New Horizons

I had a pretty good couple of days. Work was so-so uneventful (until today), and some good stuff with my EMS future. I feel pretty good physically for Thunder Rock next weekend.

I let my mileage build up somewhat over the past few weeks. Not in preparation, because I'm still trying to just recover from the last race. I just like running farther distances. Nevertheless, I felt sluggish. However, I guess over the weekend I had a breakthrough because this week I was doing pretty good. I still need to remember that I still need to taper, and bring the mileage back down over the weekend and into next week.

My plan is to leave Thursday to head out to Chattanooga. I'll stay in town Thursday night, and drive back east about an hour to the start, which is at noon. I'm still not sure how I'll get home after the race. Well... I mean, I know HOW I'll get home. It's more of whether I would brave the trip that afternoon, or linger around for a while, stay overnight, and drive back Sunday morning. The smart thing would be to wait. But the smart thing would also be not to run two 100s only six weeks apart.

Things are wrapping up with Pool Pros. Most of my inspected pools got handed over to their managers, and with only two pools left to be inspected, I was pretty relaxed most of the week. Today was stressful as I had my last two inspections. Crazy as it sounds, I passed and ended this inspections season 14 for 14 (pools passed to pools inspected). I probably have a few more days of work. But my race is next week, and I have a couple different parts to an EMS interview, that I'll have good chunk of time away.

The EMT jobs are in sight! Yesterday, after checking every couple of hours, my certification was finally posted. I didn't really have anything to worry about. I already passed the exam and was waiting for a background check to clear me. Nevertheless, it was a relief to finally see that because for future job interviews/applications I don't have to make a little asterick for that certification.

Furthermore, my brother put me in touch with his employer which is a medical transport company. It involves moving stable patients back and forth between medical appointments and hospital treatment. It's all BLS; anything goes wrong and they pull over and call 911! However, it's some cash flow while I wait to hear back EMS, the first responders, which is what I really want. I've got assessments for Wake County EMS over the next few days. And just yesterday (the same day I got my certification; coincidence?) Cary Area EMS posted that they are hiring. I'm hoping to have good news over the coming weeks.

Soundtrack:

"Arise" by Flyleaf

"Fading Away" by Demon Hunter

The post title is a reference to the third album by Flyleaf (the song is from their second album, Memento Mori).

Next Race

Alright. Promise breaking time.

I had told myself, after the Umstead 100, no signing up for races until July, June at the earliest. I didn't want to have a training mindset. Well, if I sign up for a race, but don't (/can't) train for it, that's still in the "spirit" of that promise, right?

A few days after Umstead, I made the silly mistake of emailing the race director for a race, asking if there was a waitlist or any openings. I really wasn't expecting for there to be any. That is until last week, I got a reply from the race director, saying there IS an opportunity I can use.

So the race? May 16/17 is the ThunderRock 100. It's a trail race in the mountains around/near Chattanooga, TN, held by as part of a race series called Rock Creek. It's not quite like the Lynchburg/Beast Series where you strive to complete every race in the series; it's just a bunch of races, with an overall point series. One of the really cool parts about this race is that it's the inaugural run.

This is mainly meant to be a fun experience, but of course there will be some challenges. Even though the race series has several ultras under its belt, as a first go, there's bound to be hiccups. A video from a training run, shows VERY technical sections of the course. The race starts at noon of Friday, so I will HAVE to be running throughout the entire night. And likely, I'll be attempting it without crew or pacers. I'm somewhat comforted by the fact that I met many other ultra runners who have done races without much support because of travelling long distances.

That race is only three weeks away. I'm still in the recovery phase from Umstead, and it's been steady. Nothing crazy, and if I am doing this ThunderRock, I won't be pushing anything. By the time I could get a longish run, it'll be time to taper back down. I'm too worried about that, and I'll play it by ear.

I'll be interviewing with Wake County EMS just before I go to the race. Wish me luck!

Soundtrack:
Breath Again - by Red
Last Night - by Skillet

Umstead 100 Race Reflections

It's been about a week and a half since the 2014 Umstead 100. During my initial race report I had started to write about some of my reflections and insights I gained from the race. I'm sure some is still there, but a lot of it I thought complicated the reading, and I also wanted it separated out, kind of for my own benefit.

