Extreme is the new normal

Once again, sorry for my formatting problems.  I blog so infrequently now, I didn't realize my settings needed updating.

So one day last week I was driving to the airport.  I saw a car with a bumper sticker saying "Extreme" something and there were a few other stickers showing what this person did.  Nothing appeared to be extreme, but it was hard to tell.

When I arrived at the airport, I saw some kid on the C terminal tram wearing a "Tough Mudder" head band.  He was dressed casual.  Collared shirt, decent pants, but an ugly orange head band.  It was comical.

Now, for the record, I am fine with the "Tough Mudder".  Proceeds go to the Wounded Warrior Foundation.  Can't say anything bad about that.  I just find it amusing that this dude was so proud of competing in it, that he was wearing it when it clashed his outfit.... and he had no chance of sweating (unless he was worried about his flight).

In pop culture, "Extreme" is used for tv shows such as Extreme Makeover, Extreme Couponing, Etc..

In politics, people who don't fit the classic 2 party system are labeled "extreme".  I once saw Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan sit together in an interview with Tim Russert (I think it was him, but it was many years ago).  Ralph was giving the Green Party pitch and Pat, the Independence Party.  Both were labeled extreme.  It was the most informative, best political interview I had seen in years.  They are diametrically opposed, politically, but they were great to listen to.  They knew what they believed in, held to those principals, and didn't apologize for it.  The masses dismissed them as "kooks" and "extreme".

There was a show in the last 2 years about people with weird addictions.  The only 2 I remember were a lady who ate dish washing detergent (or something like that... can't really remember) and a guy who ran ultras.

The funny part about the guy running ultras, it wasn't like he was doing something really that unusual.  The documented him running Javelina Jundred, which is tough in its own way, but considered a fast course.  I wouldn't consider someone who runs mid pack at Javelina, in plus 25 hours as "extreme".

Local Minnesotans, John Taylor and Daryl Saari, are setting the bar for Minnesota on what extreme might be.  I know John has run at least 8 100s THIS YEAR!, and has finished at least 40 100s in his career.  Daryl, first guy to finish the Gnarly Bandit series, has run so many so often, I can't even begin to tel you how many he has run.  They both have completed Arrowhead Winter Ultra.

The great thing about these 2, you would never know it if you met them at a social gathering.  They do not toot their own horn..... at all.

.......and I am not sure I would label them as extreme!  Maybe because I know them and understand where they are coming from.

But it is not cool to be normal.  It is not cool to be average.  It is not even cool to be a marathoner anymore.  Now, one has to be extreme to be cool.

Now we have these "extreme" races where you have to run obstacles, crawl through mud, etc., and run (like 10 or 12 miles).  It might be hard, it might be tough, but extreme?

I even ran into a woman last year who, when she heard I was a runner, had this conversation with me.
Woman - "My mom is a big time ultra marathoner"
Me - "Oh yeah, what is her name, I may know or know of her"
Woman - "her name is xxxxx"
Me - "hmmm never heard of her.  What races has she run"
Woman -
Me - "What ultra marathons has she run"
Woman - "She is an ultra marathoner.  She runs lots of marathons"
Me - "oh"
My buddy - "uh,.... yeah"

I guess we all have to be extreme to be accepted.

I am "A Guy Who Runs" for a reason.  I do what most people could do, if they just put their mind to it and had the discipline to follow through.

I am extremely normal.

The Long Road Back to Fitness

First of all, sorry for the format of the last post. It had paragraphs when I composed it. So.... after my fall into obscurity after Ice Age, there was about a week I seriously thought I was done. But somewhere in early summer, I thought I would rebuild and slowly get back into shape. I decided to go back to low intensity training, and build on it over the summer. I got 3 straight 10 mile runs in, then..... my car blew up, and stress came over the family. Long story short, I used that stress and axiety to not run for the better part of 8 weeks. I started back in early August doing "low and slow". I put in 20 and 30 mile weeks. Sometimes, just to get in 5 miles seemed like a marathon. What happened to me? Superior completely changed my attitude and persona. I did 45 miles that week, 47 the next week, and..... get this.... 80 miles this week. I had to see if I still had something in me. I joined up Bill, Todd, and Maria this morning for a long run, and ended up pounding out 24 to finish my big week. It has been 2.5 years since I have done that kind of mileage in one week. And it feels great. It was all at a 9.5+minute per mile pace. Little worn out right now, but I am happy I finally pulled that off. I guess there is no substitute for mileage. Good chance this blog will be back to regular posts. I have a lot I am considering and a lot to reflect on why I started blogging in the first place. This middle aged guy is not done yet.

