TRT 100 Race Report – July 21-22, 2012

Race Day - Saturday, July 21, 2012 

The morning of the race began with a very early wake-up call at 2:30 in the morning. I had set the alarm the night before, but as usual woke up before it went off. Maybe a little too excited I guess. I got ready by double-checking what I would bring to the start, except for my drop bags, which I had dropped off the previous day at packet pickup in Carson City. I wanted to leave by 3:00am in order to have plenty of time to get to the start of the race. My mom was gracious enough to give me a ride to the start and we arrived a little after 4:00 in the morning at Spooner Lake State Park. I soon met up with some other runners that I knew who were also running, either in my race or the other 2 events that were to take place, a 50-mile and 50 kilometer, both starting at 6:00am. 

Thinking that it would be cooler than it really was, I had brought along a large, plastic trash bag to keep me warm just in case. Before the start, I had tucked away a 25 hour pace chart into one of the pockets of my water bottles just to see if I could maintain this pace or at least have a worthy goal to shoot for, which at the time, I thought was rather attainable. Then it was time. It was time to begin the journey that I've been training for during the last 6 months. As the 5:00 am start time crept ever so closer and the starting group of about 150 runners began to assemble, I thought to myself, this is going to be a very long day, but unbeknownst to me, I didn't realize just how long. Finally, one of the race directors told us, that a tree, of all things, was the “official start line” and began the countdown to the start of the race.

I started out fairly steady as the course took the runners up the North Canyon Road, onto the Marlette Lake trail, to the east side of the lake, up a rather short, but steep climb back onto the Tahoe Rim Trail and over to the first aid station at mile 6. I arrived at the Tunnel Creek aid station at around mile 11, which I would run through 6 times throughout the day, in a time of 2 hours and 25 minutes. The Tunnel Creek aid station was also the first aid station where tracking times were being recorded. Then it was off for the inevitable Red House Loop, a 6.3 mile “Taste of Hell”, as the TRT Endurance Run had called it on its website. During previous training runs on this loop, I remember this part of the course as just a muddy little mess, with willows overgrowing the trail at times, needing to hop over springs and other creek crossings, along with the challenge of a short, rocky and rather steep little uphill. So, as I was approached the Red House aid station around mile 14.3, I started to see what looked like several hand made signs along the side of the trail, which I began to realize were indications that the upcoming aid station was literally a circus with one of the volunteers dressed up as a clown assisting the runners as they came through. I knew from reading about last years run, that this event had featured several themed aid stations in the past, so I wasn’t exactly sure what to except this year, but running through the Red House this early in the race made this section just that much more bearable to get through.

As I made my way back up the hill back towards Tunnel Creek, I was still maintaining my goal pace, entering the aid station in 3 hours and 50 minutes. 

I didn't stay long before the course turned onto the actual Tahoe Rim trail itself and north towards the Mt Rose Meadows trail head. After veering onto the Incline Creek trail, where I knew I could make up some time, I still kept up a relatively steady pace as it was only around 4 miles of a gradual, but at times, steep downhill into the next aid station at Diamond Peak. I also learned at this point in the race that sometimes running downhill is just as tough as running uphill, especially after 25 miles.

  

Overall, I felt great for the first 30 miles of the course, as I rolled into the aid station at Diamond Peak in around 6 hours and 27 minutes, only about a ½ hour slower than what my pace chart had indicated. It was here that I was also looked forward to meeting up with a co-worker of mine, Scott Cozad and a former classmate and member of my high school cross-country team, Jeff Lifur, who had traveled all the way from San Francisco, and his dad, who I invited there to watch and cheer me on.

The Diamond Peak aid station was also the first weigh-in on the course, so I stopped to weigh-in and surprisingly I was only down about 5 pounds, but apparently down enough to have the weigh-in volunteer ask me how I felt and to keep hydrating. 

