Some Sponsorship News

While this has been in the works for some time, I am excited to finally announce some sponsorship news for the 2012 racing season.

Before I get into the new news, I wanted to first give a quick shout-out to the folks at GU Energy.  I've been running for them for a couple years now and have relied on GU's nutrition products for all of my ultra wins and course records.  Their gels seem to get all of the attention, but the raspberry GU Brew electrolyte drink mix is my secret weapon.  The constant flow of calories and electrolytes keeps me running strong, especially when the gels just won't go down late in the race.  And I love the single serving packs that are so much more convenient for my crew to deal with when I'm racing.

Special delivery last week.

You might have also noticed that I recently added Swiftwick as my sock sponsor.  I ran my first race in Swiftwick socks at the Land Between the Lakes 50 miler (race report).  With the chilly temps at the start, I went with the Pursuit 12 merino wool compression sock.  It performed great even as the temperatures quickly climbed throughout the course of the race, a testament to the fantastic temperature regulating property of merino wool.  In addition to their wicking abilities and compression, one of my favorite things about Swiftwick socks is that they are made right here at home in the USA. 

Donning the Swiftwick Pursuit 12's before LBL50.

Now, I am especially excited to let everyone know that this year I'll be running for Salomon as my trail shoe and apparel sponsor.  After watching the great things Salomon has been doing on the trail and ultra running scenes, I finally had an opportunity to try out some of their gear for myself.  Not surprisingly, I found Salomon's reputation for producing high-quality and innovative products was well-deserved.  I've been wearing their Speedcross 3 shoes on the trails for the last few months.  My win and course record at Land Between the Lakes 50 miler was run in that pair of shoes.  The Speedcross is very well cushioned and I have found the heel-to-toe transition to be silky smooth.  If it weren't for the aggressive outsole lug pattern, I would wear these shoes to run on the roads.  Of course, that lug pattern gives them great grip on the muddy trails that have been persistent in the Midwest of late.

Speedcross 3

I just received my first shipment of team apparel and gear this week.  Although I've never run with a hydration pack before, I am really excited to try out the S-Lab Advanced Skin Pack.  The reviews have been fantastic and it seems to fit very well just trying it on around the house.  The real test though will be how it performs on the trails.

S-Lab Advanced Skin Pack

Speaking of exciting new products, Salomon is about to release a new shoe.  If you are an active member of the trail/ultra community and you haven't heard of the Sense, you must be living under a rock.  Salomon is hosting a live event tomorrow (Monday, 3/26/12), featuring Kilian Jornet, to officially introduce the Sense.  Weighing in at only 6.5 oz, the Sense was designed specifically based on Kilian's needs for the Western States 100 mile trail run.

As if it needs an introduction.  The Salomon Sense.

You see why I am getting excited here?  I am running Western States this year.  Kilian is running Western States.  We'll both be running for team Salomon.  Salomon will have a brand new shoe tailored for the WS trails.  In addition to Kilian, Miguel Heras and Ryan Sandes from the international Salomon team are currently entered in Western States.  No pressure, right?  I haven't gotten a pair of the Sense on my feet yet, but word is that it won't be too much longer.  While I am obviously optimistic, I definitely will have to thoroughly test out the Sense to make sure it's a good fit for me at Western States.  Seeing how I adjust to the low 4mm heel-to-toe drop will be of particular interest.

But before we get to Western States, I need to be mentally preparing myself for the IAU World Championship 100k as it is the next race on my calendar.  Physical preparation has gone extremely well thus far.  LBL50 two weeks ago was a great checkpoint race, and after a little recovery week, I was back at 105 miles this week.  This week included a 3x3200m track workout and a 25 mile fast progression run followed the next day by a 20 miler.  I'll do one more hard week before beginning my 3 week taper leading into the 100k in Italy.  Another exciting turn of events is that work is sending me to France to cover a test right before the 100k.  So I'll have plenty of time to acclimate before flying straight from France to Milan to meet up with the rest of the US team.

I'll leave you with this.  You've probably already seen this video, but it's worth another watch, I promise.

