NCRC August Umstead Series 2008

What a difference a year can make. Let's face it, it's always hot in August but last year was a bit ridiculous with record highs and an average 5 degrees above normal for the month. With the heat index over 100 the 2nd week some were even suggesting canceling but the show went on and was well attended. So this year? We couldn't even have a day in the 90's. I had to apologize to those looking for extreme conditions because it was almost comfortable out there.

2008 was well attended with an average turnout of 53 making it once again the oldest and most popular of the NCRC Social runs. As always there were some people out for a hard workout, some for a slow run and everything in between. The only competition is for the prestigious Ultraman Joey Award each week. This years winners were Kevin Miles, Paul Minor, Angela Candies and Mark Davis.

We were once again sponsored by our friends at Inside Out Sports in Cary and one lucky winner each week won a $100 gift card for a pair of shoes in a random drawing.

Thanks also to my wonderful volunteers and to the staff of William B. Umstead State Park for allowing us to use the park trails again.

Here are a few photos I took.

and here are some Ben Dillon took on the course.

Hurricane? What Hurricane ?

Well, I was suppose to leave this afternoon for the Patriot's Half-Ironman Triathlon in Williamsburg Va, but mother nature had different plans. When I signed up for the race I didn't feel I was really ready but my training has been going well on the bike and swim and my confidence has grown and I thought I would have a decent race. So, since I have next weekend off also , I have now signed up for the Duke Half-Ironman at Jordan Lake next Sunday. I didn't choose it originally because it is a hilly course and I am still not very strong on the hills but I'm getting stronger so I'll just have to deal with the hills and do the best I can. Hey, at least the water is flat.

Sportsplex Super Sprint Triathlon

Hello friends and other readers of my blog. I've been slow about posting my reports and not very prolific in my writing these days but the next few weeks shouldn't be as busy so I hope to pay more attention to my writing now.

Last weekend, August 23, Margo and I once again traveled together for another fun day of competition and training in the Tri world. This time we would be going to Hillsborough, only an hour away. This would be another short sprint Triathlon and both of us would be using it as a fun way to train for bigger events yet to come. The race would be held at the Superplex, a very nice facility with two indoor pools and an ice rink as well as a fitness center.

It was a beautiful August morning, muggy but not too hot as this has been a rather mild August. The drive over passed quickly and we arrived with plenty of time to make our preparations in transition and wait for the swim to begin. I was happy that they had a 2nd pool and took advantage of that to get in a little warm-up swim a few minutes before my start time. Margo and I are swimming close to the same pace so our start times were only 40 seconds apart. I got off to a great start and was feeling good passing the swimmer in front of me after the 1st 100 meters and gaining on the next one. A 100 meters later she let me pass her and I picked up the pace to get clear but soon found myself in oxygen debt and struggling. I had to back off the pace and relax and then let her pass me back and then another young swimmer caught up and I let him go by too. I finally got my breathing back under control and finished ok. I was disappointed when I checked my time in the pool of 8:18, especially considering that I swam so hard. It was only when I remembered that it was 400 meters and not 400 yds that I realized it was the fastest pace I've done in the pool since returning to swimming in June. Oh yeah.

My transition was a little slow but I was soon on the bike and feeling good. I was making pretty good time but I could see that it wasn't going to be easy. The course seemed to be predominately downhill and since we'd be coming back the same way I'd be climbing back up those hills on the return.The course was a lollypop shape with about a 5 mile out-and- back with a two mile loop in the middle. As I came out of the loop I checked my average pace and was very happy to be quite a bit faster than any race so far this year and I felt great. But as expected the ride back was quite a bit harder and I watched my average steadily dropping as my energy faded. I've still got a lot of work to do with my biking, especially developing power on the hills, so I was happy to finally reach the downhill to the finish back into transition.

The 2nd transition went much better and I was out on the run quickly. I was soon running a decent pace on the mostly flat course but there was a steep hill on a side spur we would have to run up just pass the half mile and again around the two mile mark on the double out and back course. I was was barely moving faster than a walk the first time up that hill. That is so frustrating to me knowing that a few months ago I could have charged up that hill with no problem after years of training on the hills of Umstead but hopefully I'll get back to my normal running strength and endurance before long. After turning back down the hill I began to run better and got into a good rhythm and by the time I was going up the hill the 2nd time I felt much better. I finished strong with my best run in a tri so far this year.

Overall it was a good day for me. I wasn't last in my age-group in any of the three disciplines this time. Woohoo! Ironically I have always felt the swim was my weakest link in the tri chain but so far since my return to the sport I have ranked higher in my age-group in the swim than in the bike or run. I guess that's good in a way but shows I've got a lot of work to do on the bike and I need to get my running back to normal.

It was another good day for Margo too and she once again won an age-group award finishing 3rd in the women's 45-49. She is also now 3rd in her age-group in the Trysports Endurance Seires Points standings. Way to go Margo!

Sorry but no pictures from this day.

Here is the link to the race website.

You can scroll down the page to the results links

UNC Wellness Sprint Triathlon

I guess I should have checked the weather report but it probably wouldn't have made any difference. I was going to show up anyway but perhaps I could have prepared a little better. Like maybe put windshield wipers on my glasses for the bike ride.

My treatment for the running injuries continues to improve slowly and steadily but with my commitment to doing an Ironman Tri next year I need to spend more time in triathlon training and what better way than to have some fun and do another race. I was really looking forward to this one since several of my most special friends would also be participating. Jenn would be making her Triathlon debut today. She bought a bike a couple of years ago but had hardly ridden it although she does do spinning classes in the gym. The swim was another area she hasn't worked on too much but with just a 250yd pool swim she felt this would be a good one in which to get her feet wet so to speak. She was a bit nervous about it so a week before we met for a 15 mile bike ride and then a session in the pool so I could give her a few tips and answer all her questions and hopefully boost her confidence a bit. What a great way to spend a day for me!

Margherita was competing too despite having done a 100 mile bike ride the day before as she continues to train for her Ironman distance tri in Wilminton on Nov 1st. She had our friend Maureen along for support. Frank and Karla were there too and Teri Saylor from the NCRC had ridden along with Jenn.

Since it was a pool swim we were seeded by our predicted lap times so I was the first of our group to begin at 7:44. It was a cloudy morning but I didn't even think about rain until about 15 minutes before my time to start when I thought I heard thunder rumbling off in the distance. I headed into the building to line up for my swim and a short time later we saw that it had begun to rain fairly hard outside. Well, I guess that meant all my dry stuff was now all my wet stuff.