I guess first things first. Did I reach my goal? Well, my "soft" goal was sub-17 hour, and my "hard" goal was sub-16 hour. I made the first, but not the second. Still, like most people, I'm both very satisfied with my PR, but frustrated not to break 16 hours. I had set a goal and didn't meet it. And I don't like to give/make excuses for not having the discipline to follow through.

BUT, I also look at what I was actually aiming for. Sub-16 was really the means to the end. I knew sub-16 was a perfect weather, perfect day goal. Everything had to be going right for it to be "easy" to reach. The purpose was to set a goal that was well beyond my known capabilities, so that I would see how hard I would make myself try.

So, did I reach THAT goal? Overall, I would say yes. At least twice, maybe three times, I had terrible low points. During those instances, I was hurting and told myself that I'd worked hard enough, and could take it easy the rest of the way. Yet somehow I was able to say NO, and keep going.

On of the biggest revelations from this struggle was what I was fighting. I've also supported the idea that our physical limits are really based on the "central governor." Without too many details, it's the belief that our limits are all in our nervous system; receiving physiological cues from our body, and stopping it before we exhaust ourselves to our grave. For me, that mental limit was always manifested in physiological limits. That is, I just felt like I couldn't go any harder. However, during and after this race, I realized a lot is NOT subconscious. I was rationalizing to myself that I didn't need to run harder. I was consciously thinking that "reaching my goal isn't really that big a deal." If you think about it, it's really scary. It makes "mind over matter" seem easy compared to what boils down to "mind over mind." Or, put another way: it's not like this third person experience. You always seem like you're fighting this "other" person. But in the moment, it's just you, and and you are totally in control of your thoughts and decisions.


With that, a few of nitty-gritty analysis comes out.

1. I need to talk more to my crew about how I'm feeling, both good and bad. If I'm feeling bad, I need time to ease up to collect myself. But then when I'm feeling good, if I say things like above "I've worked hard enough... I just want to take it easy the rest of the way" then they know it's time to pick up the pace again.
2. I still have gotten the nutrition down just right. I did a better job of forcing down gels and stuff. But I wasn't as good about sipping my HEED later in the race. I think I want to experiment more with the handheld, because it was easier to get water that was cooler. The problem is carrying enough gels, particularly when I move toward more remote trails/races
1. I will say that having experienced the GI discomfort last year made me at ease with it this year. I was't freaking out as much about what the hell was going on.
3. Some of it may be learning to eat more frequently. During training I stick pretty much to 100 cal (either in gel, blocks, sports beans) per hour. That's meant to get me to keep going on less. And that's usually just enough to keep from bonking on the longer runs. But I'm guessing the big jump in calories/hour in the hundred is what's getting to me.

So what to now? I don't want to sign up for any fall races until June or July. I want several weeks of unstructured base building. It never really feels like training. I first experienced this around New Years, when I postponed my buildup for Umstead, and I think it gave me several weeks for good mileage, but without the stress of trying to hit training goals.

My recovery is going GREAT so far. The first few days were of course painful. I've got a good regiment of using The Stick in the morning, and using the foam roller in the evening. Last Thursday I started some easy spinning on a stationary bike. Saturday I went for a easy three mile run. I know I may be flirting with disaster: last year, two weeks out it was PAINFUL and I wasn't finally good to go until four week out. But I PROMISE I'm listening to my body (really, if I think about it, I didn't even want to for those first two weeks). And my body told me "RUN." I alternate days of spinning and easy 3 milers. I'm fully prepared to stop at the first sign of trouble.

Even though I'm not going to register, I have to admit I am looking at races. There's so many cool ones out there. I've got some pressure to go for the Grindstone 100, which is just up near Lynchburg. It's tempting because, though I haven't done it, I know a fair bit about the race and the group that organizes it so it's somewhat familiar territory. But then, that's what would be challenging about going to a race that isn't so well-known [to me].

I also do NOT want to run any looped courses.

