Taking Stock

One of the key ingredients to making great soup is homemade chicken stock. And here's the big secret - it's far superior to store bought...and so simple to make. When Nancy was pregnant with Gavin she craved soup all the time, and earlier this week I made some chicken noodle soup and noticed my existing supplies of chicken stock had dwindled. So today I made another big batch which I will freeze in pint sized mason jars. That way I will always have some on hand when needed - lovely jubbly.

Many folks save leftover chicken carcasses to make stock, but I find if I use a whole chicken or chicken quarters I will end up with some moist and yummy shredded chicken for use in other dishes such as chicken salad or enchiladas. I don't roast the bones beforehand which would yield a fuller flavored brown stock (which I think is less important than in beef stock), but by leaving the peel on the onion I still get a nice dark color which works well in everything I've paired it with.

The onions, carrots and celery form the "holy trinity" or "mirepox" of aromatics that make your kitchen smell divine as they simmer.

Ingredients
4lbs chicken quarters (or whole chicken cut up)
2-3 large onions, unpeeled and quartered
5 carrots, peeled and cut into thirds
3 pieces of celery, cut into thirds
1 head of garlic, unpeeled and smashed
2 bay leaves
Your choice of herbs (basil, parsley, thyme etc)
A small handful of peppercorns

Dump all the ingredients in the largest stockpot you have (I use a 12 quart All-Clad) and add cold water. Cover and bring to a boil, then remove the lid and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Strain the stock and discard all the solids except for the chicken and carrots. Sieve it through a fine mesh to remove all the fine particles (I like a more rustic soup so I usually skip this step).

Eat the carrots - they're delicious.

Once cooled, shred the chicken and use in other dishes.

Allow the stock to cool and then portion out into containers. Store in the refrigerator overnight so the fat will come to the surface. This can be skimmed off before freezing, though it helps preserve the stock, so you could also leave it on there and just skim it off after defrosting.

Interview

I was browsing around Blogland this evening and came across a neat idea - an interview chain. It sounded like fun, so I jumped on in. If you'd like to play along, here are the rules:

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond with five questions (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

These interview questions are from Holly.

1. What is your favorite thing about running/living in Texas?
We have a great outdoor climate, a kicking live music scene and fantastic food, but the absolute best thing about running here is the people. We have a great trail running club and culture in Austin. I've met so many great people and made a bunch of good friends through running.

2. Now that your 100 mile race is over... what's your new goal?
Don't know yet - I'm still working on it (though a new baby will be my next endurance challenge!!!).

3. When was it that you decided to become an ultrarunner?
The Fall of 2007. I was one of the coaches for a marathon training group and my wife was training for her first half marathon at the same time. I promised her I'd run the long runs with her, so she would meet me after my group run and I'd push our little boy in the jogging stroller alongside her. Since I was putting in the extra mileage I decided to enter the Sunmart 50k. It was my first trail run, I had a blast and wanted more.

4. What has been your worst running injury?
I've been really lucky with running injuries. I broke several bones in my rugby days, but the worst injury I've had running is a sprained ankle.

5. What is your favorite pre-race dinner?
If I'm at home, spaghetti and meatballs or grilled salmon with baked potato and rice. At Bandera (where the choice is much more limited), a great big pizza hit the spot. (Yes, pizza is definitely allowed - one of the great things about ultrarunning).

Thanks Holly, that was fun.

It's a boy!!!!

Well Nancy and I went to her ultrasound appointment this afternoon and got some great news - the baby is active and healthy. We also found out it's a boy, so Gavin gets his wish for a little brother (and I get my pair of opening batsmen*).

Being a parent can be a strange thing. You love your kids unconditionally and find things affect you emotionally in ways they never did before - yesterday this article brought tears to my eyes and made me want to just rush home and hug Gavin.

But this is a happy day. We have no idea of names yet, but here are a few we probably want to avoid (check out the comments - they're hilarious).

* cricketing reference

Driver Needed for Smelly Runners

I have a 12 man (and woman) team running the Texas Independence Relay on March 7th and 8th. It is a 40 leg, 203 mile route that goes from Gonzales (where the first shots in the battle for Texas Independence were fired) to the site of the final battle at San Jacinto. We have rented two vans, but one of our drivers has dropped out. So if anyone out there is interested in driving some smelly runners around all weekend in a van filled with beer and pizza (and why would you not?), please let me know asap. We will have a fun time and make it worth your while.