 

Land Between the Lakes 50 Mile

A sweet sterling silver belt buckle was the award for the CR.

It's good to occasionally use races as training runs or tune-ups for bigger goal races.  It's also a good idea to actually remember on "race day" that you intend to use the race only as a hard workout.  I forgot that little detail on Saturday at the Land Between the Lakes 50 mile trail run.

Now, I don't think there will be any long-term physical consequences; the issue is that I didn't mentally acknowledge that I wouldn't be 100% fresh and I should have factored that into my race plan and goals.  I also conveniently forgot to keep all that in mind after the race yesterday.  I was physically feeling banged up and mentally not all there.  Weird huh?  Who would have thought that running 50 miles could play with your emotions?  Even though I had just finished in 5:53, won the race and broke the course record by nearly half an hour, I was disappointed.

My smile hides how cold I was at the start.

Well, I can happily report that the day following the race I am thinking much more clearly.  I still will say that it wasn't a perfect day, but the reasons for that are pretty obvious to me now.  In the end, it's encouraging to know I ran 7:04 pace in 50 mile trail race and didn't feel like I had a great day.  The fitness is there.  I just have a few kinks to work out.

So, what did I do wrong?

1) I ran positive splits.  I am usually very good about running even splits, or even negative splitting, and I know from experience that I feel much better when I run this way.  But with the loop course setup allowing several shorter distance races to be run concurrently, I stupidly allowed myself to get caught up racing folks who were in shorter races.  I ran 4 loops on the trail with each being about 11 miles a piece.  My final loop was over 10 minutes slower than my first.  Not how I like to do things.

2) My taper was minimal at best.  And that's fine — that was the plan.  I just need to do a better job of adjusting my expectations accordingly.

3) I didn't bring a crew with me to this race so I was effectively self-supported, and that's something I'm not entirely accustomed to.  The volunteers were great as usual, but it's just not the same as having your normal handler there.  Being able to roll through aid stations like I could at JFK is easily worth several minutes in the end.  I failed to take that into consideration yesterday when evaluating my performance.

4) My nutrition plan still needs some work.  The first 3 points are pretty easy to fix.  This one may be a little more difficult.

Although I am hard on myself, I must be realistic and admit that it was a pretty good day altogether.  The weather was perfect.  The trail was amazingly dry in spite of the recent rains.  The course was also quite runnable assuming you could avoid the numerous exposed roots.  There were lots of little rhythm-busting up and downs, but no major climbs to speak of.

Elevation profile from my Garmin 405 showing 3500' of climb.

I had no major issues with gear.  My Swiftwick merino wool socks performed wonderfully, providing additional warmth during the first few chilly hours of racing, and then compression without overheating later in the race.  I also raced in a pair of Salomon Speedcross 3s for the first time.  They have a more aggressive lug pattern than was really necessary for this race, but they are also surprisingly comfortable on the roads.

Amanda finishing a loop.

I also want to give a quick shout-out to the winner of the women's 50 mile race, Amanda Lindsey.  She also lives near Cincinnati, and while she's an experienced triathlete, this was her first ultra run.  She asked for a few tips prior to the race, followed my advice to perfection, and was able to pull out the win.  (I wish I had followed my own advice.)  I think you'll be seeing her name atop the results of quite a few ultras in the future.  You've been warned.

So, a big thanks to the Durbin brothers for putting on a great race.  And thanks to Grand Rivers, KY for hosting a bunch of crazy ultra runners for a weekend.  That's definitely a place where I could spend a long weekend on the lake.  And now I know where to find the trails.

Mile High

Now that I'm finally getting a chance to breathe a little, I thought I should update my training and share some pictures from a fun run yesterday.  But first, let me explain how I got the chance to run in Boulder.

Everything has been going well since I last wrote my Mountain Mist race report, but this week has been really busy.  I'm in Colorado as I write this post, which is the reason I have been so busy this week, but that's also why I can finally relax a little now. My wife interviewed for a fellowship position at Children's Hospital Colorado today.  I know, exciting isn't it?  But, don't get too excited just yet.  The possible move is still a long way off, and to be honest, I think the odds are pretty low that we leave Cincinnati this go round. It's a complicated situation that I won't go into detail about here, but I will keep everyone posted as decisions get made.  

