Skechers Go Bionic Review

On September 18th my buddy Peter Larson posted a review of the Skechers Go Run on his blog, runblogger.com.  At the time I was preparing to run 108 miles of pavement across NH and was keeping my eyes out for a minimal type shoe that offered enough cushion and protection for all that pavement.  His review of the Go Run really caught my interest.  After several emails back and forth he put me in touch with the team at Skechers.

After giving them feedback on the first pair of Go Run shoes (loved the feel of the upper, loved the flexibility of the shoe, felt that the "bump" under the arch was a little weird when walking, but awesome when running, etc.) they sent me another pair with the changes I suggested.  How cool!!  Then another pair, and another, etc.  What started out as simple feedback has now blossomed into me being a wear tester for Skechers.  (Disclaimer:  all of the shoes I have received from Skechers have been at no charge in exchange for my feedback).

Before I get into the actual review of the Go Bionic it must be said that I am incredibly impressed with the team at Skechers.  They are one of the biggest producers of shoes and they have dedicated an incredible amount of resources to building real running shoes.  The complete lack of arrogance and genuine interest in my feedback has been incredible.  I have made suggestions for shoes and had a custom pair show up in two weeks.  The quality of their prototypes is so high that the first time they sent me a custom shoe I called them and said they must have made a mistake, I thought it was a production shoe. 

Go Bionic!

The shoe that I have been wearing the most is the Go Bionic.  Peter and I have been working collaboratively with them on this shoe.  Pete likes to run sockless and does shorter faster runs than me.  I always wear socks and generally run longer distances. Therefore our feedback comes from different perspectives and covers a wide type of runners needs.

Let me say one thing.  Although I like minimal shoes, I don't consider myself a "Barefoot" runner.  The only requirement that I have for running shoes is that there has to be a 4mm or less heel/midfoot drop.  I love how minimal shoes feel.  I love how they sort of disappear on my feet.  I love how they are not hot and breath well.  But I do not love how much the bottom of my feet hurt when I try to run long distances in them.  I like having some cushioning, or" bounce", when I land on pavement.

For me the perfect shoe would simply be rubber that would extend out of the bottom of my foot.  It would allow my feet to move and feel exactly as they do when I'm barefoot, but it would give me enough cushioning and protection to allow me to run all day (and night).  

Most minimal shoes cater to the barefoot crowd.  And most barefooters like to feel the ground.  Some of them write on their blogs how shoes with a tiny bit of hard rubber have no "ground feel" and aren't minimal enough.  Well, not this guy.  I have been trying to find a minimal shoe that would let me run for hours without making it feel like somebody beat the bottoms of my feet with a ball-peen hammer.  I have finally found that shoe.  And it is the Go Bionic.

6.4 Oz with sockliner, 6.0 without (size 10 mens)

The Go Bionic is a zero drop lightweight shoe.  Unlike most zero drop minimal shoes, the sole is made with a lateral midsole thickness of 11.5mm and has substantial cushioning.  For me, the Resalyte material has a perfect amount of ground feel with enough "squish" or "bounce".

Flexible....yes!!

 The horizontal and vertical slits in the soles allows the shoe to move with your feet in all directions.  A size 10 mens shoe weighs only 6.4 oz on my digital scale and exactly 6 oz without the removable sockliner.

Nice flat removable sockliner

Originally the shoe was designed without a sockliner and was meant to be able to wear sockless.  The first pair I received had no sockliner.  There was a noticeable feel to the blocks of rubber directly under my feet that was a bit strange when standing, but was undetectable when running.  Peter and I both suggested that they design the shoe with a very minimal removable sockliner.  It turned a really good shoe into a great shoe for me.

Without the sockliner

 Another thing that I love about this shoe is that there is zero arch support.  Zero.  I really don't understand why shoe companies design "minimal" shoes and then ruin them with arch support.  I want my minimal shoes to feel like my feet.  Not like traditional shoes that don't allow my arch to flex and stretch.  Skechers got this right.

