El Scorcho Tres 50K

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint... Romans 5:3-5a

I am sure that the apostle Paul did not have Ultramarathoning in mind when he penned the above passage. But Paul was a big sports fan giving illustrations with boxing and running on more than one occasion, so I thought the passage in Romans was a concise description to what took place on the night of July 19, 2009.

This would be the second time I ran the El Scorcho 50K. Like last year, the course is a 3.1 mile loop that you run 10 times to get in the full 31 mile run. This years temperatures were as mild as they had been and I was looking forward to the race that commences at midnight.

Let me begin by saying that I believe that I was undertrained. The longest run in had done since the Grasslands 50 miler was a 20 mile run about a month previous of El Scorcho. Last year at this point I had completed a half dozen runs of 26 miles or longer....and many of these were back to back long runs as well.

So let me sum it up...what could go wrong did...dehydration, cramping, nausea, intestinal issues, and at one point the total lack of caring. I remember at mile 15.5, I came close to sitting down in my chair, telling the RD that, "I was turning this into a 25K...give me my 25K medal...so I can get the heck out of Dodge." The legs began hurting at mile 6...talk about a bad sign and I really need to get my nutrition dialed in...I can only gag down gel packs so many times. I would be lying to you if I didn't tell you that at the half way point I started calculating minumum splits to meet the deadline. I ran it 20 minutes slower than than last year and nearly as fast as I ran the Bandera 50 which is on of the toughest courses in Texas.

I finished within the time limit. I had many arguements with myself. In the end I knew that if I quit...whatever discomfront I was currently in, would never last as long as the misery of giving it up.

Thanks for all your support. There will be better days, better races...and better times (pun intended.)

BEEN A WHILE

It's been a busy couple of weeks....but here is the long and short of it. Last week had to go to Tijuana on business....just those two words together make it a paradox doesn't it....or at least make you wonder what business that I am in. Think I'm going to leave you to speculate...it's more fun that way.

When I did step off the plane in San Diego, the 72 F temps felt quite refreshing. Of course when I looked out the starboard side of the plane upon the approach, I broke out in a cold sweat. It was nearly 21 years to the day, that I made the that trip to San Diego with the Marine Corps Recruit Depot as the final destination. (I really didn't know they could call my momma those names.) Had a great run on the sea walk.

Come back from the trip on Friday night...get home at 12:30 AM... get up early the next day and get on a plane with my oldest son Luke to fly him to his Gram and Pappy's house...come back and run 5 mile at 10:00 PM and then get up early Sunday and run 8 miles at 6:00 AM....

I have the El Scorcho 50K starting at midnight this coming Saturday...just hope I get this intestinal issue, Tijuana gave me, ironed out by then....That is all I got....RUN ON...

p.s. My buddy Paul Tidmore will be running the Vermont 100 miler this coming weekend...keep him in your thoughts and prayers....

CHEERS FOR ALL MY PEEPS

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

This post is about my friends. Some I have met and others that have become my blog buddies. Some I have run with and other's that I have run with in spirit. I love it when people step into the arena. I love it when they "dare greatly."

This past weekend was the epic 100 mile ultramarathon race known as the Western States. Thus, when I come back from my early morning Saturday run, I was on the live web updates checking the updates of my friends and the elites. Early on I knew it was going to be a rough day when I saw some of the Texas Runners dropping early. Tom Crull, my 66 year old Navy Pilot buddy had shown to have dropped at mile 40 or so. Come to find out, he had taken a bad fall. The weather report showed that the heat was up to a 100 degrees. My friend Dmitry was trying to complete his 3rd 100 miler this year. It was not to be. The heat had taken it's toll and cramping coupled with blood in the urine cause him to call it a day close to the half way point. Ultra phenom Dean Karnazes had shown to have dropped at mile 63...I understand for much the same reason. Even 8 time winner, Scott Jurek dropped at the same point. So when I wake up early Sunday and saw that my friend and fellow North Texas Trail Runner Matt Crownover was within 9 miles of the finish I was happy. So was my blog buddy Donald. I still have not talked to Matt about the race but that will come. Donald details the demons and terrors that encroached upon his endeavors. Read about it here.

On the other coast my blog buddy Missy was to partake in a woman's only triathlon. Let me note that she is both an Ironman with a very respectable time and came in the top 10 in a 5K open water swim race early this year. Say she owned it. Read about that HERE.

Staying with the tri theme, I want to give a shout out to Regina. Regina and Colby go to our church and we have known them for about 4 years. This past year, she decides to get off the couch and make it happen. She starts going to 0500 boot camps, she starts working out and dropping weight. She has now scheduled a tri to run early next year and will start training for it this month.

Let me close with someone near and dear to me...my wife. She will never run an Ultra....at least she tells me that. In fact she may never run further than a 5K. But at least 5 days a week she is in the gym. Either spinning, strength, flexibility or core. She makes it a priority. She imparts it to our kids. With that she is consistent and for that I am proud. Sometimes when 0430 comes too early, and I am contemplating on sleeping in, her encouragement comes with a nudge and a mumbling about "you'll hate yourself if you sleep in..."

I love endurance sports regardless of the event. Saturday I will have the the Tour de France on the tube. My 8 year old actually knows what a pelaton is. I love it when people test their limits. I admire the individual who steps into the arena. Sometimes it is painful and incomplete. Other times it is painful with great bliss and success. Many times only finishing is the herculean task asked of...and other times owning a race and being in the top 4% of ALL finishers is what is awarded. Either way, they will never have to share existence of the "cold and timid souls that know neither victory or defeat." Those cold and timid souls, quite frankly, disgust me.

