Onward...to the Next Race...and New Year...

Well….we’re about 9 days out from Bandera…isn’t that how you keep your calendar…everything relative to the next race. Really…that is how I keep a calendar….it’s all relative to birthdays and races…no?

Anyway….Christmas has come and gone…Overall a blessed time...Christmas Eve Service at Prestonwood Baptist Church and then a 3 hour 4 course meal with a dear family that lives next door at Maggiano’s…and then home to unwrap some gifts that we give each other….and prep work for Santa Clause….this year the big gift for the kids was a trampoline and DVD player for the car. Despite our best efforts to keep Christmas “reasonable”….we all seem to get too much. On to the New Year…

Yes, I fell into the gluttony trap over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day…I didn’t gorge myself…but ate a lot of the wrong things…and didn’t really care either. On Sunday, I went out for an 8 hour trail run…lethargic, dragging…It is incredible the effects sugar intake has on the body and it’s performance. On Monday I got up to punish myself…45 minute kettle bell workout, 5 miles of hill repeats and 20 minutes of ab work. I kept my heart rate up for the full 2 hours and went anaerobic on the hills. Good stuff.

Now for the next week of taper…no weight workouts for the legs…let them recovery….nothing to take me to the edge as far as long workouts either….maybe an easy 12 mile run this weekend…and then on to the Hill Country. This year Bandera 100K is the US Track and Field 100k Trail Run Championship….so there will be some fast guys showing up
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So as I gear up for the new year…I count my many blessings…I thank my Lord….and wish and pray for you to have a blessed 2011….PRESS ON!

Realistic Christmas Letter - 2010

Holy Cow…(and no, we haven’t converted to Hindu)…where has the year gone…only yesterday was I writing last year’s realistic Christmas Letter. This year’s letter will not only be realistic…but probably politically incorrect….you have been warned….and proceed at your own risk.

First let’s get this out of the way….we still have 3 kids. I know…we haven’t killed a one…

Luke is now in the 4th grade. I am not going to lie to you and tell you he is the absolutely most intelligent boy in the world….he is smarter than most and not as smart as some. He reads like a monster….although I personally think this is a ploy to stay up longer on school nights….he does tend to knock out some 400 page books….and then tells me about them….as far as I know he could be making the whole thing up….which means that if he is using this as a ploy to stay up late….he may actually be a genius. He has really taken to baseball where he plays catcher and soccer where he plays goalie. He is also beginning his last year in Cub Scouts….working on his Arrow of Light Award. For the record…the cleanliness of his room has not changed one bit from last year….and he is now housing three of our neighbor’s missing dogs….ok that was a lie….the dog part…not the room part.

Macy is bout to turn 8…and in 2nd grade. She helps us all keep our schedules straight….and organizes all our stuff…and then plans all our meals…ok that meal part is an exaggeration…but she does make sure everything is squared away. She reads like a monster too….but hasn’t pulled the “I need to stay up late to read” stunt…you know, the stunt Luke’s pulls because his mom and dad just can’t figure it out….anyways…she played soccer this year…mainly to be with her friends….because…”Daddy, you just have to run too much for soccer to be that much fun.” She much preferred playing softball on the “Speedy Hamsters.” Evidently, softball requires much less running…I don’t get it. She has started taking piano this summer and just last week mastered Mozart’s Opus 5. No. 4 in E flat major….ok…I can’t quit lying…she only has completed the first half of it…at least that is what I think she is playing….but what do I know….I play a radio and that’s it. On top of playing the piano, she is still in dance, Girl Scouts, AWANA’s, and Y Princess…which makes for two things….an overachieving daughter and busy parents.

