Chase The Moon 12 Hour Endurance Run Race Report

I had initially planned on doing the Power of Four 50K and the Devil Mountain 50 as lead up races for The Bear, but life gets in the way sometimes and I ended up deciding to do a great race in my own backyard with Chase The Moon 12 Hour Endurance Run.  This made sense for my family as the race was literally in my own backyard, alleviating the logistics and cost of traveling to the other races.  This also made sense for me as I had a little bit of specificity to it with running all night since it is a 12 hour race that runs overnight from 7pm to 7am.  It has a 10.3 mile loop that is run in a washing machine style, starting out counter-clockwise and then reversing clockwise.  Rinse and repeat as many times as possible until the cutoffs start.  Then you have the option of running a 3.5 mile loop until that cutoff kicks in toward the end of the event.  I wanted to see how my body would react at night after being up all day to get a feeling of what to expect at The Bear.  I definitely learned a lot.

I started this race with my friends Mike, Chuck, and Chris.  I made it through two loops with Mike and Chris which put it close to 11pm.  That is when I really started to notice the drop in my attitude and my energy.  I struggled through the next 30 miles on and off through the night.  I would hit a low and then regroup and get moving again.  It was definitely eye-opening for me to see that happen as I did not run into that when I ran my 50 miler at Run Rabbit last year.  I also learned that my heart rate drops to a low level overnight.  It is something that I paid close attention to while running this race.  No matter what I did to raise it, I could not.  I did not seem to have the energy to get my movement fast enough to raise it.  I noted this for what to expect in my 100 miler.

That all changed for me once first light hit.  I was climbing up with someone I had met on the trail.  We were staying together just making our way, but once the light hit, I was re-energized and began to pull away.  I was able to run once I crested the climb and ran it all the way in the last few miles.

I ended up getting 51.5 miles in 10:56:39 but that was all I needed.  It was really all I wanted too.  I had learned so much about what I can do running overnight and was going to think about that as I headed into the next 8 weeks of training for The Bear.

Me, Mike and Chuck                                   My Daughter and Me

Finished

Official Results

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Dirty30 Race Report

This was one of my planned races for the season and to start to get my mountain legs working for the training I had coming up. This is an absolutely awesome race and you know it from the moment you sign up for it with tons of communication, year long social media presence and fun, and a great atmosphere.

A ton of people that I know we're also doing the race and I made plans with AJ, Chuck, and Barrett to head out together. We made our way out early enough that we were able to get one of the coveted parking spots at the start line. Any later and we would've had to take a shuttle in. We parked right next to Ben, so I made my way over for a chat as we got all our stuff together and made the requisite bathroom stops.  Then we made our way to the check in, got ready to go and met up with Chris at the start line. 

Chuck started 5 minutes before us with the fast guys. Nice Chuck!  Our gun went off and AJ, Barrett, Chris, and I started up the road. I had planned on sticking with Barrett and we chatted along the way for a bit. AJ started out nice and easy and I should have paid attention to that. Barrett started to pull away and I tried to keep him in sight. This race has a good amount of climbing in it and it felt like it kept going forever. I made it to, if I remember right, the second aid station and I stopped to refill my bottles with Tailwind. This is where Barrett pulled ahead on a big climb out of the station. I worked on keeping him in sight and headed out before I saw AJ or Chris come into the station. Again...I should've paid attention to that. 

On the way up the next climb, which was quite steep and rocky, I locked in behind this Scottish guy...or bloke should I say?  He really livened things up and I had a blast talking with him...when I could understand him. Haha. We made our way up and to the loop at the back part of the course. This is where we got to see the first of the elites and I made sure to say hi to Timmy Olson.  He looked solid. I made it to the aid station and turned around to climb back up where I just came from. This is where I saw AJ and Chris come in not far behind me. As I climbed back up a strong runner passed me and I tried to latch onto his progress. But he was too fast and pulled away. That's when AJ passed me like I was standing still. Remember when I said I should've paid attention? That's why. Like I was standing still. AJ is a very strong runner and I would expect him to pass me or stay ahead of me regardless, but I definitely started too fast. Nice work for AJ though and I stayed motivated and kept pushing on. I finally made it around to the last aid station before the dreaded Windy Peak climb. 

