The Huff 50K - DNFed

MMTR 50 Miler - Running with Paula

Great race and fun times running with Paula for her first 50 miler.

Detroit Marathon #2 - I Got Crushed by Paula

Went into this one with little marathon training for the year, so was really happy with my PR of 10ish minutes.

Brooksie Way #4

You just gotta love this race!

Run Wild 5 K - Long Run Warm Up...

This was a last minute run for me, but I planned a night run before the race and just had to keep both going. A big group of us met up at Bald Mountain North for a night run of 20ish miles Friday around 12:00am. And as the night went into morning , more and more of the group fell off - heading home, to work, or simply to bed. By dawn, our group of 9 was whittled down to four. We called it at 21 miles...except for Dale, who needed a few more miles to get in his long run of the week. After getting home and showering, I took a cat-nap on the couch for 30, then got packed up to head to Riverbend Park for the race. and since i planned on doing it as a fun run to get in the rest of the mileage for my long run, I decided to wear my 101s - just nice and easy on the sidewalks.

The Crim - 6 Days After Leadville

Ha! I just can't believe how well this went. I had no clue if my legs would even carry me that far, never the less allow me to run. But, they did get pretty pissed at me around mile 8. By mile nine, they stopped working well, and by the end of the race, they hated me!

Leadville 100M - My First Hundred Mile Race Finish

Awesome time in Colorado running and hanging out with good friends...

Burning River 100M - DNFed But Learned Some Good Lessions

Don't run 7 minute miles at the start of a 90 degree, 100 mile race. It usually doesn't end well...

The President's Challenge Gold Award

Yea! It took 141 days to do it, but I received the President's Challenge GOLD AWARD! I really didn't know how long it would take to get, but I figured it wouldn't be very long with all of the Ultra Marathon training planned for the year. Next up, the PLATINUM AWARD - only 850,000 points to go.

McNaughton 150M - Pittsfield, VT

Going for a walk,
Not ready to talk.

Trail Marathon - Hell, MI

Going for a run,
Report to come.

Windy Bike Ride Home

I decided to commute home, and talked Paula into riding with me. She biked down to the restaurant to meet me for the ride home, and from there we headed to Stony Creek Metro Park to get some extra miles in. But because the wind was kicking at about 20mph, we b-lined it home - via back roads - when we realized that the wind wasn't going to let up.

I was looking for an easy ride and this one could have been nice, it was just ten degrees too cold with the wind along with the tired legs; they got trashed from last weekend's race, and I really felt it on this ride - I had no leg strength to pick up the pace, but no injuries that I could feel.

The President's Challenge Silver Award

I started the President's Challenge on January 1st, 2011. With last weekend's Potawatomi Trail 50 Mile race - I Just received my President's Challenge Silver Award - Yea!!! 90,000 points so far.

The Potawatomi Trail 50M - Pekin, IL

Going for a run,
Report to come.

My First Outdoor Bike Ride Of 2011 - Hill Repeats

Everyone wanted to do hill repeats, so Paula and I headed over to John and Jaime's house then straight for the back roads. Our plan, warm up on the back roads on the way to Markwood - aka "Marky Mark". This is the tallest, steepest, longest dirt road in the area. Once we got there, we set out to do as many repeats as were comfortably possible - I had no idea how many I could do, Jaime was going for 2-3 repeats, and John and Paula were aiming for 2 each.

The first went well - I kept Jaime in my sights all the way up, hit the top, and passed John and Paula finishing their climbs on my way down. At the bottom, Jaime and I waited for the others and headed up again. We ended up getting a total of 5 repeats, Jaime beating me to the top every time. Paula got a total of 4 repeats. And John got 2.5 repeats.


Afterward, we took our time cooling down on the trip home. The weather was perfect for the ride, the company was great, and the results were better than I expected - which led to a great first ride of 2011.

Land Between the Lakes 50 Miler - My First Belt Buckle

The Land Between the Lakes is a trail running event put on by the West Kentucky Runners Club and is located at the Land Between the Lake National Rec. Area, just south of Grand Rivers, KY. They offer 23K, Marathon, 60K, and 50M distances, which take place mostly on single track meandering through the LBL Area with great views of both the Barkley and Kentucky Lakes.

A few of my friends – Andrew H, Ken A, Rick L, and Andrea E. - ran the race last year and were very excited about how well the course and amenities were, so I decided to look into it for this year as a first for 2011. There were a lot of bantering about of people going and not going, but when all was said and done, the road trip consisted of Kai K (60k), Jessy M (26.2M), Paula (23K), and me (50M).

Paula and I headed to Kai’s early Friday morning, and jumped into his Subaru for the trip south into Cincinnati to round up Jessy. From there, we highway-ed it through Ohio and across Kentucky to (almost) Grand Rivers. At this point, Kai ran out of gas on the highway in the middle of no where. We sat for about two minutes, Paula started for the phone for AAA, and I was out the door headed for the houses across the field for gas. We lucked out and a nice guy, Craig, had a tank and got us going – 15 minutes later, we on our way again.

