McDowell Mt. Frenzy

        Well I ran the 25k and it was totally awesome. I finished in my normal slow time but hey I was out there. The best part was that Becky played hookey from work and brought the kids out to watch their old man getting worked over. Another cool thing was my sister and niece came to cheer me on It was like I had my very own cheering section. All that was missing was more cowbell.  Now back to the race… It was a nice morning around 50 degrees, perfect for running.  The crowd was nice and light less than 50 runners doing the 25k, the 50k animals left an hour before our 8 am start time and everyone thinned out in no time at all.

For all who have not had the chance to enjoy McDowell mt. Park, this race took place on the 3 competitive loops which are pretty much all single-track so passing and getting passed takes some timing due to the numerous chollas lining the track. Then you have to avoid all of the loose cholla balls scattered underfoot.  Now back to the run the first loop takes place on most of the short track for 3 miles or so, the single track is nice and compacted decomposed granite. The track flows and rolls up and down and up and up and down through the desert really loosening the old thighs up. From there the course moves to the long loop which is 7 miles of rocky running. The nice little rollers from the earlier track transition into longer dives into and out of dry arroyo’s making my thighs burn. The course then takes us back to the parking lot and back to the short loop again by now I’m really feeling the little rollers but the tough stuff is yet to come. The short course moves to the technical course where the climbing is longer and rockier culminating in a mile long jaunt strait up a mountain and down the back side into a nasty wash that you basically have to crawl out of. After running for a couple of hours the view of the finish from the top of the mountain really invigorated me to start moving a little faster and ignore the screaming pain of my tightening IT band. At the finish my rooting cheer squad was there to dole out high 5’s and love.  I crossed the finish line dove straight at the snacks for some pretzels and a peanut butter burrito yuuuummmm. Over all it was a great run my IT band kills right now so I’m off to my parent’s ice cold swimming pool for a soak.

New Balance mt0101

 Well Rex ate my running shoe, that will teach me to put my shoes away. They were only a month old and just getting really comfortable so I had to go buy new ones. I normally would go to big 5 sports and buy my regular cheapo pair but since I had to go to Road Runner Sports to pick up my race packet I decided to look around. I got to talking to the store owner and excitedly she said that there was a new shipment of shoes from new balance in the back and she thought they had their newest minimalist trail shoes in it. So excitedly i had her bring me a size 10 just to see if they fit and if they were comfy. Damn the luck they were both so i pranced around the store for a while wearing them just to make sure i liked them and once again damn the luck they are supper nice.They were also pretty reasonable at $64 although they were twice as much as my normal shoes.Now i have to break in a new pair of shoes before Sat.It shouldn't be too hard, they feel really good right now.

Rambles

    All right so I decided to start running the DRT series of races that Arivipa Running is putting on. There are 6 events this fall\winter\spring I missed the first 2 but Oh well does it really matter. Along with these 4 races I'm going to run the PF Chang's marathon on Jan 16 which I said I wasn't going to because it was to expensive($130) well Intel decided to sponsor runners so I signed up and they paid the entry fee. COOL!!!  Then they came along and said they would pay the entry fees for the Lost Dutchman Marathon on Feb 5 so I signed up for that one as well.

    Anyway the first DRT run is this Sat. at McDowell Mountain park. It s going to be on the competitive track that is normally used for mountain bikes so its going to be kinda weird running on a trail that used to kick my ass on my mountain bike. Oh well!  I'm going to start with running the 25k for the first couple of races and see how that goes. If everything goes alright Ill finish the series by running the 50k in March. That is unless I get crazy and go run with the Raramuri in Copper Canyon, Mex. I actually have a friend at work who is from that area and has agreed to take me down there. Once you get passed all of the drug mules,assassins, and kidnappers I hear its nice. That run is March 6, may be I can talk Beck into letting me go as an early Birthday present.

     Here is a map of the McDowell Mt. Frenzy course.



McDowell mt. Frenzy course.

It was awful nice of them to make you climb over  a mountain in the last miles of the race. I don't have any expectations on how much time its going to take me I'm just going to go out and have a good time. Oh yeah after the run I get to look forward to going into work. Hope I finish early so I can at least catch a nap. Ill probably on do a few short runs this week leading up to the race.

Pass mountain loop.

Well today I was feeling better ( have been fighting a cold all week) and got the chance to take my long run out on the pass mountain race trail.

