It's been just over a year since we last spoke...I figure my life is about to change pretty substantially and I might as well document it somewhere...
Just to catch up a little, in the last year I have:
- completed a 31-day NOLS Outdoor Educator Mountaineering & Rock Climbing Course
- spent a week climbing and backpacking in Yosemite
- nearly completed a very frustrating year teaching senior English at Memphis City Schools
- gotten my Wilderness First Responder Certification
- had 3 great trail running races (Wade's Big Adventure, Swamp Stomper 50k, & Sylamore 50k)
- qualified for the national championships of adventure racing with Renn Multisport
- turned 25
- signed up for the Leadville 100 trail race
- turned in my resignation form (as of May) for Memphis City Schools and signed with a job leading backpacking/climbing/biking/paddling trips out West this summer and facilitating school groups doing similar activities in North Carolina this fall
- made it a point to follow my passions rather than the pressure to do what others think is "normal"
- slept outside and lived on the road as much as possible
- had a substantial and meaningful impact on the life of a young person headed down the wrong track in life
- learned to make my own sushi
- continued my commitment to a vegetarian lifestyle
- graduated with a Master's degree
- seen Old Crow Medicine Show twice and Panic once
- learned how very important keeping a positive attitude in a negative environment is to success
So...lots has happened...the most substantial being the leaving of Memphis in June to embark upon a new career as I pursue my dream of working in outdoor education
I feel like I have learned a lot from teaching in the classroom this past year, but at this point in my life, it's just not for me....
Athletically, I have had a pretty good year...I set a 5k PR, pulled 2 podium finishes in trail races and 1 podium finish adventure racing, set a 50k PR, and greatly improved my rock climbing abilities...
I feel like things are going well...I know the future will bring both adventure and challenge in more ways than one....however, I have faith it's all gonna work out....
until next time...happy trails...
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Back in the game...
Damn, just looked at how long it has been since I posted last...Seems like it was just the other day when I made the decision to skip out on Sylamore...
Anyway, I have been back on it pretty hard since taking a week or two off after the injury...3 weeks ago (Feb 18-24), I got around 34 miles...
Two weeks ago (Feb 25 - Mar 2), I got in 47 miles, most of which were pretty quality and even threw in an 18 miler...
This past week I got in 46 miles, a little less quality than the previous week, but still got in a 19 miler and a pretty fun 8 miler in the snow early Saturday morning...
I also had my first interview for a teaching position this past Friday...Things did not go quite as I would have liked, as they were looking for someone to fill a more immediate position than I could manage...however, I'm really glad I got to experience what a true interview is like, as I now know what to expect for next time...also, thanks to Holly (running twig), as she helped me a great deal when I was preparing for the interview....
This week I am hoping to keep it up, getting in some quality miles and another long run...I will have to knock most of them out during the week, as Lauren and I are going to Clarksville, TN this coming weekend to climb at King's Bluff...Should be fun...
Hope all is well with everyone...enjoy the time change!
Anyway, I have been back on it pretty hard since taking a week or two off after the injury...3 weeks ago (Feb 18-24), I got around 34 miles...
Two weeks ago (Feb 25 - Mar 2), I got in 47 miles, most of which were pretty quality and even threw in an 18 miler...
This past week I got in 46 miles, a little less quality than the previous week, but still got in a 19 miler and a pretty fun 8 miler in the snow early Saturday morning...
I also had my first interview for a teaching position this past Friday...Things did not go quite as I would have liked, as they were looking for someone to fill a more immediate position than I could manage...however, I'm really glad I got to experience what a true interview is like, as I now know what to expect for next time...also, thanks to Holly (running twig), as she helped me a great deal when I was preparing for the interview....
This week I am hoping to keep it up, getting in some quality miles and another long run...I will have to knock most of them out during the week, as Lauren and I are going to Clarksville, TN this coming weekend to climb at King's Bluff...Should be fun...