I got myself some cold Coke there. Coke is the one thing I love late in a race but it is never cold. And I gladly drink it hot. But it was COLD!!! Yes! I want to thank the volunteers for that....along with everything else!  My rocket fuel kicked in and I made my way down to start the climb. 

I saw Jeremy and Woody coming back up from the Windy Peak climb. Jeremy was doing the 12 miler and Woody was was doing the 50K and both of them were looking solid.  Jeremy told me the climb wasn't that bad and to just keep pushing.  Woody gave me some great encouragement and I pushed on up.  And kept pushing up...and more climbing up...this shot is where Kurt Hardester caught me climbing up Windy Peak maybe halfway up.  

After this shot, it climbs up and around the mountain and further up the backside of it.  Really rocky terrain as you get closer to the summit.  Once I hit the summit, I turned back around to make my way to the finish.  I remember finally getting into a groove and feeling like I was running well only to look down at my watch and see I was logging 11+ minute miles.  Go figure.

I had a goal of sub 7 hours on this one and didn't quite make it in.  I have dealt with Plantar Fasciitis for the past year and a half or so and it was really bothering me from about mile 12 on.  I sucked it up and ended up getting to the finish in 7:11:54.

Not bad and I was still quite happy with it.  It was exactly what I needed to build on for my 100 miler in September and I got what I wanted from it.

The post-race party was fantastic with food, and beer, and live music.  Again, this race is very well run and there is absolutely no question I will do it again.

Beer Goes Here

Official Results

Strava Activity

Platte River Half-Marathon Race Report

Well...it has been a while. I've been training hard all summer. Combined with full time kids and work and I have not had a chance to put any of my race reports up. So, I decided I should put some quick ones up for my races this year while on the drive out to the Bear 100 as we are headed into Utah.

My first race since Red Hot was a gift, so to speak, from a friend, Mike. It was a free entry into the Platte River Half. I wasn't planning on running this race as a 'race' and thought it would be fun to run with Mike.  Our friend, Chuck, was also running and we all drove down together.  I told Mike I was just going to take it easy and if he wanted to run ahead he should. I had just run 20 miles and 4k' of vert the day before and didn't want to push my training too much.  He said he was going to hang with me and we proceeded to run at a reasonably mellow pace. We talked a lot, as we always do, and I really enjoyed the run. He mentioned trying to progressively pick up the pace. I felt really good and agreed.  

About half to two-thirds of the way through the race I realized I could PR and casually mentioned it to Mike. I think that was all it took for him and he very quietly started to pick up the pace, egging me on a bit. After another mile or so, we were really moving along well and Mike picked it up again. He kept asking how I was feeling and I was good. So he would pick it up again. Then he talked about the bridge. The only "hill" on the course, which is a downhill course, is a bridge that goes up pretty good. He said lets push it up and kicked it into gear. I hesitated for only a brief moment and latched onto his heels. We passed a lot of people going up and over that bridge. We crested, turned the corner and hit the homestretch. We both sprinted in and heard Susie Wargin, call our names. 

I ended up PR'ing the half with a 1:40:22. We walked to the finish party and met Chuck. Grabbed our food, our beer, and headed back with a free ride on the LightRail. Great day and had a blast running and hanging out with Mike and Chuck.

Official Results

Strava Activity

Training and PT Thoughts - 3/2 - 3/22

Well, I am back at it.  I have my plan and am working toward my races for the year.  It is officially on.  It is going to be a long cycle with my first race in it coming up at the end of May with the Ultimate Direction Dirty 30.  I have my plan all laid out through September and have already been doing a great job in increasing my mileage responsibly.

But, after running the Moab Red Hot 55K on February 14th, I ended up taking a couple weeks of some downtime.  This wasn't the initial plan, but I had some body issues that popped up several days after the race that needed to be addressed.  So, I wanted to talk about what has happened and what I am doing about it.

