Enjoying the Journey

7+ hours in a car is a long time. I've done it a few times. Usually I hurry to get from point A to point B. When I found out I would be driving from Indiana to Georgia, I had an idea. What if I stopped in each state and ran a 1 mile along the way?

I pulled up the map and noticed that there were a number of state parks near the interstate. What a great country! Well, why not? I looked for the biggest patches of green on the map. In Indiana, I saw Clark State Forest. In Kentucky, I saw Knob State Forest. Tennessee gave me a few choices, but Chattanooga happens to be a beautiful place so I knew that was going to be one of my stops. I picked Point Park as I had never been there before. In Georgia, I planned to run a mile on the sidewalks of Atlanta to recon the route from my hotel to my work spot the next day.

After about an hour into my journey, I was at my first stop. That first hour flew by because I was more interested in where I would be running than getting to Atlanta. As I was driving down some back roads after leaving the interstate, I saw a little parking area and a sign. It was so little that I almost missed it. The thing about parks on Google maps is that you never really know where the entrances are, where the trail heads are, or what you are getting yourself into. Since I didn't want to spend a lot of time driving in circles, I stopped.

The first small section of the trail was on grass along the road, but that soon turned into some single track going up a hill. The trail was narrowing as I continued to run, and as the different plants were slapping my legs, I was praying that last plant that just got me wasn't poison ivy. It was just me, a trail I had never run on before, and an uphill. My little heart was pounding, and I felt great.

Before I knew it, I was half a mile out, and it was time to turn around. I headed back to the car, took some time to stretch, and continued on my journey.

The next stop was another hour or so that went by like it was nothing. I found myself on some gravel back roads in Kentucky. This time I saw signs for Knob Forest State Park so I was hopeful. I saw a small parking area that had no real trails from what I could tell so I kept driving. After a few miles, I turned around to head back to the parking area because I felt like I was going to circle the forest. On my way back, a couple of dogs started chasing the car. Ugh. I checked my mileage to make sure if I had to run along that gravel road, it would be far enough away from them. Over a mile later, I was back to the parking area.

I saw a small opening to what might have been a trail at one point. I decided to head that way to see what I could find. A short time later, I realized there wasn't enough of a trail to make it work. Still, it had pretty yellow flowers.

I ran back toward the car and opted to head down the dirt road. It was shaded, and there were no cars.

A short time later, I rounded a corner, and I'll be darned if I didn't see those same two dogs coming down the road. Geeze! They weren't too friendly when I drove by the first time so I turned around and hightailed it back to the car. I had pepper spray, but I wasn't really looking for a fight. I made it back to the car safely and out of breath. It was a close call, but I knew Chattanooga was next. I was really looking forward to Chattanooga.

Since I had 4 hours before the next run, I took the time to relax and get some breakfast. As I approached Chattanooga, I was getting pretty excited. I was anything but disappointed.

Before I knew it, my half a mile was done, and it was time to head back to the car. I really didn't want to, but I also didn't want to get caught in Atlanta traffic after 5pm. I decided that on my return trip I would stop and do some miles on one of the many trails on Lookout Mountain. I managed to get into Atlanta shortly before 5pm, and luckily I managed to get to the hotel without any major traffic issues. It took more courage to get myself to go out and run on city streets than deserted trails. It was .6 miles from my hotel to the building I would be going to the next morning and so I completed my final mile for the day. 

What could have been a very long day in a car turned into a mini-adventure. Why hadn't I done this before?!

On my way home, I stopped in Chattanooga once again and this time parked at Craven's House since Point Park did not open until 9am. I left Atlanta at o-dark 30 to miss traffic and get to the trail early. I started along Bluff Trail at 7:30am, and I had the trail completely to myself. The only unfortunate side to this was that I became a spiderweb slayer. 

I had managed to get my miles in for the day on some beautiful trails. I'd love to go back to Lookout Mountain and do some more exploring on the awesome trails in the area. Road trip anyone?

Next time I find myself on a long journey in a car, you bet I will be doing this again. You never can tell what you will find off of the beaten path. 

Race Report: Ice Age 2

No, not THAT Ice Age. Last year's Ice Age could have easily been titled The Meltdown for me. I had originally planned on the 50 mile, but I did the 50K because I knew something was wrong. It turned out that I was severely anemic and didn't know it. My meltdown occurred very early during the event, but I still managed to go 31 miles. Looking back, it felt like I ran that entire race in a tunnel. Truthfully, I don't remember a lot of it. That combined with the fact that I had not run an ultra since last year's Ice Age made me a little nervous for this year's 50 mile attempt.


This year, the woolly mammoth was back on the buckle, and I was back in Wisconsin to run the 50 mile.

