Are you a Pothead Focker?

If you haven't seen "Meet the Parents" then you won't understand the title very much. Rent the movie, it is hilarious.

I went up to Mohican today and met Luc for a final big run before the Mohican Trail Run in June.

We met at the covered bridge at 7AM for a run on the Red/Green Loops both totalling 21 miles. The run seemed effortless and to be honest, that big hill on the green trail seemed like childsplay to me. I remember the first time I went up it. OMG! didn't think I was going to make it. During our water stop we noticed a jug of water and Pringles close to our water. Oh man. The temptation to eat some Pringles was almost over whelming. We didn't take any but later found out it was Ron Dukes and Cheryl Splain. They told us we could have had some...ARRGH!

After a quick gorging of food, we hit the Orange loop and planned on dropping out of the trail to give us 31 miles total. Luc had had enough and I couldn't talk him into a run on the Purple Loop (4 miles). I changed shoes and off I went.

The park was full of people out enjoying the sweet weather we had. Some normal, some not so normal. Some looked like they escaped from Prison, others looked like they will soon be in prison. All were very nice and that's what counts. I guess. I had to dodge a lot of small kids and all the moron parents.
I started down the Little Lyons Falls section and wondered why it was so cloudy in the gorge. About the same time I got the smell of marijuana wafting my way. This was not good as it seemed like the forest was on fire! Maybe 5 minutes later, I ran into the idiots with like 10 kids and about 6-7 adults. All of them had blood shot eyes and the "Stupid Pot Smoker Look" on their faces. They were at least friendly and I went on to my smoke choking run with the two handed climb up the roots. I ran into anther guy just yards away from where I ran into the others. He too was smoking a big doobie. I said" What is with all these people smoking weed"? He said: "What better place to do it at man". Well, I couldn't disagree with him. The place is gorgeous but smoke your crap someplace I don't have to breath it in!

Continuing the run, I circled back to the covered bridge and decided: "Hey, I'm gonna do it again". I was feeling incredible. I felt as if I was so high on endorphins.....or was it from Gaylord "Pothead" Focker back at the falls? Didn't know, but all the pain in my body disappeared and it was time for more miles. The second time around it was starting to get a little dark. I was bookin it to get back to the covered bridge. I decided I wanted more miles. I simply couldn't stop running. Weird!
I started off on the Pleasant Hill Dam trail and ran up the side of the earthen dam, then down the road a ways and back around to connect to the Little Lyons falls trail. This gave me a total of 42 miles for the run.
I was happy about that and decided to not camp out and run tomorrow as I had put in enough miles. I was gonna be so sore and decided to sleep in my own super soft bed instead of the cold hard ground. I received a nice blister on the ball of my foot today. It will be a gusher when I pop it. I'm thinking of getting those moldable shoe inserts to see if they would help.

Totals: 42 Miles: Mohican Trails.

Weather 101: Check it before heading out!

I woke up way too late today to make it to CrossFit on time. It was either a run or a Ride. I chose a ride since I will be doing a lot of running this weekend.

I didn't check the weather before setting out on my Ride. Bad Choice. I never thought it would rain since the rain usually goes around my town and soaks everyone else.

Here is a nice shot of the sun setting to the west this evening while on the home stretch.

About 5 minutes earlier it started to sprinkle then I could see a wall of rain coming at me fast and furious. About 6 miles out from home, I was in trouble. Luckily, I found a Church just 400m away. I pull in under a pavilion just in time to get a picture of this:

Nearly soaked. Made it just in time.

About 20 minutes later I am still sitting around doing nothing.

Finally after about 30 minutes, I was able to slip away and ride the rest of the way home and not get wet.

Totals: 20.42 miles -Bike

Yesterday's CF WOD: (Nice WOD by the way. Running is always good)
Warm up:
1 Mile Run (I'm back full force in this department)
30 Squats
30 Push Ups
20 Pull Ups (I'm back to sucking even more at these)
Skill: Over Head Squats (OHS)
5x5 (my weight: 95 lbs)
WOD:
10 Deadlifts (My weight: 185)
400m Run
4 Rounds for time.
My time: 15:16

Bring on the Heat & the Kegerator

I went out to Chestnut Ridge today f0r a run to test out my foot to see if the bruising was gone. (It's Not)

I'm a little nervous about this weekends' trail adventures but, I think it will be alright.

The Magic of the Mohican Trails will heal it for good. (Cross Thy Fingers)

Had I known what we were doing at CrossFit tonight, I would not have ran prior to going to Rogue. It was a beating. I loved it as this is the type of stuff that prepares you for for the next challenge. The building is hot as hell, and we haven't gotten into the summer heat yet. I heard it gets so hot in there that a cloud forms in the ceiling area. This will be great as I need to heat train for my adventure in the Sonoran Desert come October.

I don't do so well in heat and need to learn to suck it up and Run/Bike/CrossFit when it is brutally hot.

