Running with Scott Jurek

Scott Jurek is in the center down on one knee with the yellow singlet. Can you spot Peter Sarsgaard?

Most of the time I run alone. Occasionally I get to run with friends. But on Tuesday I went for a long run around Manhattan with ultra running legend Scott Jurek!!! (and a few other folks, so it's not like it was just me and him) For those who don't know who Scott Jurek is, he is probably one of the most dominant ultra runners in the competitive history of the sport.  He won the Western States 100, which is like the Super Bowl of ultra running, 7 times in a row! He has won the Badwater 135, a race through death valley in July, 2 years in a row.  He holds the US 24-hour record at 165.7 miles (that's 6.5 consecutive marathons). But, more than anything else, he is one of the most humble, nicest, down-to-earth guys I've ever met.  He is pretty much my new hero.


I've been listening to the ultrarunner podcast for the past couple weeks and last week, Scott Jurek was on because he had just finished writing his new book, Eat and Run. The podcast was great and I was definitely interested in picking up the book.  Ever since I read Born to Run, I wanted to know more about Scott's life and his journey to become of the best ultra runners and now I could read all about it in his own words.  I was also starting to think more about diet and nutrition so I was definitely curious about his Vegan diet. After the podcast was over, I went online to see exactly when the book was coming out and low and behold, he was kicking off his book tour in NY by running around Manhattan! This was too good to be true. On top of that, Chris McDougall, author of Born to Run, and Peter Sarsgaard were going to be there as well, because he is adapting Born to Run into a movie! As anyone who has there priorities in order, I promptly took the day off.


The morning run started at 5 AM on the east side at 42nd st. and went all the way up and around counter-clockwise and back to the start. The whole thing was a little more than 50K. I really wanted to do the whole 50K and I certainly was in shape for it having done 50 miles a couple weeks ago, but my knee had been giving me problems and I thought I would play it safe and do more like 10 - 15 miles. My plan was to go into work an hour earlier just to use the gym as home base for the run.  Then I would run up the Hudson River Greenway toward the group and meet them after a couple miles and then run the rest of the way around Battery Park, up the east side to Bryant Park. And that's exactly what happened.

The Run Itself


After I came up with this plan, I took off from the WFC like I always do on my lunchtime runs, except in this case I'd be going a bit further than I normally would to meet up with the group. It was a beautiful day and I even wore my orange sweatshirt because it was in the 50s at the start and I knew I might need it after the run if I was cold and I wouldn't have time to come back to the gym and change.  This was a wise choice.


I started at a very easy pace but my HR was a bit higher than normal.  I felt fine but I guess maybe I was so excited to meetup with the group and a bit nervous that somehow I would miss them. My knee was so-so. Not that painful, but I was definitely aware that there was something there.  But I didn't think about it too much because I was so excited. I took a little video when I got to my usual 2.5 mile turn around point.

Then I stopped again at the furthest point I've ever run during work.

Finally, a little after the Intrepid, I spotted them! I tried to take some video but I was embarrassed to do it when they were close, so I was left with this clip of me being so excited to see them, but you cannot at all tell what I am looking at so I did not include it. As they came up, I saw Scott and asked if I could join and he said "Of course!" As if they were going to tell me to get lost.  I just wasn't sure what the protocol was. I joined the group and there was about 30 or so runners at this point. I started talking to a random guy about how it was going so far and whether they had a lot of people join in like me and he said there were a few.  They also lost a bunch along the way who had started but then left to go to work or something else. It was such a cool and friendly vibe. There was about an even mix of some very experienced ultra runners, and newbies such as myself. 


As we ran along back to the WFC where I started, I could hear a conversation behind me from a guy talking about the farthest he had run up to this point and I knew right away it was Peter Sarsgaard because he has a pretty distinctive voice.  I turned around and there he was.  I admit I was a bit starstruck.  I'm definitely a fan of his. I waited a little while and then when he was running by himself I ran next to him for a bit.  I wasn't really sure what to say without coming off like a complete idiot, but I knew I wanted to say something.  So I just said "It's so cool that you're doing this and running the whole way...  I'm a big fan." He smiled and said "Oh, thanks." And I left it at that. But, that was enough for me, and I really did mean what I said.  I thought it was impressive that he was going to do his first ultra today as part of the kick off for this book tour.


After that, I spotted Mike Arnstein, aka the fruitarian. I heard him on the ultrarunner podcast the week before the Scott Jurek one.  I had heard of this guy before that, but I really became fascinated after listening to the podcast. I won't go into too much detail here because I want to dedicate an entire post about my recent thoughts about diet and running, but let me just say it was very fascinating talking to this guy who takes raw food veganism to another level, and is apparently thriving on it and breaking PRs left and right.


Shortly after that, we had arrived back where I started.  I had run the 4 miles back to the World Financial Center and it felt like nothing.

A little while later we stopped to say bye to a runner who was leaving after finishing his first marathon!

Over the next few miles, a few people kept peeling off the group and one or two others joined us. I was really enjoying running with this group and also covering new ground.  After running the same routes over and over again, it's fun to run some place new. We were approaching the building where my dad and sister work so I called them to let them know we were going to run by. I tried to get a hold of them right as we were passing and just as we were running away I got a call from my Dad that they were there.  I ran over and saw my sister and dad for a few seconds and they could tell how excited I was.  My sister was especially excited to hear that Peter Sarsgaard was there as well. I left after about 30 seconds so I could catch up with them. Since they were only doing 9:30 pace, it didn't take me too long. But, as I sped up to about 7:30 pace to catch up, I realized my knee was bothering me a bit.  I was a little annoyed but I didn't want it to spoil my mood so I ignored it and was soon back to running at an easy pace again.

