tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44014889968433845622024-02-01T19:06:20.913-08:00Story of a Barefoot RunnerTerry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-56964811560052716112018-07-22T20:41:00.001-07:002018-07-22T20:57:34.281-07:00New Year's One Day 2017 - Race Report: Part IThis has been sitting in my draft folder and was never posted. Hmmm...maybe it's time to post it!<br />
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So...here goes…<br />
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Race Report - Part I<br />
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New Year’s Eve morning, I woke the family up around 5 am to get ready for a 6 am drive over to San Francisco. We loaded up the van with tent, sleeping bags, extra blankets, food for the family and food for me. After we were on our way, I tried to sleep while my wife drove. I dozed in and out worrying about if I remembered all the stuff I needed for my race and trying to focus on one thing “just keep moving.”<br />
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We arrived at Chrissy Field about 8 am which was plenty of time to set up our mini-camp and get me checked in. I ate a 33Shake Chia Gel as a breakfast and pre-race starter to get my stomach working on some fuel. I paced around the start/finish line area awaiting the start of the race. I took off my XeroShoes Amuri Venture to get my feet acclimated to the ground temperature. I had a couple long sleeve shirts, my running hat and gloves on which would hopefully keep my feet warm by “overlayering” my core and head.<br />
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The race director called everyone over for the 9 am start and gave a few instructions - one of which was that we could alternate directions during the race if we got tired of running in the same direction. Good to know, since a 1.065 mile loop in the same direction might get old.<br />
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The director started the race and we were off! There was a little bit of a rush, most likely the first group of 6 hour runners, which I intentionally tried to stay away from knowing that it was going to be a very long day.<br />
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As I came off the paved path on the south side of the lagoon and onto the dirt path, I noted that the gravel was a little tricky. Upon reaching the bay side of the course, the gravel became a bit more treacherous. This was going to be tricky. (More specifics about the gravel to come…)<br />
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Eventually, I fell into a trot with another runner and started chatting about various things. I answered the usual questions about barefoot running - how long I’d been doing it, what my race strategy was, how long did it take me to transition? I also discovered that ultramarathon man, Dean Karnazes, was supposed to be racing - although no one had seen him yet. I joked that it was because he was still running over from somewhere else to the race as he has been known to do.<br />
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After a few laps, I broke off from the other runner to refuel with another Chia Gel and a little bit of <a href="https://amzn.to/2O6vF0S" target="_blank">Tailwind Nutrition </a>drink and hit the restroom. I headed back out on the loop - again. My family was hanging out for the first few laps, but eventually headed off to hike over to the Palace of Fine Arts to do a little sight-seeing.<br />
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Coming around for the 5th or 6th time, I was noting that my feet were getting tender from all of the negotiation on the gravel path. I made a tough decision - this race would not be done pure barefoot. I threw on my injinji toe socks and my XeroShoes Amuri Venture and headed back on the course. As I came around the loop again to the gravel section, the sandals made a definite improvement in my comfort level. However, after a handful more laps, I realized the damage had been done. I was feeling a particularly sore spot on the ball of my left foot. As I passed my base camp, I instructed my “crew” (translate kiddos) to get the moleskin and athletic tape out for my next lap. As I came in, they had what I needed ready. I sat down in a camp chair and cut off a section of moleskin, attached it to the ball of my foot and taped over it to fully secure it. While doing so, I noticed there was a visible bruise about the size of a nickel. Not good. I got back onto the course and continued my laps.<br />
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And so it went around and around occasionally switching direction to change it up. I’d stop about once an hour to grab something to eat - for the first 4 hours it was 33Shake Chia Gels. However, after about 1 or 2 pm, my body told me it was done with the Chia. There was nothing specifically wrong - I didn’t have any stomach issues or other concerns - I just didn’t want to eat them. So, I switched to pretzels with peanut butter and continued taking sips of <a href="https://amzn.to/2O6vF0S" target="_blank">Tailwind Nutrition</a> every hour. I only carried a bottle with me for one lap, but becoming quickly annoyed with my water belt I dumped my belt at my base camp and opted to drink whenever I came into the aid station.<br />
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By mid-afternoon, I realized that my bruised foot was causing me to alter my stride just slightly enough that my left knee was beginning to hurt. It seemed to be a similar pain to what I had last summer. I put a little tape across my knee cap to encourage my knee to track properly. This helped some for the duration, but there was always a slight pain in the knee for the entire race. Due to this discomfort, I began slowing down and walking a portion of each lap. I told my wife that I thought the 100-mile goal was gone. She was encouraging and said that it wasn’t gone yet. My pacing chart had tracked out to 107-112 miles, so even though I was slowing down, I hadn’t crossed the threshold of less than 100 miles.<br />
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By late afternoon, I had slowed significantly. I informed my wife and my parents that it was looking more like 80 miles and a 100K belt buckle finish. My dad gave me a few encouraging words before they left for home that evening.<br />
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I continued on lap after lap. For roughly the first 12 hours of the race, I tried not to focus on what lap I was on. My focus was to just keep moving and try to run/jog when I could. Around 8 or 9 pm, my daughter joined me for a handful of laps. She would run ahead and then walk as I tried to catch up. After the 3rd or 4th lap, she got cold standing around the tent and went off to bed.<br />
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Around 8 pm I started taking short 5 minute “rests.” I would sit down in my camp chair and tell my son to set his timer for 5 minutes. I would close my eyes and try to doze. Usually I would hear the chatter around me for 3 or so minutes, then I would slide off to sleep when my son or wife would say “Dad, time's up.” Then I would climb out of my chair and start trotting off to the start/finish line and get moving on the course again. This worked well every 1 ½ - 2 hours. The first couple would take me from groggy to an alert state even if I only dozed for a minute. After about 4 of these naps, around 2 am, I noted that it was getting more difficult to get up out of the chair and get moving again. I also was now close to cut-off for a 100K finish. I decided that these cat-naps were not helping as much as they were going to hurt my time and body (getting stiff and sore). I did some rough calculations in my head and decided I had to keep moving as much as possible with the exception of refueling and restroom stops. 100K was going to be close!<br />
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I’ve heard stories about people hallucinating on long endurance races and I’ve done a little bit of "sleep running" while pacing at Western States at 2 or 3 am. However, I have never had any truly bizarre experiences until this race.<br />
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The bizarre visions started around 4 am. In the low light of a full moon and my fading headlamp, while running across the dirt path section of the course, the gravel and dirt formed an image of parquet flooring. The ground looked completely flat and glass-smooth. The gravel formed the angular zig-zag pattern found in wood flooring. While looking down at the ground, I had a difficult time figuring out what I was looking at.<br />
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Around 5 am, the angular gravel formed peaks and the dirt between looked like canyons. The ground became very 3-dimensional with cavernous drops between the rocks and sheer cliff like rises among the gravel. It was getting really weird and I couldn’t understand what I was seeing.<br />
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By 6:30ish, the sun had started to rise and it was then that I could finally decipher what I was looking at. During the day, I had not really paid much attention to what the gravel looked like - only that it had hurt like hell on my bare feet. Now in the growing light of dawn, I could see the individual rocks were like rectangular prisms embedded in the dirt, but the dirt was washed-out in between the rocks creating the crevasses of 5 am. What a wild experience!<br />
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In the final hour and a half of my run, I dug deep to get my final couple of laps. Everyone on the course was cheering each other on. I needed 59 laps to get 100K. By 7 am, I had about 57 laps and knew that I would get my buckle. I just kept trotting along, still mostly walking. At about 8:05 am, I crossed the start/finish line for the 59th time. I confirmed with the race official that I had completed 100K. I could have pushed on for another 55 minutes for another lap or two, but I was hurting and sore. I stripped off my timing chip and handed it in at the table.<br />
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My family had already begun tearing down our camp and I waddled over to our van and stripped off my cold/wet shirts and put on a clean shirt. I began shivering uncontrollably about 10 minutes later and had to wrap myself in a blanket and sit in the car as our gear was packed in. I was back to normal about 20 minutes after that and we started our trek home.<br />
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Stay tuned for Part II for my post-race reflection.<br />
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<br />Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-53699933797986426752017-10-30T20:11:00.003-07:002017-10-31T07:28:01.697-07:0033Shake Chia Gel Review<br />
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When I switched over to my keto/fat-enabled running training mode, I knew I also needed to switch up my race nutrition. I had heard about 33Shake on both Trail Runner Nation podcast and the Primal Endurance podcast. Knowing that it was made with chia seeds made it all the more appealing. If you go back to one of my first posts about Iskiate, the Raramuri chia seed beverage, you know that I was experimenting with chia seeds. However, I never really got a good handle on the drink. It seemed too much liquid to down and very seedy (for a beverage).<br />
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Fast forward to today..<br />
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After hearing about 33Shake, I decided to look them up. The chia energy gel comes in a squeeze pack that you might find baby food or squeezable applesauce pack. I opted to buy a 10-pack of the chia energy gel, which cost me $27.50 plus shipping. The product arrived promptly after a few days. On my next weekend run I took a pouch with me -remembering to fill it up with water to get it soaking (it takes about 10 minutes to gel up). Mostly I wanted to see how the chia gel tasted and if there were any negative affects on my stomach. With my fat-enabled training, I've been doing fasted morning runs, so I waited about a half hour into my run before downing the pouch. First, I must say that the chia gel has a great taste. It almost tastes like maple brown sugar instant oatmeal both in flavor and texture. I will admit it took a couple squeezes to figure out if I liked it and how to exactly "eat" it. Keep in mind, I hate normal gel/goo packs - I could never stomach the flavors or the slimy texture. With the chia gel, I figured don't chew the seeds, just swallow. I suppose you could chew if you wanted to, but in my opinion it's just going to leave you with a bunch of seeds stuck in your mouth. At the end of the run, no issues with my stomach.<br />
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About a week later I took two pouches on an hour and a half run. I took one 20 minutes into my run and then the second about 40 minutes later. I wanted to test how my stomach would handle more than one pack. Again, no issues with my stomach. It was easier to take in now that I knew just to swallow the gel. The one issue I had on this run was that one of the packs was a little light on water. The result was slightly drier chia seeds and an inability to get all the gel out of the squeeze pack. Mental note to make sure that each pouch is really full before heading out. Following the run and 2 gel packs later, no stomach issues.<br />
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So, the good news is that my stomach can easily handle 33Shake Gel packs. Now the real test will be energy levels on a longer run. I also plan on testing them for a weekend backpacking trip coming up. I'm hoping that I can off-set some of the backpacking food that I will have to eat (that is not Keto).
More to come in the next month - more training, more blog posts. I will update the 33Shake experiment as my runs get longer.<br />
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Go Bare or Go Home!<br />
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**NOTE** 33 Shake Chia Energy Gel was purchased with my own money and the review above is my honest assessment of 33Shake to this point. If you are interested in trying out 33Shake you can find their website at <a href="https://www.33shake.com/">https://www.33shake.com/</a>.Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-40405113461131017812017-10-17T23:01:00.004-07:002017-10-17T23:09:25.078-07:00Keto/Fat-Enabled Running<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coming up on New Year’s Day, I will be racing in my first 24 hour run. Last month I was trying to decide how I was going to effectively train and power my body through 24 hours of running. I’ve struggled from time to time with nutrition and overtraining issues. With regards to nutrition, I’ve managed to train my body to take in food over long trail runs. However, I’ve never enjoyed or had much success with the typical gels that runners and cyclists use during races. Sports drinks have, likewise, had mixed results during training and racing. With respect to training, I’ve gone the junk miles route with building a base and then ramping up to crazy miles to a peak and then tapering and I’ve done strength training with minimal miles - long and slow. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In my past training, I’ll freely admit that I’ve never been a stickler to any sort of diet. I generally eat healthy, but I do enjoy fast food and pizza. Those who know me well, know that I am a Pepsi addict. After biting the bullet and signing up for this race, I knew something had to change. I knew that I was not going to be able to continue with my status quo training methods. Over the past 7 years as a barefoot runner, I've come to learn a lot of things about how we as humans are designed and how my own body fits into that mold. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, how did I end up at a Keto/fat-enabled training model? By accident.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's funny how you come across things that you don't think will have a major impact on you until well after the fact. It's also amazing how the seemingly random puzzle pieces of life fall into place at the right time.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For those of you who have followed my journey, you know that I began barefoot running after reading Christopher McDougall's </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Born to Run. </i>If you have read the book, you also realize that it is not really a book about barefoot running per se. However, the book has inspired a large number of people to take up barefoot running. When I read that book, I was looking for something to inspire me. I was a frustrated runner. I hated training for marathons, but I loved the challenge. After reading the book and jumping in feet first on barefoot running, my entire outlook on running changed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, in 2015 McDougall wrote <i>Natural Born Heroes</i>. I recently listed to the audio version commuting to and from work. Again, I didn't really know much about the premise of the book, but it sounded interesting. From the get-go I was hooked - an amazing tale of WWII soldiers, amateur historians, natural movement, and human nutrition. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The book was actually a culmination of my personal journey of barefoot running to this point. I have been interested in natural movement since I began barefoot running. Parkour, natural fitness, barefoot running and paleo eating (although I hadn't actually made any nutritional changes) were all interests that have been evolving over the past 7 years. The book brought me around full circle to where I needed to be.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">For the past month, I've been following Phil Maffetone, Primal Endurance Podcast and others in an attempt to alter my nutrition and training methods. I've cut out virtually all carbs and most if not all processed foods. My diet is more Primal with most days being under 50g of carbs in my low-carb, high fat diet. My race training has shifted from faster miles to long, slow miles with my heart rate under 136 bpm and occasional high intensity training sessions. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The frustrations with this new method has been with slowing down enough to keep my heart rate under control. Another difficulty has been adjusting what I eat and cutting out all processed foods - especially Pepsi! Old habits die hard. It's amazing how addicting sugar and processed foods are, but if you commit to 2 weeks of no sugar the effect can be life-changing. However, the payoff has really come in training. I have had sustained energy on runs and long hikes - many of which in a fasted state. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I will continue to write about this journey as my race approaches and the training evolves.
