Short Bear Report

I made it and met my goals of a) Finishing b) Not dying c) Coming in under 30 hours!  My finish time was 29 hours and 35 minutes.  I have lots to say but will need some time to get it all down. More to come...

I saw this today on Christie's FB page that she found somewhere and it is perfect for me.

Night before at my Aunt's house

Richards Hollow Mile 26

Temple Fork Mile 45



State Line Mile 80?





Ranger Dip Mile 93



FINISH LINE!

Leons January 30th, 2010 50K

We are leaving tomorrow for the Bear 100 in Logan, UT.  I am excited to get to the starting line and look forward to what will surely be a wild ride! 

The first time I attempted a trail run of more that a few miles was Leon's Fat Ass 50k on January 30th, 2010.  For those not familiar with what a Fat Ass run is, the following paragraph was taken from Leon's flyer he sent around....

"The event is an informal event without entry fees, awards, official finishing times, aid stations, or wimps.  The route may be changed from time to time.  Our purpose is to get together for a nice run, rather than to have a formal race.  Our distance is not exact, but the start/finish line was changed this year to get pretty close to a 50K. Directions are not exact.  Starting time is not exact.  I usually get the date right, though. (Which ironically was incorrect - January 30th 2009 instead of 2010) This year's route is an out and back starting at the junction of end of the pavement on Shaw Mountain Road.  We will make our way to Bogus Basin Road almost entirely on trails, and then turn around and go back.  If you need a map, bring your own; none will be provided. Highest elevation is around 4,000 feet.  There might be snow on the ground, possibly knee deep in places.  There might also be muddy patches.  Deal with it.  See you there."

Anyway, I had trained up to the point that I ran my first unofficial marathon on the greenbelt in December of 2009 and thought I could handle a few more miles.  Boy was I wrong!  Trail running uses different parts of your legs and I was not ready at all.  I made it 21 miles before I could barely walk.  That was from the start to Bogus and back to 8th Street.  It was the first and last time I failed to complete an organized run I started, but I learned a lot and am glad I came back for more.

This was the first time I met many of the trail runners I know and run with today. 

I ran with Robbie Woog for much of the first leg leading up to 8th Street.  We eventually caught up with Jon Kinzer and I thought Dennis Ahern.  I remember trying to run the stretch from Hulls up the 8th Street parking lot and Dennis (although I can't confirm this because there weren't any pictures of Dennis, but this sounds like the kind of wise advice he would give ☺) telling me to take it easy because it was going to be a long day!  Should have taken his advice. 

Other new friends I met that day were Sam Collier, Emily Berriochoa, Davina Jackson, Tina Upton, Mike Upton, Ben Blessing, Christie Ebenroth, Bertha Sandoval, Seth Myer, Paul Lindauer, and of course Leon Rothstein.

These photos were stolen from Ben, Davina, Emily, and Christie...I think.  Thanks for taking them!!




Sam, Emily, and Davina



Jon and Paul



Me coming into Corrals



Seth



Me



Robbie and Seth



Ben, Christie, and Bertha



Davina



Mike, Sam, and Tina



Stop Waiting for Help

“There is power when individuals discover that no one is coming to rescue them — that if they don’t do something different, nothing in their life is going to get better. When that thought connects, it’s electrifying. A lot of people turn their lives around in quite marvelous and exciting ways, simply because they decided to stop waiting for help.”


— Nathaniel Branden

Helping Others

It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that you cannot sincerely try to help another without helping yourself." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

When to Push

"What I've learned from running is that the time to push hard is when you're hurting like crazy and you want to give up. Success is often just around the corner." ~Sir James Dyson

I can attest to this.......

Obstacles

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." ~Henry Ford

Final Body Fat Measurements before the Bear

A2O Loop 2.48 mi 00:33 13:27 pace

I wanted to stretch the legs before my appointment with the trainer today without running. Which for me is really hard, but I have to be smart at this point. So, I did two loops around Americana-Shoreline-Fairview-23rd-Americana. I negative split my walk by almost a minute, Yay. I guess. HA. 13:27 is a smokin fast pace for me walking!

I left a voice mail with the trainer yesterday saying I just wanted to do stretching and measurements. Apparently he didn't get it so we did core and shoulders. I am glad he didn't get it, I feel good!

Anyway, he has been doing measurements and body fat tests on me since I first started training for Boston. Back in January I was 14%, at Boston I was 7%, the first week of August I was 6%, and today I was 4.65% (and my weight has only changed a couple of pounds since January)!! I am apparently swapping fat for muscle, which is good.

I put on 2 inches on my gluteus maximus since August 4th. I guess all the hill running is putting some junk in my trunk!

Hello again

I have been hopelessly behind in adding anything to this blog lately.  I have been training and feel very prepared for my upcoming race.  This was my latest running adventure yesterday evening up at Stack Rock near Bogus Basin.  It rained and was cool which was nice. 

I have 4 more runs before the race next Friday.  My LONG run is 6 miles this weekend!!

Dean Karnazes Quote

Most people never get there. They're afraid or unwilling to demand enough of themselves and take the easy road, the path of least resistance. But struggling and suffering, as I now saw it, were the essence of a life worth living. If you're not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you're not constantly demanding more from yourself—expanding and learning as you go—you're choosing a numb existence. You're denying yourself an extraordinary trip.


Dean Karnazes