rambling and racing???

well, for me the season ended after AC. now what to do next year??? do i do a lot of races? or do i go into that little 100 in june without doing any races and just train??? i think it worked pretty well for a sorta fast dude in '07. oh, i guess he's pretty fast, heck he just went out in that little ol' race and led from start to finish and looked great doing it... (hal coming into dusty corners looking fresher than any other of the top ten at the time)
when i do races leading up to a 100, i run "with effort" but never really taper for them. they are just part of the weekly training. i have to say it is nice to not having to carry six hours of fluids like you have to in training runs. that is why i like doing races as training runs.

I can't wait for next year..
but not sure if i want to take a different approach next year???

what races will i do next year???

well, the "big dance" of course. it will be nice to toe the line with brother that day. nice to hear reports from the back of how he is doing.

but, do i run waldo again?

or is leadville in the picture? (it is the same day as waldo) i love waldo and i just don't know how long it will be here (10 years???) (there have been 7 years of races, i've ran 5) (mike burke is the only one to run them all. chris thornley and i have ran the second most, at 5). afterall, craig and curt put in tons of work and don't know if they can do more than ten years of being RD's. just look at how many trees they clear each year... over 250 as of late each year. and that is a lot of work for anybody and these guys still find the time to train for their own races...
(those are some pretty fancy arm panties craig)

then a september 100 is always nice. it has seemed to work for me in the past after doing a june 100.

some day i would like to do CCC but that is only a week after waldo. and i am no mike burke or sean montgomery who did them back to back in '06, ouchie mamma.

then there is javalina... (will be on halloween next year) bili has run well there... yea, two times, two wins, not bad i think... (way to go brother!!!)

(jeff, on his way to a second win at javalina. not as fancy arm panties as craig)

do i want to pretend to run fast there???

reflecting back on a funny moment i had at AC... i was at chilao aid station, mile 52.8, and a nice aid station lady noticed i didn't have a pacer... she asked if i wanted one? i kindly said that i didn't want one as i was too slow to torcher someone for the next 15 hours. she then proceeded to call for "bob" to pace me. i said i was fine and i really didn't want to bother anybody. she continued to call for "bob"... thank goodness "bob" had left the aid station. i could just enjoy the rest of the night and not put anybody else through this pain. afterall, i walked every step of the last ten miles. who would want to pace anybody doing that???

so, i look forward to next year. i look forward to watching friends accomplish their goals. and i look forward to taking more pictures of friends at races.

and now, the minnesota vikings won and the oregon ducks won on the same weekend. i think this is only the second time all year. i do miss watching those "purple people eaters" like in years past. anyway, way to go viks!!! now let's just get them out of the dome. play in the elements like football was ment to be played.

so, now it is time to focus on the "big dance". i've known the spits i've wanted to hit for the last 2 1/2 years. i won't be fast but i still have goals. i want to run cal street a little better but i really want to run better from the river on in... i already know where i can make up almost 10 minutes from brown's bar to hwy 49. (i didn't run much of this last time) also want to run better after leaving robinson flat. i just didn't run to millers defeat as well as i should have.

then my next goal is for my pacer to have fun. i want to be "running" when i pick her up. i want her to enjoy the race. she dropped at the river in '07 and said she wants to see the last 22. i said i hope she doesn't see a whole lot with me that day in june... (i want it to be in the dark at that point in the race!!!) i just don't want to do the "death march" the last 38. i want to run a bit those last 38.

(i don't know the course as well as craig, AJW, or brother, but i do try to be a student of the game. i will be doing the memorial day training run again this year...

(ajw at michigan bluff in '07, getting ready to put the hammer down...)
brother crossing the river at mile 78. nobody cheering for him as nikki was just in front of him. i was cheering for him though...

so now, i will just show up to some fat ass runs in january. fun way to see friends the first part of the year.

i am now ready to enjoy great friends and great trails getting ready for the "big dance".

i will leave you with this...

fitness cannot be borrowed, bestowed, or even bought. like honor it must be earned.

see you on the trail...

how to finish a 100 when not completely fit

well since june i haven't been running much and it shows. what i would like to share with you today is what i learned from this.

if you ever want to run slow in a 100 i will try to give you some tips so you don't faulter in barely finishing a 100 under the cutoffs. believe me, this takes practice. i did my little runner-up training run at waldo 100k by running DFL for almost 3 hours. it was here at Angeles Crest 100 where i wanted to perfect this mastery of running pathetically slow for 100 miles and still complete the race.

here are a few tips that helped me accomplish this goal...