Soundtrack:
David has got me hooked on movie theme songs. So far:
Thor 2
Man of Steel
Iron Man 3
Captain America 2

Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run 2014

I'm starting this Sunday morning, at 5:18am; about 6 hours, 50 minutes after I finished the race and have failed to be able to get to sleep.

**Late morning extra** Went to breakfast at the State Farmers Market. Killed some bacon, eggs, and a monster pancake.

Pre-race: Even though it was the "secret" goal, most people knew I was aiming for a sub 16 hour finish. My competitive entry "mandated" a sub 17 hour finish, but I truly wanted to push the envelope. Last year, at my first 100, I had no goals, and while it was very tough, I don't remember feeling forced to overcome my body. 16 hours was perfect because a) it WAS far enough ahead to be truly challenging, and b) at 8 laps, 16 hours was an easy 2 hours per lap. My timing was incredibly tight; the difference between 17 and 16 hours was only 7 1/2 minutes per lap, which can EASILY snowball.

The week and a half before the race, the forecast was scary, flirting with the mid- to upper 70s, dipping higher and lower as we counted down. All week leading up to the race, I was incredibly nervous. Do I really have to do this?

Friday morning: That's all gone. I woke up, did an easy shake out run, and COULDN'T WAIT to get going. I volunteered at packet pickup, which gave me the opportunity to get a prime spot for a crew, and get settled pretty stress free. I rambled with the other pickup volunteers: Tom who was a multi-year, multi-race veteran, Caitlin a volunteer pacer, and Dana who was doing her first one hundred. I LOVE hearing everyone's stories, and that was no exception. I'll breeze over the rest of the evening, as we have race briefing, dinner, and Greg and I do a basic run down of my gear.

RACE MORNING:
I get up and munch down on some energy bars at my 4:30 wake up. I had moments where I had fallen asleep, but not being much of a pre-race sleeper, that didn't bother me. My roommate and I traded back random wake ups for midnight bathroom breaks. Over at HQ, Greg and I did another run through, and I chatted with all the guys I knew; racers, volunteers, staff.

LAP 1:
Right on time, the cannon fires, and we're off at 6:00. I place myself away from the front to get myself to get a good pace. I past most people within the first mile and half along the airport spur, but I'm not really worried at this point. At way point 1 (WP1), I grab a cookie. I'm still in that seesaw stage with most other racers; some of these hills a runnable, and there's a mix of strategies; I'm among the runners. For this lap, as planned, I'm running the LONG hill up ORCR before Turkey Creek. From the intersection with Reedy Creek Lake until aid station 2 (AS2), I chat with a guy, Jonas, from Rolesville who recognized me from the Mountain Masochist Trail Run. Here I take a long needed pee break, grab some easily digested fruit and water, and continue on my way. Having stopped, several guys get past me. Along North Turkey Creek, the seesaw hits the extremes, and I see people running some truly steep sections. For a few, I get caught up and run before I planned, but I ended getting a hold of myself. As we're coming down Graylyn, we finally introduced ourselves; one guy Mike I had met on lap 1 last year, and though stayed a head of him, it was only about 10 minutes. I also meet Traci, who had won the race in 2012. We're all pretty similar; Mike wants under 17; Traci under 16.
** Perspective ** There's a big difference between advice/encouragement give from mid-/back-of-the-packers and these front runners. And fourth runner who was with us was on his first 100 and wanted a 22. Most mid-/back would have give some encouragement: "Wow, well good luck to you." Traci and Mike were straight up: "Dude, slow the "f*ck down!"
** At WP1 I grab Gu to save my stash. I grab a hat from Greg back at HQ, who, after this lap, easily adjust to my shorter transitions. I've tried to be extremely specific in my requests. I think Traci and Mike said we were in around 1:54.

LAP 2:
I'm running the same sections as before. Most of this lap I'm running within a few 10s of yards of Traci and Mike. They are walking some of the hills I'm so use to running, but Traci is obviously great on the downhills, so overall we're pretty even. I left them as I ran up ORCR and they walked, but by 1.5 miles to AS2, they caught up and we stay together. I made a strategy changed, and plan to start walking some of that the following lap to save some energy. We continued our seesaw, and mostly piecemeal conversation, but were doing good. I add one hill as a walker but overall stick to my plan and don't lose time. It's incredible how fast Traci is on the downhills (she unabashedly LOVES them, even 4-5 laps later). I like the downhills; I just can't run them as fast. I grab another Gu at WP1 and keep on going. We're in right at 3:45. It's 15 hours pace, but I'm OK because I need some extra time. Greg and I have a good trade off, and I tell him to have the HEED ready for lap 5.