By the time we got to the hotel, the weather had changed from Michigan’s 30s and 2 inches of snow to 60s and sunny – the weather was forecasted to be mid-60s and sunny for the race. We headed to the packet pick-up, got our stuff, and searched for food – no pre-race dinner for the runners. We ended up at the Yacht Club; a private club that let us sneak in for the night since we were running the next day.

Race Day:
We were in our own state of mind in the morning – moving around in the hotel room with the different pre-race rituals. Early, not much talking, checking and double checking to make sure everything was ready. One of my things is I need a good sized cup of tasty coffee – hotel stuff just doesn’t get it. So, I headed to the gas station and got a XL cup – delicious. We met up with Jessy in the lobby, packed up, and headed to the start.

The town was bustling with activity from the runners getting prepared and running the streets getting warmed up. We delivered our drop bags and headed for the start – Paula worked her way up to the beginning so she could get a nice head start on the slower people before hitting the trail (we had a 1.75 mile run on the main road before entering the trail system).

The Race:
Kai and I planned to stick together for as long as possible and to run the first miles a bit slower (9-10 minute miles) but ended up doing 7s until we hit the trail. The sun was just rising as we crossed the bridge and into the park – great views of Barkley Lake at this point. As we entered the trail system, we got our last glimpse of Paula about a half mile ahead.

Kai and I had both signed up for the 50M, so we found a nice pace and enjoyed the run. We were talking and taking in the vistas; the trail offered numerous points of interest overlooking the lakes and bays along the entire route.

We had four, eleven mile loops to complete before we headed to the finish line. The first two flew by easily, just meandering through the park and taking advantage of the Aid stations. By the start of the third loop, we both were feeling the mileage but were still feeling strong. We fueled up and headed out. Kai started to get leg cramps at about mile 30, after this point we split up and my race became solo – 20 miles to go.

I cruised through the next ten miles, hit the wall, got through the wall, and slowly jogged my way into the finish line feeling tired but solid. Cheering me in was Paula, Kai, and Jessy - Kai decided to be safe and drop down to the 60K.

My overall was 24th place, at 8:50:00. I think I would have done a bit better, but the mid-60s turned out to the low 70s and cloudless, and with the Michigan winter training, I wasn’t ready for such a hot day (I did hydrate like crazy, so it wasn’t too bad until the last few miles).

Heading Home:
Since I was the last one heading in from the trails, I ate and drank, got washed up and changed, and jumped into the car for home. Kai was feeling good, so took the wheel the entire time (thanks Kai). But I must mention that, if not for Jessy catching the fuel indicator, Kai would have run out of gas in the middle of Ohio (good eye, Jessy).

We all enjoyed the run and the trail, did well in our races, and came back healthy. Good trip.

My First (Super) 5K and Dailymile Meet-Up

Had a great time running the Super 5K this morning in Novi. Paula and I got there with plenty of time to see a bunch of friends and get a warm up on the course. For the beginning of the race, I wedged my way to the front and kicked it into high gear for the next 18 minutes to come in 33rd overall and 5th in my age group. Fun times!

After the race, we headed to Mo's to meet up with a bunch of Daily Milers that had also raced this morning. It was really good to meet so many of you. Fun day!

Winter Wolf Race - 15M

Well, Paula and I packed up our gear, extra clothing, and a bit more clothing then headed 120 miles North to Omer, "the smallest city in Michigan", for out first official race of the year - The Winter Wolf.

With the temperatures at a brisk 9 degrees and a wind of 8mph, 6:30pm is always the best time to start a race. A wonderful run along two-tracks, back roads, and through fields covered in a foot of new snow - in the dark. We got into town in time to register and change with plenty leftover to hangout and see friends as they arrived for the race.

At 6:15, the race director gave the last minute directions and course information. I should state that it sounded something like; "go down the road and turn left, then turn right at the tracks, this will lead you to a field - go into the field and follow the ribbon, turn right on the tracks, then left...I tried to mark the trail as good as I could, but I kept getting lost". After that, it was time to put the headlamp and MICROspikes on for the walk to the start line and get moving.

Afterward, as everyone trickled in, we met up at the Old Courthouse for awards and chili (I had two heaping bowls). Most of the RUT team members that made it up walked away with awards; I took 6th overall (2nd age group) and Paula A. took 1st Place overall for women. Rachel I., Hong W., Don, and Kathy A. all took home age group awards. Mark M., Rick L., and Fara K. also had strong finishing times.

This was my second year doing the race, mostly due to the people who put it on. Thank you for doing a great job making everyone feel at home, the well marked course, and the great chili at the end.

First Annual New Years Day Get Your Hung Over Fat Ass Running 26.2

I had a great time beginning the New Year with a FA Marathon this morning. The weather was mild and the company good, so the run was well worth the effort. Afterward, off to Antoniou's Pizza I headed for some carbs with some of the RUT group that attended the FA - Paula, Kai, Hong, and Andrew. Good way to start the year off - hanging out with friends, old and new.