Outlook on 2017

A BRIEFING OF 2016
By the end of 2016, I had accomplished a few goals that I, honestly, made up on the fly. I went running with a friend on New Year's Day last year and decided, "I'm going to run further this year. Maybe I'll try a marathon." This kind of set the basis of the rest of the year's running endeavors. I knew that distance was going to be my new forte, so I quit track (which I slightly regret, admittedly), took on a regimen of running far and fast, and throwing some trails into the system. I loved it!

In February, I took on my first real distance race - and trail race - at Louisville's Lovin' the Hills. After this race, I found that this community of runners (the group that likes to run 100 miles for fun) was one that I wanted to be part of. So I continued to meet people of the sport and learn as much as I could. I took on and finished my first marathon, played in the mountains of Colorado, and tackled my first ultramarathon (50 miles) and Tunnel Hill. You can read about these in my other blog posts if you want. 

For a number of reasons, I was able to consider 2016 a relatively successful year for starting my endeavors as a "real" distance runner. But I don't want to think of it in such a light. I like to look at where I failed, what I did wrong, why I failed, who beat me, what I lacked, when I was ignorant, when I set myself up for failure. Why? Because without failure, how does a 19 year old kid know when to slow down (or speed up, for that matter)? I trained myself for the first time in my running career, and I believe that I messed up. I threw away a lot of potential.

Mistake number one regards injury prevention. As an invincible young man, I knew that I was capable of doing whatever I wanted and the injuries that plague all other runners would not even be of consideration for me... Boy, did I learn a lesson. I've never been more stricken with injury in my life! If it wasn't one thing, it was sure to be another. Knees, toes, TOENAILS, feet, ankles, wisdom teeth (not my fault), migraines, preventable sickness, and the latest - hip flexors. Why did all of these injuries occur? Because I pushed the limits to the point limits should not be pushed. I do not want to dwell on the failures, as that year is gone, and the only direction I have to go is forward and up.


SO ON TO 2017

This year will be a year of more discoveries, failures, setbacks, triumphs, and adventure. I do not mean these things in a cliche context. I legitimately am seeking to discover a new gear, a new level of determination for this year. I have a schedule lined up, as well as a coach to help push me AND hold me back. I need to adopt to a routine by which I can build and grow, developing over time into an elite runner - that's the goal, anyway.

Some quick running goals I'd like to mention include:

Running every day
Running a 100 mile
Qualifying for Boston and Western States
Winning an ultra
Running 100 mile weeks
STAYING INJURY FREE!!!
Going vegetarian


Tentative Schedule:

Feb. 4         LLTH (15 mile)

April 29       KDF Marathon

April 30       Backside Trail Marathon

Aug. 19       Backyard Classic (8 hour)

Oct. 7          The Hennepin Hundred (100 mile/50 mile)  * Maybe

Nov. 11       Tunnel Hill (100 mile/50 mile)

I would be failing in my role on this planet if I did not emphasize my primary motivation for all of this. As a devoted Christian, I run with the primary goal of praising God and using my talents and passions to share the gospel. I am committing, not only this year, but the remainder of my career to this mission with the end goal of assurance that I fulfilled, to the best of my ability, the Great Commission.

As a young runner with a growing network of friends in this sport, I feel that my influence will continually increase as I advocate the development of distance running as a means of adventure, discovery, and improvement of one's standard of life. I want to raise awareness for social problems and environmental problems, serving as a voice for those God has called us to assist. The ultra community is exactly that - a community. I am proud to be a part of it.

If you'd like to contact me to talk about running, life, or anything at all, please email me at isaacmitchell97@yahoo.com . Be sure to follow me on IG @isaacmitchell14 for more updates throughout the year.

Tunnel Hill 50 Mile Run

About a month ago, after not racing for quite a long time, a friend told me about a race in Illinois called Tunnel Hill. I had been training consistently, keeping a semi-consistent regimen, but did not have anything to work towards. I knew that I wanted to jump into ultrarunning soon, so I was doing some decent long runs, but was still in my road-runner mindset of running fast or bust. Plus, as a college student, I pretty much run whenever I can. If that means driving home before work to run at 4:30 in the morning just to get in an hour or so, then that's what I knew had to be done. When you really want something in life, I've learned you've just got to get out and go for it. After reading The Ultra Mindset by Travis Macy, I adopted the mentality of taking advantage of those early morning long runs and strategic dieting and scheduling as good mental training.

Anyways, I was told that Tunnel Hill was a great race for anyone's first ultra; it's generally flat with lots of aid stations and encouraging volunteers and competitors. So I decided that this would be ultra numero uno for me. I signed up and immediately adjusted my training to a "slow down, run far" plan. I can't honestly say that I stuck with this though. Even being a year removed from competitive high school racing, I can't seem to shake the mentality - mentally, I have a hard time slowing down. My biggest fear is that someone out there is running faster than me, and I just can't accept that for some reason. So, my weekly runs averaged between 8 and 12 miles at a semi-brisk 6:30-7:00/mile pace. Sometimes, to reassure myself that I was still fast, I would bust out something like 5:30. Why not, right? My long runs on the weekends climbed to about 23 miles (2.5 hours). The long runs were run at about 7:15 pace, depending on the terrain and how I felt. My weekly mileage got up to around 60, and I was feeling better than ever...until taper week.

