February and doses.

I'm four days early, but I don't want to study for my two tests tomorrow. February is over, thank God. The teases of spring make me pine for the sun against my skin. It'll be here soon enough. March sounds much better than February.

I'm proud to say my team, UltraVT, has been expanding and destroying everything--the local trails, the pavement, the track, and the early season races. We had a huge group at Holiday Lake 50k, just like the Hokie generation before me massed in Appomattox, VA. Alumni included, we took first, third, sixth, seventh, 11th, and 12th. In poor conditions, we toughed it out. This past Saturday Mike Jones took eighth at Mt. Mitchell 40mi. Darren and I took the first two spots on the podium at Mt. Cheaha 50k where we received some vitamin D running shirtless in Alabama. Henry Wakely took 13th. The girls are doing their thing too. We've had our first doses of long running for 2014 and we want more.

The places are almost top-notch, but they don't matter. Yeah, it's fun being up front where there's nobody at the finish line clapping for you besides a couple volunteers, but my thinking is changing from placing to pushing. Place goals are good to push yourself, sure. But I see so much talent in our team and in our bodies. I'm not talking world takeover (that'll follow); I'm talking refining our bodies to a level they've never been. I'm talking fast running, slow recovery running, team running. Pushing ourselves for wanting to be the best we can be and working together to achieve, because we don't have this chance to train together again. 

The initial taste of soreness after the first 50k of the year. Dose.
The initial mood swings of getting in shape. Dose.
The initial blur of bigger miles. Dose.
I want more.

You see, doctor, I have this foundation I've built
I'm still on the first floor, 
But I'm building a skyscraper.
Can you prescribe me something?
I want more. 
High mileage.

More of this.

More of this.

More of this.

The Horizon

I'm stoked. I'm looking towards the horizon. January is over, a good month in itself, but let's be real, I hate winter. February promises a few random warm days and more of the cold. I'll take it. February also promises me to switch mindsets in terms of training. After Hellgate in December and January I thoroughly enjoyed hopping in on whatever physical activities my friends were doing; no structured training. In the past, I've taken two weeks COMPLETELY off of physical activity whenever my race season is over. When those two weeks are up and I decide to get back to training, I feel fat and sluggish and not happy with myself. So I decided to change it up this year and to keep active. I made sure the intensity was low (minus some really great workouts for fun). The result? I feel recovered mentally and phsyically AND fit.

I've never felt both fit and recovered before a training block--hence why I'm stoked. The goal for the first half of 2014 is Bighorn 100. It's foolish for me to try and race my first hundo, but I believe that I can put in a good performance once June 20th comes. My butt would get kicked right now, but I have an ambitious schedule planned to get up to 120 mile weeks and believe in myself that I can execute if its meant to pan out.

What does getting into my training mindset mean? It means every workout has a purpose. In the past I've just run a lot; not this time. Recovery runs are deliberately SLOW and I will be off the back if it's a group run and its too fast. Workouts will be hard. Trying to minimize the moderate stuff in there besides a few overdistance runs. It also means lifestyle changes. I'm excited to check facebook only once a day. I instilled this plan during this past summer, just checking facebook at night. I'm a social media addict and don't like it--so less facebook! No over-drinking save for a few special occasions. No mindless snacking on junk food or take out pizza. More vegetables and fruits. More water. More popcorn and greek yogurt. Same large amounts of Franks Red Hot (dude, sponsor me please, you have no idea how much I eat of that stuff).

I don't think I've ever woken up on a Saturday morning, had a really great long run, and thought, "well that was OK but I wish I was hungover and mad that that didn't work out with that girl." I'm over college in the conventional social and academic sense. No more aimless messing around! I'm 22 and feel like an adult. I have better things to do, like work on the Virginia Big Tree Program, run well, be healthy, learn applicable things for my future job out in California, and savor the time I have with my good friends. I like being spontaneous and fun but I'm also a focused and determined person. I'm just excited for the horizon.

The Horizon. Photo: Wyatt Lowdermilk

Keeping the Dream Alive

I hope I don't ever eat my own words. I hope I never become complacent with my life, although I do believe that a certain level of contentedness is necessary or else you'll never be satisfied and live an empty life. Humans need to feel pride and confidence just as much as they need a fiery hate and longing for improvement. I hope I don't ever eat my own words.

