Just One of Those Days

I was awoken suddenly by my wife's voice, "It is time to get up." it was 4:15 race morning. I slept great! It was into the shower for my first warm shower of our stay and then the extensive preparation of getting dressed, which takes much longer than you could ever imagine.

Then it was off to breakfast or at least what I call breakfast on race day. A cup of coffee and nothing else. I don't recommend this fueling strategy for everyone but it works for me. I will have two Vespa amino acid supplement drinks an hour and fifteen minutes before the race respectively. That however only amounts to about forty calories altogether.


With the bus issues we have had in conjunction with this race, the men's team decided to take Michael Wardian's rental van to get us there instead. We had a smooth ride to Seregno and got there about 6:30 for the 8:00 start. Unfortunately, there were more transportation issues and the race start was moved back to 8:30. This worried me a little because I hadn't really eaten anything for breakfast.


We made our way to the start line under cloudy skies with a threat of rain and temperatures in the 50's. Ideal race conditions! The gun went off and we were in our way. My plan was to maintain a 6:45 pace for the first four Laps, then push it in that last lap. We'll, that plan was thrown quickly out the window as we were hitting 6:30's I early miles if the race. I settled into a pack of six or seven which included joe binder.


This pack stayed together for much of the first two laps, when on the third lap I got bored and put a surge in at about the 45km mark. I was able to gap that pack and run across  to a pack of four about 200 meters ahead.  The field was beginning to show signs of cracking. The group of six I was running with became a group of two and the group of four I caught up to contained only one runner that could react. That runner was a Frenchman that eventually surged past me.


My surge was short lived because about 15km later the pack of two which contained Joe Binder caught up to and passed me. The unusual part of this  was I wasn't slowing down. I was getting faster. I finished the third lap and reached the 65km aid station where my wife was and yelled "what place am I in?" she informed me fifteenth. I was ready to race the last 35km.


The field was really stringing out and runners who ran an ambitious pace early were reduced to a jog or even a walk. Heading into the 70km mark I was surprised to see that I was gaining on Joe. I said some encouraging words as I ran by and to my amazement I saw the back of another America jersey off in the distance at the 75km mark. It was Todd Braje. He was hanging tough but going a low spell. I was now in fourth on my team.


I crossed the start finish for my last and final lap and got a burst of energy from the crowd and what I was just about to notice. Andy Henshaw, arguably one of the top two 100k runners in our country had dropped out of the race and was helping out at our aid station just past the start/finish line.


I was now in third place on our team and in a scoring position. (They only take the best three times from each team. The bottom three get thrown our.) in one lap I went from sixth on our team to third. This was a huge change psychologically. I willed myself to stay focused and  not to succumb to the self doubt. I kept eating, taking salt, and drinking fluids. I didn't want to bonk the last few miles.


As we approached the 85km mark and anticipated the excitement on my wife's face as she saw me approach. You could see the nervousness as she handed me my water bottle with salt capsules. She then screamed out, "You're in 8th!" I was in absolute shock. Not only was I going to be a scoring member on our team but I may finish in the top ten which would earn me an automatic spot in the 2013 World Championship in  South Korea.


I tried as best I could to block all that out and run one km at a time. It sounds cliche but it works. I arrived at the 95km aid station and got a huge cheer from our aid station and ad I grab my water bottle they screamed, "GO!" the whole afternoon I had been told we were in 2nd place but the way they said go have me the impression that we still had a shot at gold. My legs were so heavy that I just couldn't find another gear to run in. Until I saw our number two man, Michael Wardian, off in the distance.


When I eventually caught up to him with 4 km to go we willed each other to run harder. Our pace went from 6:55 per mile to 6:30. We were both exhausted but it was a race against he clock. Could we make up enough time to pace the Italian's.


With less than a km to go, I surged ahead of Michael and kicked it in! I finished seventh in a time of 6:48:52, Michael finished in eighth right behind me. I was so over come by emotions I began to cry. I couldn't believe what just happened. There is no way this second alternate finished seventh in the world.


