Cactus Rose 100

  Where do I began??? Many terrible life decisions got me to the point of running as a way to find who I am.  Many more wonderful people stepped in and inspired me to live a better and fuller life. My friend Janet got me off my butt in January and got me to run again. Nikki Davis and all the Dallas Dirt Runners group helped me along and still do. The trip to Jemez I bonded with Steven Monte and he has been my sounding board for months.  Jennifer Kimble took me on as a student and her coaching has pushed me further than I've ever dreamed. My move to Odessa was tough on my training but good for my soul. I still got my miles in and have met even more great friends.
 
My friend, Pam from Midland agreed to go to the race with me as support as well as my baby brother Max. I wanted 2 people to help me when it got tough.  The race began and as usual I went to the back and kinda just felt myself out and got lost in my thoughts. The race set up was 4 25 mile loops but changing directions each time. I knew the last 10 was dang tough and I immediately had to do it again on loop 2. My goal of 7:30 per loop was fine and I conserved as much as possible. I had my calories and hydration spot on but I knew it was going to get hot later. My 1st loop was 7:10 and I was okay with that but decided to power hike throughout the hottest part of the day.  That worked fine til mile 40. I had a minor foot pain so I decided to change shoes to a new pair of Hoka Tarmac and get through the easier part of the course.  That was fine for 15 miles til I felt a large blister burst and then the balls of my feet started throbbing.  I finished loop 2 in 9hrs and knew I was going to have to push things on loop 3 without a pacer. When I got to the start line there was a man waiting to pace me-Sean Broadbent. He was there to pace someone else and when she got hurt he graciously stepped in and helped out. Him and John Sharp got my blisters taken care of. We started loop 3 and I was ok for awhile but the further we went the less I could walk, much less run. We picked up my friend Ben at mile 54 who Id been with all day and the 3 of us trudged on. At 60 Ben was done but he gave me a Coke and that got me a couple of miles and we were chasing the clock on the cut off for loop 4. At mile 65 I had 2.5 hrs to get through the 10 toughest miles that Cactus Rose had to offer and then Id hafta do it again.  I knew I was done and after apologizing to Sean I called it for me.  Pam and Max were instrumental in getting me that far. My legs and heart were fine but the balls of my feet couldn't hold up to the pounding of the rocks. I got to the 100k distance in time to make the cutoff if it was Bandera 100k so I walk away happy. My mind, heart and legs were ready but the rocks kicked the bottom of my feet pretty hard. I loved the course and i think it'll be a must do in 2015. Reflecting now on it, I'm taking away that I just had one hellacious training run. Everyone says that a mile walking or running is the same distance. It is but this was pretty brutal. I see a easier 100 miler in my VERY near future......

T Minus 14 days......

   Wow! I just realized this morning as I was putting in my miles that Cactus Rose 100 is here! My mind quickly went back to April 30,2013 and all the events that have led me to today. Some have been negative but many positive things have happened to transform me into hopefully a better person. Hell I'm not a angel and I don't really recall at any point aspiring to be one. The move to Odessa sort of rounded out the changes I feel I needed to make. It's been great! A new town, new friends, and a new career always does a gypsy soul like mine good! A little over 17 months ago I NEVER dreamed I'd be here today with my career OR my running. Running wasn't on my radar then. My significant other at the time had tried to get me to but I was pretty much stuck in my dark little world of drinking and self misery. It's been a long damn road.... about twice during every run I get lyrics stuck in my head from Dierks Bentley's Long Trip Alone....

It's a long trip alone over sand and stone

That lie along the road that we all must travel down

So maybe you could walk with me a while

And maybe I could rest beneath your smile

Everybody stumbles sometimes and needs a hand to hold

'Cause it's a long trip alone

It's a short piece of time but just enough to find

A little peace of mind under the sun somewhere

So maybe you could walk with me a while

And maybe I could rest beneath your smile

You know we can't afford to let one moment pass us by

'Cause it's a short piece of time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVzkMwxn9uo

 This has been a long trip alone for me and 75 miles of Cactus Rose will be alone but I kinda like who I've become so I don't mind the company now! So many people have helped get me to where I'm at today and I'm grateful to every single one of them. My family has stuck beside me, my friends (runner & non-runners alike) have inspired me to keep pushing not only my body but my mind as well. I'm taking my baby brother Max to crew me. Nope he's never ran a race or been to one but I trust him and I know he will be there at the aid stations when I come stumbling in. I'm sure there will be plenty of others there to help so no worries there. My pacer from mile 75 on is one tough dude. He's been through the battles and there is no quit in him and the man will get me to the buckle..... Most of the work is done and now it's getting stuff together. Gu,Tailwind,Bonk Bars,Duct tape,coke,oreos, n etc plus a few beers for when I finish.............

