Today's Swim Set

A Group:
300 mixed warm up
Swim 500-400-300-200-100
Paddles/pull buoy 400-30-200-100
200 EZ cool down

B Group:
Warm-up
10 x 100
50 EZ
2 x 4 x 25 kickboard / 4 x 25 mini-sprint
100 cool down

Jeff Mims Finishes His First 50K Trail Run

Finished in 6:36:06.  Much better than I thought I would do, and I started 2 minutes behind everyone in dead last place.  Crazy story I'll have to tell you sometime.  Thanks for everything.  It was a great experience.  Everything had hoped it would be.

Here are the pics.  I actually started last because of going to the bathroom, and then running off without my water bottle b/c the race had just started. I came back and found my wife to get it.  Crazy.  Did ok overall.  I had some trouble wanting to drink my gatorade after a while.  I ended up drinking a lot of water, and didn't manage my salt very well.  Got cramped in my thighs right behind the knees on the inside of both legs with 1 1/2 miles left. 

Goal accomplished.  Now its time to go faster. I know I could have had a better race with a good start and getting my nutrition/salt better. 

Thanks for your help.  Look forward to talking to you soon.  By the way, swiftwick 7's merino wool= no blisters.

The Dog Pack Runs Potomac Heritage Trail

The Dog Pack from L to R:  Adam Sotelo, Jack Bourgeois, ST, Kokolulu, Cooper, and Daniel Baldwin.  

Dan at the first river crossing.

Adam powering up a hill.

It got pretty technical in some areas.

We just finished a huge climb so Dan and Adam are resting.

Cooper wants up but he can't climb up the rocks.

Adam next to the Potomac, and Jack's huge butt.

SHOCKING BUT TRUE!  Adam's feet can cling to walls. 

The truth behind trick photography EXPOSED.

Dan is bonking but he is trying not to show it.

Cool bridge crossing near town.

After ~12 miles of trails, we had 3 miles left to run through town.

Adam Sotello Runs First Marathon and Wins AG

Charles Scott at Rock N Roll----Sub 3 Hour Marathon!!!

My friend Charlie Scott has been in pursuit of a sub-3 hour marathon.  I have gotten to know him from some runs in Nashville, and when we did the Grand Canyon R2R2R.  I am always interested in helping someone solve the puzzle of how to get faster.  So I wasn't particularly surprised when he invited me out to the Phoenix Rock and Roll Marathon to pace him in hopes of that elusive Sub-3. 

We previewed the course and spent a lot of time discussing strategy.  The plan was for me to join him at Mile 14.

Charlie and ST in the hotel room on race morning.

Part of Charlie's plan was to go out a little more aggressively than in his most recent marathon attempts.  We agreed that this would prevent him from having to run a drastic negative split, and he should be able to hold the pace.  We left no stone unturned in discussing, nutrition, pacing, even drafting other runners. 

ST ready to "go to work." 

Charlie's training times were strongly predictive of a sub-3 hour marathon, but his most recent attempts were 3:08 and 3:07.  We tweaked a number of items in his race plan, including the more aggressive first half, additional electrolyte intake, advil, and caffiene gels.  My role was to be there to make sure he didn't break mentally.  In Charlie's words, "you have permission to use profanity, or whatever it takes to make me keep going."

Charlie at Mile 14, on track for the race plan.

I linked up with Charlie's pack and things were smooth sailing from mile 14-18. Around mile 19 I noticed he was slipping off pace just a few seconds per mile.  He seemed a little less responsive to the pace and I worried that the fatigue and doubts might be creeping in.  The first thing I did was instruct him to take a Roctane GU, which has 37 grams of caffiene plus 125 calories.  This provides an almost instanteous energy boost, both mental and physical.

My exact words were, "You are right on track with your plan, but you can't slip off it any more.  Do what you came here to do."  I had been noticing a few seconds per mile were being eaten up from the ~1 minute and 15 seconds ahead of pace that he was.  The runners that Charlie had been pacing with were either accelerating up the road, or were being shelled off the back of the pack. This left Charlie in something of a no-man's land.  I was glad I was there to pace him and egg him on.

Shortly thereafter, around mile 21, a group of about 7 runners came upon us.  This was the 3 hour pace group.  I sternly warned, "This is your salvation.  You MUST stay with this group."  I ran either ahead or beside, and chastized him whenever more than a 5 foot space opened in front of him.  If the rubber band  gets stretched canit  break, then you are on your own again.  We could not allow this to happen happen. 

Charlie locked in tight with the 3 hour pace group at Mile 22.  It was his "salvation."

