Training for Hellgate is going well. I am mixing my workouts well, I think. With cross training, speed work and long runs.
I ran the Ace Half Marathon Trail Race on Saturday. I had a great race, 13 minutes faster than last year and then I was able to get a 20 mile run in on Sunday at Glade Creek. God really smiled on me yesterday. I was pretty sore after Saturday. I didn't really know if I could run Sunday or not. I almost went back home, glad I didn't, because I had a wonderful afternoon on the trail.
I started a race report for Grindstone, but have not had time to complete it. I guess I will finish it someday.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Finally
OK everybody. I guess the 3rd time is the charm. The rest of that race report posted. I wasn't taking any chances this time. I typed it in word and pasted it to the blog.
Well I must be off to bed. I leave in the morning to go to the Grindstone 100 race, not to race, but to pace Brian for the last 30 some miles. Should be awesome.
Well I must be off to bed. I leave in the morning to go to the Grindstone 100 race, not to race, but to pace Brian for the last 30 some miles. Should be awesome.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
You Have Got To Be Kidding Me
Last night I wrote the previous post. It took me about 2 hours. When I went to post it, most of it just disappeared. Then I came home from church tonight and spent another hour retyping it. Then I clicked on spell check and everything that I had just typed disappeared again.
I give up. I quit. I am done with this post.
I give up. I quit. I am done with this post.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Odyssey Adventure Racing
Last weekend Mark and I went to Douthat State Park in VA for a race. It was put on by Odyssey Adventure Racing. It was called Odyssey Trail Running Rampage http://http//www.oarevents.com/events/2010/Trail_Running_Rampage_2010.shtml
The plan was, I would take my wife's car to Alta and meet Mark on race morning, then I would ride with Mark to the race. Well that plan fell apart rather quickly, because Friday evening before the race, my wife said her car was making a "new" funny noise. I checked it out and found that the left front wheel bearing had gone bad. I had to order the part that evening and the parts store said it would be in Sat. morning.
I got up at 5:00 Sat. morning and have to drive my service truck to Alta to meet Mark. We had agreed to meet at 6:30. I got there at 6:40 and we continue our journey. We had figured it would take us an hour to get there from Alta, well it took a little longer, so by the time we got there and checked in there was just enough time to make final preperations before the race.
There were 4 different races that day. The 40 mile, 26 mile and 13 mile all used the same 13 mile loop around the park. The 5 mile used the begining and end of the same loop. We were told to follow pink ribbons.
Mark started near the front and I started where I always start. In the back. What Mark didn't know was, that I really figured on catching him later. He tends to slow down in the later stages of a long race. I am just slow from the start and stay that way. Most of the 1st 3 miles is uphill. In places it is pretty steep. I picked off several people going up that 1st hill. One of them was a girl that was hurling beside the trail 1.5 miles from the start. I had never seen anybody hurl that soon in a race before. She said she was ok, so I continued. There were some really awesome views going up the mountain. There was a check point at the top at an overlook. The view was breath taking that morning. The next 3-4 miles is down the other side of the mountain. It was all very runable. I was making good time going off there, but I was feeling like I needed to make a deposit ( if you know what I mean ). I really wanted to wait till I got to the start-finish line where there were porta-potties, but no. I had to pull over and take care of business. No body passed me while I was there, but a couple of guys did catch up to me. I tried to stay ahead of them, but they passed me just before the start-finish.
I finished that loop in 2:36. I refilled my camel-bak and away I went. I had gone 500 yards or so around the hill when I came to a 3 way intersection. I knew the trail to the right was not the correct way. Straight ahead looked correct, but there were no pink streamers. The trail to the left had pink streamers so I went that way. I thought all along it didn’t look right, but I was following pink streamers. I came to a 1 mile sign and then shortly I popped out on a road. Now I knew that I had made a HUGH MISTAKE. I must have taken the route for the 5 mile race course.
