Friday, December 26, 2014

A New Year....

2014- where do I began or end? I have no clue! Looking back to the last week of 2013 the one thing that sort of sticks out in my mind is just really wanting 2014 to be better than 2013. I'm far from perfect but I wanted to avoid going totally off the rails and doing dumb stuff...... 2013 was just craziness with people left hurt and my life pretty much in shambles. If I could get through the year without cratering I was going to be golden! The last 12 months have been pretty even keel personally for me and that's a huge improvement. Had love, lost love,etc but no major hiccups and I've gained a coupla personal friends through that. Running has been the one thing thats been consistent. I wish I knew how many miles I ran this year..... I know its over 2000. 2015 I am logging every one just to push myself. The people I've met through running have just been incredible. Life changing to say the least. Sure the running exploits are cool and I conquered some things that many will never do in a lifetime but going into 2014 it wasn't about that and still isn't. I just wanted control of my life and my behaviors. That's still a work in progress.
  Career wise- I couldn't be happier. I left a industry I still love but needed to grow as a person and am now in one that's real parallel to what I was doing but with new challenges. I'm very blessed!  I hope people who read this can take away that anything they choose to do in life is possible. Everyone has their excuses for not taking control of their destiny but if one really has the desire and the fire in their soul than anything is possible. I've learned that the human spirit is tough. The body is simply a tool for the mind. I've let go of many fears in 2014 and its helped me grow as a person. During a race- no matter the distance- my focus is getting to the next aid station. I dId this during my 1st and only marathon (I sucked) and every race including my 100 mile finish. Life is like that. Sure huge goals are great but in order to reach them I have to focus on the next leg of my journey to my ultimate goal.  It's taken me 47years to figure this thing called life out and I'm still working at it but it's really simple once I found a system that works for me.
2015- man o man- I cannot wait to do this in all facets of my life. One of my biggest priorities is working with a couch to 5k group. More details later but I want to encourage others to take a chance and see if a running group will impact their life as it has mine. I don't know enough to coach nor do I have the desire to but I do plan on mentoring people who want to try running a 5 or 10k and doing things that just a small fraction of our country does. My running- I've already signed up for Bandera 100k and plan on dropping at the 1/2 way mark but we will see... No promises! On the advice of my coach and another mentor I'm sitting out Rocky Raccoon 100 but will be there to probably pace someone 20 miles and help them get their 1st 100 mile finish. The last loop is slow n I could use the time on my feet. I'll run Possum Kingdom 52 miler and train hard all spring for a 100 miler in May. My long term goal is to run Hardrock 100 and a finish in May would get me in the lottery for The Rock. September- another 100 in Arizona that finishes on my birthday. A buckle for my 48th would be kinda cool. October- I have a rematch with Cactus Rose and I hope to be done under 26 hours. As you can see, I want to spend less time in races and more time training, helping others and of course volunteering. I've been a taker for many years and 2015 I plan on giving more than I take. Personally just a balanced life as I have now is great. Life has its ups and downs but if you keep moving forward it gets easier.
  Thanks to everyone who had a part in making 2014 a success. Many people I see on a regular basis and others inspire me at races as they blow past smiling. Some people I follow on social media but we've never met but your desire to succeed does help others and I thank you for sharing. There are people from my past - some I've hurt- but they have a part in making me push hard to be a better person and I thank them as well. Things happen in life that put us at certain places in certain times and it's up to us to seize that moment. May your 2015 be better than your 2014. Go be Awesome!

