I am a father of 5 that fell in love with running and I am trying to be an inspiration to my kids. Most of my miles are logged on the dreaded treadmill.
I am always looking for a challenge and am willing to challenge myself.
I have been looking forward to attempting an ultramarathon for some time. Even though I signed up for The Hawk 50 miler earlier this year, that doesn't mean that it actually stuck in my head that it was actually going to happen. For those that don't know, an ultramarathon (according to Wikipedia) is defined as "...any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195 kilometres (26.219 mi)." They typically start at 50 km, or 31 miles...then go to 50 miles, 100 km, and 100 miles. There are several other distances that care covered, but these are the most common. My longest race to date has been at the G.O.A.T.z Trail Run back in 2014 and I ran ~21 miles. And I've done some half marathon distances and an endurance event (read Obstacle Course Race, or OCR) that was the Spartan Race Beast that was ~12.5 miles up and down the Tenmile range of the Rocky Mountains in Breckenridge, CO. So, going up to 50 miles is a leap no matter how you look at it.
I wish that I could say that I am excited about running this race, but I am not. Okay, let me correct that....I REALLY AM! I'm scared that I will let myself or others down and not be able to finish. I'm also scared that my lack of training, to how well I want to be trained, won't be enough and I won't be able to continue or complete the race in the allowed time and that I will miss a cutoff. I know that I have a very, VERY generous cutoff that I am up against (31 hours), but it is still a fear of mine given my lack of experience.
I signed up on January 7th of this year. I figured that I had plenty of time to train for it. Did I do enough training? No. HECK NO!!! Life's ups and downs have kept me mentally stressing and not focused on it. A couple of months ago I created a training plan. A pretty aggressive one. I started okay, but my long runs tended to suffer and get cut short or left off for one reason or another. So, I am naturally worried about what I can do. According to UltraSignup.com, it estimates that I should be able to finish in around 15:28:07. That is 15 hours, 28 minutes, and 7 seconds. When I have looked at how I have been running my goal was to finish in under 15 hours. According to them I will be close. I am not totally sure how I will do, but I will give it everything that I have that day. Maybe I will be fast enough and they "let me" upgrade to the 100 miler and I totally kill myself. Bahahahaha! Not likely!
If you want to track me that day they will have live tracking available from Timer Guys. The website is timerguys.com. Since the event isn't going on all you can do is find the general description of the event HERE. The 50 mile starts at 7:00 AM CDT on September 8th, 2018. My bib number is 586.
Oh, I did forget to mention something. September the 9th is my birthday, so this is actually going to be a run to celebrate my birthday this year! Maybe every year if I get daring enough to make it some sort of tradition for myself.
You read that title correctly! I got an email from Kevin at Orange Mud last night. He is the Social Media Manager for Orange Mud. I have used a couple of different water bottles from Orange Mud and I currently am using the Double Barrel HydraQuiver quite regularly. I'm eyeing the HydraQuiver Vest Pack 2. There are 2: version 1.0 and version 2.0 with some improvements. We'll see if I get one of them. If I do get one, I will need to do it soon so that I can break it in. Why you might ask? If you didn't read my last post (Time For Changes) then you don't know that I am signed up to do my 1st 50 mile run next month. I am running The Hawk 50. This will be my 1st Ultramarathon attempt. I would want/need to get used to running with it beforehand.
If you have never looked at Orange Mud before, they are worth checking out. OBVIOUSLY! I use the products, isn't that enough reasoning!? If not, how about this...the CEO/Founder, Josh Sprague, created the products originally out of his own need to fill his own void. Once he found that it worked he figured others might want a similar tool in their hydration arsenal. Thus Orange Mud was born from Josh's destroyed gun holster and the Kansas clay that he runs on so often. There are are hydration packs for running, biking, SUP, and plain old walking. They have "The Wrap" (seen at left) that is a towel that velcros around you at events so that you have a towel to change behind or simply keep things clean. It also can wrap around your car seat to keep it clean like Caden and I did after a mud run. And no fitness company would be complete without some specialty clothing and gear bags.
For all of my friends and family that either want to try the products, or expand their current lineup...I have some good news for you. You can use the code CECILVFRIENDS to get 15% off! How is that for awesome!? You can benefit from me running for Orange Mud!
Me sporting the Double Barrel HydraQuiver at the Market to Market Relay in Nebraska.