After about 10 to 12 minutes of fueling up with G2 energy drinks, Shot-Blok energy gels and other aid station fare, I was on my way up the 2 mile section of the course that I kept dreading about, not so much at this point in the run, but how it would feel climbing this monster at around 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning the second time around. I knew the hill would be slow, so I just took it easy and walked the entire way.

Soon after I started up the hill, I just happened to run into a friend of mine who had run this course last year, Brandon Dey, who was running downhill. He immediately recognized me and turned around to begin walking  with me and keep me company. We ended up walking together until about half way up to the beginning of a chairlift, where he left me to continue on my way. It was sure great to see somebody like Brandon on this section of the course, though it wasn't until later that I heard the rumor that he ended up running this hill several times throughout the day assisting other runners or maybe it was just for a great workout. After I reached the top in around 53 minutes, I knew I could pick up the pace as the course turned back onto the trail and more level terrain.

I felt pretty good as I made my way through the next 2 aid stations, Tunnel Creek at mile 35.5 and Hobart  at around mile 40, and then it was on to a much more exposed area of the course around Snow Valley Peak, the highest point on the course. I had hiked this section before, so I was pretty familiar with this section of trail, but with such long stretches of no shade and the warmest part of the day still yet to come, I knew that the last 7-8 miles before the 50-mile checkpoint would eventually slow me down even more. After I realized that I would be about hour and a half slower than my predicted pace, I was just hoping that somebody that I knew would be at the 50-mile checkpoint to keep me motivated and energized. In fact, they were, my friend Jeff and his dad, who were at Diamond Peak the first time around at around mile 30 to cheer me on, had waited around for more than an hour to greet me for the second time that day. After a much need break at the half way point, I took off to begin the second half of the course while Jeff and his dad took off back to Reno. It’s always good to know that there are people out there like Jeff and his dad who would wait around that long for somebody like me.

My time through 50 miles was 12 hours and 42 minutes, not what I had hoped for, but nonetheless, respectable. My goal at this point in the run had dramatically shifted from becoming a 25-26 hour finish time to hopefully under a 30 hour finish time, which had inevitably brought on another monkey in the wrench to my plans this day, and that was, the constant changing of time and the inevitable onset of sundown. I had every intention on getting to the halfway point in less than 12 hours, which I thought would leave me plenty of time to get to Tunnel Creek at mile 61 and my next drop bag. However now, I realized I probably wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer when I prepared my drop bags the previous night; I had inadvertently put both my flashlight and headlamp in the same bag at the Tunnel Creek.

After leaving the 50 mile checkpoint, I estimated that I would need around 3 hours to get to the Tunnel Creek aid station, but at the pace I was maintaining, along with another short, but steep, climb uphill to Hobart and beyond still yet to come, I knew that it would take something short of a miracle to make it to Tunnel Creek before dark. I ran nervously through the intermittent shadows of the trees as I made my way to the 56-mile mark at the Hobart aid station. I made my way through the aid station as the sun suddenly dropped below Marlette Peak and the west shore of Lake Tahoe. From here on and for the next 6 miles, I knew I would be running in the dusk and eventually darkness of the Sierras. As I passed the turnoff to Christopher’s Loop and Sand Harbor overlook, I started to see other headlights begin to appear from behind me. I thought to myself, if I could only stay ahead of them for a while, I just might be all right, but it was getting dark just too fast. Fortunately for me, about ½ down the switchbacks before the Twin Lakes area at around mile 60, a female runner started to pass me and as luck would have it, just happen to have an extra headlamp for me to borrow, after I had told her that mine was in my drop bag just a few miles ahead. I also knew that my pacer for the last 20 miles of the race, Mike Holmes, would be waiting for me as well, as he had volunteered throughout most of the day and was anxiously awaiting my arrival.

