Freedom Mile Advert

Josh Cox posted a video advertising the Freedom Mile in Mammoth Lakes, CA today on his Twitter account. The ad features video form last year's race. You'll find me in the footage that starts about 8 seconds in. I'm the shirtless one about 8 runners back furthest to the left. Somehow, my running the tangent still didn't allow me to move up. Ahead of me you'll find Josh Cox, Ryan Hall, Mike Morgan and Ben Perez.

Tioga Pass Run

I raced in the Tioga Pass Run this past Sunday. It marked my second race in six days. Once again, I finished 2nd to Dan Yarbourough. The local news sports anchor seemed to relish talking about how much I had been beaten by Dan once again. People aroudn here know him, but they don't know me. I'm a little frustrated by this, but its up to me to get faster and to give Dan Y a race, something I've been unable to do thus far.

The picture above is from around mile 9. The race is extremely difficult in the sense that it is a constant elevation gain over 12.4 miles (gaining some 3200 ft, almost reaching 10,000). Some years the start can be sunny and warm while the finish is cold and snowy. Luckily, this year was nice the entire way, excpet for a daunting headwind that added to the challenge.

It wasn't my best race, but certainly one of the most beautiful, and one I'll remember for a long time.

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Here's a nice video of some of the elites doing repeat 800's in Shady Rest Park. Almost all of my runs pass through this park at some point. The club that I workout with and sometimes coach, also does its workouts there during the summer. This workout was done right after ours finished.

The Latest Ride, Brother Jay, And oh yeah, Running

The Latest Ride

The weather has been stupendous in Mammoth lately. I've spent my days running, reading, and riding my bike. Here are a few photos from my ride up to Twin Lakes and Lake Mary (frozen).







Brother Jay

This section really doesn't require any explanation. That's my brother circa 1994.





Going Out Too Fast

I'm in the thick of speed training right now. I am doing 3 workouts a week and keeping my easier runs a little shorter than normal. A few days ago I did a 2 mile followed by 4 800s. I battled with Andrew for the first 1 mile and then he left me in the dust shaming me fore going out too fast. On a side note, finishing shortly after me during the workout was Nancy Fiddler, a former olympian, and an incredible athlete. Anyway, as a result I've been watching some great races where runners were smart and didn't go out too fast. This has to be my favorite that I've found so far. Can you send me some more?

A Day Off

I took today off from training. Its the first day that I've not done any running or cross training in a very long time. Here's a video of how I spent my day with my 5 house-mates.

Blizzard in Mammoth

Mammoth Lakes is supposed to see around 22" of snow today. This evening I'm running in the gym, but before it piled too high I had to go have some fun. I had the same trouble seeing through the ice that was forming on my eyebrows and lashes. But, the ice that formed on my legs was unlike anything I've experienced before.





Happy Presidents Day!

Weekend Update

Its another beautiful weekend here in Mammoth. The weather is abnormally mild and dry. Bad for the local economy and for LA's water supply come spring, but great for the running community here.

Today is a huge day in distance running. The US Half Marathon Championships took place this morning in Houston. Results are still coming in and are a bit sketchy, but what is clear is that Meb (representing Mammoth Lakes) has won the race, after leading from Mile 1 edging out Ritz. Elsewhere, Josh Cox is currently trying to break the US and World record for the 50k in AC, and my friend and sometimes training partner, Mark Dolgin is running the RnR in AZ. I can't wait to see how it all turns out.

I'm about to head out on a 20+ long run. But before I go, I wanted to share this video. Lots of great shots that show just how beautiful the scenery is here when running. You can take a look at part of the route they are running here.

Will Power

I had an amazing run tonight. I arrived home from work well after dark feeling pretty worn down. But, the temperature was abnormally high for the point in the evening so I forced myself out the door.

As I reach the end of my street on a run I am forced to make a decision. Do I run up a big hill, or do I run down it? I always wish for a third option. I usually run down because I still want to take it easy and warm up. However, today as I hit this spot I saw another runner flying up the hill and passing me. He looked at me from across the street and I headed after him.

As we were climbing he wasn't putting much distance on me, but I certainly wasn't able to catch him. I was breathing hard and spitting like crazy as I'm pretty sick at the moment. According to my garmin we climbed for 11:00 minutes before reaching a mini-summit. I saw him glancing back a few times as we climbed so I knew we were both engaged. It was an awesome feeling. I expected him to turn or duck in somewhere and that would be that. But, after we got to the top he turned around and headed right for me.

