Page Title

2008 Race Calendar!!!
WHERE AM I? WHERE DO YOU WANT TO BE? START
TRAINING TODAY AND FIND YOURSELF THERE!!!

     RACES FOR 2008 (thus far):

     Feb 16: Louisville Lovin' the Hills 50K (Louisville, KY)
     Mar 8: Land Between the Lakes 60K (Grand Rivers, KY)
     Apr 11-13: McNaughton Park Trail 100-Mile!!! (Pekin, IL)...first
100!!!
     May 10: Gnaw Bone 50-Mile (Gnaw Bone, IN)...57 miles...race
report below!
     June 7-8: Kettle Moraine 100-Mile (La Grange, WI)...goal to finish
     June 21-22: Mohican Trail 100-Mile (Glenmont, OH)...goal to finish
     July - Sept: 5Ks, 10Ks, 15Ks, 1/2-marathons, training!!!
     Oct 25-26: San Fransisco 24-HR (San Fransisco, CA)...goal 107+
     Nov 14-16: Ultracentric 48-HR (McKinney, TX)...goal new female
course record
     Dec 21: Jacksonville Marathon (Jacksonville, FL)...goal sub-3:00

GNAW BONE 50-MILER!!!

Would have run a sub-12:00 50-miler on this course, which was my actual goal, if I hadn't dealt w/such messy course markings, forcing
me into 57 miles total on a hellacious course! 57 miles in 13:04 would have gotten me a 11:30-11:40 50-mile time, a good time on a
difficult course such as Gnaw Bone, so I was mad to be off course for so long!

Started out getting lost for 2 miles or so on the first 6.5 miles; didn't worry about that too much cuz I was w/a group, and we all got back
on the right path together; I heard there were others who kept going on the wrong path; one guy who'd gotten in 13 miles by the 6.5-mile
aid station! So it was 1:50 for the first 6.5 miles, when really we'd run 8.5 miles. Kept going @ that pace or a little slower most of the
race, though the 2nd 18-mile loop was a bit slower than the first. I power-walked the uphills, took it reasonably easy on the downhills yet
as quick as possible (as the terrain was @ some points non-existent), and took it a nice pace on the flats (though the extremely muddy
spots were a challenge to keep a decent pace)...my legs, feet, and ankles growing increasingly more tired as the race progressed as
well! First it was my left ankle, then both ankles, feeling every step of every downhill and every rock forced my feet to jump off it (almost
like I was stepping on hot charcoal)! By the last 6.5 miles, I was ready for this all to be over, when suddenly, w/only about 2 miles left of
the race, there were no more pink ribbons (only neon-green and orange; but I was supposed to follow pink)! I didn't worry about it @
first, as I remembered the last pink ribbon I'd seen and there was no other way to go but straight from there. I thought 'after awhile, I am
sure I will see another pink'. Went about 13 minutes (a mile @ that point), and realized there was no other pink ribbon in sight and
probably wouldn't be! 'I can't get lost @ this point!', I thought, 'Not now!" So I rushed back to that last pink ribbon (another extra mile)
and still could not find any other way to go but straight, so I thought 'This has to be right; what other way is there?' I moved onward in
that same direction (another mile), and kept running on a very rocky path for about another ~2 miles before hitting a gravel road for
another ~3 miles (which @ that point seemed like forever)! I had no clue where I was @ by that point, and there were no other ribbons of
any color in sight! I just ran on, thinking there had to be an end to this gravel road @ some point, but had no idea when, thinking 'what if
I have to run for 14 of 15 hrs!' I started getting very emotional, no cell phone on hand, not a house in sight, not a person in sight, not
even a trail in sight to find a person! I didn't know if I would even get back to Mike's Music and Dance Barn (the start of the race, where I
had my car)! It was a scary experience, and I kept running as quickly as possible thinking there had to be a way out of this mess!! Finally,
I thought I heard cars! 'What, could there be civilization out there...an end to this seemingly endless gravel road?' I thought, still running
as quickly as possible, not walking one step, just wanting it to be over already!...

...I kept running and I then saw on open road, cars whizzing by, and houses across the street! Houses, people!! So I ran, crying @ the
time from all the excitement of not knowing where I was for so long, crossing the street and stopping @ a lady's house, limping from
tiredness, and asked her "Do you know where Mike's Music and Dance Barn is?" She said it was just a mile or less up the road. I was so
worn @ that point, that I asked her could she please take me there, that I had been running for over 13 hrs now. She was luckily a very
nice lady, and kindly drove me up there, understanding I'd just been through some difficult times and it was a very long time running.

I don't know if I'll put this race on my calendar for next year, lol, just too crazy; I tried to talk w/the race director about it, but he like
ignored my comments. I talked w/some of the volunteers though and they were very nice...one of them even gave me a free Nike jacket
and a free hat (very cool), and they patiently listened to my story as I was pretty torn by the time I reached the barn. I am thankful, very
thankful, for their kindness and their understanding...that is the only reason I would think about running it again!

KETTLE MORAINE 100-MILER and MOHICAN 100-MILER race reports!!!

