Back to Running

Two weeks after the Iron Horse 100 and I got back on the horse yesterday with a very slow and easy 5 mile run through beautiful Golden Gate Park.  Still some residual soreness in my right foot as those small bones continue to heal.  Added 30 minutes on the spin bike to stretch everything out a bit.  I should be ready for some longer trail running in a week or two!

Fat Bastard and Captain Morgan circa 1997, Key West, Florida.

Once again, take a look at this Fat Bastard here!  I'm at that place again where I've been slacking and have grown soft, physically and with respect to my discipline.  So I am once again getting back at and doing the things that I know work: Fat Secret, Crossfit, etc. in preparation for OT100 2013.

After 2 DNFs in a row at Ozark Trail I went looking for an "easy" 100-miler, like a down-on-his-luck prize fighter I needed a patsy to get my confidence back.  I had not run more than 15 miles since I dropped at 90 miles with a torn calf at OT back in November.  The Iron Horse 100, held every year on a rails-to-trail course in Florahome, Florida seemed perfect.  It's a flat course consisting of four 25-mile out and back loops so it can be run with a minimum of crew support.  In it's 8th (or 9th) running I figured the bugs were worked out and since the race is run a couple hours from my mother-in-law's retirement community and the Orlando airport, it seemed perfect.

I arrived 2 days before the February 9, 2013 race and sequestered myself in the race hotel, the Florahome Holiday Inn Express to do my prerace mental preparation. The hotel offered a special rate for runners and also hosted the prerace briefing Friday night.  They also catered to runners by putting out the breakfast service extra early the morning of the race.  The RD promise the 6pm race briefing would be well short of an hour and it was, with all the crucial info covered in detail.  This included a pre-race weigh-in to get a base weight. All 100-mile runners were required to weigh in before the race and then have another weight check at the conclusion of the 3rd loop, at 75 miles.

The start/finish/aid station #1 is located 13 miles from the hotel and offered plenty of parking.  I arrived to find many runners had set up their personal aid stations along the first 1/4 mile of the course and two burn barrels going for pre-race warming.  The RD repeated the race brief for late comers, as promised at about 6:30 am and the start went off right on time a 7:00 am.  The race includes a 50-miler and a 100K so there were about 150 people gathered at the start on the asphalt trail.  The race starts with 1.75 mile out and back to the west of the start/finish/aid station #1 then a 4 mile leg back to the east.  A total of 3.75 miles at the beginning of the loop is run on this asphalt path before it gives way to the original railroad bed of dirt and rip rap that had originially composed this part of the trail.  In addition to the new asphalt, the railroad tressels had been replace with proper bridges so it was no longer necessary to navigate over the 2" x 12" planks as in prior years.

After the initial 7.5 miles of rails-to-trails path the course comes to a 3 way intersection of East-V and West-V roads.  These are fire roads alternately composed of hard pack macadam and loose, soft sand.  At the first time through the 3-way you head up East-V road to Aid Station #2 for a p-shaped loop which brings you back to the 3 way intersection.  Then it's up a gradual 3.75 mile climb to Aid Station #3 for a 7.5 mile out and back to the intersection.  This section is the most trying part of the course, especially later in the race it seems you will never get to the top!  Once back at the 3 way you have 4 miles to go back down the path, half rocky trail, and half asphalt, to the start/finish/aid station #1.

I set out with a deliberate easy pace (remember I NEEDED a finish, not a PR!) of about a 20:00 finish.  I had made a pace chart for 20 hours and 22 hours, knowing I would slow in the darkness and fatigue later in the race.   I ran and chatted with a few runners on the first loop but by the second and subsequent loops we were spread out enough that I ran alone the rest of the time.  During the day the aid stations were manned by the local Navy Junior ROTC kids.  Each of the aid stations were moderately stocked with chips, cookies, M&Ms, etc, as well as Hammer Nutrition products (a race sponsor).  I use only water and S-caps for electrolytes and hydration and Lara Bars for nutrition, so I mostly took a little of whatever looked good at the aid stations. 