I finally arrived at the Tunnel Creek aid station at about 10:30pm, obviously slower now than what I wanted to be, due to my time into the 50-mile checkpoint and the last few miles running in the dark. After I met up with the pace Mike, re-fueled and prepared for the long night ahead, I started down the inevitable Red House Loop for the second time, not knowing that this time, I would face the toughest mental challenge of my life. As I descended into the abyss of darkness, I had noticed that several runners coming back up the hill were not by themselves, which looking back now probably would have been a pretty good idea at that point in the race. I remember telling my safety runner Mike, back at Tunnel Creek that I thought I would have no problems just running when I could and walking throughout the night, until I would meet up with him again 19 miles later over at Diamond Peak. However, I just didn’t realize what I would be facing over the next few miles.

As I was approached the Red House aid station a little more than half way through the loop, everything just seemed to literally break down. I just couldn’t run for more than 2 minutes at a time. Physically speaking, I felt okay, with no muscle pain or feet related problems to speak of, but mentally I was just exhausted and it was wearing me out.

As a side note though, the Red House aid station, as described earlier was probably the most fun aid station to pass through, not only to see a volunteer dressed up as a clown the first time around, but the same volunteer still dressed up as a clown, the second time around as well. However, this time, given my extremely tired physical condition, I thought I had walked into a bad nightmare, running into a clown in the middle of the night. As I arrived at the aid station, I immediately found a chair where I promptly sat. So there I was, in a chair in the middle of the night at mile 64.4. It was here where I contemplated to myself whether or not I should really go on. I seriously considered of dropping out of the race, but only if I could make it back to Tunnel Creek. I knew this wasn’t the ideal place to drop out, so somehow, someway I had to find the courage to keep going. After a few minutes, I finally made my way out of the Red House aid station. As I continued along the trail, I started to really check the time more than ever before, almost to the point of paranoia. Several thoughts had run through my head like, “What’s my overall pace? How many steps did I take the last time I ran? Am I going to make the cut-off times? Was that really a clown I just saw in the middle of the night?”

After I ascended the hill at the end of the Red House Loop, I finally made it into the Tunnel Creek aid station at around 1:30 in the morning. I immediately went into the medical tent desperately trying to find a place to sit down, or rather a place to lie down, but after seeing that all the army cots were taken by other runners, I decided to just plant myself on a hard plastic chair just outside the tent. A friend and rather local legend in Reno’s ultra-running community, John Trent, who I’ve known for more than 18 years, came over to me to see if he could help, but all I could tell him was I just didn’t know if I could go on, given that fact that I still had more than 33 miles to go and was just physically and mentally exhausted. However, I knew from reading the pre-race instructions that if you were to drop at a remote aid station such as Tunnel Creek that it would probably be hours before you got back to either Diamond Peak or Spooner Summit. I really didn’t want to do that, but I just didn’t know how I could make another 13 miles in the next 6 hours before the Diamond Peak cut-off. After a few minutes of resting outside the tent, I went inside to see if sitting on one of the army cots would make any difference. As I observed the aid station volunteers coming in and out of the medical tent tending to other runners, my immediate thought was, maybe I’m not the worst off after all, maybe there is someway that I can get through this, because deep down I knew after all of my training that I could find the strength to keep going, but the question was how? Mentally speaking, I had hit rock bottom. I thought I was done, until…. another local runner, that I knew, Jenny Capel walked through those canvas doors. Not only did she help me find the strength to carry on, but even offered to run with me for the first couple of miles. This mental boost was exactly what I needed. After I hydrated and re-fueled with probably some of the best quesadillas that an aid station could ever have, we were off and running. Thanks to her, I was able to find my pace again, and so for the next couple of miles, we talked a lot about my race up until that point, how I felt through 69 miles and how I was going to get through the next 11. We made it up to a ridge, which overlooked Washoe Valley to the east, and it was here she decided to turnaround and leave me and head back to Tunnel Creek. She wished me good luck and I was quickly on my way. However, I knew that I still had a long way to go. I arrived at the Bull Wheel aid station, about 3 miles later, at around 2:30 in the morning and noticed the 3 or 4 volunteers, who were probably the same ones there during the daytime, were all asleep inside the pop-up shelter. After I briefly stopped to re-fuel, I continued on my way and before I knew it I was running solo under the starlit sky and never saw a single runner again until I got to Diamond Peak a few hours later. So, for the next 9 miles, which took me around a little more than 3 hours to get through, I managed to average less than 18-minute miles. 