Shortly after my finish, I saw my wife running towards me. Her face said it all. We embraced and shared many tears. Tears of hard work, suffering, sacrifice,.. You name it.


The magical day ended with a team meal at a local restaurant and the award ceremony where we were rewarded the silver medal.


Now my focus turns to Cleveland in two weeks where I will be competing in the 24 hour National championships at NorthCoast. That will be the hardest run of my life, but the way this year is going, I won't count myself out.

Italy (Day1-Day 5)

The excitement is building as I wait to meet the team and finally arrive at the hotel we will ultimately be at on race day. Many of the people on the team are ultra running legends that I admire so being on the same team with them is doubly as honoring as being able to race for the United States in a World Championship event. My wife and I have been blessed to be able to travel throughout Italy in the week leading up to the race. We arrived in Rome Saturday the 14th and saw the sites there over 2 days. We saw the Coliseum, the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps and many of the other famous monuments in Rome. Then we traveled to Florence and Pisa next. We ate with a view of the leaning tower of Pisa and were amazed by the beautiful architecture in Florence.  Then the last two stops were Venice and Milan. The canals of Venice are amazing; imagine taking a water taxi or boat to cross the streets and having no lawns within the city. The entire city is built on wooden piles as a foundation in the water! We will be staying in a little mountain retreat at the base of the Alps near Tecco approximately 30 km from the race site in Seregno, Italy.
I have been keeping up with my running; 50 miles in four days. Although it’s significantly more difficult to do that in the middle of European cities with cobblestone streets, lots of tourists and drivers with little regard for pedestrians. The first few days in Rome it was easy to make time for running with few folks on the road because I was up before 4 am local time, running the same loop around our hotel and the British and Russian Embassies. I was like a hamster on the wheel in his cage, but never felt safer with guards posted outside each embassy, looking at me with suspicious eyes after each passing lap. We were exhausted each of the first few nights at 8 pm or earlier so we headed to bed early and the result was early wake up times. After 2 early morning runs and avoiding traffic I did one afternoon run on the second day in Rome. There is a path down by the Tiber River that I noticed other runners using. It was a rare site to see anyone running. I had seen only about ten runners up until that time.
Shortly after arriving in Venice on Tuesday, I went for a nine mile run weaving like a boxer in and out of pedestrians, not the ideal place to run to say the least. I woke up the following morning at 5:30 and ran the cobblestone grounds getting lost amongst my thoughts and the maze of streets. Doubts crept into my head. Did I train enough? Did I taper too soon? Should have I run one more long run and tempo run? These are the thoughts that pass through the minds of most runners the week of a race. But these questions aren’t answered until race day.
I am on the train to Milan as I type. That is where I will take the shuttle tomorrow afternoon to meet up with our team at our team hotel. The nerves have not settled in yet. Is it because I am the oldest member of the team and have years of racing experience on big stages OR is it because I haven’t donned the U.S.A jersey yet? It’s probably the latter.

It's Not About Me

I was speaking to the Modesto Chapter of the Lions Club today at their monthly meeting today at lunch time. My message was simple......at one time my running became me and all about me. The wins were for me. The training was for me. I took this gift that God had clearly given me and I used it against him instead of for him. I realize now that my gift was given to me to motivate others and guess what.....it has. The students at my school ask me questions on a daily basis and that includes students that aren't even in any of my classes. When I speak to me Teens Run Modesto Students about running, they actually stop what they are doing and listen. You try to get a bunch of 13 and 14 year old kids to listen intently for more than thirty seconds...it's tough:) I know kids that run now because of what I do. I don't understand it, but it is true.
So, when I toe the line on April 22nd in Seregno, Italy, it isn't about me. I will race to glorify God and to give these teenagers something positive to look up to. I take this assignment very seriously and I won't fail as long as I have Him in my corner.

You can follow my race progress April 22nd (10pm West Coast time Saturday, April 21st)  on the IAU website.

