Really stupid...

If an idea is good, it's on the verge of being stupid. ~ Michel Gondry

I have always had this theory… get a group of people in a room, throw out a bunch of ideas and at the end of the night, look at your list to find the most idiotic and that's the one you should do.

This blog was spawned from one very stupid idea - run the Leadville 100. I gave that a shot in the summer of '07 - completed 73 miles - and survived. The blog lives on...

RunStuRun has moved to http://www.runsturun.com

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Stu = Gigantic Wuss...

How would you like that? Burnt to a crisp or bloody as hell? ~ Buddy Holly

Yesterday: Hike - GGCSP, ~1 hour
Today: Swim - GCRC, 30 minutes
Tomorrow: Ride - Neighborhood, 1 hour

I just received the best email ever. Just after the race, I sent an email to Anton Krupicka, two-time Leadville winner, to congratulate him on his win and ask him if he had any tips regarding how to better protect one's feet while running ultradistance events. Here is his reply:

Hi Stu,

Thanks for your note regarding Leadville. On the whole, it ended up being a pretty decent day for me. Regarding foot issues while running...I'm probably not really the guy to talk to about that! I never wear socks because i don't like the extra weight (they absorb a lot of sweat and stream water) and i like feeling closer to the trail, but this doesn't mean that i don't have some skin issues. in a race, i just make sure to wear a pair of shoes that i now haven't rubbed me the wrong way in training, but this means i often get little hotspots and sometimes draw a fair amount of blood in training. for me, it's not really an issue on the really long runs because once the blister starts bleeding a little it seems to get lubed up and doesn't bother as much. the next day can be pretty rough, though. i know that sounds pretty rough, but it's really not that bad.

good luck, and i hope you garner a finish in the future!

tony

So there you go. I didn't manage to come close to putting my feet through that kind of torture. Man, that was great. You HAVE to love that.

Here's to hamburger feet.

~stubert.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Hikin'...

I got a job makin' money for the man, throwin' chicken in the bucket with the soda pop can. ~ Beck

Yesterday: Swim - GCRC, 30 minutes
Today: Hike - Raccoon Trail, ~1 hour
Tomorrow: Swim - GCRC

I worked my ass off today then treated myself with a fun hike with Rach. My foot is still a bit jacked but not so much that a mellow hike didn't do me some good. It is awesome up here this time of year. Cool temps, afternoon thunderstorms. Good stuff. The mushrooms were out in full effect and the leaves have not yet begun to turn but are showing signs of the upcoming season. Winter is just around the corner.

Yesterday, I went to Shirley for a massage and then to Dr. Dave for a much needed adjustment. I was all jacked up. It is amazing to me what he can do. Shirley too. I left both appointments feeling like a new man. My legs were a bit sore and Shirley found a neat spot on my back that just killed. My lower back was all out of whack making my legs pretty much worthless. Dr. Dave fixed me right up, however. Rocketh on.

Other than that, not much is going on. Still just taking it easy, jonezing for a run, and working like crazy. I trotted a bit on the hike tonight and felt fine but know that I need to give it more time before I really go out and hammer anything. I want to get at least one more good Indian Peaks run in before the snow sets in. I should be able to get in a couple before mid October. I'd like to do Pawnee/Buchanan for sure.

Anyone know a good architect? I am thinking of razing our garage and building a new one but need to talk with someone who specialized in this stuff to see if this is a jackassed idea or not. I really like where we live but wish that we had a larger garage to keep all our crap out of the elements. The weather up here just beats the hell out of cars and whatnot. But I digress...

Movie stuff:
Last night, I watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I really despised this movie when I first saw it but have been reading the books and thought it might be amusing to re-watch it. Ya know, it is still a pretty godawful movie. It was certainly more entertaining having read the books but I am of the opinion that movies should stand on their own merit. This one, really doesn't. And most of the acting is atrocious. And some of the effects are really special, while others are just not. Oh well. I'll keep watching the series now though, if just for laughs. Sometimes bad is good.

l8s

~stubert.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Nothing to see here...


You changed your name to McLovin? ~ Evan

Yesterday: Swim - Gilpin County Rec Center, 30 minutes ~1/2 mile
Today: Nuthin'
Tomorrow: Massage/Chiropractor/Swim (maybe)

Recovering nicely, I think. I am still pretty exhausted, that much I know and my foot still hurts quite a bit, but I am getting better. I have even caught myself wishing I could go for a run. Weird.

Not much new to report, really. I have two toenails with which I am pretty sure I will eventually part company and one other that doesn't look so great. We'll see what happens with those guys. Maybe I can auction them on eBay. If nothing else, they can join Rach's collection of Kingfisher puke and tarantula "skin".

I have a busy day planned for tomorrow with visits to Shirley for some post-race torture and then Doctor Dave for an adjustment to see if I can make my other shin behave. It actually seems to be doing a bit better today but keeps swapping leads with my foot for lingering-est injury. (Yes, I realize this is only a week out so really I should shut my yap.) Really, I expected to be much more crippled than this. Did I do something wrong? Should I not be pining away for the time when I can start running again? I think I broke my brain.

I'll keep you posted on progress.

Movie stuff:
The other day, I went to see the new movie, Superbad. This was a vile, profanity-laced, disgusting portrayal of life as a highschool goober. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Take your mom.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

This time last week...