And news from the running front: Rocky Raccoon didn't do it, Bandera didn't do it, marathons don't even come close any more, but those damn hills of Jester, Beauford and Courtyard did. Yes, I'm sore today (mostly my quads from holding back on the downhills). Jeff F. was kind enough to show me around the trails at St. Eds yesterday evening and I could feel the ghosts of those 15-20% gradient ridged monsters in my legs. And I thought I was good at hills!!!

St Eds was a great place to run though. I've never been there before, and I haven't run with Jeff in so long I thoroughly enjoyed catching up. And since we started at 4:30pm, I was home by 6pm so could still enjoy the evening.

No running today - it's Fat Tuesday!!!

Husband Survival Guide : Tip #386

Do not make facetious comments* when your wife burns the rice beyond all recognition. It is very dangerous and may well subject you to threats of physical violence.

* comments such as "what the hell did you do to my saucepan?" and "oh look, I've found some grains that may be ok" will not improve your chances of survival.

Jester Nother Run

Last year the "Austin Runner" magazine published a list of the top 10 toughest hills in Austin. I no longer have the magazine, but it's a useful list to have so here it is.

	Route	Difficulty Rating
1.	Beauford Dr	10
2.	Courtyard Dr	10
3.	Jester Blvd	9
4.	Ladera Norte	8
5.	Rain Creek Pkwy	6
6.	Mount Bonnell	5
7.	Lost Creek	5
8.	Wilke Dr	4
9.	Stratford Dr	2
10.	Exposition and Balcones	2

This morning I met up with Roger at 5am to do a 9 mile hilly run that incorporated the top 3 (Beauford, Courtyard and Jester). It was a really cold morning and we had a great run, averaging just under a 10 minute mile pace which was pretty good considering all the hills involved.

Roger was going on to run Ken's loop, but I headed off to the Hill of Life to meet another group of friends for a greenbelt run. It was still cold and my hands quickly got numb. I had some gloves in the car, but for some reason I left them there. My hands did warm up after a few miles, but my fingers swelled up with the cold and they still look like fat sausages. Despite that, it was a beautiful morning for a run and a good chance to catch up with some chat and banter.

And it all added up to a lovely 20 mile day, done and dusted by 9am which is always a bonus.

If anyone wants to try a really good hilly run, I mapped out the Jester loop here, but be careful on the portions that go along the shoulder of 2222 and 360.

The End is in Sight

There is less than a month to go before I shift into my running "off season". It's been a long time since I ramped up my training routine back in July and I've been hitting it hard. Since then I've run one half marathon, three marathons, one 50k, one 60k, one 50 miler, one 12 hour "all nighter", one 100k and one 100 mile race. I've broken or set new PRs in almost every one of those distances, done back-to-back long training runs virtually every weekend and helped coach a marathon training group. Now one last big race weekend in March when I run a back to back marathon and half marathon and I'm done. I will be glad to shift into maintenance mode for a few months before refocusing on the self-styled "very nasty" Cactus Rose 100 miler in October (if I decide to run it).

On Monday morning I did a nice recovery run at Walnut Creek. I recently agreed to lead a "trail 101" class for some road runners at work one night a week (starting in mid March), and I wanted to scout out some alternative routes. I found some nice variations to my usual loop and this will hopefully become a fun regular 6 mile run.

Tonight was the Wednesday night club run at the greenbelt. I got there early and did hill repeats on the Hill of Life for an hour. A large group showed up and we did a nice easy 6 mile run. I had no hangover from the marathon and finished off by hammering that damn hill again.

No running for me tomorrow as we have some friends coming over for a dinner party and a board game night. I will be making a nice Greek salad, Goulash and some homemade wholewheat pita bread (great for dipping and mopping the Goulash). Should be fun.

Battling Elements at the Surfside Marathon

Sunset on Surfside Beach - night before the race
When Hurricane Ike rampaged across the Texas coast last September, we all saw the television coverage of the devestation it left in its wake, but there's something eerie about seeing the reality of it firsthand - beach houses that have half collapsed and are leaning against each other, debris and pilings scattered along the beach during the race. Parts of Surfside brought back memories of driving through some of the township shanty towns in South Africa back in '95.

