Running Thoughts

I apologize for falling behind on updates. Thank you to everyone who reads and supports me. I hope to be able to help you guys accomplish your goals running or otherwise!   ACT I: Cloudland Canyon 50: Not What I Expected Ch. 1 Leadup & Pre-Race In the month following Pinhoti, I’ve enjoyed running, using it as an outlet for stress, and not following a specific plan. I’m relying on my past training and familiarity with the course since I ran the race last year. I felt incredibly burnt out. I encountered anxiety and panic attacks to the point where I considered, dropping from 50 miles to 50k, and even not running at all. Stress built up from work, home buying, and everything else. I decided to focus on enjoying the race and be willing to set aside goals if necessary.   I eagerly looked forward to improving on my time from 2021. I did poorly with a finish of 9:50. I finished 6 th despite all the struggles I had that day I was only 10 minutes out of 2 nd . I hadn’t...

  Pinhoti 100: Beyond All Expectations   The Dream Team of guys that paced and crewed me at Pinhoti.  From Left to Right (Brandon, David, Me, and Ben) Introduction: There’s just over a mile to go… Brandon and I have been running together for around 4.5 hours now and we’re finishing in under 21:30, which is superb. With just over a mile left, we see a light heading out of this valley about a ¼ mile or so ahead of us. It takes us 2-3 minutes to reach that same spot. Brandon has been leading and pushing the pace to the finish. He looks back at me and says, “Did you see that? That’s 5 th place, let’s get after him!” I respond, “It’s going to take a miracle to catch him!” Brandon responds, “I’ve been witnessing one tonight.” (This is how I remember it. Most of this is a blur.) Time to go back to the beginning.   Chapter 1: Anxiety/Fear Leading up to the Race I had a lot of nerves and anxiety leading up to the race. Even little bits of fear started spreading in...

I've been looking forward to Little Dog since Strolling Jim in May. It's a Laz race, named after his dog named Little, and has its own unique charm unlike any other. This is the 2nd year of the race after Big's (the original) got too large to be an at-large event. A backyard ultra consists of completing 4.167 miles every hour until there's 1 person remaining and they are the winner. Technically, everyone else DNFs in one of the following ways: not finishing on time (timed out, over an hour to complete), incomplete (not finishing a yard), or refusing to continue. The race is counted in yards, loops, or laps and is equivalent to how many hours the race takes place. The day loop is a trail yard in Laz's actual backyard. This year the course has been revamped with new bridges and amazing trail work. The night yard is a 2.08333-mile road run out and back.                                  ...