I was decently consistent with my running through the first five months of the year, racking up 312 miles and progressing nicely month-to-month until, for some reason, (aka life) I ended up taking almost exactly a month off.  Sometimes time can get away from you and what seems like a week or two is actually 4 or 5.  From mid-May to mid-June I ran zero miles.  Seeking to correct that, and figuring that if I had worked my way up to 21 miles as my longest run to date, and that the 10-ish mile mark was a relatively easy thing for me to hit, I decided to knock out an easy 10 miles. 

The running was easy enough, but I managed to bang up my right foot on the rocks enough that the 2017 injury I had returned.  It wasn’t as bad, and as long as I wore decently padded shoes it didn’t hurt too bad.  Unlike in 2017, where I managed to mess it up bad enough during a move from one house to another that it took well over a year to fully heal and scared me enough that I didn’t run at all.  I think in that case, part of the issue was that I was working in an environment where legit dress shoes were required, and the thin leather soles, and relatively narrower lasts kept my feet in a position where it was hard to stay off the injured area.  It probably didn’t help that I forgot to grab a pair of hiking shoes/boots for the camping trip to Mesa Verde with the kids, and ended up spending the whole trip cruising around in my Merrell Trail Gloves. 

This time around, walking down stairs, or on hard surfaces without shoes on caused it to flare up something fierce.  I went back to trying to stay off it as much as I could and always cruising around with shoes on.  As long as I had something with some padding and a decent sole on it, I was pretty good.  About a week later, I was able to do the Southwest Ridge route of Gray’s Peak and over to Torrey’s Peak without too much trouble in my well-used, but still very comfortable Lowa Zephyrs.  There were a couple times where I mis-stepped and landed right where I didn’t want to on my right foot, but the boots were stout enough to mostly protect my foot and I was just a little sore after the 8 mile round trip.   

I’ve been wanting to get back into riding my mountain bike since I’m so close to a lot of the front range area trails, so I figured that might be a decent way to keep my heart and legs working while my foot heals.  My riding shoes were a 30 year old pair of neon blue and yellow Sidi Dominators with almost no tread left on them, so I figured I was about due for a new pair.  I’m not racing anymore and I’m definitely looking for comfort over pure pedaling efficiency, so I picked up a new pair of Pearl Izumi X-Alp Summit shoes and mounted my pedal cleats as far to the rear as I could.  Got a few rides in without any foot issues, so I have that going for me.  The saddle sore on the other hand…

On July 12 I decided to try another shorter run with my softest Merrell Moab Flight shoes.  The first few steps when I kicked off were kinda timid, and I was half expecting to turn around before I left the block.  Fortunately, it went well on the smooth paved route I took.  No foot issues, so hopefully that’ll keep on healing up.  I really like the extra padding in the Moab Flights and they’re only 2oz heavier, according to the Merrell website than their Trail Glove, which I use for most of my around town stuff when I’m not on the motorcycle.   

Overall, the 21 mile run and consistently being able to step out the door and run 10 miles was the highlight of the first (almost) half of the training year.  I don’t think I’ve ever run that far before, so that was a pretty cool feeling for me.  I’ve also started hitting the gym at work again and starting to build up my actual strength since that’s kind of important, and I don’t want to end up looking like one of these endurance runners that almost resembles a skeleton with skin stretched over it.  Maybe I’ll talk about that a little later, but it’s definitely not something I can afford to do.

Here’s the second installment of the why behind the Leadville 100.  I’m trying to keep these posts relatively short, a page or so, and about once a week so they’re easy to digest & nobody’s getting a ton of notifications and feeling like I’m dumping a ton of material in short order.  I might also drop an occasional short bit of writing or an article like the one from Anton Krupicka a couple weeks ago. 

If you’re reading these, I genuinely hope you find them at least interesting, if not useful or, maybe, even inspiring?  I very much value your feedback.  What would you like to see more or less of, what do find valuable?  This writing project is as much an ultra-event as the races will be, and will very much be a learning process for me.  This one is a touch longer than I intended, but hopefully you don’t mind.

This one was originally written around the start of 2022.  I’ve clarified a few things since it’s now 7 months later.  Everything in here is current as of that time.  I’m still getting the standard foot blisters to an extent, but as of mid-July, the lost toenail is trying to make a comeback. 