The moments of the past do not remain still; they retain in our memory the motion which drew them towards the future, towards a future which has itself become the past, and draw us on in their train. ~ Marcel Proust

Yesterday: Swim - Gilpin County Community Center, 30 minutes
Today: Walk
Tomorrow: Ride or swim

This time last week, I was tromping through Aspen groves somewhere between Half Moon and Twin Lakes. If memory serves, I was trying to time my arrival in Twin Lakes to be somewhere around 12:15 (race report says 12:21, sweet!) and I was starting to experience some strange goings on in the physical realm. I remember that my skin had become sore to the touch, my nerves would fire if shaken or tapped (not unlike hitting your funny bone but requiring far less trauma to initiate) and blisters on my right foot had begun to create enough problems that I was unconsciously adjusting my gate to the point that I was over-pronating. This would be the first step to my overall downfall at Leadville.

Despite all of these problems, I was somehow calm and relatively collected as I alternated running with walking on the beautiful singletrack just north of Twin Lakes. I felt at peace. I had a task on which to focus and I kept moving - steadily making my way to mile 40 and beyond. As I approached uncharted territory (+8 hours and +35 miles), I felt a certain satisfaction in that which I had achieved and knew I had more in me. Many of you have heard me talk about the Horrible/Wonderful. I was certainly in it 7 days ago. And you know what? I loved it.

It is interesting how different parts of me hurt on different days. I must admit, I actually feel remarkably well considering what I put my body through last week. I wasn't nearly as sore as I thought and expected fairly extreme localized pain coupled with more general soreness. Frankly, I was more sore on a general level after several training runs. I am not sure if this is a good sign or a bad sign. Either it means I didn't push hard enough, or I conditioned and trained my body to accept the beating and therefore, I didn't suffer as much after the fact. I'll go with the latter.

My feet definitely took the brunt of it. I still expect to lose a couple of toenails (they are going through some interesting color-shifts currently) and the outside of my right foot is still giving me troubles. Yesterday, my right shin was the worst of it but today things seem to have settled back down in my foot and the toes of my right foot. Good times. It is just interesting to watch and feel how I am healing up.

Yesterday was spent getting paperwork organized and work completed for the new business. Luke and I have started Forty105, a consulting/design/development firm specializing in internet/electronic marketing solutions. At least that's what our letterhead says. Exciting times, to be sure. Currently, it seems that everyone wants their job completed by October 1. So September is going to be a bit hectic. I was able to make it over to the Rec Center to swim for a bit. As a kid, I used to swim all the time but haven't been in a pool in a non-recreational way since about '95. Needless to say, I am a bit out of practice. I really don't enjoy pool swimming. I have problems with the chemicals - but it is a great workout. I had forgotten how difficult it is. Especially when you tend to sink.

So today I am hoping to go see Superbad. Gotta rally here and see if we can go catch out George Michael in that goodness. Also have some errands to run and other general stuff to take care of. Today is as good as any for that type of stuff.

Hope everyone is having a fun, relaxing weekend.

~stubert.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Four days out...

That was not my cocaine, nor were those my pants. ~ Lindsay Lohan (paraphrased)

I will forgo the "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow" action until I actually have something going on "Yesterday, Today or Tomorrow". Soon, I hope.

Things have been super busy with work and client management stuff over the past few days. This is a good thing though I occasionally want to just settle down and get some work done. Met with a couple of clients today and there are some exciting things on the horizon. Great stuff.

I walked a bit more today than perhaps advised (15 blocks, maybe?) and my right shin is really sore. Same problem I had before with the left one. Fortunately I know how to nurse this one and don't have a hundred mile race staring me in the face only 4 weeks or so away. So significantly less stress this time around. I'll probably give it a week or so and then go see Dr. Dave if it doesn't seem to be improving.

My buddy Nat Ross is a pro cyclist who specializes in 24-hour solo mountain bike racing. He is a super-stud and wins races on a regular basis. I think he has had podium finishes for the last three years at least in the World Championships and won last year's US National title. He recently sent me an email letting me know that it takes him about 5 weeks to recover from a bike event so I am not really planning any long runs in the foreseeable future. I'll keep trying to get to the pool and will probably break out the bike soon but am really planning to take it easy for some time to come. Rest is the key word and I will make it my bitch. Wait... that doesn't really work, does it?

So tomorrow I'll be up early, cranking out some work stuff and getting a couple of bids out the door to prospective clients. If you know any good developers who also can build Facebook apps, send them my direction.

Peace, geese and chicken grease.

~stubert.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Recovering...

Pain don't hurt. ~ James Dalton

Yesterday: Walk - various, about 2 blocks
Today: Walk - 16th Street Mall, about 6 blocks
Tomorrow: Swim (maybe) - Gilpin County Rec Center, ~ 30 minutes

So I actually think I am recovering fairly well. Mostly thanks to Rach rubbing my toes and whatnot every chance she gets. And feeding me amazing food. She is a savior.

So my bruises are starting to fade a bit and my feet only occasionally have that intense pins and needles feeling they were getting over the past few days. Now I seem to only get the occasional dull ache in my toes. My right foot is actually still quite painful and I walked a little far today on it. The outside, mostly. And, of course, the toes. I have not yet lost any nails but think that is probably coming soon.

My legs, though a little sore, are doing surprisingly well. My right knee is popping a little but it is less persistent today than the past two so I think this is returning to normal as well. Yesterday, I was just fatigued but fell sharper today. I was able to attend client meetings both yesterday and today without too much trouble. I am still eating like a horse but I expected this to be the case.

The interesting thing is I am already thinking about running again and hoping I can get back out there soon. I know I need to wait but there are some runs I didn't get to do in training that I would really like to do now that I have some more time. I promised myself to take a solid month off before doing anything with too much impact so I guess it will be mid-September before I can run again wisely. If there is such a thing as wise running.