I finished my first loop at 4:40, a little ahead of my planned time.  The out and back section allowed me to drop my hydration pack with a volunteer for refilling and I grabbed a handheld bottle to do the out an back section.  When I got back my pack was ready to go so I grabbed my visor and put on some suncreen, grabbed a hamburger and went back out for another loop.  This time I came back in closer to 5:00 hours on my second loop and my crew (wife Chia and her mother) were there with my gear all set out.  I again grabbed the hand held bottle while they prepped my gear to start the night running.  Once back from the 3.5 mile out and back I grabbed a grilled cheese, my head lamp, hand held light and hydration pack and went out for loop 3.  Night fell about 2 hours into this loops and I slowed down even more.  The aid station crews had switched over and I began to hear about a lot of 100 mile runners dropping out from the heat or dropping down to the 100K or 50 mile race.  It  became even rarer to come across another runner on the course with maybe thirty 100-mile runners still on the course.  Aid Stations #2 and #3 had not yet gotten the night chow ready, but I had some luke warm chicken noodle soup at Aid Station #2 and then slogged up the hill to Aid Station #3 for similar chow.  Back at the start finish I repeated my routine and had another hamburger as I set out on my last loop.  I had finished the 3rd loop in 6 hours and was now onto my 22:00 pace chart.  My quads were getting really tight and I was forced to stop and squat to stretch them throughout the 4th loop at ever-shortening intervals.  By the last leg on the 4-mile path I had to stop every 10 minutes or so to keep going at any reasonable pace.  I'm sure the other runners wondered if I was doing something else right in the middle of the course when they saw me squatting like this throughout my last loop.



As I entered the asphalt 2-mile section of the final loop I switched off my headlamp and ran in the dark so I could see the glow of the finish line in the distance.  I don't know what my pace was but it seemed to take forever!  Finally I crested the small rise about 1/4 mile from the finish and I could see the red race clock in the distance.  I stopped to stretch/squat one more time so I could look good running into the finish, and came in at 22:34 to be greeted by the RD, my wife, and a few hearty spectators.  After a brief photo session of the sub-24 buckle presentation we loaded into the car for a quick ride back to the hotel for a shower and a nap, then hit the hotel breakfast for a cup of coffee and conversation with a dozen other runners gathered there.

All in all the Iron Horse 100 is a very well run race and an easy, flat course.  It's a far cry from the rugged Ozark Trail 100, but it gave me a 100 mile finish that I hope will inspire me to get back on my training plan and get me to the end of the OT100 in 2013!

Race results were posted the day following the finish.  I placed 11th among the 61 registered 100-milers, only 29 of whom finished the 100-mile.
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	Leg Time	Leg Pace
Leg 1	4:43	11:19
Leg 2	5:13	12:31
Leg 3	6:00	14:24
Leg 5	6:38	15:55
Total	22:34	13:32

Back at It

Back at, working on another try at the OT100 on November 3, 2012.

Good start so far...back to eating well with the help of Whole9, the Well Fed Cookbook and Chia.

Also, off the Skoal, again, this time since December 4, 2011.  Not sure how many days that is, but it's alot.

Got in 2 workouts yesterday, with a Plate Tabata in the morning, then a 5 mile run in Golden Gate Park after work, both with Chia.

Here we go again....standby!

Look at This Fat Bastard Here!

     Wow, is that a double chin or what?  This photo was taken at Finnegan's Wake in Key West, only moments before I kissed Captain Morgan full on the mouth as thanks for all the great times I had with him and Coke.  I also happen to be sporting a 5K t-shirt from one of my earliest "runs".

      I've come a ways since then in my running as well as eating and drinking habits but I think it's timely to post this picture because of late I've been slacking in the areas of nutrition, drinking, Crossfitting and chewing and have rounded out a little bit in the middle.  Hopefully the publication of this bit-o-history will be the impetus I need to get my collective sh!t in one sock and get back to the business of ultramarathoning like I mean it.

