Into The Inferno

This past Saturday (June 20th) was my second trail race and it was by far the most challenging. The race was called the 777 Inferno and it consisted of three different stages. The first stage started at 7 am and consisted of 25.4 miles, the second started at 7 pm and consisted of 22 miles, and the third started at 7 am the next day and consisted of 26.2 miles. I joined up with two other runners and we set out to tackle the three stages separately. I elected to take on the first stage of the race, Autumn would take on the second stage, and Jason would take on the third stage. The three of us along with my wife arrived at the event a little after 6 am and I mentally and physically prepared myself for the challenge ahead. I made sure I had everything I needed and put on my hydration vest as the final minutes before the race kicked off ticked by. The race director, Jeff, had a pre race meeting with us to make sure we were informed about what to expect from the course. A minute later, he counted down the final seconds and gave us the signal to take off! I intended to set into a comfortable pace as I headed into the woods and onto the trail. The sound of the runners behind began to slowly fade away and soon all I could hear (other than the sounds of the forest) was the sound of my feet pounding the trail. The first 5 miles consisted of a lot of steep hills. But my body was prepared for this challenge from running Hell's Hills the previous week. Shortly after mile 5, I arrived at the first aid station and got some water before I continued on. As I got deeper into the forest, I found myself admiring the surroundings around me. Just being out there alone with nature was so peaceful. I made sure to pay close attention to the markings in front of me to make sure I stayed on course. I ran past a few hikers and bikers as I approached the manned aid station at mile 12. It was also not until this point did I realize just how strong of a lead I had. As I came out of the woods and onto the beach in front of the lake, I was met by my fellow teammate Jason. He ran with me to the aid station and I was informed on just how fast I was moving. At this point, I was holding a little over a 9:00 minute pace! I took a few minutes to refuel and talk to my wife, the race director Jeff, and Jason before I took off for the second half of the race. At about mile 14, I felt a stitch in my side and began to slow down a little to allow my energy to replenish and my body to recover. I started a strategic plan of alternating my pace to conserve energy and ration water. Before I knew it, I arrived at the next to last aid station and grabbed a carbonated soda (something I almost never drink) but this time I made an exception as I needed the sugar. This was at about mile 17 and I began to feel a lot better. I stepped up the pace a little bit and still was holding a strong lead. About 3 miles later, I arrived at the last aid station and refilled my hydration pack for the last time. At this point, I was going through a lot of water quickly. The fatigue and rising temperatures were draining my fluids at a fast rate. I took off to tackle the last five miles. These last miles were going to be hard since there was going to be a lot of hills. About 2 and half miles away from the finish line, a biker went to pass me and told me that the guy behind me was about 8 minutes away. This motivated me to step up the pace and push through these last two miles with everything I had left! I ended up paying a price for this though as I fell pretty hard at the last mile marker. But I quickly got back up and continued forward! At last, I could see the opening to the boat launch where the finish line was! I came out of the woods to cheering and clapping and I sprinted forward! I was in first place and I was done! It was an amazing feeling! This course was mentally and physically challenging, but I loved every minute of it! I am already looking forward to the next trail race!

Autumn, Me, and Jason

Running to the finish line!

Conquering Hell's Hills

This past Saturday (6/13/15) I took on a half marathon that was 90% trail. The name of the race was Hell's Hills and the course lived up to that name! My wife and I left the apartment at 4:30 in the morning to make the two hour drive to the town the race was being held in. We arrived 30 minutes early which gave me enough time to pick up my packet and get warmed up for the race. Before we started, the race director had a meeting with all the runners to let them know what to expect from the course. The race also had a 5k and 10k option as well. But since I was running the half marathon, I would be running one lap around the lake before heading into the woods with the 5k and 10k runners. Also, since I was running the half marathon, I would be required to make a double loop on the 10k course. After the meeting, we all lined up and waited for the signal to take off! Once the race started, I took off with the half marathoners and began the loop around the lake. It was not long before everyone started to slowly separate according to the pace in which they were running. I stayed behind the first place runner and let him set the pace. We finished our loop around the lake and off into the woods we went! The hills started almost immediately and for the first mile, it was hill after hill after hill! Around the second mile into the woods, the course got a little easier and was flat most of the time. But occasionally I would run into small dips on the course that required me to slow down to avoid falling. The last big hill was downhill and almost looked like a slide because it was so steep. After we got out of the woods. we got a little lost due to a wrong turn me and some other runners took. We were falling orange tape which marked where we were to go along the course and the last bit of orange tape was next to another hill and also next to an exit from the woods.We ended up taking the hill instead of the exit from the woods which we were supposed to take. This only slowed us down for about two minutes, but we got back on course and began the second loop on the trail. Due to the confusion from earlier, the guy I had been staying with since the race started was now in third place and I was still right behind him in fourth and holding strong. Before I knew it, I finished the second loop and sprinted toward the finish line! My time was 1 hour and 49 minutes! After the race ended, it was time for the awards ceremony! I was not sure if I had won anything, but I stuck around to enjoy the moment with the others. As it turns out, I won first place in my age group! After leaving the lake, my wife and I met up with a fellow team member of mine who ran with me in the Rouge-Orleans in February of this year, We had lunch and discussed the upcoming challenge of the 777's which will have me running 25.4 miles. All in all it was a successful and great race! Now I look toward the challenge I will be tackling this weekend! Bring on the 25 miles of trail!!

Picking up the pace on the trails!

Showing off my medal!

Keep Fueling The Fire

Motivation helps us accomplish some of the most toughest and intimidating things in life. Motivation can help you accomplish that new personal best at a race, it can help you work harder and make a big accomplishment such as obtaining a college degree, or it can help you make a strong comeback when you encountered a setback in life. I always hear about different ways people get motivated, but something I do not hear about a lot is just how they keep that motivation. Because if you do not continue to feed your motivation, you will eventually run out of it. As a runner, I find that my motivation can quickly be drained by the most grueling runs day after day. Not only is my body taking a beating, but so is my mind. And taking a beating like that for so long can drive you into the ground and zap away even the strongest motivation. So what do I do to keep my motivation strong? I remind myself every day why I am doing this. I think about and focus on the goals I want to obtain. Do I still have bad days despite this? Of course I do! But I do not let it faze me. I keep my eyes on the prize and remind myself that there will always be highs and lows. And I do this everyday, because I know that motivation is hard to hold on to. And in my opinion I think everyone should do something to feed their motivation everyday. Why? Because think of it this way, you would not let your car run on empty before you fill it up with gas again. So why would you let your motivation do the same?  And sometimes I find it resourceful to look back on past accomplishments to remind myself of the feeling I got when that moment happened. It makes me crave that feeling again. But the only way I am going to get it back is to go out there and put in the hard work to earn it. Things will get tough, whether its during training, during studying, or during life in general. But motivation is what will help you keep moving forward through those tough times. And it will help you discover an inner strength inside you that you may have not known was there.