HOLY F'n! Crap!!

DO YOU SEE WHAT IT SAYS OVER THERE ON THE RIGHT SIDE COUNT DOWN!!! 60 F'N' DAYS!!!! OMG.. breath... breath.. OMG!! OMG!! breath, JT Breath!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay here's the update on why I am totally freaking out! My last run on Friday Oct. 18th of 20 miles was a great run and I had come off a great bike week as well hitting 70 miles out on the Silverman/Rage course. Then my buddy Tuggle came into town and he busted a good run with the TNT on the following Saturday and then Sunday I got some kind of stomach bug so I was out for the day and missed my long bike which was supposed to be 80 miles. THEN.. the whole week I helped another chiropractor out of town (about 70 miles from my house, so I was driving back and forth all week) while he went on vacation and he runs a high volume of patients each day so I was adjusting 50+ people a day. By Wednesday I was wore out, Thursday I was hanging on and Friday I could feel I was getting sick. OH!!!! and during this whole week, You guessed it NO TRAINING! cuz I was shot, weak, a pussy, wimp, tired, all the above!! Call it what ever you want but I didn't get any training done, was the bottom line.

So the Friday I was not feeling well and Saturday it hit me. Fever, coughing, more fever, headaches, body aches! Sucks!! TKO'd. I played this game all day Saturday and Sunday and the Monday it got a little worse with a constant fever and finally broke yesterday afternoon! SHIT!! Today I have not had any more fever but still feel tired and achy. I have taken more Tylenol in the past 3 days than all year! WTF!! not good. Now I am just dealing with some coughing and achy throat from all the freakn' coughing! BUT HELLO!!!!! ALL THIS MEANS IS NO TRAINING AGAIN FOR ANOTHER WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so freaking out on not getting my training done and with the days counting down I have to start thinking about my actual time goals and what is really going to be possible with the amount of time I have left. Obviously the #1 Goal is to finish and finish feeling good and not wiped out for a week. I will be looking to get back to healthy asap and get back in the pool b/c that is really where my freak out is coming from! I can make the bike and run with some quality pacing but I gotta make it out of the water first and with my swim quality so far I am not really sure I could pull it now. So Send me Some Get Well Energy/Vibes.. whatever you can b/c I need all the help I can get right now. !!!

rockon'

Groovn' .. I think.

Training!!! Wow!!

I have finally decided that I need to get in the pool and started swimming and mostly b/c I swam last week with a couple of friends and just realized HOW BAD I have gotten and with the count down going, I have to get back in the groove so I can honestly say I have swam 3 days in a row, not the longest but I am getting in the pool.

Last week I had a minor lower leg pain so I cut my long run short and ran again yesterday but seem seemed to be missing the snap and enjoyment of it for some reason maybe it was the Long 70 miles of getting my ass kicked out at Lake Mead on the Silverman/Rage course on Sunday!

Formulaic and I headed to the Silverman supported ride on Sunday leaving from his house at 5am in complete darkness and riding on the Boulder Hwy with only the light from the passing cars which was pretty crazy in itself but we managed to make it to the lake before the group pulled out. There I met up with Brendan and Jewels and rode the first half of the course with them as well. I seemed to have a slight rear tire malfunction due to not checking the inside of the tire after replacing a tube before I left my house in the morning. The tire slowly leaked and I refilled it 2 times before finally replacing it at the water stop. Once I checked the tire and found 3 small pieces of metal shavings that should have popped the tire I removed them, replaced and the tube is holding today!

Once back on the road Form and I continued riding and somewhere around mile 55-60 I totally Bonked out!! I was dying the last 10 miles to get back to his house and I even took the easier route along the highway as Form took on the famous Silverman 3 Bitches hill climb! Go Form!! Once back at his house and talking with Mrs. Form about the day I realized I was about 600 calories behind and no wonder I bonked out! Shit!! Guess I was just having too much fun riding with others and worrying about my stupid tire and lost track of it, so Don't Do That Again!!

I spent the rest of the day paying for my lack of nutrition and just getting my ass kicked out there as it took till the next day to really recover. I also realized that riding that course is not consistent to Cozumel training and although you could argue, and Formulaic will, that the hills can make you stronger, which I'm not saying they won't but it doesn't translate to staying aero for miles and miles at a time. It will be back to Indian Springs for me!!

