Phil asked me if I had an extra pair of shoes. He had left his at home and I, by chance, had brought an extra pair. I was afraid that my trail shoes may be a little tight, so as a precaution I brought my street shoes. We wear the same size and I was happy to let him use them. The three of us were doing the 18K distance. I had hoped to do at least the 30K but hadn't logged nearly enough miles after my surgery to feel comfortable doing the 30. I opted for the 18K and was glad that I did. The weather was perfect! Sara and Wendell, the race directors put on the most amazing trail races and this race has become my favorite. The three of us started together, but us running together only lasted about a minute. Even though I planned on racing this as opposed to "surviving" a 50K, I knew that I still needed to pace myself and try for a middle of the pack finish. Phil and Lori.... well, they're just plain FAST! In the 2nd mile there is a VERY steep climb. When I hit this, my heart rate went through the roof. I'm still not really sure why. It was worse than last years 50K when the temps were in the 90's. I had to stop several times and let people behind me go ahead since it was single track and by the time I got to the top, I was feeling pretty dizzy. I think it may have been the fact that I had eaten 3 hours prior and I may have been low on fuel. Anyway, the plan was to keep my HR in check on the uphills and run as fast as I could on the downhills (brilliant, I know). In the 18K, you basically go over 2 mountains. 6 miles over 1 mountain to the aid station, then back to the start. Big change from the 50K where you go over 5. When I was about a half mile from the turn around I saw Lori headed back my way. Like I said.... she's fast!
She sure looks happy. I had already seen my shoes.... and Phil a mile or two back and well... never mind. I got to the aid station, loaded up on pretzels and chocolate and headed back. It's a bit easier on the return trip with a more gradual incline. Like I said the weather was perfect and there was a nice breeze. I stayed within my target heart rate and it served me well. By the time I got to the top, I had a lot left in me. I had stuck behind a couple for a good mile or so and when I took off, the guy said to me, "go get em" (trail runners are the coolest people!). So off I went. I felt great and made up a lot of time. I passed several people on the way down. I would see someone ahead of me and slowly reel them in. I was a little worried that I would trip, like I always seem to do, but I was wearing trail shoes which I think helped and my pace was faster than usual which I think also helped (less feet dragging). There was one final guy that I was trying to catch, but just couldn't quite do it. He finished 3 seconds ahead of me. He wasn't in my age group so that made it not hurt as bad. I wanted to finish around 2:15 and I finished in 2:18:49. My Garmin said 2:16:42 because I had it set to auto pause when I am stopped. That means I spent over 2 minutes stuffing my face with pretzels and chocolate. I'll have to work on that next time :) I ended up 32/60 overall and 7/12 in my age group. That is pretty much right where I wanted to be. Not bad considering no hill work and less than 2 months after surgery. I am looking forward to the next trail race. Here is a snapshot of the elevation gain.
And what about Lori...... and....... my shoes????? Lori finished 1st in her age group and 10th overall with 1:49:10... AMAZING! And Phil finished 1st in his (and my) age group and 3rd overall!!! He gave me back my shoes and I think I saw some smoke coming off the heels. I love my friends but they do make me feel slow. I'm hoping some of that speed rubs off on me.
Ok, now that I have finally gotten my month old race report out of the way, on to some new business. I am going to start talking more about my other passions. I have touched on it before but since there hasn't been much to report, I haven't really said much. Hopefully, the endurance junkies will find this interesting as well. Luckily this first bit has a nice tie in.
First a bit of history. I am a musician and I have played in bands since I was in high school. The bulk of my performing was in the late 80's to mid 90's. I was in a band called Dirty Dealin' and we played in southern California. We were a metal band along the lines of Metallica and Skid Row. We cut an album and then........ Nirvana came along. You get the picture. After that I started doing some acting. I studied, did a play, some work, and got my SAG card. I also starting producing other artists. And, through all this time I have continued to write and record my own music. I've had a few successes with a couple of those songs, but, life being what it is and the need to make money, the majority of my time is spent doing sound work for other people. Sadly, at the end of the day, I am so spent that it is hard to work on my own stuff. And, frankly, I haven't had that much to say. Luckily, I am feeling different lately and am writing again. I am going to keep writing until I have a complete album (does that even matter anymore, with iTunes?). And I am actively looking for an agent for the acting thing.
That's the history, now, the present. Brett over at Zen and the Art of Triathlon, has put my cover of "Eyes Without a Face" in one of his recent podcasts. He's used another one of my songs on another show and I really appreciate him using my music. If any of you haven't already heard his podcast (his is one of the top Tri podcasts) you have to check it out. He used to live in SoCal and now lives in Texas with his wife Emily and his son Kai. He does a great show about endurance sports and talks a lot about Zen. Really cool stuff and great to listen to on those long runs and rides.
Another one of my songs "Red Bloody Sun" was used in "Friday Night Lights" Episode 6 from last season. Cool!
Also, my good friend, and PR Superwoman, Cindy Rakowitz has a show on Voice America called "Stars of PR". She uses my song "Pop Icon" for her opening and I love her for it. She gives you the scoop on PR and how to promote and.... well, I guess that's what I'm doing now... a little shameless self promotion. But, more to put into context where I am at, as I will be talking about it more. And I am hoping that talking about it here will keep me motivated to have something good to report. It's funny, when I am in a race, knowing that I will have to talk about it here always makes me push a little harder and suffer a little more.
Paul