Go USA!

Seregno, Italy...Here I Come!

What a difference a few days can make. On Sunday I had a high and a low. I ran a great race at the Modesto Marathon and ended up with a 6 minute PR, unfortunately that wasn’t enough for a win that day. I lost the race by 15 seconds. But, another high point was that I was still able to run 10 miles afterward and see my friends and kids I mentored in the Teens Run Modesto program finish their marathons. My plans were to continue training for the 24 hour National Championship the first weekend in May. My tickets had been purchased and I was on track to gear up my training and head out to Cleveland in hopes of qualifying for the U.S. National Team for the 24 hour race in Poland in September. Then, my plans changed. On Wednesday I found out I was bumped from second alternate to first alternate on the U.S. National 100 km team. Then Thursday I found out I made the team. They asked me if I could commit to being in Italy on April 19^th. That’s a whopping 28 days until the first official team meeting and 31 days until the World Cup race.

Needless to say, I was shocked, thrilled, scared, excited, and overwhelmed by the opportunity that was laid out before me when I checked my email that Thursday evening. I joked with my wife that late night emails have been pretty exciting and high points of my running career (aside from the races). I found out I was second alternate via a late night email in January of 2012. Thank goodness my wife and I got our passports in order in January after that first late night email. We thought it was all for naught, though, when no one dropped off the team after the notification was made and put the thought of traveling to Italy this spring out of our minds. Then Wednesday I was notified that I was now the first alternate. A confusing email on Thursday made me think I was actually on the team so I called the team captain and was told it was true. I was named to the team because 2 people who had qualified above me had dropped from the team.

Representing the USA in a national competition has been a lifelong goal of mine and I couldn’t believe I was going to have the chance to feel the pride of representing our nation as I stood at the opening ceremonies wearing team USA gear! Yes, we get to wear what the athletes wore in the 2008 Olympic Games. Too bad the race wasn’t after the 2012 Summer Games, maybe we would get the new stuff, but I am not complaining. I will proudly wear the red, white and blue as I try to run yet another PR in a race in …oh my goodness…as I write this it is 28 and a half days.

This has been even crazier because we have been elbow deep in landscaping our back yard .  Wednesday evening we were out in the dark with headlamps to guide us laying sod and spreading dirt. Thursday, more sod and trying to straighten out sprinklers. Friday my daughter had T-ball practice and we had 5 cousins along with our kids for a play date. Then, finally, on Saturday, after a day prepping baseball fields for games that start next week and trying to get more landscaping we were able to start planning for this unexpected trip!

Oh yeah, in the meantime I was trying to keep up with my running so I could perform at my best for the race. On Friday I got in 24 miles (including running the Super Mile with middle school students at lunch). Saturday I ran 18 in between landscaping and more landscaping. Sunday I squeezed in 25 miles after church and before more landscaping. I was too tired after the week’s activities to get up at 4 am like I usually do for my weekend runs, so my wife gave me permission to take off mid-day both Saturday and Sunday.

The only thing that makes my wife and I think twice about this wonderful opportunity is leaving our 2 kids behind stateside as we head over to Europe. We have never left them for this long, and we are planning on making the trip 10 days to enjoy a few sights while we are there and get over the jet lag before the race. Once again, we were blessed by generous offers of family members and friends to watch the kids while we are gone. We are talking to them every day about the trip and what to expect so that hopefully they are prepared for when we go. We plan on using Skype and finding Wi-Fi at every stop to connect with them. I think that seeing their smiling faces on the computer screen will give me the boost I need before the race!

Now, maybe I can begin to sit back and enjoy the ride as we continue to make our plans for this incredible trip. I have already been able to enjoy the support of the wonderful people I know as I have been getting a steady stream of congratulatory emails and Facebook posts. I have been offered donation money by thoughtful friends and my brother is trying to get me a fundraising night at Oodles. The trip is partially funded, but we are trying to figure out the details of how much we will need to make it happen. It seems like everything has lined up perfectly so far, so no doubt, it will all work itself out.

