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Jon 2, Rocks 0 : A Zane Grey Race Report

2009-05-02T00:00:00Z

"That Zane Grey guy must've had a pretty good sense of humor," said David, as we closed in on, like, mile 40 of the Zane Grey 50. We'd been running together for hours and hours, it seemed like. Sometimes I'd break off, sometimes he would... but eventually we'd just end up cruising along at the same pace.

By now, the pattern had gotten pretty drilled into our heads. Climb climb climb... downhill really fast... take a right turn at the creek bed... repeat. Over and over and over again.

That race is a beast -- 50 miles over poorly maintained trail with 10,500 feet of climbing and aid stations positioned up to 11 miles apart. You're kinda roaming along the edge of the Mogollon Rim, out by Payson, so altitude is a factor.

Looking at my arms, even a few days later, I'm all scratched up from plunging through the Manzanita and other assorted scrubs out there. There were many, many trees to climb over and creeks to cross. Nothing too hairy... just a trail that -- almost literally -- delivers a death by a thousand cuts.

Then... there are the rocks. Endless fucking rocks.

There's some debate as to whether it's the toughest 50 miler in the USA -- the consensus seems to be that San Juan is harder due to altitude -- but that this one is plenty hard. No normal person, it was agreed, should try this. I'm not sure if everyone had to do this, but I had to submit a running resume of sorts to get entry into the race. (It might've just been because I signed up late, though...)

... and yet, I was back. This time, knowing pretty well what I was getting into, given that I'd helped mark the trail from miles 33-44 the weekend before the race.

So... preparation went pretty normally for this kinda thing -- lots of long runs out on South Mountain and Trail 100. I did a bunch of race-specific stuff, like wearing the 100-oz Camelback on a couple of the training runs leading up to ZG. Also, since I knew I was going to be encountering pretty heavy rocks 'n' whatnot, I switched back to the Brooks Cascadias from the New Balance 790's. As much as I love the 790's, I knew they'd get shredded out on the Highline Trail.

Nutrition was mostly Gu Rocktane and those Powerbar Gel blobs. Yum! (Kinda.) This actually worked pretty well, although it got a little gross after about 10 hours. My stomach was in pretty rough shape towards the end, but it seemed to do ok. I also gobbled an Endurolyte every hour or so.

The race itself, like last year, was pretty much a blur. Obviously, it's stunning out there, but it's such a "heads-down, watch the trail" kind of run that it's ridiculous. Almost none of it is flat; the constant undulation of the trail and shifting of terrain types as you move up and down the rims means that you pretty much always have to watch your footing if you want to move forward at a reasonable speed. Forget about settling into a comfortable rhythm.

That's not to say it's not fun. Over the last few years of doing these races, I've found that it's just way easier to hook up with another runner and just tag along with them. Sometimes, we'll get a little train going... it just seems to take less mental energy to run with other people than it does to slowly slog through endless trail by yourself. If you find the right person running the right pace at the right time, you can end up together for hours.

Obviously, you get to talking. About running... other races... the oral history of ultramarathoning... jobs... kids... wives... husbands...

Runners. Interesting people, lots of stories. If there's anyone who's really a jerk in the ultramarathon world, I have yet to meet them.

So, David and I -- another PHX area runner who I'm sure I've seen a billion times on South Mountain but never talked to -- cruised through the remaining miles without really seeing anyone else. Except one guy, who blasted by us at like mile 48, running at what seemed like top speed.

"Holy crap! Where'd you come from?"

"The Dead," he replied, not breaking his stride.

That's probably true. I certainly didn't have the energy to chase after him and find out more.

That last six miles from 44-50 is probably the longest 10k ever, but we ticked out the 15 minute miles like clockwork... up... down... up... down... 'till, finally, we started to hear car noises. It sounds slow, but given the terrain, it's actually pretty decent. We were running the flats and the downhills and quickly hiking the uphills. We'd survived the diabolical climb at like mile 46 and knew the end was close.