I was able to do my swim and felt very good and I nailed my predicted time to within a couple of seconds. I could see Karla and Jenn standing outside the window as I came out of the pool so I gave them a big grin and ran out into the rain to transition. I was in and out quickly and soon out on the bike course. After a flat start for a couple of hundred yards , the course had a couple of fairly steep hills. I was having to be careful going around the turns on the slick roads losing a little time but I noticed right away on the first hill that I was feeling stronger than I have felt so far since returning to cycling.

I had only gone a couple of miles when the bottom fell out of the sky with a deluge along with lightning and thunder. I thought about my friends that had yet to enter the pool and knew that the race for them would have to be delayed. I was just hoping that it wasn't canceled. By now the course had leveled out a lot and just had easy climbs so I was making good time despite hardly being able to see where I was going in the heavy rain. Margo had started in the pool just a few minutes behind me so I thought she was probably out on the bike course too but if she had passed me I don't think I could have seen her. Only two people passed me on the bike and I passed a lot but mainly I was very happy after the 15K ride to have felt good and my average speed was the best for me so far since my comeback in the sport. The rain was finally stopping as I came back into town the last mile.

As I ran out of transition I heard several friends cheer for me so I thought I had been right about the race being delayed. The course began with a hill so I was taking it easy to let my legs come to me and settle my heart rate. By the time I made it up and started down the hill I could tell my legs were feeling better than the two weeks ago in Burlington and I thought I was running a decent pace. There is a short section where the runners share the road with the bikes and I saw none so I now knew they had stopped or delayed the race. It began to rain again but not as hard now and it actually felt good while running. I hit the first mile in 8:40 and was very happy with that. I expected it to be closer to 9. The middle portion of the course was pretty flat so I was pushing right along and feeling good and having fun. I made the turn at the half and just as I approached the 2 mile mark, I saw Margo coming towards me. She was running strong but I could tell from the fact that she was a mile behind me that she had lost time to me on the bike. I also knew that the only reason that was possible was her 100 miler the day before. Otherwise she would have probably caught me.

I ended the run strong in 26:55 and was very happy with my race. The swim had been delayed for 30 minutes and so I walked over to talk to Jenn's parents who had come to watch her race. Jenn was in line with about two minutes before her start when lightning flashed again and once again they made them leave the pool area for another delay. I 'm sure it had to be nerve wracking to have to keep getting delayed before the start of her 1st Tri. I quickly ran back over to the finish to wait with Maureen for Margo to finish the run. She came in very strong but I wasn't surprised. She is an amazing athlete ands very competitive so I knew she would give it all she had even with the tough workout the day before.

Soon it was time to try once again to get the rest of the competitors in the race so I made my way over to watch the swim. Jenn did well , a little faster than she expected. Karla was in the pool just a couple of minutes later so I was watching and timing them both and then cheering them on into transition. It would still be awhile before Frank's swim so I went to change into some dry clothes. Then I grabbed the camera and headed over to the transition to watch them all come in on the bike. Jenn came in looking strong and running quickly into transition followed a few minutes later by Karla. I think the long rides at RAGBRAI had her in great cycling shape. I was watching the time and about to head over to the finish line to make sure I didn't miss Jenn when finally Frank came riding in.

I only had a couple of minutes to wait until Jenn came flying downhill to the finish in a great time of 25:05. Like the ultra's, I think the lady is a natural triathlete. Karla had a good run and then we waited for Frank, who would be the only award winner of our group taking 3rd in his age-group. We could have done without the delay and the heavy rain but it was still a great time and I think overall everyone was happy with their day.

You can see the photos I took here

The Race Website is here If you scroll down to the bottom of the event page you can find the results links.

They made a mistake in restarting the time after the delay so everyone that started the swim after the storm is shown with a swim time about 1:30 faster than there actual time. Otherwise the splits all seem to be correct.

Buckner Mission Man Sprint Triathlon

I was suppose to be running Catherines FA 50K in Massanutten last weekend but with my lack of running and poor condition along with the injuries I made the decision to drop my name from the race and let someone else have my spot. I still had the weekend free so I decided to accompany my friends Bill and Margherita over to Burlington Saturday for a little Tri fun.

I have been continuing with all my treatments for the periformis and hamstring issues and have finally started to see some real improvement. I've been getting in several 5 mile runs in each week as well as the cross-training. Fortunately the swimming and the biking don't cause any pain or further damage so I can do it as frequently as my schedule will allow. Even with the Ironman still a long time away, I know I need to work on the other disciplines a lot and the sprint tri seemed like a fun way to do it. With only a 5 K run I wasn't worried about hurting myself.

I was up way too early and then met the Scotts at their home at 4:45. By 5 we were on the road making good time and arrived at the race site by 6:30 giving us plenty of time to check in and set up in transition. It was a beautiful morning but a bit humid. Just before the start I climbed into Lake Cammack to warm up a little. The water felt great and was a fairly clean lake. Bil and I are in the same age-group now so we lined up in the water together when it was time for our wave to get ready. At the horn we took off but Bill pulled ahead quickly and that was the last I would see of him until the finish. There was the usual jostling in the swim until the first buoy and then I was able to settle in to a comfortable stroke.

This was my longest continuous swim since I started back 6 weeks ago going to the Y so I was very happy to feel smooth and comfortable in the water. I was beginning to tire a little at the end but did ok. We think the swim was a little long but that's not unusual to have a bit of diffenrce in the swim from year to year.

The bike course was a fairly moderate course with a few hills. none were too long or steep but I still haven't spent much time on the bike and none in over two weeks so I think I had actually done 6 rides since my first one in three years last month. I do pretty good on the flats where not much power is need because of my high endurance level from years of ultrarunning but as soon as there is any incline I just don't have any power. I was pedaling my little heart out there on the course and thought I had done ok until I saw the results. I was 24th out of 24 in my age-group on the bike.

The run went a little better and also a little better than in Wake Forest last month. Still hard to run off the bike but I had a little more life in the legs. I just need to start doing some bike-run bricks in training as well as more events. the run course was two loops and 2/3'rds of it was on a double-track trail so at least it was shady. There were several short steep hills , especially at the end of each loop and again I had no power climbing.

