grindstone pre-race and thoughts on the real world

Most pre-race posts are made to give the audience a run-down of who's entered in the race and who I think will take first, second, third and so on.

There are a bunch of fast people running the Grindstone 100 this year. And I'm sure they will have fun battling it out up front.

For me, Grindstone is a remption race for me this year. Last year I DNF'ed and it was my first one so it stung. There were several completely logical reasons for it, but it didn't make it hurt any less. In the two weeks prior to the race last year I ran a 12 hour race where I pushed hard and ran 71.5 miles and the week before I ran a mountain 100k and pushed hard. Going into Grindstone I wasn't recovered. Physically I had an ache in my foot/ankle that started hurting within the first 5 miles. Mentally this drained me. Also, because I had pushed hard in the previous two races and it had come out to my favor, I pushed early on in Grindstone. I had won the 12 hour and I had come in 2nd in the 100k. I went out harder than I should have for my amount of recovery. I ran mountains I should have walked and tried to stay up with people who had properly "tapered" for the race. This combined with the reasons listed above I was physically and mentally done with the race at mile 35. Especially when I was told after the first weigh in that I was down 6 lbs, which translates to: "you're dehydrated."

This year is a new year. I finished the 2553 miles across the country, finished the Western States 100 as well as a 50k. While compared to the amount of races I did last year, this year should have been a drop in the bucket. I'm afraid it has not been. Since I got back from the cross country run, I have had little aches and pains that have popped up and stayed with me. I believe it to be a result of pounding on pavement for between 3-7 hours everyday for the first 4 months of the year. Normally they subside after I get going and warm up, but they have put a damper on the amount of enjoyment I get from my runs because I am constantly wondering if I am ultimately doing myself a disservice by continuing to run on them.

I got through Western States just fine, and I plan on finishing Grindstone in an unspectacular time simply to prove to myself that this race can not beat me two years in a row. Finishing under 24 hours is of course always one goal because it's running 100 miles in a day, I'm not going for anything particular time-wise.

Don't get me wrong, I am very excited to run this race. It is a great experience starting at 6 pm to level the playing field so everyone runs in the dark. I'm simply stating that after Grindstone, I believe I am going to slow down a bit and make sure my body is working properly and is properly recovered before jumping back into higher mileage weeks just because that's what I feel like I "should be" doing. I'm 22. I'm still young and I'm not trying to set myself up for destruction by the time I'm 40.

Getting back to the real world after being on the road for 4 months has been a bit tough to say the least. I couldn't believe that yesterday marked the date that I had been done for 5 months. That means that if I had followed my gut and simply turned around when I got to the water I would have reached the Pacific Ocean a full month ago. It feels like a long time ago that I finished but time has really flown. It is also a time in my life where I'm supposed to be figuring out what to do with the next 90 years of my life. (That's right, I plan on living to be 112) So far I'm unimpressed with the real world and I now know what they mean when they say, "You gotta find something you love doing because if you do, you'll never work a day in your life." Let's just say, I've yet to find that.

I started an office job in June and have already decided that office life isn't for me. Sitting for 8 hours a day has given me a new perspective on why some people are as grouchy as they are, why some people are as obese as they are, but makes me wonder how there aren't more shooting sprees in the hours between 5 pm-9pm.

Because of my general distain for being in a town with traffic 24/7 and an office environment, and because of my desire to do something cool while I still can I'm moving to Aspen, Colorado. I got a job at the ski resort and will work there for the winter. I'm really stoked to be living in the mountains and to get out of Virginia even just for a little while. I think skiing will provide me a good physical actvity that will allow me to still exercise and lay off a heavy volume of running.

Anyway, Grindstone starts one week from today and will have a full run down of that race as it comes.

40 miles and a waterbottle

Last weekend I ran the Ring. Well, I'll be honest, I started the Ring. The Ring is a free race that takes place on the Massanutten trail. 70 miles of rocks. The beginning went pretty well. I started off and didn't feel very good or strong. But I was running well enough and was enjoying the break from the heat we've had lately. The first place to refill my water bottles was mile 13 and the second spot was mile 25ish. I felt terrible by mile 25. I just sat there for a bit. I reached that aid station in second place but wasn't so sure of the outcome at that point.

After some calories and water and encouragement from Katie, my dad and Kevin, my brother, I left the aid station for the next aid 9 mostly uphill miles away. As soon as I left I zoned out and tried to forget how badly I was feeling. It was very strange. I had energy, my legs felt fine, and yet my stomach felt funny and I just felt generally "off" of my normal stoked-just-to-be-in-the-mountains self. Upon reaching the third aid station I decided I would continue until I wasn't having fun anymore. Unfortunately, the next section was incredibly rough and the sharp rocks that we had delt with all morning were really aggrivating the bones in my feet. When i reached the third aid station at mile 40ish I decided I wasn't having fun anymore and if I kept going I would probably start running funny in order to protect my sore feet which could prepare the sure recipe for injury. With Grindstone just around the corner for me, I'm not trying to do anything to jeopardize that.