1. come into the race 15 pounds over weight...
-- i came into the race weighing 155 pounds. a full 15 or so pounds heavier than any other 100 that i have done. here you go, you get the picture. (states '06, 142lbs, rio '06, 141lbs, kettle, '07, 141 lbs, rio '07 142lbs.)

2. come into the race still with flirting with stroking out...
--yes, you see, 159 over 98. and that is on meds!!! oh, this is fun f$%king with the nurses taking your blood pressure. they love this shit.

3. come into the race as a seeded runner...
-- yes, i was seeded to run under 24. oh, if the rd only knew how pathetic my training had been and how the pilsbury dough boy showed up wearing #101 he would have thought twice about that seeding order.

4. come into the race plannng on sitting at aid stations...
i have never sat at any 100 before this one. but you guessed it. this lard ass had to sit for a few at aid stations in this one. i did and i accomplished my goal. that said, i think i actually bent some legs on a chair at idlehour... wow, what a lard ass...

5. come into the race to waist a lot of time... take a lot of pictures...


6. come into the race gazing at the morning sunrise... do this often...

7. come into the race gazing at more morning sceneries...

8. come into the race at noticing how you can't catch your breath at the elevation you are running at... i did, many times...
9. come into the race thinking you might not halusinate... wrong, i did, i thought that white rock was a mountain goat... what a dork...

10. come into the race thinking you can climb like a goat... i did... needless to say i was wrong about a million times... (click on picture to magnifiy... you see what i see, right?)

11. enjoy the views way longer than you should during a race... i did... but really they were awesome views...
12. gander at folks that pass you... i got really good at this... the training is paying off...
AC is a great race. if you ever want to run a 100 slow. i hope i was able to help you down this slow road. i have only offered a few tips, but i hope some of them help you achive your goals of also running really slow in a 100...

states

see you all at the "big dance" #336. watch for M9 to put together a great show. go bro, step on the peddle on the right after foresthill...

game on...................................................................


(not my pacer below)





Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

team oregon

with the help of olga we were able to put together "team oregon" shirts this year. kevin wasn't doing it this year so i figured since it is so hard to get into states that i wanted something to remember it by. olga had connections with sporthill (and i didn't want a cotton shirt) so we went through with it. we had to wait to see who all won themselves in so we had to wait until miwok was done. the price came to $15.50 with the "team" pricing. hope everybody likes them...

ws training camp

went to the ws training camp. good way to see the course again. tried to take note of different sections. was running with mark lantz and tim tweitmeyer the first day. mark said he had never seen the trail so mucky. gettin down to the swinging bridge was an adventure to say the least. the second and third day the trail was wonderful. the sun even tried to come out a few times.

tim, "don't go that way"

deadwood cemetary

twiet, the swinging bridge
devils thumb, i finally see it

"the pipe", or "kuput spring" the halfway point of the race, mile 50. but we all know that most likely foresthill, mile 62 is the real halfway point in the race. did somebody break the pipe? i filled my bottle for cold water here in '06. very nice. sorry for the blurry picture.

mark lantz, the bottom of eldorado canyon

walley hesseltine in middle getting into michigan bluff

climbing up to bath road, hagg lake mud transported?

i would like to be here before lighting the torches on race day

runner on cal street

you hear the river and see the river but for us mortals you are still 3 hrs from near side when this first happens

rock bench built for barbra schoener after being attacked by a mtn. lion, below

it was fun seeing some of the speed racers out there too. mark ran with skaden the last two days. i got to run with rena schumman, and walley hesseltine, ultra legends. what a weekend.

one month away. two more weeks of solid effort in training need to be done. looking forward to the hard work.

good luck to those doing kettle, mohican, and bighorn. have fun speedracers.

important race for me too...

ok,
i know that states is not the hardest race. yes, it can be like a circus getting into some of the bigger aid stations. but i do love this race. i look forward to doing this little thing as much as the big guns. ok, i'm a rookie. i've only had the pleasure of running this race once.

it was my first 100. yes, you can argue that nobody with a 100 shouldn't be aloud in but i trained as hard as anybody that first time. i had 10 100+ mile weeks along with doing rooster rock hill repeats a few times just like LB has.

even though i have only ran the race once i can still visualize much of the course. i've read LB's course description a dozen times, no less. i will be going to the training camp again. i would love to hang out with brother and the gang at their training camp but i am just too slow to do that.