Lap 3&4. Probably some of the toughest laps because I'm still without a pacer. Mike's dropped off, but Traci and I still go back and forth. I'm quicker out of the aid stations and I think she's losing speed. It almost takes an hour to the next aid station, but she's gets on back. My walk/run ORCR feels good; only a minute slower to AS2 that before. Overall Lap 3 is in at 5:40, so not as quick. I've switched to HEED and it tasted better, but it's hot and nothing taste good going in. I'm force feeding/drinking at WP1. It leaves me bloated, but perks me up after a couple of minutes. I'm right at 7:40. With a 2 hour lap, I'm cooked, and tell Greg I can't do better than that. I'm thinking 2:05's if I'm working, but I honest could care less if I dropped to 2:30's.

Lap 5:
But holy crap! I've gotten my first pacer, Emmeline. She's good friend of Daren and Tood, but I've never met her, I didn't have great expectations. Those were unwarranted. She was simply amazing, and my spirits soared. When we talked about the race, the encouragement was dead on, but she also distracted me brilliantly. At the fuel spots, she asks what I want. I mostly know it when I see it, and from her I just want her to keep talking. We had a lot in common (she had gotten a Masters degree in Chemistry from NC State), and worked as pharmacists for a drug company on a really neat ailment (dilutional hyponatremia). We slowed a bit to 2:10, but I knew it would happen, and felt good that we kept that. I think I'm staying on top of my nutrition. My intake at the way points and aid stations is consistent, but I'm drinking less. I'm urination way darker, and way less than I did last year. I just keep trying to do the best I can.

Lap 6:
Another low point. I've picked up not-my-brother David, who I had met while coaching Masters swimming. He does a good job, but he's not the bubbly personality that Emmeline was. I guess I should've told him to talk, but I don't, and it's too quiet for my taste. He also asks me I want to walk at certain points, which is really the opposite motivation if you're trying to keep running. He's a very "maximize-efficiency" runner and tries to get me to run a certain spot of the trail which is unnerving. To be fair, I think I'm just hitting my bottom, knowing that even after 75 miles, I still have 25 miles to go. At some point Traci passes me with a gale-force second wind. However, I feel good because I feel that I've perfectly honed my walking/running points. I have all my landmarks in my head, and stick to regiment. I really think that determination, not to push the body, but to stick to the routine, kept me going. Hitting 2:10 again, we're to an average 2 hour lap, which unless I'm faster on the next two, 16 hours is gone.

Lap 7:
Todd. We start out kind of rough. Like last year, I need have to remind him several times to NOT run in front of me before he settles down. Starting lap 7, I feel like I just want to get through this lap well (another 2:10 is good) and just sandbag lap 8 for whatever. Todd's style is different, he's a good motivator, which perks me up. I get rid of eating Gu's and focus on true love; Sports Beans and Shot Blocks. I guess just that it's sort of solid food, but so much more digestible. It takes a while, but I hitting another high point. I hope it last until I get going on lap 8. I'm not sure what time I pass the timing mat, but I don't leave my crew until 2:18, but I had some major gear change, with my shirt, hat headlamp, and fuel pack.

Lap 8:
Again, I was resigned to sandbag this and just make it a victory lap. But I'm still on another high. Pace and pain be damned, but I still hit all the right running and walking landmarks. Nicole and I keep up a conversation. I'm so amazed, and proud; hills I felt sure I would walk, I'm digging deep to keep on running. My legs are on fire. But after seeing it for 8 laps, I see the sign "Pain is temporary, Pride is forever" and I keep up my strategy. We crest Cemetery Hill for the last time, a mile to go, and I'm start gunning it as best I can. At half a mile, I send Nicole up for the heads up. I crush the pain deep down and hurl myself down.