I actually took two weeks to taper - the first was fine, but with only 5 days till the race, I noticed that I had an unwavering, debilitating pain on the top of my big toe joint where bunions usually form. The solution I gathered from a PT I know: "I wouldn't run if I were you." Yeah, I don't think so. After much consideration and talking with more experienced runners, I decided to cut a hole in my Hokas and roll with the punches. I had to switch to an older pair just 3 days before the race. I was kind of panicking at this point as I could barely walk.

Now on to race day. At 5:30, we rolled up to the park where the race would take place. I had downed a heaping bowl of oatmeal, some CarboPro, and what I thought to be a significant amount of water. I was feeling great, the toe felt alright, and my legs were adequately rested. It was probably the adrenaline that took all the pain away, and all I had to do at this point was wait...for 2 hours...until the start. 

When the race got under way, I took off in 3rd place. The two leaders went out at about 6:30, as expected, so I let them go. I went out with a 7:00 and would maintain this for the next 16 miles or so, averaging a relatively fast 7:20ish for the first 20 miles. At this point, I started to feel a little lactic acid doing its thing, so I made the astonishing commitment to slow down. My family was crewing for me (this was their first ultra too, so I let some mistakes slide), and they basically kept me on a rotation of gels, waffles, water, and CarboPro. By the marathon, I had gotten ridiculously sick of gels and CarboPro, so I said no more. 

At the marathon, I stopped to care for some blisters that were starting to come up, downed a bag of Lays in two bites, took a salt tablet,  and popped in some Ibuoprofen. I also realized that I had almost broken my marathon PR...oops. I was told that I was about 20 minutes off the leader and that the next person was 10 minutes behind. I was still in 3rd and had basically crossed off the possibility of advancing my position. I, for the first time ever, made the decision to...run my own race. 

The next part of the race was pretty long to say the least. My stomach bonked from all the sugar I had taken in in the first half of the race and I was definitely dehydrated (as made clearly evident by a natural bodily function). I kept rolling on, having slowed down since the marathon. Not much worthy of mention took place for the next 13 miles, really. I didn't see a single competitor, and I was legitimately talking to myself to find some motivation.

When I reached mile 40, I stopped for a much needed pit stop, and emerged to see a group of people hurrying me on because I had been passed. With 10 miles to go, I was in 4th, and I really couldn't even see the guy ahead. I assumed he had saved up for the end as any experienced runner would. So I just continued to run my race. 9 miles to go...8...7...5. When I got to the last 5k, which happened to be an aid station, I heard my mom (who obviously also still has the cross country mindset), yelling for me to keep going because I could catch number 3 because he had stopped to get some Dr. Pepper. Upon hearing this, I saw him take off. I chucked my handheld to my brother and bluntly admitted, "This is gonna hurt" as I took off for what I guess could be considered the final sprint of an ultra. 

With 2.5 miles to go, I had made my way up to the heels of 3rd place. I had done a 7:30 mile (which at this point felt like a 5:00) and was somehow finding a second wind. I knew we were getting close to the finish, so I made the move to reclaim 3rd. I had opened up about a 50 meter gap when a major stomach pain all but crippled me to the ground. "Are you kidding me?! Now?" [Insert Chariots of Fire song] I reverted to the classic "I just hit the wall" power walk that is quite pride-busting for a need for speed guy like myself. My race strategy for the last 2 miles was: run, walk, look back, repeat. Yes, I know, not very efficient, but I really didn't want to lose after making that move. 

When I finally saw the finish, I put on a smile and finished as strong as I could. I finished 3rd with a clock time of 7 hours and 5 minutes, just missing my goal of 7 hours. I heard my name announced, and assured myself that I am officially an ultrarunner. Man, that felt good.

I received the classic ultra finisher prize (the belt buckle and railroad spike) and immediately went on the prowl for some food, ideally some salt. I also had my first soda since middle school (5 years ago). Being from Kentucky, it only seemed fitting to enjoy an Ale 8. Man, it kind of hurt going down, but it felt so refreshing...mentally and physically. I got some soup and whatever else I could find, and had some great conversations with the winner and other runners around the finish area. Corree Woltering was the winner in an outstanding time of 5:30, shattering his own CR and setting the FKT for 50 miles this year. Major props to him. Also, I'd like to extend my congratulations to the 100 mile finishers, many of which reign from my ol' Kentucky home. Lastly, a big thanks to Steve Durbin for putting on such a great event. 

All that said, I am excited and preparing now for my next race: Otter Creek trail marathon on December 17. I'd like to go for the W, but I think I'm learning that this isn't a sport about winning, but a sport about being epic. Ultrarunning is pretty epic, and I like that. Also, I am doing the Boxing Day 6 hour run in Elizabethtown, KY the day after Christmas. Super excited about that as well!