Let me tell ya something: reaching the end of a fifty mile ultramarathon is a pretty good feeling. Just seeing people again is a little weird after being out on the quiet trails for hours. The race organizers did a fantastic job -- they had race finisher hoodies at the ready and printed copies of photos taken at the beginning of the race to have them waiting for us right at the end. How awesome is that? I grabbed a Cherry Pepsi (maybe the best ever), got some pics snapped with my new buddy (did we really win Miss Congeniality?), and met up with Nicole, who was kind enough to crew for me... that was super cool. Thanks!

Five days later, I'm remarkably unhurt from all this. I got a little sunburned on my shoulders, but nothing serious. The cuts are all healing. I've gone running with the dog this week, and while it wasn't anything serious, mileage-wise, it felt just fine. Also, made my long awaited return to the pool... my first venture over there since I fell off that cliff.

Oh yeah... and get this -- I picked up 90 minutes over last year! How crazy is that? I finished 29th out of 76 finishers. 107 started... 71% finished.

I Won the Pemberton 50k! (Ok... just my age group)

2009-02-18T00:00:00Z

Pemberton... at some point, you pretty much have to run there, if you run in the valley. I encountered it pretty early as I got into trail running and found it... I don't know. A little boring?

Basically, it's a 15 mile loop through the middle of the desert, out kind of by Fountain Hills. It's a great straight-up athletic trail -- well groomed, easy to follow, very runnable -- but it's not, like, somewhere you'd really want to go hiking.

As I experimented with different trails and whatnot around the Valley, I ended up doing Pemberton a few times by myself, just out there on some warm mornings, slowly working my way through the undulating twists and turns. It seems to go on forever. There are always snakes. There are no vistas, nothing really one could call a high point.

So... it'd been awhile since I ran there. Time does wonders for one's memories of a trail. I volunteered during the Pemberton 50k last year, then again at the midnight to 8:00 am shift of the Javalina Jundred, so I was actually feeling pretty good about this race.

Of course, I signed up at the last minute, since I wasn't sure that was something I wanted to do. I mean, two loops around that thing. Ugh.

Still, it's an easy race to get to and it looked like fun last year, so, why not?

It was just a perfect morning for a run. It was 32 degrees before dawn as I rolled through Fountain Hills, maybe even colder out there in the desert. There was a fire to hang out by and keep warm.

About 200 people started the race... according the Race Director, the split was about 50-50 in terms of men vs. women.

I just had a really good run! I got off to a quicker start then I should have, but just kind of settled into a groove behind Honey Albrecht for awhile. There's something about running in packs... it just makes it easier. Plus, she's run that course about a billion times, I'm sure.

The whole thing went really smoothly. I was gobbling down the Gu that I stashed in the waistband of my shorts at a rate of about 1 ever thirty minutes. Since the race is two loops around the Pemberton Trail, I had a bunch of cliff shots stashed there for extra nutrition. At each aid station, I grabbed a fistful of those orange gel candies and kept moving. My Ultimate Direction bottle was more than enough water, for whatever reason.

It's a tough course... it lulls you in, being so runnable and all. Each loop is like 1,800 feet of climbing and descent, so it grinds you down over time. At no point, really, did I have to stop and walk to climb a hill or anything like that.

By the time of the second loop, I stripped off my long sleeve shirt and settled into a groove... I lost Honey at an aid station and just continued forward 'till I hit the next guy, then, the next guy after him.

I felt super strong in the last five, way better than I would have expected. Finished with a smile, although I think I ran head-on into the sign they had over the finish line.

Took sixth overall, first in my age group... only because the guy who won, Josh Brimhall, took the overall winner prize, and the other guys were masters. I received a water bottle for my efforts, which is pretty sweet. The official time was 4:22:17, an 8:27 pace... which for out there, isn't half bad.

So... obviously, I'm liking the Pemberton Trail a lot more now. Old Pueblo will largely be a repeat of this race -- same people, only tougher terrain.