But, this is a running blog, so let's talk some shop. Being an unusual week with travel and time out of the office significantly impacts my running routine. I've gotten relatively comfortable working 40 hr weeks while running 100 mpw. It's tough to maintain that level of training though when the schedule is thrown off due to travel. I started adjusting last week switching my back-to-back long runs to Friday and Saturday instead of the normal Saturday-Sunday. Then I front-loaded this week with more mileage than usual because I know my mileage will suffer this weekend (because I'll be skiing). On top of the additional mileage, I was also spending extra hours at my day job trying to get in some comp time and save as much vacation time as I could. Plus I still had to pack for the trip. That all makes David a pretty stressed out guy. But, now I can breath.

Don't feel too sorry for me though. Listen to what my wife had to do. She got up at 5:30am on Wednesday and went in to work a 30 hour call shift at the hospital.  She only got a 45 minute teaser nap Wednesday night.  She goes home Thursday morning, packs her stuff, picks me up from work at noon, then we drive to the airport and fly out. We figured that she'd been up for basically 40 hours straight before she was finally able to fall asleep in the hotel room in Denver. And this is the day before one of the biggest interviews of her life! After a full day at the hospital tomorrow, we'll head out to the slopes and ski hard this weekend. Fly home Sunday night, and Monday morning she goes back in for another 30 hour call shift! See, I told you that you shouldn't feel sorry for me.

The shifted schedule has definitely taken it's toll on my legs though. I ran a hard 24 mile progression run last Saturday and didn't get my usual short and very easy Monday run this week. Tuesday I hammered some hill repeats with the local track workout group. Then came back Wednesday with an 18 mile run.  The legs are definitely toast, but the story isn't over. I'm still attempting to get to 100 miles again this week. It won't be on singles though. One time I actually like to do two runs in a day is when I travel. I like to run before I travel just to make sure I get something in just in case I were to get stranded at the airport or something. But I also like to run in the evening, after I have reached my destination to shake out the stiffness that inevitably results from a long day of travel. So, I hit the hotel treadmill after we got settled into our room.

Her Friday interview basically left me with a free day, so I made a beeline up to Boulder to find some fun trails to run. I went fishing for some running buddies since Krupicka, Mackey, and Jurek are all in the Boulder area right now. Unfortunately Krupicka is still nursing a sore leg, and Jurek's schedule didn't allow us to hook up. But, Mackey and his friend Jeff Valliere were up for giving me a guided tour of Green Mt.

It was an eye-opening experience for me. I expected the climbing to be tough, since I don't have access to mountains like these to train on. But the snow made things extra tough. A set of microspikes would have been nice, but I don't think it would have been a game changer. I struggled with the variability of the snow conditions. Sometimes the snow was packed and smooth but the next second we'd be postholing.  The trail was also icy at times, or packed irregularly which made turning an ankle really easy. Never knowing what to expect for the next step was tough. My words can't do it justice though.  You'd just have to try it yourself.

I had so much fun though, after and hour and half with Dave and Jeff, I headed back out alone to explore Flagstaff Mountain.  Check out the pictures from my adventure below.

The Flatirons.

Me, from the top of Green Mt with a very small city of Boulder in the background.

Dave Mackey

Jeff Valliere on the peak of Green Mt.

I think that's Bear peak in the background.

Looking forward to riding Salomon again tomorrow.

2012 Mountain Mist 50k

I’m going to keep this race report fairly brief…I hope. While not a big focus race for me in 2012, Mountain Mist 50k is a fun trail race back in my hometown and a great way to kick off another year of racing. I approached the race with very little taper, but didn’t expect to need totally fresh legs to win the race. There were a few wild cards, but no fast and experienced trail guys in the field.  The race played out mostly as I planned, and I won easily in 3:45:58. I was especially happy to bring the TeamRWB singlet across the line in front since it was my first time representing the team in a race.

TeamRWB was well represented.