First off, I did not take any time off during the winter months.  This was a first for me.  I have always taken some solid time off/down in the winter months.  I always keep running, but never the mileage that I accrued this year.  But, I was fit and feeling good and wanted to be sure I kept it up to springboard into this season.  Mission accomplished.  But, in return, I needed to do some stuff to ensure I could keep that training going without any repercussions.  And I did nothing.

Due to training over the winter months and not working on my strength, I have had an issue creep in from overuse.  What it appears is that it is Piriformis Syndrome.  I started feeling it about a week or so before the Moab race.  Driving out to Moab really caused it to become irritated as does sitting for any length of time really,  I use a standing desk at work and that really helps, but mostly I need to strengthen the glute and hip muscles so I can help release the piriformis and, in turn, release the sciatic nerve from impingement.  To do that, I have been incorporating a routine that helps build my hips and glutes.  This specific routine looks at helping IT Band issues, but, if you look at all the exercises, they mimic the same ones you need for piriformis syndrome.  So, I have begun to incorporate this routine into my schedule, and am doing this every other night before bed.

I use these items to help with the below exercises:

Exercise Band

Lacrosse Ball

Foam Roller

Lateral Leg Raises: lie on your right side with a theraband around your ankles.  Lift your left leg to about 45 degrees in a controlled manner, then lower.  I do 30 reps per side.

Clam Shells: lie on your right side with your knees together and a theraband around your lower thighs.  Your thighs should be about 45 degrees from your body and your knees bent at 90 degrees.  Open your legs like a clam shell but don’t move your pelvis – the motion should not rock your torso or pelvic girdle.  Keep it slow and controlled.  I do 30 reps on each leg.

Hip Thrusts: lie on your back with your weight on your upper back your feet.  Your legs will be bent at the knee.  Lift one leg so your weight is all on one leg and your back.  Lower your butt almost to the ground and thrust upward by activating your glutes.  This exercise is great for glute strength and hip stability.  I do 25 reps on each leg.

Side-Steps / Shuffle: with a theraband around your ankles and knees slightly bent, take ten steps laterally.  The band should be tight enough so it provides constant resistance during all steps.  Still facing the same direction, take another 10 steps back to your starting position.  That is one set.  I like to do 5 sets.  This exercise will look like a slow-motion version of a basketball “defense” drill.

Pistol Squats: These are simply one-legged squats.  The key to a successful pistol squat is to not lean forward, keep the motion slow and controlled, and make sure your knee does not collapse inward.  10 per side.

Hip Hikes: Stand on your right foot.  With your pelvis in a neutral position, drop the left side so it is several inches below the right side of your pelvic bone.  Activate your right hip muscle and lift your left side back to its neutral position.  I do 20 reps per side.

Iron Cross: This dynamic stretch will help you feel loose after the previous strength exercises. Lie on your back with your arms out to your sides and swing your right leg over your torso and up to your left hand. Repeat with your left leg and do 20 reps in total.

Now, I have also been dealing with plantar fasciitis/heel spurs since July of last year and have learned to run through it.  I have done lots of PT around this injury with massage, ice, heat, stretching, but none of it seems to work.  It will flare up and then subside.  It hasn't been really bad until just recently again and I am focusing on what may be causing it rather than just the symptoms.  

In speaking with the massage therapist as well as the chiropractor, they both see that my right leg is shorter than my left.  This is known to be a major cause of plantar fasciitis.  But why is my leg shorter?  It appears that my QT muscle has been doing most of the work and not my multifidus.  The QT is one that is use for stability, but should not be doing the work for the back.  Rather, the multifidus should be doing the work.  Thus, my QT muscle has gotten too big from taking the load, which has weakened my multifidus muscle and shortened the QT causing the chain reaction down my body to my foot.  Wow!  Crazy, eh?  Here is a diagram so you can see what I mean about those muscles:

We also believe this is part of what is causing my hips to be tight and contributing to my piriformis issue.  So...the head bone really is connected to the neck bone and so on down the line.  Important stuff to pay attention to.  So, in order to combat that and get my muscles to do the work they were designed to do, I have incorporated the following into the same routine at night.  This, hopefully, will help alleviate the real cause of my issues and help alleviate the symptoms.