Life Changes and New Chapters

   The last 16 to 17 months has been the craziest roller coaster I've ever experienced.  Going from knocking down over 6 figures but living a life with zero quality due to my own weaknesses to income cut in 1/2 and struggling with that but hopefully becoming a better person to my family and friends through support of a fantastic running community. Prior blogs cover all that life craziness n I'm not up to living it again...  LOL Most everyone knows by now that I took a position in Odessa,Tx back in sales. Not management or anything like that but out seeing customers and doing what got me to where I was career wise before the train wreck. Everyone in the DFW metro and in Odessa asks me why there??? Back when I was in the truck tire business I went out there weekly selling tires n I developed a great attraction to the people and the country. I am kinda a loner of sorts and the wide open roads I like. Plus I'm closer to the mountains n plan on spending time in Carlsbad n Santa Fe VERY soon!  AND of course it was a financial decision. The last year I've been working to get me right and now it's high time I get myself in a position to get that part corrected. There was one other glaring reason to me but that's just something for on down the road.  Anyway---- I needed the change.
  I'm viewing this as a new chapter. Career wise, personally but also with my running. I am blessed with a great coach in Jenn n super friends all over the state but now my miles in a new town are up to me to get done. It's kinda scary rolling into Cactus Rose 100 at the end of October n it'll be harder now but still I believe very doable. Friday night I had to drive towards Dallas and wound up spending the weekend with my parents. I had a bad ear ache and finally went to the doctor and it'll get better in a few days but the weekend with Mom n Dad is pretty awesome. I can't run til Sunday night per dr so this is a much needed break for my brain as well. Oklahoma City next week for work stuff and spend time with my son Dakota. I'll get my miles in there and I'll roll into Rough Creek 40 in 13 days ready to knock it out.
   Life is funny and takes us down paths we never could envision but  as long as we just keep trying to improve things do get easier.  A friend and life coach I will be using as soon as I can once asked me- What do you want people to say about you at your 50th birthday party? I hope it's just a great hard working dude who's trying to do better n maybe help someone else out on the way. If you're ever out west and wanna go run a mountain or just have a chat hit me up! Til next time RunStrong and if you can't run then WALK with a purpose in life!!!

Fueling the Body

    The more I run the more parallels I see in life. Endurance running requires a fine balance of calories and electrolytes to maintain my energy level and to stay hydrated. Yesterday I had a 20 mile run on my schedule and it was a fabulous morning until mile 12. I use SCap tabs for my sodium and was using a drink additive-Perpetuem for calories. At mile 8 I went by the truck to get 2 caps and refill my handheld bottle. About mile 12 I hit a wall. I had zero run in me and was just sluggish and felt bloated but fortunately I can walk a little and pushed on at about a 15:30pace for a couple of miles. During this walk I got to thinking what caused this?  I thought I was doing things right but it was what it was and all I could do was to push on and get to the truck to gather my thoughts.
 Life is like this I'm seeing. We try and do everything right and put good things into our life but if we are off just a little on fueling our life we hit a wall. I've been struggling a lot lately on some personal issues and fighting some demons from the past. That walk yesterday was almost heaven sent. You get broke down mentally and all you can do is push on to the next place to restart yourself.
  In my ice chest I had a Coke n I drank that in about 3 swallows. If you ever wanna run, trust me, that stuff is like jet fuel! I lost the handheld, filled up my hydration vest and finished my 20 miles pretty easy. Last night I was told I was taking in too much Sodium and my body couldn't process water fast enough. Makes perfect sense. Kinda like in life when I try and fix too many issues all at the same time and wind up dang near going off the rails.  Sometimes a good bonk with some walking is just what is needed in life as well as running. Until next time- RFP (relentless forward progress)

Running Crazy!!!

 As most of my close friends know I went ahead n entered the Cactud Rose 100 miler in October in Bandera,Tx. Some think I'm crazy as a loon n others will kick my arse if I don't finish. Either way. I love you all n glad you are here to watch this ride I'm on.  Ever since I ran a 50k in Los Alamos,NM I knew this was my next goal but I kinda just joked about it with most people.  5k to a 100 miler in 10 months? Yea it's a stretch but I have a huge heart n desire to get this done.  My last few races I've had a friend motivating me n believing in me.  That always helped when things got dark on a run.  I lost that friend a coupla weeks ago due to circumstances beyond my control n then my reaction to it. You cannot change what's been done but fortunately I have a badass coach and a even better friend in Jenn  to keep me on point n get this deal done. Monte and sooooo many others keep me motivated as well.  John Sharp with his crazy 60k walk to Chuy's.  That kinda stuff keeps it fun.  John, I cannot wait to run with you. You'd make a great pacer on my death march those last few miles.  LOL Dat! Dude your Bryce run was amazing! I've read your report 6 times n love it. People like you makes guys like me keep going.  Jenn has an event that day n can't be at CR100 so I'm looking for pacers n a crew.  I have 36 hours to finish n won't DNF until that time is up it or I'm carried off. That I can assure you! PM me if you are interested in helping me AND other runners get through this course.