http://youtu.be/WO0keYA21oI

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Brazos Bend 100

  WOW! I'm not sure where to start putting my emotions and feelings in words on completing my 1st 100 mile race. I keep going back to a conversation I had with Janet in January when she said I had told her I ran but she hadn't seen it. I didn't want to be "that guy." She didn't run but wanted to try it. Together we ran our 1st 5k the next month with my sister Paula. It was cold & crowded and lasted forever. My 3/3 walk run strategy got us through in like :43 or so but we had just conquered the world! 25k at A-OK a month later was colder n icy but me and Janet trudged through it. ALL of the Dallas Dirt Runners pushed me on to higher goals through the spring. I heard of people running 100 miles in March this year and secretly I knew I had to do it. I creeped on FB following Jason B & Aaron C finish their 1st 100 milers and one of Janets co-workers also ran a couple as well. At Possum Kingdom I met my future coach- Jennifer as well as Matt Crownover. Matt said something about a card carrying badass Steven Moore that ran 100's. I knew then if there is another Steven Moore doing it then I could sometime. At Jemez I was blessed to become friends with Steven Monte and I set my sights on Cactus Rose 100 as my goal. Jenn wrote the schedule and I put in tons of miles. Monte was my sounding board all year when I wanted to complain. Cactus was a DNF due to a few mistakes on my part. It dang sure wasn't running the Hot Chocolate 5k! 65 mile training run was good and so the next day I entered Brazos Bend 100. Coach Jenn probably wasn't happy but Monte was willing to pace for 50 so I thought why not? After Big Cedar 100 Monte was eligible for the Texas MegaSlam (run 3 100's & Bandera 100k) so he had to enter the race as a competitor but he insisted on us running the entire race together. What a gift he gave me! Jeopardize his chances at a huge goal to help some guy that just started running......
Loop 1
After giving my front running friend Pompy a quick hug I went to the back and we were off. My strategy was just to grind it out and finish. We ran near Dale the first few miles at a steady pace laughing at his jokes. Well that and giving nicknames to people to identify them later. I had a 6hr goal for the 1st loop. There was 12 water stops so I handcarried water and used my gear for nutrition. The loop was great until 17 and the water stops were empty..... Monte spotted me water until we could get back to the start line.
Loop 2
I was afraid of going too fast after having 8 miles without water so we settled into a 3/3 walk run. Mile 27 stomach issues hit me hard. The Tailwind I drink for calories as well as the Cliff Bars wreaked havoc on my stomach and I was off in the woods before continuing commando. Near mile 37 we picked up a older lady to run with us. She was doing her 1st 50 miler and just wasn't sure. It was awesome having her. I'm sure my stomach issues will make her stay off trails in the future but we got her to the finish. We laughed a ton and just made the best of a crappy situation. Embrace The Suck! That's all you can do and keep running.
Loop 3
We wasted alotta time. Changing clothes, aid stations, etc. my stomach was wrecked and all I could eat was Gu's,a little coke and water. Every aid station Id just load up on Gu's and try not to throw up whatever food I tried. In spite of all this we were still laughing.... We finished that loop at 3am.
Loop 4
The 1st 3 miles I could still walk/run and maintain a decent pace. After that we were just waiting on the dawn of a new day and walking. It was Steven's fathers birthday and we were finishing this race. We laughed and cried a lot during these 25 miles. LOTSA stuff is between us but I'll take this loop to my grave. Just a real emotional gut check. Mile 87 aid- we were told we were in last place and might not make it. I called BS and started back running. I think we made up close to a hour until mile 98 and I got in a dark place. Monte was patient and let me sort it out and we pushed to the finish. He wanted me to cross 1st and I wanted to cross together but he won that arguement.

 This year has been a crazy ride. Dallas Dirt Runners have helped me soooo much. There is just too many to name individually. Everyone I met at a race this year had a hand in this. Janet got me going. Jennifer Kimble & Steven Monte believed in me 110%. I had a few naysayers along the way. I didn't have a running base, blah blah blah.  They were probably right but I pushed on. A lady named Chris told me in March that you have to want to run a 100. You can't do it for anything else.  Dang she was right! It's hard and not something you can push people to do. Everyone who has been a part of this journey I thank you. God has blessed me with great friends and supporters and all of you were on my mind during this run. Runners & Non Runners alike. What's next? Ehhh I dunno yet but it'll be a distance with 3 digits. I guess I really like to suffer as John Sharp would say. LOL I want to help others. Not just to run 100 or even a 5k but to help them take control of their lives. 5k to 100 miles in 11 months has shown me that the human spirit is capable of anything it wants to do. Til next time- Run Strong