He introduced himself as Will (pictured) and apologized for not waiting for me at the bottom. But, he was surprised to see someone keep up with him as he's not used to that. We decided to continue our runs together and we ran with bursts of accelerations and brief respites (when I think he was waiting up for me or waiting for my breath to slow, as he was pushing me to my limits). Turns out he lives two blocks down the hill from me and also works at the mountain. We've made plans to run to and from work with one another every so often.

I pressed him a bit to learn about his running and he mentioned running for William and Mary as well a few marathons. We both ran Boston last year so I had to ask how he had done. I expected to hear a time in the 2:40's or 2:30's. Instead he said simply, 49th. Anyway... enough gushing, it was nice to meet someone who was young and dedicated and friendly. I suppose I can run with him on his slow days. So that's the end of the story, right?

Not exactly. I decided to google him as I do any other competitive runner I meet to find out some more info (I almost always regret this as it makes me feel like I've violated the person's privacy). But, I can't help myself. So, what did I find? Will told me the truth, but he left out a pretty big chunk. There are lots of articles about him, because he ran under 2:30, finished in the top 50 at Boston, and did so while undergoing chemo to fight a brain tumor.

I think I can tough it out the next few days through my head cold to get outside and put in some big runs.

I've got a 10k race (first in a 3-race point series) this Saturday, so more coming then!

The Goal

It's almost 2009?!

Three weeks have gone by since I arrived in Mammoth. I'm having trouble putting into words my feelings about my place in life right now. I'm startled somewhat by the position I've put myself in. For me I've always been puzzled by the fact that one (well, I suppose not all of us are so lucky, but speaking generally here) has so much control over his/her life in our society, yet one so rarely is aware of the power we hold over ourselves.

Its true that we often feel held back by many things, money/jobs, relationships, "the man", etc... but when I look back at the last 10 years of my life, I realize how much authority I truly did have on where and what I did. I've made the decisions to go to law school, leave law school, move to Bloomington, move to Chicago, etc. and I've not had anyone forcing me to go in any specific direction. It's kind of like when you are driving and you look in the mirror at all the stop signs, turns, and lights you passed but don't remember maneuvering. You wonder to yourself if you obeyed them at all, and then you realize that you must have, because there is a lot of traffic and you did not wreck. That's not a perfect analogy but it is close.

Because of this, I seem to have trouble recognizing the fact that I'm actually in California. I live here. I live in the mountains. I don't have a job. I am spending 3-plus hours (easily, perhaps more) a day exercising. I'm sitting alone reading books and listening to podcasts (All Songs Considered, The Moth to name a few). These things are all true, but I'm not so aware. It seems as though any day I'll go back to my regular life. But wait... this is my life! And I've guided myself here. I suppose these are pretty common feelings for someone that relocates to a place where they know no one.

Why am I sharing this on my "running blog"? I'll do my best to explain. I think one of the reasons the above is true, is that when I look at my life just three years ago, absolutely nothing about right now is how I would have planned it. I think the reason this is the case, is because the factors behind my decision-making are so much different now than they were then. (Perhaps I'll learn as I get older, that this is often the case and isn't so unusual.... but who knows?) The biggest thing that is a part of my life now, that was lacking then is running. "Runner" is probably the easiest, most accurate one-word description someone could give me. (Maybe a person or two would argue it should be asshole or stupid, but what do I know?)

I'm happy with where I've ended up. But, for some reason I'm driven to try and make a plan. Or, maybe it's more accurate to say that I think a plan has found me, and I'm not going to push it away. Those who know me best may laugh at the idea. Dan McDowell and plans? Well, I'm not exactly looking to dot every 'i' and cross every 't'; not even close. But, I do see one goal that has risen in me and seems to be the biggest influence on my decision making, and in that way I can see a recognizable plan ahead.

What is that goal? Well, let me make a few disclaimers before I share it. This is something that has been floating around in my mind for a year or so, and I have discussed it with a few close friends. And I don't think it will be a shock to anyone. But, I suppose I've been weary of laying it out publicly because it could lead to ridicule and some may think I'm not being realistic with myself. But, I will be ashamed of myself if I let that stop me from at least trying. The goal... I want to run in the United States Olympic Marathon Trials for either 2012, or 2016.

