Trail Run – Big Guy Hiking

Training is not so bad when beer is involved.

I did not have a training trail race this weekend, so I went to a brewery. My training is going well, I think. I really will not know until I finish the 50K in two weeks. This upcoming week I have a 25K that almost retired me last year. I am on pace to get 200 miles this month. I have had some soreness in my hips and knee, so I trying to find out if I am going to far too soon. A coach in my running group said I needed to take 48 hours off from running and give my body some rest. It was hard after finding some new routes on different trails. Crazy look on Big Cedar TrailRunning on Big Cedar trail and taking sharp turnsView of Joe Pool Lake from the trails of Cedar Hill State ParkWoodsy section of Cedar Hill SPPrairie part of Cedar Hill SPStill a forest in Cedar Hill SP

I decided to use my 48hrs off by going to a semi local brewery. I really like this place after one visit. The selection of beer is just enough to cover all the bases but not overwhelming. The atmosphere was laid back but enough noise to be interesting. I, of course, got the hefeweizen and it was fantastic. My favorite was the John Hancock Lager. It is a dark and smooth lager that was very drinkable. They also had a small BBQ stand inside the biergarten which was nice. They had board games and plenty of TVs so we were thoroughly entertained for hours.OutsideInsideMy first flightBBQ sandwich with a John HancockMy wife beating me in Star Wars trivia.

I did kick her butt in checkers 3x. I am now back to more serious training with just six weeks left till the 100K. Nothing better than a trails and ales break.

Do Wacka Do 25K

The race was located in Erick, OK at Sandy Sanders Wildlife Area in western Oklahoma. I was drawn in by background picture of a canyon trail. The picture was very accurate. The views were awesome. They were the best part of the race and a reason to run it again. The run was not particularly crowded also. Plus they had port o potties with showers.Early start of the raceSun rising over the plains

The course was mainly jeep trail and no shade to be had the entire race. The course covered from canyon rim down into canyon basin and back up several times. The 25K was a 16.2 mile loop with just under 1400 feet of elevation gain. There were four aid stations along the way strategically place at the top of some very steep and long climbs. A switchback or two would not have hurt. Most of the hills were straight up and only one had the benefit of switchbacks.View over the canyon

The 25K, 50K and 50 miler started at 7 AM and it was a cool low humidity morning but it was hot around 9:30 AM and I do not believe the aid stations were prepared for the type of heat that was coming later in the day. I was worried about fellow DDR because he was doing the 50 miler in 100 degree heat. The aid stations were not like Habanero i.e. ice was not plentiful.Looking for shadeShade in the canyon basin

As for myself, I ran at a good steady pace the entire race. The hills kept me from going to fast out of the gate. STRAVA says I ran my third fastest 1/2 marathon. I was surprised since there was a bunch of elevation on this course. I finished in a good time of 3:33:23 and 21st out of 47. I rarely finish in the top half of a race this distance. The longer runners did not fare as well. One of the 50K and one of the 50 miler runners dropped down to 25K. Of the 16 runners that started the 50 miler only 6 finished and 9 dropped down to the 50K.

Start/Finish line

On a side note, I would usually take my camper out to the races. I decided to get a hotel because I thought it would be to hot to stay in without electricity. It was cool enough over night not to have electricity and the hotel was a nightmare. First, the shower did not work and did not find out until the morning of the race and was up to late to do anything about it. Secondly, I saw what I believe was blood splatter on the drapes. Oh crap there was blood spots on the drapes. I finally got the shower to work by almost ripping the handle off the wall. I went across the street to get disinfectant for the room because of blood splatter on the drapes. The TV malfunctioned and I had to fix it, I did not to not have TV with blood on the drapes. I will be using my camper from here on out.

Six-0 Half Marathon

I had a time at this race. Blaze Trail Running put on a great race. The course was sneaky difficult but was set up with so many great views. The loops with in the course intentionally went to bluffs overlooking the Texas hill country. The volunteers were awesome and the parking set up is a detail that usually gets forgotten but it was great. Plus grilling at the finish line. Not many races have a person grilling hot dogs and hamburgers at the finish line, a nice touch. The race was fairly local so a bunch of trail runners I run with during the week were there running or volunteering. Parking right by the start/finish

The race itself caught me by surprise. I did not think it would be relatively easy but it was hillier than I thought. The race starting temperature was great but the humidity was in the upper 80s. As the race went on the humidity dropped but the temperature rose. You got to love running in Texas in August. The location was at Six-0 Ranch in Cleburne, Tx which about 45 minutes southwest of the Fort Worth. The ranch is beautiful and a great place for this race. It is also a working ranch so cows were roaming around and leaving fresh patties. Morning sky