Over the course of the past several months our household has been undergoing some changes. Some good, some bad. All of them are happening, so we have been working together to deal with them in the ways that we can. One of the things that we have changed is the addition of a new workout space at home. If anyone reading this knows me at all then you know that most of the miles I log are on a treadmill. In the past this was done over lunch a lot at work for what I was calling "RUNCH". (I borrowed from another runner the term "RUNCH".) At the end of the Summer to the beginning of Fall I lost my job and this ability was stripped from me. So, I started using our family membership at the gym we had been members of while searching for a job. I did find a new position and started just about 2 months after I lost my previous position, but the workout facility is much more limited. I still have access to treadmills at work, but I have been busy learning things that I haven't utilized the space much. This is where the addition of this new space comes in. I am now the proud owner of a treadmill!!! Thanks to my amazing wife! We searched and found one that we could afford to help us all out. Now I have the convenience at home and can run a little easier. It is a good thing because I have something big coming this year.
Ever since I ran the G.O.A.T.z Trail Run and did the 21+ mile run I have not returned to trails for a run. Now, one might say that the Spartan Race in Breckenridge and other OCR that I have done count. I am talking about a trail run, not an OCR. That long run was some time ago. Now, I have been watching several runs and checking out ones that I want to do....eventually. One of these is called The Hawk in Kansas. They have 3 distances at this race: a trail marathon, a 50 mile, and a 100 mile. My goal race is to complete at least one 100 mile race. Obviously getting there means that I have to work for it and probably hit some of the shorter runs after it. In the past I have attempted a road marathon twice and had to drop to the half both times for different reasons each time. Well, the stars aligned and I trained my butt off for Breckenridge. Let's see what I can do for a trail race. I have officially signed up for The Hawk 50 on September 8th, 2018. It is going to take a lot of work to get ready, but I know that I can make it.
Lately I have been thinking about my life and how my training fits in or should fit in. I know that I will never be an elite and I will likely never have a podium finish or be good enough to qualify for The Boston Marathon or Western States, but that isn't going to stop me from running or exercising to better myself. I have had and want to continue to have amazing experiences with friends and family; not to mention the creation of new friendships. So I will continue to do these long runs, OCRs, wacky runs, or other fitness events to help keep me healthy and to make life interesting.
For a while now I have entered different giveaways, winning some and losing most. However, I still enter because it is always nice to dream. In this same spirit I have a race ahead of The Hawk 50 that I will be running thanks to GNC and me being a Pro member. They gave away 5 entries into any Spartan Race in the US for the remainder of 2018 and I happened to be 1 of those 5. So, I chose the Spartan Busch Stadium Sprint in St Louis, MO after I spoke to a buddy that is going and have a troupe going together.
As I was looking at hotels Sierra came and asked me what I was doing. I told her that I was looking hotels for the race and she asked if she could go. Including a point that she has never got to go to a race with me. I didn't think that she was serious at first, but it turned out that she was. I looked and they do have a Spartan Kids race that she can do. I spoke to my wife, then talked with Sierra about needing to do extra training specifically for it including some straight runs beyond what she does for all star cheer. She said, "Wait!!! I CAN GO!!! YEAH! Dad, I need a training plan." I knew that Spartan had a Kids Training Plan that I could easily download and give her as a base and we'd build on that. Needless to say, she is excited to run her first OCR and go with me.
Sierra's 1st training run with me.
In support of my needs to train (or practice) I am happy to be a Nuun Ambassador (otherwise known as a Nuunbassador) for a 3rd year in a row. I have been using the products to help with hydration for several years. As of my training for the Spartan Beast last year I started using their Nuun Performance line to help with other needs. It has the electrolytes that I need to stay hydrated, but it also incorporates carbohydrates to help support your energy needs. I just ordered some Orange Mango as I have been using the Blueberry Strawberry. My worry is that my stomach will react to the orange part, but I will see as I train for The Hawk and whatever comes my way this year. Tiny chance I'll also sign up for the Hitchcock Hundred's 50 mile. Very tiny chance!
To help support me even further I was honored and welcomed into the Honey Stinger Hive as a Honey Stinger Ambassador for 2018. Not something that said too much about in the past, but I have used the Waffles quite a bit. They are very yummy! I also have used the Chews, but those have become my race gummy bears when I need that something sweet during a run. I have used the gels once or twice, but have bought a small stock for now to get me going and to find my favorite flavors. There is a Mango Orange that might pair well with the Orange Mango Nuun Performance. I haven't tried that combo just yet.
And for a bit of entertainment. There is a musician/dad/runner named David Rosales. I found him recently on the Ultrarunner Podcast (URP) and he has this amazing song that incorporates his running and being a family man into one awesome song. So, for your viewing and listening pleasure...."Good to Be Alive" by David Rosales.