The big variable this year was the condition of the trail. Last year the course was frozen solid which actually made it faster than normal. Before the race this year, everyone said the course was going to be slow and muddy. It was very wet and muddy in places, but I really don't think the mud slowed me down that much. I was surprised though, how washed out the trail was in many areas. With the dirt washed away, more rocks than normal were exposed, and I think the ruggedness of the trail slowed me more than the mud. One section in particular, where the side of the mountain is literally sliding away, the course had to be rerouted and left us to navigate through a series of blown down trees that weren’t there last year.

Got my game face on.

As the race started, one of the wild cards, Daniel Mueller, and another guy I didn’t know (turned out to be Run Bum, aka Sean), took the race out quickly. I hung back and let them learn the hard way. Run Bum came back quickly, clearly just enjoying himself for a bit before settling into a more realistic pace. Daniel lead through the first aid station, with Josh Whitehead and myself cruising through a minute back (two minutes faster than I split last year). Josh is a fast road guy, but has limited trail experience, and he quickly fell off my shoulder as I bombed down Warpath Ridge. Daniel and I found each other a couple miles later after he made a wrong turn. We ran together uneventfully until the Fearn St aid station at mile 17.

Daniel won all three of the races in last summer’s Chattanooga Stage Race, which made him a credible threat, but that’s really all he had on his resume. Consider me impressed that he was still on my tail at that point in the race. That’s farther than Hal Koerner and Josh Wheeler made it with me last year. Plus, we were two minutes faster than my “halfway” split from my previous year’s course record. I had begun pressing just a little bit around mile 15 to start testing Dan and pull him a little out of his comfort zone. He was running really well, so I was actually quite surprised when he fell off quickly as I breezed through the aid station and continued pressing. It sounds like Daniel still has some road racing goals he wants to pursue, but he is a very good technical trail runner. If and when he decides to focus on trail ultras, he will be a force to be reckoned with. You heard it here first, folks. He ran 4:08 in his first 50k—at Mtn Mist. Impressive.

Now I am alone and 2 minutes ahead of course record pace. The first 17 miles actually weren’t as wet and muddy as I was expecting, but the last 14 made up for that. It was like a completely different trail. I decided to push on and see if could reset my CR. I made a rookie mistake around mile 22 and slipped on a super-smooth, algae-covered creek bed and went down hard. I’m very lucky that I didn’t break an arm or ribs. I landed on the back side of my left shoulder and somehow missed falling directly on a scary looking rock. I took a minute to gather myself and decided to be a little more conservative for the remainder of the race.

Photo by We Run Huntsville

At the mile 25 aid station.

I felt like I had a relatively strong climb up Waterline, but because of the trail conditions and fall I was now almost 2 minutes off CR pace at the 25 mile aid station. I had also stopped to give my 1-year-old niece a kiss before reaching the actual aid station. That's something I would have never done last year when I came tearing through that aid station like a man possessed. Of course, during the race I don't know my splits to the detail that I know now. I can't tell you how surprised I am to see that my last 10k split, on some of the most technical sections of trail, was only 1:13 slower than last year. I was already just cruising it in when I took another hard fall right after reaching Natural Well, which caused me to run even more carefully. While I blazed through Slush Mile, I didn't think my climb up Rest Shelter was terribly impressive. It must have been decent though, considering how fast I ran on that section.

As I reached the top of Rest Shelter I thanked the retiring aid station captain, Grady, for his many years of service, and then sped away on the flat and smooth trails. Although I knew I wasn't going to be able to break my CR, I had come up with a new goal: to stay under Dave Mackey's CR time set back in 2007. I couldn't remember exactly what his time was though, so I just ran as hard as I could for that last mile in an attempt to break 3:46. I sprinted across the line with 2 seconds to spare.

With race director Dink Taylor.

While I wish I could improve each time I run a particular course, the more I think about the 2012 edition of The Mist, the more pleased I am with my run. I ran super strong through some less than ideal trail conditions.  My energy level was fantastic the entire race, and I never felt any hint of bonkage. My nutrition plan worked fine, but I've got to learn to eat more in preparation for Western States. And I have to admit, the 50k distance is starting to feel almost short.