Hope is now 4 and in preschool. Last year you remember we had her in speech…and we had trouble getting her to talk. That, folks, is no longer a problem. She has not hushed this year…and orates as well as President Obama…only she makes a lot more sense than him and has a better understanding of why Keynesian economics doesn’t work in a free market….no, I am not lying here….trust me on this! There is a reason her middle name is Reagan. She has a wicked, sarcastic sense of humor…and always aims to make people laugh….out loud…she has pleaded to play soccer next year….and so that will be in full swing…


Bren and I have not done anything this year…nothing…really!…ok…again I am not being forthright. Bren serves as Chief, Cook and bottle washer of Team Elliott….as well as Girl Scout Cookie Mom for Macy’s Troop and Treasurer of the Cub Scout Pack. She is involved in a church Bible study, volunteers for AWANAS, does kickboxing, spin class and somehow makes sure that all the homework is done and everybody is fed. She fulfilled a lifelong dream this year….when…drum roll please….she got to go to a taping of Oprah in Chicago….I myself would have preferred a root canal…but this was something she had been trying to do for over 20 years…and yes she actually got on TV….fortunately she went with one of her girlfriends…and I didn’t have to go…I would have tried to get the pool boy to go in my place if that were the case.

Now to me…do you really care at this point….I still lean to the conservative side…and like long walks on the beach and nice long bubble baths…ok…another lie! (not the conservative part….do I really need to tell you that?) I am still doing the endurance athlete thing. I ran the Bataan Memorial Marathon (26.2 miles) this year through the White Sands Desert…with a 44 pound backpack and came in 10th for my age group. I also took up cycling and rode the Hotter N Hell 100 miles in August….and then ran the ½ marathon (13.1 mile) trail race the very next day…I know….I have issues. Plan on more epic races and events this upcoming year and read all about it at runningmandave.blogspot.com. Next up a 50K (31 miles) trail race in Bandera Texas…January. I helped coach Luke’s baseball team and am Cubmaster for the Pack...and I still work as a straight commission salesman at Timberlake & Dickson…still perform magic…and other than that ….I don’t do much. Oh…yeah….Bren went to Oprah….and I went to the 5th game of the World Series….I don’t have to tell you who got the better end of that deal.

As a family…we had a great year….Bren and I got to go off for a little vacation to Boston MA sans kid. What a wonderful time in Historic Boston…taking it all in, even a Red Sox baseball game at Fenway…and of course eating at Cheers. ;-) On top of that little trip, the whole family spent an entire week at 9000 feet in the Colorado Rockies. It was a Christian based family camp with more to do than you could stand. A great “camping” compromise with Bren and I as the accommodations had the proper thread count sheets and Bren didn’t have to go outside to use the bathroom. We went white water rafting…mountain climbing….horseback riding…kayaking ….swimming….all the great outdoor things….and LOVED IT!


Soooo, if you made it this far…Bless your little heart….you need to get a life….no, really, get a life. I know right now we are in some real uncertain times. It seems we have more friends that have been diagnosed with cancer this year…and I don’t have to tell you what is happening on the economic/political front. Sometimes I look around and think…how are we all going to make it…then I think about my Father, the Maker of Heaven and Earth…the immovable Rock…with His steadfast love and His Only Son….the Reason for the Season…responsible for crazy people sending letters out like this one…and I think…It’s all going to be alright…Peace and love from our family to yours….

The Elliotts

P.S. I know this letter has run-ons, fragments, and grammatical errors…but my High School English teacher, Mrs. Copeland, ain’t getting a copy…so just chill…will ya!

On to Bandera Boys!

Back to Bandera…I love that place…quintessential TEXAS….beautiful, rugged, brutal…

That is the answer to what I have been asked over and over again the last couple of weeks.

The next race…only the 50K (31 miles) run through the trails of Bandera…the other day on a group trail run, Marlee and I joked that if you don’t finish the race bleeding, you probably didn’t run it…the Sotol Cactus is a serrated edge cactus that precarious guards the rocky trail. There are climbs…and descents…technical terrain….and some smooth parts…and the Texas Sky goes on forever!






Davy Crockett was correct…”I must say as to what I have seen of Texas, it is the garden spot of the world. The best land & best prospects for health I ever saw is here, and I do believe it is a fortune to any man to come here. There is a world of country to settle.”

Now you know….Press ON!

Just a Walk Around the Block...