Hope all is well with everyone...enjoy the time change!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
FRUSTRATION
This is incredibly frustrating for me...
I went out on Sunday morning for a run at Shelby Farms...Ran one loop of the tour with Daniel in 52 min which is keeping a pretty solid pace...took off on the second loop and met up with Richard about halfway, flipped around and ran the rest with him...still kept a good pace up....on the last mile or so I was really pushing it and my knee was starting to bug me but I didn't thiink anything of it, as some IT pain is normal for me but I usually can stretch it out and be okay...all in all about 12 so nothing too unordinary
I went to work on Sunday and by the time I got home me knee was really hurting...I told Lauren when I got home from work, "My body feels like I ran a 50k today"...I figured it was just IT pain and it would work itself out but when I woke up Monday morning it was still hurting...not like intense pain but a throbbing when it went through a certain range of motion....Continued to bug me all day at work and at this piont I started to get a bit worried as my running pain is usually confined to running...very rarely, if ever do I remember something bugging me more than a day after a run when I'm just walking around(obviously not including muscular soreness from racing)...
No worries, I'll take a few days off from running and spin on my trainer....Sure enough, the same motion that bugs me walking really bugs me when I'm spinning...By Wednesday I'm gettin concerned as I haven't had an injury in this part of my knee before, let alone one that has lasted multiple days....I wanted to make sure that I had not done any real damage to myself so I got an appt. at OrthoMemphis today...
Went in and they took x-rays...all is good with cartiledge/meniscus and the actual knee joint so that was a relief...after some mobility testing by the Doc the diagnosis is that I hyperextended my knee...he gave me some strong anti-inflammatories and told me to lay off running until the pain subsided and then ease back into it...
well as you know, Sylamore is a week from Saturday so easing back into it (if the pain has even subsided by then) was not really going to be an option...but, I got to thinking about things and realized that it is more important to let this heal properly than to go to Sylamore and further aggravate my injury...That would just make me have to take more time off and right now my main goal is to be in really good shape for NOLS in May so I can't really afford that...
So I had to make a tough decision and make it a no go for Sylamore...I feel like a big puss and I wonder if I have made the right decision...but I really don't want to get over there and have to slog through the race and then take more time off because I just made it worse....
So this really sucks...Sylamore is probably my favorite 50k...the whole deal, teh race, the cabin, the post race bonfire...but no longer, at least not this year...
Gonna continue to take it easy...hopefully I will be able to at least get back on the bike soon and ease back into running in a week or so...
For all of you that are going, enjoy it...drink one for me at the fire...
Frusratedly yours,
Chris
I went out on Sunday morning for a run at Shelby Farms...Ran one loop of the tour with Daniel in 52 min which is keeping a pretty solid pace...took off on the second loop and met up with Richard about halfway, flipped around and ran the rest with him...still kept a good pace up....on the last mile or so I was really pushing it and my knee was starting to bug me but I didn't thiink anything of it, as some IT pain is normal for me but I usually can stretch it out and be okay...all in all about 12 so nothing too unordinary
I went to work on Sunday and by the time I got home me knee was really hurting...I told Lauren when I got home from work, "My body feels like I ran a 50k today"...I figured it was just IT pain and it would work itself out but when I woke up Monday morning it was still hurting...not like intense pain but a throbbing when it went through a certain range of motion....Continued to bug me all day at work and at this piont I started to get a bit worried as my running pain is usually confined to running...very rarely, if ever do I remember something bugging me more than a day after a run when I'm just walking around(obviously not including muscular soreness from racing)...
No worries, I'll take a few days off from running and spin on my trainer....Sure enough, the same motion that bugs me walking really bugs me when I'm spinning...By Wednesday I'm gettin concerned as I haven't had an injury in this part of my knee before, let alone one that has lasted multiple days....I wanted to make sure that I had not done any real damage to myself so I got an appt. at OrthoMemphis today...