Phoenix Idiotarod Race Report

2009-02-17T00:00:00Z

So, I roll up to the checkout at Target on the morning of the Phoenix Idiotarod with two packs of condoms, a half-dozen packages of pudding, and some funnels. Now, normally I don't feel much of an urge to explain myself when it comes to my purchases, but the woman at the counter was all like, "WTF?"

"Ummm.... we're doing a shopping cart race in downtown Phoenix," I explained. "These are the ingredients for a weapon. Last night, we took a shopping cart, stuck on a nose cone made of styrofoam, made some wings out of poster board, and turned it into a space shuttle."

The woman appeared to accept that as a reasonable explanation.

I can only imagine what all the other random bystanders thought, when they saw like twenty teams of shopping cart racers tear around downtown. It was total drunken mayhem...

The teams ran the range in terms of preparation, from elaborate to simple, but everyone was welcome. Amy, Brian, Sean, Jason and I -- my coworkers at GoDaddy -- called ourselves "Energy = Mass Confusion Squared." We had lab coats. And, of course, the space shuttle.

The morning started at the Bikini Lounge on Grand and kind of degenerated from there. I'm not really sure of the length of the race -- I don't even know who won -- but the course took us all around downtown with various bar stops along the way for drinking and socializing. At some point, the devil team chopped off our cart's handles, an act of revenge for splattering them with a pudding filled condom.

Sabotage is par for the course in the Idiotarod. You should really take a look at the pictures.

The rest... it's kind of a blur. I think we came in fifth... maybe sixth. It really doesn't matter -- that was just really fun.

My race schedule, 2009...

2009-01-24T00:00:00Z

Since I survived the first event of the year, the P.F. Chang's Marathon, it's time to take a look at what's coming up this year. There will probably be other, small races 'n' stuff, but these are the marquee events. 2009 should be pretty... interesting.

Pemberton 50k - February 14th. Maybe. We'll see. The more I think about it, I'll probably do this.
Ragnar Del Sol Relay - February 27-28. A team of twelve of us are running from Prescott to Mesa in a 200 mile road race over two days. We did it last year and it was awesome. This year will be super fun as well, I'm sure.
Old Pueblo 50 - March 7. I've been hearing out this race, which takes place down in Sonoita, for awhile. Sounds like it'll be pretty brutal, but pretty fun.
Boston Marathon - April 20. Maybe. I have to book my stuff in short order if I'm going to do this. I feel like I should do it, after all the training to qualify and whatnot, so I probably will.
Vermont 100 Endurance Run - July 18-19. Why not try and run 100 miles for my birthday? This race is pretty much the one people talk about as being the best first time 100 in the country.
IronMan Arizona - November 22. I know, I know... doing triathlons means selling out. Still, I'm curious to give this a try, if only to see how much I like racing on bikes. I'm just beginning to train for this in earnest so we'll see how that goes as the year progresses.

Holy crap! I just qualified for the Boston Marathon! ...A P.F. Chang's Race Report.

2009-01-18T00:00:00Z

It still seems a little unbelievable to me -- I just ran PF Chang's Marathon in 3:06:37. That was good enough to earn me 179th place overall, 151rst male and 27th in my division. I qualified for Boston!

Whoa. That's like a 10 minute PR for me. Here's the total breakdown...
   Distance: MAR
   Clock Time: 3:06:37
   Chip Time: 3:06:37
   Gender Place: 151 / 3438
   Age Grade: 66.9%
   Placeoall: 179
   Placediv: 27
   Pace: 7:08
   Ttldiv: 500
   Ttlsex: 3438
   10K: 44:53
   Half: 1:31:41
   20 Mile: 2:19:13

The 7:08 overall pace doesn't really tell the whole story, but it is kind of amazing, when you think about it. I did the '05 marathon in 4:47:15... four solid years of training later, I finally made it into Boston.