I had a buddy of mine, an incredible athlete himself, competing in NCAA swimming at Ohio State, tell me that I'm actually doing cool things. He said most people just talk about doing things, going places, getting out of Cincinnati, but I actually did it. My instant response was that he can "get out" too, and anybody can if they actually want it. Not to say Cincinnati is bad--it's a great place to grow up--I just think exploration should also be a part of life and geography plays into that for me.

So how do you "get out?" How do you do "cool" things? Alastair Humphreys, adventure writer, just posted a blog titled What's Preventing You From Having an Adventure? He concludes that excuses are what hold people back. He's a huge proponent for microadventures locally. Example: the weather feels like -9 outside right now. That's really cold. I could stay in bed all day long. A pretty valid excuse, -9 degrees can be legitimately dangerous. But fellow go-getter Wyatt Lowdermilk and I are going to run up Butt Mountain this afternoon. It's going to be cold, but hey, just put on more clothes. That's an adventure in itself.

Wyatt crushing downhill in Boulder, CO

The hardest part of many things in life is getting started. Procrastinating job applications, working out, talking to someone you like, whatever. But once you start, the proverbial snowball keeps rolling. I think it's exactly the same with adventuring. Fake passion until it becomes real. Get outside in -9 degree weather. It'll be miserable I promise, but two days later you'll think about it again and want to go back out. Take the job offer in the unknown. Talk to someone new. Get out of your comfort zone. Fake passion until it becomes real.

Inspiration isn't hard to find. Youtube can take care of that. My friends take care of that for me. Wyatt, Glove, the Changs, Henry Wakley they are DOers. They're structured but whimsical. They're smart but are relaxed. Another buddy of mine, Tom Saxton, isn't made for the classroom. He spends his summers working temporary jobs in national parks and then travels. He went on his own roadtrip with his girlfriend this winter break along southern Texas, NM, and AZ, with a little CO in there. Tom's a short, strong, quiet man with a bushy beard. He's not too happy in a classroom. Speak to him of a mountain and his eyes light up, "Dude. Yes." He took a week off of school, literally in the middle of last semester, to go hang out in Florida on the beach for a week. Now how he pulled that one off I dunno, but he works hard cutting down trees for forestry research during the week, then he takes adventures. He's everywhere but incredibly present when you talk to him. He doesn't have a smart phone. Tom's a DOer, a go-getter, never complacent, always forward and positive looking.

Tom, somewhere, probably in New Zealand

Inspirational people are all over the place. You can be one yourself. Heck, you are one already. Go do.

Inspiring people.

PS. Kristen Chang has an awesome blog about sports AND nutrition (with some dope recipies). She and I did a fun interview that she just posted here!

2013 Numbers

Miles

Jan: 178
Feb: 253
Mar: 286
Apr: 303
May: 155
Jun: 269
Jul: 350
Aug: 439
Sep: 338
Oct: 270
Nov: 306
Dec: 228

Total: 3,375 miles
Vert: 475,000 ft

1,241 more miles than 2012

Cheers!

Get outside.

Heaven and Hell

I was a pilot, my body an airplane. We were flying through hell, complete with snow, sleet, rain, and fog. My mouth repeated, "you don't have to run fast, just run steady." My voice said, "you're doing great. You're nailing this." My body winced and smiled. My stride felt phenomenal... My crew yelled, "he's less than two minutes and WALKING! GET HIM!" I told Glove I was crushing the descents but not the ups. He said, "fake it."

-------------------
Hellgate. That 66.6 mile SPECIAL race that starts at 12:01am in the middle of December. This year called for true hellgate weather--snow, rain, ice, cold. People's corneas freeze over every year. It's incredible. Last year at hellgate I was happy to be selected to run the race. It's hard to get into and I felt part of a special, tough, inspiring group of people.  Last year I ran well with Guy, a best friend and training partner, all night long but fell apart as the day went on. I didn't eat enough, didn't take care of myself at aid stations, and was forcing myself to make the top 10, which I didn't. This year I wasn't going to make those mistakes. I ran insane mileage this summer and some good races this fall. After Grindstone was cancelled my goal turned to Hellgate. I realized that I hadn't set a lofty goal in a long time. I was going to destroy myself during hell.
-------------------

I took two endurolytes, on the verge of hamstrings cramping the past two hours, and shoved a mouthful of saltines in my mouth and took off out of the last aid station. Easy as three miles up, three miles down. Last year this was where I lost top 10--I walked literally the whole climb. It's a big climb-- 1250 feet in 2.2 miles but IS hard-runnable due to it being on a forest road. I put my head down and resolved to catch second place, Frank Gonzales. It was just like that the last 11 hours. Put your head down, smile, and run. I caught Frank in a little less than a mile and gave him a fist pound. I paused my music to exchange encouragement and kept it paused to see if he'd make chase. Nope. His pacer yelled at him, "YOUR NOT GIVING UP YET! GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR GONZALEZ!" I thought, "man that's a good pacer."