The course was set up to go about 3.5 miles slightly downhill then 7 miles with significant elevation gain and finishing with a 3 mile downhill run with a quick uphill at the end. Within the first mile I heard yelling and looked back to see what all the commotion was about, a herd of cows were sprinting between a pack of runners and people were trying to get out of the way. No one got hurt but those cows were moving very fast and way too close for comfort. About 4.5 miles in we got to the lake, the first of many scenic areas. We looped the lake which prior to running here I thought was odd but I understood why they made the course this way.The lake on one sideThis view on the other side

Seven miles in I was drenched. Not normal drenched but shoes and socks puddles drenched. I was properly hydrated but I was hungry but not hungry. It is hard to explain but I was so hungry but I did not want to eat. It is a problem I have running when I am going longer distances. I have to force myself to eat during these runs or hit a wall near the end due to lack of nutrition. I make it to the aid station at 9.5 miles and refilled my drink and just get some watermelon, big mistake. This was another place on the course where there was an awkward place to put a loop. But the view added by having the loop was worth it.One of my favorite views from the course

After the aid station there was still a but of hill climbing to do. The downhill started fast and furious as did my demise. I was holding a 12:20 mile pace until this point. I ran into the wall and my pace jumped up. I ended with an average above 14 minutes per mile. Unlike last race I somewhat expected this to happen at sometime. I have been losing weight and not taking in as many calories as I need for a race this long. My finishing time of 3:12:17 was a little disappointing but considering the course difficulty and am not that unhappy. I like the windmill and I do believe that was one of the hills on the courseOne of the few areas of tree coverStruggling up the hill

I do not have many pictures of me having fun when running but the Dallas Dirt Runners caught me having fun and turned it into a meme. My fellow runner is Sue Fee.

We were nowhere near the finish line at this point.

A good time was had by all and next week it is a 25K in Oklahoma.

What the heck just happened? #DNF

I am still wrapping my mind around this race and what could have been. The Habanero Hundred and in my case the Habanero 30K or my DNF 20K. It was a case of doing everything right but one little change of my routine and that was it. I heat trained for weeks and had good nutrition and hydration the week leading up to the race. I was ready for the worse that the Houston area heat and humidity had to offer. I was ready for the course with its sand and no shade. I was ready to conquer the hottest race in Texas. Did a mention a change in my routine.Pre race group photo and my shirt is already drenched

Since I have been training in the middle of the day all summer, the noon start time did not throw me off as it did some runners. Instead of drinking from individual water bottles, I decided to go with a gallon jug of enhanced water. I usually do not drink enhanced water because I get my electrolytes from SOS powder mixed in spring water. I still used the SOS powder but I thought I needed this enhanced water due to the nature of a midday start of the race. I was told how hard the race can be if you are not properly prepared. The temperature reaches triple digits and no shade. The sand makes it even hotter and tender feet. I had all of these thoughts going through my mind while training for this race. I knew I was prepared and slightly confident. Did I mention a change in my routine.The most shade on the course.

On the four hour drive down to the race I was drinking plenty of enhanced water so I would be hydrated before running in the heat. I got to the race with three hours to spare before the race start. I set up my camper and met up with the DDR crew and I was sweating a ton. I drank more enhanced water because I did not want to be dehydrated before I even hit the starting line. I have now finish off a half gallon of enhanced water. I never even checked what enhanced water was or what is in it. Hence the change in my routine, I never drink enhanced water.Me being the tallest and darkest at the start

My race should have consisted of three 10K loops and a smile and medal at the end. My race actually consisted of two 10K loops and feeling like death. I was flying the first loop and finished it feeling good and about ten minutes ahead of my predicted pace. I even did a little dance at the end of the loop that made the volunteers laugh. I hadn’t taken in any food but that is usual for me. I had been icing myself at every aid station and felt good. It was the feeling of the beginning of the end.Still looking for shade

The second loop started like the first loop. Since the trail was not technical it was easy to get into a rhythm with only the sand being a constant obstacle. I got past the first batch of sand and realized I had stopped sweating. I had gotten iced down at the aid station and refilled my bottles with enhanced water. I thought maybe I just over iced and started drinking more water. By the time I got to the midway aid station, I was sweating again and feeling good. The feeling last about five minutes. It felt like a bomb went off in my stomach. I was releasing so much gas and it was awful. I am sorry for all of those running behind me. I could not stop. The end was near. My stomach was killing me. Everything else felt good and I was showing no signs of heat exhaustion. I had no idea what just happened in my stomach. I tried walking and it was painful and running made it worse. My legs felt good and my mind was clear. No dizziness or nausea, I actually felt good except for my stomach.I look soooo defeated at this point.

