2010 Wrap Up

Last night my daughter's schedule had me waking at about midnight, and again at around 5 A.M. My wife graciously agreed to rock the baby to sleep after I was done feeding her -- getting the baby to eat is easy, getting her to go back to sleep is something very different. This was the closest I have come to solid sleep in almost a month and consequently, I feel terrific. Therefore I have decided to note a few key things that stand out from 2010, in no particular order:

1. Birth of my daughter -- Nothing can possibly prepare a person for what it means to be a parent. We are only 3.5 weeks into it but it has already been a complete transformation. I immediately fell in love with my girl and it only gets worse as time goes on.
2. Wasatch Front 100 -- Besides #1 above, this is probably the baddest thing I have ever done in my entire life. Also similar to #1, I walked away from this a very different person. I can't really pinpoint what the change was but there is most decidedly a difference, for the better.
3. Training required to get through #2 -- WF100 would not have been possible without a whole lot of training. I did things to prepare that hurt just thinking about.
4. Pet Sounds/Smile -- I spent much of the summer listening to the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds," and Brian Wilson's "Smile." They are both incredible.
5. Fridays at Ohiopyle -- I took a vacation day almost every Friday for several weeks and drove to the biggest hills I had access to, on the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail. I frequently found myself running out of water, in near triple digit temperatures, forcing me to get creative so I would not dehydrate on the 8 hilly miles back to the car, and die. This usually resulted in me drinking stream water.

more parenthood updates

It is nice to be back in the office today. There is nobody screaming at me because they are hungry, or have soiled themselves and are relying on me to rectify the situation. Despite this, I miss my little girl terribly and a certain portion of me wants to be at home right now with my wife, helping out with the baby.

Right now at home we are reading from the heralded works of Mr. Sheldon Silverstein (unapologetic hippie and former Playboy cartoonist), "Where the Sidewalk Ends." I am enjoying it more than my daughter I think. We also love to sing and dance and today I am going to burn a cd that is heavy with Chaka Khan, Prince, Zapp, and Stevie Wonder (she loves the Grateful Dead, we'll see how she does with 70's/80's R&B).

I positively refuse to force my dog to take a backseat during this extremely busy time. This is actually working out excellent because it forces me to get up early and get my running in, which the dog happily joins in on. This morning it had to be in the single digits with the wind chill, but there are no weather conditions that will prevent the dog from wanting to go outside. Luckily she is comfortable running trails in the dark, while I enjoy the luxury of the headlamp. Despite the cold, the trail conditions are basically perfect: an inch or so of dust on the top, and pretty solid footing underneath. I used to really enjoy, and am once again enjoying, starting out in the dark, and gradually seeing the sun come up.

parenthood/running

I was able to get in two short runs so far as a parent. One was last night, the other this morning before everybody was up. The keys seem to be a strong headlamp (I use Black Diamond) and a willingness to run whenever the opportunity presents itself, often with little notice. Luckily the dog is very comfortable running snow covered trails in the dark, so I am able to get in a little time with my other little girl.

Baby is growing like a weed. She does little other than poo, pee, eat, and sleep. We do get a little bit of time to hang out together while she's awake. I like to spend it holding her (she likes to look at the Christmas tree lights), and I sing to her. She especially likes the Grateful Dead (mid 70's are popular right now in our house), and this morning we listened to the Bowie classic "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars."

My kid rules.

A bit of history

Fifteen years ago today, I was here, which was my first time seeing this band. It obviously had a big impact on me because I spent a great deal of time and money chasing this band for the next several years.
For a generation of kids like me, all the stars were aligned: we were footloose and fancy free enough (read: had adequate funding to make it to the shows but nothing such as kids, spouses, or careers to tie us down) to follow around a band that had been around for a little over a decade, and was really hitting its stride. By the late 90's this band was taking major chances and we were witnessing history in the making. Some of the fondest memories of my youth are at Phish concerts (in particular the summer of 1998).
A cultural phenomenon like Phish in the 90's is a once in a lifetime occurrence and I am glad I was there for part of it. I would never trade in my life now for anything though, I am more than content right where I'm at. Mortgage payments, wife, dog to care for, and more poopy diapers at 3 AM than I care to remember.

Parenthood update

My life is, at least for the time being, completely being dictated by this little creature that is only half the size of my cats. I love my little girl though, I fell in love the split second the doctor put her in my arms.
Never thought that ONLY getting up once at 2:45 A.M., and being up for a solid hour, would feel like a night of solid sleep! I feel like a million bucks!
More work than any hundred miler but worth every sleepless second.

schedule for 2011

I think for 2011, if I do get accepted into Hardrock, I will find a way to make that work. That's an opportunity I would never pass up. However if I don't get in, I think 2011 will be the year that I focus on the full Ironman. I am not sure that I am going to throw my name into the Wasatch hat (maybe, maybe not), and I am quite sure I will not throw my name into the MMT hat. I'm 100% positive that I will never, ever try to get into Western States. These are all lotteries that are currently happening, or will happen very soon.

Hardrock 100

Well, the application for Hardrock is in the mail. Guess I'll know in early February if I got in. Knowing my luck, I will get selected because it will be excruciatingly difficult to prepare for this race with a newborn, and the race itself is also excruciatingly difficult.
During Wasatch I frequently questioned why I wanted to run that particular race, since there is so much climbing, and I am a horrible climber. Hardrock will be even worse in terms of the terrain and the climbs. So, since God hates me and wants to punish me, I reckon that means I will probably make it in. We'll see.

Sunday activities

Just putting together more furniture for the baby's room, also I should probably get up in the attic today to do a couple of things that are long overdue up there. Other than that, waiting for the Hardrock 100 lottery materials to come online.

DID YOU KNOW.........

........that the modern toilet was invented by a dude named Thomas Crapper?

couple of tings

Time for a meaningless update, addressed to no one in particular.

I have been trying to do 2 days of running and 2 days of biking every week, along with weights 4 times a week. Something about this combination has aggravated my piriformis in the left leg, which unfortunately at times has been a semi-chronic condition for me. Interesting, I ran and trained like a madman all summer long, and ran arguably one of the most difficult hundreds in the world, with no problems whatsoever. During the "offseason" I am plagued by this injury and a few others.

Been getting in some good trail time with my favorite 4-legged girl, and closest non-wife confidant, my beautiful yellow lab Sophie. The pattern that seems to be developing is going for a brief run on the trail with her on Sunday mornings, but yesterday after work was such a nice day that we hit it again. Listened to Sun Ra's "Nuclear War" (which I find to be much more accessible than the other Sun Ra album I own, "Disco 3000") and part of Led Zeppelin's "Physical Graffiti" which is always good. The weather was pretty much perfect and both the dog and I had more fun than usual. I know the dog had a great time because periodically she would sprint up the trail, and off into the woods, for no reason whatsoever.

Countdown to the baby is on as well, we could be parents in as little as 5 days! I for one am looking forward to getting it (the parenting) on. I still don't feel qualified to be anyone's parent, but pledge to do my best.