We piled Nancy, Gavin, my parents and myself into the car on Friday afternoon and made the long drive down to the coast. We checked into our hotel in Clute and then went emergency shoe shopping as we'd forgotten to bring any shoes for Gavin (whoops). We found a great pair of beach shoes that he loved and set off to pick up my packet from the race tent on the beach. The race packet was superb - I got a really nice embroidered windshirt, a beautiful stone coaster, a pair of gloves and a peanut butter sports bar (that one of the volunteers told me had been recalled that morning).

Of course, Gavin loves the sea, so with packet pickup out of the way we spent a lot of time playing in the waves. He isn't old enough to feel the cold, but let me tell you, that water was frigid!!! We eventually dragged him out and stopped off at the Mexican restaurant next to the hotel for supper before turning in for the night.

A foggy race morning
Race morning brought with it a thick fog. We left Gavin and my parents asleep at the hotel and Nancy drove me out to the beach. I picked up my chip and then we took a walk down the beach together, and joked about a romantic valentine's morning on a misty beach. It was very quiet and peaceful and it's so nice to share moments like this with my soulmate.

The race course went out 2.5 miles NE along the beach where we turned around and headed back to the start/finish line. From there it went another 10.5 miles down the beach the other way before turning around again and heading back to the finish line. Although it was foggy it was already warm - I had decided to run without any bottles since the aid stations were only 1.5 miles apart and it was like being without my comfort blanket. At the same time it was nice to go to a race that wasn't a goal and one that I had officially marked down as a nice easy recovery run after last week's 100 miler.

Yeah right. That lasted for all of a few seconds. I headed out fast and kept going at a 7:30 pace. I passed through the 5k mark at 23 minutes and hit 4 miles at 30 minutes (at which point I saw Nancy yelling at me to slow down). My legs had no hangovers from the previous weekend and I felt great. I went through the start/finish line and kept on going.

That's when the wind started. We suddenly found ourselves running into a 30mph headwind and life was not so easy, especially when you knew you were going to be running into it for 10.5 miles. My pace dropped into the 8s, and then after a few miles started flirting with the 9s as I just put my head down and kept ploughing ahead. The race very quickly dropped into the "not fun anymore" category, but I am stubborn and kept pushing ahead. Let me tell you, I had thought that running 26.2 miles along the seashore would be soothing. It's not - it's just monotonous. The highlight of this 10.5 mile section was the rotting corpse of a bottlenose dolphin I came across, the wreckage of several beach houses and piers, and a random fisherman who asked if I wanted some of his beer.

I seriously considered the offer.

But I didn't. Instead I put my head back down and continued counting off the miles until the turnaround. And finally, there it was - mile 15.5. Oh glorious day. I made the turn and instantly increased my pace. It felt so good to not have to fight that wind anymore, and for a mile or so I enjoyed the feeling of stretching my legs and dropped back down to a 7:30 pace.

That's when the hail started. The first sign was when the wind dropped (oh great, why didn't it do that about an hour earlier), then great big icy pellets started dropping from the sky. After about 10 minutes the hail turned into torrential rain and the thunder started. Within minutes, the beach had turned into a river and water erosion left gullies in the sand that made it much harder to run over. I had slowed down again, but my legs still felt good so I just continued to count off the miles, and somewhat surprisingly I was still catching and passing people.

Once I was down to the last 10k I realized that I had a comfortable sub-4 hour marathon in the bag so I just set myself to maintain my pace and drive it home.

Coming up to the finish line, I spot the Gavster
I saw the big race tent from 2 miles out, and I started to reel it in. Before I knew it I was at mile 26 and I spotted Nancy, Gavin and my dad. I yelled over to them, detoured across and asked Gavin if he wanted to finish the race with his dad. He did, so I picked him up and ran with him for the last 1/10 of a mile to the finish line. Gavin laughed like crazy, complained that I was soaking wet and raised his arms as we crossed. I got a big cheer from the volunteers, half of whom were laughing themselves (one asked me if I'd carried him all race). The photographer told me he'd got a good picture of us crossing the line. If he's right that may be the first race picture I buy.