TURNING UP THE HEAT!!!

What a Father’s Day weekend. Of course the highlight was me spending time with my kids. Luke had 2 baseball games…his team won the Sunday’s 2:30 game…heat index at about 100 F…and I was sweating like a whore in church.

On the training front, I have NO heat acclimation yet. I have been doing most of my runs in the very early morning or very late at night….and with the mild spring…I am feeling it when I run with some higher temps. When we took off at 8:45PM on Saturday evening, it was 95 F. I do know that at this point last year, I was much better in the heat.

Saturday had scheduled a 2 a-day run as I met some runners early morning 6:30 AM to run a 5 mile run on the Erwin Park Trail…running hard. At 8:45 PM, I met Lynn Ballard, Mark Blendon, for the evening run. Rochelle Frazuer showed up later at about 10:30PM. Lynn wanted to show us the new trails he helped build at the Frito Lay property. All I can say is that the 3.5 mile loop is incredible with some climbs, some rocks, some roots…a good challenge. Lynn thought it would be good to take off at a quick pace to familiarize the trail at least once in the day light. We whipped through a couple of loops rather quickly and things felt decent, but I could tell that the heat was getting to me. At about mile 8, the stomach was nauseous and I had to drop Lynn’s pace if I was going to run a full 20 miles. Miles 8 through 16, I lingered behind, Lynn and company, but never too far behind…always able to regroup with the company a few minutes later at our self supported aid station in the parking lot. I remember having a “come to Jesus” meeting with myself at about midnight on the trial in regards of not getting in the driver’s seat and driving home at the next aid station stop. I do have to admit that part of my sick self enjoys the solitude of suffering on the trail. No one to talk to except the constant conversation with that little voice in my mind that keeps telling me that normal people don’t do this to themselves. In the words of Mark, “In Ultras, you have to keep running when it quits being fun.” In miles 14 to 16 the stomach improved a bit but it had quit being fun. The group had decided to knock out 4 miles on the crushed stone walking trail that circumnavigates the Frito Lay Property (at my suggestion.) The night breeze actually made it feel cool at this point…of course it’s all relative. I learned about Rochelle finishing the last 5 miles of a 200 mile race in flip flops…at this point I was able to actual smile at that.

At 2:00AM I had wrapped up 20 miles and was going to call it a night. Lynn, Mark and Rochelle were going on…remember Lynn and Mark will be toeing the line at the Hardrock 100. Some people would consider the night I had a horrible training run. I think of it differently….only as an opportunity to press on when it would be really easy to quit and go to bed. I plan on to doing some runs in the heat these next few weeks to acclimate myself. Until then Run On…even when it ain’t fun!

POST NOTE: Lynn's son, Keith joined us for a few miles. Unfortunately, because I was lagging, I didn't get to talk much with him. I expect we'll see more of him out there with his dad.

The Chaff Was Burned

...he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Matt. 3:12

When I run alone all night, it is a far cry from apocalyptic; although it may seem like it at 0300 in the morning. The loneliness only intensifies any suffering the body is doing and it is during these times that my mind is purified. In the words of the apostle Matthew, the chaff is burned up. My thoughts are turned to what is important and they come to realized that juice stains on the carpet brought forth by my three year old is not something to get upset about. The tiny fingerprints left by three kids on the computer screen, are not only temporal but trivial...that the soul is more important than the body and at this point the body is hurting. Running alone at night tends to cause me to reflect on these things.

So when I got an email from a fellow North Texas Trail Runner, Lynn Ballard, about an all night on Friday, running on some new trails...I responded, "I am in." It appeared that there would be a good group of us, but the previous days of a rain deluge left the trails unrunnable and the plans for the night run with the group to be rescheduled at a later time. Knowing Lynn was going to be running at some point on the weekend, I inquired of his plans. Partially because I needed to get a long run in and partially because I wanted to be held accountable. He responds, "Lets still run on Friday night. I got a 7.5 mile loop on the golf course. Meet at my house. Call me when you get in from the Bill Cosby concert...I will wait for you."

The week had taking it's toll both physically and mentally and frankly I was dreading this run....but I cannot leave Lynn hanging out to dry. At a 10:45 PM I call Lynn and tell him I am on my way.

The humidity had turned the warm Texas air into a sauna. Lynn and I look at each other and mutually say to one another, "let's get this thing done." Despite the humidity the chaff began to be swept from the threshing floor into the fire. But this time it was different. It was not from the pain or the loneliness, but from camaraderie between two guys running into the night. We begin talking about what is important...what is not....lessons learned from the four 100 milers Lynn has finished. (Lynn is training for the Hardrock 100 miler with no garantee he will get in...he is on the waiting list.) Lynn's 3 kids are grown and he is about 12 to 15 years further down the road than I am in that respect. We talked about what is important to impart to your kids, what running does for the soul. We talked about patriotic things, about spiritually things, about things that actually mattered. We talked about courage and heros. The kind of heros that give up their gunners' seat in a helicopter so that Lynn's uncle could get medivaced out of a hot zone in Vietnam. The chaff was burned.

From a long run standpoint, it was not my best run by far. I didn't go quite as long as I wanted and the humidity beat me up pretty good... the legs just didn't seem to have it. It still was on of the best nights of running.

Hopefully, Lynn gets into the Hardrock. If not, he will pace someone...probably through the night...it is best that way. The chaff will be burned. What is important will be left unquenched. Running does that...and so I run on!