I stood there a few minutes trying to figure out what to do. I thought about quitting. Then I said “NO I AM NOT GOING TO QUIT”, so I turned and headed back the way that I had come. I made it back to the intersection where I had gone wrong and without hesitation started the hike up the mountain. Now I knew this was going to be tough, it was the hottest part of the day and I knew that it was about 7 miles till the next aid station that had water and I would definitely run out of water. So I started rationing it. Over the next 13 miles I experienced the worst cramps that I have ever had while running. The up hills produced cramps in my right hamstring and glute. I finally made it to the top of the mountain. I came upon a young fellow named Jon. He was having a severe cramp. I stopped to see if he needed anything and talked to him for a minute while he stretched. He said he was better, so we started down the hill. I was happy to be going down until I realized that the down hills caused cramps in my left arch (yep the arch, crazy huh) and the left hip flexor. So the up hills and down hills hurt about equally. GREAT. Jon and I ran together for the next few miles. I enjoyed the company, but when we got to more level ground, Jon took off.
I finished the loop without any more drama for a total time of 6:34. I was not happy with the time, but I was really proud of finishing. I had a lot of firsts in the race. 1st time I had done a multiple loop race. 1st time I have had to crap during a race. Absolutely the worst cramps and the most lost I have ever been.
Mark and I were not in a hurry to get back, so we sat around enjoying the really good food and fellowship. We met Mike and Mike, the 2 guys that caught up to me on the first loop while I was taking care of business and several other people.
We finally did leave, but hadn’t gone far when I suggested that we stop for ice cream. It was really good too.
My wife had picked up the part for her car, so after I got home and ate supper, I still had to work on her car. I finally finished it up at 11:00. That made for a long day.
The plan was, I would take my wife's car to Alta and meet Mark on race morning, then I would ride with Mark to the race. Well that plan fell apart rather quickly, because Friday evening before the race, my wife said her car was making a "new" funny noise. I checked it out and found that the left front wheel bearing had gone bad. I had to order the part that evening and the parts store said it would be in Sat. morning.
I got up at 5:00 Sat. morning and have to drive my service truck to Alta to meet Mark. We had agreed to meet at 6:30. I got there at 6:40 and we continue our journey. We had figured it would take us an hour to get there from Alta, well it took a little longer, so by the time we got there and checked in there was just enough time to make final preperations before the race.
There were 4 different races that day. The 40 mile, 26 mile and 13 mile all used the same 13 mile loop around the park. The 5 mile used the begining and end of the same loop. We were told to follow pink ribbons.
Mark started near the front and I started where I always start. In the back. What Mark didn't know was, that I really figured on catching him later. He tends to slow down in the later stages of a long race. I am just slow from the start and stay that way. Most of the 1st 3 miles is uphill. In places it is pretty steep. I picked off several people going up that 1st hill. One of them was a girl that was hurling beside the trail 1.5 miles from the start. I had never seen anybody hurl that soon in a race before. She said she was ok, so I continued. There were some really awesome views going up the mountain. There was a check point at the top at an overlook. The view was breath taking that morning. The next 3-4 miles is down the other side of the mountain. It was all very runable. I was making good time going off there, but I was feeling like I needed to make a deposit ( if you know what I mean ). I really wanted to wait till I got to the start-finish line where there were porta-potties, but no. I had to pull over and take care of business. No body passed me while I was there, but a couple of guys did catch up to me. I tried to stay ahead of them, but they passed me just before the start-finish.
I finished that loop in 2:36. I refilled my camel-bak and away I went. I had gone 500 yards or so around the hill when I came to a 3 way intersection. I knew the trail to the right was not the correct way. Straight ahead looked correct, but there were no pink streamers. The trail to the left had pink streamers so I went that way. I thought all along it didn’t look right, but I was following pink streamers. I came to a 1 mile sign and then shortly I popped out on a road. Now I knew that I had made a HUGH MISTAKE. I must have taken the route for the 5 mile race course.
I stood there a few minutes trying to figure out what to do. I thought about quitting. Then I said “NO I AM NOT GOING TO QUIT”, so I turned and headed back the way that I had come. I made it back to the intersection where I had gone wrong and without hesitation started the hike up the mountain. Now I knew this was going to be tough, it was the hottest part of the day and I knew that it was about 7 miles till the next aid station that had water and I would definitely run out of water. So I started rationing it. Over the next 13 miles I experienced the worst cramps that I have ever had while running. The up hills produced cramps in my right hamstring and glute. I finally made it to the top of the mountain. I came upon a young fellow named Jon. He was having a severe cramp. I stopped to see if he needed anything and talked to him for a minute while he stretched. He said he was better, so we started down the hill. I was happy to be going down until I realized that the down hills caused cramps in my left arch (yep the arch, crazy huh) and the left hip flexor. So the up hills and down hills hurt about equally. GREAT. Jon and I ran together for the next few miles. I enjoyed the company, but when we got to more level ground, Jon took off.