Thanks for reading, and I will write again soon!

Running in the Mountains of Colorado

Singletrack Explorers Mountain Running Camp 2016

Being from Kentucky, we sea-level runners are all too familiar with two things: humidity and hills. As many of you know, I have had aspirations of soon becoming an ultra runner and eventually moving out to the mountains to do so on a full time basis. I saw a video on Sage Canaday's YouTube channel advertising a mountain running camp in the Indian Peaks Wilderness of Colorado. Without putting any thought into it, I knew that this camp would be the perfect opportunity for me to immerse myself in the real ultra running community and to spring into the sport. I also knew that being in the mountains of Colorado would be something totally new for me; the altitude would be a major factor in my performance as well as the technical, rocky terrain. No matter, I couldn't pass up on this opportunity.

To begin to prepare myself for this trip, I had to, first, recover from my marathon. This took much longer than expected; I had pulled a muscle in my groin that took about two months to heal. With a few weeks to go until camp, U began a vigorous training regime of hill repeats, trails, and overall elevation gain. This was something totally new to me, but my body accepted it and my training performance reflected so. By the time camp came around, I was in good shape...good Kentucky running shape, that is.

The first night of camp, we - myself and 5 other campers - were greeted by Phil Germakian and professional ultra runner, Josh Arthur. We talked briefly about our running backgrounds and what we expected to learn from this camp. I quickly realized that I was definitely the young, inexperienced one of the bunch. What was really interesting though is the locations from which the campers came - most all of us were from about sea level (California, Indiana, Minnesota, Texas, and Kentucky). 

Day one was definitely a wake up call for my inexperienced, confident self. Beginning at 10,000 feet, we were to ascend to Arapahoe South Peak at just over 13.000 feet. The round trip, to and from the peak, would total to be 14 miles with over 4000 feet of total elevation gain. To put this in perspective to my previous training, my most comparable run to this was LLTH, a 15 mile trail run with 2600 feet gain. I really can't say I was nervous though - I was there for the experience and for good quality training. The group held together until about 3 miles. At this point, Josh Arthur and I decided to take off ahead at a faster pace. We made it about a quarter of a mile when we spotted a beautiful snow field running steeply down the face of a rocky mountain. 

Trusting Josh's expertise and the classic "YOLO" pep talk, I decided to ski down with him. I mean, how often do I get to ski down mountains in Kentucky...with pro runners...in late July? Upon stepping on the ice, we learned very quickly that this was more of an ice field than a snow field. I also quickly realized that Hokas are not made for skiing... come on Hoka. I basically took off down the hill with no control whatsoever. On the GoPro video I recorded, you can hear Josh laughing at my goofy, ridiculous attempt at trying to stay cool as I was basically facing death on this double black diamond ski slope. Maybe I'm being a bit dramatic. Anyway, I managed to stop once or twice on the way down, but never gracefully. As Josh told me to just take it easy and pick the right line, he took off...fast...on a slick ridge of ice - there was no slowing down from there. The camera caught what was a pretty brutal crash at the bottom; Josh did a few somersaults on the rocks at the bottom and developed an epic knot on his quad. I, on the other hand, managed to sprint off the speed I had built up over the next hundred or so meters, jumping over ravines and boulders that lay under tall grass. What made it worse for Josh was the 300 foot climb up loose scree to the top of the ridge. We took our time, needless to say. This was definitely a "you had to be there" moment. (the footage looks pretty awesome on my YouTube video though).

Running with Josh was awesome because I could see myself in his lifestyle and aspirations. In fact, we both have a vision of someday opening some kind of running store so that we can share our love of running with others and contribute to the well being of the greater running community!

The rest of the run was pretty chill - for the next 4 miles or so, I traversed through various rock fields and around mountain ridges, turning the corner on a dozen or more curious marmots. Eventually, I made it to the summit of South Arapahoe, and boy was it breathtaking. Here I am, a kid with so much ambition and so many questions about my future, looking for miles and miles over vast Colorado mountain ranges, and I am just in awe of how easily your worries can fade away when you just go out and "play in the mountains" , as many of the pros put it. (The pictures of this trip can be found on my social media accounts and on YouTube). What was even more awesome to me was that this was only day one!

The second day of camp was something that I had been looking forward to for a long time. Since middle school, I have been watching Sage Canaday's videos on YouTube, noting and utilizing every piece of advice he had to offer. Today was my chance to run with him! The route of the day was from 10,500 up to over 13,000 at Pawnee Pass. (Of course I sported my Hokas)! This run was only about 10.5 miles, but they were absolutely amazing! I, again, gravitated to the front of the group from the start. Here, I ran with Cat Bradley and Ryan Lassen of Salomon, Brandon Hosch, a Hoka rep, Josh Addison, and Sage. This was all too good to be true for me. These amazing people represented everything I want to be as a runner in life: fast, dedicated, successful, giving, and mountain-loving. At the top, I was again blown away by the views. For miles, all we could see were mountains and alpine forestry, blue skies and blue lakes hidden in the valleys and craters of the mountains. It was truly an unbelievable scene... especially for a sea level kid.

