Remembering Mick

Remembering Mick, a friend and great supporter of mine!

 

One week remains until the Las Vegas Marathon that I will be running "for Mick." Over the past few months, I have tried to prepare myself as I would for any other race, but to race the marathon is truly a new experience for me.  I have coached several athletes to great success in this 26.2 mile event, but never myself.  What I have learned from my athletes is that the marathon is as much "mental" as it is physical. It is a very long race if one does not have one's head on straight.

Most do not know the obstacles that I have been dealing with while trying to prepare myself for this race.  My last true test in a race was the Boulder Half Ironman which ended in the Boulder Community Hospital.  Training for this race, doing 99% of my runs by myself, has also made it difficult to feel confident, especially since I have been battling a cold for the past 3 weeks that has trashed any kind of consistency in my training.  Emotionally, I have been "off keel" as my grandmother is in her final round in her fight against cancer.  The cancer has spread, and she is on the downhill slope.  With all of this going on, I have been lacking the confidence needed to attack such a race as the one that lies ahead of me. 

Then, earlier tonight, I was informed that Mick “TreeKiller” Rule passed away.  At the age of 54 he was an older friend, but one of my longest and greatest supporters.  I can look at my history on Facebook or old messages and find countless instances of him wishing me the best or congratulating me on a race.  Mick and I first met when I was asked to join a bunch of kids from Kiowa, CO, to race a 200 mile relay across Colorado.  After great success, we then raced in the Green Mountain Relay where we won the 200 mile race by many hours.  Mick was a driver, a runner, a coach, but most of all he was the ENERGY.  Over twice our age and he was rolling, couldn’t wait to get out of the van and race and didn’t sleep if someone was running, because he wanted to support them.  Mick is a husband and a father who will be missed by his family, but most importantly to me is the fact that he has been one of the greatest influences I have ever had.  

All that has happened and is happening this fall is a reminder that God is in control.  All the preparation and planning mean nothing without taking into account God's will.  I may not understand what happens or like it, but I trust that Mick is in a better place, and that God is working in the lives of his family and in my life as well.  Mick has touched many lives, and this coming weekend I make no promises about my projected time or place in the marathon, only that I will be racing for Mick!  I know he would have wished me luck and congratulated me regardless of my finish.  Mick, you will be missed.

 

Mick Rule: May 29, 1958 – November 25, 2012. 

 

Isaiah 40:28-31

 

 

Fall Update

The past few months with cross country season in full swing, I have not had a chance to post on this site. I have been neck deep with writing workouts for my athletes, planning race strategies, and, of course, recruiting like crazy. In addition to my duties as a coach, I also have kept busy selling shoes at Salina Running Company and have been doing my best to train as hard as I can. There have been no race reports because I have only raced in one local 5K since my DNF in Boulder. The local 5K was an easy win, at least.

My next race will be the Brooks Las Vegas Rock N' Roll Marathon on December 2nd. My progression of long runs to prepare for it have been getting longer, as well as faster. In addition to my long runs, I have been getting in some solid intervals. Today on the new trail in Salina, I ran 4x2mile. (11:21, 10:51, 10:52, 10:42)

Training for a marathon is very different from the triathlon training my body had become accustomed to. It is by far a lot easier to just go plug miles, but spending the amount of time in one session to do these longer runs is stressful. I definitely prefer the more intense workouts and the diversity of triathlon training compared with the long boring runs, especially those over 15 miles.

On the brighter side of things, this past weekend I was able to travel to Colorado to attend the State XC meet and to see friends and family. The drive can be boring, but luckily with my friend Monica and two athletes who I dropped off to visit family, the time passed rather quickly. While in Colorado, I was not able to fit in great long runs, but instead ran several trails with Monica and had a blast just enjoying running without worrying about time or distance.

This Saturday is the KCAC XC Championship meet. Going into this big race, I have been pushing my athletes to trust me, trust in their training, and trust in the Lord. I have also been pushing them to give me "heart,"  to race with all they have and to give me HEART. While thinking about this, Proverbs 3:5-7 came to mind. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. I wish the best of luck to everyone racing either at their conference meets or at their regional meets!