I use these items for the routine:

55cm Exercise Ball

Spiky Foot Massager

Foot Strengthener

I do the following in the routine:

Back Extensions:  I use the 55cm exercise ball and lay on it face down with it in my belly.  I put my feet against the wall and keep my head up while I raise my body up a bit to work the multifidus muscle.  I do a total of 30 reps and do 2-3 sets.  You definitely feel this in your back.  The key here is to make sure you don't raise your body too high.  No higher than parallel to the floor.  It looks something like this but don't come up quite has high:

Foot Strengthener:  This one is easy, but really seems to help so far.  I do 30 reps per foot and, depending on how it feels, I will do 2-4 sets.

Massage:  Finally, I use the spiky massage ball to really get in on my fascia on the underside of my foot.  I roll it along my arch and really dig it into where the fascia connects on the underside and inside of my heel.  This hurts, but should break up the fascia which is what I need.

After I do this , I spend some time doing a yoga stretching routine, which is the same one I use after all my runs, and then go into using the roller and Lacrosse ball to target the piriformis as well as my hamstrings down through my calves and into my feet.

So, that is it in a nutshell.  I have been doing this now for a couple weeks.  It does seem to be working, though, since I am running 50+ miles/week now and it is only going to increase, I think it will take some time.  The piriformis issue really seems to be getting better with the exercises.  The plantar/heel spurs have good days and bad days.  I am just going to keep at it.  I will keep updating my results in case anyone is interested.

2015 Red Hot 55K - Race Report

This is the first race report I have done, so, as I mentioned in a previous post, I'm not sure how these will turn out. But I will call my writing a work in progress and see how it goes.

To start, this was a race that my wife actually suggested. I thought it was great to have her ask me if I wanted to go run a race in Moab. Her best friend, Heather and her husband Mike we're going to be there with another family. Mike and the other guy, Kyle, were going to run the 33K and I decided it would be a great jump on my season to train for the 55K. 

The night before I really worked on my piriformis as I picked up a nagging issue that started deep in my glutes and radiated down my hamstrings. It got worse during the long drive out, as to be expected, so I used my LAX ball to try and work things out. 

We drove out to the start on race morning in Mike's truck and I had the earlier start at 8am compared with their 33K start at 8:30am.  I decided to wear my AK vest so I could skip aid stations and save some time. I used Tailwind for my fuel and hydration with 250 calories per hour in a 20oz. bottle. 

I started off by climbing right out of the gate, about 300 feet over that first mile. A lot of people went out fast, but I kept it in control and let people pass me. I just waited to settle into my groove. By the second mile I was headed downhill and I picked up the pace quite a bit. I could really feel my piriformis issue, but I was cruising right along around a 7:30 pace. I hooked into a group of guys and we ran together until we hit the steep climb up Gemini Bridges. This is where the course starts really climbing up onto the mesa.  The first aid station was here around mile 4.5 or so, but I had what I needed and planned on skipping this AS, so I just cruised on through it.

I climbed another 1000 feet or so as I made our way out on the 55K loop to the top and at the edge of the rim.  The climb up was a challenge, steep and hard to course-find with a bunch of us looking around for the ribbon.  I didn't want to stop moving so I started up and hollered at everyone when I found the flags and cairns.  Once on top, I could look down to where I started 1000+ feet below us.  It was an amazing site to see with Arches in the background.  This loop curved around and began dropping back down to the second aid station at mile 12.5.  I was really feeling my glutes and legs from my muscle issue, but I was out there and I was on a mission.  I refilled my bottles with Tailwind and water and set off, back down the road.