That was what my wife told me 15 minutes after I had run a 20 mile trail run. She was being serious...and the truth...she was right...my legs didn't hurt....I wasn't sore....my energy was good and I didn't feel wiped out...in fact I felt energized. This was the third weekend in a row were I had a 20 plus mile run...and I could feel my endurance coming back. As a bonus, I met my buddy Tom Crull out on the Arbor Hill Trails...and got to run with him for an hour...Incredible guy and we hound each other mercilessly...he was in the Navy...and with me being a Marine...well you wish you could here some of those conversations. We talked a bit about nutrition...and we both came to the same conclusion....as an Ultra Runner or Ultra Endurance athlete...it's all about training the endocrine system to release the proper enzymes via the liver to utilize fat as the main fuel source...which requires keeping the heart rate in zone 3 for extended period of times while consuming the proper complex carb/protein ratios. I feel it takes time...and unless you are a biological "freak"...I think that is why some of the best Ultra guys are in their late 30's early 40's. Those are just some of my thoughts.

Additionally, today I got up early to run 7 miles on "tired" legs the next day....and frankly, the legs aren't tired. I hope this is a good sign. One other thing to note, the day before my long runs, I have been hammering my legs in the weight room....lots of squats, lunges with heavy weight, explosion skips...stress on the quads and hamstrings alike. My hopes are that by hammering the legs like this the day before my long runs will build the strength, both physically and mentally. I make sure they get a good recovery soon thereafter.

Let me close with this...apart from running. I love my Sanuks...I know...they are so ugly they look good...and they are the most comfortable thing I have every worn on my feet...especially after a long run. I wear them everywhere...summer, winter...to church or to a ball game.


This summer we were on our way to Colorado and we had stopped by a road side park. A man about 65 years old wearing jeans, a western shirt and big belt and buckle....looking like he had worked on a ranch his entire life...he comes up to me and says, "you like your Sanuks as much as I like mine?" I look down and smile...sure enough his feet were adorned in the Sanuks. His feet didn't match the rest of him...and he didn't care....and neither do I. Until next time...Press On!

Who Pushes YOU...into the Chaos of the Hurricane

Amber, Me, A.G.

Last week I wrote about the solace and calm of the run…the peacefulness…the restoration. But here is the deal...if all you have is calm…and you never get out of the comfort zone, there is no growth. In running, in academics, in life!

You need that…forces that push you out of the calm of the eye and into the chaos of a Cat 5 Hurricane…the winds of the storm that buffet you viciously until you cannot take any more….and then…growth…strength...perseverance.

After my completion of Palo Duro 50 mile Ultra in 2009, I vowed to become more overall fit…core, upper body…strength in the legs….not just stamina. That called for me to do more work in the gym…and so I began to attend 2 to 3 boot camps a week at our Y.

It is a full body workout…dealing with core, upper body, balance, footwork…speed…quick burst. It is not the solace of a run…but quick paced...fast rhythm…no recovery.

My bud A.G, a brother from a different mother... played collegiate football…he runs the boot camp. I remember when we started…falling into a calm rhythm was not permitted. It was constant…no rest. Amber, a bodybuilder and spin instructor at the Y… she would attend the boot camp as well….and A.G noticed that we never let the other get complacent…we pushed each other…if A.G told the class to do 20 push ups…we did 30…the class was to do 50 jump ropes…we would do 60…it was competitive…don’t let Amber get ahead of you in the run….”Dave don’t cheat yourselves on the planks” Amber would admonish.

There would be times when Amber would put together a kettle bell work out...constant…the chaos...relentless….kettle bell swings….clean-jerk-press…squats…dead lifts…dead hang pull ups…run….more running...suicides…close out with hand stand push ups…5 sets…20 reps a set…the arms go dead…the heart is redlined…and keep pushing…keep…going into the HURRICANE!

This past year I have gotten stronger…I have been pushed…I have been thrown into the chaos of discomfort…and the fire has refined. So I ask you, who pushes you to be better…who makes you go out through the storm…quit being complacent…PRESS ON!