Final Week... To the Big Show.

First, I am very happy to say that we have eclipsed the $4,000 mark.  A special thanks to:

- Michelle Wrobbel
- Custom Ink - making my t-shirts and generously giving to the Fisher House Foundation

It's finally "race week" (although, neither I, nor the Western States staff, see no "race" word in the title "Western States Endurance Run").  After spending a night in Sacramento (where I'd recommend going to the Hoppy Brewing Company... awesome "slider" burger selection, we have finally made our way to Squaw Valley, and the starting point of the Western States Endurance Run.

As a quick aside, this is PART (I stress, "PART") of my gear that I laid out for bringing down to California in anticipation of this event.

Hooray for luggage.

Luckily, our hotel is actually the starting point of the event, and our room is literally a 3 minute walk from the start line.  As a bittersweet touch, our balcony overlooks the actual start and climb up the Escarpment to Emigrant Pass, a climb totaling 2,550 feet over 3.5 miles.  It is nice to finally see things in perspective up close, but it also would have been nice to never have seen this thing, except in total darkness as we climb at 5 AM on Saturday.

Bittersweet: Emigrant Pass, a 2,550-foot climb to 8,750 feet.  Hooray.  And, there's snow at the top.  Double-hooray.

Looking forward to getting some rest tonight, finishing up last-minute things tomorrow, and trying to relax as best I can.

PLEASE DONATE TO THE FISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION TODAY! 

Heading into the final week... taper time.

First and foremost, a special thanks to those who have donated in the past week:

- Steve Thomas
- Bob and Amy Martin
- The Genger Family
- The Duncan Family

Thanks to these efforts alongside those that have previously given, we have no surpassed $4,000 raised for a phenomenal charity, the Fisher House Foundation.

This past week has been hard for me, not so much in running, but in NOT running... it's taper time.  For those who don't know, "tapering" is a process in running in which a runner will decrease their mileage and efforts in the time preceding a big race.  For me, I have begun tapering 3 weeks out of the race (starting in Hawaii) to rest up for the Western States Endurance Run.  What this means, basically, is shorter runs, less days spent running, and more rest.  Erin and Jackson love this, because I have been home more, and for that same reason, it is really nice.

Tapering for me, however, is terrible.  I need running and exercise, or else I don't get out all of my energy throughout the day.   Without running, I feel anxious, and have trouble sleeping (in addition to anxiety and excitement about the race itself).  But a long distance race like this one is not worth running if you are not rested, so of course, this is all necessary.

Still, I have been lowering the quantity, but maintaining, or even improving, the quality of the mileage I have been doing over weeks past.  Here's the breakdown from last week:

- Monday - rest (red-eye flight from Hawaii)
- Tuesday - 2:31 - Ester Dome hills
- Wednesday - rest
- Thursday - 2:32 - Ester Dome hills
- Friday - rest
- Saturday - 5k race (pushing Jackson and stroller) + 2:25 Ester Dome Hills

Starting the 2,000 foot descent back down Ester Dome last Saturday

Final time for the week = 7 hours, 52 minutes, which at a 9 minute mile (a conservative estimate) is about 52-53 miles for the week... not too shabby for 3 days!

We are nearly set to start traveling down to California tomorrow, and so checking, re-checking, and packing have been the name of the game here.  There has been some last minute "I forgots" that have necessitated orders that will be delivered directly to the hotel, so fingers-crossed they get there in time.

Bags are (almost) packed, reservations for hotels and rental cars are double-checked, and we leave tomorrow...  starting to seriously get psyched.

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Training Bites Me in the Ass... well, more of a nip

Running up Ester Dome the other day, I was passing by, of all places, a downtrodden farm that had turkeys and peacocks on it (ONLY in Alaska... and ONLY in Fairbanks), and sure enough, as I was running by, their bird calls sent 3 dogs running off the property towards me, all 3 defensive and growling.  I threw my hands up in the air, and tried to keep a neutral posture.  Right before they trotted off, one took a little nip at the back of my thigh, and looked up at me, pretty much asking "what are you going to do about it?"  It didn't feel that bad, and since I was just starting the run, I just kept going, and put in another solid 2:32 day on the side of Ester Dome.