Movie stuff:
I watched Hot Fuzz the other night and was pleasantly surprised. Actually a lot funnier than I expected and even more so upon subsequent viewings. The DVD also has a FUZZ FACTS feature that popped up information about the movie while you watch. Showed influences, other films they were spoofing, filming locations, and other interesting tidbits. Good stuff. I recommend this one for sure.

Okay... off to bed. My feet need their beauty rest.

~stubert.

Monday, August 20, 2007

I have sausage toes...

Rach's mental image of how my feet must feel.

Damaged by you. Damaged by me. ~ Black Flag

So thanks to Rach, I am recovering nicely. She has just been an absolute life saver - going to town with care, food and massage. Apparently, I am even polite in my sleep as she gave my poor toes some TLC last night while I was sleeping. I don't remember any of this as I was in a coma but I guess I thanked her, which is pretty funny. She rules.

I slept for a solid 14 hours and am actually feeling pretty well this morning. My feet seem to have taken the brunt of the trauma (go figure) and several of my toes look like those lame little sausages you get at even lamer dinner parties. I appear to have not lost any appreciable amount of weight (which is a good sign) but feel skinnier somehow. Not sure exactly how that works but there you have it.

The outside of my right foot was incredibly bruised yesterday but this seems to have subsided (or at least spread) to the point where it is less noticeable. The one area that is amazing is on my right shin. Yesterday there was a small bruise forming here which has now spread to be about the size of a pancake if one were to wrap that around my leg. The body is an interesting beast. I suffered no outward trauma to this area but the internal damage has manifested itself as exterior evidence. I sense an ice bath coming in the not-too-distant future.

Movie review:
So I can't say for certain but if you have just gotten home from running roughly 3 consecutive marathons, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters may be the very best movie ever made. But don't quote me on that.

More to come...

~stubert.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

What I did on my Summer vacation...

That's a wrap. ~ Dr. Dre

Yesterday: Run - Leadville to Winfield back past Twin Lakes, ~ 22 hours?
Today: Stop running
Tomorrow: Burn running shoes

73 miles. Wow. What a day.

First and foremost, I need to thank everyone who helped make this happen. I really couldn't have done it without you. Though I did fall short of the 100-mile goal, this day, and the preparation that went into making it a possibility, will always go down in my book as a huge success. The following is the promised recap of the weekend's festivities.

Roll out...
Friday morning, we met at Kermit's to caravan up to Leadville. This turned into a fairly short caravan due to some emergency chiropractic needs so Brad, Jess, Pete and I made it up the hill and checked in by about 10. Luke and Nichole arrived shortly thereafter in time to catch the last part of the Racer Meeting. Good stuff. Megan injured her back but really came through and met us all in Twin Lakes that evening while Bob and Lindsay joined us the following day.

I weighed in at a svelte 168 and apparently gave appropriate answers to all their questions (Are you taking any medications? Is there any reason you should not participate in this event? etc.) and quickly moved through the check-in process. Brad had an emergency work task to accomplish so Pete and I loitered on Leadville's main drag and ate Rach cookies. She went above and beyond, as usual, with a selection of her world famous chocolate chip, decorated sugar, special-recipe oatmeal and ginger snaps. It is a wonder I don't weigh 349.

The mandatory racers meeting was a bit long and uneventful but entertaining at times. There were about 590 starters ranging in age from 21 to 73, one of whom was starting his 24th Leadville 100! Amazing. Post meeting, we drove parts of the course then headed out to Twin Lakes to our cabins. We organized gear, dodged rain and ate a tasty dinner prepared by Brad. Ben made a brief appearance on his way to Crested Butte and his brother Dan arrived about 7 with more much-appreciated advice and guidance. I was in bed by 8:45 and asleep by about 9:15.

Early to rise...
My alarm went off at 2:10, rousing me from what had become fairly restless slumber. I slept well until around 11:30 but then seemed to awaken every 45 minutes or so to check the clock. After whacking down some breakfast and packing up the gear, we headed to the starting line where about 1000 other people had congregated. I quickly checked in, gave the Crüe a goodbye hug and we were off promptly at 4:00.

Along the Boulevard... (miles 0-7)
The first section of the race heads towards Turquoise Lake along what is affectionately known as "The Boulevard". We were cheered on along the first few miles by groups of enthusiastic locals - some in costume. It was actually quite heartwarming to see people get up that early to applaud a bunch of crazy people. I, for one, was actually quite touched. (But perhaps it was just the sleep deprivation talking.)

I planned to take the first section very slowly and shuffled my shoe plan to accommodate some very wet segments we discovered on the course assessment the day before. This turned out to be unnecessary as the water and mud had subsided a bit by race-time and there were ways around the worst of the puddles. We traveled at a steady pace to the powerline then up and around the lake to the Tabor Boat Ramp where I was to see the Crüe for the first time. I had to take an emergency pit stop along the way and was fortunate to find an unoccupied toilet along the route. Much better than sneaking off into the woods.

Hail to the Queen... (miles 7-13.5)
Since my shoes were still dry, I continued around the lake toward May Queen, settling into a nice rhythm and generally moving with traffic. The sun rose over Turquoise Lake while traveling along this section which features relatively smooth, winding singletrack punctuated by several creek crossings. I rolled into the May Queen checkpoint feeling pretty spunky and fresh and was met immediately by the Crüe who guided me through the check-point and on to the truck where they accomplished a quick gear change and sent me on my way.