My good friend, Don, was also back to continue our once a year ultra running get-together tradition for run #5.  It all started back in 2007 when I decided to run a trail marathon, and he ran the entire thing with me even though he had only trained for a half.  This would be Don's first 50 mile race.

When I arrived into Wisconsin in my shorts and t-shirt the first thing I noticed was BRRRRRR!  Ice Age was right. Wow! It was 60+ in Ohio ad 44 with cold winds here. The forecast called for temps between the 30s and 50s on Saturday, and that works just fine for me when it comes to distance running.  I'd much rather see those temps than 90-100 degree temps we dealt with at Brew To Brew in 2011. There was a little bit of rain predicted as well, which I could happily do without. Dirt + water = mud, and I've had more than enough of those runs thank-ya-very-much.

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. ~ Ephesians 3:20" K-Love Verse of the Day 5/11 and some very great news considering I was about to try and run 50 miles.

The ~10.5 mile Nordic loop is a beautiful, wide trail covered with pine needles. During this section, we had plenty of company and ran quite a few miles with a fellow from Wisconsin named Brandon who was running his first 50 mile. The Nordic Trail seemed to be over almost as soon as it had started, and the day was turning out to be beautiful.

Section 2 of the race changes things up quite a bit. The trail turns into a lot of single track, and rocks and roots begin to get your attention... or else. This section also begins an out and back portion on a very narrow trail, and this is where my trouble began without me even realizing. Blissfully ignorant, I kept mostly to the right side of the trail jumping up onto the right section to move out of the way of runners coming back from the opposite direction. This meant my right foot was constantly running at a cant which becomes important in later miles. No matter at this point. The 3rd runner I saw coming the opposite direction was David Riddle, who won this year's 50 mile race. He was flying down the trail with ease and grace. It really is amazing to watch.

My plan had been to take a gel every 45 minutes or so which worked well for the first 4 gels as I was carrying peanut butter Gu. This was the same strategy that had worked for me in my first 50 miler. Unfortunately not all aid stations had gel so I got a little off schedule. It was around this time I started feeling a bit tired.  Hmmmmm.  The aid station at the Section 2 turnaround point (~21 miles) had a plethora of Montana Huckleberry Hammer Gel. I grabbed 3 for the return trip back to Confusion Corner.

Montana Huckleberry: the only flavor of gel available during the entire event. Don joked that they had Huckleberry Pie at the finish.   I did mix it up with some oranges. I had my Garmin set to alert me every 45 minutes to take a gel, and as the miles went by, I begrudgingly obeyed its command. Even though I was over the flavor, the energy it delivered kept me going. Don and I finished the first 25 miles in 5 hours which put us well ahead of the 12 hour cutoff. I was thankful to have energy at the marathon point as last year my pace had turned into a walk because I just had nothing to give.  I was thankful for my running buddy. I was thankful for the beautiful day that we were given. I was thankful for no mud!

Running long distances has its stages. At first, things feel great. Then, after a bit, your legs get tired. A little later, your legs are really starting to get grumpy. Eventually they yell at you. Then, after that, I can only assume the legs either get tired of complaining or your brain gets tired of hearing it. That means things are going well.

When things aren't going well, it takes every ounce of energy you have just to get up that hill at a snails pace or something or other locks up completely and won't let you take another step. We were at the 50K point, and I was amazed to find walking up the smaller inclines was more annoying than running up them. The legs were feeling it, but life was still good.

We headed out on the third and final leg of our journey to Emma Carlin for the last 19 miles. Don and I had tried to fall numerous times but were unsuccessful. Based on the amount of folks I saw with scraped knees and dirt covered clothes, the roots and rocks got in a few good punches. The last leg seemed to be the hilliest portion of the course. I thought maybe it was because I was getting tired. The truth is that the highest point on the course does occur during the 3rd section. I managed to get a few more peanut butter Gus I had put in a drop bag at mile 37. It's the little things that can bring happiness on the trail. We finally found ourselves at the 10K remaining point.  Things were really going well, and I was surprised to find myself still wanting to run the smaller inclines. Everything changed around mile 45 including the weather. Running on a canted trail finally caught up to my right foot when a sharp pain stopped me in my tracks. Ouch!  My foot no longer allowed me to run on anything with a slope. I was worried I was going to have to walk the last 5 miles. Luckily the foot was okay with flat sections. Don had been dealing with a large blister for a while; although, he's not really the type to complain much so I'm not exactly sure when that started. It was around the same time that it actually started hailing. It was so surprising and fitting (it is the Ice Age after all) that I knew that was just the way it was supposed to be. That didn't make it any less cold, though. 10 minutes later, the sun was out.

We ran through the finish and received our very nice buckles. The after party consisted of a live band, soda, beer, hamburgers, some awesome vegetable lasagna, a rain shower, and a lot of limping.