Gavin gave me a big kiss and in return he got the finisher's medal placed around his neck and ran off to show his Grandpa Wales. I got a meal token for a free smoothie and went off to get it. I picked an orange mango flavor and it was delicious (what I had of it, Gavin drank most of it!!!). I then realized that I'd never stopped my watch, so I went to find the timer's desk. He told me I'd finished in 3:48:36, and then told me where to go to pick up my award. When I asked what award, he told me I'd gotten 3rd place age group (and 12th overall). Excellent. I wandered over to the awards desk and came back with two awards - one for the age group and another for "International finisher" (can I claim first Welshman?).

Age group and "International" awards
Having stashed my awards away, I got in line for the finisher's barbecue. I got smoked brisket, sausage, chicken, potatoes, beans, barbecue sauce and all the fixings. Went inside the tent to find Nancy, Gavin and my dad already there tucking in. The barbecue was $5 for non-runners and it was a great deal. And very delicious. I got to spend some time chatting to other runners, who confirmed the weather made a huge difference to the race this year, before the heavens opened up again and sent us to the car.

So it was a tough race, but I felt great afterwards and there were no after affects from the 100 miler the week before (other than a few blisters that the sand reawakened). This race was different, and I'm glad I ran it, but I'm not sure I'd run it again. It got very monotonous after a while, but the people were all super nice, went out of their way to make you feel welcome, and were so grateful to us for coming out and supporting them after the hurricane. Again, I love these small town marathons so much more than the big city ones (plus it was super nice to look at the clock in the hotel this morning as the Austin marathon was about to start, say "ha", then turn over and go back to sleep).

Our plans for the weekend were a little curtailed by the weather (it continued to be windy and rainy), but we didn't let it cut into our beach time and we enjoyed ourselves.

So there goes another one. On to the Seabrook Lucky Trails marathon next month to complete the Texas marathon Triple.

Gavin and Grandpa Wales enjoy the waves at Surfside

Gavin, my beautiful 5-month pregnant wife and myself brave the cold waters of Quintana beach

Getting Ready for Surfside

"May your legs be swift, the wind be at your back and no seagulls overhead".

What's it like to run a marathon along a beach? I don't know, but I'll tell you when I get back. This weekend I'm off to the Gulf coast to run the Surfside beach marathon. It is the second leg of the Texas Marathon Triple and we're going to spend the weekend down there. I'm hoping the weather will be nice enough for me to take Gavin swimming in the ocean - the boy loved our trip to Galveston last year.

Reflections on Rocky Raccoon

Rocky Raccoon shirt, belt buckle and Texas Trilogy award

Well, it's a few days removed from the race and I'm pretty much back to normal. My legs feel great, the blisters have mostly healed and I had an enjoyable 6 mile run on the greenbelt tonight. I feel strong and ready to go race the marathon in Surfside on Saturday. It will be interesting to see how much of a hangover I have from the 100. In the meantime, here are my thoughts on the Raccoon.

Final placings - 239 started and 162 finished (68% finishing rate). I came in 32nd place with an official time of 21:35:13. In the Texas Trilogy standings I was very happy to discover I came 2nd overall. Hooray me!!!

Volunteers - they are the heart and soul of trail races, and the ones at this race were the best. Being ultrarunners themselves, they know exactly what you're going through and what you need. I always made a point to thank them for being there because without them there would be no race.

Music - some races the music works for me, others it doesn't. I used my ipod for about 6 miles and couldn't wait to dump it in my dropbag. The sounds of the woods were much more interesting.

Poetry in motion - no mantra for this race, but there was one line that kept repeating itself over and over in my head. It was from Ted Hughes' poem "The Jaguar" and the line in question was "the bang of blood in the brain". It scans really well and when I wanted to push the pace late in the race I kept using the beat to sync up my stride and maintain my rhythm. Another little mental diversion trick that works really well.

Pacers - I didn't want any and didn't need any. I know myself pretty well and the best part of the entire race was running at night by myself. I didn't have to keep to anyone else's pace and they didn't have to listen to my god-awful singing!!!

