Sunday, September 26, 2010

what a Week..

After a long week of working out of town (sorts).. I was helping another doctor while he was on vacation. His office is a high-volume patient type with everyone getting adjusted which means by the end of the week I had performed 190 adjustments! Yeah, Crazy!! My hands and wrists were sore by Weds and I still have 2 days left. By Friday I was so glad to be done and welcome the paycheck. I actually have 3 more one week schedules with this doctor while he goes hunting, so while I am not to keen on adjusting all that many, I am on receiving the paycheck so I will do what ya gotta do.

With this long work days, actually a full work day there is only 7 hours and a half day is 3 1/2, but the drive is about 70 mins. After working last year I drove back and forth each day so this time I decided I would rent a motel for a couple of days, get a couple of runs in and relax. Well turns out just being that busy didn't leave much time for running as I had planned. I was only able to really run 1 time during the week for a short 4 miles. It was nice though for Dez to come up and stay a night. She needed a break and called in to work, which was good for her b/c she was able to just hang out and relax all by her self and enjoy.

So by Sat I was ready to Run, and run I did. I started off at 5:30am with a nice 8 mile trail run, then met up with Brett and we hiked to the top of Turtle Peak which is about 5 miles out/back but starts at 4400 ft. elevation and peaks at 6500 ft in 2 1/2 miles! There was a couple of sections on this power climb/hike that went pretty aggressively straight up which meant the same for down. After we made the summit, a few minutes relaxing and then headed back down. Towards the bottom we were able to run which made up some of the overall time.

After this I then moved over to WhiteRock loop, fueled up and headed off. By this time it was registering 89* and on this trail there are a couple of sections that get really hot and I knew I would need a little more water and sure enough I did. As I completed the loop I finished at 19 miles but a slow 6 hours.

The upside of the Saturday run was that I had 6 hours of complete moving time on my legs and some of it, I would say was very tough. Tough in grade, and tough in technical of the the trail. Then I would give it a thumbs up due the heat I had. By the time I finished it was 91*. I had been working my nutrition, more on that in a few, and I had ran 13 in my Trail Sensor 4's and the rest in my Cascadia's. I also had some new XL Injinis but I think they were too big and caused some hot spots while running in the Trail Sensor's. My feet also seemed to be a little tender from the rocks when I switched to the Cascadia's but felt relief in doing so along with Lg Injinis.

Now for the new take on nutrition. I have always used S-cap from Succeed but have never tried there drinks, until recently. I ordered a box of Ultra and sample packets of Amino, and Clip-2 drinks. The Ultra will be on the course at Hurt100 and I actually like it. As for the Amino and Clip-2, I actually tried these when pacing at Rio Del Lago but one of them I didn't like the taste immediately (i think it was the clip-2, but can't remember) I also tried the Amino and again recalling that it tasted better. I have not tried either one since then but I am ordering Ultra again this week.

The newest product I have tried is VESPA, which is derived from the Asia Mandarin WaspThis is definitely an interesting product, by Taste and Design. I like the way the product is designed to use the Fat oxidative cycle within our bodies which helps fuel our bodies for long endurance instead of totally relying on the Krebs cycle which is carbs. Now its not a replacement for carbs/food etc but it helps reduce the need for other sources of glucose energy. The taste.... humm.. very interesting! At first it's like blahhh.. then it's like not so bad.. then it's like bitter-sweet. I used it this weekend on my first training. You take this product 45 mins prior to your workout then it's about 2-3 hours later along with some of your regular nutrition mixed in along the way. Also this product does not taste good warm and on the second dose I almost yaked it back up! Overall, I did notice a decrease use of my regular nutrition and felt good. Recovery seemed to be good as stated by the product, although I did my standard ice bath and compression socks. Although the Vespa is $6 a pouch or $60 for 12 which makes them $5 each, which seems expensive but normally using gels over 3 hours I would take in 7-9 at a $1 each, Vespa is actually cheaper. Also carrying that many gels takes up a lot of room in my pack. I will continue to experiment with it and see how it goes.

