Comments for myself

It has been a very long time since I posted anything to this account.  So long, in fact, that I had forgotten how to sign in and how to edit this blog.  Likely, noone bothers following this and the only person seeing what I write will be me, hence the title.

My running is much slower than in previous years and I am still struggling to come to grips with that.  Hard to accept that my body can no longer cash the checks that my mind still wants to write.  Just need to realize how fortunate I am to be able to do what I can.

Miss having daughter Kelsey around to run with, but need to stay fit for when she finally does get back to the US.  It will be interesting to see if she extends her trip next December or if she decides that she misses us as well and comes home.

Happy trails.

Still alive and planning a come back

Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. I am trying to pick up my running in spite of a right leg that refuses to operate properly at anything under about an 8:00 pace per mile. Bowing to peer pressure, I have signed up for my first triathlon. I am entered in the Lake Stevens 70.3 Half Ironman next July 15th. This should give me barely enough time to train for the swim. Reading all the great reports for Cascade Crest have convinced me that I need to return and run there again. In that spirit, I am posting my plan/events for this fall and next year:
September 2 - Loowit Trail with Maximum Bob. 33 miles total with ~7,500' of gain.
November 5 - Co Race Director for Ron Herzog 50k near Granite Falls
November 26 - Ghost of Seattle Half Marathon
December 18? - Dumb Ass run 2-3 loops
January 7? - Western Washington Fat Ass Run 25k
January 28 - Orcas Island 25k
March 3 - Invest in Youth Fund Run
March 17 - Chuckanut 50k -
April 22 - Mt Si Relay and Ultras - 50k or 50 mile
June 2 - Wenatchee Apple Century bike ride (tentative date)
July 15 - Lake Stevens 70.3 Half Iron - already entered and committed
July 28 - White River 50 mile trail run
August 25 - Cascade Crest 100 Mile run
By CCC, I should either be back in shape or completely broken down. The question is, can I beat my daughter Kelsey in the Half Ironman?

Limited running, lots of volleyball

It's been a while since I last posted, so I figured that I should at least make a small pretence of still being a blogger. I did manage to run the half marathon at the Ghost of Seattle and two laps at the Dumb Ass event, along with one loop at the Western Washingto Fat Ass. Last weekend found me carpooling to the Pigtails run where I managed to finish two laps in a respectable time. Not fast, but I was happy with the effort. The next morning my wife, youngest daughter Larisa, and I left the house at 5:30 to drive to Lari's second Powerleague volleyball tournament of the season. Her team was in the strongest flight of eight teams. They were ranked 8th out of 69 U14 teams, based on their performance at the first event. After a very long day of volleyball, they finished in fourth place. The team played tough and was in every game, scrapping for points. They actually led every game at some point, even those few that they couldn't hold on to win. Next up, Powerleague tourney #3 on February 6th. For my running, who knows.

Change of Seasons

Since most of my blogs have been about daughter Kelsey lately, I will continue the trend with this one. At the Trek Womens Triathlon on September 19th, Kelsey competed for the first time as an elite athlete. This meant that she got to start in the first wave. She crossed the finish line in second place, but ended up in fourth overall as two age group competitors finished with a lower total time. Nonetheless, it was a good race for Kelsey and she was happy with her time.

Cross country season is now underway and she is focused on that. I am trying to get back out on the trails some and increase my running mileage beyond 25 miles per month (yes, per month, not per week). Hope to see some familiar faces at the Ghost of Seattle and other runs through the end of the year.

Kesley kicks butt

Daughter Kelsey continues to impress and amaze me. In her first season of triathlons, she has placed first in her age group in every event and finished no worse than 5th for the women. Last Sunday was no exception. In the 2010 Seattle Danskin sprint triathlon, Kelsey competed with over 4,000 entrants and once again won the 20-24 age group. More impressively, she was third overall, beating all but one of the elite athletes. She started in the 25th heat and had to contend with 2,400 participants on the road in front of her. Kelsey took it out hard on the swim and picked up the pace on the bike. She looked for competition on the run to keep her motivated and was never passed. The funny part is she was disappointed by her run time.

August Update

Managed to finish STP respectably. Our time wasn't too fast, but it was better than last year and Kelsey was much stronger when she finished than last year. We got picked up and driven home than night, arriving at the house about 12:30 Sunday morning. After starting the day about 3:30 AM on Saturday, it made for a long day. Kelsey got up Sunday and left before 9:00 AM, headed to White Pass to volunteer as a counselor at the XC camp there. She ran all week on the trails with the campers and came home on Friday. Saturday morning we both ran the Aquafest 10k. She ran 44:06 and I ran 44:24. So she was tired and still beat the old man. Unfortunately, my right quad and hip did not work well and I had to walk a few times. Doesn't help the pace much.