The next section was lots of sandy, dirt road as it made it's way back down to where the first aid station was located.  I came back through the third/first aid station and, once again, kept right on going, per my plan.  This was around mile 17 or so and I was starting to feel a little better with my issue in my glutes.  From here I kept going back down the road to where I split off from the 33K course.  Coming back down that road, I realized how steep it was going up as I had a hard time balancing just flinging myself down it and checking my speed a bit to preserve my body/keep in control.

At the split, I continued to the right along more sandy road.  Once I came around the corner around mile 18.4, I started the last big climb up to the rim of about 1000+ feet.  This was where I started to hurt a little bit.  As I headed up to the rim, I had to climb up a Jeep route that was made for Rock Crawlers.  Lots of ledges to climb up, or drop down.  Lots of rock to traverse and climb as well.  It's also when the heat of the day really hit.  I just kept my head up and looked where I was headed and kept one foot in front of the other, but you could view the destruction it was having on the racers.  I passed a ton of people here as they dealt with the heat and the climb.  But I definitely had my own struggles and noticed I was getting twitchy in my legs.  I am not used to that as I haven't gotten that feeling in a long time and it was way too early in the race for that.  I wasn't worried, but paid close attention to it and made sure I kept my hydration on schedule.  Once I got to the top, I hit the aid station and was thrilled.  This was a tough section and I was happy to be at the top of it.  I refilled my bottles again and got on my way.  This section was my slowest of the day.

From here I began to float along the rim for a bit, all on slickrock, up some small climbs and back down.  All of the climbs were steep feeling as they went straight up, and then straight back down.  This was tough as you never really got a break from the work that you had to put in.  This is a good point to say that mentally, this was a very tiring race, too, as it was quite technical in most spots and you had to stay focused.  On top of that, the rock was really starting to get to me.  I felt as though I was constantly running across the rock at an angle that fell off to my right.  This felt like it was putting quite a bit of stress on my left ankle on the inside as I ran.  As I write this, I am really paying close attention to it as I feel like it could still be a bit stressed from the angled terrain I was running on.  At the finish, my friend Mike said the same thing and that he was feeling it in his ankles too.  I remember thinking that I just wanted to run some dirt road for a bit to take the stress off my legs/ankle.  Of course, when I got my wish, it was soft, sandy road that was just as tough for different reasons!

I began to move away from the rim and began our descent toward the last aid station.  I was yo-yoing with my race plan all day.  I would get ahead of it and then struggle a bit and get behind.  I came into the last aid station exactly on schedule, but really was in need of something.  I wasn't sure what, but I ate some oranges and they were delicious!  I poured water over my head to cool down as well.  I looked at my watch and saw that I had about 56 minutes to make it six miles and come in under six hours.  That was going to be a serious stretch to get done, but I decided that it was only one hour of suffering and I had it in me.  I had a bottle of Tailwind and I filled some water in my other one, as I was craving just water, and I headed out of the AS.  I bore down and ran the entire last section, save for some funky work I had to do along some ledges and drop-offs.  It was pretty much all downhill and made for an easier way in, though not a walk in the park.  I saw a guy snapping pics and he yelled to me that there were only XX miles left..."what?" hollered back?  I didn't get it, but thought there were only 2 miles left.  I wasn't sure really since I thought the race was 34 miles and I still was a bit short on that.  As I made my way down the road that dropped quickly toward the river, I started seeing more people along the side and knew I was almost there.  I finally came around the last corner and saw the finish.  I looked at my watch and knew...I did it.  I made it in 5:52:16 and I was thrilled!

Of course the first thing I told my wife was take this damn vest off me and I don't want to do that race again.  Funny, as this is what a running buddy told me from his experience last year.  I am not sure if that weighed on my attitude for the day or not, but it was the first thing out of my mouth.  Of course, after I got refueled with some Recoverite and made my way to the beer garden, I said I would probably do the race again.  Though I would try and find a way to prepare for that rock and heat.  All in all a very enjoyable race and Valentines Day weekend with my wife.  We did a nice little recovery hike in Arches the next day which was a great capper to the weekend!

Strava Activity

Official Results