In other news I was sent a water bottle that i was able to personalize! It is sick! It is a Sigg bottle and it is BPA free and keeps my water nice and chilly.

Sick water bottles

This is the website where you can find about a million different designs of water bottles and other personalized stuff. And if they don't have what you're looking for you can just design it yourself. Pretty good idea.

Anyway, Grindstone is in a couple weeks and I'm stoked for it. This year, that race will be finished.


-- Patrick

Updayte

I realize I haven’t posted in quite awhile. Most of that is because I have been very busy and haven’t really had time to post. Since the run, I’ve gotten a job. I work for a company that sends direct mail for non-profit companies. I’m in an office.

As you can read from an earlier post, I ran Western States and had a blast in the process. Since I have a real job now, I can’t just go out and run whenever I feel like it, and don’t have a break in my day available to run. So I am forced to use the hours of the day that every other working schmuck uses. I wake up early to run sometimes and run after work most of the time. Working around a solid 9 hour block of work right in the middle of the day really cramps my style. I’m being dragged kicking and screaming into adulthood.

The good news is that I can run on weekends, barring large commitments, usually wherever I want because now I have gas money to get places, which is very nice. Two weeks after Western States I ran the Skyline Challenge 50k that is put on by the Hinton brothers. They put on a fun race of about 170 people that is out in the sticks of Gore, Virginia. The race was just the way I like it: lots of elevation change and pretty technical trail. When it started, several of us went out strong setting the stage for a quick race. After the entire field made a wrong turn within the first mile, we knew that this could be an issue all day. After the first major climb I was in the lead and saw an arrow that led me back down the mountain. At the bottom…there were no markings. 5 minutes go by, no one had come down and I knew I wasn’t running fast enough to have a 5 minute lead on everyone this early in the race so I figured I missed a turn and headed back up the climb I just came down retracing my steps. Upon reaching the top again, I saw several runners coming up the first climb and turning right where I had turned left. I was right near last place. Bummer. I ran hard to try to gain ground but I got too excited with the trail and 4 more wrong turns, and six hours and change later arrived at the finish line in 24th place. Oh well, it was still fun, the trail was very pretty, and I had a good time at the picnic afterwards.

Next was the REMR. The Really Early Morning Run aka Baconfest. It is a run put on by my friend Mark Guzzi who loves running almost as much as he loves bacon. We started at 2 am, ran a marathon or so, and then had a large breakfast including 3 lbs of bacon afterwards.

In the name of spending time on my feet, the next run was two weekends ago and I decided to get a group together to run part of the Bull Run Run 50 course. Starting at 4:15 am and not sleeping the night before made it fun to romp through the woods at night. Race Director for the Adventure Trail Series Races, Alex Popadopalous, (pronounced exactly how this is spelled, though probably not spelled correctly) came out as did Dave and our friend Brittany. Brittany is attempting Grindstone as her first 100 miler. 30 miles later, we finished.

In between engagements, I try to make it out to the mountains. I get to go this week and am stoked. Next on my race list is the Ring which is a 70 miler all on the Massanutten Trail on Labor day weekend. Should be rocky with though climbs. It’ll be a good last training run before Grindstone on October 1-3. After that, who knows. I need to save some money, so I will probably not race for the rest of the year so I can save up some money for races for next year.



We’ll see how that goes…


-- Patrick

Western States 100

I'm not completely sure where to start on my Western States experience. There is a lottery to get into the race, and a qualifying time at a 50 miler or a completed hundred miler under your belt before you are allowed to enter the race. It is one of the oldest hundred milers there are so there are an incredible amount of people who enter the lottery to race. It was my first time entering and I got in, so I didn't want to pass it up.

Returning from my cross country trip left me a little bit nervous about the distance I hadn't covered since last August and being on roads left me nervous about the trails for 100 miles. So when I got back I immediately hit the trails and started training hard. A semi-failed attempt at a 24 hour race the week after I finished left me a little shaken on the mental side of things but it was all the more insentive to get back on the trails and work harder.

