Illinois – an amazing run

2025 Ironman 70.3 Rockford Race Report

DATE: June 22, 2025

WHERE: Rockford, Illinois

RESULTS: 2025 Ironman 70.3 Rockford Results BIB# 1385

I survived. That should be in bold. The day brought mid-90ºF temps with Real Feel temperatures in the low-100ºs. Plus, Mother Nature decided to throw some tough wind at us today as well, and not in a favorable direction. There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s dive in.

TRAINING

When it was announced that Ironman was possibly coming to the Chicago area, I got intrigued. I hadn’t done any long-course triathlons since 2021 and was getting a little burned out chasing the 100-mile ultra that I have yet to accomplish. When Rockford 70.3 was announced, I signed up on day one. I encouraged anyone else I could to join me, and was glad when my Gunner teammates Jeff and his sister Jan joined in the fun. Numerous locals also signed up, too!

I dusted off my copy of Don & Melanie Fink’s IronFit Secrets for Half Iron- Distance Triathlon Success and followed the 16-week competitive plan. Training went pretty well. The spring was rather cool, and many training rides and runs were done with layered clothing, but overall, I put in the work I needed to feel prepared for the race.

I switched from using gels as my energy fuel to liquid fuels, opting for Tailwind and GU Roctane to fuel me. What I liked about using liquid fuel is that you don’t seem to have the sugar rush and then blood sugar crash when using gels every half hour. The energy level is more sustained, and you get the added benefit of staying on top of hydration because you are drinking your fuel.

I felt pretty well prepared from my training until the weather watchers on the race Facebook page started predicting the weather. It was not looking good.

RACE DAY

Had no other choice but to accept the day that was given to us.

SWIM – 43:06

I had packed my wetsuit in my Morning Clothes bag to carry to the swim start to use if I could, but as I was leaving the hotel, I got a push message from the Ironman app that the water temp was 79.2ºF, making the race wetsuit optional. I opted to leave the wetsuit in the car and use my swimskin instead. The swimskin is legal to wear regardless of the temperature and is designed to help you glide through the water, but in reality, it’s just a security blanket for me.

Jan, me, and Jeff waiting to get on the bus for the ride to the swim start.

I seeded myself in the 43-46 minute group, and it took 45 minutes for us to reach the water. I jumped in and quickly got into a comfortable swim. I had a few little toe cramps, but I worked them out and just kept pulling myself forward. I was far right in the water, often swimming closely by the kayakers monitoring the swim, but I wanted to avoid contact and had few issues with it. I knew that there were three bridges to go under and kept an eye on those. I could have swum a straighter line, but was happy to get to the Swim Out in good shape. The much-hyped current-aided swim for this event was non-existent. I felt no current assist with it at all, and my 43-minute finish time is right where I expected my finish time to be. I was happy with my swim.

TRANSITION 1 – 8:35

Most of my solid running for the day was from swim out to transition.

Out of the water led to at least a 1/4-mile jog to my spot in transition. Upon getting there, I grabbed a towel and got my feet dry. Then I applied some anti-chafe to my feet (which was beneficial on the run), got my helmet and sunscreen on, and then headed to Bike Out.

BIKE – 3:28:27

I had pre-rode the bike course a month or so earlier and made mental notes about my effort during the various sections. Today, though, the wind direction changed most of my expectations. We had a tailwind heading out, which made that climb north much faster. I started a little too strong and kept telling myself to dial it back, which took me about 5 miles to accomplish before settling in. My 20-mile split time was about an hour, so 20 mph was quite a good time for me.

Then we headed west, and it became more difficult. I was starting to suffer and came close to hitting the wall around halfway, but I slowed down a little and kept drinking the liquid nutrition. I also opted to up my electrolytes by taking a salt capsule every hour. I’m sure that helped quite a bit. I was sweating the whole time and kept an eye on that. I stopped at the second and third aid stations to urinate, and I took that as a good sign about being hydrated. I can usually get through 50 miles on just three water bottles, but I doubled that intake here. We were all drinking extra water.

I saw lots of people walking their bikes uphill, but I just spun up them. Only one hill on the backside of the course made me work really hard, but the downhill afterwards was always a welcome recovery. I hit 30+ mph several times, maxing out at 36 mph on one downhill.

Finishing up, wondering how many matches I had burned. I burned a lot.

I was feeling pretty good coming into T2, and I was happy to be two-thirds done with this sauna triathlon.

TRANSITION 2 – 8:45

I took time to add more sunscreen and wash my face and head off, trying my best to cool down with the hot water I had in transition. Oh well, off to walk on the surface of the sun for 13 miles.

