Coffin Stakes

Thanksgiving week turned out to be a helter skelter of the following: fitness, emotional, and health. Early in the week I felt like I was having flu like symptoms and just not feeling right. This was highly disappointing (as I was all righteous about getting back to my roots of doing whatever it takes to get after it) and lead to some important days if resting. I still believe that the rest day is the most important day of the week but was hoping to use it for fitness rest and not health rest. 

Added to the flu like symptoms were high levels of anxiousness and the inability to be relaxed in my whole being. This was very uncomfortable to think about as these were the exact tellings to my downfall last year with Lymes. Long story short: I'm back on the sauce (1000mg of Cuss You Lymes antibiotics). Knowing this also means only one option: put that bacteria through hellish pain! And get righteously fit and put my body in the best possible shape to cleanse my system. Cuss yea!

Wednesday - the height of anxious and flu like symptoms needed an old dose of relaxation, so I hustled to Grafton Ponds to hit an easy 3 miles. I HAVE to race on thanksgiving at a local race (Stratton) bc there is some serious smackeroos. 1st is a cuss load, second is half a cuss load (but still a cuss load) and third is still worth it. So today's shake out was mind over matter prep for tomorrow. 

Small town VT with bookuu bucks, cuss yea! There is no on in the area that will be a threat, it's a vacationer that could prose an issue. 

Thursday - I got up early, insanely anxious, and got to Stratton very early. The race starts at 9, but the site said they are not letting in any other runner, spin had to get there to plead my case. I didn't end up having too and registration was easy. 

Sitting in the parking lot became a waiting game and I was sizing everyone up who got out of there cars. If there were VT plates, not worried; out is state plates took a minimal amount of assessment until... I saw the familiar threads of my BAA breathren. Cuss. And he looked a lot like Sam Alexander, and you know why? Because it was Sam Alexander. That rat cuss made my day a lot harder. If he wasn't a brother I'd hate him being here, so I'll just loath instead. Ha. In honest, dude is wicked nice and I was glad to have met him as we already planned out our next run when he's in the area. 

But seriously, what the hell is he doing here? Turns out he has T day in the area every year. Not to sound like a total vagine, I was hoping to cruise and collect then eat like a lard cuss. Looks like a little work was to be had (and who am I kidding, I'm cuss deep every effort and would have run as hard as I could). 

Weather conditions (snow the night before and race day it was cold and windy) made it so the course had to be changed to an out and back from Stratton village to the sun bowl and back. By way if the odometer it read 3.3, and that's not including the village section that needed to be done twice, so easily 3.5+ (maybe even 5miles). Ha. It's rolling down to start then rolling up to finish. 

The race started through the village and after reality set in it was just Sam and I (way out). 

He ran just off my shoulder as I knew my current fitness would make it tough to take him down (based on his killing of races lately), so I needed to run my own style. Just so happens it agreed with him and we rolled out for the first half. I knew I was going to have to grind the whole way back in to be close and that about what happened. He slowly pulled away and got a comfortable (15 secs) lead that wouldn't change on the hills back in. 

He told me after that he didn't want me to be around him on the hills (which is understandable) but these hills were very runnable and were tough bc I never went into my climbing gear, just inclined speed gear. 

Sam won, I was 17-19 secs back and happy with my effort (as my body felt good) and the amount I would be able to make it rain later ($). 

Also turned out to be a great 10 mile day.

Thanksgiving wa awesome. I'm thankful for all the amazing people in my life and the unreal opportunities I've had and the idea of opportunities to come. I'm very fortunate. Here at my parents I'm chillin' with my youngest brother, Ike (he's a basenji from Africa), this pic is for real, that is my face! Need to trim and sharpen up a bit (may be about 10-12 lbs over race weight). 

Friday - woke up feeling fine, can't seem to shake the headache, but body feeling better. The meds at least give me peace of mind, so I medded up and hit the trails for an easy 10 with the girls. Ledge Rd was my poison and it was a great run up and over the hills, through Grafton ponds and back. 

Saturday - the weather was better than the day before so I hit Ledge Rd again but this time the Lost Trail 10 miler. I hit it in reverse and really enjoyed myself. The girls loved it and was a truly awesome run. Trying to relax has been improbable lately so great runs are an awesome step to reaching relaxation. I also have been implementing some mediation focused around "being" and this is helpful. The idea of letting go is very hard for me as I don't want to lose site of my goals and dreams (and killer attitude around netball/physical sharpness), so this is unique and I've been successful in my attempts. 