When my dad and I flew out to Reno, NV on Thursday I felt ready for the race and generally stoked that I was about to partake in a race as legendary as States. We flew into Reno and drove the 30 min or so to Lake Tahoe where we were staying that night and the next. I had never been to Lake Tahoe and to be quite honest, sitting on the plane ride back to Virginia not knowing the next time I'll be back is a bit disheartening. It is absolutely incredible there. I am truly jealous of anyone who lives there, or Squaw Valley, CA or in any big mountainous region similar to those.

Thursday my Dad and I went to a casino's buffet and after we destroyed the place we found the hotel in Kings Beach, Ca, which you can see the state line of Nevada from, and crashed after a long day of traveling.

Friday morning I woke up at 5 because I was still on Virginia time and realized it wasn't all the way light yet so I threw on some clothes and ran down to the lake and was able to snap some pics of the lake while it was very still.


My dad had gone out driving very early when he got up so we met up and grabbed some breakfast and headed out to Squaw Valley, where the race starts.

It was the home of the winter Olympics in the 60s, and when I saw it I understood why.


Let's just say I liked it and move on. We also met my grandpa there. He was out on the road in his trailer with his wife Doris and when he found out I'd be racing in Squaw he came out for a visit in his new trailer. I hadn't seen his since Plains, Texas on Feb 12th so it was great to see him.

I attended the equivalent of a road race's "packet pick-up" except this was no ordinary "packet." We formed a line where we received a technical shirt, fleece jacket, Moeben sleeves, bumper stickers, and other various promotionaly items all donning the Western States name and a backpack to put it all in. Then we lined up for the medical check-in. In long races sometimes they have a weight check-in at the aid stations so that you know how well you are keeping up with your nutrition. They were also doing research on how long distance running effects some of the chemicals in the human body, or something like that. I weighed in at 161 with a blood pressure of 132/86 and a heartrate of 83...I was a little bit excited to be there as my heart rate showed.

We had some time between that time and when we had to be back for the pre-race meeting so my dad and I went kayaking on Lake Tahoe. I know, rough life. It was really nice out on the water, a little breezy because there was a storm on the way but pleasent nonetheless.

When we returned to Squaw for the meeting I saw the faces of the elite runners, which I wouldn't see again until Sunday at the awards ceremony, as well as the man that started it all: Gordy Ainsleigh, the first man to run the race intended for horses. He ran again this year at the age of 63.

After the meeting my dad and I took the tram up to the top of the mountain that would be close to the 4 mile mark on race-day. It was 360 degrees of awesome up there. Surrounded by snow, we walked around a little and got a feel for what it felt like to be at 8200 feet. It was also the site of where some of the Olympic events were held. As we got talking to one of the workers I found myself asking about prices of rent in the area and the potential for employment there.



Afterward, we talked with Keaton, an old friend from highschool who lives in California and would be pacing me from mile 80 to the end, and made plans to meet up for dinner with three of his friends, one of which was running the race as well. We met for pizza with Grandpa and Doris and we killed a few delicious pizzas and each went our separate ways to make last preparations for the morning.

-- Patrick

The race

I woke up on Satuday at 2:58 am, took a quick shower, because I don't like to start really long run already dirty, and grabbed the stuff I had layed out the night before. By 3:55 we were in the parking lot of the Squaw Valley resort and I was walking into the building to receive my number. #318. It was chilly, maybe only in the 40s and of course still dark. I stood around with Dad, Keaton, his friends, Dave Snipes and Grandpa, staying warm, trying to relax, and snapping a few pictures.

Finally, people started lining up at 4:55 and at 4:59 Gordy Ainsleigh stepped up to the microphone and said, "You are about....to enter...the Holy Grail...of trail ultrarunning." With that, we counted down the last 10 seconds the gun went off and the blob of 400-some runners made their way forward.

The four mile up to the top of the first mountain was great! Snow all around and when we got to the top someone had carried a gong up there and was smashing the thing like crazy. It was very loud and added a sense of excitement to start off the day. As we crossed the top I looked back over all of Squaw Vally, the surrounding mountains, and Lake Tahoe in the distance. The sun was illuminating everything in an orangish glow and it looked like a postcard. It almost made me want to stay at the top and hang there for awhile, then again, it was cold an I had another 95 or so miles to go.

Up until almost the 13 mile mark we were in snow and crossing streams and bigger streams. Keeping dry feet was not an option. But then again, if I wanted a nice comfortable day, I probably wouldn't have entered a hundred miler.

The majority of the day was spent monitoring my nutritional needs and staying conservative in my pace. I wanted to break 24. That's all.