Overall it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed spending the time with Bill and Margo.

I forgot to take the camera so no photos I'm afraid. You can go to the race website here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the results

Anita smashes Badwater Double Women's record

This is an e-mail Anita sent to one of her crew:

"Well we did it!!! Thanks to all your great support and the rest of my wonderful crew, I was able to reach the summit of Mt. Whitney from Badwater in a time of 52:17, breaking the previous best time set by a British woman of 52:45. A VERY tough climb and an even tougher descent. The descent took nme two hours longer than the climb. I told you I suck at going downhill.

I completed the double also, breaking the old women's record of 143:25, in a time of 129:44. It was great having Ben and Denise and Kari and Phil there for me. It was 131F coming back into Badwater and there was a headwind of 20-30mph.

Thanks for all your help, patience and effort.

Anita "


Congratulations to Anita the Trail Princess. You are an amazing lady and a great athlete.

Sudden Sadness: A life cut short.

I can only say I was shocked when my oldest son Steven called last night to tell me his mother was dead. Before I could get any details our call was cut-off. I waited for a return call while I tried to process what was happening. Surely this wasn't real. But then a few moments later my younger son Jeremy came to my door to verify the news on his way to her home.
I met Edith while working at the Revco Drug Store in Downtown Raleigh in 1974. My boss told me when I came into work that he had hired a girl for me. A year later on 11-07-75 we were married. Steven was born a little over three years later on 2-23-79 and 8 years later on 3-01-87 Jeremy was born. Sadly Edith fought with her inner demons for many years and our marriage ended over 16 years ago. We long ago made our peace and over the past several years she had finally gotten her life turned around. She has been happily married the past several years to Wes Separk and things seemed to be going well for them.

Please pray for my sons as they deal with the loss of their Mother and for Wes and the rest of her family.

Edith Prince Separk B:12-09-56 D:7-19-08

More adventures of my friends

This is Eric Werner and his friend Andrea. They have just completed a cross-country bike ride across the USA. Immediately afterwards they traveled to Iowa.

Frank and Karla have flown there this weekend and this Sunday morning began RAGBRAI, or Register's Annual Bike Ride Across Iowa.


Seven days and 472 miles across the state from the Missouri river to the Mississippi river averaging 68 miles a day. Frank and Karla have been spending more time on the bikes training for the event and just bought new bikes a couple of days before the Smile Triathlon a couple of weeks ago. I'm sure they will have a grand time touring the state with Eric and the rolling weeklong party.

And a totally different adventure is underway for Boogieman Doug Dawkins.


Doug is a founding member of the Mangum Track Club and race director of the Boogie and the Ellerbe Springs Marathon. Doug is now recently retired and has begun a lifelong dream of running across the country. You can go to his blog for the details of his route and schedule. This will be a mostly self-supported run for Doug. He is carrying a light pack and will replenish along the way and sleep wherever he can find a place to lay his head. As he travels through NC he will have many friends to meet him and possibly crew for short periods but as he moves further west there will be some lonely days on the road. If you have friends or family that are close to the route he is following please contact them and see if they might be willing to offer some encouragement and possibly a little help. Doug would welcome some company along the road as well as an offer of a soft bed and shower occasionally as well as some home cooking. I also have a link to his blog in the sidebar so you can find it easily for further updates of his adventure.

Anita returns to Badwater

Photo: Chris Kostman


Well friends an readers. My friend Anita Marie Fromm returned to Badwater again this year for another attempt at doing a double crossing from Badwater to the summit of Mt. Whitney and returning to Badwater.

The race went well for her and she got her 4th finish in 40:32. You can go to the race website for lots of info and links to photos. She was running a great pace and was in the top 15 overall for much of the race but took a long break in anticipation of going or the return trip too. Once she started back she continued on her great pace and successfully reached the summit of Mt Whitney and set a new women's record from Badwater to the Summit. I was able to reach one of her crew this evening and got an update. She is still moving well and in good spirits. She has had some blister issues but her crew have them taken care of and she seems to be managing them well. I'll let you know as soon as I here anymore news.

Grandfather Mt Marathon, or Why am I here?

Some people can live their whole lives and never discover their life's purpose. I feel very lucky that I was able to figure out why I am here several years ago. It wasn't obvious at first but a series of events starting when I tore my ACL playing soccer in 1998 and up until this past weekend make it clear. I was born to accompany wonderful, intelligent, strong but gentle hearted and yes, lovely women in long distance running events. Yes, I am quite a lucky man.

Some times it is planned in advance but other times it just seems fate has arranged it, but in either case, the best times and memories of the 75 of so ultra's and marathons I've run the past 6 years are those when I ran beside one of the many Angels and Princesses of the sport. I can only marvel at the strong will, tenacity and , perseverance these athletic ladies exhibit on the roads and trails.

Saturday morning as I arrived at Kidd Brewer Stadium on the Campus of Appalachian State University, my only hope was to finish the race without suffering or doing further damage to my banged up body. I was an early arrival and few runners had arrived but that would soon change. The first I saw was Annette Bednosky from nearby Jefferson NC who would win the title for the weekends best combined time in the Bear, the Grizzly and the Marathon. I would spend the next hour meeting and greeting many friends and acquaintances, some veterans of the race and others here to challenge themselves for the first time. Two of the latter would include Lori Schneider and Camilla Nielsen from the NCRC. More on them later.

Soon it was time to line up on the track for the start of the race. I had been planning to at least start with Laura but she was no where in sight. Had she decided at the last minute not to run because of the virus she'd had the past two weeks? No, with 5 minutes to go she made her appearance on the track and so we lined up together in the middle of the pack. The gun sounded and off we went around the track. Within 100yds Laura lost her patience with the crowd and the slow pace so she took off. I lost sight of her in the crowd and thought to myself that she must be feeling a lot better than she let on, so I settled into what felt like an easy pace, knowing that soon the easy downhill into town would turn into a series of long hard climbs.

The first easy mile was about 9 mp and comfortable and then the course turned onto Winkler's Creek Road where the climbing would began. I made a brief pitstop to release the morning's coffee and as I stepped out of the bushes, I spotted Lori and Camilla approaching so I pulled out the camera and them joined in the race with them. Camilla had told me earlier that they ran around 10mp on their long runs so I thought that seemed a reasonable pace for me to be running for now. We had much to talk about and they had questions about the course and my impending Ironman so we were enjoying the beautiful morning and the conversation. Only problem for me was we were climbing a lot of hills and their pace was faster than I expected. I keep expecting them to take a walk break on some of the steeper portions but they didn't slow down and we were running 9:30 pace. Normally that would not be a problem but with my lack of running and especially hill training, I was beginning to struggle to stay with them. Finally on one steep section just before the 5 mile mark I had to give in and walk. They continued but soon they were walking too.