What Motivates Us?

I look at my schedule on a daily basis and especially Tuesdays, and I say to myself, "Why? Why would anyone put themselves through this? For what is the end result?

(Tuesday)

• Alarm goes off at 4 a.m.
• Prepare breakfast for kids and wife from 4 to 4:30.
• Run from 4:45 to 6 a.m.(Doobie has to leave for bible study at 6), then jump on treadmill until 6:45
• From 6:45 to 7:30 Get ready for work and get Nathanael and Lauren ready for school.
• 7:30 to 8:00 Drop off Nathanael at school and go to work.
• From 8:00 to 3:00 teach with a 45 minute lunch period.(no prep)
• 3:15 leave for Nathanael's school to pick him up and set up for baseball practice at 4.(I'm the head coach:)
• Baseball practice from 4-5:00 p.m.
• Drive to Muncy School and eat dinner in parking lot.
• Drop-in tutoring at Muncy from 5:30-7:30 where I'm one of the math tutors.
• Get home 8:00 p.m. and say goodnight to kids.
• Spend next hour getting lunch, house, and running bag ready for the next day.

And this is not that much different than any other day during the week. I know I am not the only ultra runner out there that has a busy life. But what drives us to continue to put ourselves through this daily exhaustion?

The simple answer for me is........I want to see how far I can push myself. I want to know the limits of my true ability. The idea of what could be.....drives me to get out of bed, no less than five days a week, at 4 a.m. I'm not super human by any stretch. I am motivated. And motivation is one key element that gets overlooked with all successful people. So, I have my clothes laid out for tomorrow morning, the coffee is ready to go in the pot, the alarm is set, and I will be up at 4 a.m. BECAUSE I don't want to say, "WHAT IF........."

Modesto Marathon is Right Around the Corner

With the Modesto Marathon right around the corner, and me being the two-time defending champ, there has been some local press knocking down my door. Here is a nice article written by Efran G. for the Modesto View Magazine.

Rocky Road 100 Mile(13:14:44)

I’m sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on I-5 on my way through Los Angeles to get to Coto De Caza at 5p.m. on Friday….the day before the Rocky Road 100 Mile race. So, I decided to pull off the highway and go for a 20 minute jog at a neighborhood park in Pasadena to get the junk out of my legs from the long drive. As I was running, I was wondering if I should even be there. My wife had a 102 degree temperature along with a sinus infection and both of my children (Lauren, four years old, and Nathanael, six years old) are also sick. Moreover, I am completely on my own; no crew, no friends accompanying me on the trip. This usually spelled doom for a good race result. I have only gone alone to a 100 mile race twice and both times I didn’t make it past 40 miles.

This time around it felt different. I can attribute my new found confidence to the lessons learned from the experiences at my last two Tahoe Rim 100 Mile races(21:27 and (23:55).  They have given me the confidence and resolve to finish when every bone in my body said to stop. Also, I was running a race that suited the environment in which I trained. I live in the Central Valley of California (Modesto) with the emphasis on ‘Valley.’ For last few years, I have tried to run mountain hundreds with steep grades and at high elevations when my training dictated I run something flatter and at sea level. The Rocky Road 100 mile had rolling terrain and was run practically at sea level. This was ideal race to fit the training I had been doing. Also, I had no breaks in my training to heal injuries. I was focused, determined, and motivated. So much so, that I was up four to five days a week by myself at 4 a.m. to get many of my runs in. And that was with a very busy daily work schedule and family schedule. In addition, I ran more mileage and put more time on my feet than I had for any other hundreds I have ever run. I can attribute the rise in mileage and lack of muscle fatigue to Peter Defty. I changed my diet completely in December and went to an OFM diet while using Vespa during my training. This diet required me to cut out sugar, wheat, and white flour in my diet. This allowed my insulin levels to stay constant and helped me to burn fat in training, instead of glucose. And my energy levels weren’t on a roller coaster ride. I felt strong throughout most of my training runs.

