Speedgoat 50k

That was hard.

That was really hard.

Never before in the middle of a race have I openly shouted an obscene word at the race director (no he was not around, I was entirely by myself) until this race.   And then of course nearly hugged karl Meltzer at the end, the RD, for putting on a great race and a brutal course. 

I had no idea what I was in for at the Speedgoat.    One of the most fantastic fields I've ever raced in with the likes of Max King, Ricky Gates, Kilian Jornet, Anton Krupicka, Nick Clark, Nick Pedatella, Brendan Trimboli (gonna be one of the top runners emerging)...it was a stacked field.  

The race started out uneventful enough.   I drove up from Pagosa on Friday night and arrived at the Cliff Lodge at Snowbird at 12am.    Up at 5:00 for a 6:30 race start.  Tired but not overly.   I got plenty of sleep the days ahead because I knew it would be a long travel evening prior too.

Race starts with some undulating climbing up the first 8.4 miles to Hidden Peak.   Following that was a drop through the most incredible field of wild flowers I've ever seen.  No joke, they were absolutely incredible.    It was the most amazing smell and sight.   Hopefully I'll be able to snag some pics to add to the blog but right now, they will live in my mind as one of the highlight memories of the run.

I could already tell that something seemed off in my legs as I started getting the early early warning signs of cramping in my hamstrings and adductors.   Usually not a problem early on, this has been an issue later in 50mile races for me the past couple years. The descent down to the turnaround is not with out a few steep efforts scattered in.    31 miles and 11K of elevation gain means that there's not alot of time for flat but that you have lots of steep descending and steep ascending.    I didn't feel like my body would be able to handle quick descending and so I held back a bit.    At the turnaround, mile 15ish, I could tell that I was going to have a long day.    I wasn't able to get anything out of my legs for the 1 mile flat section to the Pacific Mine aid station at the turnaround and that should have been an easy thing to do at that point in the race.   

There is an incredibly long moderately steep climb out of that aid station, that takes you back to Larry's hole Aid station.  At this point, I had no idea what or where the course went so I had no idea what to expect.   I did have to power hike everything with incline at this point.   I was using my new Black Diamond Z-poles and was very glad to have had them along for this run.  I don't even know how long the climb was but by the time i got to Larry's Hole I was beat.   My legs were both cramping, I wasn't even running and my Left Fibularis Longus and Brevis had also started to cramp so my foot wasn't hitting quite flat during stride anymore.    Hate that!

I took a breather at the AS and took in some water, watermelon and grapes.    I must say that the AS's were all incredibly well stocked and the volunteers were fantastic.   They knew exactly what to do and were very attentive to the needs of the runners.  From this point, there is a long climb up to Baldy Peak before a drop back down to Tunnel AS.    This is where I cursed Karl.    Here's how it went down....

Climbing....climbing....oh, there are people on top of that peak, that must be it....climbing, hurting....climbing....oh, I have to go down that road before I can get back up to the people cheering me at the peak....^)(#_#...okay....descending....descending....ouch....and then....volunteer points up the side of a cliff and says...with a devilish grin...."up.".....%)*& Karl! And then a hands and fist, literally, climb up the side of this gulch to the top of Baldy.   I had to keep stopping because my legs weren't working.  It was horrible.  The only redeeming fact at this point was that I thought this was the last climb and that then I was going to be able to recover and go down.   What was I thinking?   The top of this climb is Baldy Summit, from there you traverse a ridge to a saddle and then...descend down back into the same area that I just came up, which is on the opposite side of the mountain that I want to be on if i'm going to be descending to the finish.   

That for me was the most down part of the run.  I had my hopes set on recovering during a descent and realized that it wasn't over.    So I dropped down back into the valley on the Southern side to Tunnel Aid Station.    This was a great stop for me.  I took 5 minutes, sat and just relaxed.  I needed to regroup and get my legs back.  I didn't realize that "tunnel" literaly meant tunnel.    At this point the course goes back through to the north side via a tunnel in the mountain...pretty cool.   

So I'll spare the rest of the details except to say that following this AS, there was about a 400' descent before a climb back up to Hidden Peak which was in truth the final climb.    From there it was a slow descent.  I did finally seem to come around with about 3-4 miles left and was able to get some speed into the finish but it was a bit late for me to break 7 hours.    My A goal had been 6:30, B goals 7:00 and C goal was to finish.    This race...I feel like hitting my C goal was a solid job well done!

A shout out to all the wonderful people I met, wonderful volunteers, great RD'ing by Karl and my car trip buddy Brendon Trimboli.    Max King, my good friend from Bend, OR took 3rd on the day and put in a fantastic race and it was great to spend time catching up with him.   Believe it or not, I will definitely go back and do this race again.   It's a pain and suffering thing I think.    Plus, I want to hit my A goal still.  

