Dean's Quest - Badwater, the Ultra Marathon

Lookout Mountain TN, December 18 2010

2010-12-18T21:06:00.000-05:00

50 miler

Pine Mountain Dec 5 2010

2010-12-08T21:00:00.000-05:00

40 miler in Georgia.

2010-10-17T15:29:00.006-04:00

Dean finished the Cove Lake 50k yesterday. He looked great as he finished. You would never know he endured the zig zagging incline and decline of the mountain. There were only 28 runners so it was an intimiate run where most people stuck around after to just hang out. The boys and I were there to celebrate.

Cumberland Trail 50K 2010, October 16

2010-10-10T20:15:00.005-04:00

Next weekend is yet another trail run. We took a ride out there today to check it out before hand. Glad we did, it's a beautiful area.
Trail runner in the making...

Stump Jump completed

2010-10-05T19:00:00.000-04:00

2010-10-01T19:16:00.002-04:00

Ultra 50 on Signal Mountain (TN) for Dean tomorrow...

FuDa saying goodbye

status update to follow.

2010-08-29T17:21:00.002-04:00

5 months since the last post. Not sure why other than been busy training, busy with the boys, and busy reading others' running blogs. Also, I was recently diagnosed with Lyme disease. YEAH, Lyme disease - just 4 weeks out from my ultramarathon in Chatanooga.
I still plan on running it even though my eyes don't focus, my head feels like it's in a fog, and my joints are soar as hell.

50 MILER

2010-03-07T22:36:00.002-05:00

This weekend. March 13. Kentucky.
That's all I'm going to say about that... until it's over

Post from Julie

2010-02-13T18:45:00.004-05:00

Just heard from Dean, he finished his first ultra-marathon (32-34 miles)! past the time cut-off by like 15-20 minutes...still finished though.
The boys and I reluctantly stayed home and I've been clinging to my phone all day waiting to hear from him. So glad he finished.
He will update when he is "coherent".
When I ask the boys where Dada is they say, "Dada running" and then they run in place :)

First Ultra Marathon

2010-02-06T18:53:00.006-05:00

OK. Here I go, I'm running the Holiday Lake 50K++ (32+miles) this weekend. I'm building up to 100+ miles, my ultimate goal. I have all the gear, now all I have to do is get in shape.
More to come...

MOBILE

2010-01-12T23:08:00.006-05:00

Off again

2010-01-06T22:01:00.002-05:00

to Mobile Alabama to run the First Light marathon this Sunday.
This time my "crew" is coming with me.

PHOTOS!!!

2009-12-29T10:06:00.003-05:00

Enjoy the photos but don't look at my time, hahaha.
I'm bib #1357. There is a guy in my string of photos that I ran with near the end, we talked military talk as we both served.

And oh, my actual chip time was 4:38 not 4:40, 2 minutes count :)

Photos from the Charlotte Marathon!

Another one down

2009-12-13T13:35:00.010-05:00

The Thunder Road marathon in Charlotte was great. The course was one of the best courses I ever ran and the people that I met were very friendly.
I met some great guys in there 70s that consistently run marathons together. They were hysterical and honestly pretty damn inspirational. I think of all the excuses people make for not running and here are these two guys in their mid-70s continually running marathons. And, running them well.

The drive to Charlotte isn't bad but there was some detour on the way home that took me all around the mountain, literally, and ended up doubling my driving time.
Here are some pics that Julie took.
My send off:

While I was gone the boys made me a special treat

Here I am when I first rolled in the door

My feet are torn up from the run but that's the fun of it right???
Finally home and relaxed:I would definitely do this marathon again.

Just 10 days to...

2009-12-01T07:18:00.002-05:00

my next marathon.
CHARLOTTE NC - Thunder Road Marathon
Should be a fun time and I feel ready for it since I recently finished the Ocean State marathon.
My birthday is today and I can't think of a better way to turn forty-??? then to run a marathon.
Here's hoping for better conditions than the last one.

4 days and 8 days

2009-10-15T06:19:00.005-04:00

It's been awhile since I've written. Lots going on to say the least.
We leave in 8 days to bring home our new son from China. We've been trying to get everything ready. We waited and waited and waited and then all of a sudden - bang- we're packing our bags.

4 days until the marathon in RI. I'm ready. Julie is not running it now to prepare for our travel, shop for FuDa (and whomever else in China), and get our son prepared for having his grandparents staying with him for 2 weeks. It looks like there are a lot of husbands and wives signed up together. Our running bibs are together which would have been cool to have forever. But, like I said... there is A LOT going on right now. I think if the marathon was closer and not in New england we'd all be going.

I'll post my time if it is not too embarrassing. I hear the weather is going to be cold and rainy, just how I like it...

Five Toes Running Shoes

2009-09-19T10:00:00.001-04:00

TIME Magazine named Vibram FiveFingers one of Best Inventions of 2007 so of course I had to do my research and check them out. Like I said before I have been doing a lot of reading on ultra marathoning, running, and body mechanics. Well running barefoot has been receiving a lot of hype lately.

They are a great cross over shoe; they help you you go back to a more natural stride.

So what is the hype about (this is from their website):
"FiveFingers footwear deepens your connection to the earth and your surroundings. FiveFingers enhance your sense of touch and feel, while improving foot strength, balance, agility, and range of motion. Because wearing Vibram FiveFingers is so close to going barefoot, you’ll enjoy the health and performance benefits of barefooting without some of the risks."