Kelsey's rookie summer of triathlons continues to go well. She stepped up to the Olympic distance recently competing in the Whiskey Dick triathlon in Ellensburg. This is a tough event, with the swim (1 mile) in the Columbia River at Vantage. The bike portion climbs for 12 miles to Whiskey Dick Ridge and then is slightly down or flat on the next 16 miles into Ellensburg. As is often the case, the 16 miles were all into a solid headwind. The 10k run is in Ellensburg and Kelsey ended up with the fastest female time at 45:30. She was third female out of the water, but lost ground on the bike, ending up 5th female. Too much time lost to make it up, although she gained back over 4 minutes during the run on the winner. She was once again 1st in her age group.

Next up is Danskin this weekend. This will be a sprint distance, but will be MUCH larger than any event so far, with upwards of 3,500 participants. This will be her last event prior to XC season beginning at CWU. Looking at her times versus previous years times, I believe she has an excellent shot at the top 20; perhaps even top 10 with a strong race. We'll see on Sunday.

Likely no CCC

My motivation for running continues to be low and consequently so are my miles. Didn't run at all last week. I have been doing spin classes and trying to get in some bike rides in preparation for STP on July 17th. The weather has definitely not been cooperating there. Daughter Kelsey is doing extremely well in her sprint distance triathlons. She was fourth woman and first in her age group in her initial triathlon in Moses Lake. Two weeks later, she was 7th overall and first woman in another sprint triathlon, also at Moses Lake. She is signed up for a women only tri in Auburn on July 3rd, so it will be interesting to see how she does in a bit larger event. Now if she would just put the same effort into finding a job for the summer.

Watershed #3 - Still no 12 hour

This was my third running at the Watershed Preserve 12 hour race. Some day I may actually have to stay for the full 12 hours. In 2006, I ran 7 loops in 5:43:05. In 2007, I ran 6 loops in 5:02:01. For 2010, I wasn't sure even during the race how long or how far I was going to go. After completing every step of the marathon distance with good friend Mark Hartinger (and most of that with Michael Cartwright also adding the the general fun and mayhem), Mark went to get his trekking poles for some practice and I started running by myself. Lap six went pretty well and I headed back out for lap seven. Glancing at my watch, I figured if I kept the pace I could finish seven laps in 6:30 or a bit under. Had to push a bit to maintain the pace, but hit the aid station in 6:27:18. At that point, I called it a day. It was good to see so many familiar faces and to spend over four and a half hours running with Mark. I'm still waffling some about Cascade Crest, but I did just send in my entry for Blanchard Mt. Guess I'll keep running for a bit longer.

Not enough miles, not enough motivation

After a decent two loop run at Lord Hill on May 1st, I spent the next week out of town and not running. 12 hour days at a business expo don't offer much opportunity to fit in even a treadmill run. A weekend with one day spent at the UW track as a spectator and the other day being Mother's Day meant a zero mileage total for the weekend.

I am still struggling with the knowledge of how many miles I need to log to be capable of running Cascade Crest at the end of August. Just can't get excited about committing my summer to running and not having much time to do anything else. The Watershed 12 hour run is this Saturday. I would like to complete 50 miles in well under 10 hours. Not sure if this is practical given my current fitness level, but we will see how things go.

Mt Si #11 Done

Yesterday, I managed to finish my 11th running at the Mt Si Relay and Ultra run. The first eight times were 50 miles or more, with the last three being the 50k event.

1999 54 miles 8:27:10 9:24 pace

2000 50 miles 7:23:34 8:52 pace

2001 50 miles 7:06:45 8:32 pace

2002 50 miles 6:57:15 8:21 pace

2003 50 miles 7:09:14 8:35 pace

2004 50 miles 7:13:15 8:40 pace

2005 50 miles 6:56:23 8:20 pace

2006 50 miles 8:00:20 9:36 pace

2007 50k 4:37:00 8:54 pace

2008 50k 4:29:37 8:40 pace

2010 50k 4:27:03 8:35 pace

While the run yesterday was harder than I would have liked, my time was about what I had anticipated to be able to run and was faster than the last two 50k's. I just need to be more patient and not expect to be able to run as fast or as far as I did five years ago, at least not given my current training level. I just need to leave my watch at home and go play at Lord Hill or Tiger Mt. with friends.