Clinical Rotation Week 1

This first week was a mixed bag for me.   The atmosphere and location are fantastic and it's wonderful to see how relaxed and happy Anna is up here with the dogs just relaxing.    This is truly a gift to spend my first 2 month rotation with my wife in such beautiful country.    The clinic was both fantastic and challenging.   One on hand I saw a ton of new stuff and am amazed at how much of the learning from the past year is coming out when needed.   On the other, I'm reminded of my stubborn streak and that asking questions to enhance learning as opposed to just saying "uh-huh" is difficult for me.   Especially when my brain is full already.  

I don't really have anything super eye-opening to write about the first week.  It went well.   I think I was expecting it to be jaw-dropping excitement and it wasn't.   It was steady, constant and intense.   My goal for this coming week is to ask more questions, and to do 45 minutes of research every night related to something I saw or had a question about.  

Turkey Trail Marathon

I couldn't have asked for a better day!   The weather was great, the smoke from the fire just north of the course wasn't a factor and conditions were perfect.    The 4th Annual Turkey Trail Marathon is held just outside of West Pagosa on a section of local trails and forest roads.    GECKO puts it on which is a non-profit that works to give children an opportunity to get outside and experience the outdoors.   They put on several races in this area this year from running and mountain biking to a couple of new CX races coming up this fall.  

The course was a 13.5 mile loop that we did clockwise and then counterclockwise (marathoner's).   I had 13.5 on each trip so I'm pretty sure the course was slightly long, which at the end always matters.  The race started at 9am, an hour later than originally planned but giving enough time for morning winds to clear out any smoke that might have settled in the area from the fire.   

I started out with a fairly quick pace.   The first 6-7miles is a relatively quick descent and I was feeling pretty good.    There was a group of 5-6 half marathoner's in front of me but I was pretty sure I was the only marathoner in the bunch.    I picked up a couple of them along the way to the turn around and passed a really quick local runner that was having an off day.  He eventually dropped but would have been a strong contender for the marathon.  I couldn't really tell how far of a lead I had and until I hit the turn around I wasn't actually that I was in the lead.    I hit the turnaroud at 1:43:12.  

The return trip was relatively uneventful other than just painful.   It was hotter, the climb, though slight, was rough and I had some cramping in my left leg that slowed me down.    My return split was 1:51:42.   My official time was 3:34:59.

ouch

original artwork from a local guy

It felt pretty good to win my first trail marathon.   I ran well and felt strong throughout most of the race.   My goal to really push the last 6 miles didn't necessarily play out the way I'd hoped but I'm not complaining!   I'm getting more comfortable with being out in the lead pack more often and how to create my own race strategy as the race unfolds.   

All in all, it was a great day.  My wife, mother-in-law and brother in law and his wife and their son all got to be at the finish and the awards ceremony which was an extra special treat!  

Pagosa Springs Clinical Rotation #1

In the course of the three year DPT program I will spend 34 weeks in clinical settings, taking the knowledge that has been stuffed into my head and put it to action.   One rotation will be in an acute care (inpatient) setting, one in a neuro setting and a third in an orthopaedic sestting; that's the one I'm in now.   We get to choose our 4th as an elective and I am planning on doing a more sports specific ortho rotation.  

I thought I'd describe a little bit about the experience as I go.   I just finished my second day and before some of my early thoughts ellude me, wanted to capture them on paper.   

The clinic I'm working in has two locations in Pagosa Springs.   There are two other small PT offices in the town as well which is actually kind of surprising given it's 2009 census of just under 2000 population.   I switch between each clinic every day and will do so for the entirety of my rotation.   Currently I'm working with one therapist for the first two weeks before switching over to work with another for the remainder. 

I've seen a fair number of patients already.  Most have been post-op rotator cuff rehab or TKA's.    There've been a few interesting anomalies but so far pretty straightforward.   It's been a weird transition from the classroom to the the clinic.  I knew it probably would be but it's hard to really know how strange it's going to be until you are in it.  

For me, the most difficult thing has been bridging the gap between what we've learned and been taught and what we are being instructed to do in clinic.   Already there have been several situations where things don't line up and I find myself in immediate inner conflict.   I tend to get locked into a way of doing things and have a hard time adjusting, especially when it is seemingly so radically different from what I've learned.  

I'm sure this will smooth out over the days and weeks ahead and I'm confident that I'll adjust but if there's one thing I need to make sure and do, it's keeping an open mind and a willing spirit to soak up as much as I can.  I would imagine that my classmates are going through some of the same emotions as well.   

So far so good - more to come...

Acoma Seed Run

View dropping into the valley

I got up early this morning to head out to Acoma Pueblo to run the annual Acoma Seed Run.   This is one of those rare gems of a run that I was blessed to find out about from Jim Breyfogle, a local ultrarunner and race director.   The Seed Run is every year on Memorial Day.   