Salute to James Harrison

Football is a vicious sport and sometimes, things happen. We all love the fact that there are extremely oversized, muscular, and super quick athletes on the field trying to take each others' heads off. When James Harrison lays a brutal hit on somebody, I thoroughly enjoy it. However when people start getting hurt, we suddenly don't have the belly for it anymore.
I'm not condoning cheap shots. There is no place for that, and those instances should be punished. However its unreasonable to expect defenders to do a mini-diagnosis lasting hundredths of a second, to try to estimate where they are going to make contact with a ball carrier or receiver. That will inevitably lead to second-guessing on the part of tacklers, and will further result in missed tackles or at the very least, sloppy tackles and no hard hits.
Every 10 year old is taught to pursue the football with "reckless abandon." We were taught to lay a hit on somebody without regard to your own well-being. James Harrison practices that better than anybody. If body parts unfortunately get hurt while laying a clean hit on somebody, well, at least you can brag to your friends later about how hard you hit the other guy. Likewise, if a ball carrier unfortunately gets hurt while being cleanly tackled, sometimes those are the breaks. Everybody who puts on a pair of shoulder pads and a helmet knows the stakes.
I wholeheartedly agree with Jack Lambert, and would add receivers to the list of players who ought to be wearing dresses (in addition to quarterbacks). It's football, and football is a brutal sport. If you don't like that, then don't pay attention to it.

thank goodness for columbus day, a free day off of work. all the animals are sound asleep. think i will take the dog for a walk in the woods, i have not been on the trail in quite a while. i have been on my break from all things running ever since wasatch, and i am enjoying it thoroughly. since today is 10-11, i guess it has officially been a month. i do have the itch though, i am already thinking about what i want to do next. of course, it will have to all work around the other stuff in life that has to be taken care of!

decided to NOT run in the oil city 50k since i have not done anything in a month, and really have no desire to. to run 31 miles on zero preparation sounds like a great way to get injured to me. mostly, my heart is really not in it. i wish i felt differently but as Parliament Funkadelic says, if it don't fit, don't force it.

we got the baby's room mostly put together. actually all i did was put together a crib and dresser, and the wife organized it. now all that is left is to put a baby in the room! we are both very excited and ready to get it on.

usual work bs. some things never change.

been listening mostly to Kyuss lately. that band rules. i finally got the record player back up and running this week (i don't even remember anymore why it got disconnected) and celebrated with the classic Misfits 7 inch "Three Hits from Hell."

triumphant return

Today was the first time I have attempted to do any sort of endurance exercising whatsoever, since Wasatch. I guess that would make it (Sept 29 - Sept 11) = 18 days! I got on the stair climber at lunch and the pain on the outside of my right knee slowly got more and more acute. IT band all the way. I got off as soon as I realized it wasn't going away (and was, in fact, getting worse) and hopped on the treadmill for a little. As long as I'm on flat ground, no problems, but up or down steps it starts to hurt.

I'm sure it is due to my not stretching one bit since the race, IT band problems for me are usually indicative of a tight lower back. The lower back has been feeling tight lately. So, now I've got to nurse this. Hopefully it will not put too much of a damper on my 50k plans next month.

There seems to be a correlation between my return to running after a race, and IT band problems. My first experience with this nuisance injury was after I ran my first 50 miler, the JFK 50 in 2008. My first run back, I was practically hobbled with an IT band injury and it took a month or two for it to completely go away.

Advertising

Its about time that some decent music is actually getting used in advertisements. Granted, what this actually means is that some corporate putzes are hoping that my association with a certain song or musician will ultimately result in my buying their product. I will strongly resist this!!! But it is a sure sign people close to my age are now designing commercials. Examples:

1. Iggy Pop's Lust for Life used in a commercial for some cruise line
2. Buzzcocks' Everybody's Happy Nowadays used in a commercial for AARP (I think it was AARP)
3. Judas Priest's Electric Eye used in a commercial for minivans I think (I saw it during the Steelers' victory over Tampa Bay)
4. Last, and definitely not least, Devo's Marc Mothersbaugh (Kent State University alumnus) being used to pimp Kent State, where they kill hippies. I was most excited about this commercial, because DEVO RULES and it's about time they got some recognition!

Top 5 coolest wrestling moves

Watched some wrestling show, perhaps it was Raw or Smackdown (I don't really know), on Friday night at the wife's nephew's 14th birthday extravaganza. During the early to mid 80's I was a huge wrestling fan -- this would have been during the golden era of Hulk Hogan. It struck me how the faces have changed over the years, but the moves have not. Here is a tribute to the top 5 coolest all time moves in professional wrestling, which my dad's friend used to say was the "only true American sport."

1. Piledriver -- We're talking Paul Orndorff style, not that stupid kind where you just pinch the guy's head in between your knees and fall down. When I was young I REALLY wanted to see a piledriver off the top rope, not realizing it probably would have killed the person.
2. Figure 4 Leg Lock -- It looked really, really painful and I routinely used to try to put my sister in it, I was never successful and she used to laugh uncontrollably.
3. Camel Clutch -- Here is a move that I have executed before and let me tell you: the recipient started screaming in about 2 seconds flat. The Iron Sheik was, and still is, the best.
4. Whatever move Jimmy Snuka used to do, where he would flash the devil horns and launch himself at his opponent off the top rope, that was awesome! I think an entire generation of kids such as myself used to propel themselves off dressers, beds, couches, etc trying to emulate that move. Probably resulted in a lot of broken limbs too.
5. Rounding out the top 5 is a tie between the abdominal stretch, and the sleeper. I don't think you see the abdominal stretch anymore. Quite a shame, since this one also looked to be really painful. The sleeper was cool because this was one you could actually do on your friends, and successfully put them to sleep. The first time it was ever done to me I remember being a little ticked off, but the guy showed me how to do it, and so I figured it was an even trade. Once when I tried to put my dad in it he taught me that the standard defense is burying your chin into your chest. The prevents the would-be aggressor from getting the elbow around your neck.
   

Lola

Well Wasatch is over, so, time to get on with life. For me, the transition back to normal living is always done with lots of pizza. During today's pizza run at lunch, I heard Lola by the Kinks on the radio for the millionth time. It is really a very funny song if you listen to it, some small-town kid who falls in love with a woman, not really completely aware (or perhaps not wanting to admit) that the woman is actually a guy. I got to thinking about other songs of a similar concept and started to realize that there are other good ones in this genre:

1. Transformer by Lou Reed -- An entire album dedicated to a guy slowly deciding that he wants to play for the other team. I love this record, I think this may have been one of the very early Lou Reed solo albums after he left the Velvet Underground.
2. 53rd and 3rd by the Ramones -- A song about a male hustler who never gets picked, then when he finally does, he kills the person to prove he's "no sissy." It is well known that Dee Dee Ramone used to do this for money, it would also not suprise me if he actually killed somebody.
3. A Token of My Extreme by Frank Zappa -- This song is very twisted, but still good. Joe's Garage was my soundtrack for the summer of 1996.
4. Bobby Brown Goes Down by Frank Zappa -- From the amazing Sheik Yerbouti record, which I played to death during the summer of 1997. I used to work night shift that summer and once just to stay awake, I wrote down the lyrics to this entire song. After thinking that somebody might get really freaked out if they ever found it and it got traced back to me, I decided to destroy it. For me the best part of this song is that I actually went to high school with a guy with this name, and he pretty much exactly matched the character in the first half of the song ("They say I'm the cutest boy in town, my car is fast, my teeth are shiny...."). I have not seen the guy in almost 20 years, but I'd like to think that his life probably turned out like the second half of the song!
5. David Bowie -- Pick almost anything from the 70's: some specifics that come to mind are Rebel Rebel, Five Years, ........ David Bowie rules and he could probably record himself doing laundry and it would sound awesome.

Wasatch 100 pictures

The race starts with a lot of climbing right off the bat

Approaching Chinscraper

Runners climbing over Chinscraper just before I got there


My Asian buddies I leapfrogged with frequently. Obviously the ground was covered with snow. This was a couple miles after Chinscraper.



Could be long the descent into Francis Peak



Amazing views after the Francis Peak aid station

I think this is at the top of Sessions Pass -- this climb had me rethinking whether or not running 100's was really a smart thing for me to do.

Somebody told me that at Wasatch you get amazing views, but you pay dearly for them.

My Asian buddies again, I think on the switchbacks down into Big Mountain Pass.