Now on other great and fun news...!!!!!! I am officially signed up for the SOMA 70.3 on Oct. 25 in Tempe, AZ! That will be my taper race and to really see where I am going to be for Cozumel based on times, hopefully. On this note, I will not be heading to San Fran for the TNT Nike Women's Marathon which makes me sad b/c I love the team but I also have to get a big training weekend completely that weekend and going to the Nike event it will just not happen. Sorry Team, but you know I love ya!

Now with that taking me all the way out to Ironman Cozumel, I am already thinking ahead to next year and planning on the spring season of Ultra running and looking to do another 50 miler in March which means only about 12 weeks of training after a couple of weeks of rest from Cozumel, crrrraaaaazzzzzyyyy!!! but so fun! Then I am looking at my 3rd 50 miler in May. We shall see how things work out as time progresses but I am thinking too about using the Carlsbad Marathon on Jan 24, 2010 as a training event for the 50 miler. Wow, so weird to be thinking about that already but you gotta plan these things out.

Time to go swim..!!!! Later.

rockon'

Its coming along..

That's right.. something is.. I'm just not sure what. Well kind of not sure. Over the last week I seem to have lost my Swim Mojo and I do recall I had this problem last year in training for CdA. When did it come back, I am not too sure but I do know that even if I don't find it I better continue on and get in the freakn' pool because HELLO!! as we all know.. the Swim leg is the 1st part of the tri. Okay, Okay, I know!! I really do!!

On the other aspect.. Biking and running seem to moving along very nicely. This weekend was a 78 mile ride with none other than fabulous newly Ironman Formulaic. The ride went good overall, very strong head wind on the way back in which was about 25 miles of totally aero position riding at a mere 11-13 mph!! Ughh!! But although it was annoying to be going that slow, my heart rate, cadence and I were all working properly and I felt good.

Monday, I headed out for a 18 mile run which was actually nice b/c the weather was just a bit cooler and although my legs were tired I was able to have a good run again keeping the pace steady at a 4 minute run, 1 minute walk pattern. I did wait to refuel overall with water and Gatorade but that is only b/c I was not close to any stores and by mile 13 I was starting to conserve water in my camelbak and by the time I hit mile 15 I knew I was behind. So it's only an adjustment that needs to be done there as not to go that far/long without having plenty of stock. I was definitely tired in the afternoon and legs were telling me so. Even yesterday during the core/weights workout I could still feel the tiredness in my legs.

Today, I am feeling much better and ready for a shorter run. If anything I am tired due to a little bit of no sleep b/c it was Forms birthday and we had a few beers and after I stayed hanging out with a great gal and enjoyed the time, much later than I should have but ya know, what can say.

Since the Ultra I have managed to put back on a couple of extra pounds and well, I'm not liking it, so I am making sure to get my runs in (and Liz.. gotta be running those 20's) to thin me back out.. hahaha. I guess drinking less beer would help too. HA! Overall I like how my training is coming along for CZ and even though the swim is behind I know I will be able to complete it faster than I did CdA. I am also in the process of getting a new bike seat b/c mine has been causing me all kinds of problems and it's just time to change it.

I will also be looking to head down to Tempe the last week in October to take on Soma 70.3! It will be a good prep event and heading into taper I am looking forward to it.

rockon'

Counting and Im Famous!!

Where to begin? How about the training recap for the week. Ughh.. well it was good but not the Best and not where it needs to be! Why? Well b/c I am still finding my Ironman mojo for training. I remember this feeling last year for CdA and some times it just takes everything you have to complete one workout and others you feel as if you could do 3 a days! I was able to complete some workouts this week but I will definitely have to step things up now that it's HFS.. 89 days!!

That's right, it's on like crazy and although I was feeling pretty darn tired today, it has begun! As JT remembers from CdA.. the next 90 days are really critical in TCB!! (that's Taking Care of Business!!, hello, Vegas, Elvis's favorite saying) N..E..wayz.. I am actually looking forward to the long bike and it's only Monday.. I will also be back on the trainer this week for the short workouts only b/c I have to! So wish me luck in all that!

Now as all of you know JT is famous and with my superb athleticism I am worldly known,, Ya Whatever!! but hey, I was in the Las Vegas Review Journal Sunday paper on page 2 of the sports section thanks to Molly Sheridan who I was so privileged to crew for at Badwater and her story was printed this weekend. Be sure to watch the Video on her journey, its about 14 mins long, simply amazing! I was actually biking with Formualic when I got the text from her saying I was in the paper with her.