Sunday - I Voltroned with Greg and George came with as well. We parked at the base of Mt Wantisquest along the CT river and the plan was to venture up and over into Pisgah. Point to point run of 2:18. Greg, Najem and I did this run last summer in the stifling heat and it was tough, while today's weather made it extremely enjoyable. Great run! This exact trail that we were on has now been connected all the way to Monadnock and appears to be in need of an FKT. Possibly next weekend, who knows. But today was an awesome run which I felt very good on the whole time. 

The Roots of Phrenology

Just like the extinct science of phrenology, so to is my current method of training, it's going extinct. I need to get back to the roots of what I do and what I am and need to overcome some obstacles to do that. 

The best way to shake it up is to refocus the goals and do whatever it takes to get there. I'm in a constant "fitness" but want to take a few shots at some bigger ideas and different training methods. The school year has been breaking my cuss and I'm finally settling in a bit but the daylight is long gone. Acclimation is in order. What really needs to happen is get back to my roots of what I do best, deal with discomfort and pain. That's really what it is, dealing with what's uncomfortable and putting yourself into a realm, that someone as fit as you won't, to get the upper hand. 

The last few weeks have been weak to my refocused goal of: whatever it takes, but was a nice spell and put me in a good position to really get after it. And when I go in, I go cuss deep. There have been some great, gnarly, easy and fun runs the last few weeks and the most recent week had a combo of all just said. 

I decided to get wild on some training and kick it old school from college and hit the mantra: whatever it takes, and last week I had a good start up week for this idea. 

Wednesday - hustled the trail behind my house and ran the loop as hard as I could. There were points, as I'm flying through the woods or grinding up the hills, where I found a lot of peace and felt very relaxed. This immediately was molded into telling myself, "don't fall asleep, keep rolling." And was able to punish out one of my fastest (if not the fastest time) for the switchback loop. This was a confidence booster and total gnarly fun run. 

Thursday - I felt fairly good and had fun all day thinking about what I was going to do today. By the time I got home I wanted to get wild again and do something fast. I decided to run 6 in the woods with my girls, then drop them off and roll out on the roads and tempo/run fast on the local towns 5k (which the 2 mile mark is a mile away). So I threw on the flats and headed out in pitch black. I cruised to the 2 mile mark and get after it, I hit the mile split in 5:05 (slightly downhill). This 5k is long and my next .1 took about 80 seconds at the same pace, so when I hit the start of the race I hit the split for the first mile of the course. I was able to cruise relaxed at 5:07, very cool, before hitting the second mile of te course (uphill) and rolled 5:38 up the hill. 

This was a great feeling and I was happy with the effort. 

Friday - just chilled and relaxed on a no times run and ran nice and easy. Felt good too. 

Saturday - Greg and I Voltroned in Putney then drove to the top of Putney mtn for a new run on familiar trails. We connected a bunch if trails we run just from a different direction with a few new trails included. We wanted a longer effort but relaxed. 

With our schedules, seeing my bro's gets tougher with limited daylight, so it was great to sneak a run in this week with hetero-life mates. 

We weaved out way from Putney mtn, towards Brookline/Athens to the Pinnacle and then back the ridge. I felt great te whe run and just as the car came into view did I find that I was hungry, perfect timing. 

Sunday - Boj adventures out to my shed and we hustled the sap lines and switchback. This is a solid 1:30 run and was a great day for it. Boj is in his best shape since I've run with him and it's great to be able to have home roll. 

The true adventure didn't start until dinner where the plan was to hit the Stone Hearth Inn in Chester for some wings. They have a great menu of a variety of wings. Dave Sontag and Fyffeet at my place before the "deliverance-esque" drive to the Inn. The food was great, with great dudes and upon driving home felt something wrong with my tire. Yup, flat tire, I got no spare and for once, I was thankful Greg wasn't there. 

We were in absolutely no where's and it was colder than a witches cussy. Sontag and I ran to wears civilization (after I drove on the tire, destroying it) to call for help. 

We ended up using our handsomely good looks and rapist wits to secure a ride to town where Larry bailed out my bros and I had to wait for AAA, which took forever, but I'm thankful for. 