Went in and they took x-rays...all is good with cartiledge/meniscus and the actual knee joint so that was a relief...after some mobility testing by the Doc the diagnosis is that I hyperextended my knee...he gave me some strong anti-inflammatories and told me to lay off running until the pain subsided and then ease back into it...
well as you know, Sylamore is a week from Saturday so easing back into it (if the pain has even subsided by then) was not really going to be an option...but, I got to thinking about things and realized that it is more important to let this heal properly than to go to Sylamore and further aggravate my injury...That would just make me have to take more time off and right now my main goal is to be in really good shape for NOLS in May so I can't really afford that...
So I had to make a tough decision and make it a no go for Sylamore...I feel like a big puss and I wonder if I have made the right decision...but I really don't want to get over there and have to slog through the race and then take more time off because I just made it worse....
So this really sucks...Sylamore is probably my favorite 50k...the whole deal, teh race, the cabin, the post race bonfire...but no longer, at least not this year...
Gonna continue to take it easy...hopefully I will be able to at least get back on the bike soon and ease back into running in a week or so...
For all of you that are going, enjoy it...drink one for me at the fire...
Frusratedly yours,
Chris
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Post Swamp Stomper
When I finally came down from my buzz from Swamp Stomper and tried to get back out on the trails I was greeted with funky pains resonating from various parts of my body...
this is to be expected, as I always am a bit funky for a run or two after a race of going all out....I ran about 6 the Thursday after Swampstomper and then I ran my one road 5k a year last Saturday...
I generally don't run road 5k's as the dollar/mile ratio is a bit high for my taste...(usually around $8-9 a mile) and it usually breaks my racing rule of "if it takes longer to drive to the race than it does to run it I don't do it," but this race is a benefit for a faculty member at St. Agnes/St. Dominic so my mom paid my entry fee...so I had to go make mom proud....
Ended up running 20:39, which earned my 1st St. Dominic alumni and 1st 20-24 age group...also a PR, as I'm not really, and don't necessarily dream about, being a fast 5k runner...
I spun for an hour on the trainer on Sunday and then spent the day chilling with Lauren...we went to my sister's pom exhibition before they go to nationals this weekend and then we went to eat with the fam. at Chile's....
About six months ago, I specifically remember saying to Lauren, "I could be perfectly okay with never eating at Chile's again for the rest of my life"...well, I wish I could have kept to my word, and I most certainly will be keeping to it from now on, as our Chile's experience was absolutely horrible...
Monday I snuck out of work an hour or so early and hit up Wolf River trails for a quick 8 miler, half of it being under the guiding light of my headlamp...Spun on wednesday for 45 minutes, did nothing but school work on Thursday, and got in an 8 miler yesterday on the Wolf River Trails....
Overall, feel okay but I have a soreness/tightness on the outside and to the back of my left knee...I think its ITB related so I have been stretching alot and doing my hip flexor exercises....
I'm really ready for it to get warm, it's so hard to get motivation to get up when its cold out...
on another note, I kicked full caffeine coffee again which is making a world of difference....and I'm about 200+ pages through No Country For Old Men which is an incredibly intense book...I refuse to see the movie until I finish it....
this is to be expected, as I always am a bit funky for a run or two after a race of going all out....I ran about 6 the Thursday after Swampstomper and then I ran my one road 5k a year last Saturday...
I generally don't run road 5k's as the dollar/mile ratio is a bit high for my taste...(usually around $8-9 a mile) and it usually breaks my racing rule of "if it takes longer to drive to the race than it does to run it I don't do it," but this race is a benefit for a faculty member at St. Agnes/St. Dominic so my mom paid my entry fee...so I had to go make mom proud....
Ended up running 20:39, which earned my 1st St. Dominic alumni and 1st 20-24 age group...also a PR, as I'm not really, and don't necessarily dream about, being a fast 5k runner...
I spun for an hour on the trainer on Sunday and then spent the day chilling with Lauren...we went to my sister's pom exhibition before they go to nationals this weekend and then we went to eat with the fam. at Chile's....