Wide Toe Box

Breathability is excellent and the upper has a wide toe box that allows your toes to splay freely.  Running roads in this shoe feels like running barefoot on the grass.  That's the best way I can describe the ride.  Two weeks ago I decided to meet the family for breakfast...31 miles away.  I wasn't sure how my feet would feel after running that many miles in a zero drop shoe, but I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived later after 4 1/2 hours of roads.

 
The slits in the sole do open the question about how waterproof they are.  Skechers has given the shoes a 3M Scotchguard Protective coating.  Not only does this improve water resistance at the bottom of the shoe, but it keeps the uppers looking better longer.  I have tested a pair of Go Runs with this coating by taking them off road through mud, sand, water, and general muck and was amazed at how everything just kind of slid off the shoes.  They tell me that it is very heavy duty and should last the life of the shoes.  The shoe also has a primer and cement layer between the midsole slits and the upper to increase protection.  I have not tested the shoes in the rain, but I have run in them when there was heavy snowmelt on the roads and did not have any water come through the bottom of the shoes.

Flexible in every direction.

Besides being a great road shoe, this shoe is a fantastic every day shoe for the person who doesn't want to have an elevated heel.  I love how minimal shoes feel for casual use, but I don't walk midfoot first.  Frankly I've never been able to figure out how to do it without looking like I am very "light in the loafers", so to speak.   Therefore, whenever I do wear a zero drop shoe for work,  my feet end up hurting by the end of the day.  With the Go Bionics extra cushioning I find that I have the best of both worlds.  Zero drop, zero pain.

Ok, so I'm gushing.  I love these shoes.  I have waited two years for somebody to come out with a shoe like this.  If you want a pair you will have to wait just a little bit longer.  The release date is scheduled for July of this year with an estimated MSRP of under $90.

If you want a more technical review of the shoe, check out Petes's post at www.runblogger.com.

Time to get Motivated!!

On Thursday, March 8th at 7PM I will be speaking as part of the "March Forth 2012" Motivation-a-thon.  Once a year Jigsaw Consulting holds a unique event here in NH.  To help combat the winter blues, they have a uplifting, informational, or motivational speaker every hour starting at 8am and going until 9pm.

Last year I was invited to speak, even though I am not a professional speaker.  I spoke about how there are many people who influence your life, but only one person who can change it, you.  I had a great time and it was well received.  It was an honor to be invited back this year.

This year the name of my talk is "Chasing the Almighty Buck is Keeping You Poor (How Finding My Primary Aim Changed My Life)".  I will be expanding on my last blog post "For Love or Money" and talking specifically about how waiting until you have enough money to do what you want with your life is preventing you from living the life that you want.  If you are a business owner or thinking about opening a business it will particularly relevant, but hopefully anybody there should be able to find something interesting.

It's a day filled with positive messages, featuring twelve presentations (a new one at the top of each hour). 

This event is FREE! All speakers are donating their time to raise awareness and donations for Chamberlin House (home of Woman's Club of Concord). 

See HERE for schedule.

For Love or Money?

Hanging on the wall at our shop.

 Every Monday morning my entire crew at National Powersports comes in early for a meeting.  We go over all types of things from procedural changes to reading letters from customers.  This last Monday we didn't have a lot to go over so I kind of jokingly said something to the tune of "ok, were done unless you guys want to hear one of my soapbox speeches about why I started the business".  It was sort of a half joke, but one of the guys encouraged me, saying that we hadn't heard it in a while.  Since I have some new employees that really hadn't heard the entire background I decided to talk about why NPS has been successful.

It is really important that everybody that works at NPS knows why I started the business.  It's important to know that we have a bigger mission than just selling motorcycles and making money.  Here is why.

NPD had very humble beginnings.  After leaving my Dads business I was working for a little Tech Startup.  It was a great company with only 7 employees.  I respected them and they respected me.  That was something that I had sorely missed working for my father.  I had been doing very well at this little company and had started investing in Mutual Funds.  Now that my salary had exceeded my living expenses I had been told by everybody that it was time to start investing for the future.  So I met with a financial planner who showed me how my $500 a month investment would turn into millions in 30 years, based on historical data.