RUN – 3:00:31

According to Ironman, athletes may run, walk, or crawl. I started with a walk, hoping not to crawl.

I tried to run when I started the run portion of the race, but it wasn’t long until my body said not to. The first section of the run course was the worst when it came to heat. Other than the breeze across the bridge over the river, it was stagnant, and the heat from being exposed to the sun on the blacktop made me walk most of the first three miles. Some portions of the course were just brutal. The best portion of the course was through a very nice neighborhood that someone on the Facebook page nicknamed “Sprinkler Alley”. These people were in the street with their hoses and sprinklers, offering people a chance to stay cool. I didn’t skip a single one of them. Everyone ran that course thoroughly soaked with sweat and water. Lots of squeaky and squishy sounds were coming from the shoes.

I had had it with Tailwind and switched to taking Coke at the aid stations and sticking with ice and water. Most of the ice went into my trisuit and visor, and some I melted in my mouth.

My mood/energy/pace was picking up as I came through to end the first lap and continue on to the second lap of the run. I tried to jog longer and at least jog from aid station to aid station, but I needed another break along the path that runs along the river. This was a hot section of the run course for me, but the “Sprinkler Alley” area followed along soon, and I was getting a boost from being closer to the finish.

I jogged through the finish chute with a smile on my face, high-fiving some crew and fans along the way. So relieved that the race was done for me.

TOTAL TIME: 7:29:24 / 1274th place out of 1692 / 34th place out of 47 M60-64 age group

Currently, the results show 1692 finishers. There were 2,700 actual registrants, and with an estimated 20% DNF rate, that’s over 1,000 people who either did not start or did not finish.

Not the best performance for me. Pre-race, I was shooting for a sub-6-hour finish. HA! Well, that wasn’t happening on this day. My strongest event, the run, was the one I had struggled most with, which is not really surprising, as running heats you up the most. I’m just glad to have gotten through this tough day. I was wondering at the beginning of the run if I was even going to be able to keep moving forward and finish. But I survived and will proudly display my medal.

Thanks again to my wife, Kari, for putting up with me and these shenanigans. Standing around in 90º+ weather for eight hours is not fun. Thanks also to my son Ben and daughter-in-law Emily for coming to cheer. It was much appreciated. Jeff’s crew included his wife Jill, son Charlie, and his girlfriend Kelly, who also provided much-needed support. Thanks to my Gunner teammates, Jeff and Jan, for joining me in doing this race. Thanks for buying us dinner, Jeff! And thanks to Karen for joining me on the course pre-ride and at the race. Everyone from the area seemed to survive the day as well.

Overall, and after a day or two of reflection, I actually enjoyed the event. Rockford was an awesome host city, the volunteers were spectacular, and I am seriously considering doing this race again next year. Hopefully, it will be a little cooler, and I can coax some more Gunners to join in on the fun.

Winter Maintenance Paying Off

IRONMAN 70.3 ROCKFORD TRAINING – WEEK 1 WRAP-UP – MARCH 9, 2025

As most amateur athletes do, I beat myself up through spring, summer, and fall, then use winter to recover, maintain fitness and get ready for the ritual to start all over again. Winter maintenance for me mostly means staying out of the cold and training indoors on the treadmill and a stationary bike at my workplace gym. It’s been a pretty mild winter and I did get outside occasionally to put in some running miles, but they were all done at an easy pace.

When I ride the stationary bike indoors, I usually set the level to a slightly hard spin, and just sit and do the work. I often will finish with an hour ride with a 16 mph average, and I wonder how accurate that average is. Sure I am sweating, and I can feel like I used my legs, but experience has shown that when I ride outside, a 16 mph average will kick my butt.

The weather turned nice for early March in Chicagoland this weekend and I decided to join a group ride on Sunday. The post said to expect a 16-17 mph average pace, but seeing that my plan called for 75 minutes of riding, I wasn’t too worried about it as I would ride to join the group and then split off when I needed to. I held on to the group as we casually warmed up for a few miles. But after about 15 minutes into it, I was working pretty hard to hang on. I purposely didn’t bring any gels with me to avoid being tempted to ride farther than my plan called for, and when we reached an intersection about 5 miles into the ride, the group went west, and I turned east toward home. Proud of myself for not overdoing my first outdoor ride since last fall.

Me waving from the rear, where I would start and where I would end.

