Ice Age Trail

The Ice age trail is a 1200 mile trail that follows the terminal moraine left from ancient glacial ice. It is awesome trail with rolling hills, prairie, pine forest, some steep climbs, even switchbacks! Cruising the roller coaster like hills, just being grateful that I can put in 20 miles pain free! There is two races held on this trail the Ice Age 50 and Kettle Moraine 100, don't be surprised if you see the 50miler on the race calendar come May. After running these trails I want to race, thru hike, and camp all over them!

This weekend should be awesome after thanksgiving dinner my dad, Honey B, and I are loading up the car and driving the 6 hours down to Shawnee National forest in southern Illinois for a two day backpacking trip. Expect a post about the adventure.......

Look at the Pine forest sooo cool

Nearing summit!

Best run in a long time....

10 miles no pain! and 35 total for the week! I found a sweet 5 mile loop in Dick Young Forest Preserve. You traverse through marsh, prairie, woodland, and cornfield. The best part is no crazy dog owners yelling at me for my liberal leash beliefs. It was the first time in a long time that I was able to zone out and enjoy the running awww man it felt good. I had to cancel plans for the 10 mile race in Crystal Lake because I am working now! I recently began training at Lifetime Fitness in Warrenville. I love it, they really take care of their trainers; unlike all of the other corporate gyms. They offer a great pay scale, full benefits, paid vacation, paid NASM certification, paid continuing education...... They sponsor top triathletes and races. One of the races being the Leadville 100 in Colorado the second biggest 100 mile race (hmm might have to do that one)! The atmosphere is very professional not to mention in my first week they gave me a client! I also gained a client through an assessment. She was inspired by all the great testimonials you guys wrote, you know who you are. Check out the link above it is more of a resort than a gym!

10 Miles and still wagging her stub....

Honey Bee on Halloween

Pre Race Bear Photos

Kind of a late post, but here are photos from before the Bear.

Just heard from clients Kerri and Patrice congratulations on your 1/2 marathon accomplishments! You guys are awesome and tough for battling through the elements. I am glad we can share the feeling of joy running can bring you. Keep up the good work you guys make me proud.

It has been about 3 weeks since the Bear and my running has been gradual to say the least. I can run about an hour before ITband gets tight. Not to concerned it is improving and I have been through it before and I know there is an end to this silly injury. Here is the rehab stretching, strengthening routine I have been doing every morning. ITband Rehab

As you can see there is another race on the calendar! It is in Crystal Lake IL on trail! There is a 5 mile and a 10 mile option, I don't know which one yet.... but it feels good to have on the horizon. This weekend was camping with my Dad and Brother Nick in Middlefork IL. Awesome trails with beautiful foliage. I was telling my dad that as soon as we started hiking into the wild I felt a sense of relief wash over me. It was great to spend a weekend in the woods with the man who taught me to appreciate nature.

Honey Bear and I with Bear Lake in the background

If I talked to you while in Utah, this is probably where I was. Spent a lot of time in this park taking in the scenery
What happened to your tail!!!! Where is it Honey Bear?!
View from the start of the race, a week prior.
Mr Chris Drew. Came all the way to Utah to help a friend, thanks Chris Drew
The Twine around Honey Bears neck before rescue.
Honey's view for the 24 hour car ride back to Illinois. She was a good sport I kept her happy by sharing beef jerkey. I take a bite, now you take a bite.....
View from Base Camp. Went trout fishing here, but no luck, I saw them though!

Bitter Frustration

At the pre race meeting the race director warned us that even though we trained hard and planned for EVERY possible thing that could go wrong; the ONE thing we didn't expect would go wrong. The race started with a beautiful sunrise from atop the mountain and feeling confident and well rested for the long day ahead. It was at unlucky mile 13 my right knee(ITband) started to hover at an 8 or 9 on the pain scale.I tried to remain postive stopped stretched drank water but it just wouldn't give! Sometimes these things have a way of working out over the miles. Or as another runner put it,"give it a chance to poop or get off the pot". Well it pooped. I was muscling the uphills pain free and walking the downhills in pain. By the time chris met me at mile 52(midnightish) it was 30 degrees in the valleys and I was reduced to a hobble on the downhills. It was the longest and most depressing 10 miles of my life. The most frustrating part was everything else was ready for more, my feet were holding up, all muscles were good, I was keeping up on the nutrition,but not being able run broke me.
On the other hand it feels good to be humbled.There has not been a race I have not been able to finish and to have found one is satisfying. Because now I must redeem myself.