I have been doing more than researching these shoes, I actually went out and bought a pair. The sizing of the shoe is pretty precise and I bought a size too small at first. I ran 3 miles in them, went to take them back, and they told me NO I couldn't take them back. I got all riled up and they finally agreed. Any good running store knows you need to run in the shoe for more than a jog up and down the street to know if they are the right. Ok off topic. I got the right size now and they are great. Every issue I had before due to my previous stupid running shoes went away: Achilles problem, calves, hamstring, and knee issues. Lack of stretching didn't help so I've been doing eccentric stretching and running in the flat shoes. Those 2 things made everything go away. I also modified my stride so now I do the soft running technique which gives you more turnover and you look like an old person running (but that's ok because a lot of old people pass me in runs like I'm standing still!)

Here I am in the shoes. I know they look kind of funny and I wouldn't necessarily go out in public with them but they do do wonders for your joints and pronation issues.

what do you think?

35 days and counting

2009-09-13T18:12:00.005-04:00

35 days until our marathon in Newport RI.
Julie did a 20 miler yesterday and I did the same training run today. On the real long runs we decided to alternate days so that Stevie isn't subjected to getting up at 5:30am and pushed around the streets of Knoxville for hours upon hours.
I'm horrible with the-moment-capturing thing with the camera so no pictures of Julie but she got some of me.
Here I am at mile 18, only 2 more to go
and here I am at the home stretch running past our house w/a pretty cool water boy helping out

Back in the Game

2009-08-31T07:15:00.005-04:00

finally felt well enough to do a long run this weekend. I felt like crap when I began the run and felt like crap when I finished it but I did it. I didn't puke so that's a good sign that I'm hydrating while running. Only 6 more weeks to the marathon. My crew was around for support. Here's the crew:

These are pictures Julie captured while I was running or getting GUs and water at one of their stops for me

halted

2009-08-20T19:36:00.002-04:00

The whole house is sick and has been for about 2 weeks now. Julie and I are on antibiotics, which I really hate taking by the way but I just don't want to risk giving Stevie a sinus infection or something worse. He is actually doing the best out of all of us. Needless to say my training has been halted and I haven't done a LONG run in about 2 weeks.
Just when I was starting to get a flow with the long runs. Hopefully I can get a long run in by the end of the weekend.

The Deal

2009-08-10T13:17:00.007-04:00

So Julie (my wife) and I had a deal on our long run Friday night. She would push the jogging stroller with Stevie in it for the first 8 miles and I would push it for the remaining 8. Sounds reasonable right? and we were both in agreement so we thought we had a good deal going on.
Julie looked like she was going to literally die at one point so I asked her if she wanted me to take it. She snapped that she was fine (let me tell you - she didn't look fine, you should have seen her) but she's stubborn so she kept running with it because, according to her, that was our deal.
She ended up catching a second wind and after 8 miles said she was fine to run with it for a bit more. Well we did this 16 mile loop that took us by our house. About .5 miles past our house Julie yells "FLAT!" Yup, our brand new Jeep jogging stroller got a flat.
Do you know how bad that sucks in a middle of a long run? How come that kind of stuff only happens when Julie is in control??? Julie ran back to the house to get my invention out. You heard me, "my invention". I've been working on modifying the bike trailer into a running contraption and now the moment of truth arrived. Julie ran back to get it out and ready while I walked back with a sleeping baby in a flat-tired jogging stroller. Somehow we survived. We went grocery shopping after the run. Julie shopped and I puked in the parking lot. good times.
so here I am after the 16 miles and yes it's dark because by now it's 10:30 pm and we just finished our run. I won't tell you what time we started. Anyway, the contraption hooks around your waist and trails behind you so your arms are free and you can maintain proper posture. It worked pretty good. Julie even tried it but it kept slipping down on her so she ran with it in front of her holding the waist strap. Hey, it's versatile, what can I say.

My first actual post

2009-07-24T21:28:00.006-04:00

Well, here's my first actual post,post. How's everyone doing out there? I'll start off by telling you my wife started this blog for me, she thought it would be a good idea for me to chronical my snail running endeavors....so here goes. I've been reading alot of fitness books lately which I never have in my life...pretty interesting information...how to run until 100, how to train for optimal fitness,how to keep muscle as we get older, yes older....no need to worry, one of the people who is in the motvational section of the Run Until 100 book is helen klein, she started running at 55yrs old and is still running at 85,86....not just running, but running ultra's, unbelievable.sorry for the tangent! It's so inspirational to read these different books because just when I (we )think we're has beens, someone says something that blows me(us) out of the fitness water..I started watching triathalons, marathons, and everything else ENDURANCE RELATED when I was just 9, 10 yrs old....and everytime I watched, it sparked something inside of me...and I told myself one day I will do that. I didn't really know when but eventually I WOULD. I left out a crucial part of this, I played every sport except field hockey...ha ha....and everytime I would read in these books people would say that they turned to running because they weren't athletic or that they were the last one picked in gym class,or too small for sports....well, I was none of those so my turning to more running must have come from another motivation like maybe one of the things mentioned on the title page of my blog...I don't know..SORRY! I'm not very good at talking about myself, especially after running 13.5 miles....I'm out of shape...what happened to the good old days when I could talk about myself for days on end after any long run....I must be losing my ego.....that's a good thing right? I'm sitting in front of this laptop and my eyes are bugging out....I'll just have to forget about form and every other grammatical thing and just ramble, that might work better for me.....me, me,me all about me....enough about me,let's talk about you...what do you want to know about me......I love that one....bad jokes I KNOW, but I try.

The Goal

2009-07-19T16:03:00.011-04:00

I'm on a quest to run an ultramarathon, a 135-miler.
My ultimate goal is the Badwater Ultra Marathon in California.

I'm working on building my resume by gaining acceptance into the Western States Ultra-marathon in California. To start, I'll be running some more marathons such as the Newport Marathon in RI in October; moving on to a 50-miler (preferably the Vermont 50); on to the Western States 100 miler, and then the ultimate - The Badwater.
This is my journey...