9/11 Memorial Run Weekend

I was honored to be invited to take part in a Team Red White and Blue (TRWB) memorial run to recognize the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on our country. Eight of us ran from the West Point Military Academy to Liberty State Park on the New Jersey shore just feet from the Statue of Liberty. We left West Point Saturday Sept 10th at 8pm and arrived at the park at 7am Sunday Sept 11th. At the park there were ~150 other people that joined us in running 5 mile laps around the park in remembrance of those lost and celebration of the American spirit. There was a moment of silence at 8:46am as we looked across the Hudson towards Ground Zero. Even New York was quiet. I met a bunch of incredible people and was proud to take part in the event. Now Sept 11 will be A Day To Never Forget for another reason.
Words only tell part of the story. There are plenty to choose from: honor, commitment, amazing, patriotic, sacrifice, pride...The more interesting part to me is the feeling I have from it. Still hard to put into words that do it justice and I don't think I'll try for a while. I ran my usual Wed morning run with my work group this morning and about the time the first beads of sweat began to pour down the side of my face I was instantly back at the exit roads from West Point, leaving the gate and beginning the journey. Sort of like a smell that rekindles some old memory you have from childhood. I liked that feeling, I hope it comes back on future runs. I think there is a power source there that I can tap into when I need it most.
I'll leave you with a few pictures but I'd like to also thank my folks, Linda and Jerry Moore, for helping make this trip happen, my family for holding down our fort, and also to all the people who contributed to the fund raising page for TRWB. Rest assured, the money will be well spent. These folks have a good thing going. Peace, Steven.

 West Point Skydiver!

West Point Mess Hall

  The Start!

Red Bandana for Welles

Along the way

We made it!

Found some friends to run with!

What it's all about.

Nueces 50mile USATF Trail Championship

Ok, I never summed up my Bandera 100k thoughts and now we're already past the Nueces 50 mile race as well. I'm OK with my 100k finish even though it wasn't pretty. I (like the rest of the leaders) went out too fast and paid for it on the second loop. I had some leg cramping after loop one and suffered for a bit before closing reasonably. I never like getting beat but the guys if front of me really rocked it and I took a good chunk of time off my previous best.

Looks like the same thing can now be said about the 50miler. Full results on the Tejas Trails site. I'm more satisfied with this race for two reasons: 1) I ran smarter and kept my first two laps with near even splits before fading just a touch on lap three. 2)I finished strong and passed the 5th place guy, Jack, with less than a mile to go. It was a fine day in the Texas Hill Country and a pleasure to spend it with old friends and new. The top times are really impressive and I'm happy I could stay near those guys for a while. Till next time....s
Picture includes l-r Jason B, David J, Jack P and me, enjoying some cold ones!

Bandera 100K

I'll write up some type of report before too long but...results are posted here from Saturday's 100k at Bandera. It was a heck of a race with some incredible competition. Tejas Trails put on a great show for the USATF 100K Trail National Championships. A good time was had by most!

Almost Time for the 100k

Bandera 100k Not sure how long this link will work but this weekend's 100k in Bandera got some local press!

Happy New Year!

2011 is here; like it or not! Bandera 100k is one week from today! Hoping for a top 5 finish but mostly just looking to run hard and improve my time from last year. Prolly won't be as cold as last year at the start anyway, 10F!! Need to remember to include some more bike stuff on this 'blog' this year. I've been really pleased with my RedLine D460 rigged up for commuting.
Off to play some ping pong with my boy....
Peace,
Steven

December is here

Well....kinda bummed I didn't get into Western States for 2011. I only had about a 14% chance of entry so I was prepared for the disappointment. I still have one chance; if I miraculously finish first or second in Jan's Bandera 100k I get an entry. Lots of top dogs coming down for that race. Just learned that it, and March's Nueces 50mi were awarded USATF National Championship status! Pretty cool to have those in my 'backyard'. I'm planning on taking it 'easy' heading into Bandera 100k; I won't be slouching but intend on having very fresh legs for that one.
Scored 2 new pairs of shoes from Hill Country Running yesterday. 70% off sale was too good to pass on even though I don't really need any more at the moment. Montrail Hardrock and Pearl Izumi road shoes. Yes, road...I'm going to be a 3:15pacer for the Austin Marathon and will be laying down a few more road miles in the coming months to prep for that. Should be fun. My first marathon!

Warda Wild Hare 50 mile Nov 20, 2010

Hillbilly Haybale!

I'd never run out at Warda's Bluff Creek Ranch before but I'd heard good things about it. Good as in, fewer rocks! I needed a break from rock bashing after the Cactus Rose 100 and the Wild Hare 50miler came a perfect 3 weeks later. I was plenty recovered and looking forward to hitting the trails again for 'only' 50miles and some relatively easy terrain. The morning started early since I stayed in Austin instead of camping on site. Roch H from Salt Lake City was in town with his girlfriend Catherine and he signed up for some punishment as well. I picked them up downtown at 4am and we made to the race by a little after 5am for the 6am start. 35 of us got started in the warm darkness for the first 5mi short loop followed by 6ea 7.5mi loops to get the 50mi. I started pretty fast and stayed out front by myself, clearing the spider webs for the rest of the pack! My light was kinda flickering (cheap backup) but it wasn't long before I emerged from the twisty first half and got out in the open where I could see pretty well already. First 5miles in around 40min and off for the first of 6 'big' laps. With an aid station about half way it was easy to stay on top of my hydration and nutrition all day. I was shooting for something around 7:15-7:30 and knew the first few laps needed to be well under an hour so I could have some banked time for the last few laps. I haven't gone back to look at my splits yet but the plan fell into place just fine. My first 4 laps were pretty fast and then I let up some for laps 5-6. End result: 1st place, 7:14. Also a new CR but last year it was raining and muddy; the years before that the distances weren't accurate. I'm happy to have recovered quickly from Cactus and to get in another hard run before 'resting' for a few weeks into Dec. Wild Hare is fun because the trail isn't particularly brutal and the different race distances and staggered start times have runners all over the course to interact with. As always, had a great time post race with old friends and new. Made it back to town at dusk; just in time to shower up and join the family for a walk around the corner to the neighborhood Little Deli for some pizza and beers!