The run down was interesting too. This trail was really technical, and I was feeling a need for speed. So being the cross country minded runner I am, I did what I could to keep up with the front of the pack (even though I knew they were running slow for us). Jumping down rocks is not my forte, but I think that I did alright. I've learned that descending doesn't effect my cardio at all really. I think I place all of my attention on not falling that I forget about my cardiovascular stress. My legs, however, were definitely feeling it, primarily my knees. I guess that was to be expected. Let's just say I have some work to do on this area of my running. The full run totaled up to just over ten miles and 3,000 feet.

Day three was to be our final organized camp run up to Mount Audubon at 13,000 feet. On this day, we were joined by Silke Koester and Ryan Smith... and Kea, of course - a sporty little shepherding-like dog that casually "can run up to 30 miles" in the mountains. This dog is a better runner than I am! Like both of the previous days, we started out slow in the alpine forestry, then up rocky singletrack until the peak. Today I ran in the Salomon Sense Pro 2s. Sorry Hoka, but I am a Salomon trail convert (please disregard my previous disdain of ever switching shoe brands). This run, in my opinion ended with the greatest vies at the summit; we could see, if my memory serves me correctly, Pikes Peak, Longs Peak, and many more notable mountains. At 13,000 feet again, I was having the time of my life. This run ended with a total of 9.5 miles and, again, right at around 3,000 feet.

After the run, we went back to the camp to have our last lunch together. I have to add that I've never eaten so well in my life. I'm pretty sure I doubled my sea level caloric intake. All of the food was natural, locally grown, and/or super healthy. Huge shoutout to RAD for providing some awesome food! They literally made the best brownies I've ever tasted!

Now that the camp was over, I had two days on my own in Colorado to do whatever I wanted. So what did I do? I ran, of course. The next morning, I ran to Chautauqua Park in Boulder (now at 5,300 feet) and up/around the flatirons. I was not familiar at all with the area, so I just saw an epic looking mountain, so I went up it. That run was just under 8 miles with 2,600 feet of vert. I wasn't done for the day yet though; that night, I had the opportunity to run with the Rocky Mountain Runners, a local group of awesome people who have a complete and utter love for the sport and greater community of mountain running. We did 6 miles up and down Green Mountain, equaling another 2,600 or so feet of vert. By this point, I was pretty beat. But the RMR group knows the perfect way to recover from some time in the mountains: food! Even though I was the young, shy, newbie of the group, I had a great time hanging out with all of the runners. I indulged in a black bean burger with loads of fries and fats and everything I could get to replenish everything I had spent in the previous days. This was great!

The next day was a day that I had been dreading since I had arrived in Colorado 5 days prior. The thought of leaving such an amazing place was really depressing. I had to go out in some memorable way, so I got some ice cream. I know - not very memorable, but it was good. The bus ride to the air port was so nostalgic; even though I had only been out here for 6 days, I felt like this was my home. Seeing the mountains fade away in the distance was like waving goodbye to a friend or family member as they (or you) leave for a long amount of time. It may be a while before I make it back, but I can just say that I'm on my way, Colorado.


Now that I'm home, running has been...less than decent. I just don't feel invigorated every morning like I did in the mountains. I miss the crisp, dry air of the alpine forests; I miss the marmots; I miss the running community; I miss the rocky descents; I miss the mountains.

I am now in the process of basically reinventing my training. Kentucky has some amazing trails and gnarly hills, so I am going to capitalize on these and make the most of what I have. I will say, the humidity and rolling hills of my home state have really prepared me for speed and high V02, aerobic performance, so thanks for that, KY. The first race of my ultra running career (as of right now) is Cloudsplitter. It is on my home trails and will be a 50k...or a 50 miler; I haven't decided. Whatever it is, I'm stoked to jump into the world of ultra running!

A final word, when the mountains call, you should probably go. They're pretty cool. 

Training Through Injury

After the marathon, I took a week off. Being inexperienced with this whole marathon thing, I thought this would be plenty of time. When I went out for my first run a week later, I noticed that my groin was in tremendous pain; I could hardly walk, let alone run. Being my stubborn self, I put this aside as mere soreness that should be expected after having run a marathon. That said, I decided to continue running through the pain for about a week, keeping a slow pace and only running up to about 5 or 6 miles. Every run was a painful run.

Bad idea.

As an aspiring and committed runner, it is really difficult to simply stop running, even when in pain. We spend every run pushing through fatigue, pain, and mental weariness; why should we stop for an annoying pain? The simple answer, as I have discovered, is that taking off for even a few weeks can save you from missing out on months of training. This is my current dilemma. Continuing to run, as I suspect, did not do any good for the healing process of my groin. My stubbornness possibly made the injury even worse!

A month and a half after the marathon, I admit that I fully regret trying to run through this injury, but I certainly did learn my lesson. In fact, I did learn another lesson:

Cross training is key during injury.
Something is better than nothing until that something is detrimental to the healing process.