Sleep - you would think that after running for over 21 hours straight you would just fall into bed and sleep for a day, but I never sleep well after an ultra. This always happens to me in any race of 50 miles or more - the night after I will just stare at the ceiling and eventually get up. Then about 2 days later it hits me and I crash.

Fever - again after a race of 50 miles or more I will run hot for about a day afterwards. Slight fever and chills are the norm. I don't know why, but I've gotten used to it and come to expect it. One theory is that the body has been working so hard to cool itself down for hours at a time, it gets stuck in cooling mode.

The munchies - I know how recovering drug addicts must feel because I've been snacking like a horse every since the weekend.

Another hundred - we talked about this on the drive back to Austin. I claimed I had scratched the 100 mile itch while Clea maintained I would sign up for Cactus Rose. It all depends on Nancy and the new baby, but I suspect she may be right.

Highs and Lows at the Rocky Raccoon 100

Deep in the heart of the East Texas Piney woods the 100 mile beast stirred. It raised its head and looked around. As the day heated up it roared.

Clea picked me up Friday afternoon and we had a relaxing drive down to Huntsville. We got to the park mid afternoon and picked up our packets - the 100 mile fleece is really nice and extra motivation for me to finish the race (if I don't finish a race I won't wear the shirt). We met up with Derek and John and had a relaxing supper at the quaint and historic Homestead cabin. I taped my feet well before turning in for the night - it had worked for me at Bandera and I hoped it would see me through 100 miles.

Superstitious me, I wouldn't tell anyone my time goal in advance, so before I left home on Friday I wrote it down and sealed it into an envelope for Nancy to find. I also wrote another one and popped it into my drop bag. My time goal was 21 hours and 30 minutes - ambitious but not unachievable. Other than that I wanted to finish under 24 hours and earn the sub-24 hour finisher's buckle.

The Rocky Raccoon 100 miler consists of five 20 mile loops and my race plan was to run as follows:
loop 1 - 3:30
loop 2 - 4:00
loop 3 - 4:30
loop 4 - 4:30
loop 5 - 5:00

I knew that the warm temperatures (it was the hottest in the race's history) were going to be a factor so I decided to go for a fast first loop and get some miles in the bank early so I could back off in the heat of the afternoon. I knew that policy could backfire on me, but I decided it was the best plan so I went 100% with it.

At 6am I fitted my headlamp, we all lined up and with a simple "go" from Joe, we were off into the woods. As it got light I spotted Lorenzo Sanchez, a really nice guy from San Antonio who I'd run into at Bandera. We fell in and ran together for a few miles, shooting the breeze. Not long after coming out of the Dam Road aid station I came across Clea and Derek who were running the 50 miler. I liked the two-way portions of this race best because you got to see your friends and got a lot of encouragement from fellow runners.

I finished up the first loop in 3:20 and took the opportunity to visit the porta-potty before it got too disgusting. Race director Joe gave me a high five and a few words of advice (take it one loop at a time) as I headed out again. I ran with Meredith for a few minutes somewhere on this loop - she had a great 50 mile run and I think she won the women's race. A few miles on I realized there was something wrong - I was feeling a bit lightheaded and fatigued. By the time I hit the farside loop I'd hit a major low and walked most of the loop. This was the longest distance between aid stations (6 miles) and it was neverending. I figured out that my electrolytes were out of balance and I was low on fluids, so when I got back to Dam Road I grabbed my drop bag, chugged some salt caps, dumped some iced water over my head and drank a can of V8 juice (a last minute addition to my drop bag - thanks for the tip Jeff). I started to feel better on the Jeep Road and spent the rest of the loop making up for lost time. I finished out the loop in 4 hours - amazingly still on track. Close to the turnaround I came across Meghan who was waiting to run the last loop with Clea. I was glad to see her and hoped the girls would have a good run.

The third loop was another slog - it had gotten pretty hot out there (upper 70s/low 80s) and I kept pouring iced water over my head to keep cool - it was wonderfully "take your breath away" refreshing. I struggled early on in this loop, but could do nothing except gut it out and wait for nightfall. I wondered if it was the new milkshakes I'd been downing that was causing the funk, so I stopped taking them, switched to solid food and that solved most of the problems.