Sunday morning Dez, Formualic and family and Kathy headed up to Bristlecone to run the 10k loop. It was a good run starting off at 42* and warminh up to the mid-60's by the time we finished. My legs were a little tired at the start of the run but then quickly came alive and I felt good during the entire loop. I also took a Vespa at the start of the run, not 45 mins prior, as I knew we wouldn't be running for about 30 mins. The taste was okay and I didn't feel like puking it up.

rockon'

HFS..!!! 109 days!!

Monday, September 20, 2010

RDL Finale..

As we left Cavitt school, Catra, Andy and I all started off and being as I was feeling pretty fresh and ready to go I was quick to ask where to take my position while running, some runners like you on the sides or in front so I wanted to make sure. As we left the school I was wondering about Big B and how was and most importantly where he was. As we made our way over the dam flat top crossing all seemed to be going well. Catra's stomach was a little upset and Andy seemed to be doing good or at least he would never let on if he was not. This guy ran strong all night long and while I stayed in front of Catra he would open gaps on us, stop, wait and even look back to make sure we were coming. I chatted with them both about HURT and some questions but at times I felt it was hard to be asking about MY (and there's) future 100 when the focus was here at RDL so I kind of help my questions for the most part and stayed focused on them.

As soon as we crossed the dam area we came along a runner laying on the side of the road with his pacer just standing there with him. I had recognizing the runner from during the day and I quickly asked his pacer if he was Okay? They said yes, that he just needed to rest. As I ran by I couldn't imagine the exhaustion, pain, and anything else he was experiencing. At the time of looking down at him he actually looked like he was in a peaceful moment. I would later come across one of my newly blogger-family friends that I then realized was the runner on laying in peace on the ground, Run 100 Miles - Christian.

As we left Folsom Dam Overlook it was soon on to Negro Bar, mile 72 and then to Hazel Bluff at mile 77.33. By this time Catra had slowed down some and was having some stomach issues and not really taking in any food/drink. She was worried that she was not going to make the cutoff times but actually was okay on time and had just miscalculated. As the early morning hours wore on and we passed Hazel Bluff we then moved to the part of the course that was a little more on paved sections than single track trails. You are running more in the city by this section of out and back and it seemed to make things go a little quicker although Catra was still not feeling well. By the time we reached Willow Creek at mile 80.70 she had slowed more and became really cold. Her body was beginning to go into hypothermia and at one point I had looked back behind me b/c I didn't hear closely behind me and she was wondering off the side of the trail because she was so sleepy and cold. This is not a good area to be in and even though I have not experienced the feeling I can only imagine from other things I know that once you become cold the urge to go to sleep is very overwhelming. She did stop to take some caffeine pills but overall it takes time to take effect. As we came into Willow Creek she made her decision that she needed to stop.

I believe there comes a time in runners experience that they just know when things are not right and some things you can push through and wait it out and others you simply just know you need to stop. Catra knew she needed to stop. She was feeling bad, cold, and her leg was starting to hurt. She quickly told Andy to continue on so he could finish. He quickly made his way back on the course and I wouldn't see him again till way later in the afternoon at the hotel. He went on to finish and completed two 100 milers within a month of each other!! Congrats Andy!!

As Catra warmed up under a sleeping bag I worked some on her trapz/neck muscles to help her relax and feel better. Soon Bill Andrews showed up and he offered us a ride back to the school to pick up Catra's car which I would then take her to our hotel where she could shower/clean up, rest and then get back to Andy's finish. At Willow Creek we actually waited around for about 30 mins before leaving and still no Big B!! I would have paced for him had he come through but he hadn't so I was soon back at the hotel. Jimmy had textd me asking what happened with Catra, and I explained. I asked him to check on Baboo and let me know his status. He replied back that he had cleared Hazel and Willow Creek. I asked if he could come and pick me up to take me back on the course and quickly he was at the hotel to give me a ride back out there. I had tried calling Geekgirl but couldn't get a hold of her so Jimmy and I went to the final turn around at Mountain Lion mile 83 where Baboo had already made the turn by about 20 mins!! He was completely on the move and the aid station peeps said this guy is SuperMan!! He was behind the extended cutoff and had made up some serious time!!! Jimmy and I headed back to Willow to see if we could catch him there and nope, just missed him by 10 mins!! Damn!!! so to Hazel we went and would definitely catch him there. By this time I had talked to GeekGirl and they were heading to Hazel and would see them there.