Upon getting home, the ride ended at 25 total miles, 94 minutes of riding, and an average of 15.3 mph. That was about what I was expecting. Factoring in periods of slowing for walkers on the bike path, slowing for traffic, and the leisurely start pace of the riding group, the effort was probably pretty close to 16 mph average. But I’m not fooling myself, I was worn out, much more so than when I ride the stationary bike. But winter maintenance seems to be doing an adequate job at keeping me close to being ready to reclaim mid-year form. I just have to follow the plan and not overdo the training when a group ride dangles in front of me like a GU pack.

A good start for the first week of training. 4 runs/17 miles, 3 rides/55 miles, and swimming will have to wait until I get my pool open.

Ironman 70.3 Rockford Illinois – Let The Fun Begin!

IRONMAN 70.3 ROCKFORD TRAINING – WEEK 1

Back in June 2024, my running and Ironman friend Susan messaged me to ask if I had heard any rumblings about a new Ironman 70.3 race coming to the Midwest, specifically the Chicago area. We were trying to come up with which community had the best shot at it – Chicago? Crystal Lake? Maybe the North Shore area? I had not heard anything about a new race, but it started spreading excitement and it wasn’t long before Ironman made the announcement that Rockford, Illinois would be the newest race on the 70.3 circuit. Although I wasn’t really planning to do any more long distance triathlon racing, I was definitely interested. Once it was announced and sign-up opened, I decided to be among the first racers in this inaugural race.

Rockford is located about 90 minutes from me, so having a race that I won’t have to travel far to is a nice bonus. Once the weather warms up, I plan on driving out and doing the bike loop to see what will be in store for us on race day. I have run the now defunct Rockford Marathon twice – 2009 and 2010 – the prior being my return to marathoning after a long break from running that distance. So the return to Rockford for the 70.3 is somewhat befitting, since it has been four years since my last Ironman and eleven years since my one and only 70.3 in Muncie, Indiana. Time to get that adrenaline rush going again and enjoying triathlon training.

Two of my Gunner teammates will be joining in on the fun – Jeff, who is also planning on doing Ironman Wisconsin, and his sister Jan. This race might be the first half-iron race for them, but they are experienced Ironman finishers. There are also a few local friends doing it as well – Jennifer, who just rocks whatever race she does – Leah, who has officially dipped her toes into the triathlon waters and now is ready to do a cannonball into the deep end – and Chad, who I met last year on a local gravel ride and has since finished Ironman Chattanooga. I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone. I think Susan opted to pass, but I’m sure I will see her on many of the training rides this summer.

I will be following the competitive 16-week plan in Don and Melanie Fink’s IronFit Secrets for Half Iron-Distance Triathlon Success, the same book I used for training before.

Monday is a rest day, and today, Tuesday called for a 45-minute Zone 2 run, which I did on the treadmill. I got through it somehow. Swimming will have to wait until closer to May when I open my pool up. I tend to just swim straight and practice some simple drills for 30-45 minutes, which should be sufficient for this swim in the current aided Rock River. Biking will be done on the stationary bike at work until the weather gets better. Which reminds me, I better get that tri bike out of the garage and give it a good going over. It hasn’t been ridden in several years. I know for a fact that the rear brakes need an overall, and the chain might need to be replaced. I will get on that soon.

So there you have it, back in the saddle for some more Ironman-ish fun!

The Trail Regulars

I have been fortunate to have lived near several great bike/walk/run paths as an adult. In my early running days, I loved running on the Green Bay Trail in Highland Park, Illinois. I would typically run this trail from Highland Park five miles out to Winnetka and then return home. A relocation to the Western suburbs of Chicago presented me with the option of running on the Great Western Trail and the Illinois Prairie Path. And I have spent more than half of my 35 years running at the local Hickory Creek Nature/Forest preserve paths and the Old Plank Road Trail (aka Old Plank Trail or OPT), where I see lots of locals also out enjoying the paths.

Over those many miles and years, I have seen quite a few faces over and over again. I call these people “regulars,” and even though I may not know them by name, we are pretty familiar with each other. Sometimes I will have a brief conversation with them, learn their name, and find out their reason for being out on the trail, but most times we just pass by with a nod or a wave. I thought that I might highlight a few, some I haven’t seen in a long time, and some fairly new. So, in no particular order, here are some of The Regulars.

Shirtless Tall Guy – One of the more recent regulars is a tall, fit guy in his 30s who runs shirtless, loping along at a relaxed pace, but I have seen him running fast on occasion as well. We usually give a brief wave when we pass each other, acknowledging the fact that we are always out on the trail pounding the pavement. I’m not sure if he runs to compete, or just runs for the pleasure of it. I envy his effortless-looking gait and often think that he would be a great distance runner if he wasn’t already.