  Other stuff- heck yes I'm trying to get out to Odessa. People keep asking why? Folks, I'm country to the core n everyone that knows me knows this. I LOVE Dallas and my running community.  They have had a life altering impact on my life. I do have other long term running goals and closer to the mountains would help in that on down the road and I could still make a decent living there as well.  There may be other reasons as well but running is the main one.

5k stuff- I really want to start a support group for people who want to utilize the C25k app. Any help would be appreciated. I talk to people daily about trying it n they have so many questions. As a runner I guess because of my support network I take that for granted. There are many out there that just want to get out there n live healthier. No crazy goals or anything. Just a lifestyle change n I think they need a place to go to for anwsers to questions- whether it be bra's, shoes, diet,etc. Most are not a part of a run group n really aren't ready to join one so I am working on starting SUMTHIN to help these people in their journey. Stay Posted!!  Til next time #RunStrong!

Accountability & Social Media

I go through my newsfeed on Twitter & Facebook and see varying interests from people and you often see the core of that person and what they truly believe in. Kinda a neat way to get insight into what makes and shakes a person. I'm a runner so obviously I have tons of runner friends. Some I know on a personal level and others through social media or at a race somewhere. Many, including myself put our running life out there for the world to see. Recently someone suggested in a private message that it's done maybe in vain.....  I wonder if people think of their churches posts or their love of pets, sports, vacations, etc in the same light? I feel it's done to hold oneself accountable to themselves with his/her peers. As a single person without a significant other , I want my run friends to know I'm still out there battling it daily trying to improve. As well as this, if someone watching gets motivated to start a walk program, yoga, gym or whatever to improve their quality of life then I'm game. Recently a mountain biker in Dallas took a terrible fall and got lost and in the end passed. Sad deal.   I love running alone. Just me, my garmin n listening to my feet hit the ground. It's the most relieving thing I can do. I check in on social media. Many of my friends are not unlike me. They drop in randomly on a trail n log some miles. The check-in for me is basically a safety check. Someone will know where I'm at. When I see others check in, it kinda helps motivate me on a day I really don't feel like going out for a hot run in a July.  Same with people writing race reports and posting them. As a newbie to the running world, that insight is something money cannot buy n I look forward to every single one. For the writer it gives a way to put the experience in perspective.

     This run deal I'm on isn't because I want to be faster than anyone or even placing in my age group. Heck on trails,  a guy with my same name, but spelled differently, normally has our age group covered. LOL  (cannot wait to meet n run with him) For me, running is a journey that chose me during this part of my life. It's almost like an awakening to myself that life has more to offer than just a job and chasing $.  Ok- I'm getting to deep but I'm just writing this to encourage my friends to keep posting about whatever your interests are in life. We are all on a journey and while it takes everyone in different paths, we can still learn from one another to be a better person and hopefully help someone along the way.  That's the part we must hold ourselves accountable to doing. :)

Dance in The Rain

  It's been a difficult and very odd week professionally and personally. Weeks like this my run miles go through the roof n I logged dang near 60.  Kinda a weird trade-off but nothing is normal in my drive to run further n faster than I've ever dreamed of. The highlight of my week was running with a couple of people not real familiar with Cedar Ridge (my favorite place).  It's pretty cool running with people and helping them through the few miles.  Kinda goes hand in hand with my long term goal of being able to help people achieve goals through running or have it impact them in a positive way as it has mine. That will come in time n in the meantime I'll still train hard n try to help others.  All week I've been trying to run in the heat.  No actual race is ever perfect so I train in as difficult times that I can find.  Just as in life, things change and if you just run when it's cool then heat will ensure that I'll bonk.  Life threw me a couple of curveballs. One could be great and exciting and one isn't so positive but as in running, some things you can't control. My friend Aaron Conner uses a coupla quotes that I use in life as well as when I run. " Embrace the Suck" and "Relentless Forward Progress-RFP." You can google it to get their origins but basically life and running is accepting the situation and never stop.  I woke up today n looked at the radar n it was pouring rain.  I was REALLY excited. After 95 degree runs last week I couldn't wait.  Plus I hadn't ran much on trails in a  downpour.  I don't think they will postpone Cactus Rose or Rocky Racoon 100 because of rain so that 24 miles I got in today was perfect for me mentally. Life won't stop over a coupla little issues either. Rain, Sunshine or even a freak snowstorm the race goes on just as life does.  It's up to us to use difficult times as training so when things are better our journey is easier! Run Strong and help someone out whenever the opportunity presents itself!