Well after one year, and the attacks on 9/11, my mutual funds had tanked.  I realized that I have neither the patience nor the knowledge to be an "investor".  After Amy and I both came to the conclusion that there had to be a better way to make a return on our investments I decided to purchase an old motorcycle with the $500 and fix it up.  I bought a bike, cleaned it up and sold it on eBay for a few hundred dollars profit.  This made a huge impression on me.  I thought about it from the rate of return point of view and realized that the Mutual funds might give me a 10% ROI, but if I did the motorcycle thing a couple times a month in my spare time my ROI would be in the thousands per year.

In November of 2001, shortly after I started this side project, my boss called me and informed me that the tech company wasn't going to make it.  Rather than looking for another job, I decided that I was going to turn this motorcycle gig into a full time job.  I was pretty terrified.  Amy and I had $10,000 in the bank and now neither of us had a job.  Our expenses were over $3000 per month so we had about 3 months to make this thing go before we were out of money.

We lived on Ramen Pride noodles and busted our asses.  I worked from 6 in the morning placing adds, driving to look at bikes, fixing them up in the garage, listing them on eBay, and answering emails all day.  And after dinner I would do the books and work some more.  I usually finished at around 11pm.  My best friend Jeremy would come over after he got done with work and help me with the mechanical things that I couldn't do.  It was a huge amount of stress, but not the type of stress that I had been under working for dad.  It was good stress, if that makes any sense.  It was also a lot of fun.

I was fortunate enough to do well from the very beginning.  We made money and I had a real business!  I could have kept going at the level I was for years to come, but soon something very special happened.  Without going into a lot of detail (maybe the topic of another blog post in the future) I figured out what my "Primary Aim" was for my life.  After much thought about the life I left behind working for my Dad I realized that no matter what I do I always wanted one thing.  The courage to tell the truth.  Once I figured that out my business took on a completely different meaning.

Suddenly selling motorcycles was about a lot more than just making a profit.  I had an obligation to tell the truth to my customers.  I had always been truthful with my customers, but now what it meant was that I needed to find out everything about the motorcycles that I was selling so my customers knew before they made a decision.  I developed a process to uncover the things that were NOT perfect with the bikes as well as marketing what was good about them.  I decided that my commitment was to be my customers advocate.  Telling the truth means being thorough.  Telling the truth often meant that I actually prevented a sale because I was honest with the customer.  For me, that was and is still way more important than putting somebody on the wrong bike. 

When it came time to hire employees the most important thing was that they felt the same way about the importance of telling the truth.  No matter what we did or do now, we can always find a guiding principal with that concept.  My employees aren't on commission and feel zero pressure to "sell" somebody a motorcycle.  They do feel pressure to always tell the truth.  They are allowed to make mistakes, but they all know that the one thing that will get you fired is lying.

Once I made this change the business went nuts.  It sounds so simple, but it is not the norm for most business's.  Many start with good intentions, but get completely off track when they adopt making money as the number one reason for all their decisions.  I don't look at my industry to see what others are doing, I simply follow the rule of telling the truth and providing for others.

This has taught me that if you do things for others, rather than for your own selfish reasons, the money, success and prosperity follows.  It is the natural way of things.   My best success has come when I focused on others as the reason for doing something.  When I focus only on me I am sure to be denied the object of my desire.

Do it for the love.  The money will follow.

New Balance MT110 Long Term Update

400 Miles and counting.

Since the New Balance MT110 has just started being released I thought it might be relevant to write up a quick update on how mine are holding up.  You can read my original review HERE.  I have used many pairs of shoes this year, but I still managed to put on over 400 miles on this pair that was given to me by New Balance in August.