Buford Pusser – In the 70s there was a movie called Walking Tall, telling the tale of a Southern sheriff who meted out justice by carrying a rather sturdy baseball bat-sized stick. There’s a local guy who walks the trail who reminded me of that character. I hadn’t seen ol’ Buford on the trail in quite a while, but recently there he was, walking along and carrying the four-foot-long thick dowel rod that he carries like he’s going to have to fend off a wolf pack attack. I usually run by this guy with caution, but I don’t fear him.

Wrong Side Wheelchair Lady – I encounter this lady all the time in the hilly nature preserve trail and she’s always on the wrong side of the trail. She used to have a friend who would walk along with her but I haven’t seen her friend in a long time. Lately, she has been singing classic rock songs at the top of her lungs while pushing herself up the hills. I’d probably be more friendly to her if she wasn’t always on the wrong side of the trail.

Baby Jogger Mom – This redhead with a wolf tattoo on her back shoulder used to push her newborn in a stroller in the preserve and I would see her nearly every run. Then she disappeared for a while, later to return with a double-wide stroller and two kids! But she seems to be fading quickly from the ranks of the regulars, as I haven’t seen her in quite a while.

Mario! – A long-time runner, this guy reminds me of Mario from the arcade game. He’s been out there as long as I have, and we just keep putting in the miles.

Will County Forest Preserve Lady – An older lady who wears a pullover-type top emblazoned with the logo of the forest preserve is one of the older regulars on the trail. A taller, thinner lady who I see often on the Old Plank Trail in Frankfort. There used to be a trail sentinel program run by the forest preserve district, so maybe she wears the pullover from that. Not sure.

Bill – Mostly a midday runner like myself, I encountered this local guy quite often, usually crossing the railroad tracks where the make-shift path gets me into the nature preserve. He was always friendly, and at one of the crossings, I took a moment to chat him up. He said his name was Bill and that he runs about four miles nearly every day. He doesn’t race and thinks the distances I run are crazy. But anyway, he’s a nice guy.

Curly-headed Guy – I used to see this curly-headed guy all the time running on the OPT and one day we stopped at a road crossing together and I introduced myself. He was wearing an Ironman visor and I had to at least say hello to a fellow Ironman. Turns out his name is Charlie and we are now good friends and follow each other on Facebook. He tends to ride more than run nowadays, but we are always joking about wanting to be each other when we grow up.

Bike Pusher Guy – I have passed people on bikes while running in the past, and although the speed needed to do that has long left me, but occasionally I come upon Bike Pusher Guy. This guy is older than me and doesn’t ride his bike very fast, and he always hops off and pushes it up the hills. Friendly guy, and we see each other often.

Me – I guess I’m a trail regular as well. I often wonder what others think of me as I jog by huffing and puffing in my sweaty clothes. Well, if you become a regular make sure to say hello to me because I’m always up for a chat.

Do you have any trail regulars where you run?

2024 Paleozoic Trail Runs – Silurian Fall II 25K Race Report

November 9, 2024
25K Trail race held at Palos Park, Illinois – Cook County Forest Preserve
14th Place overall, 1st in M60-69 Age Group
2:20:02
Paleozoic Trail Run – Silurian Fall II Results

I have done the spring version of this 25K before, and since I opted to not burden myself at Tunnel Hill 100 with another 100-mile attempt this year, I decided to give the fall version a go. And I am happy that I did! We had a cool and overcast morning for the race, with perfect trail conditions, and seeing that the fall version is run at a different course, I found this one to be a lot less technically challenging. That’s not to say this was easy – it had nearly 1500 feet of elevation! Lots of rolling hills, and a few steep enough to force me to walk, but the day turned out great for me.

My faithful sidekick/super sherpa/wife Kari and I got there way earlier than necessary, but were glad to do so to get a prime parking spot as the location had very few and we didn’t want to have to find the second and third parking option and have to walk. We had lots of fun people-watching and chatting about the other racer’s prerace routines.

I had made a race morning decision to wear my more comfortable road shoes instead of my trail shoes, based on the race director’s email stating that the course was in great condition. I also wore my gaiters to keep the little rocks, sticks, leaves, and other trail junk out of my shoes. I was looking around and it seemed that I was the only one that opted for them. I was so glad that I did.

At the start of the race, a short grassy section that led to the path.

The 50K started at 8:30 and my race started at 9:30. This course is much more crowded with other patrons, but they weren’t too bad and gave us plenty of room. My plan was to not go out too fast and have to suffer in the later miles, but of course, I bolted out of the gate. It wasn’t long before I found myself in no-man’s-land once again, not quite with the lead pack and way ahead of the back-of-the-packers. Doesn’t matter what length of race I do, I find myself in this spot every time.

