38 Miles for 38 Years

I've been wanting to try to do this. I'd heard of people who run their age every year on their birthday, and it sounds like a cool idea. The last couple of years, my birthday has fallen near a race or on a day I was busy, but this was the one; a Friday birthday. So my kids and wife were at school and it was my day off; I could totally knock out 38 miles.

I decided to take the day slowly, run then rest, then run again. It was another hot 95 degree day and I knew it would be a long one. I didn't expect it would be that long.

38 miles isn't that far, I figured. I've run 100 miles, multiple 100k's, and several marathons and 50k distances. So this wouldn't be too bad. What I underestimated was how different it is to run in a race versus my own planned run. There were no other people, no volunteers, no aid stations, and no stakes. It was just me trying to do something I was stupid enough to announce on Facebook. In fact, at mile 14 I looked down at my watch and thought, "If I hadn't told everyone I was doing this, I'd quit right now." To my credit, that's why I posted about it. I knew it would force me to finish.

The run started awkwardly. The kids went to school and I spent a little time fighting crime on Arkham Knight, as I only get time to do on my days off. I figured I'd start around 10am and so I took my time drinking coffee and eating a little. At about 10 I was getting my running stuff on when the doorbell rang. Jason - a friend - had offered to run some with me and was ready to go long before I was. So I grabbed my stuff and we took off. I wasn't quite prepared but I wasn't going to miss out on company. Jason is a good runner who has tended to finish ahead of me in local 5k's and 10k's. I knew this would be a slow run for him since I was planning to go all day. We took off and I immediately had stomach problems. The nerves were hitting me as I questioned whether or not I could complete this, and was frazzled from not being quite ready to go. But 8 miles with Jason was great. We ran a little too fast for what I was doing but definitely slow for his kind of training. We made our way back to my house by 8 miles so I could hydrate and he could get back to his house with a 10 mile total run.

After a little cooling off and getting my bottles full of Tailwind, I took off for the next set of miles. I'd take my nice route out of town around Celebration Park. It would usually end up around 9 miles and would get me a little further in my total. I was trying to get 26 miles done before 3:30pm when my friend Matt was going to run with me for the last 12 miles as he trains for his first marathon. This was not going to happen as I planned.

My solo run was rough. It was getting hotter outside and I was feeling the miles in my legs. I don't think I'd run further than 13 miles since May when I ran the Booneville Backroads 100k in the heat. I really wasn't physically trained for this run.

When I got back to my house at around mile 17, I was over this idea. I'd already considered quitting so I took about an hour to eat some lunch, drink a lot, and cool off on the floor. Finally I convinced myself it was time to go again.

The next section was a route I often run to get about 7.5-8 miles by running to Moonlight Rd, then past Grandstar Elementary to the trail at Gardner Rd. I hit halfway just before the school and couldn't believe how much further I had to go. After Grandstar I found a spot of shade and sat down to rest and cool while looking pathetic as bus drivers waved on their way by. (Shout out to Christelle who saw me and had her bus kids ready to yell "Happy birthday!" on their way back by.)

As I reached the Gardner trail turnaround by I35, I got a text from Matt. He was home from work and ready to go, with Jolie on her bike to join us. I was only a few blocks from their house but I wasn't going to be at 26 miles. I was only at 21.5 miles at that point, so I would owe 4.5 miles to the roads even after Matt's 12. We got together and took off for a slow slow run. We ran back to my house to meet up with my son Carson who wanted to do some miles with us.

Then we hit the Greenway trail, which was great for a little shade, and then a hot run to the high school and back. By this time, I was needing occasional walk breaks and just wanted it to be over. Also, it was getting late for dinner and our tradition of going out to eat was in jeopardy.

So I had an idea... We'd finish Matt's 12 miles at his house, Katie would pick me up, and we'd clean up to go to KC Joe's BBQ. Then, after we got home, I'd knock out the last 4.5 miles when the sun had gone down.

Joe's was a wasted trip. I mean, it was good company and everyone else had a great meal, but I was too nauseous to eat much. Running all day in the heat had taken too much out of me.

When we returned home, Katie decided she would go with me for the last bit of running. I always love having her with me to finish, so it was a great idea. But unfortunately the break from the heat wasn't coming. Though the sun had gone down, the humidity had gone nowhere. Katie and I ran a humid, difficult last 4.5 miles to finish my day at about 10:30pm.