I saw Tony Rouse coming out of the woods from a pit stop so we walked and talked together for a few minutes but then there was a steep downhill. I took advantage of it to make some time and caught back up with the ladies just before the bottom and we resumed our stroll on the mountain together. These ladies were well prepared and feeling better than me and as we started the next climb I was working hard to stay with them. About that time I was surprised to see Laura ahead walking slowly and she didn't look too good. I stopped to check on her and she was ok, but having a hard time breathing and the early fast pace was too much. I decided since the pace with Lori and Camilla was too fast for me if I wanted to finish in good shape, I would stay back with Laura.

Laura and I had a great time discussing many things that friends talk about. She was still running strong on the rare downhill sections but as soon as we would start climbing she would have a hard time breathing deeply enough and would have to walk. I was fine with that because time today meant nothing to me and I was very content to spend the time running with her. We have very few opportunities to run together and she usually is too fast for me anyway. She was a bit frustrated but still in good spirits. Almost everyone that passed us or the rare person we passed, she would introduce herself to them and start a conversation. Funny but that's exactly how I met the young lady at the Carrboro 50K back in 2003.

The miles passed by and we were having a great time. We made it to the Parkway and the views opened up as we headed down the long hill down to Julian Price Park where her sister Michelle and niece were waiting. We made good time down the hill, running about 8 mp but as soon as the road began to turn uphill again she was struggling. The next two miles would be very slow but eventually we turned off the parkway and began the climb up to the 16 mile water stop and the beginning of the gravel road. The gravel road is fairly flat until the steep hill near the end and the turn onto Hwy 221 so I was expecting we would run most of it but after only a couple of 100yds she was walking and nearly gasping. I was starting to really get worried about her now. Part of the problem is she really has a problem running slow so I tried to convince her to run slower and try to keep her heart rate down so she wouldn't need as much air.

Laura simply calls the hill at the the end of the gravel road 17 because it comes at the 17 mile mark. She walks it every year even when running sub 4 and I did too in 2006 because it is just a nasty steep hill at a bad point in the race. We finally made the climb up and came into the water stop there at the intersection with Hwy 221. I took a gel and kept walking onto the highway expecting her to soon be right behind me . But when I finally looked back, she still wasn't coming. She was raised in Boone and knows some people that help out so I assumed she was talking to someone and then I noticed her crouching down. I obviously could have been running a lot faster, even with my problems but I didn't want to leave her behind struggling. I know how long these races can be when you're having a bad day so I started walking backwards up the road and waited until she finally got up and ran to catch up with me. The good thing is the backwards walking stretched my hamstrings and made them feel a little better.

At the halfway point of the race,we were still in good shape to make it onto the track and finish under 5 hours but now at 17 unless there was a miracle turnaround in the way she felt, we weren't going to make that cut-off. A little disappointing but no big deal. We would just kept plugging along enjoying the day and each others company and cheering on the other runners with smiles on our faces. Ever since I had been running with her I had been letting her set the pace and walked when she walked but now I decided to try and choose the pace. It is rare for her to struggle but shuffling and suffering are second nature to me so I would suggest when to start running and when to walk in order to maximize pace and minimize energy expenditure. That seemed to work and after a few miles she seemed to actually began to feel a little better.

Both of us were running with our cameras and were taking shots of the beautiful sites along the way and the miles gradually clicked away until we finally saw the sign that says Grandfather Mountain, 2 miles. I told her if we could run a couple of 6 minute miles we could still make it onto the track. Ha! It's been nearly 20 years since I ran one mile in 6 minutes. Earlier I could have easily pulled away but now I was having to work hard to keep up with Laura when she ran and my legs were getting so tight I had a hard time walking her pace too.

We both agreed that it was a good thing we couldn't run on the track because now we wouldn't have to run up that last stupid little steep hill up to the track . We could just stop at the aid station and call it a day. But although it was a couple of minutes after the 5 hour cut-off when we finally entered MacRae Meadows, they told us to keep going. So I struggled on up that last steep dusty, nasty, hateful little hill. Laura had found a burst of energy and pulled ahead and then as we were about to enter the track she actually had to wait for me to catch up. We ran onto the track but had not even gone around the first turn when the race officials came walking towards us telling us to stop. We were about 300 yds away from the real finish line but our race was done as they handed us finishers medals anyway.

We spent the next bit of time waiting around for the awards ceremony and visiting with friends. Camilla and Lori and Chris came and sat with us and then Camilla and Chris rode on the shuttle back down the mountain to Boone. It was nice to get to know Camilla a bit better and spend some time talking with her. She is a very sweet natured and lovely lady from Denmark.

I had a great time. Sometimes slower is better, especially when you spend the time with special people. I'm a bit disappointed that my hamstrings tightened up as much as they did and I still had some periformis pain but it is still an improvement on how things have been. I feel ok today
and don't appear to have done anymore damage which was my goal so I guess it's all good.

Here are the Photos


Here are Laura's photos

Guess where I'm at?

If you said Lenoir you would be right. Why Lenoir? Because it's cheaper than Boone and I'm here for the Grandfather Mountain Mountain Marathon.

I have finally been feeling better the past week and have been out for several short runs since last weekend. The chiro adjustments are continuing and I had another massage yesterday. Both of them have no problem with me running this weekend so I am here and hoping for the best. When I signed up for the race, my goal was to go under 4 hours on this difficult course. This will be my fourth time running I think? In 2006 when I was in my best marathon shape ever I was on that pace but due to a detour forced by construction on the Parkway, the course was long, about 26.8 miles. I went through the 26 mile mark in 3:56 but although we had detoured, the finish was still on the track and my time was 4:04 in the results.

There will be no attmept at a fast time this year. I plan to take it easy and have some fun and take somephotos along one of the most beautiful road courses in the country. There are many friends and aquaintences from the NCRC and MTC, many who come here nearly every year. It's a challenging but runnable course and usually the weather is a nice break from warmer and more humid conditions back down at sea level. The Trail Angel is running too and she has been sidelined with a virus the past couple of weeks so she plans to take it easy and have fun too. Hopefully we can run some together. Her slow is still tough for me! Neither one of us is being very smart even being here but between the two of us we've done a lot dumber things.