Superior Sawtooth 2012

So after Ice Age this year, I basically walked away from most things running. I was frustrated, upset, and depressed. I had a hard time being around runners, especially ones I didn't know well. But at the same time, I realized I had taken a lot from the trail running community. I have sucked up a lot of resources and had not given a lot back in return. So I reached out to the Superior Race Director and said I am game for running a big overnight aid station. 4 years ago when I finished the Superior 100, I rolled into the Crosby Manitou aid station (mile 62), and was catered to by Maria and Doug Barton. It was like an oasis. And now, 4 years later, I was getting to be the oasis at Crosby for all of the 100 mile (and 50) runners. But selfishly, I was also looking for something to get me inspired and reverse the 2 year slump I have been in. So fast forward to last Friday, September 7th. I had support from the Lapham Peak Trail Runners Angela, Brad, Paul and a local Twin Cities runner Andrew S. Serious experience and knowledge helping out. It is a lot to ask people to give up an entire weekend, stay up all night, and really have nothing to show for it. But that is what this sport is all about. This aid station is not only far into the race at mile 62, it is kind of remote. It is way off the beatin' path, far from cell service, and precedes one of the toughest 10 mile sections of the course. The really cool part of working these is, you get to talk to the families and/or crew (sometimes both) of the leaders. The father of the eventual winner actually made the campfire at our station, and offered to help on numerous tasks. But the best part is to see people you have known, trained with, run with, crashed and burned with, fought with, cried with, and been yelled at, come through this section in a variety of conditions. Adam Schwartz-Lowe was so focused on his mission, he never heard me cheering him on. I told some of the other crews that Adam knows how to chew up other runners all night long. He did, and came in second with and awesome PR (22 something I think?) I also had the honor to take a runner from "I am dropping" to "Okay, I am heading back out onto the course". It took almost a half hour, giving him a dry shirt, Andrew giving him fresh batteries and a knee strap, some hot food and coffee, but he got up and went. How awesome is that? It felt great because so many people have done that for me. Still not sure who it was and if he finished. I hope to find him so I can tell him that..... get this... he inspired me. But the best part of the weekend started when my buddy Bill P., who has crewed for me three times and seen me at my absolute worst, came to me and said I needed to go pace Todd Rowe on Saturday. I would have said no, but Todd was one of the first guys I trained with out at Afton years ago. This was his first 100. It would mean missing most of the post race party and social hour, but I figured my energy could be better spent. So after packing up the aid station, taking a 1 hour "coma" nap, Andy and I went to find Todd. I was so punchy by then, I had this brilliant idea of taking the cow bell from my aid station and wearing it around my neck. I left the Sawbill aid station and ran backward to find him. So all of this runners heard this cowbell in the distance, and they thought they were at the aid station.... ooops. But I told them "got you fired up.... didn't it? They agreed. What I found out when I finally reached Todd was... he didn't need me. He was rock solid. He was power hiking faster than most people I have seen at that stage of the race. He was picking off 50 milers! He had grouped up with another runner, Jeremy, and there was no question they would make it. When we arrived at the aid station, I took the opportunity to taunt the sweepers (Horns and Maas), telling them there was no chance they would catch us. What I learned in those last 2 sections was not that these 2 needed some help, but there were others out there that needed help. Our train of 3 eventually turned into a train of 8 runners with Todd seriously pushing the pace. The gang behind us said they liked hearing the conversation and stories, so I continued with the boring stories and yapping I am so good at telling. (I talk a lot). We even found a new addition to the MN trail running group, Megan from Burnsville. I could tell this was a serious life event for her, and it was awesome being a part of it. Coming down the final stretch on the dirt road to the finish almost brought me to tears. For me, it brought me back to my first ultra finish ever (Suprior 50k many years ago) and my first 100 mile finish. I ran ahead with that annoying cowbell to get the finish area fired up for these runners. Not long after Todd finished, Misty Schmidt came across for her long awaited Superior finish. She overcame some serious pain as well as threats of timing out, but she brought the mojo home. It was awesome to see. What is next for me? Not sure. I could see working this same aid station for years to come. But I also have some other desires. Special thanks to John and Cheri Storkamp for an incredible race. Thanks to Angela, Andrew, Brad, and Paul for all of the aid station support. And thank you to all of the runners who brought their best.

Ice Age 50 Report.......?