Over the last couple miles I ended up talking to the organizer of the meetup who is a pretty accomplished ultrarunner.  I talked to him about the differences between a 50 and 100 miler.  As I've heard many times before, he told me that a 100 is in it's own category and he thinks of a 50 in the same category as a marathon.  I guess that's how it always works.  I was remembering telling someone once I finished my first marathon that a half marathon was closer to a 5k than it was to a marathon and that a marathon was in it's own category.  Just reminded me that I am not quite ready for a 100.... yet :)


The run was coming to an end, but there was still the book signing to look forward to in Bryant Park. We finally turned back into Manhattan and before I knew it, we stopped, having reached the end.  The whole run really flew by. It felt like I ran for 20 minutes. Scott was really happy and was giving high fives to a handful of people who had just completed their first ultra, including Peter Sarsgaard. 

Right as we finished, Chris McDougall showed up.  He was talking to Scott about what was happening next at Bryant park. Scott joked with him about how he didn't join us for the run. Chris was wearing a pair of Tarahumara-like sandals and stopped to talk to a guy who was wearing even more minimalist sandals of his own creation.

After that, everyone went there separate ways and I was trying to figure out whether I wanted to go back to get changed and come back to Bryant park or just hang around. As I was deciding, another runner who had dropped off a bit because he was just finishing his first ultra came by. He was completely exhausted and of course incredibly hungry.  I had overheard him talking before about how he was a Vegan when he spoke with the fruitarian guy and he informed some of us that he was going to find a Chipotle to get a massive bean burrito. This sounded perfect for me, so I decided to join him. I just got exactly what he got and we talked about Veganism for a bit.  Mostly he talked and I asked questions and listened. I'm not going to go into too much detail here again, because I will save it for another post.  After an awesome lunch we parted ways and I headed for Bryant park.


I've never been to Bryant park. It's quite nice, and I was in an amazing mood.  I found the tent where they were setting up and I saw them unpacking the new book.  I walked over and got myself a copy.  I think I was the first one to get it because after I bought it, other folks started to line up.  I found a seat in the second row and started to check out the book. This guy who ran the last 5 miles with us sat down next to me and he was wearing a Dirty German t-shirt. We spoke for a while about the race, Born to Run and ultrarunning in general.  It was cool to meet so many people and talk with them about ultras.  This was all new to me.  I probably ended up talking to 8 or 9 different ultrarunners throughout the day.


Then the event started with Chris McDougall playing the role of host. He talked about how he met Scott and a little about his own book Born to Run which was on sale there as well. 

The coauthor of Eat and Run, Steve Friedman, was there as well as Peter Sarsgaard. Peter spoke about how he met Scott and his own experience with running and how he came to deciding to write and direct Born to Run.  From what I understood, Scott Jurek is going to play himself in the movie. I was running out of battery and space on my iPhone so I couldn't shoot everything.  Here, Peter Sarsgaard talks about what running means to him and whether he has thought about running in races.

The whole event lasted about 45 minutes and then everyone got in a line for the book signing. Scott signed my book and wrote "Dimitri, Be Somebody." It's the title of one of the chapters of his book. I know that kind of thing may sound super corny, but when you put it in the context of this whole day and who Scott is, it wasn't corny to me at all. I thanked him again for doing this and I told him how awesome it was to run with him around NY. He said it was a great time, and he was happy I got to take the whole experience in with the run and the book signing. I don't know Steve Friedman to well, but as he signed my book next, I told him that I was very excited to read it. The last person at the table was Chris McDougall. I told him that I had to shake his hand and thank him for introducing me to this world of ultrarunning.  I told him that I just ran my first 50 mile ultra a couple weeks ago and how his book was a big influence.  I'm sure he hears that all the time, but this time it was my turn. He thanked me, and that was it. 


I left Bryant park with a big smile on my face.  You don't often get to meet the people you look up to, and when you do it can be a disappointment if they do not live up to the person you think they are. Scott Jurek is a truly remarkable person and gives off such a positive and sincere vibe, it feels great to just be in his presence. This took a really long time to write and I don't have too much time to go back and edit it and make it sound better.  I have to go now and be somebody.

What's Next?

With my first 50 mile done over a week ago, I'm thinking about what's next for me. I have a few things coming up in my schedule.  In two months, I'm running in the River to Sea relay with friends. Then, at the end of October, I have the Marine Corps marathon. Most of my training will be focused on preparing for Marine Corps. I'm not really going to do anything special to prepare for River to Sea, other than some more running in the heat.  There may be a 5K or a half marathon somewhere in there as well. I'm of course very excited for all of these events.  I know that River to Sea is going to be so awesome with friends, but it's probably more of a fun social and bonding experience than anything else. Running the Marine Corps with Andy is also going to be great.  It will be his first marathon, and it will be so cool to run it with him, or more likely behind him. But, after running on that trail in Pennypack Park in Philadelphia for 9 hours, I really am already craving another  trail ultra. 


I don't think I'm going to do one this year, but I'm pretty sure I'll be looking for another one around spring time next year. As much as I enjoyed the Dirty German, I don't know if I can top the experience there of having all of my family and friends and winning first in my age group. Right now I'm thinking about the North Face 50 at Bear Mountain. I actually considered this race while choosing my first ultra and ended up going with the Dirty German. The reason I did not choose this as my first ultra is it is ridiculously difficult:

Note the many stars. Apparently 7000 feet of elevation gain does not warrant a 5-star rating

From what I understand, it is one of the hardest courses on the east coast.  Considering I hadn't done any trail running, and this was going to be my first foray into the ultra distance, I went with the very "runnable" Dirty German 50.  The joke is that I thought the Dirty German was hillier than I expected. One good way to compare the relative difficulty of these two courses is to look at the finishing times. The median finishing time of the Dirty German this year was 9:52.  For the Bear Mountain 50, it was 11:54. That's right, two hours slower! Perhaps some of that has to do with the elevation change:

Just to give a comparison, the Western States 100, probably the most famous, crazy ultra, which goes through the Sierra Nevada mountains, has an elevation gain of 18,000 ft.  But that's for 100 miles.  If you half that, you get 9000 ft which to me is in the same ballpark as 7000 ft. As opposed to the hundreds of feet of gain I experienced at the Dirty German.