Stay tuned!</span></span></div>
Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-45758425201461011182017-10-16T22:15:00.001-07:002017-10-16T22:15:09.222-07:00Training for a 24 Hour RunIt's been quite a while since I've posted. Family life, while amazing, takes time away from training and racing. Now that things are a little more routine, I decided to put my money down on a race to "motivate" me to get serious about training and racing again.<br />
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So, here's what's new. . .<br />
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Over the summer I dropped some money on the race fees for the New Year's One Day race on New Year's Eve in San Francisco. So, it's real now. No turning back.<br />
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I started out with some easy runs up to 3 miles at a comfortable 11:30 pace. A 24 hour race isn't really about speed as much as it is endurance. However, I was stuck with how exactly to approach my training - long runs, speed workouts, strength training, and nutrition.<br />
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After listening to a number of podcasts from Trail Runner Nation and Primal Endurance, as well as reading Christopher McDougall's book Natural Born Heroes, I have decided to go for the fat-enabled, primal eating route. This includes heart rate training and low-carb, high fat nutrition recommended by Phil Maffetone.<br />
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So, stay tuned as I document my journey toward a 24-hour race to 100+ miles!<br />
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Future posts will include training regimens, sports nutrition supplements that I am incorporating and overall eating plans that I have implemented.<br />
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One final note - Please take note of the new running shirts that I have designed with the new Story of a Barefoot Runner logo on them. For this first run of shirts, there is a limit to the first 50 purchased. I am hopeful that more will be in the works!<br />
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Run safe!Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-23681716932440287122017-10-16T00:50:00.000-07:002017-10-16T08:19:08.442-07:00Barefoot Runner Shirts NOW AVAILABLE for a LIMITED TIME!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZEx19CgWCMeSCvdg3jYhi-BNZwFSJ4s2UHTzcQRv6P5NNomJz__jv6iXVJIx5PCXZrrO-pWaTm2QTc0Z1BHbVvlQumWuiwVU2TkyO2vV1BCcWV0LI9-jk6JH1j8WIjefZI2peXUArdqQ/s1600/Shirt+AD+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZEx19CgWCMeSCvdg3jYhi-BNZwFSJ4s2UHTzcQRv6P5NNomJz__jv6iXVJIx5PCXZrrO-pWaTm2QTc0Z1BHbVvlQumWuiwVU2TkyO2vV1BCcWV0LI9-jk6JH1j8WIjefZI2peXUArdqQ/s400/Shirt+AD+%25281%2529.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Ok, Barefoot Runners! Come and get them while they are hot! I am offering a pre-sale for my new. dri-fit, long-sleeve, barefoot runner shirts. They come with the Story of a Barefoot Runner Logo on the chest and the text "BAREFOOT RUNNER" down the left sleeve. The colors offered are black, graphite, navy, maroon, green, red, royal blue, and white. I hope to offer some neon colors in the future. The cost is $40 per shirt with shipping included (US ONLY). The pre-sale is for the first 50 shirts ordered between now and October 28, 2017. Shirts should be shipped by November 10, 2017. Please use the PayPal buttons below to select Color and Size options. Thank you for supporting Story of a Barefoot Runner!<br />
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Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-37017883853846290542017-01-09T23:15:00.000-08:002017-01-09T23:15:01.013-08:00I'm BACK! New things on the way!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZiQH8Xlu1ao7BfnZI33ExdW8efI9DvxAa8cbkAnpzxq3ezj4xh8hdn_KtYBje8VoL-PegHE3IzescecABcoFeLHj9ovht7s1-bqYf8v9r6qJTy1_acJzCfo1pO-LtrTYVO9SgQ7PXaM/s1600/logo2+PIC+EDIT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZiQH8Xlu1ao7BfnZI33ExdW8efI9DvxAa8cbkAnpzxq3ezj4xh8hdn_KtYBje8VoL-PegHE3IzescecABcoFeLHj9ovht7s1-bqYf8v9r6qJTy1_acJzCfo1pO-LtrTYVO9SgQ7PXaM/s400/logo2+PIC+EDIT.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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CHECK OUT THE NEW LOGO! LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! SHIRTS, STICKERS AND MORE ON THE WAY!Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-16919841953789052462015-08-04T22:06:00.001-07:002015-08-04T22:06:32.556-07:00Up and Coming News . . .Sometimes we become side-tracked in our plans and need to take the time to sit back, re-focus, and set new goals. The past year has been a busy one for me with a new addition to our family. As a result, my priorities obviously changed and my training regimen fell to the wayside.<br />
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Now that things have settled into a new routine, I decided to take some time and think about how to move forward from my new "normal."<br />
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What is in the works for Story of a Barefoot Runner?<br />
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1) Expanding the blog to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.<br />
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If you are on any of these social media sites, you may or may not have found my presence there. Story of a Barefoot Runner has a Facebook page by the same name. On Instagram and Twitter the handles are@BarefootTerry. So if you haven't already, check me out there!<br />
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2) Podcast in development.<br />
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Keep your eyes peeled and ears alert for the launch of Story of a Barefoot Runner podcast this Fall 2015! If you have suggestions on topics or people you would like to hear interviewed, feel free to post a comment below, send me a message on Facebook, or a Tweet. I will do my best to cover the topics you are interested in.<br />
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3) Racing.<br />
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It's been a while since I've done any serious racing. The next 12 months are going to be exciting. I'm going to be working on training using a mixture of running strategies I've used in the past - long, slow runs, speed work, and total body training using HIIT and MovNat methodologies. I will be writing a series of posts on my MovNat and other training regimens leading up to some big races that I hope to do before 2015 is out as well as beyond. So, stay tuned.<br />
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<br />Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-34959866064940700382015-08-03T18:54:00.000-07:002015-08-03T21:31:27.218-07:00Review of the Mizuno Wave Universe 5<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mizuno Wave Universe 5</td></tr>
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On a visit to my local running store to pick up a 5K race packet, I noticed the <a href="http://amzn.to/1M1TPE3" target="_blank">Mizuno Wave Universe 5</a> on the shelf. The owner gave me a bit of ribbing while I was looking because he knows that I am a barefoot runner. However, when I picked them up, I was quite impressed with the weight of the shoe, the relatively thin and flat-ish sole, and the thin material in the uppers.</div>
After trying them on, I decided to purchase the pair to try as a backup shoe for running trails that might require a little bit of protection. One note, these are probably the most expensive pair of shoes that I have purchased either as a former shod runner and as a minimalist/barefoot runner. The price tag came in at about $125 (Nov. 2014).<br />
First some basic stats on the shoe according to the website:<br />
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<b>Weight</b>: 3.2 oz ea (Size 10.5 US)</div>
<b>Stack</b> <b>height</b>: Heel 13mm, Forefoot 11mm<br />
<b>Discoveries</b>:<br />
At the time of my purchase, I had assumed that as a minimalist shoe it would have a zero drop. However, after having run in them a few times and then looking up the information on the shoe for this review, I was surprised to find that there is a 2mm drop from heel to toe (13mm heel/11mm toe). The other thing I discovered when researching online is that the shoe is considered a racing flat. However, a someone who refers running barefoot, I usually am looking for a lightweight flat shoe for added protection on technical trails. So, a racing flat could fit the bill if I like the shoe.<br />
I ran approximately 20+ miles in the Wave 5. The test runs were conducted on a combination of paved bike path and single track dirt trails.<br />
<b>First</b> <b>impressions</b>:<br />
The shoes are incredibly lightweight. They almost feel like you have nothing on your feet. One downside is that the toe box narrows in a similar manner to traditional running shoes. Despite this, it does not feel overly constricting on the foot but does not allow for full toe splay typically found in other minimalist shoes that have a wide toe box. The thin sole does allow for fairly decent ground feel. The sole is flexible and allows your foot to flex. There is almost nothing to the uppers. It is basically a thin layer of very breathable material.<br />
<b>Fit</b>:<br />
The pair I purchased was a 10.5' which is my typical shoe size. They fit comfortably and snug around my foot. The uppers are so thin that they do not constrict your foot as much as a more traditional upper might do. They are extremely flexible. <br />
The footbed is lightly padded. It is thick enough to take the edge off of any rocky terrain, yet thin enough that you have decent ground feel.<br />
<b>Test</b> <b>runs</b>:<br />
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On my first run with the shoes, a buddy of mine and I went out for an 18 mile out and back run along a portion of the <a href="http://www.ar50mile.com/" target="_blank">American River 50 mile</a> course starting near Folsom Lake. Approximately half of our run was on a paved bike path/gravel fire road and the remainder of the runner was on dirt single track. The shoes allowed me to run the gravel sections without any hesitations that might occur when running these sections barefoot. <br />
The next run was at a nature preserve where the video of the shoe was filmed. This run was primarily single track trail running. One thing I noticed on this run was that the dew on the grass easily penetrated the shoe. This did not cause any problems on the run that morning, but it is possible you could have issues with blistering in damp shoes. That being said, the shoes also seemed to dry quickly since the material is so thin.<br />
On the whole, I enjoyed my time running in the Mizunos. My main concern at this time is the drop on the sole. My worry is that changing between barefoot, zero drop shoes, and into a minimal drop shoe might play havoc with my Achilles tendons. The reason I state this is that when I was training for my first 50 miler, I trained almost exclusively barefoot, but on my first run in my <a href="http://amzn.to/1SFxilZ" target="_blank">Merrell Trail Gloves</a>, I ended up straining one tendon resulting in my only race DNF. With that in mind, I have done lots of running since then in my Merrells without any issue. Since I had no issues following my runs with the Mizunos after 20+ miles it is not likely that there will be an issue.<br />
One odd thing I noted when walking on wet concrete or on tile floors is that the oval shaped recess in the heel acts as a suction cup. This is not a factor when running, but does give an unusual sensation when walking on smooth surfaces.<br />
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On a final note, I think despite my reservations about the 2mm drop, the <a href="http://amzn.to/1M1TPE3" target="_blank">Mizuno Wave's</a> ultralight weight and thin profile has won a spot on my limited shoe shelf.<br />
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Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-89747172409059422852015-04-16T22:07:00.001-07:002015-04-16T22:07:31.407-07:00Western States Endurance Run 2014 Experience<p>A little (very) slow in posting this, but with me it's always busy - this time it's welcoming a new addition to the family. So, before I start posting about lots of new and upcoming adventures, I thought it best to finish up what has passed. </p><p>Enjoy the "Experience." </p><p>Back in May I threw my name in the hat for another shot at pacing at the <a href="http://www.wser.org" target="_blank" title="">WSER</a>. I had so much fun doing it in 2012, but was unable to attend in 2013.</p><p>A couple weeks later, I received an email from a relatively local runner asking if I was still interested. After a couple emails we managed to connect on the phone. I realized I was being interviewed for the job of pacer - makes a lot of sense if you're going to put your race in the hands of someone you haven't met before. One of the first questions I was asked was, "Why do you want to run 20 miles in the middle of the night with someone you have never met?" It was a question that caught me off guard, yet it is a very legitimate question. My answer was that at this time I have not qualified for WS and even if I managed a qualifier, I would still need to be drawn in the lottery. So, this is my opportunity to be "in" the race without actually being "in" the race.</p><p>This was good enough answer for my runner - Todd Law.</p><p>His goal for the race was obviously a finish, a PR, and if the opportunity presented itself a sub-24. My goal was to make sure that we accomplished as much of this as possible.</p><p>The morning of the race, I gathered my gear and began the drive up to Auburn where I was going to meet Todd's wife, Heidi, and the his other pacer, Andrew. I arrived before the Todd's wife so I headed over to Foresthill to check-in and was fortunate enough to watch the leaders come in and out of the aid station. It is amazing to see the strength and speed these runners still have after 62 miles! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZhIoYmu1GxR7GbUa-hlqOvLmlKh8aqDRxdzB6y11ATVmck0Edl8Zxom977jR75OYw9kZH7wHgDBmmKcBkTT61RLklDEz0escXxBMnqxUnzcuWncThC2GeAl8D-zqmgNA39wp559yIg_w/s1024/Photo%25252020150416220553567.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZhIoYmu1GxR7GbUa-hlqOvLmlKh8aqDRxdzB6y11ATVmck0Edl8Zxom977jR75OYw9kZH7wHgDBmmKcBkTT61RLklDEz0escXxBMnqxUnzcuWncThC2GeAl8D-zqmgNA39wp559yIg_w/s500/Photo%25252020150416220553567.jpg" id="blogsy-1429247247729.1885" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="669"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIxwLN5ASWnBtk_bew4VeK_kCfoFy8rfX5Etr3aGQqTbkODP_XJ6b9qf7TDwDG6bevfY6cdYyy5KrLWsKWvvflvK0V1SDubIDabZ9tfDNfCJfTHPFBm5HMTrvm3vWT4t5eIU2eVtkUKU/s1024/Photo%25252020150416220553897.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIxwLN5ASWnBtk_bew4VeK_kCfoFy8rfX5Etr3aGQqTbkODP_XJ6b9qf7TDwDG6bevfY6cdYyy5KrLWsKWvvflvK0V1SDubIDabZ9tfDNfCJfTHPFBm5HMTrvm3vWT4t5eIU2eVtkUKU/s500/Photo%25252020150416220553897.jpg" id="blogsy-1429247247731.8347" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="374"></a></div><p> </p><p>While in Foresthill, I also ran into my new friend Tony Nguyen, AKA <a href="http://www.facebook.com/EndorphinDude" target="_blank" title="EndorphinDude">I am Endorphin Dude</a>. I had seen Tony finish just behind me at <a href="http://www.ar50mile.com" target="_blank" title="">AR50</a> in 2013 and met him at a local half marathon a few months before WS.</p><p>I caught up with one other crew member of Todd's, Nancy, who had been crewing for Todd and another runner, Ken, from the start of the race. We transferred some of the gear to my truck that needed to get to Heidi for the evening/night shift.</p><p>Back at Placer High School, I transferred all of the runners' gear and my stash into Heidi's car and we headed out to meet Todd at Michigan Bluff. This would be our first chance to see Todd in the race and my chance to actually meet him (briefly) before our run later that night. We made the drive back through Foresthill and down the windy road to Michigan Bluff. We lucked out and found a spot barely big enough for the car and not too far of a hike down to the shuttle bus stop. Even after the trip down, we still had about an hour before Todd was due. It was late afternoon and I figured it would be best to at least attempt to get in a few winks. I managed a short, semi-comfy nap on a beach towel on the dirt shoulder, waking in time to see Heidi and Todd walking down the road toward our station.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM3KIt5cPMfYXSu7I2RnrEQC_TATurHkCj4vrCLtljzyV-NqbcIeVyRzTvC32qNN1vt94ATXgpL78AytvyKKdIjM5tL9xb9-XnggIB1AIg79x5G17YcKuPVa6fv1s6PVGlxPQ6T2r342Q/s1024/Photo%25252020150416220554084.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM3KIt5cPMfYXSu7I2RnrEQC_TATurHkCj4vrCLtljzyV-NqbcIeVyRzTvC32qNN1vt94ATXgpL78AytvyKKdIjM5tL9xb9-XnggIB1AIg79x5G17YcKuPVa6fv1s6PVGlxPQ6T2r342Q/s500/Photo%25252020150416220554084.jpg" id="blogsy-1429247247670.1367" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="333"></a></div><p> </p><p>After swapping out supplies for Todd, we headed back over to Foresthill to wait again and meet up with Todd's other pacer and the rest of the crew. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-a3ddhyphenhyphenHezBXdAIxN80hr8N2tb7BFbdMyDTaoB4HRcko0rjNPYqXmZtJPCu0docCrorTba5bBN65ilnLa2ZCj9OpLHUHvvDlYyG5L8iY0it9_L38RQPlUpKF6BAsNwANmsJCO9WN_bQ/s1024/Photo%25252020150416220554252.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-a3ddhyphenhyphenHezBXdAIxN80hr8N2tb7BFbdMyDTaoB4HRcko0rjNPYqXmZtJPCu0docCrorTba5bBN65ilnLa2ZCj9OpLHUHvvDlYyG5L8iY0it9_L38RQPlUpKF6BAsNwANmsJCO9WN_bQ/s500/Photo%25252020150416220554252.jpg" id="blogsy-1429247247679.349" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="374"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBYkQa91cM5KplAcmmTLkuGmlytYR9p0HnRlEg4-qyfZc0CutfJ9NJzzdw7quPNHHfYnFGNZg_P8rTtJPsOwhXuTWfc48CQ2zcVNOswhBiTv0pm8l4lUIX35ePc8h9tB918JZ7xf8DvkE/s1024/Photo%25252020150416220554426.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBYkQa91cM5KplAcmmTLkuGmlytYR9p0HnRlEg4-qyfZc0CutfJ9NJzzdw7quPNHHfYnFGNZg_P8rTtJPsOwhXuTWfc48CQ2zcVNOswhBiTv0pm8l4lUIX35ePc8h9tB918JZ7xf8DvkE/s500/Photo%25252020150416220554426.jpg" id="blogsy-1429247247721.5085" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="374"></a></div><p>As a crew it is always a "hurry up and wait" experience. We arrived back in Foresthill with some time to kill, but not too much. We met up with the rest of the crew, now including pacers Andrew and Phillip. Todd came through about an hour and a half after we left him at Michigan Bluff. After we sent Todd on his way with Andrew, his first pacer, we stayed around to await one other runner to send his pacer along.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpn4GCYhn3Vp7JYGxrydgvnRDShKF5a-pRC2mZ5jgn1_v5tqllPw8Gl-p1ai2-JumjXLbX4LutUSj27GRZu-46OkvnL5_a_cTQhyxYbEEtJj6A209GIkvW0nB0W4NaYtSJbsjFLJ01zw/s640/Photo%25252020150416220554508.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpn4GCYhn3Vp7JYGxrydgvnRDShKF5a-pRC2mZ5jgn1_v5tqllPw8Gl-p1ai2-JumjXLbX4LutUSj27GRZu-46OkvnL5_a_cTQhyxYbEEtJj6A209GIkvW0nB0W4NaYtSJbsjFLJ01zw/s500/Photo%25252020150416220554508.jpg" id="blogsy-1429247247686.5486" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="480" height="640"></a></div><p> </p><p>While the sun was setting, I decided I should take the opportunity to rest up a little. I planted myself on a sleeping pad, covered my face with my hat and dozed off. I awoke a bit later in the darkness to the sound of the crew talking to the other runner. Someone had thrown a sleeping bag over me while I had slept, thankfully, since it had begun to chill a bit.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwHIqyWQYHAr8KOIlF16b0-uCriKT6wtVwCZeRXdmuU_WUV47kwfJBrSf1X5Wme3L-xeVUVkW6n8wrERPSewqLI2U3wstp8LY3dmArAV_vcONB6rDQV3BawSFdX8z6j-98f8ZdPjCyaI/s1024/Photo%25252020150416220554714.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwHIqyWQYHAr8KOIlF16b0-uCriKT6wtVwCZeRXdmuU_WUV47kwfJBrSf1X5Wme3L-xeVUVkW6n8wrERPSewqLI2U3wstp8LY3dmArAV_vcONB6rDQV3BawSFdX8z6j-98f8ZdPjCyaI/s500/Photo%25252020150416220554714.jpg" id="blogsy-1429247247744.1055" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div><p> </p><p>After sending the second runner along with his pacer, Phillip, Heidi and I realized that we didn't have too much time to get down to Green Gate. We hastily packed the cars and consulted hand drawn maps in the Crew Guide. I lead the way driving Phillip's car and following the GPS. There is nothing quite like trying to find tiny roads while driving on winding mountain roads in the middle of nowhere, in the dark, even while following a map on a GPS (oh, and no address to input into the computer). Throw in that we were on a strict time table and you get the idea of the pressure I was feeling. It reminded me of pacing WS in 2012 when I was waiting for the Green Gate shuttle and the bus driver decided he needed a break and shut off his bus for a half an hour while pacers and crews scrambled about for a way to get down to the isolated aid station.</p><p>We finally made it down to Hwy 49 and passed through the aid station at the Hwy 49 crossing. Then it was off to find the small road to Green Gate aid station. I had been this way a couple of times before, but never in the dark. I kept thinking that we must have passed the turn off as more time passed since we had gone through the Hwy 49 aid station. I correctly assumed that I was following another crew car and when they made the turn I was looking for, I felt a bit of relief. We wound our way down the one lane road down to Green Gate trying to go as fast as the darkness and twisty road allowed. When we finally reached the bottom, there wasa bottleneck of cars trying to make the U-turn so that they could park on the uphill side of the road. Heidi and I were both fortunate enough to find parking spots not far from the dirt road leading to Green Gate. I quickly grabbed all the gear I would need and joined hied by her car. </p><p>As we were hiking down the dirt road, the radio crackled. Andrew informed us that they had crossed the river and were changing shoes. Heidi and I started to hustle out of fear that we would not arrive at Green Gate before they came up the hill from the river. Our fears went went away as we arrived and Todd had not yet arrived. About a half hour later, Todd and Andrew showed up. They were running on a target finish of about 25:30.</p><p>I chatted with Andrew to find out if we were still hoping for a sub-24 finish, but he informed me that the run from Foresthill had not allowed them to close the gap. </p><p>As Todd and I headed out, Heidi shouted out, "Sub-24!"</p><p>The first four miles or so went smoothly. After the aid station at Auburn Lake Trails, my worst fear began to hit - stomach issues.</p><p>Over the years I have had issues on and off with various sports drinks. I've pretty much nailed it down to keeping the mixtures at half strength to reduce the impact on my stomach. However, I recalled that earlier in the day I had mixed a full tablet with my water bottle to maintain hydration while hanging around in the hot sun. Payback had begun.</p><p>I figured that I could make it to the next aid station. As the trail through the night wound on, my stomach began to get worse. I started scanning the sides of the trail to look for a place to ... take care of some business. The problem is that the trail between Auburn Lakes and Browns Bar is along the side of the mountain along the windy American River - there are no flat areas along the trail. As we got closer to Browns Bar, I informed Todd of my issue and told him I was scouting for a pit stop. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and climbed up the side of there hill and found a relatively suitable spot to ... It helped some. I felt better, but only for a little while. I ended up hitting a porta-potty at every aid station for the rest of the night. Basically, it sucked.</p><p>Back to the main story...</p><p>After Browns Bar, there is a very long climb that winds it's way up and around the quarry before you hit Highway 49. I remembered this seemingly never ending climb from my previous pacing experience. Todd had begun to slow a bit and was trailing me by about 25 to 30 yards, which was fine for me because for the first time I began to fall asleep while trekking up the hill. I would take a step, doze, and then shake awake as I began to tip over. It was probably about 4:00 a.m. Finally, when I realized that this would no longer work, I stepped to the side of the trail and told Todd I needed to pull a 5 Hour Energy from my pack. He asked if it worked and I told him that I had no idea, but I needed to try something to wake up. </p><p>Ten minutes later, I was wide awake and powering up the hill. We crested the top and wound our way down to the Highway 49 aid station. A quick trip to the bathroom and we were back on the trail. Todd opted to take the lead now. The sky had begun to brighten and the sun was coming up. Todd began a relatively blistering pace with me chasing him for the next few miles up, over and down to No Hands Bridge. </p><p>When I asked him where he was getting all of the energy, he said that he gets a burst of energy when the sun comes up. Todd wasn't kidding. He just about killed me with his pace. By the time we reached the aid station at No Hands Bridge, Todd was still running like a machine and I had burned all remaining energy from my body. It was a strange experience. Here Todd had run nearly 97 miles compared to my 17 and I was the one falling apart.</p><p>After my, now routine, trip to the port-a-potty, we trotted off across the bridge. Now, as my memory serves me from my first time pacing at WS the climb up to Robie Point in the early morning darkness felt very much uphill most of the way. Now in the sunshine of the new day, it appeared to be relatively flat switchbacks with short climbs between. With my energy gone, these short climbs were completely kicking my ass. At one point about two-thirds of the way up, I actually had to put my hands on my knees and take deep breaths. It was a very humbling moment. I didn't want to give up on my runner, yet my body was betraying me at every turn. I kept waiting for Todd to drop me and head to the finish line.</p><p>Despite my repeated apologies to Todd, he kept me on board. My guess is that we had been beyond the 24 hour finish mark all night and comfortably set to finish well under 30 hours. I promised Todd that once we made it to the top of the road just after Robie Point we would run to the finish non-stop.