I got to the start/finish aid station and called it quits. I could hardly walk at this time. I ate some peanut butter pretzels and my stomach immediately rejected it. I hate public restrooms and especially port a pots. I used the same one 20+ times the next eight hours. I once again apologize for those who had to go in after me. I had an awful sleep but woke up feeling better. I learned a very important lesson the next day. There is a mineral called magnesium. It makes you POOP and too much gives you diarrhea and guess who drank almost a gallon of water enhanced with magnesium citrate. Yours truly. The one change in my routine killed me. The leftover water it still sitting in my refrigerator. I will eventually drink the rest but not anytime soon. It is a reminder of my self imposed colonoscopy.Back to drinking regular water and I didn’t die like Kenny. Just kidding he survived.

A huge shout out to two fellow bloggers @thedancingrunner and @pkadams for both crushing there 50Ks. They are an inspiration to me and true badasses.

Training for Something

Since my weekend race is the Habanero 30K, I have been heat training for over a month. The race starts at noon in central Texas and yes it is August. I am still keeping my eyes on the prize which is the October 100K. I like the no real training guide method of training. I see other runners staying to a strict running regiment and using a coach. It seems to work for some runners but I do think I would like to be told when and how much to run daily. As my blogging might tell a little about myself, I do things randomly. I write randomly, I think randomly and I train randomly. I have fun on my training runs. I switched from road running to trail running because it is more enjoyable. Do my training methods work? So far so good except for once but I did barely finish.

For this weekend I have put in a ton of very hot and humid miles. Most of my training runs have been at the hottest time of the day. I have been running hills on the trails since there are no sandy trails in my area. I am guessing running hills is just as hard as running in sand. I also did a 105 floor stair run. It took me three days to recover. My calves were not ready to run up stairs for that long. I am “tapering” this week with shorter runs but am going much faster. I do not know what that means but I do not need speed for this weekend. I have not had any gym workouts as I planned but I will get there eventually. I feel good but under prepared. I keep hearing this race is a beast and I am about to find out.

Running and more Running

Training in the heat is going better than I thought it would go. I got 175 miles in July. The total miles surpassed my best month by over 20 miles. I am slowly building up my mileage per run also getting several 7-10 mile runs. I still do not like long runs. I am not fast so long runs take up a bunch of time. I do, time on my feet runs, which last from two and half to three hours.

My races this month include Habanero 30K and Six-0 Ranch Half Marathon. They will be my long runs and to see where my fitness is at by the end of the month. My previous hip injury has been nagging a bit but nothing major. My knees are feeling good. I am surprised because I am running six to eight days in a row.

I am going to start to incorporate gym workouts twice a week to build core strength. My weight is down to 253 and I want to be around 235 by the time I run my 100K. I should be able to lose 18 pounds in 12 weeks but it is going to be tough. Back to the heat and hills.

Judgement Day Run 6 Trails 1 Day

So I tried the mini Judgement Day trail run on the south side. A judgement day run is doing multiple trails in one day. The trails included Windmill Hill, Boulder, OCNP, CHSP Dogwood Canyon and CRP. I got an average of 3 miles per park and a bonus 2 for good measure. This was easily one of the three hardest runs I have done along with my first 50K and last year’s Piney Woods 25K.

Run report:
Started at 11AM at Windmill Hill, got a good paced 3.28 miles at 11:21 minute miles. This is a small park with short and steep elevation changes. I felt good and took a ten minute drive to Boulder.

Boulder was a leisurely paced run. The drive in the car wore me out more than refreshed me. This park is a bit more level with one long hill but it is not too steep. I got 3.45 miles at a 13:20 pace. The late start hurt due to the temperature rising at noon. The next ten minutes were driving to OCNP.

OCNP was the first park I had to make a trail decision. I did the white and blue trails. The blue trail is hilly and technical but the white trail is relatively flat. I started to tire on this run. My morning fuel was depleted but my hydration was still good. I had some fruit juice and a banana for breakfast. I did 3.28 miles at a pace of 13:34 minute miles. I got back to the car and got a banana and a nutri-grain bar and took the long 15 minute drive to CHSP.

CHSP was hot. I had my first thoughts of a DNF but it was not a race but still. I was tired and my legs were turning into jello. CHSP is a sneaky hard trail. It has a bunch of switchbacks and elevation changes. I did the Green Loop and got 2.75 miles(really 3) at a very slow pace of 15:23 minutes per mile. I also had a clothes change. I needed a new shirt but that was all. The next was a quick seven minute drive to Dogwood Canyon.