Now that I have covered the 50 mile distance and have run on some trails, I really like the sound of this Bear Mountain 50.  I've read some race reports and I've seen some pictures and I I see that 5 stars for "Scenery" and I know I want to do it. At some point, I may consider going with a longer ultra. Perhaps I could move up to 100K, but honestly I don't think it's that much more than a 50M. The real ultimate challenge is a 100 mile, but that still feels crazy to me and I'm not ready to make that leap... yet. So for now, I think the added challenge of this super hard course is what's next for me. So unless things change, or the timing doesn't work out, I think I've made my choice.

The End of a Streak

Because of the 50 Miler, and all that surrounded it, I kind of forgot about another pretty major personal running achievement. The 50 mile race marked the last day of my running streak. It was 141 days, just over 1000 miles (average of 7 miles/day) and I ended it by choice and not due to illness, injury or anything else outside of my control.

I had debated about whether or not I should continue to run and I figured ultimately I would see how I felt the day after the race. Well, despite being pretty sore, I was not too bad.  I know for sure I could have easily ran a couple miles. In fact the following day when I was even more sore, I did run 2 miles, and felt better afterwards. I decided to end it because I wanted to be in control of when it ended. I like that 50 miles was the culmination of the streak. I knew going in that this thing wouldn't last forever. I figured I'd get the flu or something and that would end it and I would get all upset.  Ending it by choice has made me come to peace with it.

While it was going on, there was something cool about knowing that every single day at some point I needed to run. I imagine that may make some people feel trapped, dreading that daily run.  To me it felt like the opposite of that. I looked forward to it almost every day. Every day I ran was another day I was in control and things were going according to my plan. There is so much that I don't control in my life. This was something for myself that I would not compromise on.  I know full well that at times this was quite selfish.  Some days it would have been a lot easier for my family to not have to work around a run.  April would sometimes get sick of me asking about what time everything was happening so I could coordinate my run. But, most of the time it wasn't that big a deal to sneak in couple miles somewhere.

I had some close calls where I almost broke the streak.  I had a couple colds, some calf pain and one time when April was very sick I decided to quit, but then when she and the girls were in bed and finally sleeping at 11 pm, I snuck in a quick mile. I was back before anyone knew I had gone.

But now with my 50 mile finished, I want a solid 2 weeks of rest. I could have just done 1 or 2 miles every day for two weeks, but I really want days off of running.  I want to completely recharge before I start back up with marathon training. So that's exactly what I'm doing. Last week, I ran 8 miles, and only 3 of the 7 days. It was pretty weird to not be running, but it was a nice change too.

It looks so weird to have that short column after a 70 mile week

After my soreness wore off from my race, it left a bit of a knee injury in my left leg.  I don't think it's anything serious, but it comes at a good time when I'm resting anyway. I am not planning on starting another streak anytime soon.  I'm looking to run almost every day when I get going with marathon training, but I'm not going to be a slave to it.  Will I try to get another streak going at some point? Maybe.  Maybe I'll go for a whole year.  Who knows.  For now, I'm happy with 141 days and 1000 miles.

Dirty German 50 Miles

At the finish with Pete and Andy holding my sweet 1st place age group award!

Wow! This is way up there as far as personal accomplishments go. It honestly went as well as it possibly could have.  That's not to say there weren't some surprises and issues that came up.  From everything I read, those things are inevitable.  The question is how they get handled. Well, I finished which was my real only goal in 9 hours and 11 minutes. What I really wasn't expecting at all was to get 1st in my age group!  I know this mostly depends on who decides to show up and the size of the field, but you know what, I will gladly take it.  I got an awesome German thermometer to serve as a memento for this incredible day. Being able to share this with my family and friends just made it even more awesome. Ok, now it's time to break this thing down.

Pre Race

I won't go into too much detail of the thoughts and preparation going into this, because I've covered most of it in other blog posts.  Lets just say that this was a long time in the making. Looking back at my training, I think my greatest accomplishment was not the two 50Ks or several 60 mile+ weeks or even running every single day of this year.  The best thing I had going into this was not being injured.  I realize there is a huge luck component to this.  But, I frequently made wiser choices in terms of scaling back and reducing or eliminating speed.  I think that was the single biggest thing I did right.

I did the usual carb loading a few days before and most importantly kept up on my hydration.  Some people forget about this, but this is really the most important thing. I set out all the stuff I needed for the next day.  This included the following:

3 sandwich bags of 6 S!Caps each
12 GUs
2 band-aids for the nips
Running outfit
Sneakers
Extra sneakers, socks, shirt
Water bottle
Suntan lotion
Hat
Garmin Watch
HR Strap
Backup watch (when Garmin runs out of batteries)

That is a long list and for those that know how forgetful I am, I somehow remembered everything!

The night before the race I started to get a little nervous and as such did not have the best sleep.  But, I was expecting this, and I did sleep well 2 nights before so I was satisfied. 5 hours is pretty good for me before an event. I woke up at 5:30 and ate my usual big bowl of Special K Fruit and Yogurt (my current favorite).  I had some coffee and a banana as well. At 6, I left my house feeling good.