</p><p>We were welcomed at Robie Point where I quickly downed some soda for a last ditch caffeine boost and walked the final "hill" into the neighborhood in Auburn. We began running once we crested the hill. Todd was still running like a machine and I was still sucking wind and fighting hard to keep pace with him. </p><p>We entered the stadium to the announcer introducing Todd. We continued our way around the track until I broke off into the pacer chute and Todd headed to the finish line. Todd's crew was cheering at the base of the bleachers and I ran over to them. They congratulated me on getting Todd to the finish. I informed them how Todd had basically dragged my ass the last 7 miles. But a finish is a finish - 26:02:25 Official.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ohlj2_MJep6FB5mOqDmkIF190LPD8pEzTt3WtcUFS-Gda3qbDivhW9AJSu74WDDMhI_VZqXDlGMaC5BjDALp-t8gOG9hAyidGTDmPVf_pz1NnUFJoIdqUBzAZCKSv-JCZ2Ch4AgcRhE/s1024/Photo%25252020150416220554822.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ohlj2_MJep6FB5mOqDmkIF190LPD8pEzTt3WtcUFS-Gda3qbDivhW9AJSu74WDDMhI_VZqXDlGMaC5BjDALp-t8gOG9hAyidGTDmPVf_pz1NnUFJoIdqUBzAZCKSv-JCZ2Ch4AgcRhE/s500/Photo%25252020150416220554822.jpg" id="blogsy-1429247247703.1106" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNE-gz2cuSR8C2tLeDi1NrqawcloKAAtDUpohfIrVccGy5aAwJV0UqRKlF67MCJYg3hn4J6ThkpoaGduOei844yXbdyxflW73p0UwKrm2Q2rtNNqc5rPApK9x_RRkykJBGh8bCfWhum_c/s1024/Photo%25252020150416220554953.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNE-gz2cuSR8C2tLeDi1NrqawcloKAAtDUpohfIrVccGy5aAwJV0UqRKlF67MCJYg3hn4J6ThkpoaGduOei844yXbdyxflW73p0UwKrm2Q2rtNNqc5rPApK9x_RRkykJBGh8bCfWhum_c/s500/Photo%25252020150416220554953.jpg" id="blogsy-1429247247681.5332" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrCxopG_to9YV3IIblgp1uz8yI2xrgtUGjCtdx-KbEsUC6yK0XqdcMZPlg5wU61bFT1jyaFnKMWy29wftzF6ZTYBn5zmUEbNeVrJSwAiVQjXPopeAa11EHlTrG8fsNiZqBX2a58ZXads/s1024/Photo%25252020150416220555096.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrCxopG_to9YV3IIblgp1uz8yI2xrgtUGjCtdx-KbEsUC6yK0XqdcMZPlg5wU61bFT1jyaFnKMWy29wftzF6ZTYBn5zmUEbNeVrJSwAiVQjXPopeAa11EHlTrG8fsNiZqBX2a58ZXads/s500/Photo%25252020150416220555096.jpg" id="blogsy-1429247247672.1418" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZl7lxd03SSaVnTIF34SdAI861OsUZOBM8njzlSC4nCbom5f0mIB6oyvr6yHPM8ZBZrDKsYTWx_e2r9cZ_X2mc5xlYEF-FFGLvjAhVzx07fZKY3DNl-QfPcUsVQ4LLhY9OxK2r0VSQbzI/s1024/Photo%25252020150416220555261.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZl7lxd03SSaVnTIF34SdAI861OsUZOBM8njzlSC4nCbom5f0mIB6oyvr6yHPM8ZBZrDKsYTWx_e2r9cZ_X2mc5xlYEF-FFGLvjAhVzx07fZKY3DNl-QfPcUsVQ4LLhY9OxK2r0VSQbzI/s500/Photo%25252020150416220555261.jpg" id="blogsy-1429247247734.85" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="667" alt=""></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfS7sNooNP_KSMQxt4kzE4UwMp14e6qAs5yREThBS8O8xR_l6O6eNAz2mZ_-mf_HO7SUK718W4NNLde2uhdf1QWiHv_jOol9Wry_3daswn4zfw3ckJmCBx2RQ1sBwQKbuT7Q__pH-qAQ/s1024/Photo%25252020150416220555423.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfS7sNooNP_KSMQxt4kzE4UwMp14e6qAs5yREThBS8O8xR_l6O6eNAz2mZ_-mf_HO7SUK718W4NNLde2uhdf1QWiHv_jOol9Wry_3daswn4zfw3ckJmCBx2RQ1sBwQKbuT7Q__pH-qAQ/s500/Photo%25252020150416220555423.jpg" id="blogsy-1429247247720.022" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="667" alt=""></a></div><p>In hindsight, I know where my issues arose from - hydration/nutrition. It is funny how quickly things can go bad on something as simple as what you drink. I thought I knew what worked for me, but incorrectly mixing my drink seems to have been my downfall. Also, I now know to bring my own TP for those unexpected stomach issues.</p><p>Thank you, Todd Law, for the opportunity to be your pacer at Western States 2014. We got to the finish line because of your sheer determination and will. It was a privledge watching you power through the night and most especially as you kicked my butt at the end. Congratulations on a second WS finish! I hope we get another chance to run together again with better results.</p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-63397173546459505782014-05-08T17:39:00.002-07:002014-05-08T17:39:56.244-07:00International Barefoot Running Day 2014The morning was cool, but not cold. I took a drive out toward the San Francisco Bay Area. There were tentatively 5 of us meeting for the roughly 10K run. I had chosen Redwood Regional Park in Oakland because of the soft single-track trails that are covered with decomposing redwood needles. It is a fantastic surface to run on barefoot. I had run some of the trails in this park during my first ultra, the Skyline 50K. As I approached the park, I quickly recognized that I was indeed in the region that I had raced through a couple of years ago.<br />
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I pulled into the parking lot and recognized NorCal Will sitting in his car. I hopped out and noticed that he was already barefoot. Not long after, Barefoot Bone Rod pulled up. And last but not least, while we were chatting it up, JJHenry came running up the road.<br />
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We talked for a bit about our backgrounds and quickly determined that the 10K distance would be good for everyone. JJHenry was the only one not experienced on trails, but the distance would not be an issue.<br />
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We headed back down the road to one of the trailheads that would allow us to start on single-track trails rather than the paved path leaving the parking lot. The trails in Redwood Regional were every bit as awesome as I had remembered. We all took off down the trail in a loose grouping chatting and joking along the way.<br />
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I was actually concerned that my lack of recent training was going to hurt me later, but I've found that, for me, running barefoot is efficient enough that I can handle higher mileage than I've trained for. The only challenge that day would be the hills - and there were more than a few long, steep hills to challenge me that day.<br />
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Somewhere near the middle of our run as we peaked one of the hills, Barefoot Bone Rod and JJHenry had stopped to chat with a couple hiking the trail. They were quite intrigued by our "barefootedness" and had the usual list of questions. Bone Rod even offered a foot to be felt by the gentleman. He commented that it "was as smooth as a baby's bottom" - common comment from people touching barefoot runner's feet.<br />
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The second half of the run was challenging for a different reason - it was mostly downhill and not as soft and covered with needles as the first half. Instead the trail was a bit drier and rocky. We barreled down the hill and eventually wound our way back onto the original trail we had entered the loop on. <br />
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Once back at the cars, we grabbed our snacks and found an empty picnic table to chow down and chat some more. We talked about how little we see fellow barefoot runners, how great it would be to run together more often, and also the awesome the trails were in Redwood Regional Park.<br />
<br />
A little after lunch, we wrapped up our little event and headed back to our lives. Once again, IBRD was a success for our San Francisco Chapter. It may not have been a large gathering this year, but it was definitely one of the most fun!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-NILj9X_svwEce-_Ccd8D7fsSWdB4bzJgha40qCJYmTlQ72ZRzYQHh3R-rKZYmKzjVUeWxXsr-8pMshAmxpOWVZqXsqd_vZaUnRmrDaF9cQOe27GkQNgbNgSUx-AXpUtNRM96SFxuldE/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-NILj9X_svwEce-_Ccd8D7fsSWdB4bzJgha40qCJYmTlQ72ZRzYQHh3R-rKZYmKzjVUeWxXsr-8pMshAmxpOWVZqXsqd_vZaUnRmrDaF9cQOe27GkQNgbNgSUx-AXpUtNRM96SFxuldE/s1600/photo+1.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Left to Right - NorCal Will, Barefoot Bone Rod, and JJHenry</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyCImGLLcIzrWZ_UP4g6UEKm3MEZvsqzwhAMrrsehJIqgRYlh3zD2dKGXFGXirF43cG0l7RXDWyFkxwj0e5Bh8Kh_Gd2D6IotVDcapcwQ2jvzuwRvyjUK24vt52-WQSm57rJlw2QkuT_4/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyCImGLLcIzrWZ_UP4g6UEKm3MEZvsqzwhAMrrsehJIqgRYlh3zD2dKGXFGXirF43cG0l7RXDWyFkxwj0e5Bh8Kh_Gd2D6IotVDcapcwQ2jvzuwRvyjUK24vt52-WQSm57rJlw2QkuT_4/s1600/photo+2.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From L to R - NorCal Will, Barefoot Bone Rod, and ME - BarefootTerry (sporting the IBRD 2014 shirt)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-76322072616795317732014-04-22T17:16:00.002-07:002014-04-22T17:16:41.558-07:00Step Back to See ForwardIf you've been reading my blog, you've probably noticed that the past year has been pretty silent. After last year's American River 50 Mile Endurance Run, I inadvertently stepped back from running and racing. I was busy training a nephew (hoping to get him healthy). I coached my son's cross-country team to the championship for boys and girls senior divisions, a 2nd place win for junior division boys and a 3rd place win for junior girls. And oddly enough work stresses got the better of me as well.<br />
<br />
I did manage to squeeze in a 5K PR at the local Thanksgiving run (my son bested his PR as well) and ran with some friends and family for 10+ mile runs.<br />
<br />
However, for the most part, running and racing took a back seat. This sometimes happens with people who change interests or maybe incur a running injury. Fortunately, this is not the case with me. I think I needed some time to step back and reassess what I wanted to do with barefoot running "career."<br />
<br />
In stepping back I have discovered that not only do I miss running but I miss racing. I also miss the relief from stress that comes from running, what I call, crazy miles.<br />
<br />
Well, after my long "step back" I am ready to look forward! I have new running goals and projects in the works. I am filling up my spring/summer race schedule and am looking forward to running some "crazy" miles! I hope to share with you soon one of my big projects. It promises to be quite an adventure! <br />
<br />
In the meantime, look forward to seeing some posts regarding my new training schedule and upcoming race reports!<br />
<br />
Looking ahead to new and exciting adventures!Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-36188891334758320292014-04-14T20:49:00.004-07:002014-04-14T20:49:55.553-07:00International Barefoot Running Day 2014 is coming!!!It's that wonderful time of year again when the Barefoot Runners Society puts on International Barefoot Running Day at events all over the world!!! <br />
<br />
This year IBRD will be held on Sunday, May 4, 2014. There are many events taking place all around the world. For a complete list check out the BRS website at:<a href="http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/pages/ibrd_local_events_listing/">http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/pages/ibrd_local_events_listing/ </a><br />
<br />
Events are being added each day! So, check back or create your own event on the site.<br />
<br />
For those of you in Northern California - particularly in the San Francisco/Sacramento region - the San Francisco Area Chapter is hosting a trail run at Redwood Regional Park in Oakland, CA. It is truly a gorgeous place to run. The trails are fantastic and the landscape is amazing. We welcome barefoot, minimalist and even shod runners (who are curious or just like to run).<br />
<br />
Check out the San Francisco Chapter's event page at one of the following links:<br />
<br />
BRS Main Website:<br />
<a href="http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/threads/may-4-2014-international-barefoot-running-day-2014-san-francisco-area-chapter-oakland-ca.15875/">http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/threads/may-4-2014-international-barefoot-running-day-2014-san-francisco-area-chapter-oakland-ca.15875/</a><br />
<br />
BRS - California: San Francisco Area Chapter Facebook Page<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/757141247630484/">https://www.facebook.com/events/757141247630484/</a> <br />
<br />
Now get out there and run barefoot!!!Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-77647434143049419512013-10-08T21:01:00.004-07:002013-10-08T21:01:43.218-07:00Age is just a number...A couple months ago I turned 40. Yup, officially getting the, "Wow, you're getting old," comments. However, when I look back at my running career to this point, I can honestly say that I'm not feeling "old." I began running/racing when I was 33. But, I am faster now than I was 7 years ago. I am also able to run farther without complaint - in fact, I prefer longer runs now over shorter training runs.<br />
<br />
So, in honor of finally being the youngest in my age bracket, I have set the goal to break into the top 5 of my bracket in the 5K, 10K, and half marathon distances. Marathons...well, there are so many great marathoners out there running sub-3 hour marathons. I think I will have to shoot for sub-4 hour in the marathon distance. On that note, I'm also looking to finally check off a barefoot road marathon this year. For some reason I've raced barefoot at all distances from 5K to 50 miles but have skipped the marathon. Perhaps it is my nemesis. I have struggled in all 3 of my shod marathons - blisters, nausea, and dry heaving. This year that ends!<br />
<br />
I haven't put any specific races on the calendar just yet. I've been busy coaching CYO Cross Country for my son's school. It's so much fun teaching younger runners about our great sport and the running community! It's even better to have a top notch team and winning meets! More blogs on coaching to come!<br />
<br />
40. Well, it may seem old to some, but to me it's just a number. . . see ya on the course, if you can catch me!Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-39557919227183201392013-06-03T22:29:00.003-07:002013-06-03T22:29:57.013-07:00Never Listen to the NaysayerSince running my first 50-mile race, I have been pondering what races and distances I will do next. I have some personal goals to reach in the realm of running. Some of which I will eventually share on this blog.<br />
<br />
However, I recently received comments from several people that basically said that running ultra distances barefoot was unrealistic or ridiculous. <br />
<br />
It got me to thinking about the "naysayer."<br />
<br />
A naysayer is a person who likely hasn't accomplished much, if anything, in their lives. In addition, they try and tell you that your dreams, goals, and aspirations are ridiculous, impossible or just cannot be done. It could be your business idea, a job, a college you wish to attend, or a marathon.<br />
<br />
It made me think of all of the great people throughout history who have achieved some momentous goal despite what others told them. Examples can be found with Columbus attempting to sail around the world, Sir Edmund Hillary climbing Mount Everest, or in running with Roger Bannister breaking the 4-minute mile barrier.<br />
<br />
People may say that running an ultramarathon is ridiculous, insane, or flat out stupid. I used to think ultra runners were a bit crazy. Perhaps they (we) are. That was before I became curious about how far <i>I </i>could push myself. How far could <i>I</i> run? Oddly, these questions came to me only after I began running barefoot.<br />
<br />
It is the same question that is asked of every person who wants to attempt something seemingly unattainable - Why would you want to do <i>that</i>?<br />
<br />
To sail around the world - To see if it can be done.<br />
Climb Mount Everest - Because it's there.<br />
Break the 4-minute mile - To push beyond apparent human limits. <br />
<br />
There as many answers as there are challenges.<br />
<br />
A runner I know, who does a lot of barefoot running, is attempting the SD100 mile race in a week. I don't think he is doing it barefoot, but that is besides the point. He wants to know if <i>he</i> can achieve the seemingly "impossible dream" of running 100 miles in a single day. I believe that he can. Why? Simple. Because HE believes it. Best wishes for a safe and successful race, Andrew!!!<br />
<br />
Back to my original premise of the "ridiculousness" of barefoot ultrarunning...<br />
<br />
When I was chatting with the guys at Trail Runner Nation, one of my favorite parts of that interview is when Don Freeman says something like "here we are, 3 men sitting in a room saying, 'This man runs with no shoes? How is this possible?'" Followed by Scott Warr's comment that "in all of human history, people running in shoes is like a blip."<br />
<br />
Will I stop running barefoot?<br />
<br />
No.<br />
<br />
Will I attempt longer distances barefoot?<br />
<br />
Yes.<br />
<br />
Will I find an upper limit to the endurance of the human "bare" foot? <br />
<br />
Maybe.<br />
<br />
I say to all of you that have a dream, goal, or aspiration (especially all for of you ultrarunners out there, barefoot or shod) - focus, work hard, strive to achieve it! Perhaps you will fail and hopefully you will succeed, but NEVER, EVER LISTEN TO THE NAYSAYER!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-47524779730919512372013-05-22T18:02:00.002-07:002013-05-22T18:02:42.838-07:00Trail Runner Nation PodcastHey all!<br />
<br />
As I mentioned in my AR50 race report, I had the great opportunity to meet Don Freeman of Trail Runner Nation podcast. A few weeks after the race, I was invited up to do an interview with TRN. If you have never listened to TRN, you really should! Their list of guests is amazing - Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, Warren Pole, Dr. Tim Noakes, Sock Doc and so many more! The podcasts offer many insights into the world of trail running, training, and general health. So, when Don approached me to do an interview I was very honored to be counted among the group of previous guests.<br />
<br />
I went up to the Sacramento area after work one day last month to meet with Don Freeman and Scott Warr. Although I was very nervous, they quickly put me at ease with their humor. We sipped on some Tailwind Nutrition sports drink and chatted a little before getting started. I had a blast recording the podcast with them and getting a behind the scenes look at how this great show is produced. Although, I never did find out where they recorded the footfalls for the opening of their shows. A secret that remains to be discovered. . .<br />
<br />
So here is the link to the podcast. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://trailrunnernation.com/2013/05/barefoot-terry/" target="_blank">Trail Runner Nation - Barefoot 50 Mile Podcast</a><br />
<br />
Perhaps if you're bored at night and need something to put you to
sleep... haha...no really... I hope you enjoy my interview as much as I
had doing it!<br />
<br />
And one last thing. The podcast should be posted through the Podcast App on iTunes soon. For now you can listen to it on their website.<br />
<br />
Thanks TRN!!! You guys are awesome...Run Más!!!<br />
<br />
ENJOY!!!Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-57854046611222309932013-04-26T20:56:00.001-07:002013-04-26T20:56:42.212-07:00IBRD 2013!Barefoot Runners Society - International Barefoot Running Day 2013 is almost upon us! This 3rd Annual International Event will be held on Sunday, May 5, 2013 all around the world!<br />
<br />If you are in the greater San Francisco/Sacramento/Stockton region, come check out our event in Oakland at the Joaquin Miller Park. It's a gorgeous park in the hills above Oakland, CA. There are lots of great dirt trails to run on and the view can be spectacular.<br />
<br />
<i>Where:</i><br />
<i>Joaquin Miller Park</i><br />3600 Joaquin Miller Road<br />Oakland, CA 94602<br />
<br />When: Sunday, May 5, 2013 at 10:00 a.m.<br />
<br />
What to expect: I will be holding a short barefoot running clinic at the beginning of the event. Following the clinic, the group will be able to run various distances from 1K to 5K (or more for the experienced runners).<br />
<br />
Bring some food to share if you like and hang out after the run to chat and meet all of the barefooters in the area!<br />
<br />
For more information on the BRS San Francisco Area Chapter event, check out the <a href="http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/threads/may-5-2013-san-francisco-oakland-international-barefoot-running-day-oakland-ca.13681/" target="_blank">BRS chapter page here</a>. We are also on Facebook <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Barefoot-Runners-Society-San-Francisco-Area-Chapter-OFFICIAL/196876490332082" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
For events around the world check out www.thebarefootrunners.org <a href="http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/pages/ibrd_local_events_listing/" target="_blank">IBRD page</a><br />
<br />
If you are interested in purchasing a shirt for the event, see the right column of my blog or click <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/ibrd_2013_t_shirt-235862085932796975?rf=238216478544599878" target="_blank">here</a> to purchase a shirt from <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/ibrd_2013_t_shirt-235862085932796975?rf=238216478544599878" target="_blank">Zazzle</a>. Proceeds go to support the <a href="http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/" target="_blank">Barefoot Runners Society</a>.<br />
<br />
Hope all of you can join in the fun and festivities here in California or wherever you are around the world!<br />
<br />
<br />Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-56947851777644784522013-04-18T23:31:00.002-07:002013-04-27T15:11:42.563-07:00Barefoot (mostly) American River 50-Mile Endurance RunOk, I know, I know. I've been kinda AWOL lately. I've spent some time with my family, coaching cross-country, and training. And it's finally paid off. Enjoy this post...there are more stories to come!<br />
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">April<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>6, 2013 – Sacramento, CA</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The day had I had waited a year for had finally arrived -
Redemption Day. It was the morning of the <a href="http://ar50mile.com/" target="_blank">American River 50-Mile Endurance Run</a>
once again. Last year, I had trained numerous miles only to wind up injured at
the start line resulting in my first DNF ever.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
THIS year was going to be different. This was MY year. It
was time to run to Auburn to get MY AR50 Finisher’s Jacket.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I kissed and hugged my wife and kids – my “crew” for the
race. I stripped off my Sockwas, handed them to my wife, and joined the growing
crowd of runners as they meandered toward the starting line. My family headed
to watch the start from the Guy West Bridge. The runners would race west away
from the bridge for a couple miles and circle back underneath the bridge now
heading east toward the finish 50 miles away in the little town of Auburn. As
the saying goes, “All Trails Lead to Auburn.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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There were a few announcements at the start, some jokes,
lots of cheering, and finally, the air horn signaling the start of the race. IT
WAS ON!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The sun had yet to rise, but every step brought a little
more light. It was cool, but not cold. It was a perfect morning (or should I
say day) for a race!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the opening mile or so, no one seemed to notice that I
was barefoot. Then the first joker made his presence known behind me – there’s
always one…</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hey, bro! What do you do when you step in shit?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wash my feet.” Pause. Roll my eyes. “What do YOU do when
YOU step in shit?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I never turned back. I just kept on running. I didn’t even
dignify his response to my question.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The group circled back toward the bridge. Now the sun was
starting to rise. As I approached the bridge, I could see my wife and kids
waving from above. It was such a great boost to my spirit to see them as I ran
under the bridge.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since this is about the point where my achilles started to
ache last year, I was superstitiously nervous in these opening miles of the
race.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Somewhere along the path on the way to William Pond (Mile
8), I ran into Don Freeman from <a href="http://trailrunnernation.com/" target="_blank">Trail Runner Nation</a>. I have to admit, I didn’t
know who he was. Some of my running friends were fans of the podcast, but I had
not gotten into the habit yet. (BTW – I’m now addicted to the podcast.) We
talked a bit about the race and about my barefoot running. He said he was
running to Beals Point (Mile 26) and hopping in a car to announce the race
finish. About that time, the two of us came upon a guy running in Hokas. Don
commented on the contrast in our choice of foot apparel (or lack thereof). He
mentioned how great it would be to have a picture of the two of us – barefoot
and Hokas. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here ya go, Don… turns out my wife caught a picture of us
coming through Sunrise Aid Station (Mile 14.61).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5VQKTwkgFYirGvkk3zfH6Ymn8525l6hPE-qFxKSsywmUtPDKMjgscglqJuFxxmt-8mMtf7FVNpcZ1RKSxh5pI-wd_4MYNVQTJcRUg487zlENmGptusRxQYe7Bnt665cnxDTqq-N16RQ/s1600/HokasMikenMe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5VQKTwkgFYirGvkk3zfH6Ymn8525l6hPE-qFxKSsywmUtPDKMjgscglqJuFxxmt-8mMtf7FVNpcZ1RKSxh5pI-wd_4MYNVQTJcRUg487zlENmGptusRxQYe7Bnt665cnxDTqq-N16RQ/s400/HokasMikenMe.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hokas Mike & I at Sunrise Aid Station</b></div>
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Hokas Mike, as I will call him ended up running with me all
the way through mile 18. Interesting guy. He ran in Hokas, but does some
training barefoot. Mike told me he was planning to go to the Born To Run Ultras
race. We chatted about kids, running, and races.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Between the time that Don had run with me and joining up
with Mike, I noticed that I had upped my pace to under a 10-minute mile. Not a
hard pace to keep, just not in my race strategy. So, around mile 10 or so, I
felt like I was getting a hot spot on my left foot around the ball of my foot.