Let's talk about that biking with Formulalic. We met up yesterday in the morning and took off from my regular 95 North route ready to put 56 miles down. As soon as we started you could really smell the smoke from the Cali fires that blew in over the weekend, ughh!! At first I didn't think it was that bad but just after a few minutes it was not fun to breath in, but the good thing is that the farther we got out from Vegas the better it "seemed". We rode great all the way to the turn around at Indian Spring town, refueled and headed back. Now even after my legs not really feeling up for the work, as they were tired from Saturday's 12 mile run with TNT I was able to stay aero for quite a while and just work in the position with a good heart rate. On the way back the course is a little more grind it out long easy grades which you can stay aero but now you add in the 15-20mph head wind and things just become not so fun anymore. We both were staying as aero as we could but the wind just worked us and in repeat fashion at about mile 34, pop! there goes my back tire! After getting changed and ready to roll.. Form starts yelling and his back tire went flat while waiting on me.. Guess his bike was feeling a little jealous from the attention I was giving mine. After getting his changed we were back into the wind and working to the end which didn't seem like we were getting any closer to. It was much hotter, I was running out of water and the smoke was increasing again getting closer into Vegas. Finally, I made it back and was glad to be done. Overall, the ride felt harder just due to the wind and running low on water. I was about 15 mins slower than last week but no worries b/c I got that shit done!

Rested up and then went to the movies.. the company was much better than the movie in my opinion.

The weekend was great overall !! Training was good overall for the weekend!! I'm Happy.. for more reason's but that is another story..

rockon'

No dust in the air.

After a great training weekend and knocking out an awesome 56 mile PR for me on the bike I was actually not chastising myself so much with my training. Okay, maybe a little. The clock is ticking but things are working there way clear, I think.. umm... yeah.. they are.

I felt good after the bike yesterday and was not totally drained. Another 56 planned for the end of the week but I really have to look to get some mid-week biking done.

Interesting how something is always changing in the day in the life of JT.. and this week has been no different. On a personal note, things have been in a whirl wind which has caused me to question some things but now that the wind and dust has settled things are Okay and actually better! Sometimes trusting things blindly is better but definitely more difficult.

rockon'

Friday.!! recapping.

As the week comes to an end and the "Big" training weekend is upon us I look back this week to see how I actually did for training. As if you haven't noticed, today marks 99 days till IMCZ!! Holy CRAP!!

Okay, so I was able to get a few swims, a bike at the beginning of the week, a couple of strength training sessions, and some run work. I have a swim scheduled tomorrow so that will help the weekly numbers.

Let's first talk about the run. Now you would Think that coming off the Headlands 50 and all the training that I did for that, that I would have some good running legs. Well not really sure what happened today, dehydration mostly, after talking with Liz, but after 15 miles of which 9 were on road and the other 6 on trails (yes, as I was running on the road I saw a dirt path and off I went, can't resist it now!) but by the end of the 15 I was toast! I did not really do a good job of hydrating yesterday so I think that got me as well as starting too fast on the road! What JT, too fast!! haha, yeah right!!! I'm about as fast as Formulaic putting his bike together post IMCdA!!

Not only did I manage to get my longest run done since Headlands I am paying the tired price this afternoon, so once again, looking at hydration as the factor. No worries as the run was good, I got to see new road/trails and got it done is the main factor.

I ordered this book and it finally arrived so I am super happy to get to reading:

Yes, there is going to be more Ultrarunning in the near future, I have a few events I'm looking at come early next year so get ready for that!

Well everyone have a great weekend and shout out to Joyce, the rd for calicoracing.com here in town who is off to run LeanHorse 100 in South Dakota!! Smash it Joyce!!

rockon`

Training with a curve ball.

I actually can't believe that I have swam 2 times in the past 3 days! I go from running like Forest to the pool. Well, not that I am complaining but it is interesting how things change in the day and life of me.

The brick on Sunday was pretty good. It was hot out b/c I got a late start due to a little excess partying the night before, but well worth the extra beers and time spent with friends out on the dance floor. Other than getting dieseled bombed by asshole in the white F350 who not only covered me in exhaust fumes but also managed to kick up gravel from the shoulder, luckily I didn't catch any with my face, the bike was pretty good and fast thanks to the tailwind. The run was short, well compared to my previous running, but again a good feel for transitioning and settling down.

This week, track workout, more swimming, some short bike and run workouts along with a couple of weight training sessions, all good.