Things had been dicey since mile 19, and I knew Charlie was badly suffering.  I just reminded him, "this is what you came for."  When you are in a race and executing your race plan, expect distress in the later miles.  At mile 22 I was still pretty nervous but Charlie was intent on staying locked in tight with the pack.  At mile 23 I felt a little better about things.  When we hit mile 24 I became confident that he would make the time. 

Charlie at the finish line. Finishing time: 2:58:39.

I stayed with Charlie all the way in and across the finish line.  I don't think either one of us could believe it...He'd done it!  We were both really glad I was there to force-feed him the caffiene GU, and to verbally prod him to stay in contact with the crucial pack.  I know this is a very special achievement in the life of a runner and I am very grateful to be asked to help Charlie accomplish this.

Footnote: Charlie is no stranger to extreme adventure.  In 2009 he biked the length of Japan in 67 days, riding self-contained and towing his son on a trailer bike.  Read about that adventure here.  In 2011 he is going to circumnavigate Iceland in the same manner.  But in addition to towing his 9 year old son he will also be pulling his 4 year old daughter in a trailer.

Lora Fox BQ's at Thunder Road

Lora Fox finished out her season of running and triathlon with an AMAZING Boston-Marathon-Qualifying performance at Charlotte's North Carolina Thunder Road Marathon. 

Lora Fox F40/44
Chip Time 3:49:04
Gun Time 3:50:57

I have not spoken with her yet to get any of the details because she was reportedly celebrating all night after the epic run.  The only details I received were in a text that she had a slight positive split but that she made it with a minute to spare.  Go Lora.

Lora Fox has been selected to be on ACME Multisports Racing Team for 2011.  She will be racing on a QR Seduza as part of the arrangement. 

Dave Stock's Amazing Double-Triple

Triathlon Double-Triple
Completed by David Stock, Age 58

• Aug 29  Ironman Louisville  12:59:02

• Oct 10 American Triple T North Carolina 11:46:54 (3rd Grand Master)

• Nov 6  Ironman Florida 12:50:53

• Nov 13 Beach 2 Battleship Iron Distance Triathlon 13:45:51

(A Triple-Double is a basketball term defined here.  In this instance Double-Triple refers to two sets of three; three ironmans and American Triple T.) 

The achievements of some of my athletes never ceases to amaze me.  Ranging from beginners taking huge risks and trying new events....to ultras, irons, and elites.  There are so many amazing achievements if you read down my blog.  And then someone truly exceptional like David Stock steps up.  I profiled him here last year.

One amazing thing about David is that at age 58 he is among the more "senior" athletes I coach.  The other athletes on the team say "I just hope to be participating when I am that age," and then David kicks their butt.

Not only that, but David is on a quest to do ten iron distance triathlons, and he is getting close to that number.  In part, because he did THREE IRON DISTANCE TRIATHLONS THIS YEAR, namely IM Louisville, IM Florida, and Beach 2 Battleship.  Louisville boasts the toughest conditions this side of Kona; the hold it in August....in the South.

Completing the latter two races (IM FL and B2B) was even more significant considering they were only one week apart, in November.

You would think a sane person would use the time between irons to rest and train, but David is so fanatical that he included American Triple T Triathlon in his schedule.  In case you haven't heard of this little gem, it consists of 4 triathlons over the course of 2.5 days.  The distances increase from a sprint on Friday night, to two olympic distance tris on Saturday, to a half iron on Sunday.  It is compared to being equal or more difficult than a Ironman.

It would seem like Dave is getting close to completing his triathlon bucket list.  Except somehow I have a feeling he will keep producing new, amazing accomplishments.

Rick Hempel Qualifies for Age Group World Championships

After doing his first iron distance last year at Beach 2 Battleship, Rick was ready for a change of focus.  We talked about it and decided to do only short course races this year (sprint-olympic) along with several shorter running races.  The plan paid off; at USAT Age-Group National Championships Rick placed highly enough in his age group to qualify for Team USA in Beijing next year.

Congratulations Rick!

Below are a selection of photos of Rick in action this season.

Liz Rich in Her Ultramarathon Debut at the JFK 50 Miler

Liz Rich
JFK 50 Miler
November 20, 2010
Washington County, Maryland
8:12 (14th female overall, 6th in her division)

This was Liz's first ultramarathon.  She is a very talented runner and very competitive.  As such, a 50K (the normal ultramarathon "gateway") would not be enough.  She got into the JFK 50 miler which I believe is one of the oldest ultramarthons in the US, started by John F. Kennedy.

Grand Canyon Double Crossing

This page is an adventure run report from the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim (R2R2R.)  This was my second time doing this trip, and I managed to talk some friends into joining me for this little adventure.  I talked some friends into coming on this particular adventure.  Three other nutcases did the R2R2R, while 10 other people did a loop to the river and back (22 miles.)  This write-up is about the longer, 46 mile version.