Climb number one... (miles 13.5-23.5)
Dan walked me out of May Queen and gave me some strategy tips for the coming sections. He ran Leadville last year and finished in the top 15 with a VERY respectable time of 22:16. How much does that rule? With a pat on the back, he sent me on my way and I quickly hit the Colorado Trail and started up at a leisurely pace. The Crüe met me at Hagerman road and I continued my ascent up Hagerman to Sugarloaf Pass. This is a relatively mellow climb (on the North side) and I conserved energy along this segment by hiking the roughly 3-mile climb. Once over the top of the pass, the descent is quite steep. I ran about half of this section and walked the rest. By this point, I had developed a small kink in my right glut/upper hamstring but it was manageable. Once the trail met up with the main road to the Fish Hatchery, I jogged with several other racers to the second checkpoint at the hatchery.

Hide your shame... (miles 23.5- 30.5)
Luke met me at the checkpoint entrance, took my pack and shuttled me down the road to the crew vehicle where I swapped out my cool-weather gear for warmer-weather garb. Nothing like dropping trou' in a public parking lot in front of some of your closest friends. The Crüe treated a hot spot that appeared on the arch of my right foot and I was off. The section from the Fish Hatchery to Treeline features a flat, paved 5 miles of tedium during which I started having some stomach problems. Once I reached the truck, I felt a bit nauseated but the team really got me turned around in a hurry with some crystallized ginger Rach included in my kit and fresh apples. By the time I reached the check station at Half Moon (~3 miles up the road), I felt much better and was excited for the section to Twin Lakes (a beautiful segment of the Colorado Trail).

Rollin' rollin' rollin'... (miles 30.5 - 40)
The section between Half Moon and Twin Lakes features a short jaunt up a fairly mellow dirt road followed by a relatively steep and technical singletrack segment. This dumps into a glorious section of singletrack that rolls along the shoulder of Colorado's highest peak, Mt. Elbert. I alternated between hiking and running along this section and generally felt strong though I did develop a nagging blister on the instep of my right foot. Unfortunately, I compensated for this issue by over-pronating which subsequently led to soreness along the outside of that same foot. I started eating just the fillings of my wraps during this part of the race and donated the tortillas to the local fauna. Rach made me some tasty treats for the race which were going down smoothly at this point - black beans, humus, special tea and the aforementioned cookies - but the tortillas just weren't doing it for me at this juncture. Happy squirrels abound.

Top of the world... (miles 40-50)
I left Twin Lakes in good spirits after having my blister treated, my back massaged and my spirits lifted by being cheered on by the Crüe. This is the section of the course that features guaranteed wetness, complemented nicely by sporadic storms. I made it through the marsh and on to the river crossing. The river was lower than the past time I tackled Hope Pass and a rope was in place to assist tired racers so the crossing was not a problem. I donned my jacket during this segment to help keep dry as rain began to fall. After several false starts, a steady drenching settled in that would continue until the summit.

I settled into a rhythm going up the pass which was now quite slippery from the cumulative effect of daily rainstorms and race traffic. My knee started bothering me a bit on the steeper uphill segments and I started to have more complications in my right foot. I moved strongly up the pass, however and was only about 4 minutes off my projected pace for the section. Once I arrived at treeline, I was greeted by the staff of the Hopeless Pass Aid Station and their team of llamas. It was really cool to see these volunteers who had set up camp this high up the hill. The race leader (and eventual winner), Anton Krupicka, passed me on his way back to Leadville toward the bottom of the pass. The second-place runner, Harry Harcrow, didn't pass me until just beneath the summit, roughly 45-minutes behind Anton. Harry would eventually finish over 3 hours back. Amazing.

After braving some foul weather at the top of the pass, the rain and sleet stopped for my descent of the south face. This side of Hope is much more steep and rugged than the north face and I carefully made my way down to the Winfield road. By this point, my foot was really bothering me and I was unable to sustain a running pace. I ran out of fluids going over Hope as well (should have filled up at Hopeless) and went through all my food while tackling the pass. The Winfield road is notoriously dusty and I ran sections with a bandanna over my face to help stave off the ill-effects. By the time I made it to the aid station, I was limping a bit but was still in decent spirits. I had definitely crossed over to un-explored territory at this point, having traveled 50 miles in about 12 hours.

Way Homer... (mile 50-60)
After Megan, Bob, Lindsay and Jess helped with some blister first aid and ice on my foot, I left the station with Brad as my pacer. I limped out of the Winfiled but quickly moved into a decent rhythm back down the road and was able to run for limited periods of time during the subsequent 2.5 miles to the trailhead. I bogarted Brad's hiking poles for this section and was quite happy to have them as returning back up Hope Pass proved to be quite a challenge, made tougher by more inclement weather. Brad and I climbed back up Hope at a steady pace and reached treeline as a Flight for Life helicopter flew over the Hope Pass saddle. I felt fortunate to not be the recipient of this visit as the chopper descended into the valley. Shortly thereafter, during another deluge of rain and sleet, the 'copter made its way back up the south side of the pass, circling slowly to gain altitude in the thin air. Definite drag for someone and their loved-ones.

Brad worked like a sherpa, hauling my food and water to the top of the pass and kept me hydrated and well-fed. We summited on a pace about 10 minutes faster than my north-side approach and made our way back down to the Hopeless Pass aid station where Brad stopped to refill the bottles as I continued down the pass. I made quick time down into the thicker forest then slowed a bit to let Brad catch back up. We moved down the pass conservatively to avoid blasting my quads or falling in the mud which was now the consistency of chocolate pudding and soon reached the valley floor without incident. Any discouragement I felt on the ascent was replaced with confidence on the descent and I felt I had a really good shot at finishing in the 27-28 hour timeframe without too much trouble. We rolled back in to Twin Lakes before dusk where I swapped clothes, fueled up, treated my feet and got ready for my return to Half Moon.