I finished the loop without any more drama for a total time of 6:34. I was not happy with the time, but I was really proud of finishing. I had a lot of firsts in the race. 1st time I had done a multiple loop race. 1st time I have had to crap during a race. Absolutely the worst cramps and the most lost I have ever been.
Mark and I were not in a hurry to get back, so we sat around enjoying the really good food and fellowship. We met Mike and Mike, the 2 guys that caught up to me on the first loop while I was taking care of business and several other people.
We finally did leave, but hadn’t gone far when I suggested that we stop for ice cream. It was really good too.
My wife had picked up the part for her car, so after I got home and ate supper, I still had to work on her car. I finally finished it up at 11:00. That made for a long day.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Nearing The End Of Summer
Next week is the last week of Summer. It will start cooling off now, soon the leaves will start changing colors and then you know what follows.
Spring and Fall are my favorite times of the year. The changes are so drastic. So beautiful.
Tomorrow night, Mark and I are going to Narrows, VA to do a night run on the AT. We will start about midnight, run about 3 hours, then turn around and come back. It should be daylight by the time we get back to our cars.
Spring and Fall are my favorite times of the year. The changes are so drastic. So beautiful.
Tomorrow night, Mark and I are going to Narrows, VA to do a night run on the AT. We will start about midnight, run about 3 hours, then turn around and come back. It should be daylight by the time we get back to our cars.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Man Have I Been Busy
It has been longer since I last posted than I would like, but I have been VERY busy. It has been hard to get my runs in. I had a couple of good days this weekend. 8 on the road on Saturday and 16 on Glade Creek Trails on Sunday. I was hurting pretty bad after yesterday (I am having some problems with my left foot and ankle now), but I wanted to get 16 and I did. It wasn't pretty and it wasn't fast, but I had a good time.
The old swimming hole looks completely different since the spring flood.
The National Parks idea of trail maintenance.
More maintenance.
When I got near the end of the trail, I was wondering why the parking lot was empty?
I am sure the person that lost this thought they were having a bad day, but it could have been MUCH worse.
In stead of just a small piece of his Jeep landing here, it could have been the whole Jeep with people included. I 64 bridge over Glade Creek.
This is a test. What kind of track is this?
The old swimming hole looks completely different since the spring flood.
The National Parks idea of trail maintenance.
More maintenance.
When I got near the end of the trail, I was wondering why the parking lot was empty?
I am sure the person that lost this thought they were having a bad day, but it could have been MUCH worse.
In stead of just a small piece of his Jeep landing here, it could have been the whole Jeep with people included. I 64 bridge over Glade Creek.
This is a test. What kind of track is this?
If you said bear. You win a prise....now for the bonus...how big is the bear?
Monday, July 5, 2010
4th of July Weekend
I had a great weekend. I raced, ran, rode and went to 2 picnics.
Friday evening was the 1st picnic of the weekend. We went to a birthday party for a kid from church. We had a great time. We ate hot dogs with all the trimmings, played volleyball, ate cake and then had a small food fight, nothing too crazy.
Saturday morning I went and ran a small trail race in Fayetteville,WV. It was only 4.5 miles, but a lot of fun. I elected to wear shoes for this one, (not Vibrams) because I really wanted run this short race pretty fast. Also I knew there would be a small field of runners and I didn't want to finish last again. There were about 30-35 runners. Mostly people I normally see at local road races. I guess that is why there were only a couple of us wearing trail shoes. I have gotten used to not wearing shoes when I run, so by the time I put on socks, shoes and gaitors, it felt like I had a cinder block tied to each foot, but I figured it would be ok. I went to the trail to warm up and I hadn't gone 30 yards when I hit the dirt. I did what everybody does. I jumped up, dusted myself off and then looked to make sure nobody saw me fall. ha ha....