Photo: This is the crew (from left) Charles Scott, ST, David Bishop, and Hara Hackett.

This picture was taken inside the main lodge at 4am before we started. Hara is drinking coffee.  She is mustering a smile which belies the fact that she was so nervous she only slept 1 hour the night before.  And she threw up, again from nerves in anticipation of this run.

This pretty sums it up.  Part of the appeal of running across (and back) in the Grand Canyon is that it is a very remote area.  You can't just call up your friend to come get you.  There are no ambulances or even heated buildings to hang out in.  You are way out there.  Park rangers don't give a shizzle that you are cold, tired, exhausted, bonking, out of food, or lost.  You got yourself into this situation, now get yourself out.  In fact, the only way to be evacuated from the Grand Canyon is a helicopter ride, purported to cost $10,000.

Photo: After only a few hours or downhill running, Charles is taking a break / taking a picture.

Incidentally I am pointing to the exact spot where Susan and I got engaged exactly 2 years earlier.

David Bishop (on left) and myself just after crossing the Colorado river, about 10 miles into the first crossing

This year Dave Bishop achieved a personal best at Olympic Distance, qualified for World Championships, and ran his first 50K.  To top it off he joined us on this run, and proved that he could walk downhill faster than I can run downhill.  He was strong all day long and even dropped the rest of the group during the last 1-2 miles of the day.

Pictured (from left) ST, Charlie, and Hara.

This is right before the $hizzle hit the fan, we are about to head up the north rim.  Note we are still smiling.  The climb up the North Kaibab trail is the most beautiful, and the most treacherous.

This picture was taken just after summiting the North Rim.  At this point we are not in the mood to stand around because it was very cold and snowy here.  We had just climbed over 6000 feet and had seriously gotten our butts kicked.  However, it is important to remember after a long climb is that if you eat a little bit and head back down the descent, you will start feeling much better in a few minutes. Especially after we got below the snow line it got much better.

While on the North Rim, I helped Hara get her Yak Trax on.  Hara performed amazingly this day. Although she was the first member of our party to show signs of fatigue, she somehow managed to maintain all the way through the rest of the run without ever falling apart.  As we were on our way up the North Rim Hara was talking about stopping in the lodge to warm-up, getting something to eat, or maybe even catching the bus back to the South Rim.  I explained to her that there is NOTHING on the North Rim.  Nothing is open, there are no people there in the Winter because it is too cold and snowy.  The only way back was to turn around. 

Like I said Hara managed to maintain, but she also gave us some entertainment every so often.  At one water stop, Hara was standing 20 or 30 feet from the three guys when she turned and looked at no one in particular and started having a conversation with...no one.  When I realized what was happening I hollered, "Hara!  Who are you talking to."  She just picked up her CamelBak, walked over to us, and said she was ready to keep going.  Mind you, we had 20 miled to go still, including running up the South Rim.

Hara receives a non-plussed, "What the....? Award' for having a conversation with a hallucination.

On the way back I saw this little guy clinging to the side of a tree.  I saw his eyes first.  I was trying to describe him to Charlie: he is a cross of a squirrel, raccoon, and maybe a cat.  Finally I said, "He's a Mr. Peepers."  Evidently they are actually called a "Ringtail."  I wonder why.

This is the trail on the way back up the South Rim, except when we climbed this trail it was already completely dark.  At one point when we were stopped, Charlie suggested we shut the headlamps off and absorb the darkness.  I then realized there was enough moonlight that I was able to do most of the final climb with no light.  This was very confusing to our friends who were waiting for us as they could only count 3 headlamps. 

By this point with only a couple miles left (~1 hour of climbing) Charlie was completely "over it."  I knew I could keep his morale up by babbling about whatever delusions happened thorough my hypoxic mind.  He later said, "man, you just kept talking."  A little while later when I realized Charlie and Hara were not interested in conversation I put my ipod on for the last mile (out of 46 miles.) 

Here is a picture of Hara semi-propped up on the trail taking a rest break.  She gets mad at me because I think it is funny to take pictures of her when she is totally prostrated, but I would counter that it is because she is such a bad ass and can push herself to the brink of exhaustion. 

Of course I will say that in the end the best part of this trip was spending some time with my lovely wife Susan. On the day of the actual run I left before her since she was in the Rim to River group.  I was very excited to see her when I returned at 2:30am after 22 hours on the trail, when she greeted me with a "WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG!"  Of course I knew she was just tired from her own run and post-run celebration.  The next day we had a romantic breakfast with a canyon view together.