I knew Dogwood Canyon would be the shortest trip. This is another small park but it has several nice views from the canyon rim. I did forget about the climb up the canyon. The quarter mile climb is steep and was tearing my legs up. It was hot and I was just trying to get up this hill. The trail was also longer than I expected but I trudged on. The trail was 2.23 miles total but had the most elevation gain of all of the trails. My pace had slowed down to 16:28 minute miles. My final drive was six minutes to CRP.

I got to CRP and was sitting in the car debating on getting out. I got out and tried to get it done as fast as possible. Fast being a relative term at this point. I was exhausted and did not eat enough to get me through this run. I did drink plenty of water and SOS electrolyte drink. I struggled through the 3.31 miles in a turtle like pace of 17:20 per mile. I decided to avoid all of the hills and steep climbs and did a flat loop around the top of the park.

I finished the 6 trails and 18+2 miles in seven hours including the drive, change of clothes and the thoughts of stopping. The two extra miles came with warmup and cooldown miles. I saw a familiar face at the end which is always nice. Thanks for the chat Elisa. My thought is this was not one of my best ideas. It was a good training run.

A change of direction

I started this blog as a hiking blog. The first posts were strictly about hiking but the blog has evolved into hiking and trail running. The blog has gone back and forth between both activities. This summer I did much more hiking than usual because I wanted to get out in my camper. I have one more trip planned then my blog will have a change of direction. My blog direction change will come after I finish blogging about my summer hikes and after my first tune up race in August. My blog will primarily be about me training for my first 100K.

I have 14 weeks till my first 100K. I have done a lot of trail running but nothing like this distance. I do not train like most trail runners i.e. find a tried and true program per a coach. I run as much as a can and listen to my body. I do not particularly like long runs so I do races in place of a weekly long run. I have set up a race schedule that will hopefully get to the point where I can finish a 100K. I have a midday 30K in August to start and find a baseline. I have four half marathons also on my race schedule. I will rerun a 25K that physically and mentally broke me down last year. Plus for a bonus run I will do my third 50K.

My 100K race.

Pedernales Falls SP Pedernales Falls Trail

I am back at Pedernales Falls Trail and this time I went further upstream. Just to get this out of the way, I got lost on the way back and had to follow the horse trail to the main road. I used a compass to go in the right direction and from the main road I hiked back to the parking lot and trailhead.

The falls were flowing with more intensity than the last time I was here. I decided to go to the obvious picturesque spots then headed up the river. I was happy that there were few people out today and got all the pictures I wanted. It was a midday day middle of the week hike so I did not expect to see many people. As most know I love waterfalls and I just kept following them further up the river. I would have kept going but the sound of thunder and a cool breeze with darkened clouds cut my hike short. It did not rain but this area is prone to flash floods and the river rises fast. I did get to parts of the park I had been to before and it was a great hike. The park gets better every time I am here and it did not disappoint. My favorite picture of the dayFour armadillosTrying out new settings on my camera phoneMy favorite beach spotSky was changingClear water and darkening clouds

I have one more day in the Texas hill country before returning home. I visit another park I have to but a different park.

Frisco Trail Race 15K

One of my last two races before a seven week race break. This race was held in Frisco, TX and will be the last race at the Northeast Community park. In the fall the park will be a golf course. I am not a golfer so I think it is a waste of space. The trails are nice and not too technical. The main use of the park is as a mountain bike trail and green space. This is also a race in which I chose the longest distance offered. I usually do a shorter distance but I wanted to test myself to see if I could not come in last.

The race started at 6:45 in the morning so the temperature was not too bad but the humidity was still quite high. We were lucky that most of the time at the race we had mostly cloudy overcast. It was good because there was little tree cover on the course. I started in the back like I always do but immediately moved passed a few people. I found a good pace group and stayed with them for a few miles. It was a group of five and the lead runner was Amber. I did not get the names of the other runners.

About 3 miles later it was just Amber and I. We picked up two more runners but they also dropped off the back. Amber said she was keeping a 13 minute mile pace but was actually going about 11 minute mile pace. We ran together to about the seven mile mark and she said she was going to pick up the pace to the end. I wished her luck and thanked her for pacing. I could not keep up.

At about little over a mile to go the 15K and 10K courses merge. I got into another group of five to get to the finish line. This group ran at a random pace going fast than walking and passing each other every few minutes. I kept a steady pace and then in the last half mile or so just took off. I passed the 10K runners and dropped the entire group and finished quite fast for my speed. I had a very good time for myself at a 1:48:49 15K. I felt good afterwards and finished right before the clouds vanished and the sun was blaring.Back of the pack startAmber setting a fast paceThe aid station where I got droppedMe dropping some people before running solo.