When I stopped off for a quick peek, I noticed nothing out of the ordinary. I
wrote it off as maybe having stepped on a pebble that may have given me a
slight bruise.</div>
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<br /></div>
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When we hit Sunrise (Mile 14), while my wife was mixing up
my Iskiate drink, I checked my foot again. No sign of a blister/hot spot. Hokas
Mike and I took off down the bike trail running at about a 10-minute/mile pace. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This pace was slightly faster than I had planned, but within
my overall goal of between a 10 and 12 minute/mile pace. My race strategy was
to get to Beals Point by 11:18 a.m., which is a 12 minute/mile pace. This
strategy would give me an hour and 20-minute cushion from the cut-off at Beals
as well as just over 6 hours to complete the last 23.5 miles.</div>
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<br /></div>
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About the time Mike and I hit mile 17/18 at the Hazel Street
Bridge over Highway 50, I checked my foot again and to my horror had a quarter
sized blister on the ball of my left foot. I bid farewell to Mike and told him
I was going to back down a little on my pace to protect my blister (which had
to be from pushing off). I needed to run my race and keep control of my form.<br />
<br />
<i>(edit 4/20/13 - I caught up with Hokas Mike on Facebook - Congrats on your finish!</i> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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I made the first real climb of the race up the overpass, and
onto the ridge overlooking the highway. It wasn’t a difficult climb, but it was
the first significant climb thus far – about 200 feet.</div>
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<br /></div>
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At the top of the hill, we turned onto a road and then into
Main Bar Aid Station (19.2 miles). At this point, the trail/road becomes a
gravel path. Generally, I am not afraid to run a of a couple miles barefoot on
gravel. However, while nursing a growing half-dollar sized blister and 31 miles
of trail ahead, I decided that my huarache sandals from <a href="http://www.xeroshoes.com/go/Barefoot_Terry" target="_blank">Invisible Shoe</a> were the
right thing to throw on. So, after stuffing my face at Main Bar, I pulled the
sandals out of my pack and slipped them over my feet. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was the perfect solution. The sandals provided just
enough coverage to take the edge off of the gravel and protect the swollen
blister. After about a mile of gravel running, the path turned onto dirt single
track. But just as I was hitting mile 20 and before I made the turn onto the
dirt, I felt a strange “pop.” I looked down at my left foot and saw blood and
watery liquid quickly coating my entire left huarache. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For a moment I panicked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I needed to rinse this off. My water bottle was full of Heed
– probably not the best idea. My camelback! I grabbed the tube and squeezed on
the bite nozzle. Nothing came out. Duh! You have to suck the water out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I decided at that moment that it was fine and took off onto
the single-track dirt path. I quickly realized that my left foot did not feel
any pain. All the pressure of the blister had been immediately and effectively
relieved with the pop. I took off down the trail feeling light as a feather.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fortunately, Mike had seen my crew/family at two aid
stations now and notified them of my blister situation. He told them that I
“might need shoes.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t need no stinkin’ shoes!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I made my way into the aid station at Negro Bar (22.4
miles), my son was eagerly awaiting my arrival with my padded tape (something
like moleskin) in hand. I grabbed it and asked where they set up. As he led me
over to where my wife and daughter had my spread set up, I grabbed some food
off the aid station table and headed for my gear.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I instructed my wife to break open the athletic tape as I
tore strips of padded tape off the roll my son had given me. I quickly laid two
strips of padded tape down the ball of my foot across the now deflated blister and
dime-sized hole in my foot. Next I wrapped tape around the front and back of my
foot – securing both ends of the padded tape. I made sure that the tape was
secure on the skin, but not tightly wrapped. The last thing I needed was to
“bind” my foot from moving freely.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once I got the tape secured. I grabbed the bloody <a href="http://www.xeroshoes.com/go/Barefoot_Terry" target="_blank">huarache</a>
and stuffed it over my foot. My wife asked if I wanted my shoes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Nope. I’m good with these!” I said, as I hopped up. “See ya
at Beals Point!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next four miles went fairly uneventfully as I meandered
along the gravel path with gorgeous views of the American River approaching
Folsom Lake.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As we reached the western edge of the lake, a couple of us
started running together. We were approaching the 26.2-mile mark. One lady
commented that this was the loneliest mile. Here we were running along side the
road in Folsom with cars and businesses all around us. Yet it felt like we were
not really part of anything – no race, no trail, no spectators, just roads,
cars and sidewalks. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our stint in the “city” didn’t last very long (about 1/3 of
a mile) as we turned back onto the American River Bike Trail. I think we were
passing Hunkle Reservoir when we saw the two bunches of balloons and signs on
each side of the path marking the marathon distance of 26.2 miles. The small
group of us noted the lack of any real celebration that we had just run a
marathon to this point. We checked our watches and noted our marathon time.
Mine turned out to be about 5 hours and 5 minutes. Not my worst time, but not my
best.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just under a mile out, I could hear the music at Beals Point
blasting across the lake. This was a huge relief. This was considered the
“half-way” mark at 26.53 miles. It also has the first real “cut-off” time. As I
came to the end of the dam, I could see the huge party spread out in the park
and parking lot. There was a huge inflatable archway marking the entry into
Beals Point. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLiOA71fnKhwsOxdZ3ooeFOGQvMO5amcVddj11cUzCBTWjXOgRix6mNzkLUuCReRvkIRhQ2_auQLhDvomNCdr8-90YxmXhBXIKVHXsz84q_B6Sm_ovcNTSxdLtkyjUnivt53IamLLfCDE/s1600/Beals+Point.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLiOA71fnKhwsOxdZ3ooeFOGQvMO5amcVddj11cUzCBTWjXOgRix6mNzkLUuCReRvkIRhQ2_auQLhDvomNCdr8-90YxmXhBXIKVHXsz84q_B6Sm_ovcNTSxdLtkyjUnivt53IamLLfCDE/s400/Beals+Point.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">My son guiding me to our spot at Beals Point</b></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My official entry time into Beals was 11:18 a.m. What I
didn’t realize this until I started writing this story is that 11:18 is the
exact time that I had written on my pace chart for a 12-minute pace at Beals
Point.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My son met me just inside the archway and ran me to our
area. I was so happy when I saw my family. If you ask my wife, she says I
seemed a bit “out of it”. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I spent some time replenishing my stash of pretzel sticks
(which were keeping a slight bout of nausea at bay), switching out water
bottles, tossing my Garmin into my bin (the battery had died about a mile or so
back) and talking with my wife about how great I was feeling. She told me that
I was doing great on time. There was something truly awesome about having my
wife crew for me. Her words really lifted my spirits and kept me motivated.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My wife informed me that my parents were arguing about when
to come out to see me on the course. I don’t think they had even left home at
this point. More on my parents later.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I gave my wife a kiss and headed over to the aid station to
fill my hydration pack and eat some boiled potatoes and chips. I think I even
popped a couple of S-Caps. I had barely even touched my Shot Bloks – maybe
finishing one pack thus far in the race. It actually ended up being the only
pack I ate that day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I made the circuit around the point and up onto the dam. Now
I was into the part of the course I had seen before in training last year. I
remembered the gravel fire roads and dirt trails that were coming up. This is
what I had been longing for all day – the dirt! Unfortunately, it starts out
with some more gravel-ish fire roads or wide trail. But I knew that the dirt
was coming.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thinking back now to the race, the trip from Beals to
Granite Bay (Mile 31.67), while only about 5 miles, is kinda fuzzy in my mind.
I think most of the 20s miles were. I don’t remember feeling particularly bad,
but just clouded in the head.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I can’t remember exactly what it was like coming up on
Granite Bay. But I do remember confirming with a volunteer at the aid station
if it was all dirt trails from Granite Bay to Last Gasp (Mile 47.5). I was
getting sick of my huaraches. I felt like I was stomping around harder than I would
do straight barefoot. The protection of the <a href="http://www.xeroshoes.com/go/Barefoot_Terry" target="_blank">sandals</a> made it more bearable to do
so. It’s not that I don’t like running in my sandals, but I was slacking on
form as I was beginning to tire.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ah, now I remember hitting Granite Bay. My wife had to
describe the aid station to me (or maybe I’m just getting old). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOjSE005nCV10JLwDoet6ANNZiuXQ-KGI13ed6cDNUZqlKJOJp2vayuu7dZOFHeIKTEblLb7aFJ6ss15UfFxxJJPFbdbfefLKef-GzZlUWnVWvvO9PVmYPcp90QqOsuPFm_PwKse1orXY/s1600/Granite+Bay.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOjSE005nCV10JLwDoet6ANNZiuXQ-KGI13ed6cDNUZqlKJOJp2vayuu7dZOFHeIKTEblLb7aFJ6ss15UfFxxJJPFbdbfefLKef-GzZlUWnVWvvO9PVmYPcp90QqOsuPFm_PwKse1orXY/s400/Granite+Bay.JPG" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Entering Granite Bay Aid Station (Mile 31.67)</b></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, at the aid station, I was perusing the food choices. I snatched
up some potato chips and a salted potato. I overheard a volunteer offer someone
some chicken soup. Then a memory of pacing at Western States came back to me.
When I paced Dave Boudreau at WS100, he told me that nothing tastes better than
chicken soup at 1 a.m. Now it wasn’t 1 a.m. (yet), but it sounded damn good. I
asked for a cup and guzzled down the warm broth and ate some of the noodles and
chicken at the bottom. SO GOOD! I chased it down with a Dixie cup of Coke. Finally,
I headed over to my family and stripped off my sandals and added a little more
tape to my foot and bounded down the trail. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was the best! I felt so light on my feet with the dirt
between my toes. I had a new energy. Then about ten or fifteen minutes down the
trail, my head was totally clear. The salty soup, potatoes, and maybe even the
caffeine from the Coke lit my brain up. The fog around my head was gone. My
legs felt renewed. It was hard to believe that I had just run a 50K and was
still moving strong.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next 3 miles seemed to fly by. I was feeling strong and
clear headed. I was now running further than I had ever run – EVER – shod or
barefoot.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next aid station was Buzzard’s Cove (Mile 34.67). It was
said to be a “water only” station. I came around the bend and up onto a hill
overlooking the lake. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I stripped off my pack to have it filled with water when
someone asked, “Would you like some ice cream?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
ICE CREAM! I thought. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ve heard about you guys!” I told them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So word is getting out?” he laughed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Actually, some friends of mine who had raced last year told
me about the “ice cream station” and I was so happy it was true! I did have a
very brief moment of – hmmm… I wonder if this will screw up my stomach? Then
decided, the hell with it! I want some ice cream!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was so surreal. Here we were on the side of a hill, no
road in sight, just the lake, a single-track trail and ice chests full of ice
cream. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I must give a shout-out to the aid station crew at Buzzard’s
Cove- THANK YOU!!! The ice cream was AWESOME! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I devoured the ice cream and most of the cone, thanked the
volunteers, and turned to leave. As I was turning, one of the volunteers noted
that there was a growing pile of runners sprawled out on the hillside enjoying
ice cream and not looking like they were going anywhere anytime soon. He
jokingly shooed them with his hands. No one moved.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I laughed and headed out of the area.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since my Garmin had died at mile 25ish, I had been relying
on my Nike Plus Sportband for time. I hadn’t really gotten it calibrated
correctly and the pace/distance information was skewed horribly. So, I used it
like a watch keeping overall race time and actual time of day. I was trying to
estimate distance by 15-20 minutes per mile. I figured if I did that, then
everything would be either on target or I might get pleasantly surprised with
an early arrival at an aid station if I was making better time.<br />
<br />
<i>(Edited section added on 4//19/13:</i><br />
<i>I was talking to a friend today and she reminded me of a part of the course that I had forgotten to write about:</i><br />
<br />
<i>Somewhere between Granite Bay and Horsehoe Bar, there was a second race happening - a trail marathon. I started noticing these little signs on stakes with red arrows. I came up on a fork in the trail. There was a guy standing there. <br /><br />"Don't go this way," he said, pointing up the fork that had the signs. </i><br />
<br />
<i>I had no idea what he was talking about.</i><br />
<br />
<i>"You're joking right?" I asked.</i><br />
<br />
<i>"No, there is another race going on. They have the signs with the red arrows. You need to follow the orange ribbons."</i><br />
<br />
<i>I looked at him in disbelief. I couldn't really think very well having run over 30+ miles at this point. </i><br />
<br />
<i>"Seriously?" I asked again.</i><br />
<br />
<i>"Yes. You go to the right."</i><br />
<br />
<i>I trotted on, still wondering and looking back to make sure he wasn't joking with me. Thankfully, he was correct and I didn't get lost. And as it turns out, just down the trail was another volunteer from that race directing runner traffic turned out to be a former teaching colleague of mine - Thanks, Kathy, for easing my fear that I wasn't going the wrong way!</i><br />
<br />
<i>(End edited section) </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next stop was another non-crew aid station at Horseshoe
Bar (Mile 38.14) – roughly 3.5 miles ahead. I had run what I thought had been
at least 2 miles or more. I asked someone if they had an idea how far it was to
the next aid station. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“About 2 miles.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What?! I thought. Something was going wrong. I kept running.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A little while later I saw a trail sign for Rattlesnake Bar
stating 3 miles. Well, It was 2.8 miles from Horseshoe to Rattlesnake. That
should’ve meant an aid station at any moment. No such luck. I kept running. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was beginning to think that they had cut an aid station
from the course when I recognized a wide dirt hill that I had seen over a year
ago on the training run. FINALLY! Horseshoe Bar! I made a quick pit stop and
then made my way up the hill. I was starting to feel a little beat down. I
think a volunteer took a picture of my feet and I chatted it up a little with
the others. Again, I was getting a little fuzzy in the head. I ate some food,
filled up my hydration pack and bottle and headed out. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The trail from Horseshoe Bar to Rattlesnake Bar had some
pretty nasty rocky sections. I had to slow down a lot to maneuver my way down
hills. This was frustrating because my strategy was run the downs and flats as
fast as I could so I could walk the hills. However, I didn’t give up. I just
kept moving the best I could. Whenever there was decent trail, I ran as fast as
I could (which wasn’t terribly fast at this point). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After another hour, I finally arrived at Rattlesnake Bar
(Mile 40.94). I was falling back on my pace. I had planned to be at Rattlesnake
about 2:15 p.m., but I think it was more like 3:30.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My parents had finally made it up to the course and were
waiting as I started to eat up the food at the aid station. Here is the funny
thing about my parents. My wife had mentioned that whenever I’m racing and am
expected to show up somewhere at a certain time and my parents come, I always end
up about an hour later than expected. It happened at my first 50K ultra too. Funny, huh?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjna3z7ddJXrf9AM1ztMfFxPS8XBKrJZYZd5i3WKP-mWt4MZNCwVMj22OYR77hvgvDqnhThSDQVGTlDnKRAd6LhUltxIanj-pUIdvH_CM21UM1XBvh3_eFKnTS6WFt0qbVooIUYRn3XLLI/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjna3z7ddJXrf9AM1ztMfFxPS8XBKrJZYZd5i3WKP-mWt4MZNCwVMj22OYR77hvgvDqnhThSDQVGTlDnKRAd6LhUltxIanj-pUIdvH_CM21UM1XBvh3_eFKnTS6WFt0qbVooIUYRn3XLLI/s400/photo.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Leaving Rattlesnake Bar (Mile 40.94)</b></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next 3 miles to Manhattan Bar were fairly uneventful. I
was getting tired, but my spirits were still strong. I was still going to
Auburn to get MY jacket. I knew I was getting close on time. I kept telling
myself to run whenever possible. I did have to stop once to add tape to my
foot.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At one point, when I had stepped to the side of the trail to
let some runners pass, someone said, “You’re not going to get any shoe
contracts doing it like that.” We both laughed and I fell into running behind
them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I arrived at Manhattan Bar, I was getting pretty foggy
in the head again. I popped some more S-caps, drank some soda, and tried to eat
some food. It was the last aid station with food. The problem was, I wasn’t
very hungry any more. I knew this was not good, but couldn’t really get around
it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While standing around nibbling, a runner asked me if this
was the last aid before Last Gasp. I told her there was one more station then
Last Gasp.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No,” said one of the volunteers. “This is the last aid
before Last Gasp. You only have 6 more miles to go.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I pulled out my water bottle and checked my chart. She was
right! In my tired state, I had misread my chart and thought I had 2 more
stations before the finish. I held up my hands in victory and said, “That is
fantastic news!” She smiled and laughed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I trotted away with a little bit of a lift in my spirit.
While I was thrilled that I had only 6 more miles to go and one more aid
station, I knew that the dreaded 3-mile climb was coming up. I trudged on. Time
was running short. It was now close to 5 pm. The cut-off at Last Gasp (Mile
47.56) was 6:20 and the 13-hour end at 7:00.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I pushed and pushed. I ran (or shuffled really) as much as I
could stand. I needed to close the gap in time. I kept looking down the river
toward the end of the canyon. I knew that the climb was there somewhere.