Don't know where this was at, but pretty much the entire course was this beautiful.

Big Mountain Pass aid station -- notice the Steal Your Face flag below the American flag

I may be going to hell in a bucket, but at least I'm enjoying the ride (or not, I look pretty unhappy here)

Coming into Alexander Springs aid station

Sunrise over Catherine's Pass

Last 20 yards - "I'm breathing so I guess I'm still alive, even though the signs tell me otherwise" (Tool)

Getting congrats from the race director while my mom patiently waits

"Think what you like, this is really where it's at" (Talking Heads)

I did not run the fastest time, but I was hoping for the best posing award

Laid out at the finish with my tea

Very happy finisher of Wasatch Front 100

Wasatch Front 100 Race Report

Here are a couple thoughts on my 2010 Wasatch Front 100 adventure, in no particular order:

• A quick look at the elevation profile indicates that the first ~8 or so miles are uphill, with the final push being the infamous “Chinscraper” section, so named due to how steep it is. My sense was that Chinscraper is the welcoming committee for the race, to give you a sense of what you’re really in for. “Welcome to the Wasatch Front 100! Think you’re tough? We’ll certainly put that theory to the test. Have a nice day!”
• Learning to run on tired legs is CRITICAL to the successful completion of this race. Even by the long, relatively non-technical descent into Francis Peak at mile 18, my legs were already twitching. Chinscraper just crushed me right from the get go.
• Early on I made the decision that the only way I was going to finish the race was to gingerly jog the downhills, and walk the uphills and flat sections. The climbs were so long and steep that I needed to bank as much energy as I could to get through them.
• If I hadn’t picked up my trekking poles at Lamb’s Canyon (mile 53) I probably would not have gotten through all the brutal climbs in the second half of the race. Big thanks to my mom and my older sister for meeting me at Lamb’s Canyon to give me my trekking poles! I was not comfortable leaving them in the drop bag in case they “accidentally” got picked up.
• Despite running all summer in near triple digit temperatures, it was freezing on day 1 of the race. There was fresh snow covering the trail (and the rest of the mountain too) before we even got all the way up to Chinscraper. Chinscraper itself was freezing cold and wet from all the runners who climbed over it before me. My fingers were blue by the time I was done climbing over all the rocks, maybe this indicated some medical issue besides coldness, but at the time I remember looking at my blue hands and thinking it looked kind of cool. Blue hands, right on!
• By day 2 of the race, it was considerably warmer, probably a lot more representative of late summer weather in Utah. This wild swing in temperature, coupled with the extreme stress of running a mountainous ultramarathon in a sleep deprived state, wreaked havoc on my body’s ability to regulate its temperature. During the race I was okay, but for almost a day after I finished, I varied between being freezing cold, to sweating bullets. I went through this cycle probably once every 20 minutes.
• Part of my elevation acclimation in the week prior to the race included doing the climb from the Brighton ski resort (mile ~76) up to the high point of the race, Catherine’s Pass at about 10,400 feet. I did this hike on Labor Day and the trail was packed with people, including many kids. In particular there was a little girl about 5 years old who was having the time of her life with her friends and parents. This girl was as sure footed as a mountain goat. When I did that climb during the race at about 7 in the morning, I kept thinking about how if that little girl could climb that mountain, there was no reason I couldn’t do it too.
• On my Labor Day climb up to Catherine’s Pass I hooked up with a woman who has 5 Wasatch finishes and was a Grand Slam finisher in ’09. She was doing that climb as part of her training for the Bear 100 in two weeks. During our brief time together she gave me some invaluable advice on how to complete the race (1. Don’t get sucked into the campfire at Desolation Lake aid station, and 2. If you can make it out of Brighton before the sun comes up, you’re golden.). She said she would be the weigh-in lady at Lamb’s Canyon on Friday night, so I showed her the gap in my front teeth as a way to identify myself, and told her I would show it to her again when I saw her at Lamb’s. When I re-identified myself to her during the mandatory Lamb’s Canyon weigh-in I got the warmest welcome ever and it boosted my spirits tremendously.
• Although not the longest or steepest, the climb up to the top of Sessions Pass crushed me.
• When I die, mix my ashes with that of the dog’s ashes and throw them off Catherine’s Pass at sunrise. I would include my wife in the mix but I would imagine she’s probably got more formal plans for her remains. I forced myself to stop at Catherine’s Pass at sunrise, down 2 gels, and watch the sun come back up while standing on top of a huge mountain. I don’t think I will ever be the same.
• Is anyone actually still reading this?
• I thought western trails were supposed to be wide, and relatively free of the annoying obstructions we have in the east (rocks and tree roots). Evidently this is not true. Not by a longshot. At the awards ceremony after the race I shared this sentiment with the race director of the Squaw Peak 50 and he reminded me that after all, these are called the Rocky Mountains.
• Made the impromptu decision to pick up a pacer at Upper Bigwater (mile 62), who took me into Brighton (mile 76). He was a real good soul named Dan who was scheduled to pace somebody else, and that person ultimately decided he didn’t need it, so Dan I think was just sort of hanging around to see if anybody wanted to be paced. I am usually anti-pacer but for whatever reason decided I could use the company. I warned him that under normal circumstances, I don’t usually have that much to say, and when I am running an ultra, I will have even less to say. Further, I said that if he asked me any questions I probably won’t even have the energy to answer him, but if he could just hang out with me for a while I would be very grateful. This dude was a saint. He religiously reminded me to eat a gel at the top of every hour, and then again at half past the hour. Then, for whatever reason when I decided I wanted to switch to the “quarter after/quarter till” gel-eating schedule, he was right on that as well. When I told him I wanted to sit at Desolation Lake for no more than 5 minutes, he set his watch and had me out of there in 5 just like he said. We had a grand time counting the shooting stars on the climb out of Desolation Lake, and the descent into Brighton. He really helped the time go by in the wee hours of the night and morning by asking about my work, although I don’t know if he was prepared for the conservative rant that he got. He has a 3 year old son and told me all about how great being a parent is. I think he said he is training for his first Ironman. GOOD LUCK DAN AND THANKS A MILLION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Finally found the caloric intake formula that works for me: a gel (Hammer or Gu, whatever is closest) every 30 minutes, supplemented with whatever solids I can get down at the aid stations. I really didn’t crash once during the race, which is a first for me. It took me two marathons, two 50k’s, four 50 milers, a 70 miler, one 77 miler, and two hundreds to finally nail it. Important lesson learned though, at some point if it feels like a gel won’t stay down, don’t try to chase it real quick with Gatorade. This will lead to stomach badness!
• My favorite part of a 100 mile race, besides the finish, is the countdown to the start. You have no idea how it will unfold but you can be certain that what you are about to experience is something you’ll never, ever forget.
• Apparently in Utah, any climb under 1,000 feet counts as downhill. I was told by one of the aid station workers that “it’s all downhill” after mile 87, but I guess they forgot about the last little punch-in-the-face climb out of Pot Bottom at ~mile 91. But hey, who doesn’t love a surprise hill at mile 91!
• Distance from last aid station to the finish is 7 miles. Due to delirium I thought I only had 2.5 hours to complete it in, and that included one last small hill to climb (the rest being downhill, actually, truly downhill). At that point I did not think I could make it before the official cutoff time of 36 hours, but felt obligated to give it everything I had. I was pushing as hard as I could up that last hill, knowing that I would have to essentially sprint to the end to just make it inside the cutoff. I was RELIEVED when I realized that I was reading my watch incorrectly, and actually had 4 hours to do 7 miles. At that point I made the decision to casually walk it in, which is exactly what I did. Of course I had to muster up a run the last 20 yards though.
• During the course of the preparations for this race, I spent an enormous amount of time, effort and money making sure I did everything I could to be ready. I sacrificed my entire summer. I would do it all over again, in a heartbeat. It was definitely worth it. At some point in my life I will revert back to the state where I’m getting more applesauce on my bib than in my mouth but I will always know that I completed a monumental task like the Wasatch Front 100.
• This effort is dedicated to my three favorite girls, in no particular order: daughter, wife, and dog.