Look for a report and photos soon!

And now, what you've been anxiously waiting for ;

The Big Anouncement !

Rather than re-type everything, I 'll just cut a and paste some slightly edited e-mails I sent to a few close friends.

Subject: Oh my God, no he didn't!?!?!

Greetings friends of Ultraman,

Or should that be Ironman Joey?

Hold on to your hats people, I have lost my mind and made myself out a liar. Anyone want to go to Ironman Couer d' Alene with me next June? Well sign up now while there are still spots.

Click here and go to participants list

Waiting to hear the response?

Ultraman

Subject: re: He was kidding wasn't he?

No, boys and girls, it was not a joke:

So what happened? We know he wasn't drinking and there were no drugs involved, so explain to us how he got himself into this mess.

Well, thats what I was wondering this afternoon as I splashed my way through a 900 yd swim with weary arms that are revolting against this new demand being place upon them. So what did happen?

Well on Monday as I was swimming for the 4th time since re-joining the Y a week ago to get ready for this little sprint coming up Sunday, the Devil was sitting in the lifeguard chair at the end of my lane. I know it had to be the Devil because I kept getting these evil thoughts of actually swimming 2.4 miles even though I was struggling to swim 200 consecutive yards for the first time in 3 years. Yeah, do it Joey. Sign up for an Ironman. You know you've always wanted to do it. Nobody has to know. So what if you told everyone that you hate swimming more than 20 minutes and you'll never ride a bike more than two hours. Who cares you've only ridden your bike twice in 3 years?

I resisted as much as I could. After I got home and sat in front of the computer the evil voice, still ringing in my head was telling me to google Ironman. But I was able to control myself and went to bed but nightmares of never ending lake swims and hours upon hours of pedaling and pedaling with severe bicycle butt haunted my dreams. Finally I awoke Tuesday morning and realized it had all just been a bad dream. I did no workouts all day and just decided to rest.

So then Tuesday I'm sitting in front of the computer and it was like my hand became possessed. It typed in Ironman and the next thing I know there is Active.com on my screen waiting for me to give them my credit card info. But wait! I'm not ready for this I need more time to think! I don't like swimming that much! I hate riding a bike half that long! Noooooo! But then uncontrollably like some zombie, I arose to get my wallet and the next thing I knew I was entered! Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

Ok, maybe it wasn't exactly like that.. Yes, I have told all of you repeatedly of my decision after one half-ironman that I wanted no part of it. But after an absence of 3 years from the sport and the upcoming tri this Sunday I had been giving some thought to entering more tris. And with the injury and the need to cross-train for a while as well as having just renewed my Y membership I've been thinking maybe I need to cut back on the ultra's awhile too. But it is true that the idea to do an Ironman popped into my head while swimming Monday. I just didn't have time to do anything until Tuesday as far as looking into it.

Well it must have been destiny. I had no idea that Cour-d'Alene had just been held over the weekend and was open for registration. That is the one I really thought I would want to do anyway but as fast as most Ironman events fill up I figured I would have to pick a non branded event. In fact when I first looked at the Ironman home website it said Cour-d'alene was closed already but when I went to the race site it said click here to register and I did. Bam ! Reality suddenly set in. Here was a chance to get in and I hadn't really had time to seriously consider if I really wanted to do this. And there was my opportunity waiting for me to commit a year ahead and spend way too much money on something I wasn't sure I wanted to do. Well, I said what the Heck. Just Do it! You know you really have always wanted to do an Ironman since you first saw it on TV in 1982 and if you wait it probably will be full within hours . At first I wasn't going to tell anybody until just before the event next year and surprise everyone but then I decided that I really wanted to share the whole getting ready thing with all of you. I guess you are all surprised anyway huh?

So, I was thinking today whether I need to look up some training programs. But then I thought, how silly of me. Just do as Master JuJu Yoda (Jerry) would say. Train Not! Just Do!

So I'm going to piddle around the house until next May and then I'll have a few weeks to get ready. Ok, not really. I'll do copious amounts of swimming and ride as much as I can and kick some butt next June 21st. I've got a year to decide where to put the tattoo.

Ultraman

Announcement

Well, I promised in a post about my injury that I would be making a big announcement soon. This isn't it! But this is another one and an update. My hamstrings are showing a lot of improvement as well as the periformis but it will still be a while before it quits being angry. I ran the 5k at the Tri without almost any discomfort ( besides being dead from biking) but there was still some stiffness and pain afterwards. I haven't run anymore yet and have been continuing with my treatments and cross-training. I hope to get out for a few miles with the NCRC social group tonight and see how it feels.

Ok, here is the announcement but not the other one that will come later, maybe Friday?

I have given this a whole lot of thought and it is not a decision I wanted to have to make but due to my injury situation and lack of any quality running and training for a while, I am going to have to give up my spot in the Wasatch Front 100 in Sept. It is one of the hardest 100 milers out there and certainly the most difficult I would have attempted and would have required me to be in top shape in order to complete it. With only 8 weeks to go and with me not being able to get on the trails and be climbing mountains to get ready I don't think there is any chance I would be able to finish. It is just too far and expensive for me to go and have a miserable experience.

With my inexplicable meltdown at Hinson Lake last Fall and then dropping at Umstead this Spring along with the pain, I had been contemplating taking a break from the 100 mile/24 hour stuff for a while anyway but was hoping to wait to take that break until after Wasatch but now I know I have to go ahead and give my body and mind a little rest. Hopefully I'll be able to be running decently soon and I will still be competing in other ultra's as planned, just not as often as I was doing them. I plan to be at Catherine's FA 50K in a few weeks using it as a training run and I am going to be at MMTR running with Jenn in Nov. I'll hope that maybe I can do a 50K or two in Sept and Oct. but I haven't committed to anything yet until I see how things go the rest of this month.

Smile Train Sprint Triathon 6-29-08

( More photos added to album. See link at bottom of story)

A triathlon? Yes a lot of you might not know I used to compete in Tri's but I did for 6 years starting in 1999. Actually my first one was in the summer of 1998 but I'll tell you all about that later. Right now lets get back to this one.