There was a giant hill that I walked just before mile 2 and I got passed by a couple of other runners, but walking calmed me down and I settled into a more appropriate pace. The hills kept coming and I just kept pushing on.

The 50K leader was shirtless and I saw him around my 5-mile mark and knew that I would definitely see him again. It wasn’t long after that when I saw the first 25K leader coming back at me from the turnaround, and she was flying! She did eventually win the race, a first for the race director, which he was super excited for.

As I got closer to the turnaround myself, I was marveling at how good a gel would make me feel. Every 30 minutes is when I choke down the 100-calorie syrupy stuff, and I was finding myself looking at my watch 15 minutes after each one wondering how much longer to the next. I finally caught a guy that I had been slowly reeling in, but he would jog the hills and I would walk them and have to work at pulling him back in again. We arrived at the turnaround aid station at the same time. I had already had the lid off of my 21-ounce water bottle and had it refilled with another 21 ounces. I’m glad that I opted for the bigger bottle this time instead of the 12-ounce handheld bottles I used in the spring race. I was staying on top of hydration.

After the turn, I found my legs and started running at a pretty good clip. This portion would be downhill for a while, and I tried to take advantage of that. I could see the competition coming at me for the first time and I was glad I had a good lead.

I have to give a shout-out to the large group of spectators who greeted us when we went out and came back on the course around the middle section. It was a big pick-me-up.

The next runner ahead of me was another one that I had tried to reel in from the start. She had passed me within the first 1/2-mile of the race and looked strong, but by mile 11 she clearly had run into a wall. I passed her and put some distance on her. I didn’t think that I was in the top ten at this point, but gaining a spot gave me some motivation to keep chasing others. The problem was, there weren’t any ahead of me that I could see!

With about 2.5 miles to go, we hit the last big hill and I was passed by another guy. Great, I had just gained a spot and now I was losing one. I tried to match pace with the guy, but he was younger and stronger. And to add insult to injury, the race director informed us at the awards that he had raced the RDs fall Lakefront 50K the week before. Tip of the running visor to him.

Once up the big hill it was flat and I summoned the energy I had left to push a little bit. I could hear the quick footsteps rapidly approaching me from behind and of course, it was the 50K finisher passing me in the final mile. It has happened twice now to me and I hate it! Oh well, another tip of the running visor to the shirtless 50K winner, whose overall 50K time was nearly a half-hour faster than my Chicago Marathon time. Actually, the second-place 50K finisher was also faster than my CM time. Crazy kids. Tip of the running visor to both of them.

As I was dealing with that defeat, the sounds of more footsteps were approaching, and I was passed by a woman who clearly was kicking to the finish. I tried to keep pace with her but she was slowly pulling away (tip of the visor to her-lol). We emerged relatively close from the trail and onto the grass to do a parade lap of the park to the finish and she hit the afterburners, beating me by 15 seconds. I knew that I couldn’t catch her, but I also knew that the clock was ticking rapidly to the 2:20 mark and I gave it my best to be sub-2:20, but my official time put me two seconds over it. My watch time shows 2:19:38, but it paused while I was refilling my water bottle. Seeing that I had predicted a 2:40 finish when I signed up for the race, and then thinking I had a good chance to go sub-2:30, to get 2:20:02 was a huge surprise that I will proudly take as a new PR.

Finishing the race and getting my medal and age group award

All in all, it was a great day and a great performance for me. I might have to keep this one on the calendar for next year!

2022 Tunnel Hill Race Report

Ask any runner if they check the weather report weeks ahead of the big race and I would bet that most would say they do. I’m no different. We had really great fall temperatures the week before the race, but it was about to change – just in time for race day, naturally. Instead of packing several pairs of short sleeve shirts and shorts, I packed for a day in the low-30s, with evening temps below freezing. Kari told me later that the truck’s outside thermometer reading only reached a high of 34 degrees.

My super awesome sherpa/crew wife Kari and me heading to Vienna.

But as it turned out, the cold temperature for the day didn’t bother me at all. They say that you hope for the best conditions and prepare for the worst, and if some freezing-type temps were the worst of it, then that’s no big deal. I’ve run plenty of times in the cold. I knew it was going to get cold, but the two inches of snow we woke up to was quite a surprise. That’s the weather in the midwest for you.