However, every time I thought I was getting closer, the trail would wind away
from the river following the curves of the canyon wall. No matter, just keep
running I told myself.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally, the trail came to an end. The trail turned to
gravel and headed to the left and up, up, up out of the canyon. I got my
<a href="http://www.xeroshoes.com/go/Barefoot_Terry" target="_blank">Invisible Shoes</a> out of my pack and strapped them on. Another runner had joined me as
we started the climb up the hill. It was approaching 6 p.m. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gotta keep pushing. I told myself. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I knew that I would not be able to run any of the hill. It
was just too steep and my legs were spent. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just keep walking…Fast.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The gravel turned to road, but it was still steep. Keep
walking.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There was the first of 3 signs – 3 miles to go!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Keep walking!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After what seemed like forever, the crazy guys at Last Gasp
who run your bottles to the aid station came into view. I told them mine were
good, thanked them, and kept walking.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Time: 6:07 p.m.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Keep powering up that hill! I told myself. It’s not over
yet. 2.44 miles to go! GET THAT JACKET!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I started to feel nauseous. I hadn’t eaten in a while. I
didn’t really want to drink anything and the thought of another pretzel stick
made me sick. Again, I knew it wasn’t a good thing, but I didn’t care. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just
keep walking.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I passed a runner and his pacer. This guy was in bad shape.
He wanted to vomit. He was burping loudly. I kept pushing my way ahead. I
didn’t want to be in earshot if he lost it or I might too.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The signs for 2 miles and finally 1 mile came into view. I
could hear the announcer booming over the speakers at the top of the hill
somewhere in the trees. Just keep walking.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A short turn in the road and I could see the top! My wife
and kids were there screaming wildly!!!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Time 6:45 p.m.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Come on, Dad! Hurry!!!!” They screamed.</div>
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“I’m coming.” I shouted back.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I climbed the final hill and walked to the road. I stripped
off my sandals, tucked them in my water belt and started running. Only a few
hundred feet to go. My kids ran along side me - one on each side. We rounded
the corner and the chute and finish line came into view. I was smiling ear to
ear. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHw0em5mwFRuofuFIboHynndVg1jdyDZJdp4McAW7eMNOynbN5pOpjwJ2cGX2JSsrYI66Hgd46PYIWyYfuuytdon17MJSZGXJbTvP6zaj3Gu2mLbqvM-esfvo3Hu8uWRKbUIo3ROMhnOQ/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHw0em5mwFRuofuFIboHynndVg1jdyDZJdp4McAW7eMNOynbN5pOpjwJ2cGX2JSsrYI66Hgd46PYIWyYfuuytdon17MJSZGXJbTvP6zaj3Gu2mLbqvM-esfvo3Hu8uWRKbUIo3ROMhnOQ/s320/photo+1.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My kids guide me into the chute.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"></span></div>
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I crossed a timing mat. Then Don Freeman, the announcer, started
shouting wildly about the “barefoot runner” he had met earlier that morning now
coming into the finish line. </div>
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<br /></div>
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I crossed the finish line with my arms raised in victory and
a huge smile on my face. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4s0HgYf2QoL4AdQCsqi30nAAC38B0EXjE6XLI1PN0lrzyD7C4BAoKPRLWc9ZWYtH9QPeUxBVcWdoShNzJgfTXz26-DB8VJ98W8Jg-a1PHLAR06TqfNZspKE1V58hfZvawnR_lYqxvy0/s1600/564604_4723902135144_821207237_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4s0HgYf2QoL4AdQCsqi30nAAC38B0EXjE6XLI1PN0lrzyD7C4BAoKPRLWc9ZWYtH9QPeUxBVcWdoShNzJgfTXz26-DB8VJ98W8Jg-a1PHLAR06TqfNZspKE1V58hfZvawnR_lYqxvy0/s400/564604_4723902135144_821207237_n.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">THE FINISH LINE</b></td></tr>
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I had done it – a barefoot (mostly) 50-mile run!</div>
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Official time 12:49:22.</div>
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<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"></span></div>
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I put my hands on my knees. My son laid the medal over my
neck and someone handed me MY finisher’s jacket! I stood up and pointed to Don
who was still shouting wildly – I think he told my kids to tell me to get some
shoes on. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ojF6Povoc3v2AVkZQ9H9J07_stATO5dyrpc0SxpCKdh5om_IxAPfgnYI9wQq15uNMQ0wCFayjcpTIjExC-0SMm4QmPwXesIR2hS6sOcr8sIEcJ7Pezcy_4dPDt5oHyYyvPHqOThIJ9s/s1600/11607_4723903615181_739712675_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ojF6Povoc3v2AVkZQ9H9J07_stATO5dyrpc0SxpCKdh5om_IxAPfgnYI9wQq15uNMQ0wCFayjcpTIjExC-0SMm4QmPwXesIR2hS6sOcr8sIEcJ7Pezcy_4dPDt5oHyYyvPHqOThIJ9s/s320/11607_4723903615181_739712675_n.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdoPaAmhC7Lp1VBpAl9Kc0FZndf8DB-A6rVZIYRvJ-k8FVJ8W_oqVDsqp70DfCGUKw-XeYjVJGZLCVcoag78Gj4cXaInkYj_03F9XuEeNjw0pMJRTLJ3v8QZ_VeDDth3MpAVb0tPAUAQ/s1600/534948_4723904175195_1376688564_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdoPaAmhC7Lp1VBpAl9Kc0FZndf8DB-A6rVZIYRvJ-k8FVJ8W_oqVDsqp70DfCGUKw-XeYjVJGZLCVcoag78Gj4cXaInkYj_03F9XuEeNjw0pMJRTLJ3v8QZ_VeDDth3MpAVb0tPAUAQ/s320/534948_4723904175195_1376688564_n.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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When it was all said and done my family and I took pictures
(while I tried not to throw up). Thanks to Jesse Jimenez and his wife Jenni
from NorCal Trailheads for taking some great finish line shots. <br />
<span id="goog_1080204630"></span><span id="goog_1080204631"></span><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div>
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<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK6P0tidxXdtK5lEFf98jPXR3JuzeCWvTottd9hfdvWcw8xIaoWO1VlEmqfX8ARgnNcYMfdJW1uHVFA8hSG-YI2A3b8DgziyHFn4YwWFcAuWWbgRvXH3UrByTRuH68B4NusiiC5V3_hx4/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK6P0tidxXdtK5lEFf98jPXR3JuzeCWvTottd9hfdvWcw8xIaoWO1VlEmqfX8ARgnNcYMfdJW1uHVFA8hSG-YI2A3b8DgziyHFn4YwWFcAuWWbgRvXH3UrByTRuH68B4NusiiC5V3_hx4/s400/photo+4.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Family</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPw1LLy_UTxan9213M0ThM_mJdU_oU4dMrMGmIq0_3ZNKW6bznZsvP5Xp9iDePEjeV7r9r_qPYyJbDkE4fjEzQXRp7NbGIvSXDAdUv_Lg34_u6Gf9pQzMO6IcCw5FnpM7LUdlhDt6LOHI/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPw1LLy_UTxan9213M0ThM_mJdU_oU4dMrMGmIq0_3ZNKW6bznZsvP5Xp9iDePEjeV7r9r_qPYyJbDkE4fjEzQXRp7NbGIvSXDAdUv_Lg34_u6Gf9pQzMO6IcCw5FnpM7LUdlhDt6LOHI/s400/photo+3.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Kiddos and I</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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It was truly an amazing experience running <a href="http://ar50mile.com/" target="_blank">AR50</a>. I am still,
two weeks later, processing all that has transpired. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A special thank you to Julie Fingar and the staff and
volunteers at <a href="http://www.norcalultras.com/" target="_blank">NorCal Ultras</a> for putting on a fantastic race. I could not have
asked for a better first 50-mile race!</div>
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<br />
<br />
UPDATE: I forgot to add post-race pictures of my foot. Here ya go.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXYABDp4-klvDgaH5-vCa6rKhaKqmDoVar0JqF6gOVTlQjVPf1OllTeQxRaW4P4YDKUnwdaQURmv-E5cjtWyg5xdkGDzwTvWT3n5rxxNA1qoCwhYefYj4Y1X1FunEEKlFpNcvXJ2-ECs/s1600/photo+1-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXYABDp4-klvDgaH5-vCa6rKhaKqmDoVar0JqF6gOVTlQjVPf1OllTeQxRaW4P4YDKUnwdaQURmv-E5cjtWyg5xdkGDzwTvWT3n5rxxNA1qoCwhYefYj4Y1X1FunEEKlFpNcvXJ2-ECs/s320/photo+1-3.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Right heel - blood blister wraps under the heel. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqkzd_s1emyIOkvNyu5OoVtwCCS290RyUrnaFqA2RR9qOXIzfNjlEd_WK12RLgO4nAyeAa5LL2cV84XzeAZPCvLL1q4UfezAjDHIjG3pi2MtWDdbBi2vQ4Lm0nayAYZuvjLehHlhoZDjo/s1600/photo+2-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqkzd_s1emyIOkvNyu5OoVtwCCS290RyUrnaFqA2RR9qOXIzfNjlEd_WK12RLgO4nAyeAa5LL2cV84XzeAZPCvLL1q4UfezAjDHIjG3pi2MtWDdbBi2vQ4Lm0nayAYZuvjLehHlhoZDjo/s320/photo+2-3.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left foot - still bandaged - wet from grass not blood ;)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZelHlaChTBCRy53DH6QzLK6QjjYrKeDTXc-ILBX7JTfe7TTBjdoHO0EXyZC9iz6YlLFyRsMZen9vo9fkmpwLp4fechkVfVEiOgPLNoPGBDSWJwc5mP1grE6KH9YF9QlBWzvPrKZtRXLU/s320/photo+4-3.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bottom of left foot (blister on ball)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowxAOBAtvrZw0k36yrXPeMf9k-ipYyobcFM9opawPuYzBaY7VKhNFp-ACcBiDUTKeZUKRrlFeY0UFk11Vu71kRBTfYeuZTTmzXqJOFTgAxHAZthT1gi2h6CfMz7ZVbGJevFC81msfZr8/s1600/photo+3-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowxAOBAtvrZw0k36yrXPeMf9k-ipYyobcFM9opawPuYzBaY7VKhNFp-ACcBiDUTKeZUKRrlFeY0UFk11Vu71kRBTfYeuZTTmzXqJOFTgAxHAZthT1gi2h6CfMz7ZVbGJevFC81msfZr8/s320/photo+3-3.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top of left foot -blister from tape behind big toe.</td></tr>
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Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-73754631327995119802012-07-25T21:10:00.002-07:002012-07-26T09:54:07.287-07:00Western States 100 - 2012 Experience Part IIIProbably one of the scariest rides I have ever been on was that school bus going down Sliger Mine Road. The sun had already set, so it was dark. I was sitting in the back of the packed bus which was standing room only. All I could make out was the slight illumination of trees whipping by as we rounded what seemed like hairpin turns at 35 to 40 miles per hour. It appeared that oncoming cars were veering quickly to the side of the road to let the bus scream past in the dark. Finally, we arrived at the bottom of the road. There was a giant sign in front of someone's property here making it obvious to anyone that they don't want people parking here. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWdRLUW7nzWE9XtXzl7d0c2ExAmZkJ8CoelCK8PAiIJ-4SDw8jLq9mTrlBjdJlInPh7PeARddLrRazk7baptZOupeOy3ERua7i-HnrwWyQHUit9rFsiudrOyxbTp7Omg2yBbfeOE5Yno/s1600/Endof+Road+GG+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWdRLUW7nzWE9XtXzl7d0c2ExAmZkJ8CoelCK8PAiIJ-4SDw8jLq9mTrlBjdJlInPh7PeARddLrRazk7baptZOupeOy3ERua7i-HnrwWyQHUit9rFsiudrOyxbTp7Omg2yBbfeOE5Yno/s400/Endof+Road+GG+1.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bottom of Sliger Mine Road</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
From the drop off point, it would be another 15 to 20 minute walk down a rutted dirt road. As you can see, it was already pretty dark. I pulled out one of my flashlights and headed down with the group of crews and pacers.<br />
<br />
Once at the bottom, it became clear why they call this aid station "Green Gate." You can't really see much in the picture, but this is the "brown"
gate I mentioned in Part I. To the left of the gate was the "check
out" part of Green Gate Aid Station.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirZ11q2JIUBLn_84WluLeoaM-7wVWxbdmZkbWCxdvy2eu0g8D06efCtaERrwYTz4AVJ5nA0aVpKeUBhH_I89ngPKrfHKiuleK7pw8NM1IdA74na4JI-uVZZMmWAjlhNPHYhtYTZ9DaL0Y/s1600/GG1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirZ11q2JIUBLn_84WluLeoaM-7wVWxbdmZkbWCxdvy2eu0g8D06efCtaERrwYTz4AVJ5nA0aVpKeUBhH_I89ngPKrfHKiuleK7pw8NM1IdA74na4JI-uVZZMmWAjlhNPHYhtYTZ9DaL0Y/s400/GG1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Green Gate" Aid Station</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The time was about 9:40 p.m. Dave was due in a little after 10 p.m. I milled around near the gate, used the porta-potty (I don't know why, but I'm going to mention the bathroom a lot in this post), and chatted with a couple crew members. Just before 10 p.m., a race official informed me that I could head down the road (indicating the road toward Rucky Chucky) and meet my runner. I declined, stating that I could wait here (I had been down and up that road and didn't particularly feel like adding an extra 4 miles - 2 up a fairly steep hill). Then she stated that the "real" aid station was about 100 yards down the road around the bend. She also added that as a pacer I could eat the food there. For those who are not familiar, the food at trail races is especially
good and plentiful - soups, sandwiches, chips, and every kind of candy
you can imagine (more on food later). Since it had been a good 3 to 4 hours since I had eaten dinner (2 PB&J sandwiches), I decided a little food was in order. I made the short trip down the road and decided on some hot chicken broth and chips.<br />
<br />
Shortly after 10 p.m., Dave came up the hill into the aid station. I almost didn't recognize him because of the darkness and the fact I forgot what color shirt he was wearing when he left Foresthill. I welcomed him into Green Gate (79.8 mi.) where he grabbed a bite and we headed up the hill to the actual "Green Gate." We checked out with the officials at the tent about 10:25 p.m. and headed down the trail.<br />
<br />
This is the moment that I had been waiting a year and all day for - running in the Western States 100!<br />
<br />
We headed down the first long hill side by side. As we reached the bottom and the trail split away from the fire road, I took the lead. The plan was to power walk the hills and run everything else. The planned pace was somewhere around 13 - 15 minutes per mile. I kept a close watch on my Garmin to make sure we were staying on a decent pace. A couple of times Dave called up to me and said we were going too fast. I was kind of glad for this. While I didn't want to push Dave too hard, I didn't want to be someone who held him back either. <br />
<br />
A couple miles into the course, I informed Dave that I found something that I liked better than trail running - nighttime trail running! It is amazingly cool to do. Granted you tend to kick more rocks and roots than you do running trails in daylight and I probably wouldn't do it barefoot, but it's a totally surreal experience. We had clear skies, so the stars were out. All you could hear were crickets. All you could see was blackness, shadowed ridgelines and whatever else you could make out with your headlamp and flashlights.<br />
<br />
We took our first "pit-stop" of the night before we arrived at Auburn Lake Trails Aid Station. It's amazing how much faster you can run when your bladder isn't full. A little while later I noticed a fairly strong skunk smell. This worried me a bit since there weren't exactly a lot of roads in the area for a skunk to get hit by a car. <br />
<br />
Over the first 5.5 miles to Auburn Lake Trails, we averaged about a 15 minute mile. The first mile was in the 12-min range, which explains why Dave was saying I was pushing too hard.<br />
<br />
One of the coolest things that I found at WS was coming into aid stations. We would be running in the dark for an hour or so and then two things would catch your attention - the faint sound of generators humming and the glow of hundreds of Christmas lights strung about in the middle of the forest. It's amazingly cool how the sight of all those brightly colored lights gives you a little lift in the middle of the night.<br />
<br />
We arrived in Auburn Lake Trails (85.2 mi.) at about 11:25 p.m. where Dave had to undergo a medical check. He weighed in a little lighter than the docs would have liked. They asked him a bunch of questions to make sure he was lucid. They told him to make sure he was drinking enough fluids and using the restroom (I made a mental note of this as well). The docs even asked me how I was doing. I told them I had just joined at Green Gate, so I was fine. Dave and I had a bit to eat and refilled his bottles and we were off and running again.<br />
<br />
Next stop - Brown's Bar (89.9 miles).<br />
<br />
This section of the course is fairly flat. As described in my first post, this is where Zap, RR and I had experienced FIYAH! It was also the location where I thought we had gone wrong on the trail.<br />
<br />
Dave decided that he would lead out this section of the trail to keep my "fresh legs" in check. Sorry, Dave. :) Despite Dave not wanting me to lead at a "relatively" blistering pace, he still managed to keep us on a good steady pace.<br />
<br />
Every mile my Garmin would chirp.<br />
<br />
"Was that a mile?" Dave would ask.<br />
<br />
"Yep." was my reply.<br />
<br />
We continued to walk the hills, but quickly jumped into a run as soon as we peaked the tops. I had to keep checking my spacing behind him, because when he thumped his toe on a rock or root, I tended to do the same. On one particularly flat section of trail, we were moving along nicely when Dave suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. I nearly slammed into his back.<br />
<br />
"Did you see that?" he asked.<br />
<br />
"See what?"<br />
<br />
"Eyes."<br />
<br />
"Where?"<br />
<br />
"Down there (indicating the brush below the trail). I thought they were headlights and then I realized they were eyes." Dave clarified.<br />
<br />
"What was it?" I asked.<br />
<br />
"I think it was a skunk. I saw a white tail."<br />
<br />
"Well, let's not stand here then," I said, as we started out again.<br />
<br />
Keeping in mind that Dave had been underweight at the last aid station, I kept a close eye on how often he was drinking. I also kept track of the time since our last pit-stop. I mentioned to him that we should be due soon for a stop. Sometime before we hit Brown's Bar, I decided to lead by example and told him at the bottom of the next hill I was going to stop. Funny how one person having to go pee sparks the urge in another. Ahh, the job of a pacer. :)<br />
<br />
Coming out of Auburn Lake, we continued a 14 - 15 minute/mile pace, but
the last mile into Brown's Bar we had dropped back into the 12s. Amazing, Dave!<br />
<br />
When we arrived at Browns Bar, I recognized the "T" in the trail. In my mind I thought, this is where we were supposed to turn left. However, as we were grazing at the food table, I realized the supply trucks were blocking the trail to the left and that we would have to go to the right. Now I was curious where the 3 of us had previously gone wrong.<br />
<br />
Anyway, we had our fill of quesadillas, chips, and candy (I think Dave had some more broth and sandwiches) and we were off down the trail again. <br />
<br />
Next stop - Highway 49 crossing (93.5 miles).<br />
<br />
So, now my mind was wondering where I had gone wrong on my pre-race run. What turn did we miss that day? Soon Dave and I approached another "T" in the trail. It was at this sign (this picture was taken during pre-race run). During the run with Zap and RR, we had turned to the left. Surely, we needed to go right (nevermind that the sign clearly states Hwy 49 crossing to the left). Nope. When we reached this point the trail was clearly marked with glow sticks and reflective ribbons to the left.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYt-aSrAxxDWx8W4VzFZvAfanWoiuKSSE7c_fCf4HAGPM0UlGPkdbJQRD9Wz4t9vVgryLrimsenBWVesxmjpqZOrnMbhPk_Fv8waN0_pT06T0ATVf9FX6nODpIYq2WW9es0lEjm40h6u4/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYt-aSrAxxDWx8W4VzFZvAfanWoiuKSSE7c_fCf4HAGPM0UlGPkdbJQRD9Wz4t9vVgryLrimsenBWVesxmjpqZOrnMbhPk_Fv8waN0_pT06T0ATVf9FX6nODpIYq2WW9es0lEjm40h6u4/s400/photo.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The first two miles out of Brown's Bar were nice - mostly downhill or flat. We approached the river - you couldn't see it, only hear it. However, based on my memory of the area, I knew exactly where we were. We were just about to the fire road that leads to the Auburn Recreation Area parking lot where Hwy 49 crosses the American River and where my trio had hitched a ride two weeks ago. Now I was truly confused. Where was that turn we missed! Then suddenly, about 2 miles out from the Hwy 49 Crossing, a large paint mark and glow sticks marked a small trail veering up steeply and to the left of the fire road. I finally discovered where we had gone wrong! I even remember seeing this little "NO Mountain Bikes" sign where the trail begins (not that you could ride a bike up this thing if you wanted to).<br />
<br />
One of the cool things about running a race at night is that they mark the trail with glow sticks. Sometimes they seem plentiful, other times not so much. Dave commented several times during the night how we hadn't seen a glow stick in a while - wondering if we had missed a turn somewhere.<br />
<br />
There is a downside to this method of marking the trail in this way. While climbing this hill, I would take my eyes off the trail in front of me for a moment to see if I could make out the peak of the hill. I could not make out the peak, but I would see the faint glow of one of these glow sticks above me. Then we would reach that glow stick and then we would see another glow stick above us on the trail. We would continue uphill and I would either spot another glow stick or the flash of light of someone's headlamp. Then we would reach that glow stick and I'd spot another one higher up still. It seemed to never end! At least during daylight if there is a hill you can see how far you have to go. Running in the dark taking in only 20 feet at a time makes it a long drawn out process of reaching a peak. As it turned out, the point where this little trail veered off to the left was the beginning of a long, 2-mile, uphill climb. <br />