That is to say, I have been working on this solidly now for almost five years. I mean, I was a cross country runner in high school and whatnot, but I was never particularly serious about it.

... I guess I'm not really now. I just really like it. Obviously, entry into Boston is the ultimate benchmark as to whether you're a serious marathon runner and if nothing else, I've earned my place at the table. I mean, I managed to finish within an hour of the winner. For me, that's pretty good.

Today, was a perfect day for a run. Woke up early, made some coffee, scarfed down some Banilla, and organized my stuff for the day. I ran in the New Balance 790's I purchased last weekend after wearing 'em pretty much all week to break 'em in. Worked just fine. I brought along three Gu Rocktanes, two stuffed in my waistband and one in my Ultimate Direction bottle's pocket. Filled the UD bottle with Accelerade... which, in retrospect, was mixed a little too rich, but seemed to work just fine. I decided to wear a hat, since I was going to be out in the sun... and have really decided that I enjoy wearing a hat when I run long races like this. Helps in all kinds of ways.

Thanks to the hard work of about a billion volunteers, this race pretty much runs like clockwork. I mean, shuttles were no problem -- I just parked at the marina and a walked over the lake. The wait was basically zero. The starting line was easy to find, of course... I started way up in coral 1.

So did Bill, my Ragnar team member and the official 3:10 pacer for the race. I needed to run a 3:10:59 to qualify for Boston, so he was going to be my buddy. At least for the first half, when he was going to drop back and let someone else pace the second half.

Without much fanfare, we were off. A pack quickly settled in behind Bill and his 3:10 sign, and the pace was good and manageable. There's something kind of amazing about running in a pack like that, it's like a primal thing with it's own energy. Plus, it totally helps to cut down the wind on the endless straightaways.

Around 10k, maybe a little past, that's where the problem emerged. I mean, the 3:10 pace felt fine and I was feeling good. What do I do? I can only run so fast at any given time, so if I want to chance it and go for a 3:00 flat, I have to get moving. Of course, that carries with it certain risks... plus the loss of the protection of the pack.

Anyway, I forged on ahead at a pretty good pace. The split times put me at a 7:06 and 7:02 for the half and 20 mile mark.

The run itself was kind of a blur. I was pretty focused on form and just pushing ahead -- I was kinda picking out runners up ahead and slowly stalking up to them like a lion taking down a caribou. Forget the time, I just want to feel like I'm passing other runners.

Which I was doing... at least for awhile. I kinda hooked in behind some other dude from Ahwahtukee for awhile and we just plowed on ahead through the herd. (He had an amazing first marathon... I've gotta give that guy props.)

... but after 20, that's where it kinda started to hurt. A lot. After miles and miles of running with the Ahwahtukee Kid, he started to pull ahead. I looked at the official time, knew I was gonna roll in under 3:10 if I just kept it going, and relaxed.

No big kick at the end of this one... just pretty much guided it into the finish. My calves hurt soooo much... as did my shoulder. I mean, I did just dislocate it a few months ago.

I didn't hang out very long afterward. Congratulated a bunch of the other runners, ate a popsicle, and walked slowly back to my car. On the other side of the river. Ouch!

All in all, just a really great day of running. Not sure if I'm gonna do Boston this year or wait 'till next... I need to give it some thought. I worked sooooo long to get to this point that I'm kind of amazed that I actually did it. I imagine when I wake up tomorrow sore as hell, it'll seem more real.

Top 10, 2008

2009-01-03T00:00:00Z

So... it's 2009 and that means I have to compile the official Best of 2008 list.

Kind of a crazy year, of course. I feel like I spent most of it playing outside, so I'm not sure I consumed as much entertainment as I normally would. I didn't see any of the big movies, really... kind of didn't do a good job of keeping up with the latest bands.