Upon getting home, however, I told Erin about it, and went to show her the spot where I was nipped, and sure enough, I had two little marks where the skin was broken through.  As we had to bring Jackson in anyway to get checked out at the Army hospital, I asked the pediatrician, and she told me I had to go to the ER to get it checked and file a complete "Animal Biting Report".

Oh, the humanity (picture is rated "G"... for gruesome)

Before this story seems to get any more out of control, I will calm it back down:

- The dog simply nipped me... this was no Cujo-type incident

This was NOT the dog that nipped me.

- There apparently has not been a reported case of rabies in Alaska in decades.
- There apparently has NEVER been a case of rabies in interior Alaska... ever.
- The local animal control sent out a representative to check out the property.  Apparently, all the dogs are fine (the owner has 9 total), and the owner is not some crazy Michael Vick stereotype, beating his dogs to fight and attack people.  Instead he is basically a foster parent to all sorts of animals, taking in dogs, cats, birds (turkeys and peacocks), and a host of other animals... basically... a good guy.


So all-in-all... not too terrible.  Still, just more fun added to the weeks of tapering.


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My "Vacation" in Hawaii

 Before anything else, large thanks to the following:

The Duncan Family - Always great friends, and always there when we need them.
Dave Ribardo - Afghanistan roomie
Melanie - Thanks for the support Mel!

Last week was not as "busy" as my runs should have been.  It was hard to get out while balancing a vacation I had been waiting a year for, and running early enough to be there to enjoy the days on Oahu.  Even on vacation, I was up at 5 am to get out the door, and drove most days to a hilly neighborhood nearby so I could still get in some solid hill training.

To be honest, my days were kept very relaxed, and I did not keep 100% track of my time or mileage.  I did keep up with mileage, and with hills, but with some flare-ups in my right foot, I tried to maintain some down time and rest.  Regardless, I got my about 50-60 miles in, and logged some solid longer runs, including a few runs of 10-15 miles at least.

Jackson, basically forbidding me from running, and ordering me to enjoy myself.

I got in some serious mental prep... by looking at the water.

At least someone was doing some windsprints on the beach...

Part of the hills I ran in Makakilo City, near Ko'Olina on Oahu. Even though Erin doesn't believe me, I assure everyone, about 1 mile of this grade, repeated 4-5 times, was a solid training run.

This also began my start of the dreaded "taper" that is so crucial in distance running.  I will post separately about that, but, to be blunt, I hate tapering.  I just want to get on with the run, not rest and try to wait it out.  Resting and tapering usually make me more anxious, get less sleep, and therefore, ironically, more tired and irritable.  Oh, the joys.

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Hills to Run...

People often ask me how I train for running.  I never mean to sound mean or sarcastic (though I am rarely successful in not sounding that way), but the simple fact is this: to get better at running, go running.  Sounds difficult, right?  Again, not an attempt to be overtly mocking, but it really is that simple.  I just like to run.  I base where I run, how far, and how fast, on the amount of time I have, the location(s) available to me, and what I am training for (or not training for) at that particular moment.  So for right now, I'm looking at running one of the craziest distance races that also maintains severe elevation drops and gains, so guess what my motto is?

Go long, go hills.

Now, I started off on various FOBs in Afghanistan, which did not have much in hills, so I had to get into it when I got back to Alaska.  The hills for me these past few weeks have contained three areas:

1.  Approach hill, a minor climb of about 100-150 feet, simply a slow hill with an ATV area next to it to practice some sharp hills, nothing too major but just to keep me doing hills even on my off-days/easy days and allowed me to transition from flat terrain to hills.


2.  Birch Hill:  Fort Wainwright's "ski resort" has a road that winds up it's eastern side, with 3 main uphill areas broken up by one slow descent, rising about 550-700 feet in elevation.  This is very close by to my house, and I have been able to do solid repeats on it with my long runs.  Birch Hill also has numerous scattered ATV trails, allowing me to go from a gradual uphill to a hard climb at times to both through in variation for training and to practice brief walks.  It also has been good to practice sharp ascents and descents on the face itself.  Great times.

Birch Hill in the winter.  The snow is all gone now, but it's still pretty tall (the road runs along the right side of the picture).  The face I run on, on the left side, is literally foot after foot of "fun".