Fast forward to race morning. I toe the line for the Rocky Road 100 mile in ideal weather conditions with uncertainty and a heavy heart. Was I in as good a shape as I thought? Would my stomach hold up? Would I be able to mentally get through the low points without help from a crew or family? Well, those questions would be answered very soon. Shortly after the gun went off a little after 6 a.m., the lead group separated themselves. The group contained the Southern California ultra legend Ben Hian, Nickademus Hollon (21 year old stud!), and myself. The plan was to stay with Ben for three loops, then determine whether to stay or go.

I completed the first 15 mile lap with Ben four minutes behind the lead two runners, one of which was Nickademus Hollon. I wasn’t too worried about the four minute gap, but I felt like I could push the gradual downhills more than I had. After seeing the course, my game plan started to take shape and I figured out where I could attack. I would run the uphills under control and I would “stride-out” on the downhills. I just wanted to make sure I stayed in that aerobic level for entire race if possible, so I could save my stomach.

As we came into the end of the second lap, Ben dropped off a little and the lead group still maintained their 4 minute cushion but they weren’t able to add to it. I really felt good. I just felt like the pace they were running was out of their comfort level and that they would come back to the rest of the field soon.

My fueling all day was planned meticulously, but simplistically. I felt like I could carry one 20 oz bottle full of water for the entire loop and take a cup or two of water at each and every aid station. Also, I would take in some food at every aid station, whether that was half a gel, piece of banana, bite or two of pbj, hand full of chips, etc…I prepared six 20oz bottles of water stuffed with a gel and a Vespa and had them in an ice chest next to my car, with a couple of cans of V8, and a couple of pbj sandwiches. I would come into the start/finish aid station, veer off to my car, grab a bottle, and I was off. It was seamless. I also was going to change out of the Brooks D7 Racers I was wearing at thirty miles to save some mileage on my new Saucony Fastwitch 4’s.

As I approached the turnaround of the second lap at mile 22.5, the lead two were only two minutes ahead and they had a look on their faces that showed that the early pace may have been a little too fast for them to maintain. Two miles before the end of the third lap I passed one of the lead runners and then I came up on Nickademus a mile or so before the end of the loop. We said some encouraging words to each other as I pulled in front. I came into the aid station, grabbed a water bottle and pbj for the road, and I was off without missing a beat. I bypassed on the shoe change because I didn’t want to mess with the good karma.

Now we were entering familiar territory, Jon with the early lead. In recent years, this didn’t lead to a good outcome, but I still felt strong and decided if I just maintained the comfortable pace I was running, that I would be in good shape for a good result.

Ben and I had talked earlier about the quick early pace and commenting on whether it would take its toll on the lead runners. In that conversation he was sharing some insight on the course. He stated that the course doesn’t seem hilly but that every grade is very gradual and sometimes not noticeable. The cumulative effect would take a toll on your legs, so he said. By mile 30 there were a couple of hills he would begin walking to conserve energy. The crazy thing is there was no point at which I felt like I needed to walk.

The only low point of the day was from mile 58 to 64. I really felt sluggish. I didn’t feel like walking but I could tell my energy was lacking and my feet / legs were beginning to hurt. I told myself if I could make it to the start/finish aid station (mile 60) I would treat myself to a Tylenol, one of the simple joys in my ultra running life.

Back home, my family and friends were following the race updates online. I came to find out that for whatever reason, my fourth lap didn’t not get recorded, so my 30 minute lead after lap three, became a 50 minute deficit after lap four! The chatter began on Facebook about what may happened. Did I go out too fast? Did I get lost? Was it part of my strategy? What? I did have a track record, recently, of falling off the pace after 50 miles and I know that they must have been thinking “here we go again.”