I got to the start/finish area at 7 am, got my racing bib and was feeling pretty relaxed. I spoke with a few other ultra folks and they were talking about how this is such a great course for your first trail ultra because it's so runnable.  At this point, I was thinking that my plan of running at around 9 minute pace for the first 2/3 with breaks here and there was totally feasible.  Ha ha ha! I'll get to that soon :)

3.5 Mile Loop

because this race also has folks doing a 50K and a 25K, the 50M runners start off in a different direction to do a 3.5 mile loop before they do 3 main 25K loops. The race director said a few words and thanked a few people and then he just said "Go!" and we were off at about 8 minutes after 8. I would estimate about 40 - 50 or so 50 mile folks, with a lot more 50K and 25K runners. 

The first mile I took really easy just getting warmed up and I had a long day ahead of me.  I was actually closer to the back and going about mid 9 minute pace. There were a bunch of little rolling hills and I wondered how much of the course would continue like this. Soon after, we turned into some single track with lots of twists and turns and even more ups and downs.  At this point I was just following the person ahead of me and didn't concern myself with how fast I was going.  I walked a few uphills and I realized I was going still mid 9s and then with the 3rd mile I was doing low 10s. I was a little upset with the pace but I figured it was still early and who knew what the rest of this course would be like.  Perhaps this was just the hilly, twisty trail section. As I approached the start, I realized that my Garmin was almost .5 miles off meaning that I wasn't going mid to high 9s this whole time, but probably closer to 10s or maybe even 11s. At this point I realized my estimates were likely to be way off, but I had just started and I wasn't too worried.  I was feeling great and I was loving running in the trails.

"First Loop"

As I started on the first loop, the field started to thin out and I found myself running on my own at times.  I was in paradise. I decided right then that I can see how people completely turn away from road running and switch to trails.  Being in the middle of a forest with a river running near by, jumping over an occasional log, it felt so great and natural. Because it was early in my run and I was feeling awesome, my only emotion was pure joy. There continued to be more hills than I imagined, but I was also flying down the down hill portions too.  I averaged in the low 9s up to the first aid station.

When I got to the first aid station, I had already removed the top of my water bottle, and the folks there were very helpful and friendly. After they filled up my water I was on my way in just a few seconds. I made sure to thank them as I left, plus I was in an awesome mood.  Then came the best part of the course.  I had resigned myself to the fact that this was going to be a much slower race, but I was enjoying it so much, I didn't really care.  I just figured I'd let everyone know when I texted them after I finished the first loop. This section had lots of twists and turns and ups and downs like a tight roller coaster track. I felt like I was flying through this area and I wasn't stopping much but I was barely maintaining high 9s.

First Wrong Turn

And then the first problem arose. As I was about a mile or so from the "2nd aid station" I started hearing the accordion and I remember thinking "oh wow, they have music both at the start area and all the way down at the bottom too, that's really cool".  But then I started to recognize part of the path and that was not good.  The more I ran, the more I was certain that I was retracing my steps from the 3.5 mile loop I did at the start.  I couldn't figure out what went wrong.  I never felt like I was off course or I missed a turn.  As I came into the start/finish area I was so upset. I thought maybe this whole thing was over for me and that I would be disqualified.  As I came into the aid station, I asked to speak with the race director.  I explained to him my dilemma and he realized that I went the wrong way after leaving the first aid station.  This big loop is a figure 8 with the start/finish at the top, the 1st/3rd aid station at the intersection and the 2nd aid station at the bottom.  When I left the 1st aid station, instead of continuing on to the bottom loop, I went back up.  Honestly, it is the job of the aid station workers to direct the runners as well, and I think they just missed me. The race director was super cool.  He was really calm and figured out how to solve the problem. He told me that I just needed to do the bottom loop twice and then I'd be all set.  Once I realized that I could continue and I wouldn't be disqualified, I was so relieved.  I was on my way back down to the first aid station.

This whole time I was drinking water every 15 minutes, taking a GU every 30 minutes and an S!Cap every hour.  I figured as it got hotter, I would start taking an S!Cap every 30 minutes and I would start to work in other food then too. I continued the same pace as before, occasionally walking a bit for the hills, but I continued to run slowly while taking GU when I didn't have to look down at the trail.  Some parts were less technical than others.

When I got back down to the 1st aid station, I explained the situation to them and that I had talked to the race director about it.  They understood and were very sorry that they missed me somehow.  I grabbed a couple orange slices, a quarter PBJ, refilled my water and was on my way down to the 2nd aid station. 

Second Wrong Turn

This is when I got lost again.  Somewhere I missed a turn and I was running somewhere along side the park.  I then picked up the trail again, but I was going against traffic.  I was happy to find the trail but I wasn't sure how this was going to work with me getting back to the second aid station going the wrong way.  As I was passing people in the wrong direction, I think most folks thought I was the top elite 50K guy and kept saying "Alright man! Great job!"  I couldn't explain to all of them that in fact I was just completely lost. As the crowd thinned out I came across an older gentleman who knew I was going the wrong way.  He asked me if I was lost, and I told him I was.  He had a map of the course on him and we realized that there was a bridge coming up that I could cross over to start going the right way.  I thanked him for his help and headed toward this bridge.  As I got closer I pulled out the iPhone and figured out where I needed to go.  The trail passes underneath the bridge on either side and there is a crazy steep way to get up and down near the bridge.  On my way down, I almost fell going down this steep section but when I finally got back on the trail going the right way, I was so happy! I figured out that I only added about a quarter mile so that wasn't too bad. I was determined to not get lost again.

As I got closer to the second aid station I entered my least favorite part of the course.  It was out in the open sun and on asphalt.  Normally I don't mind running on asphalt, but after the trails in the shade, this sucked. I got to the second aid station and stayed a bit longer this time and ate more orange slices (favorite food of this event).  I then realized that because I was doing the bottom loop twice, that I would not get back to my drop bag for extra S!Caps and GU.  Luckily they had S!Caps at the aid station and a different brand of gels.  I took a couple and a pretzel and I was off. A little while down the road at 19 miles I decided I finished the "first loop" and texted everyone that I was done with it.