For those who can't read map relief (elevation), all those lines means it's going uphill.  All those lines close together means it's going uphill, and it's pretty steep.

3.  Ester Dome: This major hill rises over 2,000 feet over the course of about 2.5-3 miles, and is virtually never-ending once you start.  About one-third of the way up, it transitions from pavement to dirts/gravel, helping to feel more like a trail.  What's more, there is a trail off to the side about a quarter of the way up that has some extremely steep climbs and scores of exposed roots and rocks, which has greatly helped improve both my climbing and off-road capabilities. It is also the crux of the Equinox Ultramarathon, which is believed to make it one of the hardest ultramarathons in America.

Where the road begins to end, and agony continues...

About two-thirds of the way up, and a brief reprieve from the climb: about 100 feet of flat road before a steep uphill smacks you back to reality.

View from the top of Ester Dome facing back to Fairbanks... yeah... it's pretty tall.

That big lump between miles 9 and 18?  Yeah, that's Ester Dome.

Oh, what joys.


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Been Away for a While... Doing 100-mile-plus Weeks!

It's been a while since I updated this piece of my digital life, and to those of your who read it I greatly apologize.  I have been busy prepping for my block leave, reconnecting and having fun with my son, Jackson, and also, well... running.

First, a thanks to my uncle, Jeff Carius, for donating to the Fisher House recently.  Thus far, we have raised over $3,700 for this noble cause!


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The past few weeks I have been churning and burning, seeking new territory in the 100-mile-plus range for weekly mileage, as I sought to cap off my peak for training for the Western States with long miles and hard hills.

Here's the breakdown for the last few weeks:

Monday - 2:06 (Ester Dome)
Tuesday - 1:11 (Brigade run day slow run plus some hills afterwards)
Wednesday - 1:50 (Birch Hill)
Thursday - 1:20 (pre-long run easy)
Friday - 5:16 (Birch Hill repeats)
Saturday - 1:10 (recovery)
Sunday - 1:34 (Birch Hill repeats)

Add them up:  14 hours, 27 minutes... at 8.5 min/mile, that's 102 miles!


Over Memorial Day Weekend, the fine race staff at Western States 100 holds a pre-race training camp in which over the course of 3 days participants run approximately 70 miles of the course.  Since I couldn't do that (due to the fact that airfare prices from central Alaska to California are ridiculous), I created my own 3-day adventure, racking up approximately 10 hours, 18 minutes of run time, equating to about 69-72 miles on the hills around Fairbanks.... not too shabby a replacement.

Monday - 2:04 (Ester Dome)
Tuesday - 1:31 (Birch Hill)
Wednesday - 1:48 (Ester Dome)
Thursday - 1:04 (pre-long run easy)
Friday - 4:35 (Birch Hill repeats)
Saturday - 2:42 (Ester Dome repeats)
Sunday - 3:01 (Ester Dome repeats)

Add them up:   16 hours, 45 minutes... at 8.5 min/mile, that's 118 miles!  Even at 9 min/mile, that's still over 111 miles!  Woo-hoo! 

The following week I looked at as a bit of recovery in teh beginning, and a time to take it a little easier with some solid jogs with my Dad, who was up visiting me.  While neither of us tend to push it too hard on these runs, it's important that these type of runs do provide recovery not just for the body, but really for the morale and soul of a runner when they need a bit of a pick-me-up... and that's just what it did for me:

Monday - 26 minutes (recovery and rest)
Tuesday - 1:45 (45 minutes on Birch Hill)
Wednesday - 1:51 (45 minutes on Birch Hill)
Thursday - 1:41 (Birch Hill repeats)
Friday - 1:45 (Birch Hill repeats)
Saturday - 52 minutes (mid-day in Hawaii)
Sunday - 2:15 (Hard Hills in Hawaii)

Total: 10 hours, 45 minutes... about 71-75 miles... a solid recovery week after topping the triple-digit mark.

In another post, I will throw in some shots of the hills I have been doing to prep my legs for the daunting elevations ahead of me in a few weeks!  Thanks again to everyone for all of the support!

PLEASE CLICK TO DONATE TO THE FISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION