Making my pick for World Cup - Brazil//260 miles for the month!

Pretty good month even though I had about seven days off and suffered some bad back pain.  I was able to get in 260 miles this month with two weeks over 80 miles.  I hope to do about the same next month!  I can tell I'm a little tired and even though I said this last year, I really think I am going to take some time off next year.  I've had a pretty good run over the past several years getting 1700 miles in 2008 and 2700 miles in 2009 and I've already passed the 1400 mile mark for this year and look forward to meeting my goal of 100 miles in Oct and having fun at the 24 hour race on New Years Eve, but after that I think I will have little to prove.  Maybe rest a little when I'm 39 and hit it hard when I'm a fresh "master" runner! 

Making my pick for the World Cup Champions; Brazil.  Check out this nice picture!  Now who cannot be excited about the World Cup?  I give it to these incredible athletes.  I could not do an hour and half of intervals and kick a ball around like this.  I've heard some pundits on Fox News who exclaim that these are not real athletes and that they fake a lot as a part of the strategy, but I disagree!  They have my full respect and I find the games exciting, yet can not pull myself to watch more than about 10 minutes at a time, but do enjoy the highlights and following the brackets.

Found some cool pictures from WS100; Tony sure looks cool with the beard.  I hope I can look as cool as he does!  Funny that several of my wifes friends say I look so old.  Maybe being outside and running so many miles ages us ultra runners.  Tony looks pretty old in these pictures, but I think he is younger than I am (38).

The new course record of 15:07 was posted by Geoff Roes and this years ladies champion posted here is Tracy Garneau from Canada; she posted a respectable time of 19:01.

I paid my entry fee for my next ultra that will be held on Sep 25/26; Javelina 12 Hour Night Run.  It seems so far away, but I have a lot going on in my life in Jul/Aug, to include moving to a new city, so I think time will fly by and I will not miss running races, plus the brutal temperatures here in Phoenix makes running an ultra a very bad idea.  Anyway the 12 hour night run will be perfect training since it is about a month out from the 100 miler and on the same course!   

Lost Symbol Review - 84 miles for this week!

Just finished Dan Brown's latest book called the Lost Symbol and wrote this review for Amazon:

Ok, I've read many of the one star reviews to see if I was missing something, but I have to stick with my feelings and give Dan another five stars. Sure this book could have been edited down to about 350 pages and gotten the same point across, but I didn't mind the detail and repetition that he kept in the story.

This look into the architecture and layout of the Nation's Capitol was interesting and gave the reader some interesting trivia during the story.

The number 33 will stick with me and I'll be looking for a few key things the next time I'm in DC.

I loved the end of the story and how Mal'akh was to receive his wisdom. The end of the story kept me on the edge of my seat.

It seems like this story will make a great movie, and may have even been written to insure that reality. The characters were developed with great detail and the images were easy to follow, as was the story.

All in all I have to give it to Dan for his research and ability to weave his stories together. There is a reason he is one of the top authors in American today.

Some things you will enjoy learning about: Magic squares, significant of the number 33 and how it shows up all over DC, true meaning of the word apocalypse, the "Lost Word", tip of the Washington Monument, Laus Deo and much more. All these come together in a way that will give you pause when you think of religion and the true God, or if the only God there is reside within.

Finally, as human understanding races forward it brings to mind Kurzweil's view of the singularity. I feel like we will destroy ourselves before realizing the singularity, or apocalypse as stated in this book, but if we do reach it before killing ourselves over competing resources then we just may find the peace that is alluded to by Dan.

On the running front I've put together an 84 mile week back to back with last week's 85 miles.  I'm putting in extra miles in anticipation for a week long vacation where I will not run at all.  I'm at 196 miles for the month and expect to only add about 20 more miles to that total, so all in all I'm ready for a little rest and don't think it will hurt my conditioning at all. 

No races on the horizon for a while.  I'm planning to try to break the 300 miles barrier for the month of July, something I've never done before and get in at least two runs over 20 miles. 

It is hard to believe that I've got just a couple more weeks here in Phoenix before I move on to a new chapter in my life!

Lakers pulled it out:(

Well it was a pretty good game despite the end result.  I gave up a 5K that looked like a lot of fun to watch the game, and was not disappointed.  By the third quarter I felt like the Celtics had it wrapped up, but in the end they were defeated soundly and I have to give it to the Lakers!

Cool news out today with a concept of a new world currency.  I'm ready to accept the new world order! 

Go Celtics!

Incredible game last night.  I thought the Celtics would have a tougher time of it, but I think they will do just fine and pull it off in 7 games.  I think they are a much better team, and I emphasize the word team.  The Lakers  have a few better players, but do not work together as well. 