Thanksgiving will be interesting (for racing), as I'm trying a new race at Stratton. I'm thankful for all I have and the opportunities I find myself into and look forward to some adventures. I just secured a spot with the La Sportiva international team to race in Europe which will be epic! Whatever it takes!!!

Be sure to check out VOMax's blog for my latest celebrity smut peddling as I dust off my super hero outfit and don the Last Hero Only Hope threads! 

Cuss yea!!!

Winter Is Coming

The last two weeks have been great. Last week I had only 67 miles but had a few runs up and over 2+ hours, and took my rest days extremely light. 

Coaching and teaching have been a vice grip on my brass cusses and have made it tough. I'm still out the door, but have found that I have to balance. Like a true GD Jedi, I'm handling it. 

Last week was gnarly bc I had 3 runs over 2 hours on hilly rugged terrain. Sunday was the best, the weather blew, and was a tough day to get out into. It was a cold rain, but I really wanted to have this run under my belt coming into my next few races. The run was the Avalonian Ridge run which is essentially a run from my house to the top of Putney Mtn. The best part was Greg Voltroned with me 90 min in and we ran the last part to where Fyffe met us to give us a ride. Tough run with a lot of climbing but fast runnable climbing. 

That set up a sweet week of running with the culmination of two races this weekend as I get ready to roll out a mtn 23k in the wild lands north. 

The two race weekend was from two weeks ago now but was awesome nonetheless. Saturdays race was a tribute/ memorial 5k to a former high school teammate and good friend who is no longer with us. I haven't even thought about running a 5k but my awesomeness and self confidence was all I needed. 

Before the start of the race I saw a stranger there doing strides and doing them wicked fast. This made me wonder who the cuss he was?! It didn't matter who he was really bc inlet one person was winning this race for Ben and that person was me. I was asked by a lot of former Keene Highers if I was taking it seriously and here was my answer, "cuss yea, coach Goldsmith is here." 

And this is true, I never want to do anything less than my best (anytime) but especially with my high school coach there. He has the nickname Gandalf, and I too, without being a total cuss about it, would have sacrificed myself for the journey to Mordor for the man. He's awesome and a huge part of my success, even to this day. He has given me life long lessons and there was no way on hades fiery hell I wasn't going to win this race in the honor of coach and Ben. 

So... I ran as fast and comfortable as I could and it turns out that that is 5:04 pace for a flat XC course and 15:46 total. The dude was on me for the first mile and then faded, but still ran a good time for someone no one knew and lives in Keene. 

The second race of the weekend was the Stratton Race To The Summit. Essentially a 2+ mile race to the top of Stratton, which starts in the village. I've done this race a bunch now and still hold the course record. He weather was perfect and my family was there to share the day. This race was fun and even with a little tiredness in my legs I was able to climb extremely well. I was hoping to use this weekend as a good workout for the Canadian race I'm signed up for. Stratton was a victory as well as I ran comfortably the whole time. 

Canada: I saw a pic in one of Greg's magazines about a race in Canada called the Xtrail 23k. It had some amazing pics and upon further investigations found that it was directly north of me across the border. I wanted to do the race last year but was sick as cuss, so I made sure I bagged it this year. Najem decided he wanted to practice his French with me and we rolled about Friday afternoon. 

I had no plan other than to destroy, so I had no plan if where to stay, eat or anything else. This meant it was almost perfect situation. 

We got up there and headed right to the mountain to pick up my registration and asks few questions. This was great and it was interesting to find that only 30 miles across the border how little, and I mean little, English was spoke. Very cool. Maybe it's in my ignorant USA blood, but I figured being that close there would have been more American spoken. 

Najem and I found our place, dropped off our cuss and headed to find some grub. We didn't travel far before we stopped for pizza at a little dive. The waitress was sexy and mean as cuss, so, perfect. She didn't speak English, but my godlike prowess overpowered her bitchiness and we got some decent cunuck style pizza (which later have me a stomach ache). 

I also ordered some wings, where they served sour cream instead of blue cheese. Weird. 

A decent nights sleep (to be honest, I didn't sleep at all as I was too excited), and was up early to get my war mind on. 

The course was interesting. 7 miles of rolling XC style trails then a hard cuss mtn race the next 7 miles. Having things in kilometers was way better bc they came faster (that's what she said). 