Now just as things were moving along a curve ball was thrown at me and it totally caught me off guard. What can you do but get back up and keep going. :(

rockon'

I just want to thank all you great blogger friends of mine for always encouraging, giving advice and just being great people, I really appreciate that you stop by and read my craziness.

recovery, training, and thought.

Today is a week post Headlands 50. Matter of fact at this this time last week we were starting back on the loop, ugghhh, what a day!

During the week I was able to recover pretty well, actually better than I thought. The leg soreness was gone by Thursday but I still notice some slight joint tenderness but by Friday that was mostly gone and especially after my swim (yes, swim!!) that really seemed to be gone. Today, I feel great but tomorrow will be the real test to see where things are at with a short Brick workout, nothing like jumping right in, ehh Coach!

Post-Race Thoughts:

Okay, so now that I have had some more time to process the Headlands race and my overall performance. I am super happy that I completed it and it's such an amazing thing that I worked to do, BUT...!!! I am a little disappointment with myself that during all the side stitch stuff that it really became "mind over matter, and if you don't mind, it doesn't matter" A great quote from someone special but here's the deal. I let that stitch Mind and then it became Matter which slowed me down and made things uncomfortable. I really think that I let it control me too much but know that I know what the feeling is and why it occurred it won't happen again. With all this I feel a part of me let Antonette down b/c I was whining and slowing us down as a team. Well again this is post race thinking and it's one thing I think and feel I could have done better. Recovery wise I think I did the best I could, got a massage, took a B12 shot, slept a lot, ate good and stretched some so not much to say there. Would I do it again? Absolutely! That course maybe not so much right now but yes, I will find Ultra again after Ironman!

On to the swim. Yes, I managed to drag myself to the pool yesterday with a slight headache and swim out 1000 meters. I didn't really track overall time but I was tired on the swim sets and knew that I have work cut out for me. The bike will be interesting tomorrow and I am looking forward to see how things feel there.

Is it me or is it just the way it goes.. that sometimes you have to have more patience than you ever thought you could..???

rockon'

Headlands Hundered (50) Recap..

Where in the Hell do I begin? Get ready, cuz this is a little long.

How about.. Holy Freak'n Crap, Are you Serious!! ( check out the fly over profile: http://therunscout.com/2009/08/headlands-100/

First off let recap that in month of July, I logged 143 miles of Run training. No Biking or Swimming, Running! that's pretty good I think :)

Back to Holy Freakn' Crap!! the Headlands Hundred race is a 50 mile and 100 mile trail race in the San Francisco Bay area, Sausalito, CA. Antonette and I drove up on Thursday and during this time we talked about many different scenarios, situations, problems that may occur, how we handle them, how to communicate to each other, and we even decided on when and if we have to leave each other what would the circumstances be. Once in San Fran we got settled in, met up with her family and had a nice relaxing time around the Golden Gate Bridge, downtown area.

Friday, we enjoy breakfast back downtown, only due to JT getting turned around and totally talking the wrong direction but turns out Okay b/c we had an awesome breakfast with her sister and I even got to see that crazy ZigZag street that is super steep and Drive Down it! Yes! Then we headed back to the hotel for pre-race run strategy, check point times for her family to meet us and just overall race day stuff. We also got race clothes, drop bags, nutrition plans, night lights (just in case) made up our Gatorade drink mixes and had it all laid out and ready to go. Then we met up with the other Las Vegas peeps and had a great dinner and talked more race stuff with everyone. Once back at the hotel it was time to settle down and try and get some sleep as the family would be picking us up at 5:15am to head over to registration.

The morning it was cold and a little windy which brought on the long sleeves and gloves and once after registration we had a little time for bathroom, gear prep and an additional layer of clothes. Many other runners were obviously used to this temp b/c they were wearing short sleeves. Once all the drop bags were situated it was just about time to start. All of us headed over to the road start and soon we were off at promptly 7am!

There was about 1/4 mile of running up the road when it took the turn to the left and the trail began. Of course we were all bunched together and walking was the only thing you could do, not only that it was immediately climbing so that's all you really wanted to do in the 1st mile of 50. Next thing I know were walking thru this tunnel overlooking the beach and another turn back through another tunnel heading away from the beach only to come out on the other side and see all the runners heading up this ugly set of stair switch backs! I could only Laugh. Once at the top of TWO! sets of stairs, (you couldn't see the 2nd set till you got done with the 1st set) we were finally on top of the mountain and some running started. I was already warmed up, sweating and breathing hard and this is mile 2.