Kansas Wesleyan University XC Camp

This past week I drove to Simla, CO, with my men's and women's cross country team for our XC camp. Running at elevation for four days isn’t going to make anyone into an aerobic machine, and that was not my goal. My goal was to take my runners to Colorado and let them know they are family. I would not bring someone I didn’t care about into my home, and I hope they can see that I trust them. With this awareness of my trust in them, I know my runners will be more likely to trust and believe in me which will make it easier to push them and help them reach their limits.

On day one, we drove from Salina to Simla stopping in Limon to check out the Bailey Track. That evening my family grilled a great dinner for the team, and we were early to bed. The following day we left "dark" and early to drive to the base of Pikes Peak. The hike up the mountain was very successful. We stopped many times as we hiked to play games and work on building team chemistry. This journey up the mountain showed each one of my runners just how strong they were physically, but more importantly emotionally. There will be many challenges they face this fall, but after a day climbing the mountain, they know they can overcome the challenges. After we made it back down the mountain, we drove through Garden of the Gods and enjoyed some beautiful views. We capped off the day with some delicious Cold Stone ice cream. On the third day, besides fitting in a few runs, I also allowed them to ride horses and had a great evening of team building and a talent show.
Looking back, it was a bit stressful for me as a coach to put on such a camp, but it was totally worth it, and I hope to make it happen again next year. My team is not just a bunch of runners, but as you can see the engraving on the rock in many pictures, we are a family. If someone wants to go to a bigger school and just be a number, I wish them the best, but for those who are looking for a family to grow in and reach their running, academic, and spiritual goals, I would encourage those runners to consider Kansas Wesleyan University.

Boulder Half Ironman DNF

Today is a day I will never forget. This day marked my first race in all my running career which I did not finish. This may seem very uncharacteristic of me, but in my defense I did survive over 30 miles of riding my bike with a dislocated shoulder and ran 8.5 miles on a 13.1 mile course before throwing in the towel and passing out from a heat stroke.
Rewind to the beginning. The Boulder Half Ironman began with high hopes and marked my last triathlon of the 2012 season. After spending the summer training at altitude, putting in many races, and even getting a new bike this year along with going to Swim Labs in Denver to break down my swim stroke, everything appeared to be in line for a low 4:20's race.

By random selection, my age group swim wave went off 1 entire hour after the first wave which made it certain that I would be competing in the 100+ degree weather. In spite of swimming over the top of hundreds of people, I managed a new 1.2 mile swim PR of 34:40.
Out of the water and onto the bike- I was flying. Everything was going great, my nutrition plan was right on schedule between the water, energy drinks, and energy gels; the day was setting up perfect. Just before mile 25 on the bike as I passed an aid station, I pulled wide left to avoid the chaos. Unfortunately a woman who I believe had come to a stop to get a water bottle took off on her bike, and while fiddling with her water bottle, her front tire "T-Boned" my front wheel just behind the front fork. At her speed, she did not go down; however, I went flying over the handle bars. My shoulder, neck, and head broke my fall, and there was only minor damage to the bike. I quickly got up and in spite of my anger, I grabbed my bike and stood it up. A volunteer ran over to check on me and held up my bike while I put the chain back on. After the chain was on, she asked if she could help. I said, "Yes, take that water bottle and spray the dirt and blood off my shoulder." After that I was back on my way to finish the bike with my right arm losing feeling and having numbness, but I believed I had just severely bruised it.  I finished the 56 miles in 2:29.19, a new PR even with the stoppage for the wreck.

To the run! Knowing I was in pain and that I had spent a lot more energy than planned to finish the bike which put me in nutrition and hydration debt, I took water at every aid station until mile 6. At that point, I became very dizzy and stopped to walk for 100m while trying the triathlon cure of Coke, Gatorade, and water. As I continued, I became more and more dizzy as I dropped to nearly a 7 min mile pace as I threw up multiple times. At the top of the hill past mile 8, I swerved, and it was clear I was about to pass out. I sat down, and luckily a runner ran ahead and sent back an EMT on a Gator. He brought water and fought with me for a few minutes as I wanted to continue the race. He made me realize I was about to pass out and got me into his cart. After a few minutes of driving, I passed out in his cart and was awakened by people carrying me into the medical tent.