About this 100 miles at altitude in 30 hours or less…I haven’t really run since about 2017.  Apparently good decisions are not my thing.  I started back up running again in mid-September 2021 with a 2.81-mile, 35-minute flat trail “run” at a whopping 12:37 min mile pace. I certainly could have gone faster/longer, but I was trying not to overdo it, end up sore & have to take several days off. 

Originally, the plan was to make running a part of my overall training plan and I needed to do something because I haven’t really been lifting since I moved in June of 2021, which is a whole ‘nother fiasco.  Apparently, good tequila and cigars will only carry you so far.  Between September and December 31^st of 2021, I did 23 runs, with the longest being 11.08 miles in 2:22 with 1925 feet of elevation gain at a 12:49 pace if my math is correct.  Looks like progress to me, but I have been accused of being a touch stoopid.  I also had a few weeks in there where I was speed walking on an inclined treadmill with a 75lb pack to get ready for another elk hunt that was enjoyable but, unfortunately, unproductive.

Fortunately, I seem to be able to take on mileage pretty well.  With the exception of the blisters on the bottom of my left arch and whatever the toe equivalent is to the ring finger.  Moleskin, tape, run, repeat has been the process for the last month at least.  I’ll probably lose a couple toenails, but such is life. 

Not sure what to do about the toes.  The one on my left foot is well into the blackened state, while the one on my right foot will clear out the blood if I lance under the nail and drain it out.  Maybe it’ll hold on, who knows?  Surprisingly, poking a needle under my black toenail doesn’t hurt.  I can’t feel it at all.  I haven’t tried on one of my good toenails though.  I may be stoopid, but I’m not that dumb. 

TRAINING WEEK 12/27

I got one longer run in last week (10 miles) and two shorter runs in (6 miles each).  With the Leadville goal in mind, I’m going to start incorporating more elevation into my runs.  This last one was the first time I felt like I was done and didn’t feel good after.  This was definitely different than my previous soreness & foot blisters.  When I got home I made sure to stuff some salty nuts, protein and water down my throat.  I’ve been doing well running without much food before hand.  I think anything over 2 hours is going to require water, maybe a little chow, and/or an electrolyte replacement.  It’s also winter in Colorado, so I’m sure I’ll have to make some changes once things heat up, though 60’s in mid-late December is pretty warm.  Today’s colder air probably took a lot of moisture out of me too, on top of whatever I was sweating out.  Apparently I don’t need much clothing for a long run in the sun even if the temps are at least in the high 20s. 

I’ve done 2 hour runs with nothing before, and I was feeling fine until my last climb, which was to be expected as it was steep and not really something I could run.  Had to hike it, and my legs were definitely tired, but once I got to the descent again they felt fine.  At about the 2:15 mark today, I ran out of energy pretty quickly.  It was tough to keep going, and my legs were a little weak, but I also started feeling a little uncoordinated.  Not like drunk/stumbling around uncoordinated, or like I have before when I’ve been dehydrated after a long time in the heat, but definitely not functioning like they should.  The legs felt better shortly after I started walking for my cool down, but a few minutes into that, my stomach started feeling a little upset, which was strange.

Present day:

I managed to beat up my right foot pretty good about a month ago, so I’ve been laying off the running since then.  Finally replaced the mountain biking shoes I’ve had since I was racing in high school, about 30 years ago.  Had to move the cleats for my pedals as close to the center of my feet as I could to keep pressure off the ball of my foot.  The last time I had this type of injury it took well over a year to heal and the doctor I saw wasn’t very helpful, so I’m trying to do the things that helped me last time and not just push through and end up making it worse, like I did last time.

This is another, and the last, of the historical posts I wrote early this year (2022).   I’ll be going back in time a little moving forward, but it’s all going to be new writing from my perspective.  I don’t have any relationship to any of the brands/products mentioned.  If that changes, I’ll be sure to mention it.

While I was doing mountain rescue stuff, our team doc told me about a process referred to as a “hot shot” for dealing with blisters.  Essentially, you drain the blister with a small insulin (or heroin or meth) syringe.  Then, you squirt a little tincture of benzoin in there, scream/cry like a baby for a bit, then get on with your life with the blister roof glued to the skin.  The good blister lady from down under is not a fan of the hot shot, but sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures.  And yes, you still have to do something to deal with the cause in the first place, but this should help lessen the issue if you do so and keep going.  You can even buy said needle/syringe combos at any pharmacy or have them dropped on your doorstep in two days or less by the Amazon People, no prescription needed.