About six months ago, I specifically remember saying to Lauren, "I could be perfectly okay with never eating at Chile's again for the rest of my life"...well, I wish I could have kept to my word, and I most certainly will be keeping to it from now on, as our Chile's experience was absolutely horrible...
Monday I snuck out of work an hour or so early and hit up Wolf River trails for a quick 8 miler, half of it being under the guiding light of my headlamp...Spun on wednesday for 45 minutes, did nothing but school work on Thursday, and got in an 8 miler yesterday on the Wolf River Trails....
Overall, feel okay but I have a soreness/tightness on the outside and to the back of my left knee...I think its ITB related so I have been stretching alot and doing my hip flexor exercises....
I'm really ready for it to get warm, it's so hard to get motivation to get up when its cold out...
on another note, I kicked full caffeine coffee again which is making a world of difference....and I'm about 200+ pages through No Country For Old Men which is an incredibly intense book...I refuse to see the movie until I finish it....
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Swamp Stomper
I really did not particularly train for this race...I ran a 20 on thanksgiving day and a 22 a few weeks later....other than that I had a 13 miler and a 15 miler as my longest runs...
I kinda went into this race with a different attitude than I usually approach races with...usually, I'm pretty tense in the days leading up to the race...however, since I hadn't focused my training for Swampstomper, I went in to it with the mindset of "ill just got out and see what happens..."
I was surprisingly relaxed, even Saturday night...normally I start to get really tense the night before the race...however, Lauren and I cooked up a good dinner and even had a few beers, not really putting much thought into the next day's event....
my alarm went off at 4:30 Sunday (I have to get up three hours before race time) and I got up and moving and had my coffee....I was still feeling pretty relaxed, and remained this way up until about 30 min before the race started.....
My plan was to go out at a moderately hard pace and hold it for the remainder of the race...one that has worked pretty well for me the last few races...I knew this race would bottleneck hard about 1/4 mile in so I made it a point to get up front before the trailhead...I didn't want to get caught up running with the 25k sprinters so I let a few of them go ahead and dropped in behind some folks I knew were running the 50k....
First lap went pretty well...hit the turnaround at 1:23 and counted 11 runners, some of them 25k, in front of me....kept up with a pretty good pace back to the end of the first lap, hitting my split at 2:28...
I filled my pockets up with gels and picked up my ipod and I was off again...at this point I knew I was in about 5th or 6th place, which I was pretty happy with so I just wanted to maintain that position and I had this goal in the back of my mind of a 5 hour race...I knew this would be tough, as I didn't know if I could keep up the same pace on the second lap....
I got in a group with 2 guys from Missouri...we played leapfrog a few times...I didn't think I was ever going to be able to get around them for good...every time I would catch and pass them, they would catch and pass me a short while later.....Finally, one of the guys dropped off and it was just me and John from Springfield....
When we were about a mile from the turnaround, we spotted the girl that was running in 4th place...this gave me the extra push I needed to pick it up....we didnt end up catching her until the actual aid station at the turnaround, but it was here that I was able to see just how small of a gap there was between myself and 3rd place....
I hit the turnaround at 4:01 and it was on...I told John that we only had an hour left and we were going to get on it as hard as we could....we took off from the aid station hard..I was running about as hard as I could go at this point...about a mile or 2 from the turnaround we spotted the 3rd place runner...shortly thereafter, we passed him and John said to me, "I'm not going to contest you for third, you're doing all the work" which I was able to respond in between panting "we are going to catch the 2nd place guy so we can both place"....though I really didn't think this was giong to be possible as the second place runner was moving really fast when I saw him last....
but anyway, we put the hammer down, so hard that I ventured off course in the mini bamboo forest...a few expletives later, we were back on the trail and back at it....all of the sudden I saw the seoncd place runner about 100 yards ahead...he turned and saw us and then picked it up...we trailed hard for 5 minutes or so before finally catching up to him...at this point John said to me "second place is all yours"....I kept the pace up, knowing that first place was way out of reach,my goal was going to be to break five hours...I pushed as hard as I could, not bothering to stop at the final aid station....all was looking well for a 5 hour finish until I got to the final hill coming out of the woods...this hill was a beast and I could not force myself up it any faster....