In the tent they managed to figure out that my shoulder was out of the socket, so put it back in place. Unfortunately, I was not passed out at the time they put it into place. I was so dehydrated that it took several attempts to get an IV in. Before my afternoon was over, I had received 3000 ml of fluids. After fighting to keep me conscious, the workers in the aid tent made the decision to load me into the ambulance and haul me to Boulder Community Hospital. There, they continued with fluids, ran x-rays, and even did an EKG on my heart. It took my mom and brother a long time to arrive at the hospital because they didn't know where I was or what had happened until I had made it to the hospital. Finally, I was released and am doing very well recovering here at the Bailey Ranch.

I am bothered by the fact that I did not finish the race, but I don't know many people who can stand enough pain to ride 30+ miles and run over 8 miles with a dislocated shoulder. Also, the fact that I ended up passing out shows I pushed myself literally to the limits and still managed 2 personal bests. I really appreciate the texts, calls, emails, comments, and most of all the prayers. I literally said over 200 prayers and was reciting Bible verses from the wreck till I was released from the hospital. The Lord is my strength, and although my finish may not have been as glorifying as I had imagined, I spent some quality time with Him and am blessed to have Him looking out for me.

Boulder 5i50 2012

The Boulder 5i50 is the second race in the series in Boulder and also the second race that I have competed in this summer in the 5i50 series. As always I traveled up the night before to check in and spend the night at my coach's house. After arriving, it began pouring rain and continued most of the night and morning. Being in the Elite wave that starts first, I knew the bike course would be very slick on the mountain turns. As I put on my wet suit, Dave Scott (6 time Ironman World Champion) sat down beside me, and we had a great conversation as he was there to watch his son race. After the talk, I was excited and ready to start the race.

The elite wave in the swim started fast as I expected it would, leaving me in the back as I am not known as a swimmer. Although I found my way to the back of the pack of swimmers, I still managed a personal best time for 1500m in the swim. Coming out of the water I was excited to see my split despite being behind the top athletes. Onto the bike where the course had plenty of puddles and slick spots as well as parts in the mountains where dirt had washed across the road. With these conditions I understood my time might not be as fast as I would like, but I would push all the same. Luckily for me the toughest hill ever put in a triathlon is on Old Stage Road; this is right where my coach Jim Hallberg had positioned himself to encourage me and tell me to get after it. I couldn't help but smile seeing him there because as a coach it is exactly where I would have been for my athletes. Coming to the end of the bike I was under pace for a new best time on the course when I heard that sound of rim on pavement. A FLAT TIRE with 2 miles to go! The decision had to be made quickly, and I decided to ride the rim for the rest rather than blowing the time to fix it. This would prove costly. I made the first turn with no problem right at 20mph as I had slowed since I was riding on the rim. With 200m to go and the last turn right in front of several hundred people, I made the turn too fast, and the bike went out from underneath me. I felt my body slide and my shoulder, hip, and knee did a great job of taking the brunt of the force. My skin also did its job in slowing the slide by applying itself to the highway. I could hear the yells and gasps as I fell and got up. I quickly grabbed my bike and took off running the remaining 200m. I could hear the loud cheers of support as the spectators could see the blood running off of my shoulder and other places. I once again had a quick decision to make and decided to give it hell on the run as I had good adrenaline. The adrenaline lasted about 1.5 miles, and the following 4.5 miles were excruciating. My left hip and knee could only land, and the majority of the push off had to come from the right side of my body. As I ran, I knew I wanted to finish because I have wrecked before and finished an Ironman bleeding; this should be no problem. However, at the finish line my body was aching. I was then helped to the med tent where they cleaned the rocks and dirt out of my cuts. The medics did a great job of bandaging me up and encouraged me to get x-rays to check out my hip and shoulder.