"The Kegerator": On a side note, I just apprehended my first Kegerator the other day. My plan is to have at least 3-4 Corny Kegs (5 Gallons each) on tap at any given time. Now, I don't drink that much beer, but it would sure be great to step out into the garage and pour how much I want, when ever I want.

Totals:

Trail Run: 6 Miles

Bad ass CrossFit workout:

Warm up:

50 KB Swings

40 Squats

30 Push Ups

20 Roll Overs

10 Pull Ups

Skill: Deadlifts: 3,2,2,2,1,1 1 Max Dead lift: 225

WOD:

30 KB Lunges ( I suck at these and needed to progressively go down in weight)

250m Run

10 Push Press -95 lbs

5 Rounds for time.

My time: 21:42

Blessing in Disguise

I was planning to go up to Mohican and put in some miles but, I was so frustrated today when I woke up again...very late. Sunday, I was going to meet Kim, and Luc at Salt Fork, but my wife was flying out of town and I needed to get her to the airport on time. Seems Sunday, I woke up way too late to get anything too.

Never fear, I got my sorry self in gear and went out for a run on the Slate Run Horse Trails.

I knew this trail was out there, I just assumed I couldn't use it. I was driving by and thought what the heck, I'd give it a try. When I got there, no one was out and I had the whole trail to myself.

The trail itself is a 2.5 mile loop. Below is a picture of the trail which is perfect for real trail running.

I noticed about 1.5 miles into the run that the top of my foot was flaring up. When I looped back to my car, I decided it was warranted to stop and go do something else.

Now, had I gotten clear up to Mohican, which is 2 hours away, I would have been stuck with a very long round trip for nothing. My Blessing in Disguise.

When I got home, I got the bike out for a ride. Nothing major going on with this ride. I ended up with 21 miles.

Off to CrossFit I go. I hadn't been into CrossFit for a while due to my races and a sprained ankle.

I knew this was gonna hurt.

I had to swap out all the running we had to do with rowing instead.

Warm up:

1 mile run: I did 800m run, and 500m row

30 Squats

30 Push Ups

Skill: Clean & Jerk

WOD:

15 C&J

400m Run: I did 500m Row

3 Rounds for time

My time: 15:59

Descending Big Lyons Falls

This video does no justice to the steepness and slipperiness of that day during the Forget the PR Mohican 50k. Just one slip and you'd go right down to the bottom very quick.

I simply love these falls especially when the water is cool and running freely on a hot day.

Gnaw Bone 50k Race Report

I decided the night I finished the Mohican 50k that I was in need of a longer Race in preparation for Mohican coming up in June. In reality, I am only planning to run half the race, but again, that Euphoric High came over me, and the next thing I knew, I was online Registering for Dances with Dirt - Gnaw Bone 50 miler. I woke up the next day wondering WTF (What the Flip) did I do? Am I crazy? Don't answer that yet!
I figured that since they had a 50k option I could resort to that if things went south.
I was so worried about my ankle leading up to this race. I did my best to not let it get in my head. The Blister I got at Cap City didn't help any either. That flippin blister hurt worse than my ankle.
I knew I needed to just stay home in my Bubble and just Chill all week. I also was trying not to let anyone or anything in my head, because these Ultras are simply a game. It's all mental with a little pain thrown in to make you feel alive.
I decided to not tell anyone (Actually a couple of people knew) about the race I was planning. This was to motivate me even more to tell everyone what I had accomplished.
Could I do it? Would I do it? Who knew.
I really had no business running this kind of distance, but who am I or anyone else to tell me what to do?
I really didn't care about my time, and in fact, I was planning on coming in dead last. Simply put: I needed the experience, and the time on my feet.

I had a long list of Do's and Don't for this race. From that night I signed up, I had gone over a game plan daily until I had everything rehearsed to a "T".
Take the early start, Don't eat the AS food. No stomach issues were allowed, Nothing with Simple Sugar in it allowed, Drink/Eat this, not that...etc....
My drop bag had endless compartments to stash labeled bags of "stuff".


It’s all about the experience.

I really had no idea what to expect out of this. My only goal was to finish and gain the experience. Time did not matter to me at all.
Later on in my Ultra quests, I will try and attempt to make something more out of it. The challenges will evolve. The one I am faced with now is to finish the races I have entered.
I know my time was really slow, but it was all about experiencing the kind of mileage and the pain involved.
I think the reason I wanted to finish this race was because of Mohican coming up.
The plan for Mohican realistically was to finish at least half of the race. If I feel like I can make it to the next AS then the next, I will go as far as I can.
It’s all about the experience, remember?

I played it smart the week leading up to the race. I did my last CrossFit WOD on my own in my garage and simply took it easy the rest of the week.