Thank You

I wanted to say thank you to all my clients. It was extremely tough leaving you guys. I have showed you the way to a healthy lifestyle now it is up to you to continue. I hope I have made a difference in your lives. Remember I am still here to answer any questions, provide support, and new workouts.
I am here in Logan Utah hangin out in the mountains and taking trips into town. What a beautiful place. I was looking at my Rand McNally road atlas of the entire United States and on the back the editors voted their favorite scenic loop. Guess where it goes? Yep right through Logan, Utah. I would post pics, but I'm using my phone which doesn't have a camera?! Might as well be a string and a can.
It hasn't quite sunk in the amount of pain I'm about to endure in only a couple days now. I went and checked out the start of the course and straight up the mtn it goes. It starts at 5000 feet! Which is higher than anywhere I was runnin in Oregon, with mt hood as the exception. The first couple of runs I felt like a fat a$$ because I have been tapering, driving, and at sea level. Today was the last run and I felt much better besides my tight peroneal calf muscles. I figure the beauty of the foliage can pull me through the first 60 miles then I will have Chris Drew.
The best news is my first day in the mountains I was followed by a dirty puppy with a broken piece of twine around her neck. After looking around for the possible negligent owner for an hour I decided to make her my new bitch. I took her to Petsmart got her all the essentials. She was very skinny and dehydrated, but after a little love she is happy as a clam. Petsmart girls said she is about 5 months old and is a Australian Shepard mix. I think the heavens or hillbillys sent her to get rid of the sting of loneliness. She is a blessing and I believe it was meant to happen.
Either today or tomorrow I want all clients to do this workout and think of me. When you are done post on the comment of the section of this blog that you have completed it and what it was like. We will call it Leg Blast.
75 Squats
75 Lunges
75 Burpees
75 Jump Squats
Piece of cake
Not eat a piece of cake!

Endurance Eating

Today Ash n I went to Stepping Stone Cafe in downtown Portland. We saw the Cafe on Man Vs Food it is famous for its colossal food, especially the pancakes. To build up an appetite for 5lb pancakes we rode our bikes over the mountain and into Northwest Portland. There was a hungry crowd waiting outside. The cafe's slogan is, "You eat here because we let you." We felt honored to wait.
For any clients wondering, why can't I be an endurance eater? You too can be an endurance eater, but first you must ride your bike for 4 hours, run 3 miles, and lift weights for 1 1/2 hours. All in a days work.



The Competition is the guy on the top he ate 1 omelette and 3 Mancakes! It took him 2 hours and 42 minutes hmmmm that's a good marathon time. I had the Jalapeno, Onion, Green Pepper, and Cream Cheese Omelette amazing. Ash had Portabella, Feta, and Artichokes mmmmm. The Damage

Where's Waldo 100K

Finally found the Little Bastard he was hiding out by the finish line
Crew Chief sleepin on the job Dead Man Walkin See you at mile 30 3 am Start



Beautiful Oregon Sunrise from our campsite. After seeing Chris off we went back to sleep until sunrise.
View from Fuji Mtn Summit



Entering Aid Station Mile 20

Leaving Aid Station Mile 35


Pushing for Summit of Maiden Peak just under 8000 feet

Maiden Peak Summit


A short Rest before making the descent

62 Miles over 3 Mountains Congratulations Chris Drew!

Circumnavigating Mt. Rainier- Wonderland Trail

Day 1 still feeling good

Sleeping arrangements. mint on pillow... the last night I was awoken by a critter (chipmunk, or Chihuahua?) running across my head. I was a little startled, but it was good because I got to see the stars and a few meteors flash bye.

Mama bear and you can see her cub in the bottom. I had to scramble up the switchback to avoid getting too close to her young.

Trip couldn't have gone more perfect besides being the toughest damn thing I've ever done. Just got back from getting my prescription filled because this blister of three days became infected.

The Wonderland trail is 93 miles long I choose to go clockwise around Mt Rainier. It was extremely technical and over 20,000 feet elevation gain which is over 6000 feet higher than if I would have climbed the volcano.

One of Four Bear sightings!







This was a low point in the day and my speech is slurring. Never going to look at a mile the same







About 4 miles of snow pack into camp very tough

Indian Bar Camp last night.. still 23 miles from Longmire and Salvation

White River 50

Corral Pass Mile 16.9 Still feel fresh. Beautiful Mt Rainier in Background

Tomorrow we run the White River

I hope all the Advil doesn't shut down my liver

It will be the furthest distance yet

Painful blisters you can bet

Some people say we are crazy

I rebuttal, at least I'm not lazy!