I gave the hot shot a try, but since it took so long for the tincture of benzoin to show up there was no hot in that shot.  The skin under the blister has healed up enough to not be sensitive to the alcohol in the solution.  Good news, though, it still glued down the blister roof so hopefully it won’t continue to be an issue as much and it’ll still help protect the new skin underneath.  I’ll take that as a win. Current update- it worked really well and helped keep that area from blistering up again.  Still haven’t had a reason to try a legit hot shot, so we’ll see how that goes if/when the time comes.

SOCKS!!!!!!!

A few years ago, I ordered some Injinji toe socks thinking they would help with my history of toe blisters.  Unfortunately, due to my big toes being cranked in toward my other toes, they were such a pain to put on that I gave them away.  Now that it’s time to get serious about this running thing again, and considering the distances I’ll be running, I decided to give them, as well as the Xoskin toe socks a try. 

After a decently long run with the Injinji’s I’m pretty well sold on the concept.  They are a little more work to deal with, but I think my old ones were a size too small, which didn’t help.  These weren’t bad to get on, and felt really good while I was running.  The arch blister on the sole of my foot didn’t look too bad after the run, and it didn’t flare up on me at all.  There was a little fluid in it after I got out of the shower, but I didn’t check before to see if it was from running, or from soaking my feet in the tub.

I also tried the synthetic Xoskin toe socks, and they are thin!  Like, liner sock thin.  I think these are going to be my go-to, across the board.  Pull these on over my little piggies and then slide on a pair of Thor-lo, or similar, running socks and I think I’ll be able to keep my feet in good shape.

Speaking of liner socks, the synthetic versions do a much better job of protecting my feet because the fabric is slicker than the merino wool ones I’ve tried in the past.  The point of a liner is to allow the outer sock & shoe/boot to slide over the liner so it doesn’t create the friction that leads to blisters.  Unfortunately, the wool liners tend to be “grabby” enough that they don’t slide well at all against the outer sock, and don’t offer much, if any, protection for me.  If they work like they’re supposed to, for you, that’s cool.  Just realize and accept the potential shortcomings of the material and don’t use them if they don’t work.  Same goes for very thin merino base layers.  They don’t allow the next layer to slide at all, and they wear out a lot faster than synthetics in my experience.  Not a fan of thin merino wool.

I started writing this stuff as kind of a way to keep track of my thoughts and training during the process.  I’m out for the 100 this year, but I will try again next year.  I thought this might be a good little bit of insight into what’s going on in my head and what to expect moving forward.  This post, and Part 2 were both written before I knew I was out. 

Well, here we (maybe) go.  I tossed my hat into the lottery ring for the 2022 Leadville 100 run. Why would I do such a thing?  Kinda like our chap George Mallory said of climbing Everest, “Because it’s there.”  Hopefully the outcome for me is more positive than it was for him.  I originally heard of the Leadville 100 my first semester of college at Western State in Gunnison.  My Kinesiology advisor/professor had run it the summer before, if I’m remembering that correctly, it was almost 30 years ago, so cut me some slack if the story isn’t 100%, and for not remembering her name.  At the time, it sounded like a near-impossible feat of human endurance, but when I made a list of 100 things I wanted to do before I died a few years later, it was on there.  If other people could do it, certainly I could finish as well, right?  It’s not like I was looking to walk on the moon or become the richest man in the world.  100 miles on my feet sounded downright reasonable.  And then, I moved on in life. 

The race was one of those things that would pop up every once in a while, I’d maybe check the website, think about training up for it “next year” but next years came and went and I kept thinking about the race on occasion.  I think part of the issue was my job and my perception of distance runners. A lot of them were men who looked almost waif-like and fragile, unable to jump & sprint & move heavy things or fight other humans.  I saw one such man running with his shirt off one summer day and he almost looked like an Auschwitz survivor.  Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely respect the hell out of people who are willing to sacrifice in some areas for greatness in others, but I need to be a well-rounded physical specimen, I can’t afford to specialize like that.