More Utah

The last 3 days I have driven up to Brighton, ~9000 ft, just to try to get a little more acclimated to the elevation. I did not do any hiking, rather I just sat there at a picnic table (or yesterday, in the car since it was really cold) reading the best book ever, Fight Club (it was a book first, and yes, the book is much better than the movie). After 4 hours of sitting there each day, I was ready to cut my wrists due to boredom. I am so bored, I can't really take it anymore.

The pre-race weigh-in and meeting starts in a little over an hour and a half, so that should cure the boredom. A cold front is currently moving through (see pictures above), which means rain, and temperatures about 20 degrees cooler than the beginning of the week. On the downside, we will likely get rained on tomorrow morning. On the upside, we very well may see fresh snow at the higher elevations!

Drop bags are all packed (again see above), ready to be dropped off. Slept like a baby last night after watching Seinfeld, The Simpsons, and 2 episodes of Family Guy. Something tells me I will not sleep as well tonight! Got to catch the bus to the start at 4 AM!

Finally a big shout out to Cam "Wrong Way" Baker for essentially destroying the field at the running of The Ring this past weekend, and unfortunately missing a turn and therefore getting DQ'ed. Cam is a very gifted runner and a nice guy (also provides me with very useful advice on how to raise a girl) and I suspect we will all be seeing his name at the top of the standings a lot more.

Utah day 2

Today I drove to Brighton ski resort, to do the hike up to Catherine's Pass, the high point of the course at ~10,500 feet I believe. On the way up I came across a woman who has finished Wasatch 5 times, and as a matter of fact was a Grand Slam finisher in '09. She offered a ton of good advice and will be the weigh-in lady at Lamb's Canyon aid station. I showed her the gap in my teeth as a way to remember me by, I told her I would show it to her again when she weighed me in on Friday night so she'll know it's me. She is the one who took the picture of me at the top of Catherine's Pass.

The trail up to the top from Brighton was not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. It certainly was not easy, but hill repeats on the big hill at Laurel definitely was a good choice. Although not as long, that hill is much steeper and far more technical. Then again, I will be doing that climb after having already run 75 miles! I also saw a moose on the way up and got a picture. It is kind of hard to make out (above) but it is the picture at the bottom.

Finally, there was a young couple with two small chidren pointing out Mickey Mouse on a distant peak to their kids. I decided to risk being labeled a Buttinski and asked them to point it out to me too (they reluctantly played along). It is the 3rd picture from the top.

Went to Whole Foods again, that place truly is full of strange people. Also, still miss family.

Utah day 1

Drove to the Big Mountain Pass aid station and did some hiking to see how I felt with the elevation. Probably got to about 8500 feet and felt ok. Maybe a little out of breath but nothing I would even worry about. I failed to plan big time and only took one water bottle, and no food. I was out for 3 hours and had a headache by the time I got back to the car, but I attribute that to not eating rather than the altitude. It is interesting, the sun is very strong but there is a constant breeze (depending on which side of the mountain I was on) and although I'm sure I was sweating, it evaporated immediately. I also got pretty sunburned since again, I failed to plan ahead and did not bring a hat.

It is so quiet on the top of the mountain (again, when there's no wind). You can't even hear any cars. It reminded me of an interview I read once with Jimi Hendrix where he talked about when he used to jump out of airplanes in the Army: "...once you get out there everything is so quiet, all you hear is the breezes-s-s-s..." very true.

Also had my first experience with the Whole Foods franchise today, with mixed feelings.

The good:

1. Pretty much had the kind of food I like to consume: mostly, lots of grains pre-cooked that I can keep in my refrigerator here in the hotel. I will probably be spending my food money from here on out at Whole Foods

....and, the bad:

1. Everyone who shops at the Salt Lake City Whole Foods knows one another. I don't know any of these people.
2. There are a lot of young people nowadays who boast prominently displayed tattoos. That's going to look cool when you're 80 and can't cover it up, especially you ladies!
3. The people there generally have that sort of "Coexist" vibe. I have more of a Slayer's "God Hates Us All" vibe.
4. Saw one dude pull up on one of those little scooters and for a split second I must admit I briefly entertained the idea of kicking it over.

To each his own, I suppose. Above are some pictures I took today with my new throwaway digital camera that evidently leaves a little something to be desired in the fidelity department. I also managed to scam a free night here in the hotel, since the ceiling in my bathroom is wet and crumbling due to a leaky pipe in the bathroom above me. I complained about it and they agreed to not charge me for last night. Boo yeah.

Tomorrow I will drive out to Brighton and hike up to Catherine's Pass and hopefully get some more good pictures.

Finally, I miss my wife and my dog.

guilty pleasures

Here are some of the things I am into that I would not necessarily advertise, but since nobody looks at this thing, here goes!

1. Prince! I love Prince and basically anything he ever recorded. Side 1 of Purple Rain is a desert island record of mine for sure. Plus the guy can play like 20 different instruments.
2. Madonna! I love Madonna too, especially the early stuff! Lucky Star is a popular song that frequently gets belted out around my house. Material Girl, Like a Prayer, all that stuff is great. Mike Watt is a Madonna fan too, so I'm less ashamed about this one.
3. Loretta Lynn! A secret desire of mine is to sing "You Ain't Woman Enough to Take My Man" at a redneck karaoke bar and really pour it on, and watch the ensuing chaos.
4. Dancing! I can't dance to save my life, and would never even consider doing it in public, but when it's just me and the animals, we seriously cut a rug. Sometimes I will do it in the presence of my wife. I can imagine that once our daughter is born, there will be lots of dancing.
5. Roses! My roses are my pride and joy and I take great care to prune them regularly.
6. Vegetable gardening! I don't try to hide this one too much but I love gardening.

French

Yesterday I flipped my yellow lab calendar over to the month of September before I left work for the day. The little quote at the bottom is the only useful French I care to know:

J'embrasse mon chien sur la bouche!

Translation: I kiss my dog on the mouth.

countdown's on

figured i should probably write at least a little something now that the countdown to the 'satch is on. again, not that anybody pays any attention to this, but in the interest of gathering my own thoughts.

taper is coming along i suppose. have not really been adhering to any particular strict plan, besides eating and sleeping a lot! the initial taper plan was to cut my usual training time in half during week 1, then cut that in half again during week 2, with week 3 being spent at elevation. during week 1 i was pretty much drained due to 6 solid weeks of the hardest training i've ever put myself through for a race. the only thing that may be comparable is double sessions of football practice, and anybody who has lived through double sessions will be the first to tell you that they were brutal. but at that time, quitting was just not an option. for better or for worse, i simply could not have imagined going home and telling my parents that i quit! i would have been too scared of what my parents would have done to me! this time is no different, quitting simply is not an option. if i fall off the mountain, or break my leg, that's one thing. but quitting due to tiredness, soreness, pain, fatigue, etc just isn't an available option.

don't know whether all that laurel highlands water finally caught up to me, or maybe it was just general nerves, but i had some stomach problems for about a week. things seem to be somewhat back on track now, but i'm trying to play it cautious for the time being. two nights before laurel, i had major stomach problems, so i'm trying to make sure that doesn't happen this time too. still not sure what that was all about.

for the first week, the legs were downright tired, but i kept all the sessions brief and easy. during today's run, the legs felt a little bit sluggish so i walked most of the hills. the general philosophy of my taper is to just move around enough to burn off some of the unused energy, which is coming on like a tidal wave.