So... the list for this year is what it is. As always, my favorite things are always living things -- my friends, family, and pets. Lots of landmarks celebrated this year by a ton of folks, and, like all years, I owe the people in my life a ton of gratitude. That's not to ignore my cat, Soleil, who continues into the new year in good health and in fine shape. The dog, Gus, is starting to calm down... although he does still enjoy a good leg hump from time to time.

His crime is that he loves too much.

Here's the list of cool stuff for 2008.

Running. You know I had to put this first -- this year, I did a bunch of marathons and two ultramarathons. I survived Zane Grey, "America's Toughest 50 Miler." Crazy stuff... had a blast, met a ton of really cool people along the way. I am now, undeniably, a real runner... and so is the dog, by the way. We ran Pat's Run together this year and had a heck of a race.
New Balance 790's. The Coury Bros turned me onto these shoes, but I guess all the really fast trail d00dz are wearing 'em. They're totally light and provide just enough cushioning for a run like South Mountain.
La Grande Orange. Dude... how awesome is the pizza at that place? Pretty much my favorite place to eat in all of Phoenix. Runners up are probably Fate, Pei Wei, and Humble Pie. And you know I still got love for Trader Joe's.
Lil' Wayne. Once again, keeping it gansta... 2008 was definitely the year of years for Lil' Wheezy. That guy is just ridiculous, in so many ways. A Milli is clearly the song of the year. Or maybe this really sweet version of "Things Are Gonna Get Easier" by Low Motion Disco.
Random indie rock: Girl Talk, Fleet Foxes, Ratatat, Vampire Weekend, Submarines, Okkervil River, Blitzen Trapper
The iPhone. Last year, it was the iPod Touch. This year, my iPod touch and my phone got stolen from the pool. Obviously, it was a sign from The Lord. And that cannot be denied. So, with the divine mandate in place, I picked up an iPhone. I've gotta say -- I really do kind of love it. There are flaws, to be sure, but I really dig having constant internet and stuff. The text messaging is incredible -- once you get used to it, you can never go back. I mean, what would I do without Pandora.
JCVD. What the heck was this movie? Jean Claude Van Damme? WTF?
Also great?... Rambo. And Burn After Reading. Pineapple Express was pretty entertaining, as is the new Xtacles spinoff from Frisky Dingo.
P.A.I.N. Sure, I bought the PS3 to play GTA IV, but this, really, is my kind of game. The premise is simple -- you've got a guy in a slingshot and you score points by flinging him into the city in such a way that he can cause the most damage to either himself or his surroundings. Best $10 game ever!
Sky Diving. All the fun of running full speed down a mountain with none of the shoulder dislocation... what's not to like? Zarif 'n' I only went that once, but I'm itching to get out again. (Money I might've spent on my skydives was instead allocated to buying a really good bike. Hopefully, that was the right choice.)

... you know... in reviewing this list, I realized that I didn't put any books on there. The The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, that book was awesome. So was Haruki Mukakami's book on running. Gotta give props to the War Nerd for getting a book out... pretty interesting reading. I also really enjoyed The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger and Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto.

2008 was a good year for books that follow the "something clever" colon "... then a semi coherent explanation" titling format. I hope we'll see more of that in 2009.

19th Place, Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon... a race report

2008-12-14T00:00:00Z

Holy Crap -- I just ran the Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon in 1:25:06... good enough for 19th place over all, 3rd in my age group.

So... uhh... I guess I shoulda stuck around for the ceremony after all. I'm not used to that. At all.

I really had a heck of a race, though... especially considering I spent the previous evening cavorting with my coworkers at the GoDaddy Holiday party, a $2,000,000 affair put on by our CEO and President, Bob Parsons. Beer... that's calories, right? It's like liquid pasta.

So, with only like four hours of sleep and a slightly upset stomach, I ventured out to Old Town Scottsdale before the break of dawn. Registration was no problem... filled up my water bottle, popped a Gu, and threw another one in my shorts... and I was ready to run.