Before I get to far into this post, let me say again how much I love these shoes.  Until this shoe I have never run 100 miles without significant blisters.  The NB ML1 last which these shoes (and the entire Minimus line) are built upon fit me like a glove.  I wore these shoes for the first 70 miles of the Leadville 100 in August and then the first 50 miles of the Bartram 100 in December (which was my first 100 mile win).  If they had a little more cushioning I would have worn them the entire way.  I'm going to resist gushing about these shoes, rather just show pictures of how they are holding up.  What I will say is that my enthusiasm for this shoe has not waned from my original review.  

And now for the best part.  They are holding up incredibly well.  For a shoe that is almost as light as a racing flat and less than $100 they are an incredible value.  I think that a lot of us have found that lightweight usually equals less durable.  This has not been the case with the MT110's.  I have used them on every type of terrain imaginable.  From the rocky Leadville Trails to New England mud, they have handled everything I've thrown at them.

Side view.  No tears, rips or holes in either shoe.

View of Sole. 

Rubber on bottom shows much less wear than I would expect from a trail shoe with 400 miles on it.

Exposed EVA (blue) shows wear, but doesn't effect performance. 

Heel wear.  Similar to forefoot.

Inside of shoe is in remarkable shape.  For such a lightweight shoe it is amazing that the inside has no rips or tears.

Another inside view

The only area showing any wear.  This is a tiny spot that showed up a while ago and has not got worse.

Honestly, I'm amazed at this shoe.  MSRP is $84.99 as seen on the NB Website. I have paid close to that for an off road racing flat that after 100 miles was destroyed.  I think this shoe presents one of the best values of a lightweight trail shoe available on the market.  For any of you on the fence about this shoe because of concerns of reliability, I hope this helps. 

Obligatory "Year in Review" for 2011

You know what?  I've started to write about what happened in 2011 many times now.  The reality is that, who cares?  I've written about all of it throughout the year here on my blog, so why bother recap it?  If I did bother to write one up, it would all boil down to this:

2011 was awesome.

I ran 3500 miles.  I won a 100 mile race. I spent more time with Amy and the kids.  National Powersports had a great year, blah blah blah.

The reality is that I feel like every day is New Years day.  Every single day that I wake up I spend a few minutes thinking about how fortunate I am and how much I love being alive. And then I think hard about what I want to happen today and what I will do to make sure that it does. I don't make New Years resolutions because every single day we have the opportunity to change the direction of our lives.

I truly believe that every single person alive has the ability to lead whatever type of life they want.   I'm proof.  Many think that there are people who live "charmed" lives.  You know the old saying, "you could fall into a bucket of shit and come out smelling like roses".  I am guessing that many people that know me think I might be that guy.  But that's not always how it has been.  Like it or not, the life that we are living today is a result of the thoughts and choices we made yesterday. I'm not charmed, I'm living my life concisely.

When I worked for my father I might have been the most miserable person on the face of the earth. The amount of stress that I felt was unbearable.  It felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest.  Anxiety to the point of panic was normal.  The worst part was that I thought that I had no options.  I felt completely trapped in a situation that I had no control over.  Helpless is the best word that describes how I felt.

But eventually I left.  I walked away from my family's business that I was supposedly supposed to inherit. I left with nothing.  No pension, not much money in the bank and a family to support.  The frustration of the situation had finally outweighed the terror of stepping outside of it.  And you know what?  I didn't die.  The world didn't collapse.  As a matter of fact things started to get better once I took control over my life.  I am not a helpless spectator in what happens to me and what I get out of life.  And neither is anybody else, but most of us just don't know it yet.

So where am I going with this?  I think that a better topic for my first post of the New Year is to share how I did it and hope that somebody reading this who is unhappy might start to move in the same direction.  It all starts with an open mind and a willingness to re-consider many of the things we were taught growing up.  Here's the secret.  Your thoughts control everything you do and everything you get out of this life.  Most of us don't think of reality that way.  Our thoughts ebb and flow like the tides, and most of us think of ourselves as passengers along for a ride.  Its not true.  But it takes a phenomenal amount of practice and work to take control over them. 