Flagstaff 50K 6:54:41

Up at 2am, then out the door by 3am to unlock the door at work then on the road to Flagstaff.  I arrived at the race site at about 0630, then on the trail at 0700.  The first about 19 miles were pretty easy and we enjoyed some challenging climbs without killing ourselves.  The altitude really kicked in at about mile 19 where we climbed again to from about 7000 to about 9000 ft in just over three miles.  Needless to say something happened, altitude or just hitting the wall it was all the same.  I walked a painfully slow pace for about an hour and half until we started a slight downhill and I got a second wind.  The overall time for the 31.4 miles was 6:54:41 or an average of 13:11 per mile.  I know that sounds so slow, but with the elevation change/climbing and the altitude that ranged from 7000-9000 I feel pretty good about the race.  The winner finished the course in a quick 4:30, so I really don't have much excuse except that I'm slow and old, but I am happy that it warpped up an 85 mile week for me.  I think I will have some great pictures to post in a few days courtesy of the Coury brothers.

Flagstaff 50K Tomorrow

Well I really wasn't expecting 40% chance of rain, but I'll take what I can get.  I head off for Flagstaff at about 3am so I can be there for a 0700 start of the race.  I am in hopes of finishing the 31 miles in about 8 hours or better, but with this back problem and sitting in the car for 2-3 hours it may be a challenge.  

As you can see from the picture it will be beautiful!  We are going up to 9,000 ft, so it will be pretty cool.  The forecast is calling for low of 32 and hi of 61, so I'll be bringing gloves, ear muffs and long sleeves, but will go in shorts.  It would have to pretty cold not to wear shorts.

Boy, I'm getting really sick of work.  I really need this change that is coming in August. 

24 Hour Barefoot World Record - 104 miles

Incredible story about the new world record barefoot 24 hour mark of 104 miles by Todd Ragsdale.  Pretty incredible!  I'm into the minimalistic thing, but need an extra $100 to buy the Vibram 5 Fingers.  Ironic I need so much money to run so simply???  I know I can not figure it out, but in reality, I'm having so many issues this year that I'm afraid to try something new. 

Saw a nice picture of Sarah Palin, and even though I'm no fan, she sure looks good in running grear! 

Having a good week of running; at 46 miles with two more training days, one of which will be 50K up in Flagstaff. 

Go Celtics, if they don't win tonight, I think it will be all wrapped up for the Lakers. 

Only a few more days left on my LA Fitness membership.  I'm enjoying swimming; two days this week for 2200 yds and plan on going later today for a short swim. 

Bought my son a larger bike, so he doesn't have to ride a Princess bike any longer.  I heard a kid making fun of Leo, but my son is so young that it didn't register to him what the child was saying.  His new Spiderman bike will arrive sometime next week and he will really enjoy it.  He is moving up from 12' wheels to 16' and now the Princess bike can go to his sister!

Marathon Manaics seem boring now...

Not long ago I was very excited about being a part of the Marathon Maniacs Club, but now that I'm doing more ultras it doesn't seem like that big of a deal.  Here is there newest newsletter.  I sure wouldn't wear their shirt at a ultra event. 

Now back in the swing of doing physical therapy, but my back continues to give me a lot of trouble.  I'm not sure about it this time, getting a little worried.  JJ100 is just around the corner. 

Flagstaff 50K in just a few days!

Back to the doctor today and they ordered up an MRI for me and changed Ibuprofen to a new drug called Feldene so I don't have an ulcer.  Anyway, more physical therapy twice a week for awhile. 

The trip this weekend to Flagstaff should be pretty fun.  The run starts pretty early at 0700, and with a 3 hour drive that gets me on the road at about 3:00, leaving a little wiggle room.  I really do not have a goal time for the 50 K, just hope my back holds up and I can run without much pain and that I can make the 2-3 hour trip home without any problems.  I know it will be nice to get out of the heat for a day and into the Mountains!

I'm sitting at 25 miles for the week, with a 31 mile run scheduled for Saturday making this week pretty good and maybe in the 70 mile range.  Anyway, it is slow going with the pain in the back but at least I'm still moving and I'm thankful for that! 


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Getting to the Point in a Dozen Pairs of Shoes

I wrote a review of a great book I just finished by a great guy Brian Stark, Getting to the Point in a Dozen Pairs of Shoes.  You can find the review here.   I really enjoyed it and will cherish the signed book for years to come. 

I'm still suffering from back problems and will not be able to make it out to meet Lisa as she runs her 50 miles in her 41st state of AZ on her way to 50 miles in 50 states.  I have a doctors appointment tomorrow at 10:30, then physical therapy at 3pm.  I hope this gets better. 

I was able to get 7.2 miles today in 1:10:00; yesterday the same course in 1:08:02.  I'm able to run, but it is slow and a fair amount of pain with each pounding step.  I think I'll be able to do my 50K this weekend, but very slowly.

Back at work after week long vacation...Physical Therapy Today

It seems like I've been off work a lot; maybe because I have.  It was such a good time in California, but now I'm back to the salt mines and it is getting hot here in Phoenix.  Sunday it is suppose to hit 110; I'll know I'm in the desert.  Boy, lot of back pain still.  I'm sitting at only 13 miles for the week, so my running is really suffering!  I go to therapy today; I'll write more about it later.  I give blood tomorrow.