The start was pretty chilled out. I'd maneuvered to the front and pretty much just coasted along behind two really, really fit looking people. The beginning chunk of the course just goes straight up Scottsdale rd... it's flat and fast, not very exciting. This is classic PHX road racing -- go straight for a really long time, turn, go straight for a really long time, turn...

At the end, though, the course veers onto the Greenbelt at Indian School and Hayden. My old turf. This kinda mixes it up a bit with hills and hard, fast, concrete paths. I always like running there...

At the end, it got pretty epic. I passed some dude I've been racing on and off for a few years at about mile 12. He was looking strong, but we were running a 6:30 pace, so I just kinda edged him out. Pretty much in the zone at this point, I set the cruise control and just kinda glided comfortably in towards the finish, secure in the knowledge that I'd defeated a local rival.

Big mistake! "OH NO!" I literally said out loud, as I turned my head in the last hundred yards and saw him sprinting by. It was on! We had a total neck and neck finish, with him taking it at the last minute.

Which is pretty awesome.

The ironic thing? I actually beat him in the end... since these races are chip timed, it only counts when you cross the starting line. So, while he beat me by a second or two at the finish, he started 3 or 4 seconds ahead of me. Thus, victory is mine!

I'm sure we'll do battle at PF Chang's in a few weeks. I bet I'll see most of those people again.

So, for me, just a heck of a day at the races. I love this stuff... an the half marathon distance is just kind of a weird race. Long enough to make it hurt, but still fast and relentless. Of course, this race is an indicator of sorts for my predicted performance at PF Chang's... is a 3:10 finish possible? (Maybe...?)

A Top 50 Finish in the Phoenix 10k!

2008-11-10T00:00:00Z

Ok... 48th in the top 50 men, anyway... 54th overall. I ran a 40:01, which for me is pretty darn good. A new PR! (By almost 1:30, no less.)

I even got a medal for my efforts... which has never happened before. I was 9th in my age group.

Don't tell my PT what I've been up to this weekend... I think she'd be horrified.

The 10k is a weird distance for me... I haven't run one in two years. With only 6.3 miles of course and all on roads, it's hard to really get going and fall into a rhythm before the race is basically over. Strategy plays a big role in that kind of race, so it was a little difficult to know when to push and when to hang off... plus, I didn't bring my trusty water bottle, so I actually stopped to drink water at the aid stations for a few seconds. Kinda weird, I know... but it worked for me.

It was a perfect morning in Phoenix, though. Nice and cool... maybe in the low 60's, slightly overcast. There was a bit of wind, but nothing significant.

With 2,100+ runners in the race, the starts of these things can be a real fiasco. I kinda settled in behind the folks who were clearly faster than me and waited for the signal to begin. There's really something kind of awesome about starting in the front of the pack at a race like this -- it's like, there are the elites, then a pack of fairly serious runners, then the rest of the rabble. Somehow, instinctively, most folks know to queue up behind us.

As a consequence, once the race got going, it was on! There was very little in the way of dodging in between people... almost everyone who went out fast stayed pretty fast, at least for the first couple miles.

The new course is fast and flat. It's in downtown Phoenix, so you pretty much run down a straight street for awhile, turn, turn again, and run back. No surprises... especially since it's a two loop course.

When the first loop went fine and I clocked in around 20:10, I knew everything was going to turn out just fine with this race. I felt good... the shoulder wasn't giving me any trouble at all, although Sandra from ARR yelled "You don't have your sling on anymore!" when she saw me cruise by -- I guess I wasn't really making use of my right arm very well.

With that under control, I spent the second lap stalking the group of guys a few hundred yards ahead of me, patiently closing the gap. With about 200 meters left to go, I found myself running neck and neck with some serious looking runner guy, totally pushed to the edge of puking. He won that little battle, but when I crossed the finish line, I got a medal for my finish and we each thanked each other for providing the necessary push to get a great time.

I still feel like I could've cut a minute or two off my time with a little better preparation and if I were in perfect shape, but that'll have to wait for next year...