I am still working hard to understand it all, but the more I practice the better I'm getting.  For those of you still with me here, yes, I am referring to what most call the Law of Attraction.  I'm not going to try to explain it all here.  I'm not an expert, nor would I position myself as a teacher.  What I will do, for those who are interested, is post some of the books I am studying and have found influential.

1. If you have never heard about the Law of Attraction (LOA) I would suggest "The Secret", by Rhonda Byrne.  Warning: This is the hokiest, over-commercialized, bastardized explanation of the LOA.  BUT, it will open you to the concept, which seems over the top unbelievable.  The best and most inspirational parts are the stories of people who have overcome incredible odds to achieve great things with their lives.  It will most likely raise more questions and a lot of skepticism. Again, keep an open mind to the idea, not the method in which the message is being delivered.  There is also a movie, which is even more goofy.

2. A book that will absolutely change your life (If your open to it) is "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill.  If you study the CEO's of a TON of successful businesses you will find this book referenced to over and over again.  This book was written in the 1920's and the message and lessons are timeless and have been proven over and over.

3.  If you read "The Secret" and want to understand the LOA in much better detail read "The Master Key System" by Charles Haanel.  I am still working on it, but have found answers to many of my questions.  It was originally meant to be a weekly study course, so you work through the book chapter at a time.  It is the most comprehensive explanation of how the LOA (and many other laws of nature) work.

I don't discuss the LOA with many people.  Frankly, I'm a bit hesitant to even publish this post.  But this is the direction I have gone with my thoughts and beliefs.  It has given me the vision to create National Powersports, it has allowed me to achieve physical achievements that I never would have thought possible, it has allowed me to be financially comfortable.  Most of all, I don't worry much anymore.  It has allowed me to eliminate a huge amount of stress in my life.  It has allowed me to have light where there used to be dark.

My hope for everybody for 2012 is to have an incredible year full of light and happiness.

Altra Lone Peak shoe review

Altra Lone Peak

When the Altra Instinct came out I was psyched.  Finally there was a cushioned zero drop shoe with a fantastic toe box.  You can read my review of the shoe here.  When I first discovered Altra, the shoe I was really looking forward to was the Lone Peak.  After reaching out to Altra and telling them about my PPS they emailed and said that they would like to sponsor my attempt.  They sent me a pair of the Instincts for free and gave me a discount on 2 additional pairs.  I wore them for the Western States 100, the Vermont 100 and part of the Leadville 100. 

As the summer wore on the release for the Lone Peaks kept getting delayed.  I couldn't wait for the additional traction and protection that the shoe promised.  When they finally came out my summer of racing was over.  Altra Co-Owner Brian Beckstead reached out to me recently and told me that Altra would love my feedback on the shoe now that it was out.  Originally they had promised to send me a pair for free when they were available.  For some reason, perhaps because my race schedule for the year was complete, Brian said that I could buy a pair at a discount.  At this point I have been using several other shoes as my go-to trail shoes, most notably the New Balance MT110's and Brooks Pure Grits.  I really did not need to buy another pair of shoes, but I had been waiting for these shoes to come out for almost 6 months and I do love the Instincts.  So I decide to take Brian up on his offer and bought a pair.

Notice how hard I'm pushing on the heel.  The sole feels like it's made out of steel.  It doesn't flex.

For comparisson, my Instincts with similar (if not less) pressure applied at the same point.

When they arrived I was super surprised at how stiff they were.  The addition of a rock plate and the additional stack height had turned the familiar shoe into a very rigid one.  I ordered the shoes a 1/2 size smaller on Brian's recommendation and I'm glad I did, as they fit well.  Once again, the toe box is excellent.  Nice and wide with plenty room to splay my toes.   But wearing them around the house the felt noticeably stiffer than the Instincts.  I put them in the closet where they stayed for a while. 

Much better traction than the Instinct

Finally I decided to give them a whirl and took them out for a 16 mile jaunt.  Within the first 100 feet I knew that they were a different animal than the Instincts.  My foot felt like it was trapped in a container, rather than being part of an instrument meant to enhance running.  My heel was rubbing up and down against the rear of the shoe with every step because the sole was so stiff that the shoe wasn't flexing with my steps.