I eventually reached the bottom of the Incline Creek Trail, just as the sun was coming up, and turned onto the paved road leading to the Diamond Peak lodge. Fortunately for me, I had made the cut-off by more than 2 hours, which I didn’t think was possible just 6 short hours ago. I finally met up with my safety runner, Mike, who was already set to run at night, had I arrived much earlier in the morning.

I weighed in again and found a seat inside the lodge. I changed socks, downed some water and prepared myself to tackle the Diamond Peak ski hill once again. After a short time, Mike and I were checked out of the aid station and just like I had done before, I ended up walking the entire way up to the top of the hill, but this time around, only a few minutes slower than I had ran the first time. 

Even though this section is probably the toughest on the course, it possesses some of the most spectacular views of the Lake Tahoe basin. As we ascended, Mike promptly took pictures like a crazed paparazzi, and with good reason, too. 

Once we were over the top and back into the Bull Wheel aid station, I felt my goal of finishing getting even closer. Now I was down to around 18 miles left to go. I said to Mike, as we were climbing the hill, “Just get me to the finish” and he did just that. Before long, we were back at the Tunnel Creek aid station at mile 85.5, where I experienced the most emotional moments for me during the entire race. 

As I approached the aid station, I saw Jill (Trent), John’s wife, yelling out from behind a giant boulder, “Is that you, Robert?” and before I knew it, I was greeted with applause from several of the volunteers still there hours later waiting for my return. Now with only 15 miles to go, I had the hardest part behind me, but I still knew I had more than 6 hours left to go. 

My pacer Mike and I continued our way up the switchbacks just beyond the Twin Lakes area and then past the Christopher’s Loop turnoff and into a wide open area of the course where the runners are treated with the most incredible views of both Marlette Lake and Lake Tahoe. Just as we broke out of the trees, we spotted our first sighting of wildlife; a deer had appeared just behind a pine tree among the sagebrush. Again, Mike went to work with his camera. It was not long after that, we passed the turn to the Marlette Campground and made our way around the west side of Marlette Peak and into the Hobart aid station at mile 90. I was down to just 10 more miles left to go. Again, we didn’t stay long and we both continued on our way to the finish. Although with a little more than 3 miles until the next aid station at Snow Valley Peak and mile 93.3, we decided to pretty much walk this section of the course. Even at this moment, I was still more vigilant than ever of the 35-hour cut-off time, even though I was more than an hour ahead of schedule. After we came into Snow Valley Peak aid station around 11:30 in the morning, I knew now that we would be facing another ultra-running hazard and that was running in the heat, especially on this part of the course. We eventually reached the trees and came upon a trail junction and a wooden sign indicating that the Spooner Summit trailhead was now just 4 miles away. After we passed a few hikers and survived the brutal afternoon heat on the trail, we finally arrived at the Spooner Summit aid station and mile 98.9. Advertised as just a water stop, Spooner Summit consisted of only a couple of 5-gallon Gatorade jugs and a couple of tables. So, as Mike started to take more time than what I really wanted to take, I made my way on down the trail to begin the final descent to the finish. As I looked back, I could see that Mike was quickly catching up to me and when he did we both began to hear the distant cheers at the finish for runners who were already making their way to the end. We soon made our way around the shores of Spooner Lake and onto the last boardwalk before the final dash to the finish. It was at this moment, I had thought to myself after all that’s said and done, who would, if anybody would be waiting for me to see me finish. I had told my brother, at least, to come with a change of clothes, but that was when I thought I would finish around 6:00-7:00 in the morning, so I just wasn’t sure who would be there to see me finish at this time in the afternoon. I had told so many friends and relatives about this pretty significant event in my life, but all I could do was just wait and see. Soon after Mike and I crossed the boardwalk, we continued up the trail and veered to the right onto a straighter part of the course and towards the last short section of trail before the finish. I knew I wanted to finish with style, so I started to jog once we hit the turn. I passed a small grandstand that was set up a few feet from the end and crossed into the tent with a finishing time of 33:14:44. I had finally finished my 1^st 100-mile endurance run!