<br />
It took us a bit of huffing and puffing, but we finally made it to the top! After reaching the summit of the hill followed by a short down hill run, we could see the lights of CHP cars and the aid station at the Highway 49 crossing. As we ran down the hill into the aid station, an official called our arrival over a radio followed quickly by Dave's name over the speakers. It was now 1:45 a.m.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHttozbqPYh1QGwV-gkpKUbKviFQJVEj2hGnLFrnyttO5J12JqQCs52Dabn71e_Cw3pUPJfvf0IQ1dVl-FKPCWXUB8-T3FeEmbPiq5rTzdK2IfSRQjiY_tL_GIWZnYdeyCDA4Ly5VDE8E/s1600/412525_4286047192148_460793203_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHttozbqPYh1QGwV-gkpKUbKviFQJVEj2hGnLFrnyttO5J12JqQCs52Dabn71e_Cw3pUPJfvf0IQ1dVl-FKPCWXUB8-T3FeEmbPiq5rTzdK2IfSRQjiY_tL_GIWZnYdeyCDA4Ly5VDE8E/s400/412525_4286047192148_460793203_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hwy 49 Crossing Aid Station</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGS-gToizDIPk6bPSaxy6UMbIkcJAefLdS7tfHfT1t3pQWZXQnoJP0g9F5Z7i4yXaZyS-d2DBqt06Yrew83RZNju15rgQSoFlF8V2NrP4RYI0PJqKnNJw_o7IZ_jsHxyBspS8HYHl5A4/s1600/471106_4286047352152_692080596_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGS-gToizDIPk6bPSaxy6UMbIkcJAefLdS7tfHfT1t3pQWZXQnoJP0g9F5Z7i4yXaZyS-d2DBqt06Yrew83RZNju15rgQSoFlF8V2NrP4RYI0PJqKnNJw_o7IZ_jsHxyBspS8HYHl5A4/s400/471106_4286047352152_692080596_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave is the faint shadow figure in the center of the picture.</td></tr>
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<br />
As we arrived at the crossing, we heard Dave's wife and sister cheering. Dave had to do another medical check here. The good news was that he had put on a few pounds since Auburn Lake and was back in the acceptable range. After his check-up, we walked over to say hi and chat a bit with Samantha and Deb. I told them that Dave was doing awesome. You would never guess he had run 93.5 miles at this point. <br />
<br />
We went over to browse the food table. I was picking at some chips and M&Ms. Then I spotted some Jello cubes. Before the race Dave had told me that nothing tastes better than chicken soup at 1 a.m. I thought, hmm, I wonder how Jello tastes at 1 a.m.?<br />
<br />
IT TASTES AMAZING!<br />
<br />
I wandered over to tell Dave about the Jello. As we were walking back toward the food table, I noticed a pacer who was eyeballing the Gummi Worms and Gummi Bears.<br />
<br />
"Look! Gummi worms!" he said.<br />
<br />
"They have Jello over there," I told him.<br />
<br />
"It's like, what do you want - crack or cocaine?" he said.<br />
<br />
We had a laugh and then I wandered back over to Dave who was saying good-bye to his family. They were hoping to see us one more time at No Hands Bridge before they headed to the finish line.<br />
<br />
As we were heading out, I noticed that after we had arrived at Hwy 49 that my Garmin
battery had died. No longer would we get the nice little chirp as every
mile was checked off. <br />
<br />
No matter we only had 6.7 miles to go!!!<br />
<br />
There was a bit of a climb coming out of Hwy 49, but not like the hill we had just come up. Next we had a nice dusty cruise along the top of the ridge above the highway with the giant Foresthill Bridge above us. Finally a short descent to No Hands Bridge. <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ws100.com/phototour/15_49ToFinish/PICT0521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://ws100.com/phototour/15_49ToFinish/PICT0521.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foresthill Bridge in daylight - Source: WS100 website</td></tr>
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<br />
Dave's family had managed to make it to No Hands Bridge before we arrived. Dave took time to eat and visit while I visited the...ummm, nevermind. Upon my return, one of the race officials joked that Dave was getting too comfortable here. So, I told him that I'd get him out of here. We were now 3.4 miles from the finish! <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAXuzg7ETFc8rlZzNAS-vxJAx6wB2LMwEBsxLYvWWYIQZlUraGnvcFDlHpR3vXmn9jPed_F1EAJM3b5lggZgFjYCD3xcR_aRAaqzEd3ixqch16qA14EydmWX2_Q8TCZCdzlTXh_jrVVTA/s1600/No+Hands+Bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAXuzg7ETFc8rlZzNAS-vxJAx6wB2LMwEBsxLYvWWYIQZlUraGnvcFDlHpR3vXmn9jPed_F1EAJM3b5lggZgFjYCD3xcR_aRAaqzEd3ixqch16qA14EydmWX2_Q8TCZCdzlTXh_jrVVTA/s400/No+Hands+Bridge.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave's sister with No Hands Bridge lit to the left</td></tr>
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No Hands Bridge at night is pretty cool. It is a gravel-covered bridge a little more than a car lane wide. They have the entire span lit with white Christmas lights, which gives it a surreal look as you are crossing at two in the morning.<br />
<br />
Once across the bridge, there is another nearly 2 mile climb up to Robie Point. So, once again, we were reduced to walking as fast as we could. About 3:20 a.m., we arrived at Robie Point. This is where the trail running ends and you enter the city of Auburn. We were welcomed to the Point by a race official who stated that the finish line was 1.3 miles from the lightpost at the top of the trail.<br />
<br />
"Any more hills?" asked Dave.<br />
<br />
"The first half mile," replied the official. "Just follow the orange footprints."<br />
<br />
I don't recall if Dave said anything about the hill, but I know what I was thinking. <br />
<br />
Once on the asphalt, we realized the official wasn't kidding. The road was as steep as any hill in San Francisco. And after running 98.9 miles, I'm sure Dave was not pleased with another hill - I know I was done with them. But sure enough there were orange footprints every 20 feet or so on the asphalt.<br />
<br />
As we peaked the hill, there was a group of people camped out on their driveways. They had strung Christmas lights across the street and were shouting, "Welcome to Auburn!!!" So awesome!<br />
<br />
Dave and I were back to running now with only about .7 miles left to go. I was on the lookout for the stadium lights, but the heavy tree cover made them difficult to spot.<br />
<br />
The roadway was flat to downhill for almost a half mile when Dave said, "Is that another hill? That guy said no more hills!" <br />
<br />
Granted, it wasn't a steep hill, but it was a hill nonetheless. At this point, Dave was unstoppable. He didn't slow his pace he kept on running, so I did too. We were running side by side as we reached the top of the hill. My calves were on fire. I can only imagine how Dave's felt.<br />
<br />
Someone shouted, "Down this hill, across the bridge, and you're at the entrance to the stadium."<br />
<br />
We entered the stadium and made the lap around. I split off into the pacers chute as Dave crossed the finish line.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLQG3-MFql4n4MDK6z4UFPoIbu3z6hzy9Y8QFrD82e2KB1EQCHN3luCojq7ELTOl5NMrUogjWzDZ9eZKRpPPxSAbhum82UwUS8EV5WbbC3liv-fZgzD6DEJ7vu31BAE6cFXklMl_fXlaI/s1600/614659_4286049472205_2053366765_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLQG3-MFql4n4MDK6z4UFPoIbu3z6hzy9Y8QFrD82e2KB1EQCHN3luCojq7ELTOl5NMrUogjWzDZ9eZKRpPPxSAbhum82UwUS8EV5WbbC3liv-fZgzD6DEJ7vu31BAE6cFXklMl_fXlaI/s400/614659_4286049472205_2053366765_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave about to cross the finish line.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9K-6SHR2ZFa4tD7pwQ-_SDJvzRyQNjLOyZTpLQN2xb9fVy4G5ry5DiLiGsRHodKfJLyCORcFqUIUmUdZJZ21puW7KdGRaN_2ibuy1y4sIFfxQMe2cxeG5TVqaroqRtSuEfYQBgZ_KhZM/s1600/614867_4286050312226_1102656269_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9K-6SHR2ZFa4tD7pwQ-_SDJvzRyQNjLOyZTpLQN2xb9fVy4G5ry5DiLiGsRHodKfJLyCORcFqUIUmUdZJZ21puW7KdGRaN_2ibuy1y4sIFfxQMe2cxeG5TVqaroqRtSuEfYQBgZ_KhZM/s400/614867_4286050312226_1102656269_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me looking on as Dave is awarded his medal</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLQ7hvgJQgHNriZalqvp6DmJeIlBOXaUm49ldowLtF2xBKJHcpY2oFGVgSxB7E6OUxpFLCX78XcRE3CsXxt1WpKX_1vGR-FvL34LVNAP6XVHOmNxlSDUAIIVlTlJuWUUVmmcvck9nsJ4I/s1600/471119_4286051552257_321435382_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLQ7hvgJQgHNriZalqvp6DmJeIlBOXaUm49ldowLtF2xBKJHcpY2oFGVgSxB7E6OUxpFLCX78XcRE3CsXxt1WpKX_1vGR-FvL34LVNAP6XVHOmNxlSDUAIIVlTlJuWUUVmmcvck9nsJ4I/s400/471119_4286051552257_321435382_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave with wife, Samantha, and sister, Deb</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk6rgp7gPT96UZyz3wyI3NEj6Tt85YOsHSlKN6qfWuVUoSwxzD4ia_ypd-MDP1aYq-ocUeiX8eve2LNrjbaUUDWkEZ6yzfROVppu5PansX6mPTWhyphenhyphenw1e1GVDs2T0xQfQM4G-yGdP92N20/s1600/616279_4286050632234_2016276333_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk6rgp7gPT96UZyz3wyI3NEj6Tt85YOsHSlKN6qfWuVUoSwxzD4ia_ypd-MDP1aYq-ocUeiX8eve2LNrjbaUUDWkEZ6yzfROVppu5PansX6mPTWhyphenhyphenw1e1GVDs2T0xQfQM4G-yGdP92N20/s400/616279_4286050632234_2016276333_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave and I after the finish</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48DKAxlcM2_usrUxyjFJmcomyFAnN-Fe9hSC4MTGJgOpRJV1-tAAAxXY6mS35buoYwWDJZZe9MNvzGC2BZkS5zxlvYtUwuKEze4gTSUDSLceJiEXeChUKbQJLCVdLetWgM6saclxZjXQ/s1600/221425_4286053392303_1037766053_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48DKAxlcM2_usrUxyjFJmcomyFAnN-Fe9hSC4MTGJgOpRJV1-tAAAxXY6mS35buoYwWDJZZe9MNvzGC2BZkS5zxlvYtUwuKEze4gTSUDSLceJiEXeChUKbQJLCVdLetWgM6saclxZjXQ/s400/221425_4286053392303_1037766053_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THE SILVER BUCKLE</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfVlKOfSNSXhVBeVB5jdRSONuv78iutBmDJUkYWu9MamsZfKfk0FA4iSISUdUDY-PhRaJR3XvXBNYFy8K7NgCY4hUT2YA4ld-V0-l38HSA86PG9VaBVFcr0fT8wt-p4rKNU5FmnWyJhbE/s1600/330826_4286052472280_1466749394_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfVlKOfSNSXhVBeVB5jdRSONuv78iutBmDJUkYWu9MamsZfKfk0FA4iSISUdUDY-PhRaJR3XvXBNYFy8K7NgCY4hUT2YA4ld-V0-l38HSA86PG9VaBVFcr0fT8wt-p4rKNU5FmnWyJhbE/s400/330826_4286052472280_1466749394_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave at the Awards Ceremony later that morning</td></tr>
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<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Official time - 22:38:07! SILVER BUCKLE, BABY!</h2>
<br />
Dave, THANK YOU for allowing me the honor of being your pacer at the Western States 100-mile Endurance Run 2012. You were incredible and inspiring! I was just along for the ride.<br />
<br />
<br />Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-59287863146140180032012-07-16T23:15:00.002-07:002012-07-18T23:09:30.063-07:00Western States 100 - 2012 Experience! Part IIIn Part I of my WS 100 post, I had just led a couple of my BRS friends on a near 17-mile journey that put us 2 miles away from our drop car. It was an awesome day of trail running, but it gets better!<br />
<br />
Dave Boudreau flew out on the Wednesday before the race. We agreed to meet up in Auburn at the Starbucks. (Yes, the Starbucks in Auburn, again. I don't actually drink Starbucks, but it seems to be a good location to meet if you're from out of the area.) Dave wanted to get a look at the Rucky Chucky crossing and the Green Gate area where we would be meeting up on race day.<br />
<br />
As he walked up to my truck, I realized that he was quite a bit taller than me. I was mildly concerned that I might have trouble keeping up with his long-legged stride. Then I thought again - during the race I wouldn't see him until he had run nearly 80 miles. <br />
<br />
Dave and I headed down to "Green Gate" and parked the car. We headed off down the trail - a long nearly 2 mile drop to the American River. Once at the bottom, we wandered around a large open area near the river trying to determine where the crossing would be made. We did a little more wandering, a little bush wacking, looking at deep water, and trying to determine if there was any sign of a trail on the rugged cliff faces across the river. Apparently, we had missed a smaller trail that branched off of the dirt fire road about quarter mile from the bottom of the hill. Up we went, and then back down toward the river again, this time on the correct trail. We found the crossing, but the access was very overgrown with thorny blackberry bushes on our side of the river. (I don't know for sure, but I'm sure Dave was hoping that would be cleared for race day.)<br />
<br />
Satisfied with the scouting of Rucky Chucky, we headed back up toward the car. The temperature had risen a bit more and I was sweating profusely now. I was glad I had brought my hydration pack instead of just my water bottle. I was sucking the cool water down pretty steadily. We made it back to the car and then continued down the trail from Green Gate. We only checked out the first couple miles due to time constraints and headed back to the car again. Even though I had just been in the area a couple weeks back, it was real now - I'd be here in a couple days running the course through the night. SO COOL!<br />
<br />
On the way back to my truck in Auburn, Dave and I chatted a little about race strategy. However, we mostly just chatted about stuff other than running - kids, work, and life in general. We parted in Auburn knowing that the next time we'd see each other would be during the race.<br />
<br />
The night before the race, I meticulously went over my gear. I wanted to be sure I had everything in order. I also wanted to attempt to get some decent sleep because once I woke, it would be almost 24 hours until I slept again.<br />
<br />
Before tucking my son in bed that night, I tried explaining what Dave was going to do and how what my part would be. The conversation went something like this:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Me: "Tomorrow morning, before you wake up, Dave is going to start running. Then we will wake up, eat breakfast, and go to swim practice. Dave will still be running. After practice, we will come home and you will get ready to go visit your cousins. Dave will still be running. Then I will eat lunch. Sometime after lunch, I will start my 2 hour drive to where I will meet Dave's crew. And Dave will still be running. Then after you get home, eat dinner, and get ready for bed, Dave will still be running. After you go to bed and fall asleep, I will meet up with Dave, who has been running this whole time. Then, Dave and I will run all night. Hopefully, we will finish before you wake up."</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
My son: "Wow! How do you do that?"<br />
<br />
Me: "I have no idea, but I'm going to find out."</blockquote>
The next morning went pretty much as described above. I headed out to Auburn, stopped off at an REI to grab an extra Shot Bloks and a Heed<a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000000000425997&pid=HAM104-MEL&adurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.roadrunnersports.com%2Frrs%2Fproducts%2FHAM104%2F%3Fcc%3DMEL%26sc%3DCX12D004&usg=AFHzDLv9h_3YaWD3IeefztonFXwbpraDYw&pubid=561747" rel="nofollow"></a> packet. I met up with Dave's wife and sister a little after 3 p.m. at the finish line at Placer High School Stadium. We headed out to Michigan Bluff where Dave was due in about 5:30 p.m. We drove down the long windy road into Michigan Bluff arriving about 4:30. We set up the chairs and hung around the busy road waiting for Dave's appearance. There were a couple of girls running up and down the road hawking fresh lemonade and cherries - quite an industrious couple of kids with a captive audience of hundreds of hot and thirsty race crews.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieMaOrb0L7MzhhA_V7E6cWqK-gdMqc7fR4vlnjeLqcr9GZB51YfsOqzL5iB2vYznm-ii-oCEGJuN4hfNUUYyYLu3gFFOFLi1H6H_h6SXn4MPD1-ltQ1fHv1_inhy-eFy08gBhNHXmjWdA/s1600/339391_4286043672060_1285608245_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieMaOrb0L7MzhhA_V7E6cWqK-gdMqc7fR4vlnjeLqcr9GZB51YfsOqzL5iB2vYznm-ii-oCEGJuN4hfNUUYyYLu3gFFOFLi1H6H_h6SXn4MPD1-ltQ1fHv1_inhy-eFy08gBhNHXmjWdA/s400/339391_4286043672060_1285608245_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me hanging around at Michigan Bluff</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
While we waited, I tried to lay down on a towel and nap. Sleep wouldn't come. I wasn't tired and frankly I was started to get amp'ed up for my entrance into the race. It was a good thing I didn't doze off though. Dave came running into Michigan Bluff (55.7 miles) just after 5 p.m., nearly a half hour early. We chatted briefly as Dave switched out some of his gear and finished eating a sandwich and chicken broth. He was looking and feeling good.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave arriving at Michigan Bluff walking with Crew Boudreau.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave and his Sis</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Changing out gear.</td></tr>
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We bid Dave farewell as he headed out from Michigan Bluff and hiked back up the short hill to the car. We sped off toward Foresthill to meet him in another hour and a half.<br />
<br />
Foresthill is an amazing place. The number of people and cars just boggles the mind. After all, this is a foot race not the NFL, NBA, or MLB. There are so many people and crews cheering on each and every runner coming through. I had the privilege of volunteering as a greeter at Foresthill last year guiding runners through the aid station and getting whatever food and/or drinks they needed.<br />
<br />
We lucked out and found a place to park right near where runners enter Foresthill Aid Station. However, we ended up setting up camp on the other end of the aid station so we could tend to Dave after he came out of the station. While we had the time, I thought it best to change into my running clothes. After Foresthill, I would be dropped at the Green Gate shuttle. So, I swapped out my clothes and headed over to our little plot of land we had staked out.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR2GW99ZxtYIIv3wXc_3jgfIpI6ZgKJ5PxQoLgwCSIRsR8v2RwYc781wsGDY_EavJhJRk1Bg3ee02e2THdE5dPVdGkbjcVxaEXXaI0GsvfzpJlVlMrV4N1xCeszSnfP7cwDVKe0h62WI0/s1600/473789_4286046432129_997193460_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR2GW99ZxtYIIv3wXc_3jgfIpI6ZgKJ5PxQoLgwCSIRsR8v2RwYc781wsGDY_EavJhJRk1Bg3ee02e2THdE5dPVdGkbjcVxaEXXaI0GsvfzpJlVlMrV4N1xCeszSnfP7cwDVKe0h62WI0/s400/473789_4286046432129_997193460_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In a good mood as he arrives at Foresthill Aid Station</td></tr>
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<br />
As we were lounging around with the other crews, we heard Dave's name being announced as he entered Foresthill. Again, Dave had surprised us by arriving about 10 minutes early! Dave had been shaving time off his pace all morning. He was clearly in the 22 hour finish range now. Dave changed out the gear he needed and picked up his headlamp. The next time we would see him would be after dark. <br />
<br />
Finally, the time was drawing near for me to enter the race. We headed out of Foresthill to head toward the town of Cool and the Green Gate shuttle. We missed a turn or something on the way to Foresthill Bridge so we ended up back in Auburn pretty quick. No worries, because we were not really that far from everything anyway. We headed back out on Highway 49, past the quarry at the Highway 49 crossing/aid station (where Zap, Rob and I were supposed to come out on our scouting run). A quick stop at the gas station in Cool (along with a pit stop for me - I was fully hydrated now for the run) and we were off to the shuttle.<br />
<br />
We pulled into the parking lot about 7:30 p.m. and I swapped out my shirt for a compression shirt and short sleeved shirt to go on top, as it was getting a little chilly now. The ladies wished me well and headed off to eventually meet us at the Highway 49 crossing. They also told me to call if I needed anything in the time leading up to starting off on the run.<br />
<br />
This is where things got a little dicey for me. When we had pulled into the parking lot there was a shuttle waiting. By the time I got my gear situated and walked over to the shuttle stop, the bus had left on a run down to the end of Sliger Mine Road. The race official made an announcement about the bus. The driver had been shuttling crews for 5 hours without a break and was rightfully a bit cranky. The second bus had never materialized to relieve the load. He asked us to be overly polite and thankful to the driver. No problem. Crews with runners that had left after 6 p.m. were asked to try and allow crews from 5 p.m. runners access to the bus, since it was taking about 4 hours for runners to make the trek. Again, no problem.<br />
<br />
The bus pulled back into the lot about 8 p.m. and offloaded all of the returning crews from the bottom of the hill. After the last person stepped off the bus, the doors shut and the bus drove off to the other side of the parking lot and shut off its motor.<br />
<br />
Umm. . . excuse me???<br />
<br />
Apparently, the driver decided it was break time. This caused a bit of a panic among the crews and pacers that had been waiting for about a half hour already. Crews and pacers with runners that had come through Foresthill around 5 and were not queued up to catch the next bus became almost frantic as the possibility of their runner passing through Green Gate without their crew was fast becoming a reality.<br />
<br />
A note of clarification about Green Gate - As I have described in my previous post, Green Gate is about 10 to 15 minutes of driving a long, narrow, windy, 1 1/2 lane road. Once at the bottom of the paved road it is a good 15 to 20 minute walk down a dusty, rocky fire road to the actual "gate". On race day, no crew cars are allowed at the bottom of the road - there is simply no place to park.<br />
<br />
The race officials were at a loss. They were not sure exactly what to do. After about 15 minutes, the race officials started shuttling pacers only down to the bottom in their personal vehicles. Other crews started doing similar things - driving down crew members or pacers loaded down with all the gear. They would return to the lot with the car in hopes to catch up with the crew shortly after once the bus started running again.<br />
<br />