Yes, two inches of freshly fallen snow greeted Kari and me as we went out to the truck for the trip to the starting line in Vienna. This will be interesting, I thought. We arrived, parked, and found our way to the start area to look for some familiar faces. My son Ben and become friends with a guy named Sean, and they had done a lot of running together. Sean was there to run the 50-mile race and I was glad to see him. We greeted each other at the pre-race dinner the night before and again just before starting our journeys, wished each other luck, and he took his rightful place in the front of the starting group and I made my way to the back. I found my local friends, Jim and Calvin, both doing the 50-miler, and we took some selfies. Jodi, Jennifer, and Lara must have been avoiding us, but I would see two of the three later in the race.

Sean and me at the start. He’d finish 4th overall in the 50. Impressive!

I’m not sure if I was just not hearing the national anthem or if they didn’t sing or play it this year, but the race seemed to start before I was aware it was time to do so. A trip around the parking lot led to the trail, and to the south, we all headed. As we trampled through the now slightly muddy trail, we all were taking the least sloppy line. But before too long, the trail firmed up, and only the edges of the trail and the numerous wooden bridges would show the icy reminders of the early morning snowfall.

Staying near the edge of the trail where it was less mushy.

I felt great as I pressed on, keeping on track with my plan to run for two minutes, followed by walking for two. I did really well with this method in September at the Broken Anvil Backyard Ultra, and it was netting me about 4.5 miles every hour. I met Kari at the second aid station located in Karnak, Illinois, and advised that all was good – and it really was. I tend to sweat, no matter if it’s hot or cold, but I wasn’t sweating at all. I must have picked the right amount/type of clothes for the day – two thin, long-sleeve undershirts, a pair of running shorts under a light pair of running pants, and my 2016 Ironman Lake Placid Finisher jacket, a jacket that is more like a windbreaker than what is typically offered by Ironman as a “finisher’s jacket” but was the perfect thickness for this day. I topped my head with a visor covered with a running beanie and of course a pair of gloves to keep my hands warm. I was shocked that I wasn’t sweating at all, and I attributed it to the run plan that I was following, keeping my heart rate down, and not heating myself up for too long. Of course, the weather and my clothing were contributing as well to keeping me dry.

Ran with Calvin for a bit and stopped for a picture.

Since I wasn’t sweating, and I was doing my best to keep hydrated, I was developing a new issue – I was peeing a lot. I estimate that I was drinking about 1/4 of a cup of water every couple of minutes. Early in the race, I was peeing every 10-15 minutes or so. By the later stages of the run, I was peeing about every five minutes. At one point it seemed like I would take a drink and then stop to pee. And since there was snow along the edge of the trail, I could clearly see that I was peeing very clear, not yellow at all. It was like the water was running straight through me. I took it as a good sign, but it was a little bit of a new experience for me and I thought about it a lot. Too much info, I know, and I’m sorry. It’s just a memory from this race that I don’t want to forget.

Chad Colson Photography – used with permission

There are another 3 miles from the first major aid station in Karnak to the turnaround and when I got back to Karnak again I decided to make an attempt at pooping. Into the port-o-potty I went, and was glad to take care of business. I walked back over to Kari to swap out my vest and I was approached by a woman who very delicately informed me that I had toilet paper trailing behind me from my pants. I would normally be thoroughly embarrassed, but when you’ve been whipping out your wiener to urinate in front of everyone for the last 16 miles, it really didn’t faze me that much. Kari got a kick out of it though. Another bit of too much info, and another memory for posterity.

Run for two minutes. Walk for two minutes. Pee. Eat a gel every half-hour. Eat something solid every hour. Repeat for hours. And that’s how the first fifty miles went. Very uneventful, and highly executed. I was dialed in. At a couple of points, I was pretty bored, so I pulled out my phone and called my super-fan Carl and chatted him up a little. I also called my daughter Rebecca who seemed a little surprised that I was taking time out of the race to chew the fat with her. Both conversations were big pick-me-ups.

The northern section of the trail has better scenery.

Upon reaching the 50-mile mark and being back at the start/finish again for the second time, I couldn’t help to think about how I was doing. The prior year I had quit well before I crossed the mat. This year that wasn’t happening. Kudos to Kari for being wise with where she set up her chair and had our gear; it was roughly the same place as last year, and I had no trouble finding her. Of course, she found me before I found her most of the time, but I wasn’t having to figure anything out. I would take off my vest and she would either refill the bladder of the vest I preferred or swap it out with my secondary vest with a full complement of snacks and water. Occasionally I would forget to swap my phone over, and once I realized that I didn’t have my gel flask with me. But overall all, we were dialed in.

Finishing 50, ready to eat, and head back out.