My assessment of the field told me I was going to 1812 them and felt good about my assessment. Right before the race the two lead in songs were Master of Puppets, followed by Enter Sandman; I was def ready to roll! 

Now, my assessment was based on attire, and there happened to be a dude there that was one the Canadian National Mtn Team and has some decent (found out afterwards) PR's. And this dude raped and ravaged the beginning of the race. He took it out extremely fast. I was ten seconds back at 2k and he kept pressing. We hit 5k under 16 (I agree with Najem, it may have been short), but you're not thinking its short when you're out there. And by 8k I had to give in and back off and was a better part of a minute behind. Cuss!!!

The main climbing really started at 13k, but there was a few rolls around 11k. At 11k I got him in sight. I kept telling myself to be patient and kill the climbs, and was furious at the early pace. At 11k I was a solid minute back, then you enter the single track and begin climbing and by 13k I out a minute on him. He hit the climbs and started walking immediately. 

I had to fake it a bit and surge by him and keep running on a very technical, very steep climb (one I would have power walked on). I wanted to break his spirit and get out of sight so he couldn't catch me or see me. The first climb was incredibly tough, and was about 3k of very technical, very steep moist rocks. It just weaved it's way up the side of the mountain. Then there was a a break and the next 4k was up and down and very similar to Northfield Mtn Races single track. Runnable but tough. This is whee I punished him, the trail and myself and felt very good, and also felt very good about how I was racing. This took you up over an amazing section with unreal views. This section spits you out on the backside of Mont Orford and I hit a section that was exactly like the Upper Walking Boss of Loon except without the switchbacks, it was straight up!

At half way up I could here some spectators below rattling the cowbells and saw second (same dude who led). He looked like he was right behind me and this fired me up again. I had to post walk most if it, then I saw him looking at me and deliberately started to run, hoping to break his spirits again. Once at the top I screamed down a very steep section of dirt road with loose gravel rocks before one more small climb before the last 1k finish. 

Once I got to the very top of the mountain I was confidant that it was in the bag and just ran smart to avaiod any twists of falls. 

This is def one of my favorite races now and highly suggest it to anyone with harder than usual genitals. 

I wore my La Sportiva with the Helios during the race and then rocked my brand of VOMax afterwards in my custom gear! 

The race advertised $3,000 cash prizes which in Canada means an asics backpack, but a nice one. Hahaha. 

Gearing up for a 50k now out west and ready for any and all takers on some runs. 

Wild Neoteny!!! 

Under Skies

The past month has been a whirlwind of adjustments. School started so trying to find the balance after an epic summer of highlights is tough to adjust too. 

I've had some awesome runs and the fire is still hot, although I've been reforging my mental and physical sword. I'm not at the point where I'm resharpening as much as total new blade making. 

My fitness is still very high but I haven't been able to lock down any rhythm to my usual madness. Since returning from Poland I've had alternating weeks of high miles and low miles with races at the end of each low mile week. There is a common theme to the three races... 

KSC Alumni Race: it's always a day I get excited for. There is a lot of pride on the line and performing and running well in front of the best coach in the country is a must. So, the Alumni race at Keene State College means a ton to me. I never want to let me coach down, (after all he's done, developing me into the runner I am today) and always enjoy mixing it up. I figured I'd be about 10 seconds (+/-) of where I always am, so for the 5k I would be looking at 15:50-16:00.

I had a decent day, 16:04, but was disappointed when I went to change gears, I didn't go anywhere. Ha. Eric MacKnight ran a great race to win, and bc I'm me, and awesome, I coasted in for second. Common theme, disappointed I had no gear change. 

Next up was the Race to the Top of VT, in Stowe VT. Being a race in VT, I wanted to roll. Eric Blake was also in attendance, which meant no easy task. I still believed I had a decent shot to not only win, but set a course record. A Freeman was there as well, along with a Canuck ( the one that crushed my taint in the snowshoe race this winter), so the competition up front was there. 

It's only a 4.3 miler but def tough. After the mile I struggled to feel anything close to good, and didn't have the sharp edge unusually do. I was able to pay back the Canadian and beat him, but missed second the Freeman by mere seconds, while never being in the race with Blake... Disappointing. Cuss me. 

Lastly, and most disappointing, was today at the Pisgah Trail 50k. I'm so cussing  annoyed with myself that I can't stand it. 