The decline... (miles 60-69)
Luke took the helm as my pacer back to Treeline and we left Twin Lakes in good spirits. I was still eating, still felt strong and believed strongly in my ability to finish the race. I had some concerns about getting back up Sugarloaf and was not looking forward to the final 4 miles uphill to Leadville but believed that, given how much better I felt on the descents, I had a strong chance of finishing the event. This was fairly short-lived, however, as my injuries began to snowball while moving back along the Colorado Trail. The problems I had been nursing with my foot and knee quickly worsened to include my shin and I no longer experienced relief on downhill and flat sections of the course. I also developed a nasty cough that devolved into hacking fits that doubled me over and often ended in dry-heaving. Things were not looking good. Luke and I moved slowly along the trail toward Half Moon and finally reached the high point of the section after a much suffering. I was having difficulties eating and drinking and was sapped of energy every time I stopped to cough and heave. I staggered down the descent to the Half Moon road where we hoped to find some relief given the smooth, gradually-sloped terrain but I only moved at a slower pace. Definitely not good.

We made it to Half Moon after about 3 and a half hours of suffering (we had budgeted 3 hours to get all the way to Treeline) and passed through the checkpoint on our way down the road. This had been the longest 9 miles of my life and we had about another 3 to go before meeting Megan, Nichole and Pete at Treeline.

Last ditch effort... (miles 69-73)
These last few miles were miserable. I was barely moving at this point, limping noticeably, and coughing and dry-heaving fairly consistently. I am not sure how long this section took to complete but I am guessing it was over an hour and a half. Ugh. Luke did an amazing job keeping me moving and offering words of encouragement. At this point, I became quite concerned about my ability to reach Fish Hatchery, much less the top of Sugarloaf, and the deterioration in my performance moving downhill made me question the wisdom of even attempting to go on at all. Luke helped to encourage me to keep trying and we finally made it back to Treeline where the Crüe went to work to salvage what little strength I had remaining with warm fluids, massage and words of encouragement. They bundled me up and finally got me back on my feet in an attempt to reach Fish Hatchery. Pete took pacing duties and we moved slowly back down the road towards the paved highway. Despite the Crüe's best efforts, my coughing fits continued, forcing me to stop every 20 yards or so in convulsive coughing and retching. Luke met us about a mile later along the cut off and we hobbled to the car where I called it quits at about 2:00am and 73 miles covered.

The aftermath...
We headed to Fish Hatchery to let race officials know that I was pulling out of the race then back to Twin Lakes. I passed out in the car on the short trip back to the hotel then threw up several times upon our arrival. I took a quick shower then got to bed about 2:45. I fell asleep immediately, as you might expect.

I awoke around 9:00 with a sharp pain in my knee and decided to start getting things ready to head back home. My own bed sounded really nice at this point as did some much-needed nursing from my sweet Rach. We quickly packed up the cars and Pete drove me back to my house where he, Luke, Nichole, Brad and Jess helped me unload the truck. I then couch-surfed and was treated like a (injured) King for the rest of the day by Rach. I would say that my feet are the worst of my ongoing problems (Rach just lanced at least three more blisters and they feel as if someone is sticking needles in the soles) but my quads are fairly recked, my knee is a mess when moved in the wrong way and my foot looks like "raw chicken". I am generally fatigued and am going to head to bed shortly.

In summary...
Megan summed things up nicely in an email sent this afternoon, "...it is really about the journey, not the destination." Looking back over the past year, I can certainly say that the cumulative experiences will define this segment of my life. As stated in a previous entry, the goals I have been able to achieve and growth I have experienced personally over the past year exceeded my hopes and dreams. Though my time as an ultramarathon runner will not define me as a person, the process leading up to participating in such an amazing event will always be something on which I can draw and from which, perhaps, others can draw inspiration.

I am not sure where runsturun will go from here but rest assured, there will be ongoing posts as I recover over the coming weeks. Thanks to everyone for their continued support and interest in runsturun. As always, I'll keep you posted.

~stubert.

Quick update...

Stu here. Thanks to everyone for keeping track of events as they
unfolded yesterday. After about 73 miles, I had to hang it up. Things
just started falling apart after about mile 63. I pushed for as long
as I was able then had to call it quits about 2:30 in the morning.
Again, thanks to the crew and everyone else for helping me push myself
to levels I had never before reached. Detailed report to come.

~stubert.

__________
via mobile

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Megan... Making it happen

I think we all owe a big thanks to Megan for keeping the crew on their
toes.

Waiting for stubert at mile 73. There is no moon and the skies are
clear... The milkey way is wicked tasty.

Other news...

Looks like dan b's runner is hurting. He went out to the twin lakes
parking lot as a volunteer pacer. Hope to pick him up at fish hatchery.
__________
via mobile

Where is stu?

A view of the mountains that we are waiting stu to emerge from. Crew
feuling up for the night ahead. 7:15. Clear, cool night seems to be in
store.

Back over Hope

On the way back, Brad carries all of the gear. He is also in charge of
getting Stu to eat.

Brad n' Stu hauling a$$

Stu just picked up his first pacer. It's a dusty few miles on the
road before they head over Hope Pass AGAIN!

Second marathon compete

Stu just spotted rach's cookies and asked for a few for the road.
He's eating like a champ...

40 miles!

Stu just came through looking real good. No real complaints, just
wanted to change a couple things on the menu. Next... Hope Pass. Takin
it up to 12,500 and then down to the turn and the end of his second
marathon. B-rad will be escorting him back over the pass. Stay tuned!

Stu's chair waiting for him at Halfmoon

First marathon... Check

Changed stu into warmer weather clothing and sent him back out.
Looking relaxed and strong. Clear skies, 9am.