For the past few weeks, I have switched over to cycling, core, and strength training. Even though running is my favorite sport and exercise, I have always enjoyed cycling. My rides range anywhere from leisurely 10 milers to fast paced 30 milers. However, when you are injured, it is vital that you commit to another form of exercise to stay in shape, keep your cardiovascular system operating at high performance, and to sustain your Vo2max potential. pay close attention to how your body responds to this switch as doing new exercises often utilizes new muscles and systems, possibly leading to some discomfort AND physical gains.

The best way to adopt a new cross training activity is slowly. I recommend consulting with an experienced athlete or doctor/physical therapist, or utilizing YouTube...which has taught me almost everything I know about running.

I also highly recommend reading books. Yes, I realize everything is on the internet today, but print books offer somewhat of an accountability provision, in essence. A print book, especially one that you personally annotate, as I have discovered, inspires a more dedicated commitment to fulfilling instruction.

Wherever you learn about cross training, be smart and safe. The worst thing you can do is further injure yourself. Learn from your mistakes. Learn from your body. Learn from the mistakes of others.

If you would like to talk more on this subject, please feel free to contact me via email at isaacmitchell97@yahoo.com .

KDF Marathon

Marathon Attempt #1

The Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon is run in celebratory preparation for the biggest horse race in the world. I knew that this would be the perfect race for my first marathon because I was so familiar with the course. I signed up in early March and committed to increasing my mileage more than I had thus far this year. Before this point, I had a training goal of being able to run a 50k or 50 miler by the end of 2016. I figured I should be able to run a marathon to do so. My mileage eventually reached a max of about 62 miles a week with a longest long run of 20 miles. I was so confident by the end of March. There was only one thing standing in my way of the marathon. I had already scheduled and paid for a trip to Costa Rica that was to take place three weeks out from the race and last ten days. On this trip, I did not run at all (other than a three mile jog on the beach) and came down with some vicious food poisoning that hospitalized me for an afternoon. When I got home, the race was just under three weeks away, and I couldn't run at all. My knees and bones ached from being relatively inactive for so long. On top of that, my stomach really couldn't handle any physical activity. My mileage per week in April maxed out at a whopping 30.

Throughout this process, I was coaching myself. This was difficult considering I've never ran a marathon. I would like to thank Sage Canaday for providing excellent training advice to me and so many others!

The morning of race day, I woke up at 4:30 to eat a bagel, dry cereal, and fruit with lots of water, of course. I had decided to put the bad month of training behind me and go race with reckless abandon. Before the race, I laced up my new Hoka OneOne Clifton 2s and ate a Stinger waffle. I was feeling great! My goal time was 2:45. This was quite an ambitious goal as I would soon learn.

The race got off to a good, but shaky, start. My first few miles were around 6:20. At 3.5 miles, I had to stop to use a port-a-potty - something I never even considered doing. I hopped out and got back on the road. I picked a few people to pace with and stuck with them for quite a while. I hung with one guy until mile 17! This man was from Virginia. He had just ran Boston ten days prior and said he was definitely feeling it. We maintained a 6:30 average together until mile 17. Until this point, I was enjoying myself; it felt great to have a buddy to push through the race with. We were in 15th and 16th place coming out of the hardest part of the course - Iroquois Park - which is said to put Heartbreak Hill to shame.

Before the race, I had done away with the idea of ever hitting the wall. I was admittedly too proud to accept this as a possibility; I had trained too hard to break down in the race.

I did. I hit the wall...hard.

At 17.5 miles, I stopped, walked, and realized that the next 9  miles would be the hardest miles of my life. Mile 18 was the beginning of the downfall. 7:14, 9:40, 9:55, 9:22, 9:30, 9:35, 9:10, 8:57, 8:57. I was walking within every quarter mile. I had never been so disheartened in my life. I hated seeing each of my mile times. I eventually stopped looking at my watch, only listening to the miles slowly tick away. I also watched 73 people pass me in nine miles. This sucked. I was supposed to beat all of these people. I have never had to swallow my pride like I did.

Luckily, around the point of the wall hitting, my old cross country coach, who was running the mini, saw me and gave me some advice for moving forward. He told me that I needed to eat and drink, and that I would feel better shortly. I took a gel (against my original plan) and felt a little better. I will say that my cardio was absolutely fine; my breathing was perfect, no cramping. My legs hurt with an amount of pain I can't really describe. They just wouldn't work! Not to mention the immense blistering I had contracted as a result of the rain.

Long story short, I made it to about mile 25.5. At this point, I had unfortunately/fortunately (for them and for me, respectively) caught back up to two of the guys that I had stuck with earlier, including the guy with whom I ran 17 miles with. He looked to be in a lot of pain. I ran past and offered what encouragement I could. I finished at a decent effort, and legitimately almost cried when I saw the finish line. My watch time (the time I will claim) was 3:15:20. My end average pace was 7:30, but I'm holding on to the fact that I ran over 17 miles at 6:30 pace. I finished 88th overall, 2nd in my age division. Not too bad. My original goal was 2:45 (missed completely), but I also had the goal of qualifying for Boston. I missed this by ten minutes. There's always next year (or another shot this year???)