The course is relatively straight forward but not without difficulty.   The initial 100m or so is a sprint down asphalt to a sharp turn onto sandy dirt road.   The road turns steep and heads up and over the top of the mesa that the old Acoma pueblo is located on.    The terrain is extremely sandy and it's hard to get purchase of any kind.   Matt and I were in the lead but immediately passed by a local runner who eventually won the event.    At the top of the climb there are a few rocky notches just large enough for a human body and then a bombing descent through sand and scrub bushes to a dirt road.   Dirt roads with long sandy stretches are the mainstay of the first 5 miles of the race.    There is a 3.5 mile stretch on asphalt that takes runners back to the finish and is mostly flat except for a slight incline back to the finish line.  

ABQ Road Runners Representing!

The race is 8.3 miles long and a fast trail run.  1st and 2nd place finishers in every age group, divided by 5 year increments, receive a handmade piece of Acoma pottery.  3rd place finishers receive a medallion, though smaller, no less impressive in craftsmanship. 

My favorite part of the race was the community.   It seemed like many of the locals came out to cheer us on and meet us at the finish.   The Pueblo Fathers were at the finish and at the awards ceremony to pass out the pottery and to shake the hands of every finisher.    There were folks selling burritos and cold drinks and kids and families everywhere.   The race had an incredible family feel and appeal and I really enjoyed the laidbackness of the whole thing.   

I had never been to Acoma and it's a place I'd like to go back and explore again.   The terrain is unique and beautiful and it was a great way to spend a Monday morning.

Dale, the RD and me after the run.



Jemez 50

[I'll edit and add photo's soon, but wanted to get this post up before I got busy with other stuff.]

"Dear God, when will the hurting stop."

The more I run 50 mile races, the more I embrace the fact that as I get older, I am indeed losing my mind.  To admit that I trained and paid and then actually showed up to have someone "figuratively" beat me with a bat for 9 hours just isn't something normal people do.  But that's the reality when it's Bill Geist the RD for the Jemez 50 miler holding the bat! 

I ran this course two years ago and remembered bits of it well but this year’s course would be slightly different because of the fires last year.  I didn't really know what to expect coming into the race.  I was cautiously optimistic based on my previous finish but the course this year would be difficult and it looked like there would be a strong field.  

The race started at 5am just outside the Posse Shack in Los Alamos.    Mike Ferris bolted off the line in a sprint start that put him about 200yards ahead of the rest of us from the get go.   I held second with a solid pace and eventually caught up to Mike at about 3 miles.   We chatted and ran together into the Mitchell aid station (AS) at mile 5.  Jeremy Duncan had joined us at the point and we continued to run together as we circumnavigated the northwest side of Los Alamos.   We hit Camp May AS at mile 10.4  and Jeremy passed me for the lead.  Camp May AS is at the "bottom" of the first big climb.  Pajarito peak, at an elevation just shy of 10,500’ would be served up twice during the race.  The climb starts out mild but gets very steep very quick.    There’s a quick descent about 2/3’s of the way up to the bottom of a chair lift and then the climb begins in earnest.  Jeremy and I chatted and climbed to the top together but he told me to go ahead on the descent so I did.    The descent meandered slightly but was mostly a straight shot down the ski slope.    I kept thinking to myself..."I have to do this again in about 4 hours on legs that will really be tired...this is gonna suck!"  

I arrived at the Ski Lodge AS, mile 16.4 and had the lead but as I was leaving Patrick Garcia ran through like a bat out of hell with a big ole smile on his face!   He was looking really strong and I felt like I needed to hold back a bit if I was going to make it up the climb in a few hours.

The 3 miles to Pipeline AS was okay.   As always the descent from Pipeline down into the Caldera was an adventure!  The run through the Caldera was beautiful.   It's a steady light descent throughout with some rolling hills here and there.  Every so often I checked to see if anyone was catching me and I didn’t see anyone.  At one point I did catch a glimpse of Patrick out ahead and guessed he'd probably put about 6-8 minutes on me by that point.    At Obsidian AS – mile 26.6 - we took a hard left to head back to the Valle Grande and all of sudden Jeremy was right behind me.   I wondered if maybe I'd slowed too much or if I hadn't seen him come up behind me.  However by the time I had reached the Valle Grande AS at mile 36.7 he was no longer in sight.

The distance from Valle Grande AS to the Ski Lodge is only 3.5 miles but it was by far the hardest part of the day.    The trail is cross country and is almost entirely unrunnable because of the wild tufts of grass and rock strewn throughout the meadow.   Once you get through the meadow it is a straight shot up the side of the ridge to a saddle and then another steep straight up climb to the peak.   I was huffing and puffing the whole way up, taking 10-15 steps and stopping to breath.      

