20 miles.... Dude... Where did it go....

Well really 21 miles (or 20 miles according to Legend Lou Joline) at Dude.. Where's The Trail... where the race t-shirts are throwbacks and the highlights at the aid stations are orange and purple "drink" and Walmart brand fig newtons and well the whole point is not to get lost and generally speaking the map and directions should get you by but as you go from legs 1, 2, and 6 the directions go from coherent step by step, turn by turn directions to drunken ramblings- of course making it more difficult to navigate through the course- especially if you were running the 50K... all part of the journey though...  my journey was with Sophia, Erica Smackdown Honey Badger Carper and Tommy, and well without them and the humor and the desire to not get lost this day would have sucked... the team made it far more bearable to run 21 miles... three times the amount I have been running recently....

The journey started the night before with an unbelievable BBQ Pork Rib dinner and Birthday Celebration for Tommy... this rib dinner will become way more important later on... there was pink cake for Tommy... which of course generated the comment "Real Men Eat Pink" -Sophia; this would pop into my head several times throughout the run as well.... 

The morning came early- and after getting ready we were off to the QT (Quik Trip for those non-Kansians that may be reading this) Gas Stations tend to be a lot of fun for Sophia and me, especially when we are trying to rack up a $30 bill, although this morning was more about function, poo and bfast....  some of which we got and some of which we did not... then it was off to Lake Jacomo which there is much debate on the pronunciation- but we are going with Jack-Co-Mo in the spirit of the first man made lake in Jackson County Missouri- original right... or not...

A chilly morning- meeting up with the Nerds and other Mudbabes and of course Carper- who was thrilled to be wearing her AWESOME Team Tommy Bandanna- black with stripper dust covered letters... team assembled it was off to check in and get our photos by Dick Ross... mostly in focus- of course we would get a couple more opportunities to see Dick on the course... after checking in we started our running part of the journey which would prove to be WAY MORE FUN than last years lost in the woods approach...

Leg 1- 7.3 Miles- Off on the adventure- a very chilly start but we all warmed up pretty quickly- ahead of us were two young ladies whom we would see several times throughout the day- completely LOST and going the wrong direction- they looked like they were taking it too seriously though- the day was all about fun. So as we moved along the course- we ran into The Warrens (the pork rib makers and hosts from the evening before and the chili extravaganza following the race) after crossing the steel bridge- a little further down the trail as we headed to the animal enclosure we ran into Dick Ross- PHOTO OP time so we had a little fun- and our antics clearly had Dick laughing as a couple photos were pretty blurry- but the end result Carper had the confidence in the fact that I could carry her across a threshold or a puddle or whatever.... and we were off to run around the animal enclosure- this year I forgot to feed the animals an apple or two- oh well... we would finish leg 1 and run into Matty, Brian, Ashley, and some other dude I didn't know... Ashley had peanut M&Ms which complemented the fig newton wannabes and the purple juice well... off to leg two...

Leg 2- 5.6 Miles (total 12.9)- feeling pretty good we headed back into the trail where we were off to the maze, a book, and a mud tat or two... and of course what would be our only mis-direction of the day... so on our way to the maze- my stomach and intestines started to expand... nothing too bad yet...but I could feel the pressure building... so taking option 1 to get off the pavement and back on the trail- we ran a long a pretty cool rock ledge which was reminiscent of Flat Rock... liking the ledge a little too much we over shot the turn north to the maze... luckily we were able to bushwack back to the maze- where we ran into another team which we would see to the end of leg 2... making it through the maze we mud tatted up and I got the Chapter 4 page of the book " The Malaria $Millions" appropriate for the Malaria Meds I take every Monday... so most Mudbabe Mondays are replaced with Malaria Mondays... blah... and we were off to the bike trail and of course another photo op.... and the aid station- at this point the stomach was pretty ridiculous... super painful and bloated... but otherwise feeling pretty good....

Leg 6- 6.8 Miles (21 Miles total- yep I know it doesn't add up)

So by this point my stomach was expanded to max capacity- feeling like a Macy Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon- you could have stabbed me in the stomach and air would have come out... lesson learned pork ribs- not a good pre-long-run meal... we headed towards the Audoban Society- where the bathroom would be clean and help with the pressure built inside... after the stop there- we would be serenaded by Sophia's wonderful singing... a little PBR, Ginger Ale, and Gas-X provided by awesome mud babe Jen Ogden and then out to the pavement to the finish... turning a corner Carper moons a truck as she goes to pop a squat... a truck that we would see as we ran into the finish for some luke warm hot cocoa, amazing peanut butter sandwiches... and warm cars...  and then off to the chili extravaganza!

renewing the contract....

okay- so it has been awhile since my last blog- but the internet in Afghanistan really is that bad- combined with the frequent "black out" times when Soldiers from our task force get wounded or worse yet killed... but on a more lively note- I find myself sitting in the O'Hare airport- my least favorite of airports- although the newly renovated bathrooms are very eurotastic.... I am impressed... either way I am awaiting my flight to Kansas City- which is super exciting- heading to Sophia and the Mud Babes...  and by this time tomorrow morning I will be on a 20 mile quest at Lou Joline's Dude, Where's the Trail... a fun super low threat race which will- I am sure- prove to be a test of my less than stellar training over the last 9 months.... but being relatively injury free I am hoping that we will have more fun than last year- there was much getting lost and a really nasty ITB issue...

Which sort of brings me to my next topic- getting back into running... really running... so to motivate myself I am reading the Dean Karnazes book- Ultra Marathon Man- silly I know but in many ways I can relate- having been a pretty good runner in High School and at West Point- afterward running was fun- but the pavement running and constant stress really took a toll on my body- the final straw was the stress fracture in my femur... a year away from running... and then running just became a necessary evil to accomplish my job in the Army.. and now it is time for a renew on the contract with myself...

I ran a little on my second deployment to Iraq- it was a good stress reliever.... then I redeployed and started getting set up in California... new job new area- there did not seem to be an open community of runners in Stockton- so I started doing other stuff... in come adult fighting... and then it was off to Kansas... where I found trail running and the Mud Babes- albeit six months into my assignment but so happy I did... how did I jump back in.... a ten-miler at WYCO- insane- completely! and with Rippin' who was in way better shape than I... it got me thinking- and so I signed up for the Free State Marathon- and then the Psycho Psummer 50k- which the goal was to finish- I did and it wasn't pretty... and then Flat Rock where I learned about calorie deprivation (not a good thing) and then started training for Rocky Raccoon... that was quickly thwarted by the deployment to Afghanistan...  a really bad storm... and I can't forget about that pesky ITB...

Now...  well a little mandatory (only for my section) run in costume for Halloween- and a Soldiers desire to run a marathon has fueled desire to run... and at the age of 35.... well I think it is about time- it has been about 13 years since I was busting out sub 18 minute 5ks on the track... so it is possible I can find it again- although this time it is about running farther and in more insane locations- really testing the limits of my mind and resolve to get 'er done in the words of my buddy Chris McLean...

The Test... well that is the ability to get up everyday and run... the next goal... not so sure yet- April is looking like a fine month to push the limits... and the Marathon- well that will be in May and I am super excited to help her run it... I mean my first marathon was really assisted by Bill- Bill Barnett. I think I ran about 24 miles with him- he was giving me pointers the whole way... so it is time to pay back... and maybe get another one hooked... okay  enough for now...  I will give a good report on Dude....