Mile 16

Hagerman road and stu looks FAB
Sun is up and day looks clear so far! RunStuRun!

He's outta here

Missed the photo op cause we were videoing the start. Stu is feeling
strong and positive. Eye of the tiger! Crew is off to the boat ramp
and May Queen.

Go Time!

2:40 am. Getting ready to head to the start.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Rainey dinner...

Twin Lakes

Stu here. We made it to Twin Lakes and are getting everything together
for tomorrow. Megan is on her way up after an emergency trip to the
chiropractor. It is threatening to rain here now... yup, there it goes.

Going to get things organized here, maybe get a nap on, cook out,
sleep, then run. Rawk.

~stubert.

__________
via mobile

Driving the course

Post comments! Would love to hear from you.

Bunche freaks

Thanks rach!

Sign on the dotted line

No turning back

On the road with the man himself with a truck full of gear. For those
of you watchin from home... Stay tuned for frequent updates. -p

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Image test...

mobile postastic...

Just testing this mobile blog feature.

__________
via mobile

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

First of two...

You can't manufacture inspirado... it arises from a stillness, a quietude... when your heart mingles with your soul and oh man they do the dance... the ancient... (gack) I swallowed a bug. ~ Jack Black (link)

Tuesday: Run - Casa del Critters, 1 hour
Yesterday: Run - Casa del Critters, 1/2 hour
Today: Rest
Tomorrow: Run - Casa del Critters or Twin Lakes, 1/2 hour
Saturday: Run - Leadville100, target: 25 hours

First of a couple of posts as we wind things up. I am not sure what kind of connectivity I will have starting tomorrow morning so today's posts may be it until I get back from the event. Still trying to work out a way my crew can update the blog during the race but the cell coverage out in the boonies is pretty sparse so we'll see.

Tuesday, I swallowed a bug. Never a good time. I tend to have to stand on the side of the trail and dry-heave for a bit. Pretty funny, actually. Reminds me of a run during which I was jamming down the top section of Flagstaff and inhaled what seemed like a small bird. Ew.

Good times, bad times:
This has been one crazy year. Looking back over my log, I have chalked up roughly 433 hours of training for this event. Not to mention the countless hours of planning, recovering, driving, etc. etc. etc.. I have gotten to do things that I would otherwise never have experienced: Stepping up my skiing, running to Nederland and back from my house, running the Front Range Five, just to name a few. This has taken a lot of sacrifice from both myself and my loved ones. In the end, I think it has been worth it. I have grown as a person, experienced hardship and victory and have come to the end of a chapter in my life that I know will lead to bigger and better things.

Tallies: A few stats...
10 pair of shoes
40 pounds lost
1 trip to the doctor
5 chiropractor visits
9 massages
3 PT visits
3 sets of earbuds
1 dead shuffle
50 ski days
433 hours of training

or something like that.

Ok. Back to business. More later.

~stubert.

Closing in...

Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity. ~ Henry Van Dyke

Yesterday: Off
Today: Run - GGCSP, 1 hour
Tomorrow: Run - Neighborhood, 30 minutes

Seems I have been a day ahead all week. I think that is a really good sign at this point. Way ahead of the game.

I think I pretty much have everything ready to roll. Just a few more days now until we get this thing going and I can't wait! I went to Dr. Dave today (North Boulder Chiropractic) and he gave me the green light. My strength has stayed steady since I started regular treatments and I haven't had any further flair-ups. That is confidence-inspiring, I can assure you. Just a couple more training runs, last-minute food purchases and some prep time up in Leadville and I'll be good to go.

Rach has been cooking up a storm and helping me get ready to run. She has made me some double-top-secret concoctions for the event that will keep me smiling to the finish. Some yummy soup, tea, black beans and humus that will fuel me throughout the race. Plus, she'll have her world-famous cookies for the Crüe (and me if they don't eat them all before I get to the first check-point!).

The Crüe is raring to go. Pete is nursing a rib injury but is test-driving it tonight to see how things go. Luke and Nichole are super jazzed, Brad is going to rock some new shoes on his section and Jess, Bob and Lindsay are taking time off their busy schedules to jam up the hill to help a brotha out. Megan leaves for 2 years in Mexico just days after the event and is burning some valuable packing time to help out. How kickass is that? Rach is planning to head up there on Saturday so I'll have someone to smooch at a couple of the check-points as well. She has just been killer throughout the past year of preparation, training, and endless talk about the event. If I were her, I'd probably scream the next time anyone mentioned the word "Leadville" but she listens to my endless blathering on the subject with a smile and words of encouragement. How much does that rule?

Ok. I am off to do a short run.

~stubert.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Rain run...

What are you... made of sugar? ~ Rachel

Yesterday: Singlespeed Ride - Caribou/Mud Lake Trails, 1 hour 45 minutes
Today: Run - Neighborhood trails, 1 hour
Tomorrow: Off

Headed out today with rain threatening and then was quickly greeted with a steady downpour. No biggie, I usually dry out eventually. I ran at a leisurely pace for about an hour and felt okay. Not great but just fine for such a short effort. The rain subsided a bit mid-run and then came back in the last 15 minutes or so. With temperatures in the upper 60s, this was no big deal.

Getting organized for the big day. Rach has been helping to get things sorted out and I have a pretty solid pace schedule and crew plan at this juncture. Everything is falling into place and now I am just waiting for Friday when I head up the hill and the countdown really starts. I have some final checks this week, have to buy supplies and food, pack up the rig and get my run on.