Kari had dinner ready for me again, more Ramen noodles and broth, a sandwich, some potato chips, and my favorite drink Lipton Lemon Brisk tea. I ate what I thought I needed and headed off for mile 51 and more. It was just a few miles later that I felt so good that I called Kari to tell her so. I was really feeling good, and that continued for most of the night trip on the south portion of the out-and-back course.

Upon getting back to Karnak for what was now the fourth time, things were getting a little weird for me. The energy I had in the mid-50 miles was no longer there, and I was struggling to get through the two minutes of the run portion of my run/walk. I was definitely running slower, and would occasionally skip a run turn. Another thing I noticed was that I was drifting while walking, not staggering, but just having trouble walking straight. I thought of an old childhood friend named Mike who did that type of walking normally, and it gave me a chuckle. I think that it being so dark and that I was using a headlamp to light my way was causing me to get a little off. It’s like when you are driving in a car and being okay when you stare off into the distance, but try focusing on the things speeding by right in front of you and it becomes hard to focus. And I was staring at a gazillion rocks passing by my feet very quickly.

Heron Pond aid station is between Karnak and Vienna, and I tried to eat something there. I had some more ramen and broth, and a portion of banana. Kari walked with me for a while, and I mentioned that I felt like I was starting to get drained.

One weird sensation I was experiencing was uncontrollable yawning. This happened a couple of times. I was perplexed by it because my mind was pretty sharp, having consumed caffeinated gels every 30 minutes. I think it was my body telling my brain that it was tired. A very strange sensation.

From around mile 70 to back to Vienna I knew the writing was on the wall. To continue on was going to be tough. I told myself that I would try to eat some more food, maybe drink a 5-hour energy drink, and see how I felt. Kari met me and walked me to the warming tent, and then scrambled to get me the things that might turn me around.

As I attempted to sit in a chair in the warming tent, I had already unofficially quit the race. I stumbled a little trying to sit down, which wasn’t surprising to me. I had difficulty walking in a straight line for the last six miles and felt a little wobbly for quite a while. But I had been telling myself all day to keep giving it the “old college try.” They say in ultras that if you feel crummy at some point, you may feel totally better a little later. Kari had gotten me some of the creamy potato soup they were serving inside the tent, and I began eating what I could. But it wasn’t long before I was covering my face with my hands attempting to hide my emotions, and through some sobs, I confessed I no longer had the ability, nor the desire, to continue. Kari, without a doubt the best crew/sherpa ever, would have tried to push me on, but she didn’t try to convince me otherwise. It was pretty clear that I was done and she could tell.

I scanned the faces in the warming tent and I could see some of them were making the same difficult choices. Continue or quit? Some had already quit and were at peace with it, others had that 76-mile stare like I had just before getting back to the tent. Then in walked a guy around my age, who threw down a shiny new belt buckle on the table and declared “I’m done.”

“Did you drop, too?” I asked through some foggy mind haze. “DROP?! NO, I FINISHED!” he declared. I sat there somewhat dumbfounded. Finished? Puzzled, I looked at his belt buckle again, this time a little closer – 100 Mile SUB 20. It became crystal clear and I sank further into my hard metal folding chair. This guy had just gone 100 miles in under twenty hours and looked like it was no big deal. I picked my jaw up off the grassy floor of the tent, offered a small apology for making an erroneous assumption, and advised that I just misunderstood. I told him that I was dropping and was very impressed with his accomplishment. I think at that point he realized that I was not quite all there at the moment. He offered some encouragement, but by now my body was going into recovery mode, and any further energy would be spent keeping myself from uncontrollable shivering and hobbling to the truck for the ride back to the hotel.

Last year I went into the scoring tent to notify them that I was dropping to the 50-mile finish, which resulted in them encouraging me to continue before handing me a 50-mile finisher buckle. But this year the volunteer just asked for my bib number and offered me another 50-mile finisher buckle with some brief well done’s. Kari had pulled the truck close, I stiff-legged to it and got in, and off to the hotel, we went.

Officially I am a Tunnel Hill 50-Mile finisher, with an official time of 11 hours and 50 minutes. But my Garmin watch told the real story – 76.8 miles in 19 hours and 23 minutes. Farthest I have ever run. Last year it didn’t take long to regret dropping at 50 miles. This year there is none of that. I’m damn proud of those 76 miles.

It took me three Ironman races to finally dial in my approach to that race distance, and I’m finding that it’s a learning process with the 100-mile ultras as well. I’m not sure if I’ll make it back to Tunnel Hill for another shot at 100 next year, but I’m not giving up on this quest. Hey – I made it a marathon further than last year!