After the race officials had left on their second run to the bottom, it was approaching 9 p.m. Now crews for runners who had left Foresthill at about 6:30 p.m. were getting antsy, including me. Not long after the bus had shut down, I noticed that my cell phone had once again lost reception leaving me with no way to contact the rest of our crew. One other pacer and I were talking about how much time we had left to get to the aid station when the bus engine roared to life. It pulled up to the line and I was the first to hop on.<br />
<br />
Even though I was ON the bus, I was seriously getting nervous about missing Dave at Green Gate.<br />
<br />
<br />
Part III coming soon... <br />
<br />
<br />Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-21631098922809807142012-07-08T22:00:00.002-07:002012-07-08T22:30:59.863-07:00Western States 100 - 2012 Experience! - Part I<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Here we were, in the middle of the night, running through the dark forest by the light of headlamps and small flashlights unable to see much beyond 20 feet. The only sounds were footfalls and chirping crickets...<br />
<br />
I wanted to write this post a couple weeks back announcing that I was
running as a pacer at the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, but I
think there is something about being an athlete and having a
superstitious nature. Leading up to the AR50 I blogged extensively
about my experience and wound up with my first DNF. So, I kept my mouth
shut on the blogs and only told the people around me about my upcoming
event. <br />
<br />
So, now here's my story. . .<br />
<br />
Prior to the AR50 run, my plan for the summer was AR50, pace at WS100 from Foresthill, and finish the summer with a repeat of the Skyline 50K for a new PR. With the achilles injury at AR50 and the unknown recovery period, I was very skeptical and almost heartbroken at the thought of my summer racing plans being shot to pieces. After 6 weeks of rest and recovery and a slightly more than gradual return to running, things were beginning to look up. My achilles, while tight, was not hurting anymore. I was quickly increasing my long runs from 2 - 3 miles to 8+ miles. I had lost some but not too much of my endurance.<br />
<br />
With AR50 in the past, I began looking toward the Western States 100-mile Endurance Run. Last year I volunteered at Foresthill (mile 62) and finally got to meet Jason Robillard after chatting with him through email and the barefoot running forums. I had hoped last year to pace a runner, but thought wiser of it. This year, I was determined to pace someone. However, knowing that I was no longer at the peak of my training I knew I could not do a Foresthill to Finish 38-mile pacing run. So, I kept an eye out on the WS100 website for a runner looking for a pacer from Green Gate to the Finish (20.5 miles).<br />
<br />
After about a week of checking in on the site, a runner from New Hampshire, David Boudreau, popped up looking for a pacer from Green Gate to the finish (20.5 miles). After a couple of emails, Dave decided to take me on as his pacer. Dave sent me his pacing schedule and other relevant information. (I was glad to see that I wasn't the only one who makes out detailed pacing schedules down to the exact minute and for several pace times.)<br />
<br />
Since Dave was looking for someone with WS course experience (and I had none), I told him that I would head up to Auburn and scout out a portion of the course after Green Gate. So, along with BRS runners Zapmamak and Running Romeo, we planned a spontaneous trip to the Western States course one Saturday morning a couple weeks ago. (You can read Zap's version of our adventure here on her blog <a href="http://nakedonsharppointystuff.blogspot.com/2012/06/fiyah-on-ws100-trail.html" target="_blank">Running Naked on Sharp Pointy Stuff</a> - remember you can't believe everything you read.)<br />
<br />
We met up at a Starbucks in Auburn and headed out down highway 49 to drop Zap's car along the roadside for the ride back to the start. Then we headed out into the middle of nowhere down Sliger Mine Road - a long windy little more than 1 1/2 lane paved road. Once at the end of that road, we bumped our way down another mile or so of rutted dirt road to Green Gate - actually a brown gate.<br />
<br />
Off we headed down the trail. Rob, aka Running Romeo, was wearing his Lunas while Zap an I were in Merrells. The first few miles were a bit hilly. Since we were fresh, we were able to run most of the smaller hills with some walking on the steeper ones. We made it to Auburn Lake Trails without too much difficulty. However, one of the straps on Rob's Lunas snapped so he decided to go barefoot for a while.<br />
<br />
Most of the trail was marked in advance of the WS race with yellow Montrail ribbons, which turned out to be a big help. At Auburn Lake Trails we ran into a 3 road split. We all had a different idea of which way we should go. After consulting the map and a couple of attempts down the wrong trail/road, we decided on the furthest right path. This is where Zap said my Boy Scout skills and sense of direction came in handy. We were quickly rewarded with a yellow ribbon on the far side of the clearing.<br />
<br />
From here, we moved out quickly down the trail. This section to Brown's Bar was FAST! The trail was relatively flat with some mild rollers. We moved along the edge of the river canyon weaving our way in and out of the hills but basically on the same elevation.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Beautiful American River Canyon Area</td></tr>
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<br />
<br />
Along the way we came upon 2 deer. The first was at the bottom of a small gorge. I asked if anyone was up for some persistence hunting. A little later, we came right up on a young buck walking across the trail in front of us. He eyeballed us for a few minutes as he continued up the hill. We walked quietly past admiring him and how close we were. <br />
<br />
We continued down the trail... A short while later we paused for some pictures at a nice clearing along the side of the canyon. As we chatted, someone noticed a nice little rock bench marked with a plaque in memory of a woman killed by a mountain lion in this area. Hmmm, nice thought - we're not really alone out here.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVk1CzMBm1k7DbaKDrFpAo4LCKarGRpaZpqb_2PI9zZDC_LOiDeyVDlgd459hhlB2GyEQw45EkhC7QsDEnm2x1W693fbq8TAH3i2pX6x1iujIzkhVulLPcHAOlWkdOfm-gNO-NEI3M9wM/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVk1CzMBm1k7DbaKDrFpAo4LCKarGRpaZpqb_2PI9zZDC_LOiDeyVDlgd459hhlB2GyEQw45EkhC7QsDEnm2x1W693fbq8TAH3i2pX6x1iujIzkhVulLPcHAOlWkdOfm-gNO-NEI3M9wM/s400/photo.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Running Romeo and I </td></tr>
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAPw0gdfN57w_UXXZw11E7k4kA80ua1Mh-M86zSAOTYNHRrgpiflxgU2tlC_INULReYBV6L7olRpzloCqPN095Aol4G3eS1H5iiB5RWpr-iFBbToNoX_71T0bzRdSMZ-Ju39FA9qpSXeaR/s1600/IMG_20120609_095446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAPw0gdfN57w_UXXZw11E7k4kA80ua1Mh-M86zSAOTYNHRrgpiflxgU2tlC_INULReYBV6L7olRpzloCqPN095Aol4G3eS1H5iiB5RWpr-iFBbToNoX_71T0bzRdSMZ-Ju39FA9qpSXeaR/s400/IMG_20120609_095446.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zapmamak and I </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Upon arriving at Brown's Bar, Rob commented that we just saw the power of the FIYAH (for those of you who know Zap). At this section of the trail, it comes to a "T" and we quickly moved to the right without really looking. This would be the point that we <i>thought</i> we had gone wrong (more on that later in Part II - the race).<br />
<br />
Down another section of trail put us along a wide fire road next to the American River. As we got closer to a recreation area along the river, I realized we could see the Foresthill Bridge and the bridge on Highway 49 that parallels No Hands Bridge. The problem is that the trail/road we were on headed almost directly towards this point. That was not where we were supposed to be headed - considering that Zap's car was further down the 49.<br />
<br />
We reached the recreation area and walked down a steep hill to the right at the fork. After discussing the situation, we realized we should probably take the left fork. Back up that steep hill. Oh wait, the fork to the left also goes up a very, very, long, steep hill too. We continued up several switchbacks for over a mile before coming upon a nice NO TRESPASSING sign and a fence across the road. This probably wouldn't have mattered because beyond the fence looked like an impassable wall of rock. Back down we went...<br />
<br />
We made it back to the highway only to realize our car was about 2 miles up the narrow highway with cars zipping by. Fortunately for Rob and I, Zap is a friendly looking young lady and was able to flag down a large SUV with a nice elderly couple driving. They were able to drop us back at our car.<br />
<br />
All in all, an awesome day of running! Oh, yeah, if you read Zap's account...I did tell her we were running 10 - 13 miles. Turned out to be 16.7 miles according to Rob's phone app.<br />
<br />
Part II coming soon . . . Pacing at Western States<br />
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<br />Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-61865804825457283222012-05-21T22:41:00.000-07:002012-05-21T22:41:34.461-07:00Back in the GameWell, I took a few weeks off of running to let my achilles heal up. Here's the run down of the beginning of my comeback. . .<br />
<br />
After about three weeks, I attempted a 0.25-mile run with my kids. I made it a whopping 87 feet. Pain was shooting through my achilles. I walked the 0.25-mile so that my kids (who were hyped up to run with me) would not be let down.<br />
<br />
I waited another week before I attempted another 0.25-mile run. This time I made it through the run with a little soreness/tightness in my achilles but no pain. The 0.25-mile seemed like just far enough. If I had gone much further, I might push it into "injury-status" again. I had mixed emotions after that run. I felt excited that I was "back" running again, but at the same time it was very depressing to be only 0.25 mile after being ready to run 50-miles just weeks earlier. However, at that point, I was willing to take whatever I could get.<br />
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Being able to run again was extremely important as it was days away from the 2nd Annual International Barefoot Running Day (IBRD) with the Barefoot Runners Society. I was hosting the San Francisco Area Chapter Run at Lake Chabot and felt the urgency in my ability to run. <br />
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That Sunday arrived and I headed out to Lake Chabot with BRS member, Rob, aka Running Romeo. Shortly after arriving, other members of the BRS and a few new runners arrived. I held a very brief running clinic on form and cadence (my two go-to topics). Then we headed out for what was supposed to be a mile + run. I hung back with the main part of the group (to take it easy on my achilles) while RR went out with the lead pack. They paused at a restroom on a turn in the lake path. Rob mentioned that we'd gone 1.27 miles. A bit more than I had originally bargained for, so we headed back toward the marina. So, after 2.5 miles, my achilles was tight again, but still no pain! YES!<br />
<br />
At the end of that week, the school I work at had a "triathlon"- hula hooping, jump roping, and running! I wore my Merrell's that day (since I don't think my principal would appreciate me running barefoot on campus). I did a very easy half-mile run with some of the 3rd graders - along with some hula hooping too.<br />
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This past week marked the start of the 13 weeks to my next race - the Skyline 50K around Lake Chabot this August. I ran this race last year as my first entry into the realm of the ultramarathon. I loved the course - mostly barefoot friendly and great support along the course. The goal this year is to beat my time (by training for the hills). <br />
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I did 2 miles on Tuesday and 2.5 on Wednesday last week. On Sunday, I met up with two of my old marathoning running buddies for a nice 8 mile run around Shima Tract Island on the delta. I felt great! No pain, no soreness and I still have my endurance! WOO HOO! <br />
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Ladies and gentlemen... I'm back!<br />
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<br />Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-22614345266971381632012-04-11T21:32:00.002-07:002012-04-11T21:34:18.019-07:00The Journey to a Barefoot 50-mile Endurance Run: Race Report - What Went WrongWell, the American River 50-mile Endurance Run was on Saturday.<br />
<br />
First of all - congratulations to Vajin Armstrong from Australia for his 5:53:14 win of the 2012 AR50. Congratulations to the women's winner, Ellie Greenwood of Canada, at 6:18:29 (5th overall). Also, congratulations to the local Rich Hanna of Sacramento, CA for his 2nd place overall finish and 1st place Masters win. Congratulations to the runners from Lodi and Stockton, including Tony Vice and his employees, David and Omar, at Fleet Feet Stockton. A complete list of the finishers can be found at <a href="http://www.ultralive.net/ar50/webcast.php">http://www.ultralive.net/ar50/webcast.php</a>.<br />
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As it turns out, this is not going to be the race report that I had envisioned writing. At the AR50, I had my first-ever DNF. Here's the low-down on what happened. . .<br />
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I awoke Saturday morning at 3 a.m. and began my pre-race rituals - showering, shaving, and applying ample amounts of body-glide in every imaginable location. Next, I ate a breakfast of oatmeal and chia seeds, drank a little iskiate, and began to pack the car with my gear and food for my crew chief, Rob (a.k.a. Running Romeo). My wife dropped me off at Rob's house and headed back home. Her plan was to return later in the afternoon with our kids to watch me cross the finish line.<br />
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Rob and I made the final leg of the journey in record time to the starting line at Sacramento State University (Apparently traffic at 4 a.m. on a Saturday morning tends to be light). I hit the porta-potties for my...ahem... pre-race business. Then we took a walk up to the bike path to check out the condition of the asphalt - nice and smooth (more on that later).<br />
<br />
Since we were still an hour away from the start, we headed back to the car where I wrapped my legs in a couple of blankets Rob had thrown in the car. After hanging out til about 5:40, we headed back up to the starting line. Rob snapped a couple of photos of me pre-race and heading out. The first shot I'm in my Sockwas, which I handed over to Rob along with my coat before heading out.<br />
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The asphalt at the actual starting line was a bit more chip-seal than the smooth asphalt near the bridge. Fortunately it was only for about the first quarter-mile with a couple patches here and there in the first mile or two.<br />
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I don't recall actually hearing anyone or anything calling out the official "start," but everyone started moving in that general direction and loud music started blaring out of the speakers. So, I assumed the race had begun!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue shirt, black hat with red sunglasses hanging of the back.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading out. . .</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just to the right of the guy in yellow you can see my bare feet and my blue shirt.</td></tr>
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It was still dark as you can see and I was a little concerned that I might step on something stupid right off the bat and be sidelined. Well, I managed to survive stepping on anything horrible in the dark. Sunrise came about 20 minutes after the start.<br />
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I was running about an 11:30 mile, fluctuating between a 11 and 12. I was trying to stay as close to the 12 minute mile mark as possible (especially with all the adrenaline coursing through my veins at the start of the race. I was fully in the moment. The river was very full and flowing. The sunrise was coming up over the Sierras right in front of us. It was a beautiful, cool spring morning. A perfect day for a run (albeit a very long run).<br />
<br />
I could hear various conversations about Born to Run behind me and an occasional, "that guy's barefoot." One of the first people to chat with me was a woman who asked me if I had heard about Micah True. We talked about how sad it was, but how beautiful it was that he passed doing something he loved. She had been to the Born to Run event last year in So Cal and asked if I had been there. After we had been talking for a few minutes, I realized my pace had picked up a bit, so I let our conversation die off and wished her luck.<br />
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One of the funniest things that I noticed was that people repeatedly asked me, "You're putting on shoes once we get to the trail section, right?"<br />
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My reply was always given with a big smile and a slight chuckle, "I'm looking forward to being barefoot on the trail section!"<br />
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Only one woman said, "I bet you can't wait for the trail section."<br />
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Things were moving along fantastically. I was enjoying the scenery and the temperatures were perfect. My pace was comfortable. <br />
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Until mile 3. . .<br />
<br />
What??? Mile 3??? Surely that was a typo, right? You think I mean mile 30, right? Nope. Not a typo. Mile 3.<br />
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My right achilles started to ache slightly on the outside. I thought, no, no, no.<br />
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I tried to relax. Shortened up my stride a bit and upped my cadence. A little better.<br />
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Mile 4 - The pain increasing now. I played with my form a little as I was telling myself, "This can't be happening." <br />
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Mile 5 - I stopped off to ... ummm . . .take care of a little business that happens when you're fully hydrated. As I rounded the bushes, my feet felt something prickly. I looked down and realized I had parked myself right on top of a nice thistle bush. "Oh, shit." I thought. Just do your business and back away slowly, I thought.<br />
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As I got back on the path, my achilles had tightened up a bit. It took about 20 or so painful steps to get back into a running motion. I was still able to hold a 12 minute pace, so I was happy. Well, at least I was happy about something.<br />
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By mile 8, the pain was becoming almost unbearable and had spread to the entire back of the heel. The first aid station was coming up. I stopped off, grabbed a few shot bloks and a couple salt stick pills. In my mind, I was still going to go 50 miles. I needed fuel and to stay sharp.<br />
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It took a good 20 to 50 yards before I could get moving at a decent 12 minute pace again. I pulled off to the side of the trail and pulled out my cell phone. I called Rob and told him to get to the store and buy some Advil. We had planned to meet at the Sunrise aid station at 14.6 miles anyway, but the idea was for me to dump my hat and gloves.<br />
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I started running again. I kept checking my watch to keep an eye on my pace. I was still clearly under the cut-offs. Good. I noticed when I looked at my shadow that I had started to hunch my back due to the pain. I relaxed again, stood up tall, picked up my cadence and shortened my stride. Ok, back in the game, but not really. My left quad had begun to ache now. I was seriously compensating for the lack of my right foot to bear my weight. It was now starting to spread.<br />
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After I stopped off to do more business at mile 11, I could no longer get running again. Each time I tried, my right leg would buckle under the pain. It was as if someone was ramming a knife through my heel. I thought, this is what Achilles must have felt as the arrow pierced his heel. Just great!<br />
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I started walking, trying to maintain some kind of pace. In the back of my mind, I knew it was the end. <br />
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All morning, groups of women from a local running group had been running up and down the course with bunny ears on (it was the day before Easter). Several of these groups paused to ask if I was ok and to offer me their socks.<br />
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The first couple of times, I laughed and said, "No thanks. It's not my feet, it's my achilles."<br />
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By the fourth time, I managed to stay polite, but said, "My feet are ready to go 50 miles, but my achilles is shot."<br />
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The last woman to offer assistance asked if I needed a band-aid. I know she was sincere, but it was kinda humorous.<br />
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Yeah, that's me the dumb barefoot runner. I decided to run a 50-mile race barefoot and was sidelined because I cut my foot and forgot a band-aid. <br />
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I declined the band-aid, told her it was my achilles.<br />
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She quickly responded with, "I have tape." <br />