As we got to Hazel her and RunBitchRun arrived and I spent a few minutes chatting with them on there 50k and how the crewing went during the night learning that Baboo, The Big B, had some serious problems and low's during the night but now that the Sun was coming back up was feeling like a new man and as the aid station guy put it.. Superman!! I was ready to run when the Big B came Thundering in to AC/DC. This guy was rockn' out and didn't look like he had been running 89 miles!! We quickly slapped a High 5 and he yelled out, "Let Go To Work!!" .... (right before this as he was getting fuel and nutrition Baboo asked for the AMP. I said what's that? GeekGirl goes some energy drink I game him. By this time Baboo had opened and was downing, no wait, guzzling this stuff like it was made of Gold, like it was better than the best of anything on the planet. Burp... Crush the can on his forehead and throws it down!.. Now., the High 5)..!!

As we took off from Hazel we had a nice downhill grade that was pretty steep. I remember coming up this thing at night so it was good to see it during the morning light. It's about 6am or so and once at the bottom of this there is a short asphalt flat for about 1/2 mile than you make a turn and go back on to the single track trail. There were other morning runners out by now and cheering on the Big B as we ran. I noticed that Baboo was singing Low Rider and enjoyed his chanting of Low, Ride'rrrr.. Get's a lil lower.. Once we made the turn back on to the single track trails Baboo was ahead of me and I was just following along then I noticed that he started to pick up the pace and was attacking some of the short rollers we were climbing. I thought it was just the boost of the music and such and he would slow down but instead he got FASTER!!! I am working and breathing hard to keep up with him and as we approach some other climbs, Big B lets out some Attack Yells/Shouts!! He's in the Zone and powering up these things. The gap between is slowly starting to open up and I noticed he has not once turned around to check on me. The music is rockn in his ears and grunt/attack after attack the gap continues to grow. I check my Garmin and notice that we are running low 9 min/miles!! at mile 90!! WTF!!! and even one time I looked at my Garmin it said 8:17/pace!! OMG! no wonder I am about to puke a Lung! There is no way I can keep this pace and think to myself just hang on till Nego Bar at mile 94 but being as we still have 2 miles to go I know I cannot hold a 9 min pace so I slowed up and let him go.. Ohh wait.. I stopped and walked!! hahaha.. I pulled out my cell and called GeekGirl..

ring ring.. GeekGirl: Hello

JT: What the Hell did you give him?

GG: What?..

JT: This guy is on Fire!! He's running low 9 min/miles.. We are 2.5 miles away and He Freakn' DROPPED ME!!!! I can't keep up!

GG: (laughing on other end)... I gave him AMP, energy drink. Ohh yea, I forgot to tell you, he does that to all his pacers, don't feel bad, he has done that to me a few times. Just keep running and you'll probably catch up to him, he'll slow down in a while.

JT: Okay.. will do. See ya soon.

I kept running and on some sections I could see the Big B laying the dust trail down and still on Fire! I saw another runner up ahead and worked to catch up to him. Finally I came upon Roger. He is a great guy who has done this course like 8 time before. He asks me if I am running the race and looks at me up and down, most likely looking for my race number. I said No, you saw that guy in the white shirt that passed like 5-10 mins ago, he was my runner and I am the pacer, LOL.. but he dropped me after Hazel. Roger said, yeah that guy was behind me 55 mins at the turn around at Mountain Lion, which means 110 mins overall to catch him and now he's in front of me!! WTH!! I said, yeah tell me about it. I paced last night for 13 miles and got dropped in 2.!! haha.