The race started and I settled in about 2/3 back in the pack. I was running with a couple of women in front of me and a couple more behind. We passed a few people. Things were going pretty well. I was talking to the woman in front of me and BOOM !!! she hits the dirt hard. I pick up her hand held bottle while she picks herself up. She says she is ok, so I go ahead and she follows. I catch back up to the women in front of me and we run along for a while, we are talking and having a good time and BOOM !!!! this other women in front of me falls. She jumps up real quick and says she is ok too. I am thinking it is NOT a good day to be around me. It is like gravity is stronger in my vicinity, or something. We are past half way so I decide to pick up the pace a little. I am moving pretty well, especially down hill. Anybody that runs with me knows I don't like downhills, but today I am just hammering these little short technical downs. It feels GOOD TOO. I finish in 48:21, which on trails is good for me.
After the race I had to go to work for a couple of hours (oh the joys of being self employed). Then I went to my 2nd picnic. I really ate too much at this one, so I came home and jumped on my road bike and got 26 miles in before dark.
Beckley now has a Developmental Base Ball team (college kids). Churches and other groups volunteer to help out during ball games and pick up trash afterwards and our church was doing this at the game Saturday evening and then again Sunday afternoon, so the wife and I decided to go to the ball game to help and then we could watch the fireworks afterwards. We got there during the 6th inning and the score was 0-0. The Beckley Miners ended up winning 9-7, so it was a good game. They really had a good fireworks display after the game, then we helped picked up trash and got home after midnight.
Since we were going to be at the ball park all afternoon on Sunday, I got up at 6:00 am and got a 15 mile run in before church. That might have been a mistake. I really had a hard time getting thru the last half of that run. I was a lot more tired than I thought. Then we sat at the ball park in the hot sun all afternoon. Man I ain't gettin no younger, this stuff is getting hard on me.
I was going to ride today, but decided not to.
Friday evening was the 1st picnic of the weekend. We went to a birthday party for a kid from church. We had a great time. We ate hot dogs with all the trimmings, played volleyball, ate cake and then had a small food fight, nothing too crazy.
Saturday morning I went and ran a small trail race in Fayetteville,WV. It was only 4.5 miles, but a lot of fun. I elected to wear shoes for this one, (not Vibrams) because I really wanted run this short race pretty fast. Also I knew there would be a small field of runners and I didn't want to finish last again. There were about 30-35 runners. Mostly people I normally see at local road races. I guess that is why there were only a couple of us wearing trail shoes. I have gotten used to not wearing shoes when I run, so by the time I put on socks, shoes and gaitors, it felt like I had a cinder block tied to each foot, but I figured it would be ok. I went to the trail to warm up and I hadn't gone 30 yards when I hit the dirt. I did what everybody does. I jumped up, dusted myself off and then looked to make sure nobody saw me fall. ha ha....
The race started and I settled in about 2/3 back in the pack. I was running with a couple of women in front of me and a couple more behind. We passed a few people. Things were going pretty well. I was talking to the woman in front of me and BOOM !!! she hits the dirt hard. I pick up her hand held bottle while she picks herself up. She says she is ok, so I go ahead and she follows. I catch back up to the women in front of me and we run along for a while, we are talking and having a good time and BOOM !!!! this other women in front of me falls. She jumps up real quick and says she is ok too. I am thinking it is NOT a good day to be around me. It is like gravity is stronger in my vicinity, or something. We are past half way so I decide to pick up the pace a little. I am moving pretty well, especially down hill. Anybody that runs with me knows I don't like downhills, but today I am just hammering these little short technical downs. It feels GOOD TOO. I finish in 48:21, which on trails is good for me.
After the race I had to go to work for a couple of hours (oh the joys of being self employed). Then I went to my 2nd picnic. I really ate too much at this one, so I came home and jumped on my road bike and got 26 miles in before dark.
Beckley now has a Developmental Base Ball team (college kids). Churches and other groups volunteer to help out during ball games and pick up trash afterwards and our church was doing this at the game Saturday evening and then again Sunday afternoon, so the wife and I decided to go to the ball game to help and then we could watch the fireworks afterwards. We got there during the 6th inning and the score was 0-0. The Beckley Miners ended up winning 9-7, so it was a good game. They really had a good fireworks display after the game, then we helped picked up trash and got home after midnight.