I did see my brother, who tracked me throughout the day and did remember my bag of clothes, but unfortunately no one else. I felt rather disappointed. I immediately sat down on a chair inside the tent along side with a few other runners who had just finished when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, I was enthusiastically greeted by Jenny Capel, who just happened to be at the finish when I came through and literally brought me back to life back at Tunnel Creek. I would say that seeing her again, especially at the finish, after all that I had went through, was probably the second most emotional moment of my journey, behind only mile 85. 

After a few minutes inside the finishing tent, I started to make my way up the road to the burrito bar and drop bag area. I took advantage of the makeshift shower and changed clothes, then said goodbye to my pacer Mike who was on his way back to Diamond Peak to retrieve his vehicle. The awards ceremony was scheduled for 4:00pm, so I figured my brother and I might as well just hang around until then. I tried to eat a chicken filled tortilla from the burrito bar, but my digestive system just wasn’t into it. It was just about 3:45pm in the afternoon, when I asked one of the race directors if the runners could get their buckles early, and he said they could. So, I told him my race number, and noticed what turned out to be a small printing press near the finish area where they were etching the times and the event year into this years finisher’s buckles. I always wondered how they did that and boy, was it one of the coolest finisher’s medals I had ever seen. Even though my time wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for this day, I can now say I am forever a 100-mile finisher.

7 days..........until the TRT 100

Mountains - Lonestar

Now, with only 7 days left until my journey to 100 miles, maybe I should really start to get serious.

So finally, at long last, I ran the dreaded Diamond Peak Ski Lodge (Miles 30 and 80 on the 100 mile route) to the Bull Wheel section of the course, for the first time back on June 10th. What a slog! 2 miles straight up and around 1,800' feet of elevation gain. Now I'm really starting to feel sorry for my safety runner as I will probably be cursing the whole way up this monster, for the 2nd time, at around midnight (my goal time at least, give or take an hour).

After reaching the top of the Bull Wheel, I also wanted to check out the Red House Loop....what a beautiful, cool and shaded run or as the Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Run website calls it, "A Taste of Hell", named for the fact that it's the lowest point on the course at about 6,800'.

Since that training run, I've ran the Red House Loop twice and the Diamond Peak Ski Run climb 3 times now, and have either ran or hiked the entire course, so now I would like to think I'm familiar with every speck of dirt, decomposed rock, pine needle, overhanging tree branch, creek crossing, % of canopy cover, solar intensity, wind speed, temperature and undulating terrain that the trail has to offer, but I'll never know until Race Day, when I finally find out just what it's going to take to finish a 100 mile trail run.

My last long running weekend of my journey to 100, started off figuratively speaking, with a bang, on the Fourth of July with Big Blue Adventure's 10K Run to the Beach trail, run, from North Tahoe Regional Park to Kings Beach. My time was 0:55:27 for an 8:47 pace, good enough for 28th place. My GPS actually recorded 6.31 miles, but close enough by my running standards. I'd rather have a course too long than too short.

 
After a long walk back to the start and the truck, since the shuttle apparently stopped service after a certain time frame, it was on to thinking, Where else can I run today? So, I decided that, how cool would it be to watch the fireworks from the top of the Mt Rose Summit..........

Elevation: 10,776'

I started my 2nd trail run of the day around 7:30 in the evening at the Mt Rose trailhead. I knew this course well, around 10.6 miles round trip, with only a few rocky and steep sections. Plus, this would be great training at night on a single track trail. As I was approaching the summit, I knew I probably should have brought some warmer gear with me, because it was quite chilly on top, but I was okay. Not surprisingly, there were around 10 other people who had the same idea. We were able to see fireworks from Truckee and Donner Lake to Tahoe City, Incline, Camp Richardson, South Shore and even Carson City. It was a blast! (Sorry, just had to throw that in there). I made it back to the truck around 11:30 and the long drive home. 

