How did I ever get so lucky?

Things are heating up. I got some work done on my dissertation over the weekend. But two big things also happened in the past few days.

On Friday evening I submitted the manuscript I have been working on FOR YEARS to PNAS (the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, no big deal). I messed up the submission a little bit but the editorial office emailed us Monday morning and I got it fixed up and it has subsequently been sent to whatever editor will handle it for the review process. I hope it goes well... it may not even get to the review stage if the editor feels it lacks the import to warrant consideration for PNAS. But I think the science is good, timely, and could be published anywhere. Maybe that is too high an opinion of my own work but if I don't think that highly of it, whatever is a reviewer going to think?

Then on Monday, I got in the car with Matt Manske, picked up some food, some beer, some whisky, and headed out a little farm near Mount Horeb, WI. Waiting for us there was the rest of the No Name String Band: Brian Zimmerman (vocals and banjo), Kelley Rolak (vocals and fiddle), Jeff Weiss (bass), and Josh Pultorak (percussion). Manske busted out his guitar and I my fiddle and Bear had the recording equipment ready to rock and roll. Over the next 24 hours, we lived a dream. 25 tracks down for our first album as a band. Along with some of the best camaraderie imaginable. I had ambitions of working on my dissertation during breaks in recording but those were quickly lost in a whirlwind of music and Bulleit and instead I focused on savoring the experience, an experience made all the more amazing by the most impressive thunderstorm I have ever witnessed, some exceptionally dank pizza and growlers from the Grumpy Troll, and did I mention the great comradeship and music?

August 14th, we have booked the High Noon Saloon here in Madison for a going away party I had only conceived in my dreams prior to this past week. Four bands on the bill, all of them I have played with at some point or another during my time in Madison. August 14th is the date all the leases in Madison expire so we are billing it as a "Move Out Bash." But wait.. there's more! We also anticipate most, or all, of the production work on the album will be done by then so its the "Move Out Bash and CD Release Party!" This is going to be so freakin' awesome. Defend August 12, pack all my stuff, epic music party at the High Noon on the 14th, then I can make my way back east for a week or two - I do believe I have some business to attend to out that way before the big move to the west coast.

I may have a great deal of loose ends to tie up here in Madison but the outlook for the future is so incredibly bright and happy that I can hardly contain myself. It is hard to focus on my dissertation when I know that I am oh so close to everything I have been working towards these past few years.

But, first things first. Write dissertation; write new paper on side project that took off last week; make a defense talk that will leave my committee speechless in all the right ways; ENJOY THE LAST FEW WEEKS IN THE GREATEST PLACE I HAVE EVER LIVED! That last one is big. Tonight is an all night writing night, but my reward tomorrow is the second to last concert on the square. I think it is going to be Old-Fashioned night for us.

Peace, world. I hope all the people I know and love are driven by whatever makes them happy. And willing to take risks, to make themselves vulnerable in whatever way is necessary for the world and the people in to have the chance to touch them and make their lives that much more wonderful.

Training notes: HA no time to run recently. And with a lack of sleep, I also lack the energy I need to train at a level that I need to. 30 miles in last week. Super underwhelming. That changes now... I am registered for Pine to Palm 100 miler in Sept. in OR so gotta get in mad shape for that. Gotta break this 4th place finish trend. Check back in a week or so for what, I hope, is a solid training regimen that fits in with the whole graduation schedule. Yes I said it... graduation :)

As we approach the end of an era, we must always remind ourselves to not over-muddle the mint

Yesterday was a Wednesday, group meeting day in the de Pablo research group. For six years, I have been attending and giving group meetings on Wednesdays at noon. Yesterday I gave my very last group meeting ever. It will not be the last time I present for them as I must still practice my defense and then actually defend but... I will never give the entire group an update on my research progress ever again. I'm not sure if I wanted to cry or shout so... I went to concert on the square and drank mojitos instead as this seemed the appropriate compromise. Who has time for that? The guy who spent all the previous night drinking coffee doing science does. Which brings me to my next point.

I do not like working on my dissertation. So I will make myself suffer until it is finished. Which it must be by July 29th. I will stay up every other night with no sleep until it is done. Working, of course. This will be both miserable and, I hope, productive. Who knows maybe I only need one or two of these intense, focused, all-night work sessions to bang out what's left? Or maybe it will go down to the wire.

I figure I'll be fine so long as I remind myself of Dr. Dan's suggestion, "Engage Gordo monster-mode!" He also said, "Modelers are the great satan."

Thanks, Dan :)

Race Report: Dances with Dirt Devil's Lake 50M

"Is he a closer?" "Um... well... not really."

This describes the day pretty well. This race was, by far, my best performance in an ultra on a tough course. Kind of. The day started at 4am with Jesse and I leaving Madison to head up to Devil's Head for the 50M start at 5:30am. Checked in, dropped off drop bag, found Keith (who would be my crew for the day), did a stretch (I think I put my arm straight up and reached reaaallll high and called it quits because stretching is challenging and stupid), lined up with other 50k and 50M runners and then... go time.

