just trying to get my legs to move at an 8 minute pace. Here is a good time to mention that I no longer know what an 8 minute mile really feels like. In the winter I run 10 minute miles or slower on the hard packed snow. During this summer, with all my racing, I run my training runs, whether 4 miles or 30 miles, between 9 and 9 ½ minutes per mile. I do try to throw in a faster mile in the middle of my weekday runs. Other than that, all my speed is natural and I contend really comes from the strength I get from doing my very long runs, those over 30 miles. 

I did not wear a watch but I was using my iPhone and RunKeeper app to track my general pace. I had the audio set to give me the mile distance split and the overall time only. That would keep me from dwelling too much on my current mile split if it varied too much. Mile 1 was close to 8; mile 2, 7:49; and I went crazy on mile 3 running my fastest mile of the day at 7:42. My intention was to attempt to run sub-3:40 which meant that I could run between 8:15 and 8:20 pace. But contrary to the way I “preach” one should pace themselves, I know from experience that I have about 16-18 good miles in me on tired legs. This was my 7^th race in 7 weeks after all. So I usually just go with my gut and plan to hang on as best as possible. It works for me; I don’t recommend it. I backed off a bit on miles 4-6 and felt tired legs on a slight hill during miles 7 which was an 8:16. By this time I was committed to running 8 minute miles as long as I could hold them so I picked up the pace. I felt good through mile 15 and started to tire on the 16th mile where I slowed to an 8:19. Mile 17 had a hill and it took all I had not to walk – 8:29. The wheels were falling off and I knew that the rest of the race would be mental and repeating Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. At mile 16, with 10 miles to go, I figured that if I could run 8:30s I’d be close to 3:35 or 9s and be just under 3:40. I opted to struggle at 8:30s if possible. By mile 20 I was a couple minutes over 8 minute pace (2:42+) but was really struggling. It was all mental at this point. Just to be clear, I know it takes physical endurance to push through but whether I made my goal or not would depend on whether I gave into the desire to walk or slow down ~ all mental and prayer. My legs were not hurting but my quads felt extremely tired. I had to focus on not going into ultra-running mode where I walk when my legs start to burn, then start running slowly once I restart. I hit mile 21 and let out a groan of exasperation. I allowed myself walk 8 steps then started running at a slower, controlled pace. I did that two more times before the finish with my miles being 22-9:00, 23-9:06, 24-9:12, 25-9:20. I mustered all that I had to get that last mile in as fast as I could, running mile 26 in 8:55. I could see the clock reading 3:38 as I turned the final corner – I was going to make it. I think my official time was 3:38:20, a BQ.  Goal met.

I had a great drive back enjoying the autumn leave colors of bright yellows and some red thrown in. There were folks out on boats and standing along the shore of the Kenai river fishing. It was mostly dry and the views were awesome. I resisted the temptation to take pictures as they never turn out that good on the phone camera anyway. I wouldn’t do the views justice.

Race 8: Actually, this was not a race. It was my 8^th run of 26 miles or more in 8 weeks. It was Saturday, October 1^st ~ my birthday run. My goal was to run one mile for each year of my life ~ 56 miles. Kenai was on Sunday which gave me only 5 rest days in between.  I ran Monday-Thursday taking only Friday off. The temperature was good for a long run but cloudy, so not as pleasant as I had hoped for. I waited until 7am to start so that I wouldn’t have to carry a headlamp. I chose shorts and no running pants. It would be chilly but not too cold I thought. I wore a winter base layer and my Hudini wind breaker, small skull cap and mittens.

I started out a bit slow and was hitting the bushes every so often as I had drunk too much coffee beforehand. No matter; the goal was to get in 56 miles. I had a good 13 hours to do it before it got dark. I was set on not wearing a backpack so any food and water I needed I had to carry or purchase at stores along the route. I carried a 20 oz water bottle, 4 GUs, some Cliff shots, and a power bar. Shawn was doing tri training all day and would meet me on my return trip on her bike ride. Things went pretty smoothly all day. There seemed to be more traffic than usual but other than that, a very pleasant day. I turned around when I hit 28 miles and started back. My time was under 5 hours (too fast) as I was just cruising along. I still had on my jacket and skull cap because it had not quite reach 40F yet. I did end up taking them off at about 50K and ran the rest of the way without them. Shawn met me at mile 39 with a half PBJ. I had gotten to a point where I thought I was going to be walking a lot so the short break really helped me out. I continued on and gave Shawn an ETA on when I would finish. She would ride back; grab some pizza; drive to the finish; and run back to meet me. I saw her heading to pick up the pizza as I was nearing 49 miles. She passed by a few miles later then stopped to see if I needed anything. She met me with 1.5 miles to go and ran in with me. I actually felt pretty good the last 5 miles. I finished in 10 hours and 35 minutes. That included potty break as well as time to stop at a couple of convenient stores for water. I drank about 100 oz of water, half a PBJ, 2 GUs, and 3 Cliff shots. I didn’t consume many calories at all and would happily stuff myself with pizza later. 

View mile 52

O'Doul's Mile 53

Mile 56 - Yata

I was extremely happy with my 56 mile run. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel with the string of races the weeks before but my old body held up just fine. Now time for a break and planning out the first half of 2017 races.