Orienteering Fun

My coworkers had been talking about this show called “The Worlds Toughest Race” on Amazon Prime Video and asked if I had watched it. I hadn’t, but I asked if they were talking about the Eco Challenge, and sure enough that was it!

I was familiar with the Eco Challenge having watched a series or documentary on it probably ten years ago. Apparently it lives on and somehow escaped my attention. That’s probably because I watch two cable channels and nothing else. But they were adamant that I should watch it and so I checked it out. I probably shouldn’t have because now I have a new hobby.

The Eco Challenge requires a lot of skills to get through it, but as I watched and studied it I realized that orienteering is most likely the greatest of the skills to have. So I looked into orienteering and found that a local forest preserve district had some dedicated orienteering courses to try. All I needed to do was to recruit the wife to join me and try it out.

The course we checked out is in a forest preserve called Waterfall Glen. The f.p. website had a lot of great information on orienteering and maps to their four dedicated courses. If you are local to the Chicago suburbs, you can check out their website and course maps here: Click here and scroll down to Orienteering Course

I did convice Kari to join me without much arm twisting or begging and we talked about preparing ourselves for this mini adventure.

Kari: “Do you think I need to wear pants?” Me: Nah.

Kari: “Should we bring water?” Me: Nah.

Kari: “Do you want any sunscreen or bug spray?” Me: Nah.

Well, we probably should have worn pants and water would have been a really, really good idea. We did end up bringing the sunscreen and bug spray and did apply it, but it probably wasn’t really necessary. It was a really nice day so we got by okay.

I have never been to Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve but as soon as we neared the entrance I realized that it might be the most popular forest preserve in the southwestern suburbs of Chicago. It was packed. People were walking, running, biking, hiking and just generally hanging around on the trails. Fortunately for us we weren’t on the main trail for long as our orienteering took us onto much less traveled paths.

We decided that we would try the long beginner course (Long Beginner Course Map) first instead of the shorter beginner course mainly because we didn’t know how to find the start of the shorter beginner course. That’s pretty funny considering map reading skills are necessary for this little adventure. Fortunately the longer beginner course started right at the exact spot we were at. We settled on nicknames – I would be both Lewis & Clark and Kari would be Sacagawea. I thought that was pretty clever until I realized that Sacagawea was actually the one showing the experienced explorers where to go. As fate would have it, Kari was a perfect Sacagawea.

We easily found the first “control” marker and I patted myself on my back for not getting us lost. The second control marker was located down the path a little bit, but I looked at the map and tried to convice Kari that it would be quicker if we took this side dirt path through the woods. Fortunately she was game and off we went.

UL3sQLfsRUOTSJ9MibFDIQ — Let’s just try that shady path instead of the completely safe path. Okay, sure!

Tr35dyQdRrCysjTk3iDKrg — Found one! Here’s what the markers look like. You were supposed to write down the letters on the map for some reason. I guess its so you can prove that you found it. Photos work too in this day and age.

We made it through alive! And the rest of the control markers were fairly easy to find, with the exception of two of them that had fallen down and were laying on the ground. One of the markers was hidden in the trees somewhat and we had to double back a little bit when we realized we had missed it. But we found them all and it really wasn’t too challenging. It took us about an hour to navigate our way through the map and upon finishing we decided to take a crack at the other beginner course, mainly because we had time and also to the fact that our map reading skills had improved dramatically, thanks to Sacagawea – I mean, Kari.

I foolishly thought the beginner course (Beginner Course Map) would be easier since it wasn’t as long as the other one. Wrong. For a beginner course, this one was much tougher, mainly due to the terrain – lots of indistinct trail with fallen trees and other stuff to confuse the heck out of us, and some open grassy areas which really tore up our bare legs. Should have worn pants.

The first four markers weren’t tough to locate, but the fifth one had us a little worried. The trail wasn’t very clear and we had to double back and take different routes until we were finally able to locate it. For minute there I thought I might have to resort to cannabilism, but fortunately for Kari we found it and continued on.

As we continued on the trail to the next control marker we would occasionally pass some people heading the other way, usually asking if we had found the waterfall. We didn’t find a waterfall, but we did find this hill that would have been a nice waterfall if the area wasn’t experiencing drought conditions.

B5teB9RWSYWZ4z0p+nkaAg

We made it back to the parking lot with our legs a little scratched up from the brush, our lower legs covered in trail dust, and kind of thirsty. But our first shot at orienteering was a success and lots of fun! I can’t wait to go back and try the intermediate and advanced courses. I’m just going to make sure that I wear pants, bring water and maybe add some trail shoes to make it a little more easy to navigate.