I tried to prepare very well for this race. My training the past 6 weeks has been at a level I have never previously achieved and it showed. This 50 miler boasts seven big climbs, where I define "big" to mean more than 10 minutes of steady elevation gain. The only other race I have ever run with big climbs was HURL Elkhorn 50k out in Helena MT. This course has smaller climbs, but more of them, with a total elevation gain of about 7500 ft. The ultra courses begin with about 900 ft of climbing up some ski hills near the start/finish area including some off-trail bushwhacking just to make things interesting and, I imagine, to ensure everyone runs the next 45 miles on a pair of legs that raced up these big hills on the early race fast-paced high that we all fall prey to. I was no exception in this regard: first 4.5 miles on a big climb in 38 minutes - about an 8:30 pace. This is quicker than I had any business running, even with a goal time of 7:10. Oh yeah, I wanted to run somewhere around 7:10-7:20. Ambitious considering my PR at 50M is 7:47 on a much flatter course... but what's the point of doing this stuff if not to have fun setting big goals and training/racing as hard as I can to meet them?

Anyway, off to a fast start, running around 4th. The climb out of Parfrey's Glen into Devil's Lake State Park took me 19.5 minutes from the trailhead to the mileage sign near Slocum Lane so still cruising. And this continues through mile 25. I continue to hold 4th place throughout the first half of the race and run a 3:35 25 mile split. So far I am feeling good, strong, and able to run every step of the race including each and every climb, big or small. Shaping up to be a banner day! I hit a marathon split somewhere around 3:45 (the winning marathon time in that race was 4:09... and there were three guys in front of me as well so that gives you an idea of how solid the 50M field was this year!) and a 50k split of something like 4:30ish. So far a very similar pace to KM 100km race six weeks ago but, on much more challenging terrain with big climbs so I was having a good day. I was starting to lose the pace a bit at this point with climbing splits (the only ones I paid a lot of attention to) about 20 seconds per mile slower than the first loop on this part of the course. This was expected and within the race plan I made. However, coming down off the bluffs into the "Bug Pit" aid station, I SMASHED my left foot. I had already banged it up three times earlier in the race and dealt with the all-to-familiar toe pain that goes with it but this one was bad: had to walk for about a minute or so. This did not bode super awesomely as it was indicative of the fatigue I was starting to feel from pounding up and down all the hills.

Anyway, at this point in the race I started to slow down noticeably. After the second trip through Bug Pit (where Keith was a champ for me all morning!!), the eventual winner passed me. The dude (Garrett Peltonen) was cruising. He ended up passing me and three other guys to finish first. I gotta learn to race like him. So now running 5th. Was still able to run back up the bluff though this time dropped a full minute compared to the earlier loop. But still moving well through mile 40 and back down towards Parfrey's Glen. This is where I bonked. I think at this point I was running around 10 minute miles, still moving, but it was a monumental effort to put one foot in front of the other. From the mileage sign in the woods to Parfrey's Glen trailhead, all downhill, took me about 21 minutes. Compared to 19.5 minutes running up the hill earlier in the morning. Oof. But the real crisis was still ahead.

The race directors always have the 50 milers do one more trip up the ski hills at the end of the race, just to make sure no one complains that the course doesn't climb quite enough. And before you head up the ski hills, you run right past the finish line. This, for me, created an immediate motivational crisis. Knowing how hard the climb is from having done it just 7 hours earlier and knowing how physically close I am to the finish line... these are two simultaneous feelings I don't love a ton. However, years of hard training and racing have armed me with the never failing strategy of ultrarunning: when you are at the end of your rope, all the energy is gone, the fun has been replaced by suffering, and that last section of course looms like a demon... put one foot in front of the other and don't stop. I was dizzy from the heat that had decided to make an appearance after a cool, fast morning and I wanted desperately to close my eyes and rest but I told myself, "that's sh*t for the finish line and you aren't there yet so keep it movin'." I had to walk more than a few times and found myself leaning on a tree at one point. I think I almost ran into a tree too. Those miles were hazy, slow, and a challenge (48 min. split for the section versus 38 min. earlier in the morning). But I envisioned the finish line, how amazing it would feel to be done, to be able to rest and know my work for the day was done, and I was able to keep moving.

I had a number of goals today. The 7:10 goal was an ambitious reach. A more realistic goal was 7:30 and one I thought I could nail. The last goal was sub-7:44. 7:44 was the course record previous to this year. As I came down the ski hills, running as hard as my thrashed legs would go, I despaired about this last goal that was still just within my reach. But still I ran hard. If only to get to the finish and be done with the thing. But I emerged from the woods with the finish in sight and the watch read 7:42:30. I ran the last few hundred meters as hard as I could and crossed in 7:43:28, less than a minute under this last goal. I crossed the line, spiked my water bottle in what is becoming a bizarre tradition fueled by intense relief and exuberance, and abandoned myself to my good friends and crew.