Movie review: Last night, I watched Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. This film is set in France in the 1700s and paints a really scary picture of people living in that period. This is a fine adaptation from an equally fine novel. It features some seriously grotesque scenes but is a movie I would recommend if you are into that sort of thing. Really well done.

~stubert.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Leadville or bust...

From the Hudson River out to the Nile, I run the marathon til the very last mile. ~ Beastie Boys

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday: Run, run some more, repeat.

As you can see, I got mobile blogging to work. Good stuff. Typing on the iPhone is still a bit of a pain in the butt so don't count on long entries for the next few days. Pete said he would post updates during the race on Saturday but I know the coverage out there is spotty, at best, so don't be disappointed if posts are few and far between, and brief.

I have everything ready to go, thanks to my lovely sweetheart, the Rachinator. She baked about a thousand cookies for the Crüe, made me soup, humus, special race tea and black beans and bought me a ton of snacks for the event. Most awesome. Everything is in the truck and ready to head up the hill.

I jam out of here about 7:30 tomorrow morning then will meet the Crüe at Kermit's and carpool up to Leadville. I then check in, get updated on rules and whatnot, then we'll head out to Twin Lakes to the Windspirit Lodge. "Excited" does not fully represent how I am feeling at this point.

Ok. Everyone be good. I'll get back with race reports ASAP.

~stubert.

One week...

...so as the rat's milk is returned to the sewers, the circle of life is complete. ~ Kent Brockman

Yesterday: Run - Casa del Critters, 45 minutes
Today: Ride - Ned area, 1.5 hours
Tomorrow: Ride - Casa del Critters, 1.5 hours

In one week, I should be somewhere in-between Fish Hatchery and Half Moon. Good stuff.

I can't believe this thing is only a week away. I started getting my stuff together last night and will continue gathering and organizing over the course of the next five days or so. I think I have everything I need (aside from food) and feel fit and fairly rested. I have been a little sleepy of late and hope to relieve that over the next few days.

Last night I went for a fun little run in the woods around my house. I didn't feel super snappy until later in the run but that is to be expected. It takes me awhile to warm up, as you might imagine. When I raced bikes, I put on some serious miles one summer and it would take me a couple of hours to start feeling good. I once had a crit in Copper mountain (about an hour-long event) for which I rode to the top of Fremont Pass to warm up. Kinda silly.

Today, I am hoping to go for a bike ride. Trying to cajole some of the Crüe to come up to join me. I also hope to get some things cleaned up and organized around the house so that I can focus on work in the coming weeks. I also need a new chair as my exercise ball on which I normally sit blew up. But I digress.

Movie review: The Black Dahlia is a train wreck. This film - based on the amazing novel of the same name by James Elroy - was simply a mess. Elroy has the ability to weave about 19 seemingly divergent plot-lines together into a coherent narrative that somehow works out in the end. (Not necessarily true for all his books but The Black Dahlia is a fine example of his talent. Also read L.A. Confidential.) It takes an equally skilled craftsperson to massage his work into a film that makes any sense whatsoever. When this is done well, the results are amazing (again, see L.A. Confidential). When not, it gets ugly - fast.

Couple this with inane casting (Hillary Swank as the femme fatale???) and pretty dismal directing by Brian De Palma and you have the recipe for disaster. Avoid this one. Trust me. There are plenty of less painful opportunities to see Mia Kirshner's boobs.

Get your countdown on.

~stubert.

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Mellow fellow...

One of these days I gotta get myself organizized. ~ Travis Bickle

Yesterday: Hike - Casa del Critters, 30 minutes
Today: Run - GGCSP, 1 hour
Tomorrow: Ride - Ned area, 1.5 hours

Busy with work stuff but staying rested. This is a good thing. With a little over a week to go before the big event, I am feeling great. Just trying to rest up as much as possible, get organized, make some last minute preparations and whatnot. Dan sent me some great documents to look at to help get everyone stoked. I am getting more and more excited every day. Probably should try to tone that down a notch.

Last night I just went for a short hike behind our house. As I headed up the hill, I saw our neighbors, Joe and Steph and their twin critters walking up ahead so I caught up and hiked with them for a bit. Their boys are about 1 and a half and are just adorable. Little blonde monkeys.

I am still on the same basic plan: Eat well, get lots of sleep, keep things moving but not in a way that creates any stress or fatigue, and wait. Lots of wait. Just over a week now. Getting very close.

~stubert.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

The darkness...

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light. ~ Albus Dumbledore

Yesterday: Night run - West Mag, 1.25 hours
Today: Hike - Neighborhood, 30 minutes
Tomorrow: Singlespeed ride - 1 hour

Feeling fit and coming down to the final days of preparation for the big event. Last night's run was a blast. Bob and Brad were kind enough to come up the hill to join me for the nighttime woods adventure. We didn't die once.

We started on the far west end of Magnolia and basically ran the Habitrail backwards. There were a few people out violating the fire ban but what else is new? Once, during a particularly evil drought, a friend and I were riding in the west Mag area only to come across some dumbass with TWO fires burning in the middle of the day. Sometimes I am surprised we have lasted this long. In any event, just because you are "camping" does not mean you must burn every item made of wood within a stone's throw of your tent. But I digress...

I am now just getting final preparations set. I think I have everything I need aside from food and whatnot. Just need to organize, pack it up in a nice way so that Megan and Nichole won't hate me and jam up the hill to the event. It sounds like most of the Crüe is going to head to Leadville next Friday so we should be able to take the afternoon to get everything together. Good stuff.

~stubert.



Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Blogger doesn't like the iPhone...