I come in at 16:28:49, within a minute of an hour improvement.

The rest is a happy blur. I do better to keep walking around. I'm wary of hugs and slaps on the back: my skin is sunburned and badly chaffed from my pack. This time I'm able to walk back to my car. David and I just get to make it out of the park for the 11 o'clock gate.


**Final Nutrition thoughts**
I used WP1, AS2, WP1 again, and HQ as my points of fueling. Besides the first lap, both WP1 stops were Gu stops, AS2 and HQ was solid fruit with Gatorade (once or twice Mtn Dew or Ginger Ale). I switched from water to HEED in my pack on lap 4 (mile 37.5) when it warmed up and took a S-cap (electrolyte pill) every hour. Initially the HEED tasted great, but when it got even hotter, that, as well as everything else got grosser.

I sucked down HEED, but also tried to increase my calories at my fuel stops. Both WP1 switched to a cup half Gatorade - half water, a Gu (eaten quickly before I spit it out), chased with a cup of water. I did that from lap 4, maybe until lap 5 around lap 7 and half-ish. AS2 and HQ was an additional cup of liquid fuel. I had a love hate relationship with this strategy. Everything tasted gross, and I had to chug to liquids before I'd throw away a half-sipped cup. That left me churning, but after 10 minutes or so, I could really feel the pick-me-up. Later, I was switching to Sports Beans and Shot Blocks; don't ask me how, but these really hit the spot over Gu's and were quite a blessing. Todd and Nicole were great at piecing them out.

One of the biggest take-a-ways was having a routine and sticking to it. I've always tried to take a more flexible approach. But I appreciated that when I didn't really feel like I could trust my gut, I just followed a regiment that I knew and in the end, dragged me through.

BTW. I changed shirt at mile 50. A friend along the course goes "New shirt, new man!" Another girl I was passing goes "Do you mind just taking it off and running just a little bit ahead of me." Loved it! Can't say I haven't wished for similar when the NC State team is out there.

So now it's all about taking it easy. I won't do much running for a bit, but work will keep me moving around, which I think helps mitigate the stiffness. I don't plan on even signing up for a race for a while; just let any running being about enjoyment.

[Last Minute] Umstead 100 Motivation

Echelon by Pillar "... drive one, pressin' on till we reach the top; and you know we don't stop"
Dive by Disciple "I'll run and not go weak/ walk and will not faint/ climb the highest mountain and dive off"
ISHFWILF by Disturbed (originally by U2)
Worth it All by Disciple "Forgetting what is behind/ I'm going straight head/ And I will run with a passion until I reach the end/I won't let my eyes move left to right/I'll with all my heart/ I'll give it all I've got"
I Will Not Bow by Breaking Benjamin "I will not bow/ I will not break"
Blow Me Away by Breaking Benjamin "Only the strongest will survive"


"If you wanted a guarantee you wouldn't have signed up ..." - How to Be Epic, Runner's World

"Only those who risk going too far can possible find out how far one can go" - T.S. Eliot

Final Countdown

The Umstead 100 is five days away. It's the final stages of my taper. It's always hard to tell if I'm feeling good. My legs are exhausted when I go up the stairs, but since I'm not used to that, I don't know if they feel "normal." The weather is going to be interesting. Mid 70s, and I've seen it go back and forth between whether or not there'll be rain and/or thunderstorms. That forecast makes me kinda scared and frustrated. If I want to be able to finish, it will probably mean passing up an attempt at going under 16 hours. On the other hand, I feel incredibly excited. It's the same way I felt when we had those wickedly cold days, and slick roads. I'm Barney Stinson: "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED." It's been a while since I've had a RACE where the elements truly challenged me and I can't wait to see how I overcome.

My next blog should be my race report.

I'm going to be come up on ANOTHER career move. I'm starting to look for full time work in EMS. I was planning on staying in my current job through the summer. I had made the commitment, which I wanted to honor. However, ever since my EMT class ended, I realized how anxious I was to get into EMS as soon as possible. So right now, my eyes are open for jobs. Last Friday I took the exam for the National Registry of EMTs. NREMT is the national agency which credentials EMS professionals from first responders up to paramedics. While it's technically not a license to practice, 46 states use it as their own certification and license to practice. It's actually not required in NC, which has it's own state certification, which I'll be testing for in about two weeks. Even though it wasn't required, I thought taking the NREMT exam was a good idea. The exam was much harder than I expected (and than my brother let on!), so I was worried waiting over the weekend. But all for not, I got it.