Since we were going to be at the ball park all afternoon on Sunday, I got up at 6:00 am and got a 15 mile run in before church. That might have been a mistake. I really had a hard time getting thru the last half of that run. I was a lot more tired than I thought. Then we sat at the ball park in the hot sun all afternoon. Man I ain't gettin no younger, this stuff is getting hard on me.
I was going to ride today, but decided not to.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Weight Goal
Over 7 years ago I started losing weight. When I weighted in Friday morning, I weighted 174. YEA !!!!!! I finally reached my goal. It has been a long tough road, but well worth it. I wish that I had before and after pics, but I really don't have any good before pics.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Hatfield And McCoy Marathon And Half Marathon
Here is a pic of the whole gang. Hatfield, Tom, Michelle,Me,Manon,Laura,Darren and McCoy.
Here is a pic of Michelle snacking on some ribs. They look really good, don't they. (she is sooo going to kill me) Be sure to click on the pic.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
7th Annual Lewis McManus 5K
Barbara this was her 1st 5K
My friend Lori eating a well deservered banana
William and the winner
The crowd !!!!!As most of you know this is my aniversary race. I snuck off on a Saturday morning 7 years ago to see if I could run some 5K race I had heard about. I thought you would have to be crazy to run any farther than 3 mile. he he he.....little did I know......you do have to be crazy, but a good crazy.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Wonderful Weekend
Manon and I went to Lynchburg to visit Randy, Kristin and the kids. We had a great visit, Randy and I got to run on Liberty Mountain Saturday evening. Then we had a guy get saved at church Sunday morning. After church me and Mark got to run. It had been a while since we had been able to run together. Sunday night after church we had Friends and family to the house for a bonfire. Then to cap off a GREAT weekend I got to run with my daughter Johnna. She is a few weeks into a couch to 5K program. Her 1st 5K will be July 2. I am so proud of her. She has been through a lot in the last year or so.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
WOW !!! Thank God I Can Run
All day today, I thought I would come home, get the grass mowed, eat supper and then go for a 6 mile run. Well I did get the grass mowed, then I had about a half hour before supper would be ready, so I decided to go up to Mom and Dads to unload a set of RV steps that I cut off of a customers camper the other day. Dad came out to help and I told him to be very careful, because these steps was very sharp and awkward to handle. Shore enough I managed to stick a piece of metal about an inch into my hand. When I am stupid enough to actually damage myself all the way to the meat, it makes me a little queasy. I sat down for a few minutes then got up and finished what I was doing. All in a days work for me. The older I get the more accident prone I seem to get.
I got home and ate, but really didn't fill very good. But I really wanted to go run, so just before dark I said I was going to quit being such a sissy and go run.
I am sooooo glad I did. I had such a good run. It was like I was being carried by an angel. It was dark, but I never turned my flashlight on. I just enjoyed the dark and thanked God for allowing me to run.
I got home and ate, but really didn't fill very good. But I really wanted to go run, so just before dark I said I was going to quit being such a sissy and go run.
I am sooooo glad I did. I had such a good run. It was like I was being carried by an angel. It was dark, but I never turned my flashlight on. I just enjoyed the dark and thanked God for allowing me to run.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Open Season
A couple of weeks ago we planted our sweet corn. It had all come up, and was looking beautiful, till yesterday. The dern crows pulled up every singe corn shoot and ate the seed kernel off the bottom of the corn plant. 7 rows of corn gone.
It is now crow season at my house. I am going to go "dirty Harry" on them.
It is now crow season at my house. I am going to go "dirty Harry" on them.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Dirty Dog 15K
This was the biggest test thus far for the VFFs. This was a pretty rough race, a lot of mud and rocks. Rocks up hill are no problem. The downhills are a little slower, because it is really hard for me to run on my forefoot going downhill. As you can see in the pic, I made a modification to the shoes. I had hoped the strings would keep my pinky toes in the toe pockets where they belong. It worked great till about the half way. There was a pretty long uphill. I had problems with both feet, with toes coming out. When I got to the top I fixed the left foot and it stayed, but the right one never cooperated after that.