Second loop

I was headed back toward the 3rd aid station and this included a water crossing.  On the website it warned that there were a few water crossings and it would mean at some point your feet would get wet.  But there were always some strategically placed rocks to use to get across, so I managed to avoid getting my feet we the whole time.  This was something I didn't want to worry about.  Running in wet shoes for lots of miles would probably mean blisters. This part also had some more serious climbs which again made me realize how much I underestimated the hills on this course.  The net elevation gain is deceiving because a lot of the hills are small and they don't even register on the maps.  But let me tell you, they register on your legs.

Once I got to the 3rd aid station I reminded them that I'd be doing the bottom loop again and they remembered and even said the race director called them to let them know about my situation. I grabbed some more orange slices, a PBJ quarter and another gel and I was off.  Now that I was starting the bottom loop again, I was finally back on track with everyone else. I had been running mostly alone for a while because of my lack of navigation skills, and now I started to run into a few folks. I passed a few people but it wasn't clear if they were slower 50K folks or 50 mile runners that had slowed down.  There was one guy in particular that I would pass, but then when I would walk to have a gel, he would pass me.  We kept doing that for many miles.

When I got back to the 2nd aid station again, there were 4 or 5 runners there.  Nobody wanted to leave because the aid station was under a bridge in the shade and it was starting to get hot out in the open sun.  I spoke briefly with a guy that I caught up to who was really taking the whole  "minimal" thing seriously.  He had on shorts and a pair of sandals that looked like these: <Photo Lost>

No shirt, no hat, no hydration pack, not even a handheld water bottle.  That was pretty insane to me.  I felt like this was the equivalent of climbing mount Everest without oxygen (well maybe not exactly).

I spent a little too much time there, but finally managed to leave after a couple minutes. As I headed back to the 3rd aid station for the end of my second bottom loop I had an awful coughing fit.  I've been having that this spring with all of the pollen in the air and I did not want to be dealing with this now. I had a couple bad coughs in particular that actually hurt my sides.  Luckily after 5 minutes they would go away. 

I reached the 3rd aid station and got some more orange slices and PBJ. When I got there, the guy who I kept going back and forth with was just leaving.  As he left, one of the aid station guys told me that this guy is a serious ultra runner and held records at some point.  He said he had won the 100K nationals and finished in the top of the field at a bunch of bigger races. I guess he was just taking it easy or recovering from something here, but I thought that was so cool.  The ultra community is small enough that when you go to a local event like this, you can rub shoulders with some of the elites in the sport.  I looked him up when I got home and everything that aid station guy said was true.  His name is Howard Nippert.  He is now a coach and you can check out all of his accomplishments on his site.

After I left the 3rd aid station I was headed back to the start/finish area for the start of my third and last loop.  I was definitely starting to slow down at this point.  I was exhausted and my legs were feeling really sore, but there were no real specific problem areas and my stomach was still holding out, which is what I was most worried about.  I kept telling myself I just needed to run 4 more miles and then the whole last loop was with Bieka, Pete and Andy. Plus, I would get to see my parents and April, Abby and Sadie. This was a huge motivator.  I don't know how I would have felt not having that to look forward to. I called my sister to let her know that I was about 40 minutes away and about 35 minutes behind schedule. That timeline I made with my estimates for everyone turned out to be way, way off.  I knew there was a chance I would be slower, but man was I naive about how much slower I'd really be going on these trails.

As I got within a mile of the start/finish, I started hearing the accordion music again and I knew I was close to seeing my family.  I was really excited. I came into the area and my parents were already taking video and my sister was ready to go.

My parents and sister said I was looking good compared to some of the other folks, and I was happy to hear that, but wasn't sure how true it was. At this point I thought about how tired I was and how I still had to run 15.5 miles. But then the thought of running with Pete and Andy and seeing April and the girls got me going again. 

Final Loop

Bieka and I started walking the start of the third and final loop while I finished eating a PBJ. after a little while we started to run very slowly.  It was so great to have her there to talk to. I had been running alone pretty much the whole time, with only brief moments that would last a few seconds of running with other people. I let her know about how I got lost, and she was really enjoying running on the trail and how beautiful it was.  We were going pretty slow because now every tiny incline meant I would stop to walk because I had a tough time running. Even so, our 3 miles flew by so quickly and before we knew it we were at the 1st aid station.  I came down and saw Pete and Andy waiting for me along with my parents.

I apologized to them for being so far behind my estimates.  At this point I was about 40 minutes behind my original schedule.  They seemed to be happy just to see that I was in good spirits and feeling pretty good considering the distance.  This was now all new territory for me.  The farthest I had run in training was 31 miles.  I was now at 38 and feeling alright. I warned them that it would just get slower and would include more walking breaks. I ate some more oranges and had coke for the first time. I read about how coke is a staple at ultra events, and now it was evident why.  The combination of sugar, caffeine and calming your stomach really helps late in an ultra. My stomach was starting to get a bit questionable but nothing too bad.

Pete and I took off and just as I promised, I walked a bit more.  Every incline, we walked, and instead of flying down the down hills, I was now really cautious not to fall. I felt like my legs were not super reliable so I wanted to play it safe.  I was starting to hurt more and my stomach was now starting to bother me a bit. I was dreading the open area coming up on the bike path with all the sun, but I was so thankful that Pete was there to run with me.  Once again, being able to talk with Pete the whole time, was awesome.  It really made the time go by. As we got to the open area, I spotted some porta-potties and decided that might be what I need.  Lets just say that after that I was feeling much better and got a bit of a second wind.