It's as clear as black and white, my training this year is just not paying off. I am not training as I should, and am not in the least satisfied with how I have raced all
year. The only race I can say I was somewhat satisfied w/is McNaughton 100-miler, and even then, I feel I should've run faster, possibly been able to hold out for
50 miles due to my endurance base. It's not like I haven't been building up and putting in huge miles, not like I haven't gotten out every day and nearly killed myself,
sometimes feeling as though God is the only reason I am still alive, especially after some of those extremely long sauna sits. It has been some extreme training to
get out and have these poor race results; almost makes me feel like I am not as strong as I think I am, or as though I really have no idea what I am doing w/my
training.

As for Kettle, I only got through 50 miles on a tight left hamstring (tighter each mile) after the first 7 miles; it became very severe weather, and though I would've
gone on and most likely would've hit the 100-mile time limit after running the first 50 miles in 12:21, I didn't want to risk my life and not be able to go to Mohican in 2
weeks. The first 40 miles, there was only heat (mid-80s) and humidity; no big deal; that I could handle. As for 41, there came a strong wind and then severe
thunderstorms and pouring down, I mean pouring down, rain...to the point where we were running in ankle-high water on the trails and I saw flashes of lightning
directly in front of me as I was running down the road to the next trail; it was scary and I feared not only for my own safety but for my friend, Hung, who had come all
the way from Florida to help me get through this race. With the pouring rain, the water was so deep, it was like running up a waterfall; the course marking, once on
the mud, were now washed away w/the flood, and Hung and I got lost for nearly 2 hrs, finally meeting up w/a couple people in a van who pointed us in the right
direction. Not only were we lost for 2 hrs, but w/o food and w/o any rain jackets, to the point where he was shivering and I was cold, both of us starving. When we
finally reached 50 miles, Hung said he would go on if I wanted to, that it was my race and he was there to help me. I couldn't stand to see him shiver and he didn't
have a rain jacket; I didn't want him to go into hypothermia. I was already having some problems myself, due to dehydration from the heat earlier, and extreme
chafing due to cooling myself off w/sponges; also there was that hamstring that was really not feeling better, worse as the miles kept accumulating. So I had to
end it there; I just didn't see a point in going on, knowing we could once again get lost and were already only like 20 minutes off the cut-off after being lost for 2 hrs;
20 minutes off the cut-off time meant more like 5 minutes off the cut-off time once we hit 70 miles, and more like would we even make the cut-off time once we
reach 90; then what about the last 10 miles? So I decided it was better for us to wait and have a more successful race @ Mohican...

Then there was Mohican, where I started off slower than Kettle to avoid having problems w/that tight hamstring and avoid getting too painful too quickly; I started off
@ 13:00 min/mile pace, one that I could hold for a lot of miles, I knew from my training. Hung thought I was too slow but I told him not to worry, that I was
comfortable. Though he could've easily run faster for 100 miles, he runs faster than I do anyway on these endurance events, he stayed w/me all throughout the
race, even during the extremely tough hours. Thanks to him, I was able to stay peaceful even during the most painful moments. It was cooler weather for Mohican
(high-70s, low-80s) and less humidity than @ Kettle. There was some rain and thunderstorms, but only for a little while (6 miles or so), then we dealt w/some
cooler temperatures through the night. The course was much muddier and the creek crossings deeper than earlier during the day; there was also one river
crossing right before mile 38.3 that actually felt really good considering it was quite a warm day. There was one rock-climbing section between 38.3 and 42.3 that
was lots of fun but difficult; the first 2 miles of that loop was difficult, very rocky and tough climbing. There were plenty of hills throughout the course; not an easy
course whatsoever; though I can't say it was tougher than McNaughton, I can say it was a lot like McNaughton, and @ McNaughton I ran 32:20; so I suppose I can't
be surprised I didn't hit the 30-hr cut-off for this race, though I can say I am disappointed that I didn't. I hit the 80-mile aid station right @ cut-off time; I was the
slowest 100-mile runner out there; nothing to be proud of. My legs hurt so bad @ that point that I was walk/jogging all of the course, mainly a walk, and I wasn't
getting any faster. How do I get my legs not to hurt so much @ mile 70? I wish I could delay that type of pain til mile 80 or 90; then I could've stayed 1 hr 20 min
ahead of cut-off til the last 20 miles, and there's no way I would've lost that much time in 20 miles. Instead, I started slowing down after mile 50, and it got even
slower up to mile 70, where I really started slowing down. I was also staggering and losing any sense of balance. I could barely walk over into a bush to urinate; it
was like I was falling backward into the trail if I tried to lift my leg. Hung and I walked the last 5 miles, a straight walk, w/barely any jogging. We tried to walk as quick
as possible, but by that time, it was only like 20-24 minute/mile pace. I was hurting; Hung said he felt fine besides his left knee a bit; it was my left knee also, as
well as every other part of my legs and feet. The knee is fine now, since I stopped running, but everything else still hurts. Will be good to take a few days off and
hopefully get back full-swing into a training program THIS TIME that actually works!