I kept running to make the gap insurmountable. At the almost peak of the mountain I opted to hike. I consciously thought, "there's no way Eric is close." And then I walked for maybe three minutes. I crested the ridge and the radio operator said, "first is four minutes up." I thought, "four minutes. Three miles" and took chase. I didn't think, "four minutes, let's catch him." My body instead of my mind just wanted it this time. My body was enjoying itself like it was making love with the mountains. It chased. My eyes peaked down the road as far as I could at each turn but never saw Eric Grossman. Still, push push push. There he was. The last stretch. 800 meters ahead. Then 700. 600. 500. 400. Make the turn into Camp Bethel. The finish is in 400 meters. 300, 200, 100 meters. Running out of real estate nearing the finish line, I told Brad Hinton's crew, "give me another quarter mile!" But another quarter mile wasn't there. I crossed the finish line in 11:25:55, eight seconds behind Eric for second place. He didn't know I was behind him, so he probably would have out-kicked me if he looked back. But it doesn't really matter.

-----------------
I never really entertained the idea of winning hellgate. I knew I could get top 5. Hell, I told my mom before the race that "I'm either going to get third or finish in 16 hours the way my week has gone." Flash back to Thanksgiving and I was texting Guy. I told him I ran a surprisingly quick 5k. I beat Eric's Thanksgiving 5k. Glove said that that meant I was going to beat him at Hellgate. I laughed. Eric is a legend. I've admired his humble and kind demeanor, plus insane speed since I knew of him through Guy three years ago. I've poured over his blog trying to learn from the best. In one post he spoke about running with alacrity. That word has been on a sticky note in my computer background since I read it a year ago. So I never thought I'd come close to beating Eric. He earned the W by running hard from the get go. My head was spinning when we took the finish line photo. Was I really standing next to David Horton and Eric Grossman?

Incredible company.

-------------------

How did I get to be chasing second and first place? I race progressively, unintentionally. I'm typically in the 20s place wise until the last part of the race where I "blitz" in and pass gobs of folks. I didn't want to run that way at Hellgate this year. I didn't want to make up huge chunks of time. So I went out with the people I knew who would run well and run fast---Sam Dangc, Brad Hinton, Jordan Whitlock, Shaun Pope, Jordan Chang, Keith Knipling. We and a few other people ran in a pack through the first aid station after a little wrong turn. It was quick, but I wasn't breathing as hard as everyone else seemingly. The climb up to AS2 came and the pack strung out. I ran with Sam for a bit, then I opted to hike as he ran away. I turned off my headlamp to calm down and enjoy the early night.

Hellgate start. 12:01 am. Photo: Steven Hinzman

I ran solo post aid station 2, then up the climb to camping gap I chased Shaun Pope. Generally I hiked most of of the climb. I passed Shaun, not having his day, and found myself at the gap after being passed by Bruce Udell, a Wisconsinite. Then the snow came. GOBS of snow. Like you can't see more than five feet in front of you. Flakes an inch in diameter. Magical. White snow juxtaposed against the black night. Winter wonderland.  Then it turned to cold. Wet. No more friendly winter wonderland. I put on my outer layer which was not waterproof. My core was too warm but my head was wet and cold. Not the best combo. I started to get tired. 2:30am, where I should either be partying back at Virginia Tech, or asleep like normal folks. I popped in some tunes and put my head down. Thankfully Bruce stayed about 200 meters ahead this whole section and I was able to follow his headlamp, cause I couldn't see anything else besides that little white smear ahead of me.