Not much more for this blog. Again, next will be the race report.

Soundtrack:
"Man of Steel" theme by Hans Zimmer (GREAT motivational song)
"Still Into You" by Paramore (sorry, I like this band. So sue me)

Guns, Germs, and Steel

Well, I finally got done reading the latest book. This past weekend I had my final build week and now, I'm beginning my taper. Oh, and EMT stuff. In reverse order:

First, my EMT class. The previous Saturday (March 8), I had my last EMT class, where we took our final exam. The previous couple of classes, were our TSOPEs (Technical scope of Practice Examination), which test our ability to assess and treat patients in basic scenarios. With all the stress that entailed, they really weren't all that bad, if not involving WAY more waiting to test, than actually testing. Anyways, those finished up that Tuesday, and our final written test was that Saturday. My stress level was about where it usually is. I KNEW the material, but so many of our other tests had such poorly worded questions and answers. I was worried about something tripping me up and there was a lot of information. My fears were all for naught though. The test was incredibly straight forward, almost as if a completely different institution had written it. I knocked it out pretty quickly. Checking later that day, I passed!

Now, completing that exam does not make me a licensed EMT-Basic. I am now eligible to take the State exam. Due to the state's registration deadline policies and whatnot, my exam date will  April 12. I am somewhat apprehensive about making sure to retain my knowledge; I'm terrible about use-it-or-lose-it. But there is a National Registry of EMTs test that I would like to take (it's complicated, but in NC, the National Registry is not required), and I think that will help keep me on my toes.

I'm finally into the taper phase of my training. Over the weekend was my last long day, and boy was it long. I split my normally single, 35 mile run into three runs of 10 mi, 10 mi, and 15 mi, all at different times during the day. My goal was to spread out the fatigue and get acquainted with running at times I don't normally run. It was an OK day. My pacing was fine. It was very warm for the later runs, reaching into the 70s. Furthermore, my eating in between runs wasn't really idea. The second runs I went in feeling full and bloated. I really don't think my GI tract has recovered, and I've been dealing with stomach aches since, so that was no good. My legs have felt pretty ragged; I cut about 3/4 mile from my run this morning and still finished in my normal time. This is somewhat to be expected; but I'm making sure to take it easy. No is not the time to push, but to heal.

It took me a long time to get through my recent read, Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. The book is pretty long and written very much in the style of academia. Dr. Diamond has written several other books, kind of in the vein of historical anthropology. The predecessor this book sought to investigate the huge differences in chimps and humans, given that we share 98% of our DNA. He has written several follow ups that look at environmental consequences and factors that effect the most immediate modern world.

In Guns, Germs, and Steel, the premise is to understand how our environment has shaped our societies and cultures. Not on a global scale; rather how have differences in the geography, climate, ecology, etc. led to the dominance of Eurasian cultures over cultures in the Americas, Australia, and Africa. Dr. Diamond likes to dig deep. Instead of sticking to immediate causes, such as food production, population, and technology, he explains what caused the causes. Very simple, but also subtle solutions are given. Things like the differences continents that extend east-west instead of north-south; or that the Americas were populated later than Eurasia.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. Some of the enlightening points are the facts so much of our current food production relies on so very few crops. So many organisms that place is "known" for (Native Americans as great horsemen, Middle America and wheat) are not native at all. The complete diaspora of crop production and animal domestication is truly astounding. On the flip side, some of the book can be incredibly redundant. Many of the causes can apply to any culture/continent, with differences just in the fine details (cows vs. llamas, corn vs. yams, etc.) so you'd hope the author would speed things up. But like most academic to public writers/books, he doesn't infer anything from previous examples, and he details the proofs in every case. That's probably what led to me taking so long to finish the book.

Not sure what I'll read next... suggestions?

Soundtrack:
Sorry, I got nothin'.