After I stopped across the finish line, my right leg stopped working. It was really weird. I though about going to a medical tent, but I then wondered what they would think if I went in and was like, "yeah, my leg hurts." I tried to walk/limp it out back to the car and could not. I was freezing and my body was not operating the way I wanted it to.

When I got home, I took a long hot bath and relaxed. Still not able to move my leg, I figured the best remedy would be to go to Cracker Barrel and eat a nice steak with lots of other foods. I was correct. This was mentally and physically restoring in so many ways.

Lessons Learned:
Use the restroom before the race
Have a nutrition plan during the race
Don't start too fast
Wear anti-chafing in sensitive areas (swallow your pride)
Don't hit the wall
Try to negative split if necessary
Don't be upset by failure
Eat more after the race (stretch immediately)
Figure out how to prevent blisters
Run more miles in training
Find a friend on the course
Don't get caught up in place

HOKA OneOne Clifton 1 & 2 Shoe Review

Before I get to the actual review, a little backstory is needed. Early into my sophomore season of high school track, I came down with some nasty shin splints. I was only running about 30-35 miles a week, so I couldn't really figure out how or why I came down with such an injury. What came next is a bit shocking. I spent three months off from running, making regular prescribed visits to the local KORT Physical Therapy center. Everyone knows that physical therapy is annoying, time consuming, and quite expensive. As a 16 year old runner, my innate pride gave me some reservations about having a therapist who specializes in helping older people move certain joints and what not. So I went multiple times, seemingly doing the same exercises at every visit. After a while, the therapist legitimately told me that "running just isn't for everyone" after I showed little progress over a few visits. This came as a surprise. What she told me next was even more surprising; I would now need to buy a better shoe. The recommendation: Adidas Boost Energy $180. I fell for this...twice. $360 on shoes. And to be honest, I never liked them. I put in a lot of miles with them and even completed an Olympic distance triathlon in Indianapolis, but they hurt my flat feet like crazy. Long story short, I knew I needed a change.
I bought my first pair of Hokas early in 2015. Since then, I have logged close to 2.000 miles on just three pairs - one pair of the first model and two of the newer ones. As mentioned, I have experienced a few running related injuries. I can honestly say that I have been completely injury-free for over a year. Injury-free isn't even a valid description. As a matter of fact, I am stronger than ever. Wearing Hokas has allowed me to train harder without worrying about lurking injuries.
These are also the most versatile shoes I have ever worn. Not only can they be used on varying surfaces, but they can also be used for any workout...yes, I mean ANY workout. With the Cliftons, I have completed track repeats at high intensities; I have logged long runs of up to 20 miles on the road; I have put in a few trail runs up to about 10 miles (though I would recommend the Challenger ATR). This factor was something I took into consideration when buying this shoe for the first time. By the looks of the shoe, it does not look fast. This was a major turn-off for junior-in-high-school me. But I believe in trying new things, so I gave them a chance. Within a few weeks of training, I was able to bring my mile time from 5:03 indoor to 4:46 outdoor. Likewise, later that year, I trained my way from a 17:51 5k to a 16:41. I would not be the runner I am today if it weren't for Hoka OneOne.
As of now, I am training for the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon on April 30. Logging upwards of 60 miles a week, I know that having a reliable shoe is absolutely vital. The only shoe I will wear for road training is the Clifton. Not only will I train in this shoe, but I will also race in it. The goal time for this marathon (considering this is my first one) is a 2:45 - a little under 6:30/mile. This is a "safe" goal, as I will refer to in later posts, because I believe that with race day adrenaline, I will beat this time. This is merely a prediction based on training.
A final note for this post is that these shoes live forever. I still wear my first pair of Hokas for hiking, camping, and traveling. They will be my primary shoes for my trip to Costa Rica over spring break. I have no intentions of buying another brand of tennis shoe in the future as long as Hoka keeps making the same caliber masterpieces.
So go out and buy some Cliftons and prepare for the miles and miles and miles ahead!

LLTH 2016

Louisville Lovin' The Hills 2016

With the new year in full swing and a good amount of miles on my legs so far, I thought it would be a good idea to go out and try my first trail race. Having never ran more than a mile or two on trails in my entire life, I really didn't know what to expect. Leading up to the race, I knew that I would be competing in the 15 mile event. My training peaked at about 53 miles in a week with my longest run being only 15 miles (one week before the race, I might add). With many years of running cross country, I figured the off-road running on trails would be the same concept. I will explain why I was so wrong.

I started the morning of the race with two pieces of toast and peanut butter with honey (major key) and a banana - a typical race day breakfast. I knew this race would be longer than normal, however, so I threw down a Clif Bar (my coffee-equivalent) on the way to the race, as I did not plan on eating or drinking during the run.