for 6 weeks, the body got used to producing at a certain level. i think on some base level, the body adapts to this training by generating a certain amount of "drive" that gets used up in training. during the taper, the body is still producing that "drive" but the training load has been reduced. the result, for me, is usually what i like to refer to as "mindless directionless energy" (with all due respect to The Damned).

when i was a teen, i remember having a tremendous amount of what i will call angst. i didn't know it at the time, but what was happening was that my body was growing out of control, both inside and out, and the testosterone levels were probably in high gear. the result was that i had a tremendous amount of energy. i sometimes used to go outside when nobody was home, and scream at the top of my lungs in the backyard. football was a perfect outlet for me because it afforded me the opportunity to burn a lot of that off in a semi-controlled environment. i really didn't care if my team won or lost, i really didn't even care about the games. i just liked being able to level people during the daily practices. again, with the benefit of hindsight, i had a huge amount of energy just boiling over and football practice was a perfect way to burn some of that off.

the taper feels pretty much like it did at that time, i just have energy oozing out of my pores.

few tings

Well I am pretty happy that the heavy training load for the 'satch is done, because I've got nothing left. Normally, today would be "Hill Repeat Tuesdays" but that's all behind me now. I put in a monster week last week and I've got nothing left in the tank. My biggest concern right now, besides not really wanting to run one bit due to being so tired, is blowing the taper by doing too little. I took Sunday, Monday, and today off so I reckon I'll still be ok if I pick it back up tomorrow.

Interesting factoid, the dog hates the free ginger chews that Zombie Runner gives when you order stuff from them. She always wants to come lick my face when I eat them because she is intrigued by the smell, but once up in my grill, the smell turns her off. However, yesterday I ate a ginger-laden rice/quinoa dish for dinner, and washed it down with a huge glass of ginger beer, and she was all over it. Licked my face for a good 5 minutes without stopping. Go figure.

Usual work nonsense, for some reason when I was younger I had the general impression that adults behaved like adults and not children. Evidently, not true. It does keep things spicy though.

Finally, Sepultura and Saint Vitus rule.

Invictus

I am not some kind of poetry geek but "Invictus" is some right-on stuff. I agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly. It is a hard lesson but the only person you can ever really rely on 100% is yourself. When I am in Utah in 3 weeks there is going to be nobody else to lean on.

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

my last week

Well, this is my last week of hard training for Wasatch. Somehow it feels anticlimatic so far, although admittedly, the hard stuff for the week has yet to come.

I purposely avoided excessively studying the course in the early part of the training. I found that the more I learned, the more frightened I got. Therefore I tried to just keep it simple: run lots of hills, do some speedwork every week, do the back-to-back long runs, and be consistent every week. I feel pretty good about my level of fitness, probably the most confident I've ever felt going into a race. Without a doubt I am definitely my own worst critic, so I think when I say I feel "pretty good about my level of fitness," in reality I could possibly run through a brick wall without breaking my stride.

Now that I am slowly starting to think about the specifics of this course, I thought back to when I read a book about the first ever double crossing of Badwater ("The Death Valley 300: Near-Death and Resurrection on the World's Toughest Endurance Course"). One of the two runners had some very clearly defined points of view on what he was about to set out to do. I think his points of view are relevant in my case as well:

Don't ever look at this challenge in terms of conquering, overcoming, or beating the course. That is pseudo-macho and a waste of precious psychological energy. The course is there whether you happen to step onto it or not, and it will still be there in all its glory whether you step off it in defeat, successfully finish it, or come to your senses and don't go anywhere near it. Don't fight the course, because the course is larger, older, wiser and much more powerful than I am. Use the occasional advantages the course allows, and flow with the adversities it presents. It will be there long after I'm gone to dust.

And finally, I ripped this off from Andy Jones Wilkins' website, and since nobody reads this except me, I am not at all scared about potential plagirism or copyright issues:

"In the last 30 miles of a 100 miler everybody's hurting. Everybody is way beyond physical fatigue and mental, emotional, and psychological fatigue is setting in, Big Time. If you want to succeed in these things you need to know that, dig deep, and fight it. In the end, you need to race every step like there's someone three minutes ahead of you and someone three minutes behind you."

While that is certainly good advice, AJW's website also comments that "Brighton eats runners for breakfast." I have put my time in though, and am fully prepared to hang in there trading punches to the face for all 12 rounds. Doesn't mean its going to be pretty, but I'm confident in my ability to hammer it out until the end. This is certainly confidence I did not have 6 weeks ago and was gained the hard way: through hill repeats, thousands of hindu squats, more back to back long runs than I care to remember, triple digit heat, and humidity so bad that its hard to breathe.

long run(s)

Took Friday off as usual, and did a long run in the Laurel Highlands. The usual route, although I decided to make this run more of a realistic dress rehearsal. That meant the Nathan, two handheld bottles, and the trekking poles. Long story short, started to run short on water therefore I could only do two hill repeats of the big hill. I reckon that with that amount of fluid, I can probably last about 4 hours. I will certainly keep that in mind when doing my planning for the 'satch. This time 4 weeks from now, I will be in a monumental amount of pain, but I will have that belt buckle in my hand.

Saturday, was looking for somebody to run with since I am starting to lose it as far as spending large amounts of time by myself in the woods. Turns out, there was an organized race at Mingo Park, put on by the Pittsburgh Road Runners Club I believe. Saw a bunch of good people I have not seen in a while, met up early with some and got some time in on the trails, then ran the race, then some of us decided to put in a couple more hours. Listened to some good stories by a guy who just finished his first hundred miler at Burning River, sounds like he had a great time. Another we ran with will be doing his first hundred at Oil City in October. He is a machine, I have no doubts that he will finish. Anyway, it was very good to run with other people besides my Ipod. It was a heater out there.

Today, got in about 2 hours on the bike to round out my training for the week. Now that I am 6 weeks into it, looks like I average a little over 15 hours per week training. That figure is a bit low compared to some others I have read: I was told 15 is a minimum to just get through it, if you want to do well, plan for 18 or 19. I saw a Youtube clip of a Badwater racer who said he was putting in 30+ hour weeks training. For me, right now, 15+ is a pretty good balance, considering everything else going on.

Picked up another case of the much heralded Lake Erie Monster before it goes out of production! Need to go bathe, going to Nakama in a couple minutes!!

favorite rekids

If I had to pick only one rekid to take with me to a faraway place where I would have no access to any more music, it would for me be a very easy decision. Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder. Hands down the best thing ever recorded. Not even open for debate.

If I could take 5 or 10 with me, it would start to get difficult. Some contenders include:

The Idiot by Iggy Pop
Funkentelechny vs. the Placebo Syndrome by Parliament Funkadelic
God Ween Satan by Ween (or perhaps, The Mollusk?)
the first album by The Stooges
Repeater by Fugazi
first album by the New York Dolls
...And the Circus Leaves Town by Kyuss
The Correct Use of Soap by Magazine

I probably could not also survive without hearing Slayer, the Dead Kennedys, Brian Eno/Roxy Music, Hendrix, or the Minutemen (I met George Hurley outside a hotel once in Orange County, I had no idea what to say but he was very nice about it).

weekend run(s)

The long run trend has been for me to take Fridays off and head down to the Laurel Highlands for a long run on those difficult hills the first 8 miles. Then, Saturdays I usually head to Mingo Park for a somewhat shorter run. Unfortunately my schedule had to be juggled around a bit due to other commitments so I was unable to take Friday off.