It is not about seeing how fast

But seeing if you can last

Two mountains you must pass over

Much easier in a Land Rover

When I started to cry at mile 35 of the race

Dignity was gone without a trace

There was many times I thought I was going to be sick

But slowing down the pace did the trick

The last six miles were no easy feat

At least the old growth kept us out of the heat

This was by far the hardest thing in my life

It made me realize the greatest joys are met in strife

Team Rash crossing the finish line. Feeling good for running 50 miles in the

mountains.

Here is a video I found on YouTube of Saturday's race. I don't know who this guy is, but his video shows some of the course terrain and aid stations.

White River 50 countdown

Last Year's Start

As I am writing this there is exactly 2 days 11 hours 58 minutes 46 seconds no wait.. 44 seconds no wait 40 seconds until the White River 50 Mile Mountain Race. The only reason I know this precisely to the second is because Local Portland Runner Yassine Diboun has a countdown on his blog. Yassine is my favorite to win the race, but the competition is going to be tough being that it is USATF Trail Run Championships. That means all the elite runners around the nation ought to be there. As for Ashley and I, our plan is to just finish this one, It will be the longest mountain race yet.The race rises and falls a total elevation change of 17,400 feet over the 50 miles! We must remember that this is not the focus race of the year (it is the Bear 100) and to enjoy it. To race it like a 50 mile race, not a 50K, to pace ourselves and concentrate on hyrdration and nutrition. We plan on leaving for Silver Springs Campground on Thursday evening. Friday is the pre race briefing and pasta dinner then the race kicks off bright and early Saturday. Not sure what the race will bring, but breaking 10 hours would be nice. We don't plan on driving back until Tuesday giving us a couple days rest in the the Mt. Rainer National Forest. We can hobble around enjoying the endorphin high and reflect on the accomplishment. When we return, it will be just one day until Mom comes!

HOLD ON!

A Few Weeks ago Ashley spent the day with a photographer, Brendan Coughlin in Portland his work is so creative and so unique, I had to share!The Photo above has an MC Escher vibe to it.......
Digitally enhanced freckles, same technology used to make Avatars blue.
Same Girl.....

New Runner In Town...

I would like to present to you, the newest trail runner in the Pacific Northwest!!! Earlier this month my mother came to visit. Although, it was a decreased mileage week (as far as running went), we still needed to head out to the trails.

It was a wonderful experience to share this with my mom. The trails are where I have spent the majority of my life for the past 10 months and it was nice to be able to show this place to my best friend. A lot of the time when I am out on the trail, I am reflecting on life... wondering what is right, what is wrong, what is great, what could be better... yet, when I was able to be on the trail with my mom, all I could think about is how wonderful it was that she was here, sharing this experience with me. On this particular day, my mom did 4 miles on Wildwood trail! Great job mom! After she conquered Wildwood for the second time in two days, we headed out to Rose's is in Portland for some brunch.

My mom was here for the 4th of July. We made the decision to stick around the apartment and light off fireworks. It was fun and hilarious! There was a ridiculous spread of scumptious food and we barbequed all afternoon. On my birthday we went over to Cannon Beach. Mom took some great pictures by the haystack.
I was awfully sad to see my mom go. It reminded me I really need to see family and friends more than just every 7-8 months. Even though I miss her and think of her often... we had so many wonderful memories that I can now reflect upon while being on my beloved trails.

Spend some time with the ones you love... put your blackberry away, shut off the computer... and the tv. Go for a walk or enjoy nature together... you'll be amazed at what you might find out about eachother and you'll always be grateful to have those memories together.

Mount Hood PCT

This weekend we camped at Alpine Campsite about a mile down from the Timberline Lodge. We were really roughin it, we had the Timberline brunch buffet consisting of chef made to order omelettes and gourmet waffles for breakfast. With full tanks we hit the Pacific Crest Trail with a plan to run a total of 10 miles. The PCT is a continuous trail that runs from Canada to Mexico through three states Washington, Oregon and California. This sign explains that it's only 21o8 miles to Mexico! We will save that run for a long weekend. The small portion of 10 miles (5 miles out and back) we covered this weekend, gave us a taste of all kinds of elements. We crossed rivers of glacial runoff, hiked up sand, navigated through snow, and climbed through boulder fields. It is an amazing portion of the trail and makes completing the PCT in its entirety sooo tempting. The reason for the low mileage is because we are now tapering for the White River 50 mile run. It will be the longest footrace yet and we need to rest our tired legs for the next two weeks.

Notice waterfall in background

Old Mans Beard

Mt Jefferson in background. You can even see the Three Sisters
Mountains in Bend.

Crossing ice cold stream

Video puts the size of the valley in perspective