I had lost interest in triathlons as I got more serious about seeing how I could do focusing on my ultrarunning so after a disastrous Kure Beach Tri in June of 2005, I had quit the sport. My bicycle had sat in the same spot in a corner collecting dust for three years now, still with the race number from that day attached. I had still done a little swimming but a couple of months later I quit the Y because I just wasn't using the membership enough.
So how did I end up doing a Tri this past Sunday? Well my friends Jerry and Margo have both signed up for the Beach to Battleship Iron Distance Tri in Wilmington coming up this November, (the same day as MMTR so I can't go cheer for them ). Margo had been looking for races to do as part of her training and came across this one in Wake Forest and she copied the Werners and I on the e-mail she sent out wanting to know if we all might be interested. Frank and Karla had just done one low-key tri at SJAFB last year and had expressed an interest in doing some more. It wasn't even on my radar after 3 years but since it was only 10 miles away from home and wouldn't interfere with anything else I had on my schedule I decided to join in the fun. With just a 250yd pool swim and 12 mile bike, I knew I could fake my way through it and the 5k run would be barely a warm-up so I signed up.

I had planned to go ahead and join the Y and start some swimming and maybe ride the bike some but I kept putting it off. I wanted to get Umstead over first and then I needed more time to recover before I started. I was putting in a lot of hours at The Athlete's Foot so I didn't think I would have much time to train so I put it off longer. Then as June was approaching I decided to wait until after my vacation. So finally 2 weeks ago today I finally joined the Y and began swimming and working out as part of my injury rehab. Last Saturday I dusted off the bike and lubed it up , then headed out for a 10 mile ride. I went back out this past Saturday for another 8 to make sure everything was working OK and those two rides would be my bike training over the past 3 years.

Sunday morning I was up at 4:15 and after a little breakfast I made the short drive over to Wake Forest. Since it has been so long I was a little nervous and kept going over what I would need in transition and planning my race. I shouldn't have worried because once things got started it all seemed so natural, almost like I'd never left the sport.
So, anyway, I had plenty of time to get ready. Margo was there along with husband Bill who also was competing as well as their older daughter Stephanie. Younger daughter Gabriella was there too but she was not competing but would be cheering us on. Frank and Karla were there with brand new bikes they had just bought the day before. They had been doing all their riding on Mt Bikes but with Ragbrai coming up next month they were ready to get some road bikes. And of course Jerry was there excited as ever. Also saw Mike Walsh there with his wife Denise who would be starting her first tri ever.

The swim would be 10 laps in the pool at Heritage Swim Club so I warmed up just 100 yds before lining up for the start. We would all start in 10 second intervals making it a time-trail format. They had a glitch in the computer that seeded us because they had me seeded 23 out of 300+ and Margo was 21st. We both should have been mid-pack but we would just have to do the best we could and hope not too many would swim over us. I got off to a good start and was doing a good job staying relaxed. I actually was a little faster than I had hoped and that was even after being held up by a slower swimmer I couldn't get around.

I was a little slow in transition partly due to my number belt being messed up. I should have checked it before the race, but after fiddling with it a while I just put it on loose and hoped it would be ok. The bike course had a few short but fairly steep hills in the first mile as well as 5 or 6 speed bumps but then we would turn onto some country roads for some mostly easy peddling. Of course with no training any slight incline was a problem for me to pedal well but I settled in and by about 3 miles I was feeling ok and breathing well. I expected to average about 16 mph but would have been happy with 15 so when I hit the halfway mark going 16.4 I was very pleased. It was a bit easier pedaling back and I was able to bump that up to 17 overall by the time I finished. Along the way I actually passed a whole 2 people and one of them had a flat. I lost count of how many passed me but it was about 20. Oh well, it was all for fun today anyway. (I'm competitive sometimes. I can't help it).

Yes, I was very happy with the bike but when I stepped off and headed into transition my legs were done. The lack of bike training was showing. It's always difficult to run off the bike but with training it does become easier. I'm a long ways from being there now though so I started out with numb, rubbery stumps that felt like I was wearing lead boots. I shuffled along just trying to relax and keep my breathing and heart rate that were still elevated from the ride under control. It was a hilly run course but I was determined to run the whole way despite the way I felt. I mean its only a 5k!!

Well finally after about halfway I started to regain some life in my legs but I was still quite slow finally finishing it in 29:43. My total for the event was 1:22:27 placing 8th out of 9 in my age-group. They had that wrong too. Before the start they had me at 41 ( I wish) and then still had me wrong in the results at 53 (I'm 52 ). All of us had a lot of fun and were happy with their results. Margo won her age-group and Karla was 4th out of 10. Very good considering she is a novice swimmer and just got her road bike the day before. Jerry also won his age-group and Frank was 4th in it. And Stephanie won hers too. Bill and I have a lot of work to do to move up in our group but we were both pretty happy with the result anyway.

While I was waiting for everyone to finish I saw a familiar face but couldn't remember why. Then she recognized me. It was Kara LaBella. She and her sister Laura had come to the Umstead series runs the NCRC and I put on last year. She had just begun doing tris last year and is doing well. Today she would finish 2nd in the 30-34 age-group and 8th overall woman. Pretty impressive for a relative novice at the sport. ( pretty face too )

Here are the results

Here is the website and some photos I took. I missed Margo and Stephanie and Jerry on the course due to timing with the staggered starts. Hopefully I'll have more photos to add that Frank and Karla took so check back in a few days if your interested.

South Dakota Travels Part 5

Thursday would be my last day in the west and I would began the long drive back to Viborg. My plan was to drive back through the Badlands National Park and then head back. As you drive along the Interstate you can see the outer boundaries of the Badlands area but as you head South and enter the park, an amazing otherworldly place opens up around you. I knew it would be interesting but after going there I think I found it to be the most interesting place I saw on the trip. It's a bit hard to describe so I'll let the pictures do the talking.
I wanted to get in another short run so once I got about 2/3rds of the way around the park drive I came to a parking area at one of the trailheads. There aren't many trails in the park so the choice was easy to make. The photo above was taken along the Capital trail. The trail is marked with metal post every few hundred feet but in areas like in the photo, the trail is not always clearly defined. With the mounds of dirt and rock all around and because of the hard surface, footprints don't show up in dry weather. It would be very easy to get dis-oriented and get lost. Fortunately most of the trail is easy to see once it opens up in the prairie but coming back I got slightly off course. I was only able to regain my bearing because I could catch glimpses of the parking lot when I was on higher ground.