So here is the scene.... Mile 37.... outbountd.... I walk... (okay, stumble) into the aid station. I see Wayne Nelson. I say "Wayne, you're driving me back to the start finish". Wayne's response "in an hour or 2, I am having fun watching and helping". Darn. Then I see see Brad Birkholz. After a short conversation, Brad says "I am dring YOU back to the start finish" Jim Stocco joined us, which was a blessing. I was gone. By gone, I mean gone. I already had Marty KC of the LPTR's try and pull me because he thought I was drunk. He abandoned his station at a road crossing to go to the next one because of how I was acting. When I say the orange reflector vest at the top of hill, I knew it was a course official waiting for me. I was a naughty boy. In all seriousness, thanks to Marty. I don't remember the whole interaction, but I remember a mountain biker yelling "you just need to drink some water". If I had any... any energy at all.... that guy would now be a mountain crawler. Thanks Marty. So back to the car with Brad and Jim. I never should have left the prior aid station. But I thought I could walk the rest of the way (apparently you need to drink water even when walking). I lost it. The combination of 3 years of frustration, and things not coming together, I just lost it. Sitting in the car with Brad and Jim saved me. I didn't want to go back to the start finish. I didn't want to go back and have to explain what happened. I didn't want any part of it. Jim Stocco has done 15 Ice Age 50 miles. He was co-founder of the Superior Sawtooth 100. He is a legend in Minnesota in the ultra community. He said "it aint' worth it man (or something like that)" Not even sure what he said, but it made a world of difference. And leaving the parking lot... we saw Mrs. Gnarly Bandit, Lynn Saari. A quick "don't ask" was all I could muster, which was fine because she and Brad argued on how to get back to the start. (She was right). ********************* Long and short of it.... I thought I was having a great day. Made it to mile 20 feeling great. I changed how I drank. Took less electrolytes. Once I started cramping in my legs, I slowly started adding electroylytes (s caps). The Boom! My stomace turned like I had an anvil in it. I slugged for a good 8 miles after. I went from overhydration worries, to dehydration. Problem was, I couldn't drink any water. I know I "could", but I couldn't. 3.5 hours of no water......I was delerious. I didn't matter anyway. I was going so slow, I was going to time out. ********************** I called my mother on Suday to wish her a happy mother's day. I never tell her about these races. She finds out through my wife (I tell her not to say anything, but she does anyway). My Mom asks me about my race and I tell her. Her response is "well, you have more important things anyway. A family who needs you" My mom doesn't get it. I did 2 races last year, probably only 2 this year. I spend less time away from the family than a golfer does. I know what she means. She is my mom. She worries. But I think of all of the deadbeat, overweight, knucklead dads who don't even know their kids. That is not me. I want my kids to see that beaing an athlete is a lifestyle. I want them to see success and failure. I want them to see that life goes on. I may quite a lot, but I step up the plate more often than most. I want them to see that failure is a part of life which you just deal with, learn from, then move on. ********************* So the best part of blogging is telling the story of achieving goals. Blogging sucks when you have to fess up and tell the story of things gone bad. It aint fun anymore, so I have to take time off again. No more races for this year.... at least. There might be a Patten Family aid station at Superior this year though. Thanks to anybody who reads this. I leave you with my favorite verse from the bible. It is the verse which has always helped me through difficult times. "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Hyponatremia

I never thought I will tell someone "Yea, I didn't manage the race correctly. I got hyponatremia".

For those who don't know what hyponatremia is, here is a definition
Hyponatremia is a condition that occurs when the level of sodium in your blood is abnormally low.

It is funny, because hyponatremia has incorrectly been dubbed as a "slower runner's" issue. It got this label as a result of a few isolated incodents in big city marathons. In the severe cases, it happened to runners finishing or tracking in the 5+ hour time.

Problem is, it has less to do with speed and everything to do with water intake and how much one sweats.

Up until yesterday, I would have added to the precious sentence "and how much electrolytes you are taking". Well...... there is a catch to that last sentence. And I can't believe I have missed it in my now 2+ years of struggling with this.

Here is the bombshell quote from Karl King, founder of Succeed! spots nutrition.
The sodium concentration in extra-cellular fluid is the ratio of weight of sodium ions to weight of water. So, if I have too much water, I can just add more sodium, right? Well, it depends on where you are with respect to normal sodium content in the body. If you have too little sodium, then adding more will help you return to normal. An example many runners have experienced would be low sodium with adequate water, leading to puffiness in the hands and wrists. Taking in more sodium will correct the situation and the puffiness will go down.

But if you have the right amount of sodium, adding a lot more is not good. Excess sodium can increase thirst and prompt more drinking, which is bad if you already have too much water on board ( excess weight ).

Thus, the safest course is to drink to maintain body weight ( or be a little down ), and take sodium supplementation conservatively. A deficiency of water or sodium can be corrected within minutes, but correcting excesses of either one can take hours.

The thing that really hit me is figure out hydration FIRST, then electrolytes.

