The past few weeks have gone pretty well as far as the running goes. Last weekend John and I ran Dude where's the trail 50k. It is one of my favorite events. This year there was more trail and markings to follow through the woods than before. Unfortunately the weather was very cold and windy which made for a long uncomfortable 6 hours but worth it none the less.


The previous weekend we ran the Nathaniels run 6hr in Olathe. Another cold night but we managed to get in another 30+ run there as well. It has been nice to start getting in longer runs on a regular basis.
Both the boys have been going to wrestling practice the past few weeks and will be wrestling in a tournament in Lathrop next weekend. They are both progressing and starting to pick up more each practice.

203 days until Western States,.,.,sounds like a long time but it will be here too quickly. I hope to get to a good level of fitness by February to allow for 3 months of good training. Lots of time and lots of miles.

So..,.,.now what??

It just seems like yesterday when we were starting out football practices , now they are done and the cold dark winter is beginning to set in, cheerful huh?

Tristan's football team won the Truman Bowl championship last Saturday. They were the first Kearney team to win this, so it was a pretty big deal for them. It was very cold and windy Saturday. I was on the sidelines helping out for the game and the biggest challenge was keeping the boys warm on the sidelines. Immediately after the game we had to drive 4 1/2 hrs to the University of Northern Iowa for another game Sunday. It was in a dome Stadium against a team from Chicago. We won that game 38-6 and then got to drive 4 1/2 hrs back home. It was a very busy weekend as always but I really enjoyed spending the weekend with his team since the rest of the season I was always at Corbin's stuff. Tristan had a blast in football this year and is going to be a very good offensive lineman especially if he keeps growing so fast.

Corbin had a rough time at the Championship game Saturday. He teared up a few times because he was so disappointed that his team was not playing for the championship also. He is so passionate about what he does it is scary, he has the heart of a champion. After talking to a few other coaches I am pretty sure he will move up 2 years next year and play with the older kids. I was hesitant but every coach I talked to said it it the best thing for him. Luckily for him we started wrestling practice last night so that will keep him busy for now. We are still hoping Tristan decides to give wrestling a shot since he isn't playing basketball this winter.
Ella has been running around the house cheering and dancing nonstop. We will have to figure out something for her to do soon. She likes to get us involved and repeat the cheers and clap along. The only word she knows how to spell is B-U-L-L-D-O-G-S.
I am hoping to get to the trails this weekend, I really, really, need to get in gear. I have missed running on the trails. The treadmill and roads are getting old I am having a very hard time with getting my calories down to a level to start losing weight. I am good until about 7:00pm then it usually falls apart. I am not going to decide on running Rocky 100 miler until the end of the year to see where I am at. There is no reason to run it if I am not focused and ready to do it 100%.

WS 100

So, Friday night I was checking my email and saw a posting on the Ultralist where someone said they received notice today that they had been of of the TTL's selected for Western States this year. Crap, I hadn't received anything so I guess I would be waiting at least another year.
I then went to read throught some more emails and realized I skipped the first page of the inbox. There it was, a message from the WSER Webmaster titled "TTL selection into the 2009 Run." Needless to say I was pretty excited. I screamed out a few times and Tiff yelled down to see what was wrong, she couldn't believe it either.
The day before I ran my first marathon a few years ago Rick brought over Running Madness and Running on the Sun for me to watch. After watching them a few times I knew someday I was going to run Western States and now I get my chance.
I have a reason to run again which is what I needed. Something to focus on and prepare for, to circle on the calendar and count down the days remaining.
Life is good!!

FInally Fall

Fall is finally here which means there gets t be a little more time for running (hopefully). For the past several months I have just been hanging around 50 miles a week but should be able to start ramping that up soon. Hopefully I can get rid of about 15 lbs before Feburary to give Rocky Raccoon another go.
Both the boys have been busy with fall baseball and pop warner football, so free time has been about non existent. Baseball is over this weekend and football still goes through Nov 8th. Both of the footbal teams are in first place and hopefully will make it through the playoffs to the Truman Bowl Championship. Tristan has been playing Offensive and Defensive tackle this year and seems to enjoy it a lot more than last year.


I coach Corbins team and he plays about every postion. He is fun to watch. he has about 700 yards rushing and over 70 tackles so far this season. It amazes me that a boy who just turned 7 can do what he does on the field. Hopefully he will always have such a love for it and still be playing on Saturdays in 12 years.


I should find out in a few days about Western States next year, most likely I will be pacing Rick but there is a slim chance I caould still get in...doubt it though.
I may head out to the BS 50/50 Sunday the 26th. Saturdays are still filled with football so Sundays are the only option.

Congrats to everyone who finished Heartland 100 last week My friend Mark Stovall completed his first 100 at Heartland last weekend under 24 hrs with no crew or pacer!! Awesome Job Mark!!!!