Long mother cussing story short, I led for 30.5 miles, was well under course record pace until 1.5 miles to go and had to walk/trot the last 800m and pretend I was ok with it. If I sound like a sore loser, it is bc I am, I lost that race. I won't take anything away from other people's training, but seriously? 

I'm bitter and annoyed (with myself). I bonked with 1 mile to go (with 4 gels in my pocket) and had to accept my stupidity as my penitence for second (as I was passed with less than 3min to go). What a cluster cuss of disappointment. Drexler-esque. 

But... Afterwards we went to Greg's house and had amazing chili and hung out with amazing loved ones and it was great to be around all the positivity. My friends are cussing priceless. 

Drexler

This was an epic week for running, not just with events all over the world, but more importantly: my training. I got swelled this week in my training and it was awesome. 

I've also have come to the conclusion (unfortunate?) that I'm a lot like Clyde Drexler (hang with me). I want to be epic and roll on anyone, anywhere and anytime, but I'm not Michael Jordan. Don't get me wrong, I've got more confidence than a crocodile has orneriness due to all then teeth and no tooth brush, but still not Jordan in some of my adventures. But I think I should be! That's how I'm like Hall of Famer Drexler. Drexler has a great quote: "what can MJ do that I can't do?", I feel the same way... What can someone do that I can't do: nothin'! 

But results wise, I'm more Drexler than Jordan, still cussing epic and a fan favorite, but I'm missing something. An to be cussing honest, not sure what it is yet, but know its something. 

True story: I'm a better  shooter than either of those dudes! 

Monday - Greg and I Voltroned and hustled to the White Mtns to trek a bit above tree line. We opted to roll on the Franconia  Ridge via the Flume Trail (which was a cuss load of climbing) to Mt Flume, then to Mt Liberty to Little Haystack to Mt Lincoln to Mt Lafayette (what the cuss did Lafayette do as a presi to get an epic Mt monument? Cuss, Lincoln killed mother cussing bloodsuckers, Lafayette must have been a huge pig pimp!). 

The run was awesome. We really didn't have a plan but I texted Kevin Tilton and he had some very valuable info on where to go. Direct quote, "do not go down Flume trail!" Thank god I believed him, it was like Huntington Ravine (remember how that worked out, cuss I do!). The upper part of the Flume trail was gnarly and wicked slippery. At one point, as Greg and I 5.13 rock climbing, Greg shakes his head and says, "we should really be running this..." Hahaha!!!

Once we got to the fabled Franconia Ridge it was awesome. We took our time and stopped to check out sites but still got work done. Total miles on the GPS was 16.2, and running time was 3:56, great day. 

Yup!

Tuesday - I work up feeling good, a little tired, but good enough to roll out 10 miles on the power lines (very hilly). 

Had Rob/White Zombie's, More Human Than Human, stick in my head and that was accurate. I felt more human than invincible, but that wore off fast and I was back to my normal self. 

Wednesday - in the morning I ventured to GP to roll a lazy 6 miles with the girls. Felt good to shake it out and run slow. 

In the afternoon I hustled to Keene to bandit outlaw a Wednesday workout. Teamed up with Greg, Najem and Andy McCarron (great to see he's back), to run 5 x 1000m with 200m rest. They did 6, as I was thinking about racing and pillaging the rest of the week. 

We ran at 5:20 pace for the 1000's and I felt great for each one. It was fun to run with the guys, but def do not like track work, and just don't like being on the track. I know it's important in my global domination scheme so I'll persevere. 

Thursday - Banged out an easy 9 miles in the morning on the GP trails with the girls. The trails are great bc they are not that hilly and it's great to chase a few way miles. 

In the afternoon I met up with one of the Moore boys for a run up Hartley Hill. This was a run to the top for him in his prep for XC season. He'll be tough this year along with his bro and will be a ton of fun to watch and root for! 

This run tagged me for 9 so an 18 mile day was perfect. 

Saturday - Voltroned with Greg in Pisgah to check out the 50k trail race course. I'm leaning towards this race and wanted to see what the course looked like early in the race (I know how the last 10 miles are). Could be a cool race to do, just want to make sure the temple is ready to roll by then. 