I should mention the beautiful sections of pine on this course. The trail is soft, and beautiful, tall pines create inviting tunnels that feel very much alive. These areas were my favorite sections of the trail. Overall it is a beautiful course. It was very well marked which is something that should never be taken for granted. Bonus miles can be okay but not during a 50 mile run.10 aid stations on the course meant a lot of volunteers. Not only did they give us water and food, but they cheered when each runner was coming into every station. They stood outside on a cold day to keep us moving forward, and they helped other people reach their goals.

It feels good to feel good again. Now it's time to rest and give my wounded foot a break. I wonder what's next?

Ice Age 50 Course

Elevation Profile

Road Trip!

It was time to take a trip down to Fort Benning for work so I thought a road trip would be fun. After a quick search for races, I discovered the Knoxville Marathon was happening the weekend before so....

I decided to drive to Knoxville, hang out for a night, run a marathon because it was on the way :-), and then head to Georgia. After a week in Georgia I would travel to Alabama to spend a few days chillin' with Major Mary.

After checking in at the hotel, I headed over to the expo. I was shocked to discover how small the expo was. The marathon itself had only 700 or so people registered. I headed over to the Team 413 booth, talked to Chris and Kiki, and bought a few more shirts.

It was then time to find some dinner. The woman at the front desk suggested Market Street which was just a few blocks over. When I arrived, I found an art festival.


There were a lot of chalk art drawings on the sidewalk and even more people. In the middle of the excitement was a tent for a local brewery. Since I was planning on taking this training run very seriously (ha), I decided to try a local brew. I bought the souvenir cup, and the fella told me that he expected me to drink at least 5 beers to get the full discount on the refills. I planned to run 26 miles in the morning so I'd only be having one. He'd let it slide this time.

Plenty of people and chalk art...

My hotel was very close to the start so after a short walk, I was in the start corral. Knoxville does have a few hills, and I was expecting that. The first 13 miles went smoothly with plenty of foot traffic along the course as those miles were with the 7000 or so half marathoners. Since I had been having some IT band issues, I knew I could bail at the half if necessary.  Luckily the IT band was not an issue after previous trip to the ART doc and a lot of foam rolling.  Shortly after the half I started talking to Jason from Nashville. He told me we had already gone up the hill that was the course was known for during the first half. He was training for the Country Music Marathon by running the Knoxville marathon. After some good conversation, I was once again solo. It was around that time that I noticed how incredibly hot it was down in Tennessee.  I had brought along my S Caps, but that didn't help as much as I had hoped since I had been training in 40 degrees and the marathon temp was now 70+ and in direct sunlight. I was tired of water, and my body wasn't doing a very good job of processing it. It just kept telling me how thirsty I was. Just when I started thinking I really needed something.... ANYTHING... other than water, I entered the Island Home neighborhood. There was reggae music, the people of the neighbor hood were incredibly nice, and they gave me oranges. I seriously love oranges during a long run. I had four slices of oranges in those 2 miles. Those wonderful souls made my miles 21 - 23.

It was time to run my least favorite part of any big city race: the last few miles into the city. It is usually not shaded, is uphill, and is in a big city.  I normally avoid big city races unless I'm running with friends who want to run them.  This was a well done event, but I don't think these big city races are for me. This revelation happened around mile 24. Maybe I was just delirious. After the finish, a nice lady handed me a medal and a finisher's cap. It was a great start to an awesome road trip.

One of my favorite sections of the path

It was now time to travel to Columbus, Georgia, for a week of work. The next day my IT band gave me a little limp, and the foam roller made me want to cry, but two days later I was running along the Chattahoochee River Walk. Although, it had rained the entire week before I arrived, we were blessed with a gorgeous work week. That was a pretty big deal since we would spend the week working outside and in large tents.

Another day at the office. Or not.

 

I should have brought my trail shoes to work

I work with some great folks so it was a great week. I even got to pet a red tailed hawk courtesy of one of my coworkers. Cool, huh?

At the end of the week, I headed to Alabama to visit with my best friend from college. She is stationed at Fort Rucker and is a battalion XO. (Gee, Mary, how did we get so old?!)


We had dinner at a local place called The Rawls which is a historic bed and breakfast as well as a restaurant.  It also happens to almost have my last name. In our usual fashion, we decided to turn the next day into an adventure. We planned to drive south to Panama City, Florida, for breakfast, kayaking, and hanging out on the beach. It could not have been a more perfect day for it. It was 80 and beautiful. We took a boat over to Shell Island and then kayaked around the island to the beautiful Gulf side. The ocean was a little rough for kayaking, and I'm a wimp when it comes to water. I've kayaked in rivers, and in lakes, but never in the ocean. Thanks to Mary keeping me calm as a large wave picked us up and surfed us into Shell Island; I lived to tell about it. We paddled by a dolphin and the Blue Angels flew over while we were relaxing on the beach.