We started running and before long we were running downhill into the first aid station, saw Antonettes family, said hello, dropped some clothes and moved on. As a Vegas group we had already slip up and didn't see the rest of them till mile 25 once we headed back out. So off we went to next check point at Miur (take a flying hike, I hate you) Beach! Talking with other runners that were doing the 100 miler was very motivating, especially since this guy was named John, 65 years old and was attempting his 1st 100 miler (john dnf'd at mile 38 due to leg problems :( Anyway, the next uphill was pretty bad, around 12% but then once at the top we were heading to Miur Beach and the down grade was so so steep (16%) we managed to run as best we could, make the turn around and head back up power walking.

We are at mile 8 and JT's morning starts going to Shit! The climb back to the top of that Nasty ass hill took it out of me. It's about a mile in length and with that grade I paid my 1st set of dues, yes, we will back at Miur Beach Hill around mile 42. Once to the top you are at the top of the steepest section but the trail turns and continues to climb gradually and steep for another 3 miles before you hit the total down slope section. Now as I said I started to have serious cramping issues under my liver (diaphragm) and I could not really figure out what was cramping. I thought I was drinking too much liquid, so I slowed down on that but no luck. I tried pushing on it, hold my stomach in, stretching side ways and anything else but the only thing I knew is that I wasn't able to run or barely run and the fast I went the more Sharp the pain became! It was really frustrating and Antonette was trying to help in any way she could but she could only do so much. Her patience and understanding were the best and I deeply appreciate her for that. It was so pissed b/c in parts where I knew we could make up some good time I couldn't run and it just kept me derailed for 15 miles!

At one point we are on the trail and it must be only about 2 feet wide with a drop to the other side and I was feeling pretty dizzy. I thought I needed sugar or gel or something but I had just taken one so I knew it wasn't that. I told Antonette and she thought it might be the elevation climb and the exertion which I totally agree with b/c just shortly after that we were descending and I felt better. Then we came to another aid station and her family was there and it was super up lifting for me to see them around mile 21, as I didn't think we would see them till 25. I grabbed some water, cooled down as it was sunny and hot by this time and we headed off for the turn around. I was able to run a little more but still not much better due to the cramping BS! The last 1 mile coming into 25 sucked b/c about 1/2 of it was on the actual beach and the sand as you know is just not friendly to run in. Which only meant that leaving mile 25 we would once again trek trough it to get back to the trail.

Mile 25: Once in, the family was at our every need and helping tremendously! They got anything we asked for and helped refuel the camelbaks! They just rocked! I was able to drink a whole bottle of Dr. Pepper, eat some chips, and a few other snacks but nothing like the PB&J's I had planned and had ready to eat. I tried eating one at mile 12 but no luck, as I basically knew the rest of the day my stomach didn't want PB&J. We got settled up and headed back out after about 10 min stop which was great b/c we were actually 30 mins ahead of schedule which was surprising and welcomed. Once through the sand and back on the road, I started feeling good and the camping was no longer around. We ran a couple of times and I felt it coming back and finally I thought to try breathing different and forcing my chest/stomach to work opposite of the diaphragm and as soon as I did that, that freakn' ass cramp STOP! It went away!!! I breathed a few more times like that to make sure and yup, it was gone. We ran a little more and no problems but now the tables had turned and Antonette's legs were really stiff and hurting and it was no time to run. I stayed on track to refuel, thanks to the help of her as she was a great time watcher and I really managed to keep that cramp away but my legs too were also stiffening up and we kept up our power walking through the really steep sections were we now heading back towards. Even though I was feeling better I really could not have gone any faster and us working together kept our pace around 16 min/miles. As Antonette had been watching over me and making sure I was Okay in the first half, I was now showing my appreciation for her and trying to help in any way I could.

Mile 34: Uncharted Territory! We were now beyond any of our training runs and passing aid station at this point we saw the family quickly and just kept moving as we would once see them again at mile 38. Things were Okay but the legs were definitely tired and not used to moving on this type of climbs and steepness we had been through. We would run here and there but as long as we were moving forward that was our main focus. Of course around mile 36 the wind picked up and again it made it cold and not having our other clothes as we had dumped them at mile 25 now made this little section a little harder to deal with. I really think from here till the end, Our race started. Yes there was issues we both dealing with earlier but the last 14 miles were of course hard but also strong for us.