That was just a totally fun race. Saw lots of folks I knew, of course... and I'm sure I'll see a bunch of 'em at PF Chang's as well for a rematch.

Ouch! Dislocated my Shoulder on Camelback...

2008-10-02T00:00:00Z

Oh mah gawd that hurt!

So... here's what happened: I'm running on Camelback like I always do, only this time I randomly hook up with some dude named, "Steve," who I know from running there a bunch. He's totally, totally fast... so I battled him a bit on the uphill on Cholla, then raced him down Echo.

We were really hauling ass. With Man Against Horse the next weekend, I was in fine, fighting shape. Just feeling good.

I lost him on the climb back up Echo, but no biggy -- it's all about challenging yourself, not some random guy. Anyway... having a really good time, reached the top in a pretty brutal pace.

I immediately begin my descent. Now, I've run down Cholla about a billion times... I've fallen a bunch over the years, but never taken much more damage than a few cuts and bruises. Wipeouts are inevitable, really.

However, when I hit a slippery patch of rocks about halfway down, I went right over the side. The actual fall wasn't too bad, but I knew immediately something was wrong.

I halfway composed myself, took a good look at my shoulder, and the whole world went white for a moment. I sat down, and took another look... my shoulder was all out of place. It was crazy looking!

Since it's a well traveled trail, some random dude came upon me almost immediately. Acting purely out of instinct, I was like, "Hey! Will you help me out? I just need you to pull on my arm and try to jam this thing back into it's socket!"

The pain was incredible... he was, understandably reluctant: "Uhh... I don't really know how to do that."

"Oh come on man, we've seen this in the movies a million times! All you gotta do is pull it and it should work. Why not?"

To his credit, he actually gave it a shot. Of course, it didn't work... nor did my attempt to swing my arm out and make it pop back in on it's own.

A few moments later, Steve and another dude came down the mountain and stopped to help. Let me take a break for a sec to say this -- the people who hike that mountain are awesome! So many people -- total strangers, really -- took time to help out some freak wearing nothing other than a black pair of running shorts and some shoes who had a completely horrible looking injury.

The called 911. Then this other guy -- I wish I knew his name -- took off his shirt and used it as a kind of brace. He tied it around my chest, holding my damaged arm tight to my body.

"Ouch!" is pretty much I was thinking... but I really, really didn't want to be rescued by a helicopter. I've seen that happen too many times on Camelback.

We decided to give it a shot walking down the mountain.

When you've run it a million times, it's hard to be careful and go slow! Still... with their help, I took my time, and made it down to meet the firefighters / paramedics at the bottom.

I hope I thanked everyone! I was a little out of it, but that was super awesome. If you ever need to renew your faith in humanity, take a nasty fall on Camelback.

From there, the rest is a little bit of a blur. The paramedics loaded me up with morphine, which made me dopey, but didn't really dull the pain.

I hopped in the ambulance and, after a quick stop at my car to grab my phone, id, keys, and credit card, we went to the ER.

After a quick set of x-rays... again ouch ouch ouch ouch... the doc and nurse knocked me out and reset my arm. Sooooo glad I wasn't awake for that!

I woke up a few moments later feeling way better. Surveying the damage, I had a bunch of road rash, but nothing too serious. I'll probably have a pretty gnarly scar on my right leg, but it'll just balance out the scar on my left thigh.

... Where did I get that, you might wonder... Don't ask. I'm 33, I should probably know better than to run on Camelback.

So... it doesn't look like I did any permanent damage. My right shoulder is messed up and I'm wearing a sling, so that kinda sucks... I'll have it on for the next three weeks or so. No pain, really... a little bit from my right leg, but nothing that would prevent me from running. My right shoulder has a very limited range of motion, though... and is feeling pretty weak.

Could certainly be worse.

I'm going to miss my next couple of scheduled races -- Man Against Horse and the Javalina Jundred, but I'll probably roll by a few of the local events to volunteer and help out.