Great Toebox

As the run continued onto the trails the shoe felt better, but still too stiff.  My foot had no ground feel whatsoever and the lack of lateral flexibility was frustrating.  The increased traction (over the Instincts) was a noticeable improvement.  One thing I noticed right away was that the rudder type thing on the back of the shoe was rubbing my opposite calf a lot and became rather irritating.  If I use these shoes again I am going to cut it off first.  I can't see that it serves any purpose. 

Calf hair remover....

Eventually I ran through a stream and discovered another issue.  The shoe doesn't drain.  More specifically, the insole is made of a squishy rubber that seems to absorb water like a diaper and then holds it against the bottom of your foot for the rest of the run.  It never dries out.  My feet were wet for the entire run, even though I ran through the water within the first few miles.  This would be a fatal flaw for me if I was going to run 100 miles in them.  I can't imagine how bad my blisters would be.

Honestly, I'm disappointed.  I love my Instincts and had such high hopes for this shoe.  It is so over built for my needs and feels just like the shoes I've been so happy to get away from since moving towards more minimal shoes.  Here's how it ends up for me:

Pros -
Excellent shaped last
Tons of toe room
Zero drop
Huge amount of protection from rocks, etc.

Con's -
Stiff sole
Stiff upper
Doesn't drain
Doesn't move with my foot

If you are looking for a Sherman Tank off road shoe with a zero drop this is your shoe.  For me, it's just to much shoe and lacks the elegance that I'm looking for in an off road shoe.

Give it to me one more time! - Bartram 100 Race Report

Welcome to middle Georgia!

 On November 30th I posted on Facebook  "I really would like to run 100 miles...soon."   As much as I didn't want to admit it, I was kind of depressed about how my season had ended. Even though I had successfully completed three difficult 100's the last DNF's we what stuck most in my mind. 

I hadn't planned on doing any more races and I had backed way off my training.  As a matter of fact, I wasn't "training" at all.  What I was doing was simply running for the love of running.   For the first time in years, I wasn't following a training plan, and I was falling in love with running again.  Which lead to me posting that I wanted to race again.   I certainly hadn't planned on doing another one, but I wanted a chance to redeem myself.   I was a little bit afraid that I might be biting off more than I can chew, and the possibility of having to endure another DNF would crush me.  But at the same time, I've never been afraid to challenge myself and doing one more race might give me the chance to end the year on a more positive note.

One of my Facebook friends recommended that I check out the Bartram 100 in Georgia, only two weeks away.  Only in it's second year, Bartram is a loop course with the competitors running a 6.25 mile loop 16 times.  The few pictures I could dig up on Google showed nice single track and woods running with only about 300 ft of elevation gain/loss per loop.  After talking with Amy and getting her blessing I decided to go for it.

Hometown feel, its like the Anti-Leadville

I checked in and picked up my race number Friday night and was pleased to meet a bunch of very friendly nice people.  The start/finish line was right next to a covered area with picnic benches and a great place to put my bag of supplies for the race.   I went back into the town of Milledgeville and checked into the hotel.  After seeing that it had a microwave and fridge I went to the Piggly Wiggly and bought dinner and breakfast for the next morning.  After a nice dinner of rice and avocado I retired early in hopes of getting a good nights sleep.

You'd think I'd be able to take a clear picture with an automatic camera.

I arrived at 6:30 the next morning just in time to set up my support bag and be ready for the 7am start.  Since they had an aid station set up about 1/2 way through the loop it meant that all I had to carry was a handheld bottle.  My strategy was to eat a gel at each aid station or every 30 to 45 minutes.  For fluids I would drink the Gatorade that was provided at both stations.  I filled up my bottle, ate a gel, put another in my bottle pocket and was ready to go.

