Lotto: WS100

I am entered in the Western States 100 lottery, and I found out this Saturday if I get in. It is an understatement to say I am excited to find out the answer. My estimate is that less than 20% of lottery entrants are selected. Not great odds, but better than Kona.

Somehow I saw a telecast of the WS100 on ABC's wide world of sports when I was a kid. Incredibly, I filed that under the "things I want to do in my life." Somehow enough subliminal items managed to penetrate my psyche (such as the subtle influence to want to do triathlon, see below), leading to my immersion in endurance sports since my teenage years.

My pursuit of ultradistance trail running would not have happened if it were not for the direct influence of an inspiration and mentor. For many people it was this guy:



Dean Karnazes and the book he wrote called UltraMarathon Man. Many legitimate or hardcore ultra runners dismiss Dean K as an expert marketer who managed to get some good sponsors. On the one hand he has done some awesome achievements, including one of the first (but not THE first) to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. He also has run halfway across the country, and lots of ultras, among probably some other great achievements. At the same time he is no Scott Jurek, who won the Western States 100 7 years in a row. When it comes down to the question of "Does someone deserve their hype," I think the easy way to decide is to meet the person. I can tell you from meeting Dean K that he is a totally cool guy, very humble, very positive, and an inspiration to be around. He deserves the accolades and more importantly I think he is a great promoter for the sport of ultrarunning, and good for the industry.

However, he is not my inspiration for ultrarunning. This guy is:



This is my trail running mentor Jamie Dial. I met him right after I moved to Nashville and he graciously introduced me to many awesome trail running venues in the southeast. For about 2 years I went on a tear with some great trail runs and races. Anyone would be lucky to have a mentor, and a friend like him. For instance, he taught me the important places to apply sports slick such as here:



And here:




So enough of this man-love homage to my pal Jamie. I am sure I have embarrassed him enough already. These pictures were taken when I paced him at the Tahoe Rim Trail 100. He has said he will pace me at WS100 if I get in, and also he has hinted he will give me some coaching. I am totally stoked at even the prospect of this taking place. But again I know it is only a <20% chance. Cross your fingers.

If you want to see the WS100 splash page (pretty cool) then click on the belt buckle below:


WS100 Silver Buckle if you finish under 24 hours. A less-awesome bronze buckle is awarded if you finish between 24-30 hours.

Okay, so here is to inspirations, and Jamie is my homage to trail running. In the sport of triathlon Kenny Souza appeared on the cover of Runners' World wearing this kit:



Okay, I will save discussion of my triathlon inspiration for another time.

Trash Talk

This post is a brief homage to my friend Jason, who also is know by the nickname Trash Talk. He races from the heart...some times he acts a little impulsively but you know his heart is in the right place.

Trash Talk has made quite a name for himself on the world's leading triathlon forum Slowtwitch.com. He started a thread that is somewhat notorious (though not as notorious as the Finman Challenge.)

This picture got posted on the thread:



....which led to unbridled laughter in my office, and by anyone who knows him. I laughed almost as hard when he did this:



...at a local race the JCC Triathlon.

Jason is in hibernation from triathlon racing right now, working as a bicycle messenger, and jumping in a pick-up crit now and then. One thing is sure...most of us would be lucky to have half as much passion as Trash Talk. And fortunately, most of us have better mental "editors."

Turkey Day in the ATL

On Thanksgiving day I was in Atlanta with Susan's family. Susan wanted to run the Atlanta Half Marathon so I was the cheering patrol / driver / photographer.


Photo: There were about 10,000 people in the race. It was interesting to watch how the logistics of a large-scale half marathon is organized. This was a very well-run race put on by the Atlanta Track Club.



Photo: I especially liked the chain link fence that sequestered the runners. I was wishing that I had a long pointy stick so I could taunt them like I do the bears in the cage at the zoo. Since I had no such pointy stick, I mixed up another mug of my special coffee and watched the 10,000 runners take off.

Photo: The race ended by where the 1996 Olympics were in Atlanta. A plaque on the pedastel reads: "LIFE PROVIDES FEW GRAND MOMENTS FOR CELEBRATING THE REMARKABLE RANGE AND PLEASURE OF HUMAN TALENT."

Photo: A Thanksgiving run is all about running like you are not a turkey, then eating some later.

Photo: Susan's brother Michael ran comfortably sub 1:30, and he was sporting an ACME MULTISPORT shirt.