Exercise in futility

Given the migration to Facebook instead of blogging, posting anything to my blog is likely mostly akin to a note to myself, but so be it. My progress in running has been frustrating. I can't seem to really improve my endurance. My speed is gone - any time I try to push the pace, my right leg stops working properly. I am convinced it is all related to some long standing back issues I have had. I was diagnosed in high school with Spondylolisthesis. Over the past 8 years or so, I have experienced some disc degeneration and this seems to be aggravating the condition. I had hoped to keep it at bay with extra core strengthening, but this doesn't seem to be gaining anything.

I hope I can continue training and build up miles this spring and summer, as I am already entered in White River and Cascade Crest.

As I get slower, daughter Kelsey gets faster. At a recent track meet for CWU, she ran a 5:18 1500 meters, a 69 second leg in a 4 x 400 relay, and a 2:33 800 meters, all in a single afternoon. She complained about the 800 being slow. All the improvement in leg turnover bodes well for next fall's XC season.

I did manage to finish Chuckanut this year. My time of 5:26 wasn't fast, but it was great to see a lot of old friends again and get to run with the Guide Dog for several miles. The last 10k was a challenge. Ended up walking much more than I should have.

Oh well, enough of this post to myself - back to work.

Off to a good start

I actually managed to put in some decent running mileage over the holidays. Nothing like tc or many others out there, but certainly a lot more than I had been. The best part was most of it was on trails. It reminded me that I REALLY like to run trails. Rocky, rooty, muddy - whatever. Just throw in some downhill and I'm having fun. The Western Washington Fat Ass was a great opportunity to see some old friends and get lied to by the Cheetah. Yeah, Jim - you're really out of shape and sloth-like. Why is it that you were done way before me and waiting at the cars? Daughter Kelsey had some down moments, but ran really well overall. In 2008, she ran 3:51 for the Half Ass. This year, she ran 2:58. I better get my butt back in shape or soon she will be pushing me to pick up the pace. See some of you at Bridle Trails.

Looking Back/Looking Ahead

For running, 2009 sucked. Low mileage, not one single ultra or marathon completed. There, that is past. Done. On to 2010.

A-#1 goal for 2010: run a respectable time at Cascade Crest. Having volunteered for the past three years (four?), I am certain to get in. My previous best time is 21:10. Can I equal that or better it? Not sure. I will be six years older when the race is held. It will completely depend on what I can do for training. Incidentals along the way -

January 2nd - one lap of the Tiger Mt. Fat Ass
January 9th - Bridle Trails (?)
January 24th - Yours Truly 50k (?)
February 6th - Orcas Island 50k (?)
March 6th - Invest in Youth 6 hour (RD)
March 20th - Chuckanut 50k (yes!)
April 11th - Mt. Si (yes)
April 17th - Wenatchee marathon (?)
May 1st - Sunflower Iron (?)
May 8th - Lost Lake 50k (?)
May 15th - Watershed Preserve 12 hour (?)
June 9th - Blanchard Mt. 50k (?)
July 31st - White River 50 (yes)
August 28th - CCC (YES)

As you can see there are quite of few maybe's listed. Spring events may be eliminated by my attending some CWU track meets. I am also planning to ride STP again this year on July 17th, with daughter Kelsey. Hopefully, we can both fit in some training rides.

If I sign up for enough races, I will be forced to get back into shape. Right?

Not too Dumb Ass

The weather gods smiled on the Dumb Ass run today. Balmy temperatures; virtually no rain, hardly any mud - almost didn't seem like a real Dumb Ass run. It was good to see some of the usual crowd again, even if only for a short time. tc and Glenn running together on Tiger. It is good to see some contants in life are still being maintained. Daughter Kelsey is rapidly becoming a better than good trail runner. Once her XC career is over, we will start trying some ultras together. I will have a couple of more years to get in shape.

Hope to see you on Tiger January 2nd to help celebrate Kelsey's 20th birthday. In the meantime, Merry Christmas.

Happy Holidays

I'm relatively certain that I am the only one that reads this anymore, but will wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year anyway. I hope to take nearly two weeks off here at the end of the year and spend some time running with Kelsey and climbing at the gym with both Kelsey and Larisa. Not to mention some Grandpa time with Olivia.