We ran the first 21 miles of the course and it was great. I ran with my Ultimate Direction "Hipster" hydration vest (which is really awesome). We seemed to have taken our time and ran honest when the terrain allowed. Great run and felt awesome during it.

Having seen the first part of the course makes me want to do the race. We will see what shape I carve myself into the next few weeks. 

Sunday - I chatted with Heidi Westerling/Over about a 24 mile road run. This sounded fine to me as she just wanted the miles and didn't care about pace, so I was in. We tackled the Marathon Road, but in the town of Grafton we hit a side loop to add on the 4.5 missing miles. This loop brings you right back onto the Marathon Road, and the run was awesome. 

I got a chance to hear a out her recent few races, one being in Costa Rica, and it was fun to run that distance with someone. 

This was an awesome week! 114 miles... I'm recovered and ready to melt faces and devour souls. Cuss yea!!!

VII

This was a week of transitions, from Europe to the States and recovering the body. The main recovery was acclimating back to the time difference. That was the toughest part, I was physically fine but very sleepy at weird points in the day. 

So, when I was tired, I rested and when I was restless, I was moving. 

The week started in Czech Rep. and ended in Saxtons River VT. 

Monday - I fell in love with Praha and wanted to Ron Jeremy this opportunity (deeply balls deep) and take advantage of my surroundings. 

I woke up early Monday and fitted my Ultimate Direction pack with some light scratch ($), a drink and my iPhone to clip some pics of this awesome medieval city. The previous day was a travel day with the the team from Wales which followed a mountain marathon. So... I hustled around Praha for a legit 10 miles. I hit up every section of the old city and nabbed the highest point also. 

The legs responded nicely but were fatigued, but like the wildness that I am, I was fine to hustle around the city. 

Tuesday - after a very long day of traveling I ventured to Keene to be a guest speaker at a XC camp and run a few with the campers. 

It was a perfect recovery day and ran 4 miles at a great recovery pace. Had a slight pinch in my knee but was convinced it was from the way I was sitting on the plane. 

It's around this time that reality starts to set back in and I find myself missing the high I was flying on. Coming down off of a high that high is tough but I had my mind set at getting wildly vicious with the training and get back after it fiercer than ever. Fires hot, lets feed it. 

Wednesday - this week was a transition back to high miles with speed and strength infused into a Ferenc cuss fest of awesome. 

Recovery is important, so Fyffe and I only bagged 5 in Putney. This week really feels like I'm just revving the engine. 

Thursday - ventured to Grafton Ponds for a great 10 miles on the GP trails and then linked up to the Lost Trail. 

Later in the day I brought the girls to Vermont Academy to roll some 200's (8) on the cinder track. The goal was to stride out and run 37-39 secs for each 200. Felt very good on the strides, cuss yea! 

Friday - Voltroned with Greg at the covert culvert in Putney for an hour. This loop is rolling with great stretches to roll. It seems every time Greg and I run here it is raining, which today was. Felt good to roll and run road pace, stride felt good and my mind is hungry. 

Saturday - had a VT getaway weekend planned, so I hustled to Ledge Rd for the Lost Trail 10 miler. Legs are bouncing back and I'm loving the idea of longer racing/races. But, there are some shorter races in the horizon along with the longer distances. 

Total miles for the week: 60 miles, after the week of my goal race and my whole being/body of the summer! Time to get WILD!!!

Dobré

This last adventure was just that: an adventure. There were a lot of unknowns going into this years World Mountain Marathon Championships in Szklarska Poręba, Poland and I was excited for any and all challenges. 

My "Ferenc" family heritage comes from this region of the world, more specifically Slovakia in the Tatras Mountains but very close nonetheless. So this trip had a very special aspect, essentially I was going to the land of my grandfather and it held special meaning. 

The whole trip was navigated through Prague (Praha), Czech Rep. This beautiful city is only 90 miles away from the race site in Poland, which looked like a no brainer to hit up the area of my heritage. Little did I know, traveling the 90 miles to Poland would be a cussing cluster cuss. Communication was insanely difficult (zero to infinitesimal amounts of American) once I left Praha city and the true adventure started. 

I hit up the train station and tough laborious communication finalized my ticket to Poland. It was to be a 4 hour, many train trip and I thought, cuss yea, adventure time. 

Wednesday: The first train out of Praha was 15 cars long. By half way, Tunvald CZ, I had to change trains and the train was down to 8 cars. Every stop after that the train got smaller and smaller and by my last stop into Harrochov CZ, my train was a single car with me being the only passenger. 