Photo: Susan learned an important lesson: If you are going home to family and you are running a race, then you need to eat correct pre-race food. I have made this mistake before. BBQ is not pre-race food.

Photo: But she still looked cute at the end.

Photo: My job was to cheer loudly for all the runners. My special coffee helped.

Do An Independent Iron Distance (If You Must Do One)

Do an iron distance triathlon not affiliated with the Ford Series, if you must do one. What races you may ask? Look up these awesome events:

Vineman
Silverman
Redman
Great Floridian
Beach 2 Battleship (My personal favorite.)

I am sure there are others just as good. Why avoid the M-Dot you might ask? Remember that not all glitters is iron. Also.......

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Wardrobe Malfunction

I have been to two running races the last two weekends. At both races I saw runners who had made serious mistakes in their apparel choices. It can be confusing deciding what to wear. At the start line you may be standing around shivering, only to be baking hot a few minutes out on the course.

Consider these are some of the apparel choices observed in the same race. On this day the temperature started around 50 degrees (the start was in the shade) and rose to well over 70 degrees with direct sunlight and no wind.

I have arranged the following pictures from most over-dressed to least-dressed. I have also added commentary which is meant to be funny, and at no expense to those who are actually doing their best to run in this race.


First place overdressed: This guy is way overdressed. Not only does he have on nylon wind pants and long sleeves, they are also black in color which absorbs heat. He gains additional bonus points for having both a fanny pack and an ipod on.


Second place overdressed. This young lady is a close second. She has on a long sleeve top but it is white. She has black pants on but they are tights, slightly cooler and lighter than the wind pants. Wisely, she had the sense to take off her second LONG SLEEVE top and tie it around her waist. She also deserves overdressed kudos for the compression sock/gaiter thingys she is wearing, as well as the ipod and the ear-warmer headband. If it weren't for the fact that she had sunglasses on, she would be first place overdressed. I have to confess I spent the whole day cursing that I didn't bring sunglasses along.


Third place overdressed. This dude is very similar to first place overdressed, except for the obvious difference that he has neither an ipod nor a fanny pack. He has also made the fashion choice of tightes and jam shorts. (This was a popular look among grunge bands during the 1990's.) He also has on a Garmin GPS watch, but overall the absence of wind pants, ipod, and fanny pack move him to 3rd place overdressed.



Just right. Everyone in this picture is just right. The guy on the far left has on a loose-fitting short sleeves and shorts; very appropriate. The woman in the middle has on a tank top which is what I would recommend, and spandex hot pants which I would not recommend but is otherwise totally acceptable for a female runner. The runner on the right figured out at some point that he had made a horrible mistake to wear black wind pants and a long sleeve shirt. At least he made the executive decision to take the shirt off and tie it around his waist. Better that than the pants. This should especially be commended for the fact that it appears sunlight has not contacted his skin during the training process leading up to this running race. He was also smart to wear a visor for this sunny day. I wish I had brought a visor with me. Or one of those damn 10 pairs of Oakleys that I own.



Just right. The woman on the left took off her long sleeve shirt and tied it around her waist. Smart. She had on only a jogbra underneath, which leaves no middle ground between cold and hot, but that is okay, it works for her. She has on an ipod which I don't recommend for running races less than 5 hours, but overall she appears in the zone. The guy on the right has on a short sleeve tan shirt which is totally appropriate for his age/build. And sunglass...smart thinking.


Least dressed. This gal only has on spandex hot pants and a jogbra. She either could anticipate the weather patterns before the start of the race, or she jettisoned some clothes. The race number is pinned to her hot pants, so I am thinking she knew it was going to get fairly hot this day and started wearing this exact outfit. This is a little on the minimalist side for my conservative midwestern tastes, but it is probably just right for a female who wants to take a crack at a fast time on a hot day. She is smart to wear no fanny pack, ipod, nor fuel belt. Some sunglasses would protect her eyes and also add a bit of fashion suave, not that she needs it.



Just right. I will submit myself to the same court of opinion. This is me at Beach 2 Battleship Iron-Distance Triathlon. The temperature was very similar on this day or just a little cooler. In this picture I am wearing tri shorts with a sleeveless tri-suit over it, with the top portion around my waist. It got pretty hot during this run so I am glad I had the top down. I did have a running cap on which kept the sun out of my eyes, but I was totally wishing I had some sunglasses on too. The heart rate monitor strap with no shirt is a pretty horrible fashion faux pas, but I was more focused on speed than fashion for this race. Still.