do i think about the race a lot???

starts off with my coffee mug. i have used this western states mug every day since my pacer bought it for me two years ago.

i proudly show my WS license plate rim after my pacer bought it for me.

i wear a WS polo shirt to work at least once a week.

during the winter many days i will either have a WS sweat shirt on or a fleece that i was given.

i was given a gift this year of a WS running hat. i wear it in many of my races now.

i have a sticker on my truck that says "100.2" the length of the trail.

i know the splits i want to hit the last 38. i have known them for almost two years now.

and yes my old # is still on the fridge like i mentioned before.

for this race it is almost like a measuring stick. why? because almost all have ran it. yes, there were snow years. and some hot years. the course was short for a few years. but it is here you can see how you stack up.

will i place high, heck no. i'll be lucky to place in the top 25%. will i get to the river in the daylight. nahhhhh.

but i intend to have fun, run my best. and i will again try to gap my pacer once or twice for a bit of fun.

this is still a race to me even though my finishing time will not be impressive.

this is a race. i will not be getting a michigan bluff burger on my way to valcano canyon.

and for the dubious honor of being the "fastest bronze buckler" in '06. i hope that getting silver this time will put that to rest. dang it!!!

#'s

# 336

lots of seeded runners for the little get together in june. notice one former top ten is not. no biggee. he knows how to run the race no matter what # he pins on at 4:30am.

a few asked for specific #'s. and i am sure some were just given by greg like 71yr old Karsten Solheim and 70yr old Ralph Hirt.

mine was #366 two years ago. and by the way that same worn out # is still pasted to the fridge.

and yes, i have used my mug that my pacer got me after finishing every day since that race.

it's gunna be fun.

meeeee wallkkkkk... afterthought...

well, i will post a bit about last weekends race...

for me the middle part of the race was a sloggfest. walking, shuffling, walking, more shuffling, and more walking. how long did this go on??? 4-5 hrs. gad i was a pathetic mess.

i tryed to run with friends. but nooooooo, tom can't run up that hill. yes, i call that a hill. oh, it is not as steep as your driveway??? i don't care, it resembles an uphill.............. yea, that is what i was thinking.

as friends moved on down the trail ahead of me i was worried about getting to the finish before dark at one point. i think that was the only motivator to keep going because i didn't have a light.

i just wanted to get accross than darn finish line and hear how chickenhawk did. he was in third when i saw him after he made the turn around. i knew it would be a battle for him as jon olsen just looked too fresh three minutes back at that point.

french kiss yelled at me for taking her picture. she said this was a race and i should be running. just behind her the colonal didn't look super fresh but i think he had a pretty good day. i think he even got a pr. cool, now he just has to put that same kind of race together for the big dance.

well for me i ended up hooking up with a friend that is always way out front of me. he was struggling too. we hung out for two aid stations.... 3+ hours!!!!!! gad it was slow. he finally sat and let me go.

well, i finally realized i was going to finish after 12+ hrs of slogging. the only good thing is i took 90 pictures and some came out.

the bad part of the race is i didn't see the ice cream at Pan Toll. oh, that pissed me off when i found out about that. and to kick a guy when he is really down, they had pizza at hwy 1 and i didn't know about that either!!!

well, the best part was seeing brian gains finish his first 100k. very cool. he paced me at kettle last year.

funny when he asked me how fast i would be running at mile 80 in the race when he picked me up last june... "8-9 minute miles tom???" a no brian... that would be about 12-14 minute miles. i still chuckle about that question.

to be honest i had a split chart made out months ago for the little get together the third weekend in june. now i'm thinking about the only good i have for it is throwing it in the river as i'm running cal street IN THE DARK. oh, i wanted to run most of that in the light but i am not so sure that will happen now. yea, LB, AJW, brother, the colonal all don't have to worry about that. they will be on the far side by about 6:30 pm. but i'm just not like those speed racers.

so for now i am just hoping doing a 50 the weekend before and knocking off another 100 mile week had something to do with my so called mee waaaalkkkkk race. argghhhh

so i will be seeing some of you at the mac this weekend. i'll be sweeping and i will be walking a lot of that too. but only because i know of a runner that will be taking over nine hours on that course. i think i will do some repeats behind him to get a little running in for the day.

have a good weekend speedracers

miwok 100k, 5/3/2008

pictures from miwok here

results here

i got a sunburn in san fransisco!!!