After taking Thursday and Friday off, the plan was to run the 1st 30 miles of the course with some friends, Bruce Cyra and Dalius Kumpa, who are also entered in the TRT runs, Bruce in the 50 Miler and Dalius in the 100, (Dalius also ran the Western States 100 back on June 23rd in an incredible time of 21:30). It ended up to be another great training run. 

However, the next day, I had also committed myself to the McCarran Loop Run (23.5 miles) with a small group from Reno Running and Fitness. My feet felt a little sore, but I managed to finish. So, now I can say that I'm officially a McLoopie!

The last 6 months have been quite an adventure, both physically and emotionally, from traveling to places I've never been before to running distances that I've never run before. It has truly broadened my passion for more adventure. So, I hope to see some of you, at least, spiritually or in person, next weekend. On with the show.. 

Silver State 50 Miler

Well, I knew somewhere along this journey of mine towards my first 100 mile trail run, I probably had to get in some type of ultra distance race. I just wasn't sure which one to choose. I know there are plenty of them out there, like 2 of the more popular ultras that were run earlier in the year, Way to Cool and American River. However, I just didn't get the chance to run them this year. So, I thought about, the only ultra-marathon that I have ever done, the Silver State 50/50. And I'm glad I did, because...

It became the best ultra that I have ever run. I knew before the run, I just wanted to break 11 hours, the qualifying standard to get into the Western States lottery. At last year's Silver State 50 miler, I managed to miss the 11 hour mark by just 11 minutes. Coming into this year's run, and having already a little over 3 months of "100 mile training" under my shoes, I definitely knew I could break 11, but in order to do that, I had to walk less, get in and out of the aid stations as quickly as possible and hydrate and fuel up more consistently. All those elements came together perfectly as I crossed the finish line in a PR of 10:20:06! At the end, I didn't even feel that sore, just more tired than anything. I felt so good during the course of the run. 

Having set a PR on that run like that gave me such a confidence boost, that I even mentioned to someone that, breaking 24 hours at the TRT 100 could very well be a possibility. I know that's still a long shot, only 12 people did it last year, but after achieving a PR in a run like Silver State, I know I will have more confidence and mental toughness that I'll need in order to finish my 1st 100 mile trail run.

So, with that said, I hope to see some of you in the very early morning hours of Sunday, July 22nd at Spooner Lake. 

   

The Western States Canyons

Well, yesterday's run was probably the toughest training run yet. My quads are still sore after 23.8 miles of hills, snow and more hills, but it was good to get out into The Canyons of the historic Western States trail with some other local runners training for this year's Western States Run on June 23rd-24th.

From Michigan Bluff, we headed downhill towards El Dorado Creek. From here, the trail took off uphill to the rock formation that is Devil's Thumb, followed by a short downhill, then a 2.5 mile uphill and gradual ascent to another Michigan Bluff to Last Chance trail marker. After refilling our camel backs with water, we quickly turned around and ran back through the snow, slush and dirt trails. At the end, we were greeted with potato chips, cookies and refreshing cans of Coke. What a workout!

With less than 14 weeks left until the big event, the weather forecast for this next weekend calls for a high of 85, yes that's right I said 85, on Saturday, so hopefully this will melt most of the snow off of the higher elevation trails, so I can experience more quad-busting excitement.  

Pictures from the weekend...

Dog Valley Rd, Verdi Peak Rd, Henness Pass Rd 

03/24/12

Cross-training...Mt Rose Summit Area 

03/25/12

20 weeks to go.....

Summary for Week 5.....