The course is quite diverse in appearance. There are these super secluded areas with very narrow twisty switchbacks, open areas going through meadows, trails where you can run side by side while looking at a river below and then there are these huge tunnels that pass underneath bridges.  A really cool mix.  Here is one of those tunnels I took some video of while running with Pete:

As we were approaching the 2nd aid station I really started to get pretty happy.  I knew that I was only going to have 8 miles left and I was actually feeling alright.  I was moving slower, but I was going to finish this thing. When we got closer, I got an awesome surprise.  April, Abby and Sadie were able to come see me earlier than I expected.  Seeing them made me so super happy! They were cheering me on and Andy joined Pete and I for the short jog to the aid station. Everyone was there! This was all really happening. I grabbed more of the same stuff from the aid station and Pete and I were off.  4 more miles to the 3rd aid station and then 4 more miles to the finish with Andy.  I was going to finish this!

As Pete and I were running to the 3rd aid station we got to a part of the course where for about a mile you pass people going in the opposite direction out on their last loop.  This was the first time Pete and I saw anyone for a long while.  We passed about 7 or 8 people and it started to occur to me that besides being happy to be able to finish, I may be doing alright in the field.  I figured based on how much slower I was going than expected, I was right in the middle, but now I started to think maybe I was a bit closer to the front.  In fact on the same portion where we were going out, we only saw 2 people ahead of us. I started to entertain the possibility of getting an age group award.  Maybe it was possible I could get 3rd, if I got lucky with who was there.  Pete seemed to think it was possible.  I was really in good spirits at this point, regardless of whether I got an award or not.  I was 45 miles in and I was starting to feel better rather than worse. Of course I was still going pretty slow, but I was fine with this. 

The only thing that was occasionally starting to bother me were my legs were starting to cramp up. I figured this was just a matter of time, and I think the way I'd been hydrating and taking S!Caps actually held it off for pretty long.  I would feel that my hamstrings or calves would be on the verge of seizing, but then I would shorten my stride, or if it was worse I would start to walk a bit.  After a little while I would start to run again. I know from experience from my previous marathons not to stretch in this situation.  What happens then is in the process of stretching one muscle, the opposite one seizes up.  At my first marathon, I stopped to stretch my quad and got a muscle spasm in my hamstring. There are various degrees of cramping up, and this was so far completely manageable and I was not too worried.  

Pete and I arrived at the 3rd and final aid station before the finish and Andy was ready to go. I told him that it would be really slow, but that this was my favorite section of the course. I thanked Pete for being an enormous help during the hardest part of the course and he was off to drive to the finish area to meet us. I grabbed a few pretzels and Andy and I started walking the final 4 miles. The final segment starts with a pretty serious incline so we walked for a good 2 minutes while I finished eating the pretzels before we started to run.  When we got to the top of the hill, we were at the twisty, turny single track I love.  I was really feeling good and even though we were running 10 minute pace, I felt like I was flying through everything.  We walked the hills, and I would slow down or walk a bit more frequently when I felt my legs seizing up, but with every few minutes, I knew we were closer to the finish and this would all be over.  I was really in an amazing mood. I once again was enjoying being outside running on this awesome trail, this time with my friend. 

With a mile to go we saw the one and only person who passed us while we I was walking trying to recover from a muscle spasm.  After he passed, I turned back to ask Andy if he thought this guy was under 30.  He definitely thought so, trying to keep up my happy mood.  I still had the idea that there was a slight chance I could get an age group award. As we got within a mile of the finish, I really started to get excited.  I had no pain at all.  No stomach problems. As we got closer we actually started to pick up the pace. With about a quarter mile to go I turned to Andy and said "Let's do this!" And we picked it up hard. Even though my legs were still on the verge of cramping, I was able to modify my stride in a way to still run fast and I just went for it.  We crossed the finish line with the last little .18 mile split at 6:31 pace! Everyone was there and I was done! It felt incredible. And then after I finished, I got this little cherry on top of good news:

Post Race

As far as what's next? Rest.  I'll leave what my future plans are to another blog post.  If you read this far, congratulations to you! I cannot thank everyone enough who helped me and encouraged me to do this.  To my parents, thanks so much for being there and being so super supportive and not thinking this is stupid, dangerous and crazy. To Bieka, Pete and Andy who paced me through this thing, I really cannot imagine how that last loop would have gone without you. Most likely it wouldn't have. And of course, April and the girls for putting up with the training necessary for me to do this without breaking down, and then being there to motivate me through the finish. I don't know how many more times I can use the words awesome, incredible, amazing, etc. Instead I'll let these pictures and video tell the end of this ridiculously long post.

Finished, tired, happy!

Girls hanging out while waiting for their slow dad.

Feeling quite satisfied, for now

Getting Excited For 50 Miles

The Dirty German is now 3 days away and I'm getting really excited.  This whole week it's pretty much all I've been thinking about.  I'm going over my race strategy, creating a spreadsheet with possible pacing, coming up with a checklist of things to bring, checking the weather every hour (weather.com: 79, accuweather: 77), reading race reports from last year, sending out emails with logistics, writing a blog entry about getting ready.

I thought I would be a bit more nervous with this thing, and perhaps that will come later, but through out most of this training I've been more excited than anything else. My training went quite well, and I've definitely done my research with reading about ultras.  The only thing missing is experience which I can't really do anything about. Unfortunately, it seems that experience is probably the biggest factor with these thing. At least that's what I've read :)

Even though I've said many times to myself and everyone else that my only real goal is to finish 50 miles anyway I can, I still need to come up with an estimate of how long it will take me, if for no other reason than to let people know where I'll be when. I came up with a best case scenario pacing chart.  It includes running 9 minute miles for the first 50K with several short breaks making 10 minute miles and a few longer breaks making 12 minute miles.  Then for the last 19 miles, I factored in 11 minute pace for the 3 miles with Bieka and then 9:30s for when I'm running, and then the same breaks.  When I add this all up, I get very close to 8 hours.  This would be pie in the sky type stuff.  I really don't think this is very likely to happen because things always go wrong in ultras and this is my first one and it's going to be a bit warmer than I like and I'm sitting here at my desk in a comfy chair and I'm thinking optimistic thoughts.