Okay back to the original race. I am going to put things in perspective on just how hot it got:


My dog jumped in this small urban pond to cool off.



Actually she wanted to chase those damn dirty geese.


Damn dirty geese. Get out of here.



This is a picture of me and Kokolulu by where the race was. We will save the analysis of the customized T-shirt with the sleeves cut off for another blog entry.

If you are going to do a race, you need to dress smart. Plan ahead for how hot is is going to get. Also factor in that if you are running hard, then you are going to generate lots of body heat. Go for the most minimalist apparel combination that you can get away with. This is what I recommend:

• Running shorts and a running tank top.
• If it is cold wear a skin-tight short sleeve top under the tank top. If it is REALLY cold wear a long sleeve skin-tight top.
  
• If it is even moderately cold (50 degrees or colder) wear gloves and some sort of hat. Hat selection can be a bandanna, head band, running cap, beanie, or stocking cap. Warmth of the hat depends on how cold it is.
  
• No pants or tights unless it is a really long slow run. Your legs won't be cold.

The bottom line is that 5-10 minutes into a race you are going to feel comfortable even if you were cold at the start. Go for a little jog about 20-30 minutes before the race, then keep jogging in place until the start. Strip off your warm-ups and roll up to the line with the minimialist look on...you will be glad you did. Because if you are running hard you will be plenty warm.

Miracle Drug

There is a drug that will cause your muscles to grow in size and strength, while reducing body fat. The pharmaceutical will alleviate joint pain and remediate injuries. Taken with cardio exercise, you will experience prolonged endurance and increased energy.

The drug is strength/stretch training.



Many people out there want to start exercising. Maybe the goal is Country Music Half Marathon, or just loose a few pounds. Strength training is the answer. Runners and triathletes are burned out from 10 months of diligent endurance training. Don't do nothing, and don't keep running/swimming/cycling as normal.. Strength train. Perhaps you, like George Allen above, accomplished a lot this season and you want to do even more next year. Now is the time to strength train.

Did I mention Strength/Stretch training? STtrainer offers 6-7 sessions of strength/stretch training per week.

• Ab Lab: 45 minutes of intense strengthening of the abs, obliques, glutes, and lubar spine.
• Aerogility: This is a program that uses dynamic exercises such as walking and running drills, plyometrics, medicine balls, stretch cords, kettlebells, and yoga.
• Strength/Stretch: Here is where we hit the weight room and pump some iron.
• Runners Cross Training: This is a short, 40 minute workout that hits all the major muscle groups without weights or machines.
  
• Urban Fitness: These sessions are similar to a Cross Fit, gladiator-inspired training session. I use these sessions to truly challenge my strongest athletes, such as ironman racers and special forces clients.

Your training should be periodized. Do the right thing at the right time. Plug into any of these and start now.


Photo: You will get strength work at Big Spin which starts Dec 5.

Marathon: The Greek Lager Beer

Photo: My two favorite things!

Matt M. Registers for Ironman Florida

They day after watching his partner Mindy complete Beach 2 Battleship, Matt made the ultimate commitment.


Photo: Nov 8th Matt got on the computer.



Photo: Then he paid an exorbitant sum of money within a narrow window of minutes.



Photo: Now he is the lucky recipient of a race number for Ironman Florida, 2010.


AFTER registering, he e-mails me this (in his own words):


Hey coach:

I might get scolded for this, and good or bad, I registered yesterday for Ironman Fla. I already know what you're thinking, but there are 2 things I know for certain 1) I CAN do it and 2) You're the coach to get me there. I know everything happens for a reason which is why I believe this is my destiny and the start of a very long journey. There is a reason I got a bootleg copy of "Fundamentals of Swimming" and a reason I ended up with you as a coach....All these things together equal me reaching my goal.

I won't be able to do it if I don't have you as a coach. I'm asking for your help and after watching you crush the B2B course I know you're not only up for it, but are ready and willing to beat my ass in to submission along the way. If you agree to help, I agree to give you 100% effort and promise never to tap out.

You ready? I am. I've figured out how I'll be able to manage work and workouts and work. I wouldn't want to do this without you.

9:17!!!

Stephen Taylor finishes with a 9:17 at Beach 2 Battleship in a sprint finish for 3rd place.

On the weekend of Nov 7-8 STtrainer had over a dozen athletes compete in half and full iron distance triathlons.

Complete results to follow.


Photo: Kevin Clouse after finishing his first iron distance.

WSMV Channel 4 Nashville