It was just under 7 hours of running separated by cool downs, bottle refills, and BBQ. But I had done it. 38 miles on my 38th birthday. And one major question was answered: could I go further than 26.2 miles in my Vibram FiveFingers on concrete. My V-Trains kept my feet comfortable and blister-free all day, even on hot blacktop and concrete.


Maybe next year I'll run my age in kilometers instead. ;)



PS. I'm so proud of my son Carson, who a week later ran his age on his 12th birthday. He killed it.

The Backroads in Hell

The very first ultra I signed up for, the Booneville Backroads Ultra is my favorite race. The people are awesome, the experience is awesome, and the race is hard. There are no race markings, long distances between aid stations, and inclement weather every year. After completing the 100k in 2016 and the 100 mile last year, I decided I'd come back and give the 100k another go. I am looking for a trail 100 miler this year since my last two were gravel roads, so I didn't want to take the Sunday off to do the 100 miler here. Plus, why not try to break the 12:17 hours that I finished in last time?

It was not going to be a day to run a PR.

For the first time in 3 years there was no rain in the forecast during this race. It hadn't rained for days leading up to it, and Saturday was calling for full sun and heat. I would have never imagined that a hot sunny day would be worse conditions than rain and hail that we ran through last year. But it was hot! The temperatures reached 97 degrees with 104 degree heat index. Adding to that, there wasn't a cloud in the sky or any chance for shade all day. And for the first time ever, no breeze in Iowa.

At first I thought heat would be okay. I run through the summer in the heat of the afternoon, because I hate early mornings, and I was sure it wouldn't affect me.

The race started cool enough and at the 10 mile aid station I was feeling great. As usual, my awesome crew was there - Katie, and our friends Matt and Jolie.

The second aid station isn't until 23 miles in, and I knew that would be a hard 13 miles. It was getting hot and I could tell I was going to go through tons of Tailwind on this day. But the worst part was my feet. My experiences the past two years at Booneville have been wet and that meant soft gravel roads and awful muddy B roads. This year, the roads felt like concrete. And though I was initially ecstatic that the B roads were dry, they actually felt even worse than the gravel. I hadn't realized the break that the mud was on my minimal shoe-wearing feet. My Vibram FiveFingers V-Trail are definitely up for the challenge, but the bottoms of my feet felt it more than I remembered.

By the time I got to the 30 mile aid station, I was hot. And worse, I was chafing. At the 23 station Katie put some ice in my buff and it helped keep me cool around my neck, but it also melted and got my shorts wet. So now they were wet and rubbing my thighs and I'd never chafed this early before. But the ice was a necessity and I took off for what I expected to be the hardest part of the race: the last 12 miles before I get a pacer. And that was a tough stretch, but it didn't prove to be the worst.

At the 42 aid station I thought that I was okay, though I was hot and tired. I don't know if it was the heat or my less than impressive training that led to my very tired legs. But I figured I'd be okay now that Matt would run with me to 53 and then Katie to the end. I was wrong again.

Matt and I took off and soon we were walking at best. More like trudging. I was completely out of energy. And I was hot. Every time I saw shade, we stopped. And after awhile, my bottles were hot and I was starting to feel like I needed something cool. There was nothing to be found. And the hills kept coming.

Matt helped get me through this awful section. He was patient and encouraging, and probably the only reason I actually made it to the next aid station. Several times I had to stop and dry heave on the side of the road, which was a new unwelcome experience in ultras.

Aid Station 53 finally appeared and I took my sweet time cooling off, eating, and getting myself back to form. The volunteers were amazing and helpful, and I started to feel better. And I got to have Katie run with me to finish the race. Most of all, the sun started to go down and the temperature started to drop. And we started to run to the finish.

This was a tough race. Instead of finishing under 12 hours like I planned, it took me 15:07:37 and I finished in 5th place. Everyone took extra time and many of the 100 milers dropped early. But I learned a few things. Like, mud roads are better than super hot days. I can't ever underestimate an ultra. I definitely need to train better.

Next time, Booneville. I'll tame you, yet.

Gear: Garmin Fenix 5X watch, Vibram FiveFingers V-Trail shoes, Injinji Compression socks, Ultimate Direction AK2 vest, Camelback insulated bottles, Tailwind Nutrition, Aftershockz Trekz Titanium bone-conduction headphones, Booneville buff, Goodr sunglasses, Road ID bracelet (in case I died on the side of the road).