Unfortunately, Mtn Mist has been quite boring for spectators wanting to see a good race the last 3 years. I have it on good authority that next year you can expect to see a competitive race. So, I want to ask you reader, if you could pick ANYONE to come race The Mist in 2013, who would it be?

Don't ask, because I don't know.

A little muddy out there.

Thanks to Sarah Tei, Eric Charette, and Bob Vasse for the pictures.

Ultra Runner of the Year and other thoughts

It's been a while since I've posted on the ol' blog, so I thought I'd do a quick update and share a few thoughts.

First up, I've recently joined forces with Team RWB to help spread the word about the great work they're doing.  Their mission is to help reintegrate troops, especially those injured in action, back into society primarily through endurance sports. I have tremendous respect for our service members, and I absolutely believe in the healing powers of endurance sports. I think Team RWB has a winning formula. Check them out and please support their cause if you're able.

Next, I wanted to acknowledge the results from the Ultrarunner of the Year voting. I was stoked to find out this week that I finished 4th in the UROY voting behind the likes of Dave Mackey, Michael Wardian, and Mike Wolfe. It's a huge honor just to be considered in the top 10 with all of the great runners on that list. And it was unimaginable just a year ago that I would jump from an honorable mention to being regarded as one of the top ultra guys in North America.

That was certainly great news, but I can top it. My performance at the JFK 50 Mile was voted the top performance of the year by a North American ultrarunner. I was stunned and speechless immediately after running JFK, and now that I know how highly the ultra community regards my race at JFK, it just makes it that much more difficult to comprehend. One thing is for sure, I am glad that I didn't have to vote for performance of the year with all of the options to choose from. If Ian Sharman's 12:44:33 100 mile  (7:38 pace!!!) at Rocky Raccoon was given top honors, you would have heard no arguments from me. It's hard for me to appreciate how fast that is, because I haven't run a 100 yet, but I'm pretty sure I couldn't run that fast. If I were voting though, I would have given my first place vote to Wardian's 6:42:49 at the World Championship 100k. I was at that race folks, and the conditions were not ideal. To run that fast in warm and muggy conditions was absolutely amazing.

The UROY news was a bright spot in what was a pretty rough week for me. I fell ill with a stomach virus last Monday night and suffered for most of the week. While I was able to run some, I had to significantly cut back on mileage and skip the hard efforts. Although the acute issues have passed, I am still very weak from being so dehydrated and having such a limited diet. It's amazing how easy it is to lose faith in one's fitness. One part of my mind tells me that I'm fine and my strength will return quickly, but the other side thinks I'll never run fast again.

Up until this week, my training had been great. I'd gradually been increasing my mileage after a couple down weeks following JFK and had just put together two weeks at 100 miles a piece. I've got two weeks until my season opener at Mtn Mist 50k, and I should be fine as long as I don't try to make up for missed training this week.  Easier said than done.

After Mtn Mist, I was hoping to do Mt Cheaha 50k or the Mt Mitchell Challenge on February 25th, but I'm not able to do either due to a family scheduling conflict that's just recently come up. So, I may not be racing in February as planned.  March is a personal scheduling mess as well, but I'm trying to decide on a good 50k-50 miler. Although not official yet, I hope I'm going to Italy in April with the US 100k team to run the World Championships again this year. Unfortunately, making that race a priority will prevent me from running 3 different Montrail Ultra Cup races that I would have considered otherwise.  Just bad timing. I'll be getting ready for Western States in May and of course racing that in June.

One more thing, I just wanted to throw out there that I've set up a fan page on facebook: www.facebook.com/RiddleRuns  If you'd like to keep up with my running on facebook, then just like my fan page. I've linked my twitter account to my page, so it's a good way to keep up if you don't do twitter. I plan to update my page frequently with news, thoughts, pictures and hopefully some video.  Check it out.

Thanks to everyone who felt I was deserving of performance of the year. And congratulations to all of the other runners who were just as deserving.  Take care!