I was dreading the farside loop, but luckily I met up with another runner from San Antonio - Greg Carlson - and we ran and talked that entire portion which made it go by really quickly. By the time I got to the Park Road aid station I was feeling good again and I hit the final 4.5 miles hard. About 1/4 mile from the turnaround I found Clea and Meghan waiting for me. They were going to go for supper, get some sleep and come back out around 4am to see me finish. Let's just say I was looking forward to seeing them again!!! I checked my watch and was amazed to see that despite all my lows I was still exactly on track and I finished out the loop in 4:40.

It was dusk as I started out on the penultimate loop. A beautiful full moon was rising and I felt transformed. I love running at night and I suddenly felt very much in my element. I kept my headlamp off until it was completely dark and flew around the Triple C trail with reckless abandon. I was a small boy again playing in the woods - I even whooped a few times. I still felt good as I flew around the Chinquapin trail and my mood improved even more when several runners told me that they'd started cooking the hot food at Dam Road. I stopped for some glorious cheese quesadillas, sausage and slices of hamburger patties. I took off for the farside loop and heard someone coming up behind me and calling my name. It was Larry King - he was pacing the guy who would go on to win the race (and was already on his last loop). Larry told me that I was looking fresh and strong, which gave me a big boost. Farside passed without incident (though still neverending), Lynn Ballard refilled my bottles at Dam Road while I grabbed more quesadillas and headed off toward the jeep road. I didn't think I had it in me to make my 21:30 prediction any more, but I really wanted to go sub-22 so I determined to push the rest of the loop to give myself some breathing space for the last 20 miles. I pulled into the Park Road aid station floating on a high to find Meredith there cheering me in. She asked how I was doing and I said I was doing great. I feasted on some vegetarian meatballs, avocado slices and sausage while the volunteers filled my handhelds and headed out again. I pushed the pace for the rest of the loop and finished it out in 4:45.

As I refilled at the start/finish I heard someone else cheering me. I looked around and there was Meredith again. She kept popping up at different aid stations and it was always good to see her. I headed out for the last time needing to run a 5:15 loop to finish under 22 hours.

About a mile into the final loop I rolled my ankle and went down hard. I limped for a few minutes but managed to walk it off. Then about 5 minutes later I did it again - same ankle, down like a sack of spuds, and the toys came out of the pram. I threw my water bottle down, let out a "barbaric yawp" (thanks Ryan) and followed it up with a tirade of yelled curses. I was mostly mad at myself but I looked up to find two ladies who had come around the corner standing there open-mouthed. Whoops. I grinned sheepishly, apologized and limped off. That faux pas did lift my mood (I spent the next hour or so laughing over it), but the falls made me very cautious. Having run 80+ miles I didn't want to risk the finish by doing something stupid, so I slowed down and took it much more carefully. Thankfully I was able to walk this one off too. Over to dam road, around Farside for the last time (thank God), and as I came back onto the levee I came across Ryan and his wife who was pacing him. He was on his fourth loop and was having some major problems but the guy is as tough as nails. I didn't have anything on me to help him, so we just visited for a few minutes. I hope he finished because he really deserves it. I wished him all the best, came down off the levee and made my way back to the dam road aid station at mile 92.

I checked my watch and figured I had 2 hours to run the last 8 miles and bag the sub-22 finish. So I threw caution to the wind and decided to really push those last 8 miles. I still felt good and started running some of the hills, flew up the jeep road and before I knew it I was at the last aid station.

One of the volunteers asked me how I was doing. I replied that I was still smiling and hadn't had any hallucinations. Then I grinned and added, "as long as this really is the aid station". A quick in-and-out and I was 4.5 miles from the finish with 80 minutes to get there and bag a 22 hour finish. I tried to figure out what pace per mile I needed, but my brain wasn't working properly because I kept coming up with a 2 minute/mile pace. In a truly bizarre moment I actually thought I had stumbled across a mathematical paradox, and it took me a few minutes before I realized I was just forgetting to count the zero and it was really a 20 minute/mile pace.