I arrived at the race about an hour early with the intention of warming up and getting a good starting spot. Neither of these, I found, are nearly as important as they are for road races. Seeing not one person near the starting line with thirty minutes till the gun, I decided I was wasting my internal warmth and went to wait in the car. I also decided to ditch a warm up run when I didn't see anyone doing it. At this point, I think I was just waiting for someone to walk up to me with a check list of what to do to prepare for a trail run. Nobody came.

Time passed and the air horn finally went up - I had a good view of this because I got that front spot I so desperately desired. The horn sounded and my track/cross instincts shot me out in front of the pack, leaving hundreds of experienced trail runners - who knew NOT to sprint - in the dust. About thirty seconds in, I and two other runners had all but forgotten the rest of the competitors. My suggestion in hindsight is this: DON'T DO THIS!!! Adrenaline was flowing and my Hoka Challenger ATRs were blazing downhill into the depths of the woods.

Lesson #? - Running downhill is fun...until you realize you have to run back up.

Mile one came up as 6:17 (on pace for about a 1:34:15 finish - a course record by a lot). Mile two was not much different as a 6:21. I was feeling great! The gravel, downhill road had just turned into dirt trails and what to my wandering eyes did appear??? The first hill.

Leading up to the race, I had been reading Relentless Forward Progress by Bryon Powell - an excellent read for anyone training to be an ultra runner. In this book, it talked about how one stark realization for the road runner on trails is the necessity of walking. I went into the race with the mindset that walking is weak and only for beginning runners. Let me preface the rest of this blog with the total elevation gain of 2600ft. from start to finish. That's about a half mile of vertical gain. By mile three, I knew where the race got its name.

Mile three is also significant because this is where I lost the lead to Greg Fraze, the eventual winner of the race. I happened to be walking up a hill when I finally realized I had gone out too fast, and that the competition was already there to take the lead. Although I was kind of bummed, I decided I was going to stick with this guy for as long as I could.

Skipping forward a few miles, I remained about ten meters behind. At the 6 mile mark, where the starting line was, I saw my parents to whom I expressed: "I underestimated the hills." Indeed I had. I passed on the available electrolyte supplement and water and decided I wanted to catch the leader, no matter what. It seemed as if, however, every time I started to catch up, we hit an uphill. At such a point, he would extend the lead up to thirty or forty meters. I remember praying out loud that the hills would eventually cease and that the finish would be just around the corner at the bottom of a crazy downhill. To my dismay, this did not happen.

At this point, you may be thinking that I was having the worst time of my life. This is so not true. By about mile ten, I had solidified my love for such a difficult race. The gnarly hills, slick terrain, plummeting downhills, unexpected tree roots - what more could you ask for? This was putting road racing to shame! I was having the time of my life...until the last mile...

Little did I know, the race was actually going to be 15.43 miles long instead of 15. Also, to my surprise, the last mile was uphill - entirely. Both of these factors played into my failure of a finish. For ten miles, I had maintained a decent pace (working towards a sub-2 hour finish). Miles 14 and 15 were quite interesting. In my entire running career, my slowest mile ever was still below 9 minutes. The last two miles were both in the 10 minute range. Not to include the last half mile which took me 6 minutes!

As I trudged up the final hill, I remember hearing music in the distance - a runner's signal that the end is near. Being completely exhausted, I closed my eyes periodically and grabbed a tree for a quick breather. Behind me, I heard something I thought I wouldn't hear: the heavy breathing of a runner. This was at 15.2 miles. At 15.25, I was passed by yet another runner. I was now in 4th place and in my finishing position.

I crossed the finish line in 2:09:17. Considering my goals were 2:10 and top-ten, I was very pleased. I was even more pleased to see peanut butter and honey at the finish area. Also, I have never been a coffee drinker...I downed three cups of straight black. Now, I absolutely love it! I was greeted by a race director shortly after finishing. She congratulated me and said that I reminded her of a runner named Scott Breeden who had supposedly performed similar to me a few years prior as an 18 year old. Seeing where he is at now as a runner, I immediately became optimistic for what my near future in running has to offer.

I learned so much in this race that I think a separate blog is needed! Briefly, I will say that I should have trained more on trails, no doubt. Also, don't start out too fast. By this I am not only speaking of the pace, but also about running in general. My goal was to run a 100 miler in my first year of ultras. Now I want to relax and enjoy running as I grow as an ultra runner. Lastly, I learned that you can always rely on a pair of Hokas to get any job done, both on the road and trails.

I am proud to say that this was my first of many trail races to come! LLTH, I will see you next year.


 

My First Race and What Followed

My First Race and What Followed

Growing up the oldest of six in Bullitt County, Kentucky, basketball was the primary sport of interest. I was never the tallest, nor the best, on my team, but I thought that playing ball was where I would find success in life. In the sixth grade, I had a friend who invited me to run a 5k with him and his dad. My immediate response was, "What is a 5k?" I had never heard of such a thing, nor the sport of cross country (which I took to mean literally as running across the country). Innocently, I agreed to run the race with him. It was about three days prior to the race, so I figured I should buy some running shoes and research how to train for a "5k".

