Couch to Arrowhead 135 (FAIL!)

I originally wrote the following account right after we got back to town but decided not to post it.  I really didn't want to talk a whole lot about Kathy's my failure at the Arrowhead 135 this past January but reconsidered and felt that the story needed to be told. We're not very disappointed as we knew our chances of success weren't very good to begin with (you'll read why) and we're already very motivated to take on a shorter winter event together next December; the Tuscobia Winter Ultra. My plan will be to use that event as a final tune up before I attempt the Arrowhead 135 in 2014 with Kathy as my crew! Now what follows is my account of our failed 2013 Arrowhead 135 attempt. Enjoy. 

Monte Sano Contour Transect

Last weekend I successfully completed a "contour transect" of the Monte Sano Plateau where I live.  This is a complicated phrase that really just means I trekked all the way around the Monte Sano Plateau trying to stay as close to the same elevation contour as possible. So in theory I should have been able to hike around one of the many benches that ring the plateau and not gain or lose any elevation at all. 

However, the route I chose, along the 1480' contour, kept me just below the main bluff or escarpment wall which avoided most trails in both the Land Trust and Monte Sano State Park; so my route was almost entirely off trail! The only exception were in the few instances when a trail happened to fit within the +-50' vertical buffer I allowed myself to help avoid extremely tough going (with mixed results). The route I took ended up measuring at a little over 12 miles and involved over 1600' of climb which took me just less than 6 hours to complete! Yes I could only manage just a hair over 2 mph!! Checkout the pictures after the jump and you'll understand why it was so slow!

2012 Barkley Marathons - Fun Run Done!

Summary: After 6 attempts at the Barkley Marathons "Fun Run" spanning 13 years (my first in 1999), I FINALLY pulled through to finish in 35 hours and 36 minutes. Since I finished my 3rd Barkley Loop under 36 hours I actually had earned the right to continue on to a 4th Loop; had ~23 minutes to leave. That wasn't going to happen this year, was never part of even my best case plan which I figured would entail a 37-38 hour finish time for the Fun Run. Before this weekend I couldn't conceive of going 5 loops to finish the Real Deal but now I'm not so sure...

Anyhow, if anybody is interested in reading my LONG account of the Barkley Marathons Fun Run here you go...

For more information about the Barkley Marathons go here.

Chief Ladiga - Silver Comet 100 Mile Unicycle Epic

This past weekend I checked off another item on my "bucket list." Read on.

Racing Outside The Box: My Badwater Ultramarathon Experience

Long over due, but here is brief (for me) account of my 2011 Badwater Ultramarathon experience. Enjoy.

My Tale Of Failure: 2011 Barkley Marathons

Not All Pain Is Gain

Snow Day and the Brahma Bull

My story of the 2011 Mountain Mist 50km

 
What possessed me to focus my training on the Mountain Mist 50km this year? I can’t really pin my reason on any one thing.  I think that regularly training with several like minded folks really helped make my decision easy though.  Late last summer I began to join the guys at work for their Tuesday Lunchtime Track Beat Down.  I struggled mightily at first as I hadn’t done any structured speed work in years, let alone set foot on a track since my collegiate track running days.  But I couldn’t resist, I was feeling burned out of my routine and wanted to do something different, train with some other folks, work to improve my speed.  So after taking on the 335 Pinhoti Trail last May and half-heartily scrapping by the Lean Horse 100 Mile in September I went back to basics.  Cut my weekly mileage back significantly, cut down the length of my long run and began to do more speed work and tempo runs.

Over the weeks that followed I saw my short distance speed coming back and even raced some of my fastest 5 kilometer races in years!  What really capped off my decision to train seriously for Mountain Mist came after I set a personal record (my first personal record in over a decade!) in the half marathon in November.  I was now really confident that I’d gotten my speed back now it was time to incorporate a little more distance and start getting my trail legs back.
 
Thus began the semi-weekly ritual of Track Tuesdays and Thursday Trail Tempo runs.  My workouts on the track and trail steadily improved.  On the weekends during the Mountain Mist course training runs I’d focus on pushing the main down and uphill sections at race pace or faster; just to build confidence.  So by the time January 22nd rolled around I was ready to go!
 
My pre-race goal was to prove that I could get back to the sub 4:20 performances which I’d run four times previously.  That was it.  My personal best at Mountain Mist is 4:11:13 (2002) and I’d run 4:16-4:17 three times.  I knew that today’s Mountain Mist 50km course has changed significantly* since 2002 and that a sub 4:20 would be on par with my previous bests.