At mile 80 I sat down and felt terrible. The climbs were tough, it downhilla had been tough, I was blistered and felt beaten. I knew I would keep going but just needed a minute to myself. So my dad helped me change my socks for the third time and Keaton was there ready to roll and got me some crackers and cantaloupe, pretty much the only food I ate other than Gu. After about 5 minutes of sitting there my dad said I had 5 more minutes of sitting and then I had to get up. So, I went to sleep. The second I put my face on my hand I was out cold. I slept for 5 minutes while my feet air-dried. From there Keaton and I made our way toward the finishline - twenty miles away.

Having a familiar running buddy with me was priceless. Having him along to crack jokes made the last twenty fly by. The second to last aid station was "No hands bridge" and was mile 96 ish. We had 3.4 miles to the finish and was right on the line of whether I was going to make it under 23 hours. If I was, though, I'd have to pick up the pace in this last section.

Keaton pointed out that it was do-able and made me go for it. We ran a lot faster than what we had been doing. Up hills, down hills, steep hills and tiny hills, Keaton made me run them all. If he could tell I wasn't doing so well, he'd say, "Alright you've got one minute to walk then we're running again." In actuality though, I took him up on the offer once for the full minute he rationed me.

When we reached the last aid station I didn't stop running and just called out my number so I didn't have to stop, they cheered and it made me feel good and like I was doing something right. We hit the last little hill and then the last downhill that led me onto the final lap around the track at Placer High School in Auburn. From the last aid station I sprinted and for some reason went even faster once I hit the track. I've never been a fan of track workouts but that lap might have been my fastest yet. My time was 22:59 and some change in seconds.

I'm writing this after a full day of non-stop hassles from the airlines trying to get home in time for work tomorrow. But unfortunately, we're spending the night in the airport in New York, and I won't make it to work on Tuesday....technically today.

It wasn't a very restful weekend. By the time we get on the plane tomorrow I will have gotten 9 hours of sleep over 3 days but hey, I got a sweet belt buckle in the process.

Mountain day

In recent news, I got a job. I start one week from today, so, to
celebrate, I went to the mountains to run. I ran part of the Massanutten 100 course and some extra stuff just for fun. I went up to the top of Kennedy Peak and took a video.

After taking one nasty spill on the rocks early in the day, a total of 3 hours and change of mountain running, 96 oz of water, a handful of Gu's, one YooHoo, seeing several squirrels, various birds, a fox, and no human beings; I decided to call it a day.

I have gotten my trail legs back and I am ready for the Western States 100 mile endurance run in late June. I'm really stoked.

As far as getting back into real life, I'm getting there. I do miss the fact that everyday it was my job to run far. I do not, however, miss the running on the road. Trails are much more interesting to me.

Since I've been back a lot of people have asked me what country I'll run next. While I would love to travel to other countries to run, I think I'll stick to trails. I'd love to do a long trail; but then again, who knows. Not me, that's for sure. All I know is I'm still running, and still loving it. The other thing I know is that I need to work. This unemployed thing has got to go. That's why it's good news I've got a job.

-- Patrick

Mmt 100 pacer

On Saturday I went to the massanuttens to pace Dave at the Massanutten Mountain Trail 100. He was allowed a pacer after mile 63 at the Camp Roosevelt aid station. It was a new course this year and there were some tougher spots in the beginning that were at the end in past years. I got there around 5 and waited for him to come through. In the mean time, I talked with lots of people at the aid station. It was good to see some of the people I hadn't seen in quite awhile.

Dave came through at about 8:30 pm and ate and refilled his bottles. We grabbed our headlamps and hit the trail. For the next 9 hours we would only be seeing the tunnel vision of the trail our headlamps provided for us. As we made our way through the winding trail and up and down the mountains we caught up on everything. He was in good spirits and was running well.

Then on our way up the trail we saw a rattlesnake moving very slowly across the trail. Dave was leading, of course, and he stopped abruptly. There were a couple of runners right behind us and Dave saved all of our lives by pointing out the snake and making sure it didn't get mad and start biting us all.

At aroud 3 am it started raining which made the already cool 50 degrees even chillier. Dave said it was because he was listening to the iPod shuffle that his friend snuck "it's raining men" onto and everytime that song comes on during a race it actually starts raining.

We reached an aid station at mile 88 at about 5:30 am and there were bacon sandwiches ready to be eaten. So we sat down for awhile to rest and eat. Soon enough, Dave was ready to hit the trail again to make his way to the finish line. It was getting light now and we didnt need the headlamps anymore. I could tell there was a renewed sense of energy in him because he was running faster and stronger. Leaving the last aid station was very difficult. We had 6 miles left and after running 95 miles, 6 miles is an eternity. (the race was actually 101 miles)

Long story short, 14.25 hours after leaving mile 63 we rolled on through the finish line. It was a total of 29:30, way ahead of the cutoff time and looking very strong.

-- Patrick