Northern Czech still seemed not too far removed from WWII, everything was overgrown and the buildings were very old looking, it was cussing awesome!

I found a map (after unsuccessfully trying to communicate) and found my destination. I man tried to draw a map on his hand, which was a cuss show, but he did have the great info of the direction I needed to hoof it to Poland (as the last train to Poland wouldn't be coming for almost 3 hours). The map seemed to show that I was 8k away, I said cuss it, and started walking. 

Figured there would be a border crossing to check into Poland, but I was on a trail in the woods, therefore, no such thing: I walked into Poland, cuss yea!!!

The race site village was a very small and very cool little place carved into the mountains that split Poland and Czech Rep. I found my hotel (I had been up for 26 straight hours at this point) settled in, then headed back to look around before bed. The next day all my American teammates will be arriving (same with other countries) and hanging out will commence. We planned a TeamUSA course preview the next day and I was excited to meet my fellow teammates that we would be racing for come Saturday. 

Thursday: On Thursday, the other counties started to arrive and first was Wales. I befriended these guys the year before and these dudes are righteous and a ton of fun. We caught up and shot the cuss and it was great to see these guys. Following Wales many more teams started rolling and and then the Americans. Dave James was the first one I met (later to be called the Big System, and a hetero-life mate). Dave and I are very similar, especially in the way we both say and do things you wish you could: we are the dudes that say the things you're thinking and worry about the content and do the things you wish you could do but also worry about the content. 

I ran 45 minutes in the morning just to get up on the mtn (I was anxious as cuss) and was excited to run with my teammates later too. After a quick bite, The Big System, Zac Freudenburg and myself hit the mtn. Earlier in the morning I took the chairlift to the top and buzzed around the course, we elected to run the first climb (5-8k) then take the chairlift down. We did half this, but by the time we got to the lift it had stopped running, cuss my ozone, we have to run down! I ended the day with just over 3 hours of running with only 1 (one mother cussing) recovery day before the race: awesome. 

This worried me a little, then I remembered: I'm the Last Hero an Only Hope SO I was fine. 

Friday: on Friday we all met for a nice USA breakfast and plan for a small run. I didn't want to run anything further than 5 miles and def wanted to soak in the cold cuss river flowing through town. Both were accomplished! Cuss yea!!! The river saved my legs and mind and I was ready to devour the souls of the spirits flowing through the course. 

This area has a rich tradition and spiritual belief in a spirit of the woods, cussing gnarly. There are two, one being a gnarly blend of animals (which is the symbol of the town and has antlers of a deer, the head of an eagle, the body of a deer an the legs of a goat: super cussing awesome) and the other is an old man of the woods/mountains and his wife. The old man kind and forgiving while his wife has horns, a devils tale and a pitchfork, the old man will guide you and his wife is vengeful and mean (any truths?) haha. 

The spirits of the universe are kind to me in the woods so I was fueled with awesome energy. 

Friday was chill, the opening ceremonies was awesome and TeamUSA was ready to rock. At the ceremony I hung out with Gabe Rodriguez and it was awesome to chat and relax. Gabe is a super awesome dude and I was very excited to be on a USA team with him. When hanging with him it felt like I was chilling with a relative I haven't seen in a while but you pick up where you left off. 

We had a TeamUSA meeting the night before I go over some logistics and race plan ideas and then call it a night. I was feeling super exited and anxious and not at all worried, which was great feedback that I would be having a great day. 

The course was tough, but made even tougher by the footing. A lot of very large cobblestones (2ft x 3ft) with gaps that would break your ankle in between each. Then on the single track, it was littered with sharp protruding rocks, so paying attention the whole race was a must. There were some sections on a cinder-type gravel which meant "open it up and relax," and was a course very much suited for me and all the work I put in. 

Saturday: the weather was set to be hot, 85-90 degrees. This was a bit daunting but it was to be hot for everyone, so attrition would be important. 

Race Plan: I told myself to go for a run with Greg and Fyffe and just run casual bc eventually, "casual" will become an effort. If there is anything left, cash in and bury the needle. I want to finish running well. 

I had 4 GU's pinned to my shorts and I was set to roll. 

