Stay Strong - Run Long

Wow!!!! What an incredible weekend filled with fear, anxiety, nervousness, giddiness, more fear, new friendship, hope, joy, upset stomach, incredible cramps, some more anxiety, apologies, hunger, some more joy, pain, thankfulness, gratefulness, some more pain and encouragement. You may ask yourself, how does go through so many emotions over the course of a weekend? My answer, running a 12 hour race around Gray's Lake in Des Moines, IA called The Equalizer. The race is described as "This event is designed for three purposes. First, it will provide an opportunity for new and veteran runners to test themselves at an ultra distance. Second, performances will be scored using an age/sex 'equalizer', providing the possibility of an overall victory to anyone who is normally competitive in their age group. Equalizers are determined based on age and gender. Overall awards will be distributed based on the total of actual distance plus the appropriate equalizer. Third,

With the pressures of life, sometimes things have to be shifted in your schedule to make sure that you are still actively participating in the things that you love. As a husband, dad, employee, coach, friend, son, brother, board member, member of my church and the whole host of other hats that I wear, sometimes I do have to put my silly hobby to the side and shift when I participate.  Lately, just due to life, I have had to make some changes in my schedule to when/where I do my running. Not to say that I have downgraded the amount that I am running (I have 2 straight months of 200 mile months) but I do have to be creative when I am going to do it.  I am insanely lucky to have a wife that understands the fact that I have to do this in order to be in a good mood. I go through tremendous lows when I haven't run for a few days. It is like a drug addict coming off of a bender. I get cranky, moody, irritable and freak out for no reason. Now, don't get me wrong. I am not viol

So I am fully prepared for the backlash that I'm about to get by the following commentary but I've gotten to the point that I can't take it anymore. I know that I am going to make a lot of people mad/uncomfortable with my next statement, but that just means that the conversation is working. We are ridiculously fat. There...I said it. Like it or not. Agree with it or not. I am done sitting on the sidelines with my opinion about it. If the statement makes you mad or uncomfortable....look what is in your refrigerator or cupboards. Examine your life. Examine the lives of your children. You may be asking yourself where this all of a sudden came from. Well, let me explain. 8 years ago this month, I made a commitment to not be fat anymore. I know that some of you have read or heard my story numerous times but 8 years later I am still on a crusade. Now, don't think that I am preaching on the fact that I am the healthiest person of all time. I am an addict. My addiction is

So I realized yesterday that it has been nearly 3 months since I last wrote anything. There have been days where I will start to write something but not finish. I have a grandiose idea of something to talk about but get into it and think to myself, "I wouldn't even read this so why are you writing it". Today is not one of those days. I actually have something to write about that people, very few, might find interesting. My running this year has been very good. I am putting in tons of miles and feel fantastic. I've put in more 20 milers in the first 6 months of the year than I did for any of my marathon or ultra trainings and I don't even have a race on the schedule. It is a little freeing to not have something to train for other than seeing how many miles I can put on the legs. I am proud to say that as of 07/20/12 that I have 937 miles in for the year. For your traditional runners, that number may seem insanely high but for most ultra runners that number is q

Where to begin....My 2012 Free State Ultra can be summed up by Charles Dickens when he wrote "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." and that is where the story begins. Race weekend started out like most others. Because I am what some people might consider to be a pretty "excitable person" I took all day Friday off from work to prepare myself. This involves going through my bags for the 15th time to make sure I have all of the essentials that I will need, and ultimately not use. This involves making sure I have my own first aid kits, enough energy bars to feed a small village in East Africa, all my knee braces, ankle wraps, plantar fasciatis prep kits and enough clothing changes just in case I have a "wardrobe malfunction" for the next 3 or 4 days. Some may call it neurotic, I just call it being a boy scout and always being prepared for anything. After a 4 hour drive, packet pickup, pre-race carb loading and a little soak in the hot tu

With 2 weeks to go 'til the big day, my nerves are finally starting to set in. Did I train enough? Did I do enough long runs? What shoes am I going to wear? What am I going to include in my bags? Should I take bags? YADA YADA YADA. But overall my concern hasn't been about the race. I know what the course is like, I've been running the trails more in the last couple of weeks now that they've dried out, and I've been training...differently. I don't know. There is almost a calm about the race and more nerves on the planning. If you've followed me for any length of time, you know that I'm not a very high mileage person. My mileage through 04/08/12 is only sitting at 413 miles YTD. Comparatively I have pretty low miles, but lately I've been feeling pretty strong. I still have been walking the hills on the trails, but my road/gravel hill runs have proven that I am getting stronger every day. I'm not fast, but I feel that with proper hydration/nutrition

So I was out on my run last night and got to thinking...maybe that's why my head hurts so much today....but I digress...about why so many people try to start running and quit. I think I have found the reason and it has to do with hydration and what I am calling the "I can't do this Gene" (patent pending). If you have ever run with me or seen me running you will know that I am ALWAYS carrying water with me. I ran a disastrous race at the 2007 Chicago Marathon due to the lack of water, sports drinks and cups. That's right...cups. Ever since then I am never without one of my handhelds or my hydration pack. It's probably mental, but I think it's a safety thing. It really doesn't matter the distance or the temperature. 3-6 miles = 1 handheld bottle. 6-10 miles = 2 handhelds. 10-15 = Camelbak. 15-30 = Camelbak + 1 (or 2) handheld(s) with sports drink. It doesn't matter the distance. I think though the direct correlation between hydration and the "I

I am a runner. I am also not your typical runner. I am 6' 2" and weigh 210-215 lbs. I am considered "overweight" by the BMI measuring system. I have a large waist, love handles and a jiggly gut but I can run long distances that other people are scared to attempt. I know what I look like and I've pretty much come to terms with it. But, as many of you know, I've come a long way in regards to how much I weigh. I was 300+ lbs 7 years ago but have struggled my whole life with my weight. I was a big kid growing up, I was a big kid in college and turned into a big adult. I have a love of food. I listened to a podcast recently at UltraRunnerPodcast.com that hit the nail right on the head with what I struggle(d) with. The interview was with a guy named Russ Thomas who has lost over 200 lbs just by watching what he eats and running. He made a statement that made so much sense with why I, and for that matter so many people, struggle with being "overweight" eve

Many of you may remember that a few years ago I did my first Ultramarathon at the Free State Trail Ultra . I did the 40 mile version and, aside from the massive amounts of mud, I truly loved it. I've done a few short races over the past year but my training has been less than stellar. I was still able to log about 1500 miles in 2011 but that's not nearly as much as I was hoping for. I ran a couple of 5k's in 2011 along with the Dam to Dam 20k , but that was it. I was....let's just call it less than inspired. I have seen the posting on Facebook from the KC Trail Nerds go up and knew I needed to try my hand again at this race. Fortunately for me the company that I work for is really starting to embrace the importance of a healthy diet and exercise and includes race entry into our Wellness reimbursement plan. We bought a treadmill last year and used the reimbursement for that and with no big purchases planned I knew that this was an easy fit. So again starts my training fo