I took it easy for a mile or so to save myself for a fast finish. My legs were still good and I was feeling so much better than earlier in the day, so when I hit the Prarie Branch trail I really picked it up. I checked my watch as I hit Dogwood (about a mile from the finish line) and was shocked to realize I was going to get really close to my time goal after all so I put on the finishing kick. I attacked the uphills, popped out onto the trail that parallels the road and knew the end was close. Then it hit me for the first time - I was about to run 100 miles. I made the last turn, ran down the approach to the finish line and crossed in 21 hours and 35 minutes.

The first people who ran up to congratulate me were Clea and Meghan. Clea snapped the picture on the right and then the girls took over. I didn't have to think about anything - they took my bottles, got my bag, wrapped me up in a blanket, sat me down by the heater and got me some ramen noodles and broth - they were awesome. And yes, it tasted really good. Robert came over and congratulated me on joining the 100 mile club, and Joe gave me the sub-24 hour finisher's belt buckle and shook my hand. He also told me I'd have to come back next year and break 21 hours. As we'd planned on leaving early in the morning, the girls went into action and managed to get the lodge opened up and get my Texas Trilogy award. Since the dam road aid station drop bags weren't coming back until 11am I asked a friend to pick it up.

The girls drove me back to their hotel room so I could shower and change. Let me tell you, I'd been dreaming of a shower for the last 5 hours and it was the best shower I've ever had. I had so much salt on me I could have supplied a entire fish and chip shop. I pulled the tape off my feet and they weren't too bad - certainly no worse than I'd anticipated. You can't expect to run 100 miles with no damage and I think it would have been a lot worse without the tape.

We said goodbye to Meghan and popped into IHOP for some breakfast before getting on the road and heading back to Austin. Nancy and Gavin were waiting for me and it was nice to get home so early - it's amazing to think that we would be back in Austin and some folks would still be out there running. Now that takes some serious determination.

I fell asleep on the couch this afternoon and woke up really stiff. I think I may be doing the "hundred mile hobble" tomorrow.

Things I learned from this race
So much of this game is in your head, and because of the distance involved, the highs and lows are magnified. When you're feeling good you're on top of the world, and when you're going through a rough spot it's a bummer. I made a point of running aid station to aid station - my goal at any one time was the distance between them. Also, whether I was on a high or a low I always believed I was going to finish.

I talked to myself a lot, especially when I was pushing the pace late in the race. That helped to keep me going. I probably looked really crazy muttering to myself though. I don't think I ever felt the need for a pacer and actually enjoyed the peace and solitude of being by myself in the woods at night.

I finished within 5 minutes of my predicted time, which is pretty darn close for a 100 mile race. But how did I get so close? Was it a lucky guess or did I subconsciously set the pace to attain that goal?

Between Sunmart and Rocky Raccoon, I'm all Huntsvilled out. I don't think I want to run here again for a while.

Oh, and if you're going to have a temper tantrum and swear in a very loud voice, make sure there's nobody else around.

Soundtrack for 100 Miles

"Life may not always be the party we hoped for, but as long as we're here we may as well dance".


Yeah, I'm full of these quotes this week. I need to rebuild my ipod shuffle library tonight (and I also need to charge it up). I always take my ipod to these long ultra races - sometimes I'll use it and sometimes I won't, but when I do there's a certain type of music that really works for me. Some of my favorite bands to run to include the Rolling Stones (especially "Paint it Black" and "Little Red Riding Hood"), Oasis, the Doors, Iggy Pop, REM, the Sisters of Mercy and Pulp. Anything from the wonderfully gothic "The Crow" soundtrack is excellent, while Jace Everett's "Bad Things" (theme from the HBO series "True Blood") always gets me going (best when played in the middle of the woods at 1am). Throw in some laid back jazz and blues, Lynyrd Skynard, Warren Zevon, Nick Cave, Van Morrison, and the odd Welsh male voice choir track (especially Myfanwy and "We'll Keep a Welcome") and I have a truly diverse and eclectic playlist.

I also need to pack and label my dropbags. That won't take long as I usually go fairly light on these things - I like to get in and out of aid stations quickly - and won't use most of the stuff. I'll throw in some spare shoes and socks, some nutrition shakes (a different one since my usual brand has been discontinued), extra gels, salt caps and sports beans, some pedialyte, bodyglide, emergency taping supplies (for blisters), a long sleeved shirt and my spare headlamp.