The Laurel Highlands are nice to run but a 1.5 hour drive, one way, is tough to stomach on a Saturday. Therefore I was limited to running locally this weekend. Saturday I ran at Mingo Park, and was really not having much fun. It just was not clicking for me. After completing a lap of the orange loop in a really slow time, I knew I did not have it in me to do another full lap. Therefore I did sort of an out and back for a total time running of about 4 hours 45 minutes. I usually like to do my training in a somewhat calorie-deficient state in order to force my body to learn how to use fat as fuel, rather than relying on sugar. I think I pushed it a bit too far, because I just was not having any fun whatsoever.

After this year's epic battle at Western States I have been following the training of Anton Krupicka and Geoff Roes pretty closely. In particular Anton has said he usually eats very little during his training to force his body to use fat as fuel. He also said that he does not race this way, he does in fact eat during the race. The drawback to this strategy is that during the actual race, you're doing something you didn't really practice much during training, which is high risk. I think I read somewhere that Geoff tries to eat 100 calories every 20 minutes during a race.

In an effort to experiment a little bit with a race-day eating strategy, I decided to do my long run today while eating a gel (Gu, the local Fleet Feet does not carry Hammer products) every 30 minutes. That is roughly 200 calories an hour. I went back to Mingo Park today, not really knowing what to expect. One thing I did do was to run the first loop in the opposite direction that I usually do it, just to mix it up a bit. It helped, big time, the first loop went by pretty easily. The second loop I did in the usual direction.

I decided to push it a little bit on my second loop, since I was feeling pretty strong. During my long runs I usually walk the hills, since I will walk them during the race. What I have found is that training slow almost always produces a race performance that largely mirrors the pace I have trained at -- slow. I am thoroughly sick of finishing in the middle of the pack, at best. I am as competitive as they come and while I'm happy to finish the distance, I am usually never happy with the time, relative to the rest of the field. I don't like to think of myself as "mid pack" at anything and endurance racing should be no exception. Anyway, on the second lap I decided to push it a bit and tested myself by running hills I would usually walk. An interesting thing happened: as long as I continued to eat every 30 minutes (which I did all day) I was able to pretty much run any and every hill I wanted. It got to the point where I was running the uphills, downhills, and flat parts at pretty much the same speed. Granted the heart rate either reached, or exceeded, 80% when I was running the hills, but in terms of effort, it felt very, very comfortable. I have had dreams before where I was running hilly trails, and was moving very fluidly with the terrain with minimal effort. That is pretty much what it felt like for the last 2 or 3 hours of my run.

I attribute the success of today's outing, first and foremost, to the 200 calories an hour I consumed religiously all day long. The gels did contain caffeine too, which probably also had something to do with the easy effort. I have also been doing hill repeats, coupled with the dreaded Hindu Squats, once a week. I feel that this has produced remarkable results with respect to power running uphills, as well as just getting comfortable with running hills and learning how to do it relaxed.

When I got home and let the dog out, first thing she did was to lick all the salt off my face, and all the mud off my legs. I have said it before, but I love my dog unconditionally. She is without a doubt the greatest friend I've ever had (besides the wife).

In other news, looks like I've finally gotten the trap to stop leaking for the laundry tub in the basement. I've been dumping the dehumidifier contents into it for 2 days now and have not detected any leaks. I've still got to find some way to anchor that thing to the wall or floor (or preferably both) because I can't just leave it free standing. After I do that I can hook up the supply tubing to the new water lines I installed a few weeks back, and can then check that little project off the list.

My wife said she feels the baby moving all around in there, sometimes I can feel it too. The movement is getting stronger and stronger by the day. Yesterday morning I put my hand on her stomach and could feel my daughter in there, kicking ass.

Also, I think I might lose my pinky toenail. I have never lost one before but that one is a little bit tender, and sort of feels like it is becoming somewhat detached near the front of my toe. Kind of cool, at least a milestone anyway. I still have never thrown up during, or after, a race. Can't say I'm looking forward to meeting that particular milestone.

2nd Law of thermodynamics

I just realized that I have done a SIGNIFICANT amount of work while failing to keep in mind the 2nd law of thermodynamics, which basically says that there's no such thing as a free lunch. Ouch. This one will take some serious cleaning up.

painting

MAN do I hate painting. I just don't like it. I'm sorry but to me, it is just unskilled labor. I really, really hate painting. I will take plumbing, electrical, concrete, or landscaping ANY day of the week over painting.

Long run(s) again

Took the day off again yesterday and went to Laurel to do my big(ger) long run. Same as last week, parked at Ohiopyle and ran all the way up to the top of the big hill at ~mile 8. Went back down to the bottom at mile 6, and back to the top again. Then, I did it again (down, and back up). I reckon that's a total of 3 hill repeats of the "big" hill. Then I ran back to the car at Ohiopyle. Took me a little over 6 hours. That's almost 30 minutes faster than I did it last week. Except, it was nearly 20 degrees F cooler, and I took 3 extra bottles with me, in addition to the Nathan, which holds 2 liters. Needless to say, it was a MUCH more pleasant experience than last week.

Remember that David Lee Roth video for the song "California Girls," with the babes in bikinis everywhere? That's pretty much what Ohiopyle is like on a Friday afternoon in July. Yowza!! Hopefully my wife does not see this. I'm sure nobody reads this stupid thing anyway.

Today, I did the typical Mingo loop, took me 3 hours. I am still about an hour short of where I need to be for the week. Last week, the exact same routine took me 10 hours flat. I did it 45 minutes faster this week, which is hopefully a testament to my increased fitness, but probably has a lot to do with the weather. To make up the time, tomorrow I will probably do some pushups and abs, and ride the bike a little as well.

As I write this, the Burning River 100 is in full swing. Best of luck to everyone running it, I think there are probably at least 5 or 6 people I know who are out there right now, slugging it out. Today was also supposed to be the day that I ran the Speedgoat 50k in Utah, but ultimately decided against. It was the right decision in the end for me to not go.

August is here tomorrow, this is going to be a critical month for my Wasatch training. I am already coming up with ideas to really kick it into high gear. By the time I get on that plane for Salt Lake City, I want there to be absolutely no doubt in my mind. I'm on my way, but I think August will provide that last little push I need mentally to clinch it for me.

On the baby prep front, I put two coats on the ceiling, painted the closet door, and bought, trimmed, and painted a new bedroom door. My wife is dragging her feet on choosing a color for the walls. That is actually fine with me. All I need to do is hang the two doors, paint the trim, and hopefully when I'm done with that, she still will not have made up her mind. If that is the case, I can jump back on the utility tub installation. Tonight we showed my wife's parents the DVD of the sonogram we had a couple weeks ago. They watched it 3 times (it's only 3 minutes long). It's so cute, you can see the little heart pumping, and see her swallowing the amniotic fluid, as well as a couple of hiccups! You can even see the spine, and the little feet. My wife's dad gave me the "fist bump."

Luckily I was able to procure another case of the coveted Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster. It is seasonal, you know, so I wanted to make sure I got some more before it went out of production. Did I really drink the rest of that case (as well as the remainder of the Dogfish Head???)? I suppose I did. Anyway, 3 Lake Erie Monsters later tonight, I am, as they say, "Crosseyed and Painless!"

ABB

Last night while painting my daughter's room I was listening to The Fillmore Concerts, one of the live double albums by The Allman Brothers. What a great record.

I remember I got this one sometime in 2001 because I can remember listening to Stormy Monday over and over after work right around 9/11. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed is another great song I listened to both last night and today.

I remember (vaguely) seeing the Allman Brothers at Star Lake during the summer of 1998. That was the first summer that I opted to not move back in with my parents, but instead stayed in the Burgh. Summers in Oakland while you were an undergrad was a wonderful time. I think there was a special at some bar or another every night of the week. At the time, we did not discriminate against weeknights or weekends, they all sort of ran together. I don't remember too much about the concert other than consuming a few spirituous beverages (I was actually of age, too), and my friend Craig drove us home in his Taurus. Afterwards I know we went to a party too. Man what a great summer that was.