I ran with Roger till the finish and learned and chatted a lot with Roger. Great Guy and wonder to run with. As we crossed near Folsom Prison I could hear the sound of the inmates cranking out there morning exercise routine with jumping jacks, 1,2,3, 5, 1,2,3, 6, 1,2,3, 7 etc.. It was an amazing site at such an hour in the morning. I mean we ran by the prison at night but couldn't even tell but morning time it was a whole new look.

Making our way through the last aid stations we were starting, or more like Roger was starting to catch and pass runners. Finally in the last 3 miles once passing Folsom Dam we came around a corner and there was Baboo, walking!!! Yes, the AMP had wore off 8 miles later! haha.. Geekgirl was with him and we were closing fast. I yelled to him.. Yo Big B!!! He turned around and saw us coming. He than started walking a little faster and than started jogging. Roger was on the same pace/jog that he had been on since I started running with him and asking him about it he easily said that is what he does, His thing, works for me all day long. Its not fast, its not too slow and it just works. As we approached Big B, I said.. Baboo.. we're gonna Pass You!! Ohhh the agganzing misery of the pacer that got dropped !!! lol... (actually, I secretly knew this would like a spark for Big B and carry him to the finish. I just knew there would be NO WAY he would let Roger pass him) Roger had picked up his pace when we got close to Baboo in slight attempted to real Baboo in but when I saw Baboo pick up his pace I told Roger, hey Big B is not gonna just let you pass him so if you want to beat him in let's work it and I'll help you try. Roger says very quickly... No I am okay with finishing behind him. (Actually Roger continued to run a little faster but by this time Big B had the 99th wind and was pushing to finish up.

The last mile was just an amazing feeling to see Baboo sprinting it in and running with Roger made it feel good. It almost that same feeling like finishing an Ironman! You're so glad to be done so happy to have made it. My only part I was missing was that it was not for me and I was short about 77 miles!! ha!. As I made it back to the school I went inside and Baboo was sitting there on a school desk chair and smiling! I gave him the high 5 we had started with and happy he was done. We soon grabbed this picture:

An awesome job well done by Big B and his crew. So happy for you all. After this we quickly made our way back to the hotel to rest, shower and eat! Later, I went to dinner with Baboo and GeekGirl enjoying my time with some great friends! They dropped me back off at the hotel as they made there way out to the airport and I would see them again at Javelina 1o0 next month. I spent the rest of the afternoon rest and then the following day it was a long morning flight back to Vegas.

After all the emotional stuff from the week prior it was good to see my friends all taking on RDL100. I enjoy all my time and all I could to help out along the way. Please check out Baboo's blog recap on his race and even GeekGirls and RBR's!! and my new bloggy friend Run100.

I still am in a little shock in what I got myself into in 116 days!!

rockon'

Thursday, September 16, 2010

RDL 100 recap...part 1

After all the emotional feeling of things I felt bitter sweet to go to RDL. I mean things are still fresh and just leaving Dez was something I was not really feeling but I knew going to RDL would also charge me. As I arrived Friday morning in Sacramento I waited on Sweet Baboo and GeekGirl to arrive as I was hopping a ride with them to the hotel and go out on the course for GPS wave point stuff, which makes great easy navigation for the crew.

Once they arrived we quickly headed over to the rental car and walked out to find the wheels. Next thing I know Baboo goes here it is and I am like.. Whaaaa!!! No way!!! Pimp! I mean the N.M. Outlaws know how to roll, 2011 Ford Flex AWD, Leather, Navigation, and might as well have had a kitchen sink, bathroom, and whirlpool!!

After rolling out of the parking lot we headed to hotel to check in and luckily was able to get in our rooms. It was in and out as we then headed to Cavitt school which would be registration but also the main area for Start/Finish. Once there we proceeded to head out the course aid stations and mark the course for the GPS unit/navigation. This is totally the way to do it if you have many stations to crew from and will be driving in an unknown city or area. Once we hit the Auburn Dam station we took a break and headed over to Auburn Running Company which is the Ultra run store of Ultra running on the West Coast. The guys here were really nice and offered many tips on the RDL course and even had some Johnny BigFoot shoes for me to try out.