Here is a copy of the schedule I sent out to my family and friends who are coming to support me on Sunday:

7:00 AM - I arrive at Pennypack Park Start/Finish area (if you zoom in satellite mode, you can see the parking lot along the trail) http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=30+Ellis+Drive,+Montgomery,+NJ&daddr=Pennypack+Trail&hl=en&ll=40.089326,-75.068362&spn=0.003443,0.004823&sll=40.088406,-75.068507&sspn=0.006887,0.009645&geocode=FcQdaQIdpF2N-ymlwN3sS-jDiTHDvYfwBRe8Iw%3BFTK3YwIdBIqG-w&oq=30+ellis+drive+nj&mra=ls&t=h&z=18

8:00 AM - Race starts.

8:35 AM - I finish the small 3.5M loop and start the first of 3 25K (15.5M ) loops.

11:00 AM (+5 minutes) - I finish with the first big loop and start the second.

1:00 PM - Everyone arrives at the start/finish area of Pennypack Park where I parked. I am planning on calling Bieka at some point to let her know what my ETA is so Biek, make sure you have your phone on you and on :)

1:30 PM (+10 minutes) - I finish the second loop and meet up with Bieka who will pace me to the first aid station on my third and final loop. Mama and Papa can start to drive to the first aid station to meet us and pick up Bieka.  April, Abby and Sadie can of course do so as well but they could also just meet us at the second aid station.

2:05 PM (+15 minutes) - Bieka and I arrive at the first aid station where Mama and Papa pick her up.  (I don’t know exactly where this will be but if you zoom in close you can see cars parked and I think it should be somewhere near the intersection of Krewstown Rd. and the Pennypack Trail) http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Pennypack+Trail&daddr=Krewstown+Rd&hl=en&ll=40.075949,-75.054855&spn=0.003444,0.004823&sll=40.075785,-75.054994&sspn=0.003444,0.004823&geocode=FTK3YwIdBIqG-w%3BFSCDYwId7sCG-w&t=h&mra=pr&z=18

2:45 PM (+20 minutes) - I arrive at the second aid station and see everyone. Andy, if you want to come to this aid station, you’ll have a better idea of where I’m at and when I should get to the next one where you will pace me (Once again, I don’t know exactly where this will be, but hopefully it will be clear once you get there and park) http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Krewstown+Rd&daddr=40.049115,-75.033837&hl=en&ll=40.049636,-75.034486&spn=0.003445,0.004823&sll=40.048622,-75.034899&sspn=0.003445,0.004823&geocode=FSCDYwId7sCG-w%3BFdsZYwIdExOH-w&t=h&mra=pr&z=18

3:25 PM (+30 minutes) - I arrive at the third aid station which is actually the same location as the first aid station because the loop is kind of like a figure 8 with the 1/3 aid stations at the intersection. I meet up with Andy who will pace me to the finish.

4:05 PM (+ 1 hour) - Andy and I arrive at the finish with huge smiles :)

4:06 PM (+ 1 hour) - Rest, Drink, Eat, Repeat

Once again, the times in bold are highly unlikely and are there as a guide to the earliest I'm likely to arrive at each of these points. As you can see by the numbers in parenthesis, as the race continues, I'm allowing for more slow down. If I was going to give my best guess at my time, I would say 8 hours 30 minutes. But, I admit that somewhere in the back of my head I entertain thoughts of breaking 8 hours and finishing near the front of the field and getting one of these sweet age group awards:

Awesome age group award that I will not be getting

My next blog entry will hopefully be my race report! We'll see how naive I was with my finishing time guess!

50K Training Run - Take 2

Awesome! 4 hours 52 minutes (9:21 pace, same as last time, but much better which I'll explain later) 5 GUs, 2 PBJ halves, 2 S!Caps, 3 bottles of water. This was such a huge confidence builder.  I am very excited for the Dirty German 50 after this run.

Pre-run

I was originally planning to run 25 or so yesterday, but my back was hurting for unknown reasons (volleyball? raking? sleeping weird?) so I thought I would play it safe instead so I just ran the Run with Rotary 5K as a weird progression run. When I finished I realized my back didn't hurt at all which made me upset because I could have done my long run and now I wasn't sure when I was going to be able to do it.  I didn't want to put it off too much longer because the Dirty German is only 3 weeks away and I need to start my taper.  So, I decided I would run Monday morning and work from home in the afternoon. 

My plan was to do around 25 - 28 miles.  The plan called for 25, but that assumed a longer run of 10 miles the day before which I did not do.   In fact I didn't do any back to back long runs this training except for a 10 followed by a 27, but that isn't that long. So I was already thinking I was leaning more toward 28.  I created a route which took me out to Princeton and then back along the tow path back home.  I took with me 6 GUs of all different flavors to try out, a bag of 4 S!Caps (These are sodium and potassium capsules) and two handhelds full of water.

I figured that would last me the 21 or so miles til I got back home where I would drop off one bottle, refill the other and grab the two PBJ halves that April was so nice to make for me. Then I would do another 7 miles and that would be that. 

I should also add that the course I chose was actually quite hilly.  I did this on purpose because the Dirty German isn't super flat like the tow path is.  It's not considered a hilly ultra, but that's only because there are these completely ridiculous ultras that have many thousands of feet in elevation change.  Compared to them, it's pretty flat.  But compared to the tow path it's quite hilly.  I figured if I did my 50K training run on some more serious hills, that could only help. So now on to what really happened.