The rest of the race was really a blur.   I made it down the ski area without falling and came into the Ski Lodge AS at the 36.7 mile mark, 6 minutes behind Patrick.   I knew that 6 minutes would be really hard to make up at this point in the race.  I was actually more worried about getting caught from behind by someone coming on strong at the end.  

The return trip tops out just past Pipeline AS and then there's a gradual descent all the way to about mile 48.4    At mile 43, I'd put 3 minutes into Patrick's lead so I knew something was up and that he must be hurting but I was too and didn't know if I could catch him.  I actually was more interested in breaking the 9 hour mark which had been my unspoken pre-race goal.    It was going to be close.   At mile 48.4 I was only 2 minutes back of Patrick but the course starts to climb again to the finish and my legs were just toast.    I'd started cramping, my breathing was pretty labored and I had entered that really really dark painful place.   I made up another 30 seconds on Patrick and finished just over the 9 hour mark with a 9:05:31.    And

I've never been more proud or excited to finish a race like this.  I left nothing on the trail, but gave it everything I had.  These races teach me a lot about myself.   There are times when I want to stop, or rest and sometimes I don't feel like I have what it takes, but when you finish running a 50 miler, no matter how long it takes, you know you do and that you've faced your demons and crushed them underfoot. 

There are moments when I question why I'm doing this to myself but when I consider the incredible beauty of God's creation, the natural rhythm of running; the feeling of being in tune with what's around me, the birds, the sun on my back the smells of the mountains and of the sage in the meadows, I am at peace

Thank you Lord, for letting me run and for giving me pleasure in it!

Cedro Peak 45miler

Cedro Peak Ultra.

The week leading up to this race I did not sleep well.   That’s not usually the case but for some reason I felt a great deal of pressure to “perform well” at this race.  I think it’s a mix of internal pressure, the fact that I turned 39 the day before, or maybe knowing that there were a couple of speedy guys from out of state coming to race and I knew, #1, this wasn’t going to be easy and #2, it was going to hurt.

It turned out to be a great day.   The race started in the crisp pre-dawn hours of the Oak Flats Campground 30 minutes east of Albuquerque.   Jim Breyfogle, the RD did a great job putting together a fantastic course, and a solid group of volunteers.    The course is brutal.   It’s one of a few courses I’ve run where it’s extremely hard to get into a rhythm.   There’s about 5500’ of elevation change over the 45 miles but the terrain is really what takes it out of you.   The rock and gravel is highly technical and will simply destroy your feet and body over the course of the day.   It’s a course you definitely do NOT want to trip and fall on.  

Unfortunately, vandals grabbed all the flags and markers at a key junction about 2 miles into the race so the first snafu occurred early on.  I had run the course several times prior so I told everyone to follow me but only Nick Pedatella and Donny did.   That was really the last time I saw most of those guys.   The eventual winner, Jason Louitt from Canada, blew by me at about the 6 mile mark (he must have gotten off track as well) and I never saw him again.  He was amazing!   He finished in 6:30 and change and looked like he was ready for another 50 when I saw him at the finish line an hour behind.   He’s took 2^nd in the World 100k championships and no doubt is going to start to mix it up with the elites in the sport this year.  

5 miles to go Kodi, you got this...

Things went pretty smooth for the majority of the race.  I didn’t get lost, I didn’t fall, I kept hydrated, I ate, listened to ultrarunnerpodcast for the majority and just settled in for a long day.   The course is deceptively easy through the first 26 miles.   Then, you begin to climb back towards the finish and there are some brutally steep, albeit short, climbs that get you back up to the top of Cedro Peak before you drop back down to the next to last aid station at mile 32-33.  The final 12 miles hurt a lot.   There’s a good decent and then another steep climb up to the high point of the course just before the final aid station at 5 miles to go.   I made it there but was pretty tired.   I knew I would finish but was going to be just miss my goal of 7:30.   However, I did manage to catch up to the guy in 4^th at that aid station and although I was hurting, knew that he was as well.  I passed him right after the aid station and then just gave it everything I had.   I ended up putting about 3 minutes between us in the final 5 miles which felt good.   

It was a great day.   I finished in 7:35.  My buddy Nathan completed his first ultra by doing the 45k, and a friend from Kansas, Kodi Panzer, came in to do the 45 miler.   Although the elevation was 6000’ higher than where she lives and trains, she managed to beat her goal time of 12 hours and finished her first ultra.    Anna crewed for me and poured herself out to help me, Kodi and other racers throughout the day.  I couldn’t do this fun running stuff without her.  

Thanks again to Jim for putting on a great race and for all those I met, Richard, Brennan, Jason, and the camera guy who’s brother’s name is Cliff!