Breakfast in Florida

Mary on the boat to the island

Shell Island

Das Boot

After our island adventure, it was time for dinner: shrimp, crab cakes, and tuna dip. On the way into the restaurant we met the fellas on the left. I'm very happy to report that it was bird week for me rather than shark week. As the day drew to a close, we journeyed back to Alabama.  On Sunday, it was rainy and cold most of the day. That made it a prefect day to start the morning at a truly awesome coffee shop, Boldly Going. This coffee shop serves as both a place to put some pep in your step and a place to lift your spirit.

After spending most of Sunday relaxing, on Monday it was time for a long drive back to Ohio. It had been a great 9 days, and I am very thankful for those days. On the way home, there was a wreck that caused a standstill on I-65 for 45 minutes. There was a big fire and life flight was called. A long drive home was much smaller inconvenience than what those people were going though.  Unfortunately during the drive home, I heard about the bombing at the finish of the Boston Marathon.  Someone went out of their way to try and destroy people. Beyond tragic. That is in the realm of cruel and evil. After checking email upon my return, I learned that a former boss had a major heart attack, and the prognosis was bad. He has since passed away. All of these things cause me to feel even more thankful for my road trip and my life no matter what tomorrow brings. I have found that giving thanks to God extinguishes both anger and sadness when my life is difficult. When life is good, it amplifies that goodness a million fold. I just wish I could always keep my focus on being thankful.  Until that day comes, I'll just keep on working at it.

"If we have thankful hearts we are untouchable." - Ryan Hall

Summertime and the Living is Easy?

After the Ice Age, it was time to warm up a little in Destin, Florida! Mom, Mona (Major Mary's mom), Jen, Mary, and I had made plans to meet in Destin at the end of May for a relaxing 4 day weekend of fun in the sun. The weather was perfect. The beach was beautiful. The food was yummy. We all had an awesome weekend!

Mona, Mom, Jen, Mary

Mom, Me, Jen, Mona

Mom in the Gulf

We didn't make this, but I still took
a pic of it. Love the white sands of
Destin

Mona, Jen, and Mary preparing a shrimp feast

Lunch with Mary's grandpa.

After a great weekend in Florida, I jumped on the plane to New Jersey for work. I did manage to visit the boardwalk on the Jersey shore which meant seeing two beaches in one week! Nice!

Upon my return it was time for me to start to my final core course in my PhD program: Linear Signals and Systems. At West Point, everyone referred to this class as "red death" because the book for the course was red.. and well, it wasn't an easy course. I had planned for this summer to be less about running and more about taking a break and focusing on math until the end of my class. That meant spending some time brushing up on calculus which I had not touched in over 15 years. Ouch.

In the meantime, I had also signed up for the West Milton Tri (canoe, run, bike) with the encouragement of Vickie who needed a teammate. With very high temps and very low water level, it was one very tough day.

Before the start of a very long and difficult 3.5 mile canoe trip,
90+ degree 5 mile run in the sun, and a nice 17 mile bike ride.

Two days later, I found myself running a 1 mile run at the Dash for Cash. My friend Jen ran as well, and it was her very first time ever running a complete mile in a race! She did great! I also won $5 at the race, and it didn't cost me anything to sign up. That meant it was the first time I had ever made money on a race. :-)

The amount of energy it took me to run that 1 mile, and the amount of energy all my runs have been taking finally prompted me to call my trail running doc. Since Peru, running has been extremely tiring. I have also lost 7 or so pounds despite increasing the amount of food at meal time and decreasing my running. While some might think this to be the ideal situation, it isn't so ideal when it isn't the norm and is accompanied by fatigue. There have also been other things that aren't exactly quite right, but I'll spare you on the details.

Trail running doc did a complete blood (CBC) workup on me, and the results showed anemia.  Apparently my level should be above 12, and it registered as 8.5.  He said it was no wonder I had been feeling so tired during my runs. Now, I've never been anemic in my life, and I didn't have this issue until Peru. So with the weight loss and anemia, my guess is that I brought back a few friends with me from South America. 

So begins the search to figure out what exactly is causing the anemia and to replenish my iron levels and red blood cell count (which can take up to 3 months).  In the meantime, I have ordered a home blood test meter that tests hemoglobin levels. Not sure how accurate it will be, but I'm always up for a good experiment. I'm really a scientist at heart. :-) By the end of August, I should be a mathematician. Hopefully in a few more months, I'll be back to being a runner again as well.  Of all that I choose to be, my complete joy comes from knowing Jesus. 

Onward to my favorite month of the year... July!