Take a look at the table on here. It is Karl's table of electrolytes. I went through an asked myself "did I experience this based on these symptoms?"

I tried to relive the last few.... okay, many DNF's, and they all told a somewhat different story. But what they all had in common was overhydration. Superior last year was the best example of moderating it, though. I clearly remember my fingers getting puffy, then going away. It happened many times. This is..... A GOOD SIGN! meaning I (we.... Bill P the crew) were keeping the conditions at bay, and adjusting.

I also look at the "low hydration" column and realize I have not felt these symptoms in a while. I have felt all of them, but not in any recent races. And notice the fix for that column, very simple. The fix for overhydration seems simple as well, but as Karl said

A deficiency of water or sodium can be corrected within minutes, but correcting excesses of either one can take hours.

So what do I do? Over the next 2 weeks I am going to do my best to test this again. I will
> Weigh myself as much as I can before and after runs, and see what my %dehydration is
> Run a 50k loop at afton consuming half the water I am used to, and see what happens.

Guess I have my work cut out for me in the next 2 weeks. I have to redeem myself at Ice Age. If I can't work this out/figure this out, then I am throwing in the racing towel and switching to crew/volunteering. It aint' worth it.

I came home on Saturday in an unhealthy state. It wasn't good for the family balance.

Zumbro 50 Mile report

In short, I put forth a miserable performance.

To say I am frustrated is an understatement.

Another DNF, another struggle with hydration, fuel, electrolyte imbalance.

I completed 2 of the 3 loops. If I went for a 3rd loop, I would have gone into the body destruction mode. I did not want to do that with Ice Age in 4 weeks.

I originally considered this as a training run, and let myself get amped up to make this a race.

It is what it is, and it ended up as a brutal training run.

But.... I did not damage... physically.

Emotionally I am struggling as my body has clearly changed in the last few years, and I am struggling to adapt.

So chalk it up as a training run.

At least this puts me in a great position to have a great run at Ice Age.

Many great stories out there yesterday and the day before. Hopefully I will get the motivation to capture some of them.

At least I got another cool shirt :)

Strategy on racing

Most of us keep a plan or strategy on how to run an upcoming race quiet. The reasons are two fold.

1 - One does not want to reveal to the other runners what you will try to do
2 - One does not want to make a grand plan all to fail miserably, and crash and burn.

Since I am not a force to contend with, I decided I will reveal my plan. There are so many new faces and names out there, I don't think it matters at all.

My plan is simple. I will take what the race and day gives me.

The 50 Miler starts Midnight on April 13th (okay, Saturday morning the 14th). The race director actually put in print that it starts at 12:01 am.

First 10 miles - Stay calm. Conserve energy. Run light. Monitor fuel/liquid. Stay calm.

Second 20 miles - Use the flat sections as an opportunity to "run". Keep it easy, but don't hold back too much as there are plenty of runnable sections. Walk the uphills, gently glide the down hills. Keep the heart rate medium/low.

20 - 30 - This is where the race starts to come together. Inexperienced runners will start to struggle here. Focus on the gait, and make sure form is not falling apart. Poor form leads to extra energy spent, to much stress on muscles you don't use, and a bad disposition. I find the key factor in this section is to stay happy, comfortable, and balanced. I might get cold at this point, so staying sufficiently dry and warm is key. If you are dry and warm, you feel good. If you feel good, you stay in the game. I also have to adjust to food and liquid preferences. Drink coffee before I need it. Remember that once the sun comes up, it is a new day and life will come back mentally and physically.

30 - 40 - The hardest part of a 50. The hardest thing to do at this point is just focusing on getting to 40. Keep moving. Minimize time at aid stations. Get to 40, get out of any funk you are in, utilize any runnable opportunities to get to 40. It's all about the 40 at this point for me. Once you are in the 35 - 40 range, any stupidity conducted earlier in the race would have already come to the surface. At this point, there aren't too many dumb things you can do to ruin your race (relatively speaking). Might as well start thinking about "throwing it down" and going for it. Whatever that might mean at that point.

40 - 50 - Final leg. Counting down the miles. Do everything I can to maintain pace. Maintain pace, maintain pace. Keep eating and drinking. Less experienced runners stop eating at this point, leading to serious crash and burns in the last 5 miles. As long as one is maintaining a solid pace, it is tough to get passed. Other runners tend not to up the pace and kill it the last 5 miles. You think you are going all out, but 45 miles or so on the legs make an 8 minute mile seem like a 6.

One you get to 45, it is just a "getting it done" mindset.

So that is my strategy, even it if sounds like a complete void of details and insight.

Bottom line, I will listen to my body and heart, and see what God gives me.