As I headed out for my fifth loop, I calculated that my lead had grown to 50 minutes and I still felt pretty strong. Then, suddenly my prayers were answered; the Tylenol had taken the edge off my pain and gave me a little adrenaline rush. For the next ten miles (miles 64 to 74) I enjoyed the easiest running of the day. It felt effortless and I began to dream about what time I could possibly run. Could I break Hal Koerner’s Rocky Racoon time 13:24? Even better….could I break 13 hours? Why stop there…..could I break Ian’s 12:48…….Ok, that wasn’t going to happen, but I really felt like I had an outside chance of breaking 13 hours if I could just continue what I was doing. Well, this exuberant feeling was short lived because with one mile left to complete my fifth loop, the feeling of nirvana had left me and it was replaced with pain and sluggishness. I ran one of my fastest loops of the day.(1:59) I slammed a V8, grabbed another bottle, and turned down the shoes change once again, even though the blisters were swelling and toe nails were beginning separate from the cuticles.

I was beginning to feel the buzz created by my performance. It seemed as though each and every runner I passed was keeping track of my progress and always supplied me with encouragement in the form of a smile, hooting and hollering, spontaneous bowing, or just words of praise. Additionally, as I entered the start/finish aid station and the mile 5/10 aid station, I would see spectators get out of their cars just to see me. It was crazy! I felt like a rock star! I am used to being the spectator getting out of the car to see the runners like Hal Koerner, Anton Krupicka, Jeff Roes, ……etc.coming through an aid station.

I slowed a little on my sixth lap but still finished the lap in 2:02. I could not believe that my six lap totals were 2:00, 1:58, 1:56, 1:57, 1:59, and 2:02. It was unfathomable that I could keep pretty even splits for the entire race. As I crossed the finish to complete my sixth lap I handed my water bottle to a race volunteer to fill with water, then I veered off to my car to grab three things, a jacket, beanie, and my head lamp. I grabbed my things and the water bottle as I head out of the parking lot and the start/finish area to embark on the last 10 miles of the race. I get down to the transition of the road and the horse trail and realize that I only grabbed two of the three things from my car. I forgot my headlamp! I had to make a quick decision. Do I go back and sacrifice the time to be able to see clearly the last ten miles or do I take a chance? The decision was easy for me. I would go for it! For the majority of the last lap I could ‘mostly’ see the ground that I was running on but passing cars and their bright headlamps blinded me on portions of the run.

The entire lap I was thinking of 13:16, Eric Clifton’s 100 mile U.S. trail record up until last year. I knew it would be close. 8:30’s would not do it, and I was struggling to go any faster. I would have to run the 4.5 mile gradual downhill out of the start/finish at an eight minute pace or even a little bit better to make up for the uphill finish where I would obviously give a little time back.

I finally reached the 95 mile aid station (turn around). I said, “Number 128 in and I’m leaving.” I caught a glimpse of Ben Hian and Scott Mills at the aid station. I stopped to high-five both of them as they shared some words of praise. By then, though, I had the finish line on my mind. I carefully maneuvered the descent out of the aid station. I spent the next five miles continuously checking my watch to see my speed. I knew it would be close. Passing runners would shine their lights ahead on the trail to give me light as I went by. I blew through the 97.5 mile aid station without even a hesitation of slowing down. I needed every second at this point. Finally I could see the cone to signal the turn to the finish but it wasn’t very obvious because I didn’t have any light. Elation came over me as I crossed the finish line in 13:14:44. Spectators and volunteers were stunned and even surprised that I was done. Both race directors were expecting me to arrive at 13:30, not 13:14, so neither of them was there. I overheard the race photographer on his cell phone talking to Rob Cowan, the race director, telling him that I finished and that no RD was there. Shortly after that conversation, Rob arrived, shook my hand, and then asked if he could give me a hug. I was stunned and even numb by what happened. Everyone around me looked at me in amazement, but it was just one of those races that felt easy. I can’t explain it, but if you have run in this sport long enough, you treasure these moments because they are few and far between.  

To the race directors Rob Cowan and Charlie Alewine, the volunteers, and runners thank you for making the Rocky Road 100 the crown achievement of my running career.