I got a leash for my dog that I can wrap around my waist so we can still get out, so I've been doing some nice long walks. It's totally dorky, but it's all good. That's the price I have to pay, I guess.

So... I'd say that it's a rather auspicious way to begin 5769, but enough good stuff is going on that I've got no complaints. Got a bunch of good books to read, plenty to keep me busy while I'm off my feet.

Lesson learned, I guess.

50 Miles for my 33rd Birthday (Tahoe Rim Trail 50 Miler)

2008-07-21T00:00:00Z

So... I'm chugging along at mile 40 or so on the Tahoe Rim Trail 50 Miler, climbing some big ass hill, and I'm like, "You know... I've really done a bunch of these races in a relatively short period of time."

Kind of a strange way to spend my 33rd birthday, running my third 50 miler since last October... but what can you say, really? I really had a blast.

Tahoe... that place is amazing. Sure, the altitude was pretty crazy, but the scenery more than made the extra effort worth it. The view, looking out over Tahoe and the whole Sierra Nevada range, was stunning.

"A Glimpse of Heaven... a Taste of Hell." That's how the race bills itself. The DVD, which is actually remarkably well produced, does a pretty good job of breaking down the race. There's even a race theme song.

I managed to bring it in at 11:18... for me, that's pretty good, especially on a challenging course like that. It's not Zane Grey or anything, but with almost 10,000 ft of total elevation change, it delivers big time in terms of brutality.

The whole thing just went super smoothly. Remarkably so.

First... the hotel where I stayed, the Carson City Station, was awesome for the price. Not amazing, certainly, but pretty much exactly what I wanted. There's a typical hotel-casino restaurant in there, so... again... nothing spectacular... but very convenient and totally reasonable, cost-wise. I'd stay there again without hesitation.

I don't really gamble, but that's a nice area of Carson City. There's a nice little coffee shop right there with a cat, but a good bar with outside seating and a good view of the street.

Everything to do with the race seemed really well organized. Race packet pickup, drop bag dropoff... all super smooth. I put considerable effort into planning out my drop bag strategy only to... well...

Pretty much completely ditch it. Here's what happened: I ran into Jamil and Nick Coury before the race.

Now... for a coupla kids (23 and 20 respectively) , those guys are awesome ultra runners. Nick finished 5th at Hardrock last weekend with Jamil pacing for the last 43 miles, so I totally had the chance to pick their brains about trail running and whatnot.

They convinced me to ditch all the crap. Forget the Camelbak... there's no need for it, with only 6 miles between aid stations. A hand bottle... that'd be just fine. Just eat what's at the aid stations... and go from there.

And they were right, of course. I tried for awhile to do my whole Perpetuem / cliff block thing, but that just got gross after awhile. I pretty much settled on aid station Gatorade and whatever else there was to eat.... plus a pretty hefty amount of gu. Mmmmmm... gu. Those Hammer gels aren't bad, either.

Given that I'm unfamiliar with the course, took it nice 'n' slow. The weather was perfect -- clear blue skies, 45 degrees at start, maybe hitting a high of 85. Did the whole hat thing for the firs time in a race... it was good, I think. The white shirt, of course... but with my number pinned to my shorts so I could ditch it if I had to. (I didn't.)

Keep it simple and light... there's something to be said for that. Those boys are on to something.

Obviously... I love running, but it's the people who keep me coming back to these events. I had the pleasure of tagging along with some really great folks... so thanks to everyone who helped me pass the time out there. Lots of shit-talking about the IronMan triathletes... you know I enjoy that. Lots of good advice, general philosophy about stuff.

I dunno about these hundred milers. I'm not sure I coulda made myself do the second loop... but more power to 'em! At some point, I'm sure I'll join 'em... for me anyway, I'm glad this wasn't the race.

Right... so... maybe not the normal way to celebrate a birthday, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Thanks!

I'll probably post way more pics shortly from other sources shortly... I don't even really know my finishing place yet.