I had the privilege of running beside (and often behind, but don't take that the wrong way Paul) Claudia Becque this past season as she managed to accomplish this feat. It was inspiring to watch her during the trials in Boston. And in the weeks before, during training runs, and as I stood on the curb just off the side of the St. Charles River I knew inside how much I wanted to be part of something like that. When I went home from a Jens Lekman concert early, got up at 4am and ran 6 miles to a friend's house, just to watch the Men's trials live the November before last I knew there was a part of me that wanted in.

The thing is, I've had trouble admitting this to myself. Mainly because its a far-fetched goal. Only 134 men were able to compete for the '08 spots (which happened in '07) and the time requirements have been made more difficult since then. The men who have been in this field are all much faster than me. They are now, and they were when they were 14. And perhaps, I will never get close to being at that level, but I think I'll find joy in going for it either way. So, if you are inclined to pity me for thinking I have a shot, don't. I'll be happy in the pursuit, and if I'm lucky enough to reach the goal, that will simply be icing on the cake.

So, while most of that is probably too self-absorbed for anyone to get through, it makes me feel a bit better to get it off my chest. I'm aiming to go to the trials. I may have to take a half-hour off of my PB, but I'm going for it. I've already taken 28 minutes off of my debut time. So, does any of this have a practical meaning?

Days and Nights in Mammoth Without a Job

Training is all too easy when you have all day to accomplish your day's goals. So while I would certainly like a job, I'll appreciate the good parts of this in the meantime. I have been running twice a day. I usually get the first one in around 10am after the sun has warmed things up a bit. I do the second run around 3:45 so I will finish before the sun tucks behind the mountain and the temperature plummets. This has finally gotten my mileage above the century mark. I've also found a few 30 to 45 minute core workouts that I do every other day. Rabbit and Coach Leach would be proud. No Tunisian Circuit yet though... sorry Coach!

My routes vary, but they do have one thing in common, they are hillier than Chicago, and much, much higher. The breathing doesn't come quite as easily. I've also become much more accustomed to doing some of my runs at a significantly lower pace than usual. Many of my routes are variants of the ones posted at RunMammoth. The views are quite beautiful. I often run with a mantra of "power from the mountains" and i know this is silly. But after living most of my life in the midwest, I still am not used to them.

I live in an A-frame right in the center of town with two other bachelors (one in his 30's and one in his late 20's). There is great public transportation here even though only 8,000 people live here because the local economy is based on the ability for people here to get to the main lodge and ski, snowboard, or mountain bike (in the summer). A 5 minute walk puts me on the bus and a 10 minute ride takes me to my gym where I do runs when the snow and wind is too much.

While running on a treadmill often makes me feel that I'm not getting the best out of my workout, I did get a confidence boost the other day. I finished a workout and headed to the locker room. Inside I met Ryan Hall and spoke briefly. I was an idiot, but he was nice. As I left I noticed he was running on a treadmill just a few spots away from the one I used. This is really silly, but it did help me to realize, that if its good enough for the most elite in my sport it has to be good enough for me. I've met a few other elites here, and I have to say they've all been extremely humble.

I'll be racing a 5k in San Diego on 12/29 so I'll probably check in again after that, and hopefully I'll already have progress to report.

Away from running I've spent most of my time reading and listening to music. On that note, I've been meaning to write on here about some of the music and books I'm most passionate about, but I've never taken the time. So, be warned, I may do that over the next few days. In the meantime I want to share this video with you. It's the group M83. I really love watching and listening to the first song as they perform it live. One of my favorite moments of 2008's music. While I'm at it, let me quickly say that Bon Iver - For Emma Forever Ago is my vote for best album of the year. And yes, I know it was released in a smaller fashion in 2007.

So yeah... for whatever this has been worth... good winter to you.

Greetings from Mammoth Lakes, CA

I surprised myself on my move to the west. When I got to CA I took a right turn and ended up in Mammoth Lakes instead of turning left and enjoying San Diego. How, Why, What etc.... these questions will have to be answered later. For now I give you a video of Jason and I running in Utah at dusk, and a few photos from the trip.

The Running Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq5gXkarl_8

Mammoth Lakes


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