Finally came out of the woods and hit the concrete...at this point I had built up a 30 second or so lead on John (though he wasn't going to contest for 2nd)....hit the road running hard but didn't quite make the 5 hour mark, crossing the line in 5:01 and som change....maybe even 5:02 (haven't sen the official results yet)....
overall, my best race to date....a big time PR and my first podium finish....
came home and Lauren took care of my sore legs before we feasted on Papa Johns and beer....
all in all a great run and a very big confidence booster for this spring....
too sore to run on Monday but I got on the trainer for 45 minutes tonite...pretty easy spinning, nothing intense....hoping to get in a run tomorrow but I have a blood blister on my toe that makes it painful to put on shoes so we will see.....
I kinda went into this race with a different attitude than I usually approach races with...usually, I'm pretty tense in the days leading up to the race...however, since I hadn't focused my training for Swampstomper, I went in to it with the mindset of "ill just got out and see what happens..."
I was surprisingly relaxed, even Saturday night...normally I start to get really tense the night before the race...however, Lauren and I cooked up a good dinner and even had a few beers, not really putting much thought into the next day's event....
my alarm went off at 4:30 Sunday (I have to get up three hours before race time) and I got up and moving and had my coffee....I was still feeling pretty relaxed, and remained this way up until about 30 min before the race started.....
My plan was to go out at a moderately hard pace and hold it for the remainder of the race...one that has worked pretty well for me the last few races...I knew this race would bottleneck hard about 1/4 mile in so I made it a point to get up front before the trailhead...I didn't want to get caught up running with the 25k sprinters so I let a few of them go ahead and dropped in behind some folks I knew were running the 50k....
First lap went pretty well...hit the turnaround at 1:23 and counted 11 runners, some of them 25k, in front of me....kept up with a pretty good pace back to the end of the first lap, hitting my split at 2:28...
I filled my pockets up with gels and picked up my ipod and I was off again...at this point I knew I was in about 5th or 6th place, which I was pretty happy with so I just wanted to maintain that position and I had this goal in the back of my mind of a 5 hour race...I knew this would be tough, as I didn't know if I could keep up the same pace on the second lap....
I got in a group with 2 guys from Missouri...we played leapfrog a few times...I didn't think I was ever going to be able to get around them for good...every time I would catch and pass them, they would catch and pass me a short while later.....Finally, one of the guys dropped off and it was just me and John from Springfield....
When we were about a mile from the turnaround, we spotted the girl that was running in 4th place...this gave me the extra push I needed to pick it up....we didnt end up catching her until the actual aid station at the turnaround, but it was here that I was able to see just how small of a gap there was between myself and 3rd place....
I hit the turnaround at 4:01 and it was on...I told John that we only had an hour left and we were going to get on it as hard as we could....we took off from the aid station hard..I was running about as hard as I could go at this point...about a mile or 2 from the turnaround we spotted the 3rd place runner...shortly thereafter, we passed him and John said to me, "I'm not going to contest you for third, you're doing all the work" which I was able to respond in between panting "we are going to catch the 2nd place guy so we can both place"....though I really didn't think this was giong to be possible as the second place runner was moving really fast when I saw him last....
but anyway, we put the hammer down, so hard that I ventured off course in the mini bamboo forest...a few expletives later, we were back on the trail and back at it....all of the sudden I saw the seoncd place runner about 100 yards ahead...he turned and saw us and then picked it up...we trailed hard for 5 minutes or so before finally catching up to him...at this point John said to me "second place is all yours"....I kept the pace up, knowing that first place was way out of reach,my goal was going to be to break five hours...I pushed as hard as I could, not bothering to stop at the final aid station....all was looking well for a 5 hour finish until I got to the final hill coming out of the woods...this hill was a beast and I could not force myself up it any faster....