I plan on taping my feet really well on Friday night and I have my race gear ready - new shorts, double layered Wrightsocks, Asics trail shoes (with the Montrail Hardrocks in reserve), gators, lucky $7 Walmart tech shirt, armbands and 2 handhelds. I don't know why I still wear the armbands - I used them in the summer when it was hot and sweaty, and just got used to them. Now they've become a standard part of my running gear.

I'm driving down to Huntsville on Friday with my friend Clea who is running the 50 miler and then hanging around to cheer me on, and we'll keep each other awake on the drive home Sunday. It will be great to have someone to talk to on the way up and back and I am very lucky that I will have so many friends out there rooting for me. I don't have a pacer and neither have I looked for one because I really enjoy running alone at night, and want to see how far I can push myself. Of course, I've never run 100 miles before either so we'll see, but I think I'll be fine.

The weather is heating up for the weekend - the latest forecast I saw called for highs in the mid-70s which is a little on the warm side. I would much prefer a cold one, but oh well. There's nothing we can do about it, and everyone's in the same boat so I'll leave the final word to Mr Frost.


The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep
And miles to go before I sleep

Robert Frost

Put Up or Shut Up

Free your mind and your body will follow.

I've always liked that quote, and it's a mantra I've adopted as my theme this week in the buildup to the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler. I enjoy the mental aspects of ultra running - it's always been my big strength - and I've been working hard all week to reinforce that using various visualization and meditation techniques. While I'm aware that running 100 miles carries a significant risk of not finishing, I will never stand at a start line without believing 100% that I'm going to finish and this race is no exception. So let me just say it - I believe I will finish and I'm ready to go to Huntsville and defend my zero DNF record.

Tonight I did my last easy training run on the greenbelt and I feel good - in the last few months I've set, broken and rebroken PRs at distances from 10k to 100k and I'm ready. I've tapered, I'm well rested, my little niggling injuries have healed and I've enjoyed my carb loading this week. I don't have the same nerves I felt in the days leading up to Bandera - in its place is a quiet buzz of anticipation. I feel relaxed and at peace with myself. This race has been so long in coming I can't wait to get out there and take on the challenge.

I do have a time goal - it is ambitious but not unachievable. But I am superstitious and will not talk about it before the race. Instead I will seal the prediction in an envelope and leave it at home for Nancy to open.

3 days to go - it's time to put up or shut up.

Look Out Tony Hawke

Just completed the last training weekend before Rocky Raccoon. I did a nicely paced 10 miler with my road group yesterday (1:18:49 - 7:53 pace) and said goodbye to everyone since I won't be there for their last group run next week or for the Austin marathon (I'm going to miss running with the guys but doing the same route every weekend was getting old). Then this morning I got out to Town Lake early and did a 4 mile loop around the hills of Stratford Dr before meeting up with some of my Texas Independence Relay teammates for another 7 miles around the Scenic Dr loop. It was a picture perfect morning and we had a great time on a very pretty route.

Yesterday I went to Academy to get some new running shorts because I discovered a large hole in my old Asics. I tried several different brands and found that Nike now have several different cuts to their NikeFit Dri range, and they fit really well. I bought a pair of these and a pair of these. Tried the first pair out on this morning's run and I really like them - I think I will wear them for the race. I always bring Nancy along when I'm clothes shopping so she can "yay or nay" my fashion choices (it's much safer that way) and she gave me the thumbs up on both these which is good. It is also bad as that means she will be stealing them at some point.

While we were there, I found a little skateboard for Gavin. He was super excited about it so we headed home to play. We all took turns on it (let's just say I'm very out of practice), and Gavin seems to have perfected the crawl technique. That's perfectly fine with us - much less he can damage that way.

Spent the rest of a great day happily making (and sampling) rojo and aguacate salsas for the superbowl this evening, and some homemade spinach raviolis with a ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan filling to add some variety to carb loading this week. Nancy, Gavin and my parents have headed out to get some charcoal (so I can grill some sirloin burgers for supper) while I try to figure out if my homemade hamburger buns will rise or end up as the usual hockey pucks. My money is on the latter (don't worry, I bought some from the store just in case).

6 days to go.