Friday, May 14, 2010
The Day Before
Its Friday, the day before The Dirty Dog 15K Race. This will be my longest race since January. It has been a long way back from this last injury (hopefully my last injury). I will try to remember the camera so I can get some pics. More later.....
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Bluestone Trail
As most of you know, I have been running in my VFFs shoes for a while now. I have been easing into them. I started very slowly, the way you are supposed to start something new. It is working out great. I have been running in them exclusive now for several weeks. On trails too. I love the forefoot running stile. I believe it will allow me to continue to run for a long time.
I finally got to run on a tougher trail today. This is by no means a technical trail, but it has more real world stuff than the Fayetteville trails that I have been running. Mud, tall grass and weeds, water. Today was the most trouble that I have had with the Vibrams. The model that I have, the Treks which are made from kangaroo leather. Apparently kangaroos must expand a lot when they get wet, because those shoes got huge when they get wet. I purposely walked slowly through a creek, because I wanted to see what would happen when they got wet. After they got wet, they would not stay on properly. My toes kept coming out of the toe pockets and the shoes would slide around on my feet.
The real problem is that now I can't run in regular shoes. When I run in regular shoes, they hurt the top of my feet and my right ankle hurts also. I have been thinking about getting a more minimalist type of shoe for trail running and just wear the Vibrams on the road and the more tame trails.
I wish that I had my camera today, because there was this really cool thing that kept happening today. The trail is getting really over grown with grass and weeds and wild flowers. I kept getting grass and little flowers and stuff stuck between my toes. It looked cool running with flowers between my toes.
I finally got to run on a tougher trail today. This is by no means a technical trail, but it has more real world stuff than the Fayetteville trails that I have been running. Mud, tall grass and weeds, water. Today was the most trouble that I have had with the Vibrams. The model that I have, the Treks which are made from kangaroo leather. Apparently kangaroos must expand a lot when they get wet, because those shoes got huge when they get wet. I purposely walked slowly through a creek, because I wanted to see what would happen when they got wet. After they got wet, they would not stay on properly. My toes kept coming out of the toe pockets and the shoes would slide around on my feet.
The real problem is that now I can't run in regular shoes. When I run in regular shoes, they hurt the top of my feet and my right ankle hurts also. I have been thinking about getting a more minimalist type of shoe for trail running and just wear the Vibrams on the road and the more tame trails.
I wish that I had my camera today, because there was this really cool thing that kept happening today. The trail is getting really over grown with grass and weeds and wild flowers. I kept getting grass and little flowers and stuff stuck between my toes. It looked cool running with flowers between my toes.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Not Sick
Well, Manon and I are both getting over this cold or what ever we had. I am finally starting to fell normal again.
I finally got to run in the woods in my VFFs shoes yesterday. It went very well. I stepped on a few things bad, but all in all, wasn't too bad. I ran on Fayetteville Trails. They are really nice, not too technical. It is always nice to run over there, because you will actually see people using the trails. Most of the other trails I run, you never see anyone.
I finally got to run in the woods in my VFFs shoes yesterday. It went very well. I stepped on a few things bad, but all in all, wasn't too bad. I ran on Fayetteville Trails. They are really nice, not too technical. It is always nice to run over there, because you will actually see people using the trails. Most of the other trails I run, you never see anyone.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Sick
I shouldn't have said I was just cruising along the other day. I never get sick, but I am sick now. Yuck !!!!!! I will be better. I have only run 1 time this week, but I will be going to Marlington in the morning to run for team "whazz up" or something like that. Should be a good time. The race is "The Great Greenbrier River Race".
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Not Much Going On Here
It is hard to blog when it seems like your life is on cruise control. Things are going along pretty well. The kids and grand kids are well (except for the occasional sniffle or bloody knee). The RV business is picking up (it is that time of year). The running is going ok. Listening to my body (run when I feel like it, don't when I don't feel like it). The only excitement we have had is my son-in-law graduated from the WV State Police Academy last Friday. He is a fine young man, we are very proud of him.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Just Pluging Along
The weather is warming, the grass is growing, the campers are breaking down, the garden is starting to pop out of the ground, the running is going well, the kids and grandkids are all healthy. Life is good.
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