Chia and I have signed up for our first trail run as west-coasters, the Headlands 50 Mile and Trail Marathon on July 16th.  I think the elevation will provide good hill training for me, but I'm expecting it will take closer to 12 hours than 11.  In preparation for this run I'm getting back to my old ways of eating cleanly, not drinking or chewing and working out every day except when rest/recovery is called for.

Tune in later to see how the Captain I and I fare!

CRUD 24 Hour; 110520

Pre-race contemplation!

Although I felt undertrained and over-soft from my recent lack of discipline in my nutrition, workouts and Skoal chewing, I was really, really looking forward to this race.  The only timed ultra I had done up to this point was the Howl at The Moon 8-Hour in Danville, IL.  While the Howl is a great race put on by an even greater bunch of people, I had done it so many times it sort of became a training run for me.  Doug and I used it last year as a lead in to the Ozark Trail 100 and I think I can speak for both of us when I say the Howl really served us well.  Anyway, I was really looking forward to this race because it was a proper trail run and is put on by the CRUD guys,  Mike Klopfenstein and Adam Zimmerman who are also the RD's of the Farmdale Trail runs (10, 30 & 50).  They are super-supportive of their runners and included in their list of racing instruction and course rules is to talk to them first before dropping so they can have a chance to talk you out of it!  CRUD 8 hour had its inaugural running in 2010 and this year they added the 24 hour.  There was a solo and relay option for both races.

We showed up at the venue, Jubilee College State Park, about 10 miles northwest of Peoria at 2pm on Friday.  The 24-hour race starts at 4pm on Friday afternoon and the 8-hour was set to begin at 8am the following morning so both races finished at 4pm Saturday.  The course was a 3.5 mile trail through the park.  It was 49% single track, 49% Jeep roads, and 2% grass/plowed corn field.  The last 45 minutes of the race are run on a 1-mile loop of similar terrain.  Chia and I set up our personal command shelter, courtesy of our local Weber Grill rep Sean Noonan (our neighbor!), sorted through the foodstuffs and clothes/shoes then waited patiently for the start.  The race goodies included a nice duffel bag, a technical logo shirt and a visor.

National Anthem

The other solo runners and the lone open-division relay team showed up and checked in and then the chips were handed out.  Scoring was via the chip system, no manual scoring, though you were required to check-in every lap and I think one of the RD or their minions kept a close eye on the computer throughout the race.  Their were 15 runners entered in the 24-hour solo competition and we took off precisely at 4pm after a playing of the National Anthem.

The start!

It didn't take long for everyone to spread out and 99% of my race was run alone.  The first few laps were uneventful and I settled into a decent (for me) pace, completing the loop in 45-50 minutes each time.  There were 2 water crossings, one really
muddy corner and a half-dozen downed trees across the trail, but otherwise the trail was in great shape with a minimum number of rocks or roots to contend with.  As twilight came I grabbed the Surefire headlamp and handheld light that Doug had loaned me and settled in for a long night of running.  I drank mostly plain water, supplemented with "Mexican Coke" which used real cane sugar for sweetener instead of corn syrup.  I was taking an S-cap every other lap and a Tums at about the same interval.  The weather was really kind to us with only a moderate amount of humidity to contend with, but no rain, heat or cold really.

Middle of the night.

I slowed down considerably as it became fully dark.  Even with the great lights it was tougher to negotiate the trails in the dark.  Also the wood were full of critters scurrying around and I was constantly flashlighting eyes in the darkness.  There was a farmer plowing the adjacent corn field until about 1:30 am which made sections of the back side of the trail a little tougher with dust blowing in my eyes and obscurring the headlamp.  After he finished plowing the coyotes started up and continued until right before dawn with their eery child-like howling.

All in all I ran well overnight.  The one thing I really struggled with was GI issues.  I commonly have a problem with nausea later in the longer runs and that and time spent addressing other GI problems added several minutes to a lot of my later lap times!  Chia did a fantastic job motivating me, providing me with food and meds and tracking my progress.  It is no understatement to say I could not have done it without her.  She did have her own problems to contend with overnight, most notably the raccoons.  There was a big mama raccoon that took and interest in the main aid station and had to be shooed away repeatedly, while the juveniles took a liking to our aid station and once when Chia sat down for a quick cat nap, the boldly came into our shelter and got into the trash only about 3 feet from where she was sitting!