Monday: Off

Tuesday: 9 miles

Wednesday: 12 miles

Thursday: 9 miles

Friday: Off

Saturday: 20 miles - 10:46 pace

Sunday: 10 miles - 08:48 pace

Week's total: 60 miles

Entering my 5th week of training for the TRT 100, I knew this week was going to be a turning point in my schedule, in terms of increased mileage, both mid-week and on the weekend. So far, so good. I'm feeling  stronger, both mentally and physically, but I know with increased mileage comes increased chance of injury. Today, for example, when about 4 miles into my 10 mile run, I tripped on a curb and fell to the ground, but even with this minor setback (scraped hand and knee), I finished what I started out to do, just exactly what I plan to do on the weekend of July 21-22. Even as I'm writing this, my knee still hurts, but I know I'll always have something to look forward to after a hard day's run........(See attached photo below)

As each week passes, I know it's one week closer to something I've never attempted before, but I also know that I want to finish. I look forward to what the next 20 weeks will bring........Let the journey continue.... 

"The best long distance runners eat raw meat, run naked and sleep in the snow."
- Alaska Airlines advertisement honoring Iditarod dogs (from Dana Roueche)

Virginia City Highlands

"The 10-K is a race. The marathon is an experience. The ultra is an
adventure." - Bryan Hacker

Saturday's Run - Virginia City Highlands 

Aid Station

 

Support Crew

A new running experience for me this weekend, the Virginia City Highlands. Believe it or not, in all the years I've lived in Reno, I had never run in that area before. It was nice to see some new terrain. The journey continues..... 

Photographic Evidence

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

A few pictures from this weekend's run......

The Start: Peavine Peak Rd......

Approaching the pines......

 Just over the top of Peavine......

Halfway: Verdi Elementary School......

The climb......

The start of the downhill......

A view of the city......

Total mileage: 29.4

Total elapsed time: 5:50:26

Pace: 11:55

Two weeks in...........

A little over two weeks into training and I'm already tired. 

See Exhibit A below........ and this was from the 1st weekend I started training!

Exhibit A

Maybe I shouldn't have so aggressive but it felt pretty good running along the Truckee River Bike Path into Downtown Reno and back. It was also my longest run since I ran the New York City Marathon back in November.

When I first thought about putting a training plan together for myself, I wasn't sure how I was going to approach it, but did find one good resource to use (http://www.relentlessrunner.com/index/
How_to_run_100_miles).

Even with 23 weeks left to go, I can't help but think about this lifetime goal of mine everyday. My mission is to find out everything I can about how other runners have accomplished their 1st one hundred miler, their experiences and any advice that I can apply to my own training plan.


I'm still not used to taking at least 2 days off a week and slowing my pace way down for my longer weekend runs, but I know that if I have the desire, determination, willingness and discipline (such cliched words aren't they?) to push myself to the ultimate limit, I know I will succeed in finishing my 1st 100 mile trail run. 

"You're gonna have to go through hell, worse than any nightmare you've ever dreamed. But when it's over, I know you'll be the one standing. You know what you have to do. Do it. Do it."
 - Duke in Rocky IV

A little inspiration.........

In the beginning....

“A Glimpse of Heaven, A Taste of Hell” – TRT motto

Well, I’m not even sure where this idea of one day running 100 miles came from, but now that I’m an official entrant in the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 Mile Endurance Run this July, I better make it count.

I think this whole ultra running thing started back when I ran the Silver State 50K in May of ‘91. I’ve only done 10 ultra marathons since then and even volunteered to pace the last 38 miles of the Western States Run twice, but have yet to begin my own journey towards one of the most challenging endurance events of my life, until now.

Just the thought of actually seeing my name on a hundred mile confirmed registration list, has totally changed my perspective on training and created a whole new focus on running and life itself.

I still can’t believe I’m, but I do believe that I can finish. I want to prove that to myself in a little less than 24 weeks from today and through this journal document the trials and tribulations of training for a 100 mile run.

Oh yeah, and I also hope to find just a little support along the way, but a whole lot more at the finish. Let the journey begin. See you at Spooner Lake…. 

Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Run July 21-22, 2012