Because of the recent rains the prairie was in bloom with a myriad of wildflowers and I was able to get a few shots of them on the run. I went another 4 miles, feeling ok but fighting a strong headwind on the return trip. Once again it was only about 57F while I was out running. After the run I took a short walk through a fossil interpretive area. South Dakota and Wyoming are known for vast amounts of fossil finds from many eras. In the badlands are many mammal fossils and in other parts of the State dinosaur bones including the worlds largest most complete T Rex have been found. I would really like to spend more time in this area in the future.

Finally it was time to head back to meet Frank and Karla back in Viborg so I began the long drive back east over the prairie. On the way I made a stop in Mitchell Sd to check out the famous Corn Palace which is decorated differently each year with corn over the entire exterior. I was disappointed to find that only the murals were decorated this year while the rest of the normally colorful areas were plain plywood so I didn't take a picture. Here is a site with some from previous years. Then the final hours drive back to Viborg and into another late day thunderstorm. Back in Viborg and more visiting with the Strunk family and then Saturday we drove back to Omaha for the flights home.

I really enjoyed my trip to SD and highly recommend to anyone to visit if they have a chance. I hope to go back someday and spend more time hiking in the beautiful areas I saw now that i have done the tourist visit.

Here are the last days photos

South Dakota Travels Part 4

My destination on Thursday would be Jewel Cave National Monument, about an hours drive southwest of Rapid City. My route would take me back by Mt. Rushmore and then on part of the Needles Highway and onto the Peter Norbeck Memorial Scenic Byway. This was a very beautiful drive over probably some of the roughest terrain in the Black Hills and onto the shoulder of Harney Peak at the border of Custer State Park. Near the highest point of the drive there were wonderfully steep switchbacks, 10moh hairpin turns and sometimes barely wide enough for one car. And all with no guardrails. What fun ! Just make sure you pay attention and have good brakes!

I was a bit worried about going in Jewel Cave because the constant temperature of 49 degrees and I had no jacket but as it turned out, I was glad to finally arrive and get a chance to go inside. This turned out to be the coldest morning yet at 43F and windy. It was a relief to get under ground and warm up. I did have a long sleeve shirt and layered with two t-shirts I was comfortable in the cave . Jewel Cave is now listed as being the 2nd largest cave in the world at 142 miles of passages with only Mammoth Cave in Kentucky being larger. New passages are being explored all the time and a few miles more have been added since the brochure was printed at the Visitor's Center.

Most of the cave is dry so there are not as many formations like in a lot of eastern caverns although there are a few very rare formations in some parts of the cave and one in particular that has never been seen anywhere else in the world. Unfortunately they are not accessible to the public. There is one wet area that was very pretty on the tour though and I got some good shots inside. The tour only covers half a mile in 1.25 hours. The rest of the cave would require crawling through passages about 8" x 18" for long periods. They do offer a short tour for those wanting to experience crawling around that can fit through a concrete block on the veranda outside the visitors center. No Thanks. I'd fit but I ain't going .

The area outside of the monument is the location of the biggest fire in modern history of the Black Hills in 2000 and the landscape is obviously still scarred but also much new life is abounding. After leaving the area I headed to the George S. Mickelson Trail for a short run. There is a trail section and parking area in site of Crazy Horse Mountain so I chose that location to get in a little workout. The trail is a converted rail trail from the original CB&Q RR, which later through mergers was the Burlington Northern at the time it was abandoned and turned over to be made into a rail trail.

It was still chilly, about 55F , perfect for a run but very windy too and the grade along this section is fairly steep by railroad standards. I felt ok after the marathon 4 days prior but the legs injuries were noticeable. I actually ran a decent pace; going downhill. As I was finishing up the run there were once again storm clouds brewing and more rain on the drive back to Rapid City.

Here are the days photos

South Dakota Travels Part 3

So Tuesday morning I was up and out early again. After coffee at Starbucks while I caught up on my e-mail, I headed back into the mountains and over to Mt. Rushmore National Memorial. It was another cool but lovely day in the 50's making it very pleasant for walking around in the sun. Rushmore was very interesting. I think seeing the old photos and videos of the construction were amazing. The area all around in the Black Hills is stunning with the numerous rock formations and greenery. I've never been a rock climber but I've always loved clambering over rocks and there are plenty suitable for that in the area. I took advantage of that to gain some nice vantage points for photos all week.

Here are the photos from Rushmore.

After a few hours I headed down into the valley to the town of Keystone, an old mining town to catch a ride on the 1880 train. While I waited I had lunch and then took a walking tour of the town by some of the historic buildings and mines. I could hear the whistle of the old engine from the train as it headed into town so I headed on over to the depot.
The 1880 Train or The Black Hills Central Railroad is a tourist ride over what's left of a spur line of the original Chicago, Quincy and Burlington RR that was built in the late 1870's to service the mines and communities that sprung up after gold was discovered in 1876. The train today is pulled by a 1920's vintage Baldwin 2-6-6-2 articulated mallet saddletank engine. This engine was rare in it's day and is the only surviving one of it's type. It was actually from a logging RR in Washington State and was purchased by the tourist line for these excursions.
The ride goes from Keystone over to the shops in Hill City, about 10 miles away and then returns for about a 2 hour trip. On the way over there are wonderful views with Harney Peak, the tallest mt in SD and the tallest east of the Rockies at over 7,000 ft. ( The Black Hills are a separate range from the Rockies and lie about 150 miles east of them. Mt Mitchell in NC of course is the tallest east of the Mississippi river) I saw several deer and a half-dozen wild turkeys as well as a bison ranch. There are several mine sites along the way and many of the abandoned structures still stand.
We arrived in Hill City and I could see a lot of the other rolling stock and 3 of the other engines that belong to the railroad. One of the older steam engines is usually just used in TV,and movie scenes and two diesels pull the train during less busy times of the day. The steam engine is the only one powerful enough to pull all the passengers up the steep grades along the route.
On the way back I was getting very chilly. It dropped into the upper 40's and with no jacket and a breeze blowing through the open car it was quite uncomfortable. There are about 19 road crossings along the way so there were a lot of opportunities to hear the whistle echoing through the hills. After I arrived back in Keystone I took advantage of that and chased the train back to Hill City taking numerous photos of the train in action. One shot turned out great and was just a matter of perfect timing. While I waited for the train to come around a bend , a automobile from the same 20-30's era as the steam engine stopped at the road crossing. If not for the modern road signs the picture could have been taken almost 80 years ago.