The first climb is up a gradual ski slope then we turn off to an access road, then to a technical trail to the top of the ridge where the first water stop was. The course is an out and back, with three water stops where you hit the first two on the way back. 

At the first water stop I had slowly made my way into the top 20. On the climb I was in a large pack of about 40. I power walked when necessary out of choice (not bc I was forced to, but to conserve energy) and made it to the top feeling great. This next section rolled and by 10k I was comfortable with my effort and feeling good.

The next 10k was very difficult as far as footing but I was still in the mix of the pack I had started with. My buddy from Wales (who would go on to finish 2nd!) was being extra conservative. Here we are at about 12k (you have to squint):

At the turn around I was feeling great, Zac was in third and I was moving towards top 20! This was very exciting but also tough to control as I wanted to get after it. My "casual" pace was now a focused race pace and I was thankful for running smart early. It was now super hot and the water stops were very far apart as I needed more the way back in. Jason Bryant got super amped when he saw me and yelled for me to get tough and get after it. This was inspiring and Jason def had a face of passion I didn't want to disappoint. This was extra fuel to continue racing smart: the finish is a long ways away and a lot can happen. 

The third 10k was very tough. The footing, the mountain climbs and the heat were taking a toll. 

Any water on the side of the trail I was in. I was becoming desperate, and each ice cold spring or trickle was a savior. Just before 30k (and a very long, paved, steep climb (15-20min climb)) there was a pipe with ice cold water pumping out. I stopped for a few extra seconds to soak my head. My feeling was: better take a few extra seconds here then let it cost you multiple minutes later. This third 10k was the most difficult and challenging but I was super positive and focused on the last 10k, which had some long stretches to really run. 

The last 10k was what I had been training for, leaving everything I had out there and killing myself to grind it in. There is the last real tough climb from 8k to 5.5k before it turns to open trail with very runnable terrain. I had moved into about 18th place here and had the energy to look ahead and know I was going to finish and finish running well. 

With 4k to go is the last water stop. I could see two dudes struggling and took a little extra time to douse my head with water and completely try to cool down my head before ramping up for my final assault. Just after 4k is a 2k stretch of downhill, before a flat 1k and then 1k rolling back up to a Mt Wahington-esque finish. 

I was all in on the down hill and flew by two, and kept rolling. I was going my move would break there will to try anything an it did. The flat kilometer brought the same fate to another victim of cramping and I tried to fake that I was relaxed as I pushed by. The last kilometer was tough but my heart knew it did all o could today (almost) and I was excited to be able you've this opportunity. I'm very fortunate, and understand a lot of work went into this and I didn't want to leave anything out there. 

With about 500m to go the hill turns more mtn and the grinding started, the race was essentially done, the three I past were not coming back and all I had to do was finish.

The final push was awesome as all the people were cheering and going crazy and was a great feeling to finish. I was greeted at the finish line by a familiar smile, Gabe's wife Perla: 3:34:35 for 15th place! 

One big deep breath of thankfulness and the. I turned to watch my teammates finish. 

TeamUSA finished 4th, which we were a little bummed about, but knowing everyone did all they could was satisfaction and that our best was out there on the very tough course.

Post race keilbasa's with Zac and The Big System (Dave James). 

Total adventure and very fun. 

Sunday- after a long and awesome night hanging out with the other teams I had to try and figure out a way back to Prague. I made a sweet trade with a South African for his swearshirt, and was invited to ride to Prague with them. Very cool! My flight was on Monday and there would be no way I would be able to get there from Poland on Monday and make my flight. The night before brought a fun evening hangin with Wales and I ended up hitching a ride with them. How cussing awesome!?! 

Now, these dudes are super intelligent and knew more about American politics than I could have cussing cared about. They had a great time telling me how Americans are really viewed and asking questions, laughing hysterically and shooting the breeze about anything and everything. It was a great time. 

We hung out in the airport in Prague for a bit, they loved that I didn't have a plan and was going into Prague for the night, we said our farewells (I've been invited over for a few races) and I hit the road into the Old City of Prague.  

That's a whole 'nother disease free story, for another day... 

Next focus: KSC Alumni race... Since I'm going to win, who's your bet for coming in second? (I heard of a little pow wow where guesses were given of our top five, remember friends: what you THINK and what I KNOW, are vastly different). 

Smiley face, wink wink. 

Last Hero and Only Hope!