About 4am, 12hours and 49 miles into the race, I was really struggling with nausea and having a hard time even taking in enough water.  I carried a handheld bottle and tried to finish 1 every lap, but at this point was only getting down about 1/2 of one.  I decided to quit.  I told myself I had run a good race, but I was out of prime shape and had been eating and living crappy the last couple of months and I just didn't have it in me.  I would use the nausea and my intolerance of liquids as my excuse to quit and I began trying to figure out how I could cut the course and get back to the start/finish from the backside of the trail.  But I kept running a little further and an full-fledged argument ensued in my head between my weaker side and my little inspiration Kylie.  We talked about being brave and tolerating pain, fatigue and nausea.  She would never quit and I knew I couldn't either and I ran on, renewed, reinvigorated and motivated.

I was never so glad to see the sun come up as I was Saturday morning.  I was able to get down a hot cup of ramen noodles the lap before sunrise and dumping the lights really boosted my spirits.  After the sun came fully up I grabbed my iPod and put on an audio book to keep my brain busy.  "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy was suitably somber for the six hour period I spent running and listeing to it.  I started eating and drinking more including some cold Monical's sausage pizza and another cup of ramen.  I supplemented with the Mexican Coke, a few gummy bears and Jelly Belly's.

I had started walking more of each loop and taking longer breaks both at our aid station and the pit toiled and was now probably averaging closer to 1 hour per loop.  The field dwindled as people either "finished" or "dropped" but the addition of the 8-hour solo and relay runner kept the trail full and me busy stepping aside to let the really fast, really young guys go past.  I heard someone say one of the relay members was turning 26 minute laps!

One more lap!

After I had completed 19 laps,21 hours and 66.5 miles, I was again thinking of stopping.  BJ, one of the assistant RD's (for lack of a better term) came over to check my progress and told me the last 2 guys closet to my mileage had decided to stop and with one guys still "taking a break" there would be a 3-way tie for second place, including me if I went out and did another loop and neither of the other 2 decided to try to get one more loop in.  The leader had logged 91 miles (26 laps) and, being obviously untouchable and tired of the Illinois humidity, had decided to stop.  So I went back out for another loop, walking WAY more than running after Chia helped me re-dress my feet and I added some more lube in all the right places!

When I came back from loop #20 I was faced with the choice of trying to get in another loop or wait 40 minutes for the 1-mile loops to start at 3:15 pm.  If I went back out and didn't finish the loop in time, none of those miles would count and there would remain a 3 way tie for 2nd, but if I waited for the 1-mile loops and did just one loop, I would be alone in 2nd place as the only other runner who could still catch me needed another full loop AND at least one 1-mile loop just to tie.  So I decided to wait for the 1-mile loops to start and stood, (NEVER SITTING!) around eating and drinking what I could tolerate until then.

Mike, the RD, and I debating the merits
of the 1-mile loops!

At 3:15pm we set out on our 1-mile loops and again I walked way more than ran one loop and stopped at about 3:40pm and finally sat down, opened a beer and started taking off my shoes and moleskins.

Postrace chow was pulled pork with all the fixins and I ate my fill.  We had the award ceremony where the overall male 24-hour solo winner (suspiciously Mike's brother from Colorado) was awarded the plaque for his 91 mile victory.  I got my finisher's plaque and thanked the RD's and all the aid workers before jumping back in the Wagoneer for the 1 1/2 hour ride home.

Mike, Adam & me.

All in all CRUD 24 is a great run, put on by a fanstastic group of people. We were blessed with unbelievable weather and trail conditions.  I was doubly-blessed to have Chia taking care of me and motivating be throughout the day and night and despite not being in top shape I was happy with my performance, though more so mentally than physically!

WOD 110509

100 Burpees for Time

Joe: 8:57