Back in the Saddle

Well I guess it is time to get my fat butt back in shape again. Baseball season is now over and hopefully another 100 miler will be coming up pretty soon. I am waiting to see how the football schedule comes together but I plan on getting in a 100 sometime in the fall so I had better get a goin.
We spent 8 days in California for WS100 which was cancelled and vacation. Unfortunately Rick didn't get to run the race he has been training for the last but hopefully it will carry over into even a better performance next year. I was looking forward to paceing those last 40 miles. We spent 3 days around Tahoe, 2 at Disneyland and 3 in Huntington beach. It was a blast but it is nice to be back home (kind of).
The past weekend was the Psycho Psummer 50k at Wyco. I signed up last minute after staying out too late on the 4th a having a bit too much fun I was hoping to be able and finish. I ended up runnning the first 20 miles or so with John and Stuart Johnson which made it pretty enjoyable and ended up coming in about 6 minutes faster that last year. Hopefully that is a good sign that I can do ok with around 65 miles a week. I am just going to focus on losing some weight over the next few months.
I am coaching Corbin's football team this year, that will take a lot of time but it is manageable. Oh, I got my first tattoo while on vacation. I made Tristan go with me to get it. I think he was a little creeped out in the tattoo parlor but he did watch it being done. Here is a pic of the tatoo, I know what it means but so far no one else has.

Free State

Last weekend we headed out to Clinton State Park several days of camping and the Free State 100k. Everything seemed really rushed with Tiffanie working all week and we had to wait until the last minute to get the camper home and packed for the trip.


Wednesday evening we got the camper home and I was out it the cold dark rain repacking the wheel bearing after hearing some strange noises while bringing the camper home. If you decide to try doing this, it is not hard, although I strongly recommend not doing it in the dark, in the rain and with a headlamp for the first time.
Thursday after we got home from work we headed straight out to Clinton Lake where John had already reserved sites for both of our campers. We got some nice spots close to the lake and trail. It was nice because we were all able to take the kids out on the trail and down to the water without much trouble.


Friday John and I went mushroom hunting and hit the mother load. We ended up with 90 or so morels but many of them were the size of a 20 oz coke bottle. We sounded like kids on Christmas morning when John spotted one from across a creek and then realizing we were surrounded by 1/2lb morels. Needless to say we ate very well that evening.



Saturday we got up and hopped over to the next campground for the start of the race at 7:00. It had rained a lot the prior weeks so we knew it was going to be a mud fest. I remembered how I had such a rough time last year on this course and was hoping to do a bit better this time around. 3 loops of approximately 20 miles were waiting to eat me up.

Everything started out well for about the first 5 miles and then... I just wanted to stop. It was pretty much the reoccurring theme of the entire day. It took everything I had to stay out there running. I felt completely dead and many people passed me on the next 10 miles back to the start/finish. Caleb and Stacy Amos tried to boost my spirits at their aid station but I was stuck in a really bad place.

I just kept wanting to quit, everything was a struggle, I really am not sure what the problem was. My wife and kids did a good job of keeping me going. Anyone who heard my wife talking to me probably thought, man, she is a b$@^#!! but I guess it worked.
At the thirty mile mark I was talking to Rick and my son Corbin, I asked Rick how John was doing and he said he was about 30 minutes ahead of me. Corbin said " Yep Dad, he's pretty much kickin your butt!" Kinda funny, but true.
Fast forward to the end of loop 2. I was still feeling crappy but my faithful sidekick Rick would hear none of that. He was planning on running with John or I on the last loop, depending on who needed the company the most and I was it. We were able to keep a decent pace and ended up passing several people and somehow came in around 11:44, over 2 hours faster than last year and below my goal of 12:00, although I should have done much better.



John finished about 15 minutes before me and I tackled him to the ground after crossing the finish in recognition of him beating me!! Seriously, he ran a great race and I am glad he finished ahead of me. After washing up and cooling down in the lake we headed back to the campers for some brats and burgers which our wives had cooked for us.


The race seemed to go off without a hitch this year. The course was wonderfully marked and the nerds and KUS did an awesome job at the aid station. Thanks Ben for putting on another stellar event.
I am very disappointed in how I did this year, maybe more so than ever in a race. Not because of my time or what place I finished in, just my mental strength that day. I was weak and could not get my head on straight. I was hoping to run well and build on the last few races which went pretty smoothly and with good results. I guess it just wasn't my day. Lucky for me I have people who care enough to help me through those bad times and still cross the finish.

Here are some pics from Liberty Nationals where Corbin placed 2nd and the State Championships where he took 4th.

Slackin

Man, I can't believe it has been 6 weeks since I took the time to post anything.
Everything has been good lately, just trying to get through the last few weeks of crappy weather hopefully.
John and I ran Brew2Brew last weekend. It went pretty smooth for me although my legs got really tight the last 10 miles or so from all of the pavement. I ended up finishing is 6:35 which is about 45 minutes faster than last year.


Rock Chalk Jayhawks!!! Finally, I have been a Jayhawk fan since '85 when Danny Manning was a freshman and it is about freakin time they bring home another championship. I almost turned off that last game with 2 minutes left, glad I didn't.


Both the boys have been practicing Baseball a lot. Tristans team has a tournament next week and then the regular season games start up for a few months.
Only 2 weeks till FreeState in Lawrence. I am planning on running the 100k and hope to get a little revenge on the course for what it did to me last year. We are planning on taking the camper out 2 days early for the race and enjoy a long weekend if the weather cooperates.
We have been spending a lot of time planning for our trip to Cali this summer. We will be in the High Sierras for 4 1/2 days for Western States and then drive town to LA/Disney/San Diego for 4 1/2 days to hit the beaches and Disneyland. It should be a blast.
Have a great weekend!!