Finally came out of the woods and hit the concrete...at this point I had built up a 30 second or so lead on John (though he wasn't going to contest for 2nd)....hit the road running hard but didn't quite make the 5 hour mark, crossing the line in 5:01 and som change....maybe even 5:02 (haven't sen the official results yet)....
overall, my best race to date....a big time PR and my first podium finish....
came home and Lauren took care of my sore legs before we feasted on Papa Johns and beer....
all in all a great run and a very big confidence booster for this spring....
too sore to run on Monday but I got on the trainer for 45 minutes tonite...pretty easy spinning, nothing intense....hoping to get in a run tomorrow but I have a blood blister on my toe that makes it painful to put on shoes so we will see.....
Saturday, January 19, 2008
3 days, 3 runs
Continued with the running streak on Thursday, running for exactly 1 hour (6ish miles) after spinning for an hour on the trainer....
Took today off except for some bouldering on the wall at work to build some grip strength.....
Tomorrow's plan is to run a very easy 3-4 with Lauren just to keep the legs loose....
Feeling pretty good about Swampstomper despite the lack of running in the past 2 months...
its going to be cold, but at least it will be fairly dry....
I'm already thinking about my post-race pizza and beer....
Took today off except for some bouldering on the wall at work to build some grip strength.....
Tomorrow's plan is to run a very easy 3-4 with Lauren just to keep the legs loose....
Feeling pretty good about Swampstomper despite the lack of running in the past 2 months...
its going to be cold, but at least it will be fairly dry....
I'm already thinking about my post-race pizza and beer....
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
2 in a row!
I ran two days in a row...I'm on a streak!
Got up this morning and ran for about 40 minutes on a heavy coffee buzz...first time I have run two days in a row in quite some time....
Plan on running tomorrow as well...at least an easy 45min to an hour run....If all goes well, combined with the mileage from Sunday's upcoming race I will hit my first 50 mile week of 2008....probably try and spin for a bit as well, though I'm not sure I'll have time as I have a lot of school work to do....
Lt. Rob and I discussed getting in some brick training for the Natchez Trace adventure race sometime in the near future...first brick day =
2 mile warmup run
1 hour canoe paddle on the lake I live on
10 miles from the house to the end of the Wolf River Trails
Ride from my house to Stanky, do a loop, and ride back
6 mile run
45 minute paddle
2 miles all out run to finish
we are racing in the 2 person any gender category and I'm pretty excited about it...in the past I have always been the strongest athlete on my adventure racing teams and pushing the pace has not really been possible because of other teammates...racing with Rob will provide the chance to really push it, as he is a strong athlete.....if we can actually read the map, we should do pretty well...
Got up this morning and ran for about 40 minutes on a heavy coffee buzz...first time I have run two days in a row in quite some time....
Plan on running tomorrow as well...at least an easy 45min to an hour run....If all goes well, combined with the mileage from Sunday's upcoming race I will hit my first 50 mile week of 2008....probably try and spin for a bit as well, though I'm not sure I'll have time as I have a lot of school work to do....
Lt. Rob and I discussed getting in some brick training for the Natchez Trace adventure race sometime in the near future...first brick day =
2 mile warmup run
1 hour canoe paddle on the lake I live on
10 miles from the house to the end of the Wolf River Trails
Ride from my house to Stanky, do a loop, and ride back
6 mile run
45 minute paddle
2 miles all out run to finish
we are racing in the 2 person any gender category and I'm pretty excited about it...in the past I have always been the strongest athlete on my adventure racing teams and pushing the pace has not really been possible because of other teammates...racing with Rob will provide the chance to really push it, as he is a strong athlete.....if we can actually read the map, we should do pretty well...
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