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I did the 26k loop and it was really good. Except for the first half it was really exposed with the sun bearing down on me the whole time. I know it was only in the high 70's but wow I felt like I was melting and I was going through my water super fast I think I drank 30oz. in the first 9miles. But as soon as I started the climb up Pass Mountain the trail was mostly in the shade and when I got to the top the breeze was really nice I actually got kinda cold. I love the views from the backside of the mountain it makes the running so much easier. Over all it took me 2.5 hrs and felt really good hopefully ill be ready for the race next weekend in fountain hills. here are some pics of the run.

My first time.

Ok I did my normal 4 miles his afternoon while the kids were playing in the back yard 28 min. Then I trimmed my bushes and started putting lights up in the front yard. Mind you its just a start when the rest of the lights return from their vancation with Dave, Michelle, and Olga at the APS light parade and bus show Ill finish.

Totally a Charlie Brown's Christmas scene.

Also I was practicing my photo uploading skills.

The light run.

Last night Rex and I went for a run, we started along our normal everyday 4 mile loop. Then I saw some Christmas lights and we changed our course. I am amazed at the lengths people will go to decorate their houses. My wife seems to think I'm a bit of bah humbug type of guy because of my lack of decorating enthusiasm. I do appreciate the work others do to their homes this time of year. Any way my little 4 mile run turned into 10 miles in and hour and a half. It was really weird to be drawn into the lights like that. Rex and I went up and down countless streets in the neighborhood. At one point I was totally lost, hypnotized by all of the different flashing snowmen, deer, and elves. Rex was pretty confused when he saw a man in a tree hanging his lights . I have lived in this neighbor hood now for 7 years and never taken the time to notice all that goes on this time of year; people really go all out. I guess Ill go out and hang some lights!

Here it goes!

My name is Tony and I am an addict, for the last 34 years I have had a problem with food. I was 325 lbs and suffering horribly from gout. Although I was morbidly obese i always stayed somewhat active or as active as the gout would allow. It seemed that I was always on some sort of diet losing a few pounds here and there but always gaining back more than I lost. In the spring of 2009 while in the grasps of a crippling gout attack I made an appointment with my Dr. to talk about my options. We talked about my eating and drinking and how until I got both under control there wasn't much he could do. I knew that after dieting and failing so many times that it was no longer an  available option so I made an other appointment with a barriatric specialist. After a 6 months of a Dr. prescribed diet and no alcohol I was down to a whopping 309lbs. So on Nov.21 2009 I had Gastric Bypass Surgery to help with my problem. Surgery was fairly uneventful and I came home after a few days. All was going OK for the first few weeks until on Dec 21st I was being rushed in an ambulance to the emergency room with severe internal bleeding. After 7 days I was headed home again only this time I had a 10 inch scar down the center of my stomach and barely the strength to walk in the house. My family was thoroughly traumatized. As horrible as it may sound this was just the thing I needed to help turn my life around. I vowed that as soon as I was strong enough I would make exercise a key component to my lifestyle. By Feb I was able to slowly walk around the cul-de-sac in front of my house. From that point I made a goal to run a trail 5k with my sister. I trained as hard as I could. I was extremely weakened by the massive weight loss and effects of the surgery. So I ran my first race ever finishing in 33 min at 225lbs. and from that point I vowed to do a special physical event every month for a year. In May I rode the Arizona trail from Payson to Flagstaff. In June I signed up for a 104 mile mountain bike race but it was cancelled due to a Forrest fire but I did my own tour riding close to 150 miles over a couple of days. In July I climbed the San Francisco Peaks in northern AZ a feat that had been on my bucket list for years. In Aug. while on a family vacation I rode my bike across the state of Michigan from Detroit to Saugatuck. Sept I rode the rescheduled mountain bike race but only made it 78 miles because of bike issues. Sept also brought my first 1/2 marathon - the Flagstaff 1/2 at the Nordic center finishing in 2:12. October brought my first marathon. My best Friend and I ran the Detroit free Press marathon we finished in 4:19. Now my addiction has transferred to something that i can be proud of. I love to run. I love to ride my bike. But most of all I love being a positive influence on my children. Now instead of being a fat blob on the sofa my kids see me running and being active. I put my family through hell to get where I'm at, I ruined the Christmas of 09 for my wife and kids. Heck I almost died last Dec. and it took almost dieing to really see what living is. I'm starting this blog to record my exercise routines, weightloss and adventures.