Enter Cameron Hanes.  So, around 2015, with life as I knew it pretty much falling apart, and me out of a job I loved at a place I loved, one of the best men I’ve ever known invited me to go elk hunting with him.  He had a tag in an area close to his house, so we could base out of there, and I could get an over-the-counter tag for the area next door.  I was in.  My friend killed an elk during the last hour of the last day of the hunt.  Neither of us had ever skinned out an elk, though he had done a ton of deer over the years so at least we had that going for us.  We finished the job in the dark and I wanted more.  I don’t know how I came upon Cam Hanes, but he seemed interesting. I ordered his Backcountry Bowhunting book, devoured it, and started following him on the book of faces.  Lift-Run-Shoot is his mantra and as I continued to see his posts, I saw he was strong, robust, and running hard/silly long distance, races.  That was what I needed to see.  In 2016, I first voiced my desire to run the Leadville 100, but it was still a backest-of-burners idea. 

After another, very life-altering event in 2021, I found myself thumb-banging my phone and an ad for the 2022 race showed up in my Facebook feed.  “The lottery is open” it said.  “You son of a bitch, I’m in!” was my reply.  I did not get selected for the lottery, and while I was able to register for the Leadville Marathon, time spent with the kids took over for that weekend (they did enjoy their camping trip to Mesa Verde) and I had to put it off until next year. 

I really don’t know for sure.  I had an idea to document my training for the Leadville 100 ultramarathon race, but after getting the website, a logo, a name, a new Facebook page for this little project, I found out I wasn’t going to be running the 100 this year.  I figured I’d give the marathon a go and try to get an entry that way, so I registered for it the first day I could.  As the race date got closer, I found I wasn’t going to be able to run it, and had to put it off until next year.  The staff at the Leadville Race Series were very helpful with that process.

So, with no Leadvilles this year, what am I going to make of this?  Let’s see where it goes.  I’m still going to work for the 100 next year, maybe put in for both the bike and the run.  Might as well up my chances of doing something cool.  I did a bunch of mountain bike racing when I was in high school, probably to the detriment of my parent’s retirement funds, but they said they didn’t mind, and that the experiences were worth it.  Thank you very much Mom & Dad! No refund on the marathon registration, but for $40 I was able to defer it to next year, so I have that going for me.

The Giant Red Viking Son has expressed an interest in climbing mountains, which is something I kinda did in college, so maybe we’ll add some of those to the mix along with the running and riding training.  He also wants to do some adventure motorcycle touring after passing his MSF class.  Poor guy looked like a circus bear riding a bicycle out on the riding course.  At 6’5-ish, he definitely needs a bigger motorcycle.  Maybe this project will help fund some of those adventures, though I don’t know how, I don’t have anything to sell at this point, just my words.

I definitely need to get back to being stronger for work.  I haven’t really done any lifting since I was unceremoniously told to get out of the house so my soon-to-be ex-wife’s work friend could move into the spare bedroom where I had spent most of the last year sleeping.  The gym at work was also being redone and I hate the public/membership gym experience so after a few months of feeling sorry for myself I started running.  Might as well, since, as a grown-ass man, I moved into my childhood home with my parents.  Thank you very much, again, Mom & Dad!  There are a lot of trails around here and it doesn’t take much to go for a run.  Anyway, stronger.  The gym at work has been finished for a while so I’m getting back to picking things up and putting them down.  As well as consuming protein.  All the protein. 

So, what’s up with the name?  It’s pretty simple, really.  We, as a society, have gotten so focused on the next cool thing that we’ve largely stopped having adventures.  Instead of exploring and running around in the neighborhood open spaces, climbing trees, riding bikes and skateboards and scooters around, our kids are scrolling through feeds or watching videos or playing video games on their electronics.  Instead of family trips to interesting places, we’re family-wide binging on Netflix or Prime Video.  Alone.  We’re human beings, we’re not meant to sit in front of screens (yet here we are) alone.  We’re social animals, we’re made to explore the world around us.  Sitting in front of screens is killing us, possibly one of the greatest contributors to the physical decline of the modern world human. 

What we’re lacking is adventure.  Exploration.  New experiences.  A component of legitimate physical danger.  The riskiest thing most of us do on a regular basis is strap ourselves into a large metal cage, specifically designed to absorb energy, and which will explode from nearly every conceivable space with inflatable cushions should we crash.  What we need is adventure.  We need to see new things, have new experiences, reconnect with the natural world on several levels.  Edward Abbey said “Wilderness is not a luxury, but a necessity of the human spirit.”  To that, I would add that struggle, work, and adventure are also necessities of the human spirit.  So, here’s to One More Adventure, whatever yours may be.