I am very pleased to have a new PR in the swim, to have been able to nearly match my time on the bike despite the terrible luck, and very happy that pain could not stop me from finishing. I may have said the verse Isaiah 40: 28-31 about 25 times on the run to tell myself I would be okay. I really appreciate my parents being there, even though I nearly caused a heart attack for my mom as she was right there to watch me crash. I also want to thank Beth and Carson, two friends who both gave me high fives on the run that helped me push through the pain. Without the support of family, friends, and my Savior, I would have stayed on the road and waited for the paramedics to pick me up. God Bless

2:20.46 Missed my course record by only 22 seconds.
Swim 27:27, T 2:03, Bike 1:12.09, T:57, Run 38:10

Out of the water with a new PR.

The pain is in my face with every step.

The medics cleaning me up.

Never look at an injury till the race is over.

Post race chat with Ironman GREAT Julie Dibens.

Colorado Springs Will Rebuild

Today I took off on my favorite bike route on Flying W Ranch Rd. and Garden of the Gods. It has been over a week since most of you heard about the blaze that destroyed over 346 homes and took the life of two residents in that part of Colorado Springs. Even though fires are commonplace in Colorado, never has one blown into a city like the Waldo Canyon Fire did last Tuesday. I think back to that evening, sitting up by Pulpit Rock with two close friends, watching it jump from house to house. As we sat there, we prayed together that no one would be injured and that the firefighters would be able to stop it. Not since the 1990 Limon, CO tornado have I had such a front seat to watch such devastating destruction.

My ride was supposed to be an easy 25 mile shake out after a 6 mile run, but it quickly changed as I rode by house after house that had been burned and destroyed. What I couldn't get over that fateful night nor today is the true power that only God possesses. Even with hundreds of firefighters and fire hydrants, they still were at the mercy of the fire. Only God can truly stop such a fire. My bike ride was a reminder of His awesome power; I was overcome with different emotions as I cycled through the area. The majority of the damaged homes will be rebuilt. As sad as it was to see families digging through the rubble, I was excited to see people alive and well. This city is truly a great home and I am proud to be from here as it has reached out and taken in those lost. What truly took me back today was a person whose home was half destroyed by fire but still standing. They were painting on a piece of their fence a thank you note to the firefighters. Firefighters ripped down fences and pulled down wood decks to try to save houses and to stop the spread of fire. I am proud of this city for its support of the firefighters and the trust in God to rebuild and keep the people safe. Thank you to all the firefighters, national guard, and police who did such an amazing job in protecting this city and keeping the people safe.

I race Sunday morning at the Boulder 5i50 Triathlon.

Loveland L2L

The 2012 Loveland L2L triathlon did not go according to plan, to say the least. Due to the High Park Fire, the bike course had to be shortened to 24 miles. The run course also was changed from a 10K into a 5.1 mile run. Since those two events have been my biggest strengths, I was a little concerned about how my times would be affected.

On a clear and sunny morning at 6:30 a.m., the gun went off, and the race was on. There was a 1500 m swim; and I completed it. That is all I have to say about that. On to the bike! I began hammering it, knowing that the swim was nothing to brag about. Despite a strong smoke aroma and a new course, I had one of the best time trial bike rides of my life. Coming off the bike portion of the race, I had made up a lot of time and passed tons of people. Coming into transition 2, I stumbled on a wet suit and nearly fell down, cutting open my shin a bit on my pedal. In spite of this, I still managed a :28 second transition. The run was on, and it was very important to push from the get go as it was getting hot and I had 1.1 miles less to make up time. I ended up running a 5:49 average which was not what I had planned but good enough under the race conditions. This Loveland L2L was my first and will always be my favorite triathlon! Peggy puts on a 1st class event, and I would recommend it to anyone. 

When all was said and done, I finished the race as the 4th professional triathlete which was good enough for $100. I will take this as a good start to my birthday weekend and a step closer to what I hope is a great Boulder Peak Triathlon in a few weeks. I want to thank my parents for coming to this race for 5!!! straight years! I am truly blessed to have such great parents. As always, I pray this race, my efforts in preparing, and my racing are ones which God finds pleasing, as all I do, I do to glorify Him. 1Corinthians 10:31

Swim(1500m) 29:11, T 1:06, Bike(24miles) 58:21, T :28 Run(5.1miles) 29:44 = 1:58.50