The Race:
I don't have pictures as I didn't want to risk my camera getting damaged by water. I showed up at Mikes Dance Barn early for the 5:30 Start. It had stormed the night before and everything was soaking wet. I knew we would all be in for some mud.
About 8-10 of us started at 5:30 with our head lamps blaring.
The first mile is all flat on a gravel road that lead to someone house. We ran through the yard and up a double track trail full of water and mud. All in all it was about a 2 mile climb.
I chatted with Donna and Karen for a little while as we meandered our way through the woods with absolutely no sign of a trail anywhere. We knew we were on track because of all the white ribbons. We saw a group of leaders who had gotten lost already. Not sure why really, this course was well marked. You would have to be totally somewhere else in order to miss the markings.

After a mile or so, they went on and I was totally by myself for quite a while.
The forest was a nice treat to run through and I highly recommend running this race because of that reason. Backtrack to about mile 2. I was starting to feel really sick to my stomach. I didn't worry much as I didn't want it to get to me. I figured I would get to the first Aid Station and get my Drop Bag meds. Turns out, the food I ate the night before is what did it. Never eating Noble Romans again.
At the first Aid Station, I was really ready to pack it up and head back. By about mile 7, I was done.
Remember, it's all about the experience. "Suck it up and just walk until you feel better".
I simply walked to the next Aid Station feeling worse and worse every mile.
It was nice to be able to cross the many stream crossings in this race. The cool water really helped along the way.
There was a 4 mile loop that we had to run before heading to the next AS. To me, this was the best section of trail the entire race.

The rest of the race was not bad at all. This is a runnable course but, it is hilly. By far, much more difficult than Mohican trails, but Mohican does have some nasty hills to climb -depending on which way you run the course.
I didn't have any difficulty walking the hills.
I was still experiencing the roller coaster sickness and ran when I felt better. By the time I reached North Gate AS, I felt good enough and ran the rest of the way to Ogle Lake AS. This was the cutoff for the 50 mile......and I missed the cutoff by 8 minutes. I was finally feeling good at this point and was kinda bummed. I decided a 50k was good enough for me. Good thing this happened because about a mile out of the AS, my stomach started again.
All I could do was walk the rest of the way back to the finish. I guess this would go down as a nice 50k walk.
At the end of the race, there were these giant abandoned ski hills that almost made be pray I didn't have to climb up or run down them. We didn't which was a relief.

At the finish, I ate so much BBQ Pork Shoulder and Carolina style slaw, but to my amazement, I didn't get sick. Go figure. Can't forget the couple of Beers and a Mojito too.
I will definitely be back next year to run this race. It was a great event.

Oh, by the way, I signed up for Dances with Dirt Hell 50 miler in September.

UPDATE:
I saw the Race Results. Posted very quickly. (Thank you! How hard was that? Didn't think it was).
My very sad 50k time: 10:35:41. Try walking/running for 31 miles with severe stomach issues.
What gets me is that at the last Aid station I had 8 miles to go with a time on my Garmin being 7:30. How is it possible to take 3 hours to walk 8 miles? Even being sick as hell should not have held me back that long.

White Castles and a Half Marathon

Yes I did it. I'm not talking about the Half Marathon today, I'm talking about the White Castles during the Half Marathon. I'll get to that in a minute.

Today, I think I have ran my last Road Race. (Never say Never) While running today, I was simply reminded of how much I hate running on asphalt. I felt just as beat up today running this race as I did running the 50k two weeks ago. Granted my ankle was still sprained a little, but in reality, my ankle never hurt much.

I kept running along and I had my iPod on Blasted Level but I kept hearing my name being called out. I must have saw her earlier because she popped in my head and I was wondering if she was running this race as well. Next thing I know My Homie Autumn taps me on the shoulder to say hey. So funny how these things play out with the subconscious mind. We ran for a few minutes together chatting until they stopped for a walk break.

I trudged along not paying attention to the mileage and next thing I know we are at mile 8. Cool, almost done.

I was teasing the Aid Station help asking them if they had any M&M's and Sandwiches. After getting strange looks (I guess they don't know about Ultra Races) a girl said: "White Castle is right up there". I knew they were up a little further, and to my amazement, White Castle had an Aid Station set up! I was laughing so hard. The lady said: You want some Carbs"? Hell Yes! I said. After she handed me two White Castles and Fries, I took off wondering where my Red Pop was. I got a lot of" "Oh my God"! "Gross"! "How can you eat those"?

My thoughts: Dude, if you only knew.

Next thing I knew I was running up the last bump toward the finish line.

Done.

No ankle problems. BUT......... I got my second ever Blister today on the bottom of my foot. I taped both feet earlier this morning and somehow got a wrinkle in the tape. I noticed it at mile 9 and wondered if I could hack it and run the rest of the way with no issues. I also wondered if I could hack it if I had another 37 miles to go.

All in all, we had great weather. Another perfect day for running.

For some reason, I have this pissed off look on my face. Maybe it was the blister. Actually, I think I always have that look on my face.