When all was said and done, I hit one key goal I have every race: I left everything on the course. I ran every hill as hard as I could, every flat section as consistently as I could, every downhill as aggressively as I could. I just couldn't finish the effort. This is where I need to focus training the rest of the summer: finishing the race, being able to to put out the last 10 miles at the same level as the first 40. This is where the winner, Garrett, kicked everyone's ass. While the rest of the field faded, he powered on. He did not necessarily run much faster at the end of the race (though I think he did negative split by a couple minutes; a really amazing race)... he just never ever slowed down, never let up. This is what I need to learn.

The race in brief: 50 miles in 7:43:28 (PR); 4th overall (one guy bonked even harder than I did so I moved from 5th to 4th about 7 miles from finish; interestingly I ran the 4th fastest time in race history and finished 4th this year... good field!); 2nd in age group; 3:45 marathon split, 4:30 50k split.

Nutrition: Water and gatorade on the course. Only food was seven gels throughout the run. Gotta work on that... gels always repulse me by the end of a long day and getting them into me is something of a challenge.

I should note that Jesse ran his first marathon here too! 4:12 was good for third place! Incredible job that guy did preparing super quickly and absolutely killing it on the curse! Hanna ran the half marathon and, despite falling twice and getting lost once, smoked the women's field and took 1st. And Keith, like I mentioned, was an awesome crew on the course. A great day for team us!

Music and running - busy weekend

Weekend was intense. I ran four times on Saturday for a grand total of 18 miles. 1.5 miles to Dan's house to watch TdF then 1.5 miles home. Then 7 miles before birthday string band gig out in Lake Mills. Then 8 miles before string band gig at Alchemy. I was hoping to get 20 miles in Saturday but I guess I am just glad I got as many miles in as I did. No rest for the weary fiddle player I guess.

Alchemy gig was awesome though. Always have sound problems there but this time we got it all sorted out quickly and had a blast laying down burners for a super attentive audience (relatively speaking). We were filling in for an established bluegrass band, the Oak Street Ramblers, so we got their crowd. Their crowd was awesome. We will fill in for them again next month too so hopefully more of the same.

Sunday was super disappointing. Day started off with another string band gig, this time at Monona Farmers Market. That was pretty fun though after limited sleep, it took me a full set to get into it. Afternoon I meant to get three hours of running in but instead I napped for FOUR hours. I guess it was pleasant but also a waste of a day. And then when I tried to run... I only made it 12 miles in 1:43 (slowest run of past few weeks that didn't involve a ton of hill action) before I called it quits. Unbelievable fatigue in my legs.

Now, this is important. Any other week and I take a couple minute breather, collect myself, and push on until I hit the full three hours. BUT, I have a race on Saturday and I need to be rested and fresh for that race. I felt that any gains I would make by pushing through the fatigue and finishing the run would be long-term and that the potential short-term tiredness that might result could be detrimental to my efforts to beat the field on Saturday. I don't know how true this is but it was my rationalization for cutting the workout short. Kind of lame, but here we are. All I care about right this moment is arriving at the start line on Saturday feeling light, fast, fresh, and mentally prepared for a long, challenging, fun day of running the bluffs of Devil's Lake.

Very excited :)

Going to start a training and racing blog. Also starting to see gains.

Maybe if I write about my training and racing, it will force me to think about it more, do it more intelligently, and help me feel guilty and lame when I miss a workout or reduce a workout's intensity "because it doesn't feel awesome." So I am going to do that... probably for like a week and then never again.

Today was a 14.1 mile tempo run. 1:30:10. That's a 1:23:45 half marathon split for those who are keeping track. Which I am. And that is also an unofficial 1/2 marathon PR by a couple of seconds. However, I did have to work hard at it and it was far from an "easy" run. But it does show that I am making solid progress. I'd like to think there is a Universe (this one, right now) in which I could challenge sub-1:20 in an actual race in which I was willing to run myself well into the zone of painful discomfort.

Why run tempo runs when my goal distances are 50k+ (right now, 50 miles+)? It's all about keeping the ultra away from stranger danger. I mean away from oxygen debt. 50 miles at an 8:30 pace is going to be a hell of a lot more comfortable if I can run 14 miles in an hour and a half during a tempo effort than if it takes me 1:40 to run that same 14 miles. The ultra should be all about conquering emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion. Making my legs go when they want to stop more than anything else in the world. Slaying dragons in the woods, if you will. My aerobic capacity should never ever be a limiting factor in my ability to run whatever zany race plan I come up with. Tempo efforts also teach me how to suffer. This is super important I think. Having the wherewithal to keep up the intensity when every fiber in your body wants you to stop. In an ultra, that skill can mean hours in terms of overall time. And by hours I mean actual, real life, hours. Tempo runs... do 'em.