As you can see I had a few boxes of shoes to try out and the dog next to me is the store dog and obviously got board waiting on me to buy shoes. After several road shoes and a couple of trail shoes, I left with these:

Brooks Cascadia 3. Size 15. The good is that I was able to try them on and they felt good, the bad is that Cascadia is now on model 5 soon to be 6 so we'll see how it goes. (So far I have only ran 5 miles in them and was great)

Once getting all our goodies from the store we went to have lunch and then finished the aid GPS stuff and headed back to registration. It was great and fun to see everyone getting signed in and all the energy. Then there was a race meeting where DesertSky Adventures talked about the course and markings, etc. Unfortunately some assfaces who have nothing better to do had been taking down the course markings and would later take down the glow sticks at night that mark the course. I guess they think this is fun for runners or something. Once the meeting was over it was back to the hotel to stretch Catra aka DirtDiva and Andy and then get to bed.

Early morning came and off I went to the start of the race with George V. my roommate and overall great guy/ultra runner. We arrived and the buzz was working through all the athletes getting ready to start there day. 50k'ers and 100 milers all ready to go at 6am! BANG!! off they went and off I returned back to the hotel for another hour or so of sleep and morning buffet at the hotel, then back to sleep till about noon. After getting ready I headed out about 12pm to the race course stopping at Cool Fire Station which is mile 29 and 36.9. As I waited around it was was pretty damn Hot and nothing like Cool suggested! It was about 1-2pm and next thing I know I see Baboo coming down the road which would be his mile 36.9. I was standing around talking to some other crews and as I yelled out "Babooooo!!! Come on man!!! yahooo!!!" They all looked at me like I was crazy on crack and ask.. "what's baboo's real name, cuz we can't tell baboo to him?" LOL.. I said Brian, so the guy started calling him BIG B!! we all cheered him in and I quickly went to see if he needed anything. Luckily I had some sunblock in my car, sprayed him down and off he went. He was doing good and it was pretty freakn' hot out, most likely mid-90's!! After about another hour Catra/Andy rolled through and all was good there too and soon they headed off.

After leaving Cool Fire I headed over to the Auburn Dam station and had plenty of time to relax and wait on Baboo. Later the other crew showed up and we were all waiting on our runners. The guy asked how Big B was feeling and that his wife had came in just after Big B left Cool so they should be close together coming to Auburn. Soon his wife showed up and no Baboo, but wait!!! close behind was Big B as the guy yelled out! Soon Baboo was now known as Big B for the rest of the race. After helping Big B, aka Baboo, get his drop bag, change out his shoes, fill his bottles and pack and chatting with him he was on his way. He seemed like he was doing well and this was mile 44.29. Soon GeekGirl and RBR would be on hands to crew as I would be switching gears to pick up George from the 50k he ran, get him back to the hotel, changed, showered, dinner and ready to pace around 11pm.

As I was back at the Cavitt school, mile 67, it was time for Big B to arrive and the time kept ticking away and no Baboo nor his crew as I figured they would arrive before him. The originator of "Big B" (I didn't get his name the whole day) but his wife had arrived and left and still no B. The guy even asked how he was doing and if he was okay. Being as I had not been on the course for a while I had no idea but I thought he should have been in already. Soon the guy and his crew had to move out and he said to tell Big B to keep moving! Baboo came in about an hour after they left but not before Catra and Andy had passed Big B somewhere along the line. It was now time to head out the door with Catra and Andy, the time was about 12am.

to be continued..

rockon'

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

a curve ball...

It's been about two weeks I wrote this but just wasn't ready to post it..

Last week was a emotional hit in the stomach and it was hard to focus on things, still is if I really let my mind go and lose focus. My girlfriend and I have been together for just over a year and while she is without a doubt the kindest loving person I have met of which I have been blessed to be with her. She is a strong women and goes out of her way for many things, is not a drama person and just goes with the flow, I love her dearly! So after finding out she has breast cancer (Ductal carcinoma) last Tuesday really pulled the rug out from things. I mean what is someone to think, right? At first its like it's not real or unrealistic but then it sinks in. She goes back to the doctor later this month for info on treatment and things. Ductal C is diagnosed in about 60,000 women per year or 1 out of 5 new breast cancer cases. So as anyone can imagine its been a shocker.