I will not be running the Dumb Ass run this Sunday as it has been cancelled permanently and it would be foolish to show up for a run that won't be happening, right? I expect to be joining the fun at the Fat Ass run on January 2nd. Hope to see myself and you on the trails soon. Best wishes to you and yours for 2010.

From XC to Volleyball

Well, my activity level has been limited and boring, so I will bring you up to date with the four Kreft girls. Andrea and husband Jarrod are doing well in B'ham. Baby Olivia is just to cute for words and spends most of the day at the gymnastics club with mom.

Daughter Meghan and husband Dennis are also doing very well. Meghan is in a long term subbing position at Hawethorne Elementary in Everett. She is the reading specialist for the school. It is a very challenging job for a first time teacher. She has a number of lesson plans to prepare each week and has the added challenge of a large number of kids who are just learning English.

Kelsey got serious about cross-country this year at Central Washington University. Her times went down consistently over the course of the year and she was Central's #1 or #2 runner at every meet. I don't think I will run any 5k's with her any more. Likely wouldn't help my ego at all. She will also be running track for CWU this spring and they have come up with a bit of scholarship money for her. She has also volunteered to pace and crew for me at Cascade Crest. Now I really am committed.

Which brings us to Larisa. Last but certainly not least, Larisa has made both her middle school volleyball team and the Lake select team. Frankly, I prefer the nice dry gym for volleyball to standing in the rain on the soccer pitch. She also loves the idea of being an aunt and takes the job seriously.

A trailrunner once again

September 19th and I finally ran my first trail race of the year. It wasn't even an ultra, but my body is trying to claim otherwise today. New RD James Varner added a 25k version for the re-routed Cle Elum Ridge Run. Knowing I wasn't close to being ready for a 50k yet, I opted for the 25k. It was a good choice, as the 25k was all I could handle yesterday. It was a typical Jame course - tough with lots of climbing. He listed it at ~4,000 ft of gain and ~15.4 miles. I don't know about the elevation gain (it felt like at least 4,000'), but the distance was longer than billed. GPS tracking placed the distance at 17.96 miles. It will go down in my log book as 18 miles and I am comfortable with the rounding. At 3:26:37, it took longer than many of my road marathons (back when I was a runner).

I enjoyed getting to see some familiar faces at the race. Jim Kerby was also running and 25k. Unfortunately, Jim had his knee flare up again on the return leg. I did a dumb thing and ran in new shoes. My left foot started losing the heel pad to a blister on all the downhill coming back when the shoes loosened up and I didn't re-tighten the laces soon enough.

Still, it was good to be back on the trails again. It did highlight just how far I have to go to get ready for Cascade Crest next summer. Endurance seem slow in coming back.

Back in Therapy

I met with a physical therapist yesterday, regarding my right quad issues. My doctor had recommended this person as she knew he was a distance runner and triathlete. Turns out I had assisted Tony Johns at the Kachess Lake aid station over the weekend. Gave him some Tums to help settle a balky stomach and Tony went on to finish CC in just over 30 hours. Small world.

After a thorough evaluation and requesting some previous MRI results from my primary care physician, Tony is convinced that my leg problem is once again due to my low back issues. I have some bulging discs and a bit of degeneration that has apparently continued. I have been given some stretches and core strengthening advice and will need to focus on my core stabilization for basically the rest of my life, to keep the back issues at bay.

Tony and I had a great discussion about ultras and I may have a new trail running partner for Lord Hill. Bonus!

At least now I have some direction to work.

Cascade Crest 100

Congratulations to Phil Shaw on a well deserved win and new course record. Running without crew, pacer, or any drop bags that I know of is an added point of emphasis on this performance.

I was able to see and talk to many old friends. Tim Stroh had the run of his life, by his own admission and I was glad to be there to witness and be a part of it. The blue berries I supplied at Kachess Lake were obviously not what James Varner really needed, but he seemed to enjoy them when he came through. Better luck next year James.

I was made keenly aware of how I miss seeing such a great group of people on a more regular basis. Time to get back to running and to figure out why my right quad refuses to work properly so much of the time.

Two trail runs in three days

In spite of a sore lower back, I managed to fit in two trail runs in three days with #3 daughter Kelsey. We ran at Lord Hill park, and were out for 1:37 on Saturday and 2:12 today. Kelsey was pretty gassed at the end today, but so was I. Fitness at 50 is slow in coming.

And for your viewing pleasure - a random picture of daughter #4 holding Grand daughter #1.

Larisa and Olivia