Mile 38.3. Getting to this check point really took a long time to come down the long steep and slope that we had and once there it was really cold and windy. I was getting more Dr. Pepper, resupplying my gels, taking a Tylenol 800, putting Sports Rub on my entire legs and trying to help Antonette with anything I could as well. The family was there too and they were like Super Crew camps and had it down, got water, helped with the packs, trash, anything they were on it! So awesome and I couldn't thank them enough in the short time we had at all the stops. Again it was cold so we put our jackets back on and basically took back off to guess where, Freakn' Muir Beach. But no sooner than we were back on the trail Antonette said she needed to fix her toes as they were hurting. I thought she meant just adjust her shoes but she quickly said no that she had some blister that were hurting and needed to fix them or it was going to worse, so we immediately turned around and went back to the station to get our blister kit. Now not knowing really what to do with them we put some of the moleskin stuff around one of them which I can't even really understand how pain full it was but I knew it totally was b/c Antonette is tough and it was really hurting her. Once bandaged up, it was now the task of getting her sock and shoe back on and once that happened we were finally off again but it was a dicey situation there for a little as she knew the time was ticking away but I knew we had the time so all was Okay. Once back on the trail she was asking for time/pace update and I told her we would be Okay. We got back to the top of Miur Beach and headed down that steep grade, hit the aid station and quickly started back up. Now again, this is round 2 for me and although we are both feeling good now, her toes are much better, I have no cramping/breathing issues, this hill just kicked my ass! Again! I really couldn't believe that at mile 42 I was climbing this 16% mile long hill but I knew that once getting to the top it would be much better, funny, how you forget things 12 hours earlier! Anyway we made it to the top and kept going up the other short climbs to the breaking point where we could actually run. We were running and it was feeling good around mile 44 and next thing I knew we are running like a 11 min/pace which is just awesome. I went into the zone or something here and I was just running, no thought, no feeling, no nothing, Just Run! We added some good minutes to our cushion of making the 15 hour cut off as this was the only thing on the mind now. Once back to the aid station where we fixed the blisters (mile 38) its now mile 46 and we have 4 left.

The big ass climb I forgot about was not a little mental demoralizing as I was not really in the mood to climb another 1000 feet in less than 2 miles but with the sun coming down we powered walked and I kept track of pace. We stopped to get our head lamps out and now it was a little worse b/c as we were still climbing the mountain side you could see the head lamps from the 100 miler runners coming down and you could see how far you still had to go, so I tried not to look up too much. Once at the top it was 2 miles down, easy enough right! WRONG! By now Antonette is really in the zone and looking to get the end as well as I am but now my quads are just not having the down hill running and every step feels like my leg is going to give out. I know they are just tired and fatigued and I do everything I can Not to stop as that only makes it worse. I think overall I really just stopped thinking about how they felt and just worked to get to down that hill and those Stairs, (remember? from the 1st 2 miles) Yup, they are back! This is another part of the last 14 miles that I really liked for me as it was the least I could do for Antontte to lead the way down the stairs as she had been dragging my ass up the hills all day long. We made it though the stairs, through the tunnels and the last little bit to the road where we were back about 1/4 mile from the finish.

We were yelling and people were cheering us in as you could only here the people and they could only see our head lamps. It was great to finally see the finish line and cross together!! We did it! 14 hours 38 mins! The family was there and everyone was hugging and enjoying the accomplishment. It was simple amazing to be done, that we did it, that we worked together all day long, that we never gave up on each other, that we pushed each other, and that when we needed to give all we had we gave it!!

Having Antonette's family there all day really made the day even better as there energy, caring, and encouragement brings Heart to races like these. It has been the difference in triathlons (don't get me wrong, it's great to have family at tri's but they cannot help you one bit other than cheer you on, and in this race and my experience with Badwater, it just makes a huge difference, imo.)

50 miles!! Once celebrating, getting some food and changing clothes we talked about the day briefly and waited for the other Vegas runners to come in. After that it was to the hotel, shower and sleep.

I will continue on the post race stuff later..

rockon'

race recap of Headlands to come..

Hi All.. Antonette and I finished.!!!

I have reflecting on the race and recap details and hope to have it up later today.

I can't thank Antonette enough for being with me all day and getting me through some really tough sticking points. We both had our Up's and Down's during the day and again I am glad that we worked well, pushed each other and respected each other all day! She really is the Best!

Also have to give Tremendous Thanks and Appreciation to her family for Crewing for us and being at the aid stations, helping with every detail and encouraging at every stop! I was so glad to see them at the different stops. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!

rockon'