A lot has changed in 12 years. At that time, the priority was mostly about having fun, going to parties, hitting the bars, picking up girls, and seeing as much live music as I could (that summer we also saw the Dead, as well as Phish numerous times). Now the priorities are getting ready for the arrival of our daughter, spending time with my wife, home improvements, gardening, ultrarunning, and waiting for my dismal 401k to bounce back (no double-dip recession my butt!). I'm cool with that though, I definitely had all the experiences a young person in their 20's should have and am perfectly fine with sliding into everything the 30's and 40's have to offer: baldness, fatness, strange lumps, and new aches and pains every day. I will never, ever golf though, and the Allman Brothers are awesome no matter how old I get.

Long run/runs

This weekend's long run was one for the ages. I took the day off Friday to go to the Laurel Highlands to try to hit the big hills. They are pretty much the biggest ones I have access to. Also wanted to get a long run in while carrying the new poles to see how I liked them. Here's the skinny:

Ran from Ohiopyle all the way up to the top of the big hill at mile 8 or 9 (obviously I did not run the entire way, I walked the hills). Had no less than 5 gnats fly directly into my right eye. They seemed to be leaving the left one alone. I say no less than 5 because to be honest, at 5, I lost count. The bugs were killing me out there. I tried the technique of a fellow 2010 Laurel Highlands Ultra finisher (also a fellow dad who gives me lots of advice, and a nice guy) who told me that before a long run, he does not use soap in the shower the night before, also he does not brush his teeth or use deoderant. Makes sense, but did not work for me. Not only did I smell terrible, but the bugs seemed to be attracted to me.

As an aside, the temperature was WELL into the 90's, humidity was probably just as high, and heat index had to be 100 if not more. It was just sweltering with little breeze. Anyway, I got to the top of the big hill and turned around for some good, steep dowhnill running. I could tell that I was nearly out of Gatorade in the Nathan so the plan was to stop at the Ohiopyle Shelter at mile 6, and get some water out of the pump. NO DICE! The pump had been dismantled, obviously the water table was low and there was no water available. This presented a serious dilemma. Not only was I almost 2 hours away from the car, and stranded without water, I was nowhere near accomplishing what I took the day off, and drove an hour and a half to do.

The obvious solution seemed to be to refill at one of the many stream crossings. I would probably not drink from any random stream, I'm sure the water is teeming with bacteria, but I was high up in the mountains, far from civilization. My rationale was that while I wouldn't drink water downstream (much lower elevation), I had to be very near the source (presumably an underground spring), and since I was so near the source, there was little opportunity to pick up anything nasty. Sounded reasonable to me!

I filled up my bladder with stream water, dumped some on my head from the handheld I was also carrying, and headed back up the big hill for another round. This time I decided to break out the trekking poles, to see how much they helped the climbing. Turns out they worked a little too well, my heart rate was higher than what I would have liked, forcing me to slow down. Back up to mile 8, then down to the bottom again (mile 6).

At this point I planned to just go back to the car at Ohiopyle, but something in me decided to turn around and hit the big hill again, so before the "little man" had the opportunity to talk me out of it, I decided to do a third hill repeat. This time, it seemed a little bit harder. Drinking ice cold gatorade, or ice cold anything, will do wonders to cool down your "core." When you are limited to lukewarm stream water, not only does it not refresh, it also sits in your gut. I guess your body has trouble absorbing lukewarm stream water. The humidity was also very high, so sweat was not evaporating from the skin very readily, which only added to the fun. I have to admit, I started to get a little concerned. However I thought that it probably would not be much better in Utah, so I sucked it up and kept going.

By this time, the 5 dead gnats in my right eye must have slowly been decomposing, because I noticed that my vision out of that eye was very blurry. In addition, it seemed to be tearing significantly. I finally made it to the top of the hill again, overheated, belly full of lukewarm stream water, and a bad eye that was playing host to the decomposition of at least 5 gnats. I decided that it was a good time to have a seat on the overlook, take my shirt off, and cool down, which is what I did.

After 5 (alright, 10) minutes I felt good enough to keep going, so I labored back to the car. I'm not even going to say how long it took me to get back to Ohiopyle. Those hills the first 6 miles never seem as bad when you're first starting out. On the way back, they're tough. I was trying to limit my intake of stream water to no more than a liter or two, so I was probably not drinking enough the entire way back. It was brutal.

I drank: 2 liters of Gatorade, about a liter of streamwater from the Nathan, a couple more bottles of stream water, 3 bottles of Gatorade I bought from the whitewater rafting outfitter at Ohiopyle, a Snapple when I stopped to get gas on the way home, 2 Dogfish head 60 minute IPA's, and more Gatorade at home. I only peed twice last night. That's how hot it was.

Today, I did a loop at Mingo very, very slowly. I have been convinced that the run the day after a long run is perhaps as important as the long run itself, because it teaches you to run on tired legs. I'll buy that, late in any race, it really takes some motivation to keep moving when the legs are dead, you've been up almost 24 hours, and you're just tired of being alone in the woods all day.

I am very, very happy that tomorrow my only form of exercise will be splashing around in the Whitehall pool.

The little man

You know the little man in your head that tries to reason with you? I'm not mental here, everybody's got that voice. When you are trying to push yourself past a reasonable limit, the little man is that voice that keeps telling you to stop. Frequent lines of reasoning include "I'm tired," "I can't continue," "I think I'm injured," "I'll never make the cutoff," and on and on.

Part of the goal of my Wasatch training is to DESTROY THAT LITTLE MAN! That little sh!t is standing in the way of me achieving my goals. I reckon that once I have a mastery over that annoying little voice inside my head, I will be ready to finish Wasatch. I think I am well on my way to eliminating the little voice. He is a resilient little guy though, you've got to completely finish him off, because if you don't, he'll find a way to keep coming back.

Van Halen's 1984

Time for another installment of Eric's record reviews, although again, not like anybody pays attention to what I say here, which is cool with me!

I have been listening to Van Halen's 1984 a lot recently. Somehow the cd found its way into my garage, and my daily routine usually consists of:

1. Letting the dog out in the backyard

2. Drinking a Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster Imperial Pale Ale (that stuff is fantastic)

3. Playing whatever cd happens to be in the cd player on my workbench (Van Halen's 1984)

I love every song on this record. Jump and Panama both had music videos during the infancy of MTV. So did Hot for Teacher, which is an amazing song. The drums in the beginning of the song always sounded to me like a drag racer idling its engines, followed by a typical Eddie Van Halen guitar solo (typical for EVH leaves you wondering how on earth anybody could possibly play something like that). The video was classic for this one too: the nerdy kid Waldo (voice provided by Phil Hartman), and the teenage members of Van Halen who got sentenced to detention.

Top Jimmy was actually a real person, the frontman for a late 70's/early 80's L.A. band called Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs. I also love the song Drop Dead Legs, and when they played it on Family Guy as Meg's theme music in the alternate universe, it was a very fitting tribute.

The cover art is great on this one too, a winged cherub smoking cigarettes.

The cd is probably the perfect length for me to wind down on my patio while the dog chases the ball in the yard. It gives me just enough time to blast the stereo and raise a little hell before "mom" comes home!

On a more personal note, I can remember listening to this tape when I was 8 years old (1985) with a friend. I got hit in the head with a rock and received 29 stitches (would probably explain a lot), I can remember listening to this tape on his couch while he made me laugh so hard my stitches started to pull. I begged him to stop making me laugh because my stitches hurt. To this day I don't think I have ever laughed so hard as I used to when I was 7 or 8 and playing with that kid.

coupla tings

This weekend I went to the one horse town where I grew up, to visit with my family. I needed to get in a couple of hours and only had access to roads, so I decided to make it a Magical Mystery Tour, of sorts. Decided to just run around for a while to different spots that at some point in my youth, had some level of significance.