Descending, the snow turned to freezing rain but eventually stopped. I caught Sam and Jordan Whitlock who were "just relaxing" in the snow. I tried to make conversation but I think they were tired too. I stuck with them but mostly led until the final decent into the breakfast aid station, mile "27.6" but is really the 50k mark. 5:15 50k split, why yes, I will take that. I saw my crew and took my time to do what I needed. Took off my base layer, grabbed pancakes (yum!), and some words of encouragement. Out of the aid, I dropped my right glove. Rut row. I used my buff to wrap my hand, adapting. Sam, joking and leaning on his crew's car, said, "Rudy I'm done man!" I said, "no way dude lets get this climb together!" With races this long, I am ALL about working together, competing together until the natural time comes where you make a move. I was a little up from Jordan and Sam heading up the climb but elected to walk slowly to wait for them to catch up. We took the climb quite casually. Brad Hinton caught up to us and Jordan and I tucked behind him for the next five miles or so. He was running the ups really well but the downs were easy. Jordan and I never let him get too far ahead while climbing up to lookout mountain.

Taking time to do things right. Pancakes in hand!

Happy at 5am

Out of lookout mountain aid station I was ready to run alone. I didn't really think, "this is where you make a move." It was entirely too early for that. The two mile downhill out of the AS is just so cruise-able, so that's what I did. Daylight came on this section. I was happy. My legs had been feeling great all night long. With sunrise always comes new energy. I looked around, now on singletrack, and it was indeed a winter wonderland. A special moment. I thought for sure that Brad, Bruce, or Jordan were going to catch back up to me during this section but I didn't want them to so I ran pretty hard. I planned to run hard here and then take the next section easier.

I ran into bearwallow gap, mile 45, in third place. Here my crew was fantastic as they had been. They took my headlamp and switched my pack for a simple bottle. For the rest of the race I was able to go light with just 13oz of water and a couple gels for each section. I do think my crew saved me 10 minutes. They were awe.some. Last year I rushed out of this AS. Not this time. I knew what I had to do (eat my PB&J) and did.

Into Bearwallow. Photos: Wyatt Lowermilk

No rushing.

The planned substantial homemade PB&J

The next section is wonderful, the "ins and outs" of the mountain. I hiked mostly and turned off music to relax. Still 20 miles to go. Don't get too eager here. I got a little delirious and started having a couple small hallucinations that turned back into trees but audibly told myself, "you're seeing things. stop." And then they stopped.

From Boblett's gap to the finish was a 15 mile tempo run. I vigorously hiked the ups during the forever section and still crushed the downs like I had been all day. My body, the airplane, was responding to everything I was doing, processing food and running. Well-oiled, I was only moderately surprised at how well I was running. All the miles and workouts were showing their dividends. Coming into the last aid station my crew was stoked. Their excitement was contagious. You know how it ends.

--------------------

Before the race started I was legitimately so nervous I was scared. Same thing as last year during the pre-race briefing, so fidgety and nervous. I never get that nervous. Only for Hellgate. I knew what I'd be going through and in the front of my mind I frankly didn't really want to put myself through it. But the back of my mind knew I was due to crush it. I love Hellgate. Dr. Horton is an incredible man and his race is so special. Really, I fancy myself good with words but when it comes to describing Hellgate and Horton, I can't. Special. My public internet thank yous do not suffice! But I will try. Dr. Horton--thank you. Volunteers--thank you, so encouraging and selfless! Fellow runners--thank you. Crew--thank you. Friends--thank you. Family--thank you for the prayers. Everyone makes this event special and I'm just filled with happiness that I got to be a part of it two years in a row. So much love.

-------------------
Back in early November I was looking for Hellgate quotes to put on the t-shirt. I found one from an artic explorer that in fact made it on the back of the shirt. Applicable.

"It appears that a Hell [gate] one day is liable to make a Heaven the next." - Raymond Priestly

Intimate briefing. Photo: Scott Livingston

The man who made east coast ultrarunning

12:00am 

Too happy!

Fun at the Crooked Road "24" Hour

Ahh, what've we been up to lately? Seems like I finally settled down into the semester once November started and I got my Grindstone revenge races out of the way. Since then I've been way more of a balanced person, running around 70-80 mile weeks instead of 90-100. I spent some incredible alone time on the Hellgate course one weekend, threw a couple parties, ran a dope beer mile, and have been doing loads of job-related activities. My newfound academic love, urban forestry, looks like it's going to take me to a CITY. I'm intrigued to see what my running will look like this time next year. I have three pretty great job prospects in three different and distinct cities, so we'll have to see!