Would you like to touch my monkey? ~ Dieter

Yesterday: Singlespeed ride - Casa del Critters, 1.5 hours
Today: Night run - West Mag trails, 1.5 hours
Tomorrow: Ride - Ned trails, 1.5 hours

So the iPhone and Blogger don't play well. Interesting. I am guessing a fix for this has to be in the works but for now, no mobile blogging from my phone. Which is actually probably a blessing.

So 10 days out (or so) and I am feeling great. Getting a little antsy to start but really just feeling excited. I go to sleep most nights visualizing the course (rarely make it past Fish Hatchery before I drift off and have to start over). The Crüe is all jazzed. We are full steam ahead.

Last night I went for a glorious post-rain singlespeed ride. Just dinked around the forest and explored some trails in the area on which I had not ridden for quite some time. I didn't feel as well as the previous day's adventure but I had just whacked down another amazing meal and was a bit stuffed. I really am enjoying the one-speeder... looking forward to exploring some more this fall post-race.

Tonight (in about a half an hour), I am meeting Bob and Brad for a night run in Ned. I am really itching to run at this point which I can't imagine being a bad thing. Better to go into a hundred-miler excited to run than sick of it. At least that is the theory on which I am working.

We got the new Simpsons DVD set today and are rocking that as we speak. Season 10 was the last for which we actually had tapes so we'll be entering new territory once season 11 comes out. Good stuff.

Movie review: At some point I saw the trailer for Alpha Dog and I guess it looked not bad enough to warrant a peek. Though it wasn't awful, it definitely wasn't great. It was watchable for the most part but I wouldn't recommend rushing out to rent it or anything. So there you have a mediocre review to match.

Gotta get my stuff together.

See you out there.

~stubert.

Saturday, August 4, 2007

Twofer...

Oh, why does everything I whip leave me? ~ Homer Simpson

Friday: Night Run - Neighborhood, 30 minutes
Yesterday:
Singlespeed Ride - Casa del Critters, 1 hour 30 mintues
Today: Ride - Ned area?, 2 hours
Tomorrow: Off

Ladies and gentlemen... we have broken the 2-week barrier. Despite my recent setbacks, I am feeling strong. Tested the shin on Friday night and it felt great (though, a 30-minute run is really not a hardcore test). I'll take anything I can get at this point.

I am feeling strong. Tonight's singlespeed ride was a blast and I hammered up hills that previously I had to push. I went to the chiropractor on Friday and he gave me the thumbs up to start testing out the leg so away I go.

It is pouring down rain here right now (Saturday night post... delayed push due to internet outage) and in two weeks I'll be approaching Half Moon, roughly 70 miles into the race. Hoping the weather is different then but I plan to move forward whatever gets thrown at me. That is how this past year has been. Roll with the punches and come back swingin'.

I'll be staying fairly active over the next couple of weeks but with shorter durations and levels of intensity. I had planned to do one more super-long effort but this week was a bitch work-wise. Brad, my first pacer, would like to go up and do Hope Pass so I may go do that one day this week but that would be the toughest effort I would toss in the mix for the remainder of the time until the race. Have to consult my experts on that one.

Movies: We went to see The Simpsons on Friday and it was a lot of fun. Very funny. I wouldn't necessarily say it was the best movie I have seen but it was certainly a great adaptation from the TV show and it kept things fresh after 20-years of laughs. The team that puts that show together is incredibly talented and I was happy to hear earlier this year that they are planning to bring back Futurama. Great news.

I also watched Lucky Number Slevin. This film started out a bit slowly but then actually became fairly interesting. I had pretty low expectations and, though no masterpiece, was entertained. It had a bit of a Boondock Saints kind of vibe - some decent writing and an ok idea but just not quite as polished as it might have been. Probably worth the watch though.

Ok. My shoes are getting soaked so I guess I'll be back on the singlespeed tomorrow. Give a shout if you want to join in the fun and/or games.

~stubert.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

And I described him, with adjectives...

What's the story with that dog? ~ Lily Braden

Yesterday: Nuttin'
Today: Hike - neighborhood, ~ 1hour
Tomorrow: Ride - somewhere fun, 2 hours?

So last night, when I should have been out training or something, I was standing in our kitchen and Rage was sitting on the couch, in front of our living room window, minding her own business. As I looked past her, out past our deck to our lawn, I saw the biggest, funniest-looking dog I had ever seen stick his head out past the edge of our house. "Damn," I thought, "that is one, funny looking dog." (See, I TOLD you that's what I thought.) Then, as my mind finally registered that this was no ordinary dog, I said, "Hey Rach, there's a bear behind you." And there was. Good times.

I was unable to get any great shots of Skippy, but the rest of the album can be seen here. He wasn't bothering anybody and didn't even hop on the deck and demolish our bird bear feeders. So that was nice.

Other that that, I am just taking it easy, trying to figure out how to taper, and attempting to manage my stress. And actually doing a decent job of each. I was in meetings all day yesterday at GroundFloor Media and had another client meeting in Boulder this morning. Then I got my hairs cut so I am no longer a shaggy dude. Soon I will be again I can assure you. Seems that it is always growing back at an unmanageable rate.

So just a little over 2 weeks to go until the big day. I published my Crüe guide (work in progress) and got the final couple of orders of stuff I'll use during the race from Patagonia and Zombie Runner. Now I just need to organize, get my final grocery shop on and I'll be set. I am feeling pretty fit and am actually really excited to run. I think all this time off will benefit me in the long run. Sure, I could have gotten some more training in and it would have been nice to actually run each section of the course, but I am really itching to run now, and that can't be a bad way to head into this event. I think not being sick of running is probably a great place to be when you are toeing the line at the start of a hundred miler.

So tick, tick, tick. It's getting close.

Calm blue ocean.

~stubert.

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