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Wow! This woman had a well prepared running vest! I asked if she knew how to tape an achilles. She didn't so I politely declined again with a big smile.<br />
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At about mile 12, I was beginning to accept that I was probably not going to make it past the Sunrise Aid Station at 14.67 miles. I called Rob and asked him what the cut-off time was for that station.<br />
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"9:15"<br />
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It was 8:55 a.m. No chance. If I was healthy, no problem. Injured - damn near impossible. <br />
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Finally about 13 miles in, the race official sweeping the back of the course caught up to me. The race official, <a href="http://rajeevtherunner.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rajeev</a>, was quite the colorful character. I think he was as pissed as I was that my achilles had given out. He offered me some great words of encouragement and some information about strengthening my achilles. We walked the final 1.5 miles to the Sunrise aid station together. Rajeev told me about some of the ultras he had run.<br />
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As we approached Sunrise, he handed me off to some of the officials in the parking lot. One official took my D-tag (a new experience for me). It was almost painful for me to hand it over. They told me to have a seat on a post since Rob was driving over and I would not need to walk any more.<br />
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Rob pulled up and hopped out of his car. I shrugged my shoulders and said something like, "Well, that's it." And as quickly as the race had begun, it had ended for me. <br />
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Just then his phone rang and it was my wife, Cheryl. He handed me the phone. She was surprised when I answered. She had been worried because NorCal ultras had not posted any times for me at the aid stations. (As it turns out, they only posted Beals and the Finish). I told her that my achilles had given out and I was dropping at Sunrise.<br />
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Sad to say, but my Journey to a Barefoot 50-mile Endurance Run ended in my first-ever DNF. <br />
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I went to my doctor on Monday afternoon. My x-ray was clear - no tears, no real damage done. I just have swelling, stiffness and soreness. It is Wednesday now and I am able to bear weight most of the time without the assistance of crutches. I still get twinges of pain if I step down wrong. Even that has reduced some since Saturday.<br />
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After visiting the doctor, I stopped by the Stockton Fleet Feet to congratulate their finishers of the AR50. David told me how "sweet" the finisher's jacket was. As much as I wanted to see it, I really couldn't bear to see it.<br />
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Inside I know I gave it my all. I tried to push through it, but was unable. I did not quit. Injury took precedence. I know I had to drop from the race or risk serious or permanent damage.<br />
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As Rajeev put it, "Racing is for the day. Running is for life."<br />
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Thank you, Rajeev. <br />
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Thank you to everyone who supported me, cheered me on, and encouraged me on this path. This journey has ended for now, but I'll be back very soon. I am already planning my comeback for next year. The 50K will be my new "regular" race over the next 12 months. The American River 50 will not defeat me. I will be back next year.<br />
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<br />Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-10933483976242985772012-04-06T17:23:00.004-07:002012-04-06T17:23:54.968-07:00The Journey to a Barefoot 50-mile Endurance Run: Week 18 of 18Well, the <a href="http://www.ar50mile.com/" target="_blank">race</a> is tomorrow! I've been a bundle of nerves and energy all day (ok, probably for a few days). I'm ready to get this thing DONE!<br />
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Yesterday, I zipped out of work to head up to Fleet Feet in Fair Oaks to get my packet and hoped to get one of the 50 free AR50 technical running hats. Unfortunately, this was the sight when I arrived at the store.<br />
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Yeah, so, no hat. Bummer! But I got my number and I'm ready as I'm gonna be to race. I'm getting my gear organized, crew food situated, and hopefully will get to bed at a decent hour. Gonna be up around 3 am to try and get some breakfast in and head up to my crew chief's house and then to the starting line around 5 a.m.. Race starts at 6 a.m.!<br />
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HUGE THANKS to Rob, a.k.a Running Romeo, for crewing for me tomorrow!!! Thanks to all my family, friends, and running buddies for your words of encouragement. See ya in Auburn!!!<br />
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For anyone interested in tracking the race. They have live postings on <a href="http://www.ultralive.net/ar50/webcast.php" target="_blank">Ultralive.net</a>. And as you can see from the pic above I'm #598.<br />
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<br />Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-31459412928313977822012-04-04T20:46:00.002-07:002012-04-04T20:46:37.983-07:00The Journey to a Barefoot 50-mile Endurance Run: Weeks 16 and 17 of 18Ok, this is it... the final countdown is t-minus 3 days to the <a href="http://www.ar50mile.com/" target="_blank">American River 50 Mile Endurance Run</a>.<br />
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These past two weeks have been busy and interesting. Two weekends ago, I ran an easy 13 miles (while they ran 12) with the group of friends and colleagues that I've been training for their first half marathon. The run was pretty uneventful - I wore Sockwas because I was trying to protect the new skin that had been under the large blister I got after the AR50 training run. <br />
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The shoes did the trick for protecting the blister. However, after that run, I had picked up a pain behind my second toe on my left foot. I supposed that at some point on the run I managed to step on a rock and possibly bruised the bone. After a week of no easing on the minor discomfort, I checked to see if I had embedded something in my foot. I did manage to find a tiny splinter of something, but even after removing it, the discomfort was still there. So, either I managed to get a bone bruise or there is something small in my foot.<br />
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This past weekend, I went out to watch my team run their first half marathon and take pictures of all of them. It's very different being on the sidelines of a race. I've only done it a couple of times since I started running, but it's fun to cheer on people you've trained. They all finished and they all did GREAT!!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUIsGh9WbjOLZShontnC545bFzzfnmu6zTT9AJN7pfgU5puGks_VAiZHSNA3uNBIKSslHVrNbW-x_nAaMRIs6CVLhyphenhyphenxwr1HMuFD9EPjIvqqvbnflL9rSclHqjjUNqOKiwaGSrT50Q7al4/s1600/IMG_2212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUIsGh9WbjOLZShontnC545bFzzfnmu6zTT9AJN7pfgU5puGks_VAiZHSNA3uNBIKSslHVrNbW-x_nAaMRIs6CVLhyphenhyphenxwr1HMuFD9EPjIvqqvbnflL9rSclHqjjUNqOKiwaGSrT50Q7al4/s400/IMG_2212.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gang with their medals for their FIRST half marathon! Congrats everyone!</td></tr>
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Last week I finally went out an bought my first pair of Merrell Trail Gloves. I've been drooling over these for probably a year or more. The timing was right with gift cards and sales that I bit the bullet and got a pair.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-21ldbnzcREoQFyzXrK9g6RsoDtu3vUgeOgoAlwjBBXEzzLo3q3qbdU6rrOZES8kfIWmqwyrRGQtX6dVFgZ-sgqhBhWOBvhb8IyWNhO1dx9_qqm1iA5fpqSc44bcKRSpuFxO2MlfT-N0/s1600/merrell" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-21ldbnzcREoQFyzXrK9g6RsoDtu3vUgeOgoAlwjBBXEzzLo3q3qbdU6rrOZES8kfIWmqwyrRGQtX6dVFgZ-sgqhBhWOBvhb8IyWNhO1dx9_qqm1iA5fpqSc44bcKRSpuFxO2MlfT-N0/s320/merrell" width="320" /></a></div>
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So, Sunday night after the half marathon, still concerned about my healing blister, I taped my foot, threw on my Merrells, and headed out for an easy 6 mile run. At the end of the run, my right achilles was feeling very tender. I've never had any issues with my achilles so I was immediately concerned. Looking back at my run, I think I've narrowed the issue down to a form problem. For the first 3 miles of my run I was very tense. I was completely stressing out about my pace for Saturday's race. <br />
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A little background - I had been unable to secure a pacer for the race. However, I did manage to find a group from the neighboring town who has 5 runners in the race. Also, the manager of the local Fleet Feet and a couple of his employees were also running the race. I began worrying about if I'd be able to hang with one or more of these people. <br />
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So, while obsessing over pace and running very tensed up in new shoes I managed to strain my achillies. First of all running tensed is not good. Secondly, I think I was overcompensating my landing (I have a tendency to heel strike in "normal" running shoes) and not letting my heel touch down as much as I should have. As a result I ran almost 6 miles mostly on the balls of my feet. <br />
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I've been resting, icing and massaging my heel now for 3 days. It's feeling better. I'm just hoping and praying that it does not become an issue this Saturday.<br />
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A note about visualization... Until last week, I was having difficulty visualizing the race completion in my mind's eye. I have managed to get that solved which has reduced the amount of stress and calmed my nerves somewhat. However, I'm still a bit more nervous than I usually feel - something my wife has noticed. She says I'm "freaking out" and she's never seen me do that before a race. I think I'm over the "freaking out" and ready to go out there and get this done!!!<br />
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I'm going to try and post one more time Friday before the race. Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4401488996843384562.post-78520416829183058842012-03-25T22:05:00.003-07:002012-03-25T22:05:35.613-07:00The Journey to a Barefoot 50-mile Endurance Run: Weeks 14 and 15 of 18Apologies for being behind in my postings. I think I'm busier when I'm on "vacation" than I am when I'm working. I need to review what has been happening for the past 3 weeks. I'm going to do Week 16 as a separate post so I can catch up :)<br />
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So, let's see...<br />
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When last I wrote, I had just completed a 50K run from my town to the next - 31 miles. After that run, I took it easy for the remainder of the week with a 5 mile run on Thursday (after the Monday 50K). The following weekend, I ran 12 miles with my half marathon training group.<br />
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The following week (week of March 11-17) I started took it fairly easy as well because that Saturday I was planning to do a training run on the AR50 trail section put on by James Barstad. I was also hoping to meet up with Jason and Shelly Robillard that day. However, they took the opportunity to head over to the Rodeo Beach 50K a day early to prep for the race (in costume no less) with Shacky, Krista Cavender and Vanessa Runs.<br />
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There were a lot of runners from the Folsom Trail Runners.<br />
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Here's a recap of the trail run.<br />
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I got up early to make the hour plus drive up to the Auburn Overlook where people were meeting to carpool to one of two starting points Beals Point (22.5 miles) or the Nimbus Fish Hatchery (31 miles). My directions were terrible and got me to Auburn, which I already knew how to get to. Thank God for smart phones. I managed to find directions and arrived as everyone was taking off. <br />
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A HUGE THANK YOU to Veronica (I think that was your name) for allowing
me to ride with your group from the Overlook to Beals Point. Also thank
you to your small group for helping me pull out the last few miles of
that run - especially the Dam Wall!<br />
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Beals Point is at a little over 26 miles into the AR50 course. The first 3 miles out of Beals is gravel levee tops. Since my feet were fresh, this was not too terribly bad. The cold did make my feet a bit more sensitive to the rocks.<br />
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Once the gravel ended and the single-track trails began, that's when the real fun began! It had been raining for most of the week and rain was predicted that day. However, the skies were beautiful and it was a perfect morning for a run. The best part was a big storm had blown through the night before and left the trails wonderfully muddy in places. By mile 5 I had really started to find a groove. Most of my miles were averaging in the 11-min range with mile 5 down in the 9s. <br />
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I was feeling pretty good after the first hour, which is when I kind of made my first mistake. What I should have done was pause to eat a shot blok and maybe even a couple of salt pills. I felt pretty good and didn't want to take the time to stop. I actually had to stop several times in the first 7 miles because my water belt kept falling off (the velcro is shot). So, I pushed on until about mile 9 before pausing to eat and take some salt pills. Still, I was feeling great.<br />
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At about mile 10, I began to hear the ringing of a cowbell. At the top of a small hill was the one aid station that the organizers had set up. The small crew there was awesome! They had a great spread of food (one of my favorite parts of ultra running) and were very friendly. <br />
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The first question I got was, "How long have you been doing that?" (referring to my bare feet) <br />
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"Do you mean today or how long have I been doing the barefoot thing?" I replied.<br />
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"Today," he clarified.<br />
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I informed him that I had come in from Beals Point and that I was planning to go the whole 22.5 miles that day. The group was quite impressed and we chatted about the course and how I got into barefoot running. The lady at the aid station took a couple pictures of me and my feet. After hanging around for 5 minutes or so, I figured that I should be moving on. I thanked them for being out there and headed off down the trail.<br />
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Things continued well for the next few miles. My pace was slowing down a bit due to the hills and having to climb across a few fallen trees. Climbing over fallen trees while barefoot was a new one for me. Most weren't too bad, however, one section had a nice sharp manzanita tree that was a bit tricky to get across. <br />
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The best part of the day - MUD! There were puddles everywhere. I splashed through nearly every single one. Gooey mud, red dirt mud, and even slippy mud. All of it was FANTASTIC!!! After crossing a small bridge there was a fair sized puddle of mud. At that point the trail took a hard right turn. I planted my right foot in the middle of the mud and turned my body to the right. My foot began to slide and had I not been quick to put my left hand out I would've smashed into the side of the mountain. <br />
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After I left the aid station, I began fueling a little more regularly now. But when I approached mile 17 my head started to get a little fuzzy. At one point, I was crossing a small log bridge and it appeared as though the bridge was floating/moving a bit. I decided that I needed to eat something and take a few extra electrolyte pills. I stepped off to the side of the trail for some approaching runners while I ate. As it turned out, it was several of the people who I had hitched a ride with down to Beals Point. They paused a for a few minutes to fuel up too. It was a pretty nice location to look down over the American River Canyon and enjoy a snack.<br />
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Their arrival turned out to be a good thing for me. Although I am used to running alone and enjoy it, it can be nice to have company. I let them take the lead for the next 3 miles. It was kind of like having a pacer, I guess. Just some people to stay focused on and chat with from time to time. <br />
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They informed me that the Dam Wall was rapidly approaching and that it was not going to be an easy climb. They reached the base of the hill a few minutes before I did and were admiring the view. As I came up to the bluff, I could see the hill climbing to the left. The trail or fire road was very steep and was covered with some pretty rough looking gravel. I paused for a minute or two and chatted with a few other runners procrastinating the upcoming climb.<br />
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I started out in a brisk walk. No sense in killing what little energy I had left on such a steep hill. After cresting the first rise, the gravel was somewhat more manageable. I started to take the next hill at a slow jog. The next section was paved chip-seal asphalt. It would have been easy to run this section except there was tiny sharp gravel spilled across most of the roadway. I began to run/walk this section trying to avoid as much of the loose gravel as possible. The chipseal gave way to another section of gravel fire road. By now, my feet were virtually on fire and super sensitive to every rock. At about 21 miles I finally threw in the towel and slipped on my Sockwas. <br />
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Not long after throwing on my Sockwas, I realized that I was stark-raving hungry. All I could think about was food - more specifically a Carls Jr Western Bacon Double Cheeseburger. Since none was to be found, I devoured an entire pack of shot bloks and kept on moving. <br />
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One of the guys I rode with was now run/walking with me as we approached the main road to the Auburn Overlook. With the road being smoother asphalt, I tore off the Sockwas which had started to blister my toes and completed the last stretch to the "finish line" in the parking lot. It was a great relief to be done. My right foot had developed a half dollar size blister between the ball and arch. The tips of the first three toes had also blistered due to the Sockwas combined with softer skin due to running through all that water.<br />
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At the aid station, I wolfed down a bowl of nice hot chili followed by a couple of large M&M cookies. I chatted with the group I had met. It was then that I noticed that the weather had changed and the next storm was moving in. The wind was picking up and the temperature had dropped. I realized that I had begun shivering pretty bad.<br />
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I said my good-byes and headed over to my truck, threw on some pants over my running tights and stripped my wet shirts off and replaced it with a dry shirt and my jacket. I shivered for a good 20 minutes as the my truck's heater warmed up. On the drive home, I stopped in at an In N Out for a juicy Double Double. It wasn't the bacon cheeseburger I had been craving, but it was satisfying just the same.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3y9DjwFvrlxO7ZsmcCiU3mIXhl3BhVRnzZK2g1pZelBqUOKyQ8oFri1zBBg6GNzqab_VGAsnQ1UMppJA-zCEVTanSwY3o2sTdlQ4g5YH7DNSvLCkQpMinrV2QXOrQ5CUeftU-8VOlss/s1600/Training+AR50a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3y9DjwFvrlxO7ZsmcCiU3mIXhl3BhVRnzZK2g1pZelBqUOKyQ8oFri1zBBg6GNzqab_VGAsnQ1UMppJA-zCEVTanSwY3o2sTdlQ4g5YH7DNSvLCkQpMinrV2QXOrQ5CUeftU-8VOlss/s400/Training+AR50a.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My right foot - post run</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXuFmgrIwwDipCxBrJKbYmA3IXcdjGR5asDmS7xcXI4q_BpG0CZdnkyPKRVolP1xreRImDwX2_RwdBCOpDXDAmJ4eMptOHXyqiu4HPTzoSCEMot4AosE7dEmhJq9c2UoVKxl6ZpxHkPTU/s1600/Training+AR50b.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXuFmgrIwwDipCxBrJKbYmA3IXcdjGR5asDmS7xcXI4q_BpG0CZdnkyPKRVolP1xreRImDwX2_RwdBCOpDXDAmJ4eMptOHXyqiu4HPTzoSCEMot4AosE7dEmhJq9c2UoVKxl6ZpxHkPTU/s400/Training+AR50b.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My left foot - post run</td></tr>
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The next morning I met with my running group for their 11-mile training run. I had taped my blisters and decided to run in my SKORAs to protect my feet a bit more. My quads were very sore, but I knew that the 12 miles I was planning to run that day were going to help more than hurt. <br />
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So for that weekend, I ran a total of 34 miles and a total of about 8 hours. <br />
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Stay tuned for my next post (I'm still catching up)...<br />
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<br />Terry Orsihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536391027583489987noreply@blogger.com3