Here are the photos from the train.

South Dakota Travels Part 2

After we finished the marathon and returned to the Strunk residence, it was time for me to say good-bye for a couple of days and head west to the Black Hills. I drove as far as the Capital, Pierre to spend Sunday night. Lots of open plains and farmland. You pass through the Ft Pierre National Grasslands on the way and for as far as you can see are only gently rolling hills of grass. Boring but with a strange beauty of its own. I could only imagine what it would have looked like 150 years ago with herds of bison roaming around and Indian hunting parties hiding in the grass waiting to strike.

Pierre sits on the banks of the Missouri river and is steeped in history from the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the westward expansion. I walked around town after checking in to my motel and checked out the Capital building to loosen up after the 3 :30 hour drive.

Sunday morning I was up fairly early as usual and after a short visit to the river I was heading further west. I decided that my first destination would be Devils Tower National Monument in the northeastern corner of Wyoming, about 25 miles across the SD border. When I was 12 my family spent four days in Wyoming but we didn't make it into that part of the State and I had always wanted to visit, especially after watching Close Encounters of the Third Kind. If you haven't ever seen the movie you should check it out. One of Spielbergs first blockbusters and Richard Dreyfus was great in the lead role.

It took several hours and I was finally in Wyoming. The area is very beautiful and I decided to do a loop which would take me in both directions around the Monument. I drove through the Belle Fourche river valley and was loving the scenery and in awe of how remote the area is. Also noticed I was low on gas. Should have stopped before leaving the interstate! I had to drive through a cattle drive too as some cowboys were moving a herd to another pasture. I had to ease my way through the cows and then one of the men on a horse rode up and guided them back out of the road.

The first view of the monument was exciting and I pulled over to take the first picture. There would be many more. What an amazing site and every angle is interesting. It is no wander the Native Americans believed it to be sacred ground.
I walked the 1.25 mile trail that encircles the whole monument taking in the views around. It was a cool day, in the 50's so it was very pleasant walking. At one point you can still see the remains of a stake ladder that two local men used to be the first to climb to the summit nearly 100 years ago. On the way out I stopped and sat for a while in the meadow at the base of the monument enjoying the prairie dog town. They were so cute and there were many babies enjoying their first Spring.

I still had plenty of daylight ahead so after barely making it back to the Interstate to get some gas, I decided to head to the scenic drive through Spearfish Canyon back over the SD border. The Black Hills had been through an 8 year drought but now they have been in a period of record breaking rain this Spring. The area was very lush and green and creeks and waterfalls that normally would have been dry were flowing with water. The drive through the canyon was awesome with gorgeous views all around. My first stop was Bridal Veil Falls which can be seen from the road. Later I could see Spearfish Falls off in the distance. Eventually the road comes to a small resort area and there is a parking lot just above the falls. I took the short walk down below the falls. Very pretty and I could feel the spray from the falls across the creek.

After leaving the Canyon drive I drove in the town of Lead, site of the Homestake mine, still the worlds richest goldmine and the reason for white settlers to pour into the Black Hills. I didn't have time to take the tour and it was getting late in the day. Just up the road is Deadwood. It doesn't look anything like it did of course when Wild Bill Hickcock came to town seeking riches in the gold mines. There is a No. 10 Saloon in town but it is a block or so away from where the original one where Hickock was shot was located. In 1876 there were nothing but wood shacks and tents built onto wood platforms and that's what the real saloon would have been. It had burned down and the new one was built later of more substantial material. Here is more history on the Wild Bill.

After a short visit in Deadwood I made the drive to Rapid City which would be the center of my travels for the next few days. It rained everyday I was in the Black Hills but fortunately it would always wait until I was done sight seeing for the day. The first evening in Rapid City a thunderstorm passed through and left a beautiful double rainbow. I got pictures but couldn't get it all in one shot. Here is the photo album from this day

South Dakota Travels Part 1

The first thing we did after arriving in South Dakota was to go to the family reunion for Karla's Mom's side of the family on Saturday. It was going to be held at her cousin Candy and husbands Steve's horse farm about an hour north of Viborg, above Sioux Falls and almost into Minnesota. Just as we were getting close we drove across a bridge over Split Rock Rock. Wait a minute I just saw this picture in South Dakota magazine I was reading last night. As it turned out the farm is on the bluffs just above ther river and Palisades State Park is directly across the river What a beautiful location and to ad icing to the cake a spur line from the Railroad goes right by the house.

All of Karla's family were very nice to me and we enjoyed a relaxing day with plenty of good food. The weather was in the low 70's making it perfect for a picnic. And that picture in the magazine. It was an ad for pontoon boats rides on the river. Steve knows the guys that owns the boat and arranged for us all to take a boat ride. It is a very pretty river with exposed pink quartzite formations along the river giving its name. Then it was time to drive back to Viborg and get ready for the marathon the next morning.

Here are the photos from that day

recovery update

I'm happy to report that I am seeing some improvement in my condition over the last two weeks. I have been very good about sticking with the treatments and workouts that are suppose to aid in my recovery. The chiropractic visits seem to be working in bringing things back into alignment. I had another session with the massage masochist this week and it didn't hurt nearly as much as last week and the muscles are much less tight and knotted. I've been in the pool working on my swimming regularly and sticking with the weights on schedule too. I've been riding the exercycle in the gym a few times and finally went for a 10 mile ride on my real bike for the first time in three years last Saturday morning. The biking and swimming don't seem to aggravate the painful areas and the cross-training will be good for me so I will continue to do them now as part of my regular training.

I have only run 3 miles since the Boogie. That was last Thursday night when I went to the NCRC Social Series at Lake Johnson. I waited for Jenn to show up late from work and we ran an easy 3 miles around the lake. There was a little discomfort but not bad and I was fine afterwards. Probably shouldn't have run but I wanted to run with her since it had been a long time since we'd had the chance to run together.

I've got an important post I'll be writing in the next week or so but first I have to catch up on a few things I don have some free time tonight and this weekend so hopefully I can get caught up here. Look for what's coming up this weekend and I'll also try and post my South Dakota travelogue and photos from the rest of the trip after I left Viborg and the Swan Lake Marathon.