Start/Finish Line on left

Without any fanfare or pretense the RD sent us off and just as the sun was rising we were on our way.  Let me do my best to give a course description.  Since I was so focused on doing my best here I didn't take any pictures, so this is from memory.  After 16 laps of the course, I know it like the back of my hand.

Starting line reservoir

The course starts off around a tiny resevoiur and then bears left onto a hardpacked singletrack.  Shortly the single track goes uphill for the steepest climb in the 6.25 miles.  It is easily run and does not go that far.  At the top it goes left through a field then bears right, all at a slight uphill, through a small cultivated forest.  Next is a junction where you head left for the short out and back section.  This is the place on the course where you can check out how far ahead or behind your competitors are.  After you go into the woods it comes to a dead end where you go around three cones and then head back where you came from.  At the junction you bear left where you follow some powerlines.

Halfway up this hardpacked dirt road it becomes a little hill that goes for about 1/4 mile.  At the top you bear right onto some grassy trails that goes downhill.  This part is a little tricky because what looks like nice soft grass has 2-3" sharp railroad type rocks scattered about.  After it goes down hill for a ways it goes back up.  Again, this incline is easily run.  The trail turns left for a short ways through another cultivated forest where the trees are in perfect rows, like the tombstones at Arlington.  At the end of this section you take a left.  At this point you can actually see the start line strait ahead, but it is still a couple miles away if you follow the course.  This is where the midway aid station is located.  There is a table with gels, heed, gatorade and water.  Throughout the day new surprises showed up on the table, like bowls of Mike and Ike candies.  There is also a porta potty, which I never had to use.

After a left through the woods and a short uphill, the trail turns right and goes downhill thorugh a nice grass trail into the woods.  A short woods section complete with man made bridges eventually puts you out to the last climb of the trail, again, easily run when you are fresh.  At the top of the hill you bear right and go down a long open exposed road where there are more stones to watch for.  Then you take a right back into nice single track trails for a while until you get back to the start/finish.

For the first 3 or 4 laps I was finishing each lap in about an hour.  I knew that there was no way that I could keep up a 16 hour pace, but I didn't see the point in purposely slowing down any since I was running easy and very comfortable.  My fueling strategy was working very well and I was feeling excellent.  I had a feeling early that it was going to be one of those days where I was strong.  I spent quite a bit of time in the early laps talking to Tony Portera.  Tony is from NY and it turns out we have a lot of mutual friends.  He was running very strong and looks poised and relaxed.  He was great company and we frequently reminded each other that we were going out way to fast.  But we both still kept running all the hills...For most of the morning we were running in 4th and 5th place and we couldn't believe the pace of the two front runners.  The leader was putting at least 5 minutes on us per lap!

Eventually Tony said that he just had to purposely slow down his pace so he dropped back a bit.  I started to walk in 4 places, but never for very long.  Just long enough to change up the muscles that I was using.  I decided that my strategy would be to try to not walk any more than I was doing on those laps and see if I could just keep up the pace.

New Balance MT110s

I was wearing my New Balance MT110 shoes with my favorite Wright socks.  This is the exact same combo that I used for the first 70 miles of Leadville.  Again I was perfectly blister free and happy to be so!  I hit the 50 mile point in 8 hours and 33 minutes feeling good, but the shoes were starting to get thin under my feet and my hips were getting very tight.  I decided to do a quick sock and shoe change.  I changed into my Brooks True Grits and took off.  I might have spent 5 minutes at that stop.

Brooks Pure Grit

The sole of the shoe felt much better and offered way more cushioning and protection from the rocks, but it wasn't more than another couple of miles that I knew that I was going to have a problem with the toes on my right foot.  Two of them were rubbing on the top and front of the shoes and I realized that my feet were probably larger than normal due to swelling.  I hadn't anticipated that!  I made a vow to myself at that point that I wasn't going to change for the rest of the race and I would simply stick it out no matter what type of shape my feet were in.  I was super focused on moving forward at all times and and not wasting any time.  I even continued to walk when I had to pee.  It sounds stupid, but looking back at what happened at the finish line (eventually I'll get to that) it was a smart decision.