I vividly remember going to Hibbett Sports to buy my first pair of running shoes: the cheapest pair of lightweight Nikes the store had to offer. That day, I went out and did what I thought was a few miles. In reality, it was probably only a maximum of 1 mile. Long story short, I took the next two days off to rest for the race, per my friend's request.

The morning of race day, I indulged on some Cinnamon Toast Crunch and a banana and Gatorade. Walking up to the starting line was very odd for me; I had never realized that so many people gather together to run. I have to add that this race had a max of 200 people (I might be overestimating). I thought this was huge! Anyways, standing at the line, I remember asking how far the race was because I honestly had no idea. Actually, I do not remember ever getting an answer.

All of a sudden, I heard dozens of "beeps" from what I now know to have been watches. Then, a loud air horn went off and everyone started moving forward...so I did too. My running career had begun and I didn't even know it. I stayed with my friend for quite a while, navigating through the crowds down a narrow street. After just a few minutes, I was told to go on because he was feeling sick. I felt really awkward - "go on?" I hesitated for a bit, but eventually took off in a sprint because there were people ahead of me. Knowing that this was a "race", I assumed that the goal was to finish as fast as possible.

It was an out and back race on a beautiful spring morning, so running back, passing people still running out, was a real motivator. Cheers fueled me on to run as hard as possible to the finish line that I hoped was just around the next turn. At the finish, I realized I had placed very well in a time of 24 minutes. I thought this was some kind of record. I took home a 2nd place age group trophy which sits on my dresser today.

A few weeks later, I ran a 5k in downtown Louisville where I ran a 21 minute in the pouring rain. This is when I realized that running was my talent.

The following months, I took off from running because I didn't know that training was important. I went out for the school track team and had an amazing first season, running a 6:08 mile as a sixth grader. The next year, I started cross country and had some success at our small meets. I won my first two races and placed second in the final race (that was a full season). The next summer, I had the opportunity to run the national race in the ESPN World Wide Sports Park in Orlando, FL. This was a super cool experience and a major event that spurred my love for running.

Running in high school is when things got interesting. Before my freshman year, I had taken about 5 months off because of an IT Band injury. It really could have only been a few weeks off, but again, I was a clueless 4'10" kid who really didn't know how to run. So, needless to say, the beginning of cross country season with a high school training plan was brutal. However, I got back into the swing of things and worked my way down to an 18:49 5k. I was stoked! At this point, I legitimately thought that the Olympics were in my future.

Nothing really significant happened that track season, nor the next cross season. My new PR by the end of sophomore year was 17:54, so that was a plus. This year also marked the beginning of my attention to diet. I [stupidly] adopted a "low low low fat" diet because I thought that having no fat meant the ability to run faster. I quickly changed this after feeling a bit fatigued...every day. I had to sit out that track season with some vicious shin splints that put me out for three months. Again, it probably could have been a much shorter recovery period, but this time because I ran while injured for far too long. Thus, junior year brought no success in cross country. Track season, however was a different story. After a few meets of running the mile in low 5 minutes, I finally broke into the 4 minute world. My dad made a deal with me (while I was still running in the 5's of course) that if I broke 4:45, he would buy me a Mini Cooper, my dream car at the time. By the end of the season, I had run a 4:46...

Time passed and it came to my final cross country season in high school. I had concluded that I did not want to run in college because I didn't think I was fast enough - this was, and is still, true. I was the only senior on the team with the next three fastest runners being freshmen (two of which were my twin brothers who both crushed my freshman times). It was a rough season to be honest, until about 5 races left to go. Something just clicked, mentally and physically, and I was able to run much faster, both at practice and in races. With only one race until regionals, I ran a 16:41 5k, smashing my PR, breaking the school record, and just beating out the county record of 16:42. After this race, I remember my dad suggesting I reconsider running in college. I did reconsider it for a bit. I qualified for state and ran pretty well against a very competitive field, but I knew that this was my final cross country race. In fact, I decided that it would be my final race at my school in general.

Backing up a little, I have never been a fan of running fast. Yes, it was a goal, but to be honest, I dreaded "speed days" at practice. I always got excited, however, about the distance runs. My weekly mileage never really surpassed 35 or 40 miles, but I always wanted to do more.

This desire has brought me to where I am now. As of March 2016, I am an aspiring ultra marathon runner. I don't really know if I can officially call myself this yet because my farthest race so far is only 15 miles, but I plan on running some of the world's toughest races in the coming years. I have read a few books about running and follow closely to the advice put out by runners such as Sage Canaday and Scott Jurek, as well as the training plans that many pro runners utilize. The biggest change to my training, besides the mileage, is that I now wear Hokas. These shoes have changed my stride for the better and have eliminated all running injuries that have held me back. I don't know how I could wear another shoe. I now run the trails pretty often, but dream of a day when the mountains are my training grounds.

If you read all of this, I applaud you. I promise, everything from here on out will be more exciting. With a newfound love for hiking and the outdoors, I will share my adventure stories and updates on training and racing as often as possible. Thanks!

Here's to the miles ahead!