Start - Hour 1

As is always the case, the first hour was uneventful.  I felt great of course and very optimistic like always do.  It always seems like I can run forever at a slow pace when I'm starting out.  It's like every time I forget what's to come.  After my last 50K I learned some valuable lessons which I applied to this run.  First off, I started a lot slower.  I decided to average near 9 minute pace while I was running and perhaps I'd take slightly shorter breaks because I was taking GU initially instead of PBJ sandwiches which of course take longer to eat. This worked very well. I bought an assortment of GUs to try to see which ones I liked the best and each time I would reach into my pocket and grab a new flavor.  The plan was to drink water every 15 minutes as I always do, and now take a GU every 30 minutes. The first GU was some kind of orange flavor and it was OK.  I give it a 6/10. The second GU was Jet Blackberry and I liked it a lot more. 8/10. I also took my first S!Cap.

Hour 2

At this point, I started to get a bit tired but nothing unexpected. I continued doing the same 9 minute pace while I was running.  Sometimes I'd go up to 9:30 when I would walk some hills, but then in Princeton after Mt. Lucas I had an 8:44 mile at very little effort because of so much downhill. The plan was working, but of course it was still too early to tell.  I had a Triple Berry GU. 8/10 and a Peanut Butter GU. 7/10. Unfortunately, my bag of S!Caps fell out of my pocket at some point which brings me to the one negative of doing all these GUs.  Man are they ridiculously sticky. This is not that big of a deal, but its annoying when your hands are covered with this sticky GU.  I think this had something to do with how the bag of S!Caps was lost.  I was upset, but at this point it wasn't that hot and I figured I would take one when I got home in 6 miles.

Hour 3

Surprisingly, I did not feel that much more tired at this point. Somewhere along the way I got off by 15 minutes with my GUs, so I only took one more before I got home to pick up the PBJ. I had Strawberry Banana. 7/10. I kept the same 9 minute pace with walking breaks thrown in while eating GUs and the occasional hill I was averaging a 9:20 pace.  I was feeling very optimistic at this point.  I clearly remembered starting to hurt at around 20 miles two weeks ago, so this was good.

Hour 4

I got home right as April was leaving with Lucy.  It was cool to see them for a sec.  April was laughing at me because I was in way too happy of a mood for having just run 20 miles.  She asked me if I was this happy the whole time I was running.  I think I was just happy to see them before I left and that I was having such a good run so far. I ran into the house, refiled my water and grabbed the two PBJ halves. I took off my orange sweatshirt and I was on my way. This ended up being by slowest mile at 13:21.  This included walking the hill back home, a couple minutes in the house refilling water, and then walking while eating the first PBJ half. If you look at the rest of my splits, the other miles with rests are 10 minute or 9 minute miles.  I wonder what kind of breaks I'll be taking for the Dirty German.  I guess they'll get more frequent near the end. 


So let me get to the big turning point of this training run. After I recharged and was back out on the tow path I realized I was feeling great.  At around 22 miles in I started thinking maybe I need to take advantage of how I'm feeling and go for a 50K.  The way I figured in my head, instead of turning around at 24.5 miles on the tow path, I would run an extra 1.5 and turn around at 26.  I figured 1.5 miles is nothing and I'm feeling great.  Lots of mental games going on.  I considered maybe adding on the three later when I got back closer to home, but I knew I might not do that at that point.  By running out an extra 1.5, I'd have no choice but to run back home.


I actually started to pick up the pace slightly at this point and was going just under 9 minute pace.  I was feeling great despite my HR climbing into the low 150s. Also, my legs were starting to ache, but this was no big surprise and I wasn't worried. When it was time for the turn around I at my last PBJ half and walked a bit to do the video.  I was ready for the 5 miles left to get home.

Hour 5 - Finish


The last 5 miles I continued to feel strong and even picked it up a bit more.  I was getting close to running out of water because I hadn't planned on being out for another 10 miles, but I was still OK. I was really happy that I had the energy to keep picking it up even though I had been running for so long.  This was a much different experience than last time. Although I had originally planned to stop and walk up the hill before my house, I was able to power up it and even averaged my fastest mile at 8:29! My legs were not aching that much, and I had no cramping at all. I finished strong and felt like if I wanted to I could have kept going, again a totally different feeling than when I finished last time. 

Conclusion


Everything went so well, I am going to be doing things very similarly for my 50 mile. I think my big takeaway was that all the lessons I learned last time, I was able to apply here and they worked! I slowed down in the beginning, which left me with more energy later on. I started with gels so I didn't try to eat so 6 slices of bread! I tooks S!Caps (although I could have taken another 1 or 2). Also, my stomach was 100% with the 5 GUs and the PBJ. 


As for new things that I would change, I need to make sure I don't drop my S!Caps.  I think there is a zipper pocket in the shorts I'm planning to wear, so I can keep them there. I'll pick the flavors of GUs that I liked the most from this run. The other main difference between this run and the 50 is I won't be picking it up like I did in the last miles, because boy am I going to need every ounce of energy to keep moving at the end.


Even though my pace for this 50K was almost exactly the same as last time, this one was much better.  Last time, I started too fast and then faded at the end.  This time I had extra energy left when I finished, and this was a way harder course.  It had hundreds of feet of elevation change throughout which meant a lot more walking breaks.


Ready to Taper


This run marks the end of the main training for my 50.  I'm so glad I got another 50K in there and it really helps with my confidence going into this race.  My training didn't go perfectly, but it never does, and overall I feel pretty ready for my first ultra.  Everywhere I read says that the real way to improve in these things is to do more of them.  So I'm going into this thing with really low expectations.  I'm just looking to finish.  If I do that within the 12 hour cutoff, I will be proud of myself.  Man, do I have some serious happy running high going on right now 6 hours after I finished this run. Time to rest and have some beer! Woo Hoo!