Completely unintentionally I found that I was right down the street from the pool where I used to work. It was the first job I ever had. I thought it was odd that the sign was gone, and as I got closer I realized that there were no cars in the parking lot. Since it was probably well into the 90's the place normally would have been packed. It quickly became obvious the place was no longer in business. I took a stroll down the long parking lot to where the entrance gate was. The place still smelled exactly the same, sort of a mixture of pine trees and some other smell I have always for some reason associated with Sugar Babies candy. It smelled like summer when you are a young kid, and have nothing to do all day long except loaf at the pool. The place looked like it hadn't been closed that long, maybe only a year or two. It was very sad, it kind of looked like the circus had left town. On that type of a day -- very hot, with clear blue skies -- it would have been busy with people.

To this day I still don't like walking over any bridge that I can see through to the water, and I think it is because of a very small, short bridge at that pool.

Upon returning to work today I learned that the owner died in 2007 or 2008. It is a shame this pool is no longer in business, it has been around forever in the area.

updates

Well the Wasatch training is back on, in full force. Tuesday, did hill repeats (5 of them, with sets of 50 Hindu squats at the end of the even-numbered sets). Yesterday, did the Mingo loop. Using the heart rate monitor is the best thing ever, as long as your heart rate is in the desired zone, it takes the guess work out of the "should I be running or walking right now" decisions. I can feel my efficiency running up hills really improving, and at the end of a particularly long or steep hill, I seem to be getting my wind back very quickly. I can really open up the pace on the flat parts or even the slight uphill grades. Despite this, I don't seem to be able to run this loop any faster at all which is kind of frustrating.

In any event, I had a great day in the woods, it was one of those days where the running just seems effortless. Hopefully this kind of effortless running, on tired legs (from hill repeats the day before) indicates that I am improving. Things were cool until I heard what sounded like 15 or 20 "dogs" baying in the woods. There was no indication that there was a person walking a lot of dogs, so my guess was coyotes or wolves. I don't know if we have either of those around here, I would guess we probably do, although I don't know if they would ever attack a person. All the howling just abruptly stopped (after I had been standing frozen for about two minutes, trying to identify the nearest tree to climb in the event I got rushed by the pack), and that was pretty much the end of it, although until I crossed the water a couple miles later, I kept looking back to see if I was getting stalked.

Rode the bike to work today (an "active recovery" day, not sure if I believe in that yet but I need to get the hours in), tomorrow taking the day off to do a long run, then another semi-long one Saturday which will have to be all on roads due to travel this weekend.

All this running, biking, working out, getting ready for a baby, one would expect that I would be exhausted, right? Wrong! Unfortunately right now I am in the midst of a recurring problem that I have had off and on for as long as I can remember (5 years old and younger). Exhausted all day, can't think straight due to tiredness, then when its time to go to sleep, WIDE AWAKE!!! The longer you lay there, the more frustrated you become, and the more awake you are. It is a horrible cycle. I have been through bouts of this that have lasted literally for months. Once during a bout of this when I was probably 19 or 20, I ended up ACCIDENTALLY putting my hand through that glass reinforced with mesh wire (the stuff you aren't supposed to be able to break). I ended up almost cutting my left thumb off, it was pretty much just dangling there. I still don't have 100% mobility with it and probably never will. I don't think my parents believed for a second that it was an accident, but even I am not that crazy/stupid to purposely put my hand through glass. Anyway, I have literally laid there for sometimes 4 or 5 hours before, getting more and more frustrated at not being able to sleep.

By this point I have developed the habit (through no fault of my own) of laying in bed, and NOT falling asleep. I lay on the couch at night and fall asleep in 2 minutes, then when I go up to get in bed, wide awake. I have tried everything: hot "sleepytime" tea, warm shower, read a boring book, count sheep, you name it. At this point, I am going to pull out the big guns: melatonin "supplements" available at GNC. I really, really, REALLY hate for it to come to this. But I am not willing to let this thing run its course, which could take months. I am going to take a melatonin every night for a week and lay on the couch and read, then go upstairs and get in bed, at which point I should fall right asleep. Hopefully this will get me back into the habit of associating my bed with actually sleeping. I talked to a doctor one time who suggested this to me, and was even willing to prescribe sleeping pills to me in order to re-establish my routine.

more developments on the racing front

Well, the notion of Grindstone on Oct 2 went over like a fart in church with the wife. Apparently, it is absolutely *critical* that I "make an appearance" (not my words) and help move some boxes at the end of the baby shower on that day. So, Wasatch it is!

I can't sit around and do nothing (in terms of training for some type of insanely hard endurance event) all summer. I figure as long as I can still fit this around getting ready for all the baby stuff, fine.

hundred milers

Wasatch: probably not. Grindstone: maybe? Man, my wife is going to be pissed. I'll sleep on it and see how I feel in a day or so. This race looks to be maybe a little more doable due to the proximity issue, which is a biggie. I think it may be a Horton joint though, and I've heard about those races. I don't deal well when somebody is forcing their ideaology on me.

In the meantime, the trap for my laundry basin is leaking at the rate of about 2 drops of water per hour. It is still a leak though, albeit a very small one. The bad part is that I am going to eventually have to dismantle it all again once I do the water supply lines. It is also becoming apparent that I am going to have to anchor the entire tub to the wall. I'm thinking small blocks of 2 x 4 mounted directly into the block via Tapcons, then screwing the tub right into the blocks with drywall screws, washers, and those little rubber gaskets you get from Lowe's.

It is pretty amazing what a major commitment it is just to prepare for the arrival of this little 10 pound creature that won't even be able to talk yet. Sometimes we wonder what we have gotten ourselves into, but that conversation is invariably cut short by loud proclamations of "Too late!"

Update

Fairly busy week.

For starters, pretty much decided against running Wasatch. Probably the most difficult decision I have made in a long time. Certainly one I did not take lightly. With our daughter only 4.5 months away, I simply cannot justify the amount of time I would need to dedicate to pull off a successful finish.

It feels kind of like when Mike Tomlin benched Rashad Mendenhall that one week for "not being on his details." I feel like if I did what I needed to do to get ready for Wasatch, I would not be on my details as far as preparations for a new baby. That is not a tradeoff I am willing to make at this time. It was a very, very difficult decision. I am still not 100%, but I'm getting there. Yesterday I was at about 80-85%. Today I'm well in the 90's.

Had a lot of other interesting stuff happen that I will elaborate on later. For the time being, listening to Insecticide by Nirvana (lovingly copied by my BFF Josh, "the only man I've every loved" ---> a shiny silver dollar to anybody who can tell me what movie that is from. I don't really love him, but I kind of do, because he is a fantastic person). I installed the drainage system for a laundry tub this afternoon (which I reckon we will need to clean up baby clothing that has been vomited, urinated, and defecated on). So far I have had a Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster, and a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. Also made my first visit ever to Babies R Us, can I just say that I flocking hate that place. It is very surreal. I can already feel it, I will be the odd man out in the group of parents. However, saw somebody in the store who I haven't seen in at least 10 years and actually was happy about it.

Also of note, while in that evil store, stopped in the aisle with all the big letters for sale, presumably to spell out your baby's name on the wall. I could not resist, I rearranged the letters so they spelled out the word "faggot." I'm not a homophobe, it was just the first dirty word that came to mind.

Like I said, I can already tell that I am not going to fit in with the other parents. I'm cool with that though, I happen to dig Eric.

More later.