The first week was just trying to understand what was happening and comfort Dez with love and support. She is doing well overall but has her moments. It actually took me a while to really hit me I think and after about 5 days it sunk in. Heading into this past week I was on a Recover week so I took some time on my runs to really think about all this. It has been hard to kind of grasp but overall it's here and it's time to understand it and face it head on, just like running these ultras.

thanks for letting me share..

rockon'

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

feeln like a slug...

After a great 19 miles, only 18 were planned, Bonus mile! on Saturday morning, I rested up and although I was feeling somewhat of a pull adductor muscle I felt pretty good, or so I thought.

The run started off at 4am and I would run to the a park about 4 miles away but would actually make a couple of extra turns to make for 6 miles before I got there to run with Team in Training Vegas group. All was good and I arrived a few minutes early, actually, was the 1st one there. The group was running 8 miles and 5 miles so as we started out all was good. I walked for a while chatting with one of the gals doing 5 miles and actually she is a walker who takes run breaks! Her walking speed is super fast, I clocked us at 14:20 min/pace! My legs could barley keep up and I was glad when she ran. After her turn around I pushed forward to catch up with the main group doing the full 8 miles and it was a nice turn around downhill grade back to the start. The group started running sub 9's and I had to quickly pull back from them as I still had 4 miles after there 8 to run back home and we still had 3 miles back to the start. By the time we were getting back to the start/finish my legs were feeling tired, I was now at 14 miles and saw I ran a 2 hr. 40 min half marathon.. kinda demoralizing as I thought I was overall faster but what the hell.

As I rest and chatted for a few minutes I noticed my right adductor was a little tight but soon it was time to get moving again and off I went. As I worked my way back and got closer to home I could feel my leg a little more and by the time I was done it was very noticeable. I did somewhat of an ice bath, didn't have enough ice to really make it could and traumeel afterwards and some light stretching. As the day progressed my legs were more stiff than sore except for my adductor. By late afternoon I felt pretty good recovery wise just the adductor thing.

Next morning was a planned 12 mile easy walk/hike/run anything to get the mileage but when I woke up the adductor was just not happy and knew that I would only aggravate it if I went to run so I switched my Monday day off for Sunday and rested up the day, stretching, and working on the adductor throughout the day. Mostly just sore and tender but no real pain, which is a good thing. I also knew that I need to get this under control as this weekend is pacing for Rio Del Lago and I have to be in tip-top ready to go shape.

Monday morning came and I woke up to a stuffy, clogged head with sinus pressure! I quickly took some Clarion-D but as anyone knows who has allergies you certainly don't feel like doing much and I was no exception. I slogged around for a couple hours and finally the damn D kicked in and I felt a little better but by this time I had clearly talked myself out of a run, especially 12 miles worth! In reviewing my schedule for this week it is stated a Recovery Week but I also only have scheduled 20 miles to pace at Rio Del Lago and will actually be pacing 33 if all goes well, so being a recover week and dealing with the adductor/allergies I figured I better listen to what's happening and not get so freaked out on my training numbers.

The rest of the week I will get to the gym and some upper body/core stuff, some easy legs and a couple of shorter runs of 6 on Weds/Thurs. Then I head out on Friday for RDL to hopefully meet up with Baboo and GeekGirl and RBR!!

rockon'

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

August recap..

September!! Already? What happened here? I just got in to HURT and the month is already gone! WTF!!!

Here's my low down this month:

14 runs = 94.50 miles at 22 hours 43 mins! HEY, that's almost a 100!! in 30 days. Oh wait, I will be doing that in about 34 hours all at one time, shit!

5 Strength sessions throughout the month, which is clearly not enough but consistent of at least 1x per week.

Overall, not bad but not the greatest. September looks to bring some good training numbers and if all goes well this week and next week I will have almost 90! so watch out!

rockon'