In my post-Gstone rage when I signed up for four races, one of them happened to be my first timed event, the Crooked Road 24 Hour. I'll start by saying timed events are AWESOME. I imagine they are what trail races were 10 years ago. Pressure is nonexistent, everyone has vastly different goals, and all types of people are there. You stop when you want to stop, run when you want to run, and walk when you want to walk. Nobody is really beating anybody; it's very much so a "help everyone achieve their goals" instead of "I'm going to beat you" type atmosphere. These folks aren't biased runners yet they're still most definitely ultrarunners. These timed races typically take place on 1-mile loop courses, which lets everyone get to know everybody. I met a couple Hokie alumni, two other college ultrarunners from another school (!), caught up with teammates, and accomplished my goal for the day.

Team early on! Photos: Ricky Scott

Everybody smiling!

That goal? Running a steady 40 miles at Crooked Road. The ultimate goal? Crushing Hellgate 100k+ in three weeks. To me, crushing Hellgate means certainly placing in the top 10, hopefully in the front half, hitting a PR if weather permits, laying all I have out on the course, and having a fun day. It's been a loong while since I've left everything out on a course it seems. Even though I ran a really great race at Tussey Mountainback (and didn't think so at the time) I felt like I could have kept going. I want to finish Hellgate knowing that I can't continue. Time myself so perfectly that my last ounce of effort is stepping across the finish line. I haven't set lofty goals for myself since...when? Grindstone was a goal in and of itself, but I ran Hellgate last year and now know what it's about. I'm setting high goals, especially after I know what I can do now, as well as seeing my teammates DESTROY it at Mount Masochist three weeks ago.

Ok, ok. Crooked Road. The goal was to run a steady 40 miles. And I defined consistency. Give or take 10 seconds, I ran all 42 laps (40 miles) at 8:15 pace. The first hour was spent with the UltraVT gang (Brett, Glove, Wyatt, Jordy, + Joe Dudak) and felt a little quick, esp for the guys planning on running all 24 hours. We eventually got smart and thinned out to our own paces, and I found myself running with Jordy for about 20 miles. Love running with Jordy. We work well together, have good convos when we need to speak, and run in silence when we don't need to speak. Hoping to spend a good chunk of Hellgate together. He's also the best Physical Therapist in the world. I had an extremely knotted calf which laid me out for the first half of this week, and he fixed me right up.

Nothing too crazy happened during my first 40 miles. I'm getting good at running a just-below tempo pace, a pace that's not comfortable but won't make me blow up. I was pumped once I finished the 40 miles. Now that my run was finished, my goal shifted to help everyone else. I ran with Joe for a couple laps as he was suffering from a little boredom. At one point he said, "dude I think I'm going to take up knitting." Ahaha. Wyatt also suffered from boredom. Glove suffered from lack of motivation. I can't blame any of them--one mile loops for 24 hours...man. It is a very unique challenge though. It's definitely something I want to do in the future.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, running/walking a lap here and there, and cracking a beer during a lap which was a classic UltraVT moment. The 24 hour community was tight, and I look forward to doing another sometime in the near future. I think one in the spring/summer/fall would be better for more daylight and more moderate temperatures. My first 24 hour would be to finish all 24 hours for sure, which would be over 100 miles most definitely. It's an interesting PACE YOURSELF game. I'd have to implement a run/walk routine no doubt. Anywho, it's thanksgiving time now. I'm thankful for my team, my ability to run, and health...among other things :)

All Hokies ran 50 miles! Always fun when we get to celebrate running together.

Cheers.

Michael Jordan. Earp practicing too.

Before it got freezing.


Some dope jams. 

Friends & Miles

So much foliage! Photos: Mike Jones

Ya can't beat a good road trip. I'm lactose intolerant. Apparently I can still look fresh when having stomach and leg issues. Fifty miles is my favorite distance. I enjoy races that aren't billed to be the "toughest or gnarliest" where you actually run. Running fast (read: steady) is fun and hard. My feet hurt. I prefer sleeping in tents than beds. I have awesome friends. 

Off to Pennsylvania! Photo: Mike Jones 

Saturday morning light

Just wear half-sized too small shoes. Photo: Glove

Da Crew. 

The best way to wake up

Fighting off cramps with smiles

Huge PR!!!  Photo: Abby Drey

Post trip, happily fried.