With my music blasting and the sun setting I continued to put in the laps.  The hardest part was running a 2 mile stretch where there was no place to walk.  Every lap I continued to push myself to not walk in this area even though I was getting more and more tired.

Somewhere around the 10th-12th lap I started to feel very sick to my stomach.  I was completely repulsed by the gels I was eating and by the Gatorade I was drinking.  I knew that I had to eat at all cost but even the though of eating a gel grossed me out.  As I was starting one of the climbs I was completely overwhelmed by a need to throw up.  Damn, I hate throwing up.  My attitude was still good though.  I actually laughed as I stopped and started to dry heave.  I have never puked during a race before and I felt like it was a right of passage.  After three hard heaves the feeling went away.  I didn't throw up.  I have no idea why not, but I kept moving and ate a gel as soon as I could.

As I got to the midway aid station I decided to try a cup of heed.  Most runners I know stay away from the stuff as they say that it bloats them and makes them sick.  At this point I had to try anything other than what I was doing.  I drank a cup and instantly felt better.  It wasn't sweet and it settled my stomach.  I was psyched.  Major problem solved, at least for now.  I dumped the Gatorade out of my bottle, filled it with heed and took off to finish another lap.

When I got the start finish I asked if they had any turkey.  They did and I took off for my next lap with 4 or 5 slices.  My new secret weapon.  Turkey and Heed.  Hey, it worked!  I started to feel very good and was moving well.  I kept putting in the laps and with about 4 to go I asked how far the leader was in front of me.  He was 55 minutes ahead and I was in second place.  I put my head down and just kept hammering.  With two laps to go I asked again how far behind I was and I was told about 35 minutes, but the leader was slowing down.  I told them I was going to make a race of it and took off.

I was feeling good and just doing my best to keep my pace up.  I had the bit between my teeth, but honestly was more concerned about breaking 20 hours than winning.  I could be pretty happy with second place!!  On the last lap I was still feeling good so I decided that I should give it everything that I had.  I ran every single step and all the hills.  About 2 miles from the finish I came upon a runner who was stopped and holding his legs.  I asked if he was ok as I passed by and he said yes.

He didn't look familiar to me.  Could that be the leader that I just passed?  Holy crap, was I in the lead?  I became really motivated to not let him catch me if he was.  I was running scared and flying.  Shortly after I passed a slower runner and his pacer, a person that I recognized as one of the race directors.  They asked me if I had seen a guy earlier with a white jacket.  I said that I had, he was just a little ways back.  I asked if he was the leader and they said no.

I was pretty bummed, but there was no reason to slow down.  Since I was flying, why not finish strong and get the best time possible.  The pull of the finish line was in full effect and as the finish line came into sight I passed another runner who was moving pretty slowly.  As I blew by him I quickly realized that he was sprinting to catch me.  It was the leader!!!  I ran as hard as I could and crossed the finish line before him with a time of 19:19:43.  His time was 19:19:45.  I won by 2 seconds and set a course record.  I still can't believe that after 100 miles only two seconds separated us!!!

I felt terrible for him, but at the same time I had just won my first race!  I tried to keep the tears from coming but I did get pretty misty eyed after.  I was in shock.  I had a very tough time getting to the car when I tried to pack up an hour later.  My left hip flexor was so tight that I couldn't lift my leg to walk!  The next day at the airport I looked like a penguin walking.  My feet were bruised up from smashing on the rocks.

Earlier this year when I DNF'd at the Bear, I learned my most important lesson from all these races.  If you don't want it bad enough then you won't do your best.  I wanted to do well at this race so badly that it was worth the risk of another failure. All week before the race I spent time imagining doing well and erasing all doubt from my mind.  I was focused and driven. When things got tough I was able to push through.

This was a great race with nice people and a real home town feeling.  For my win I got....nothing.  No buckle, no finishers award, no medal.  And that is perfectly alright with me.  The feeling of satisfaction that I got out of it is better than anything anybody could have given me.