Pacing at the Javalina Jundred 100 Miler

The Javelina Jundred 100 mile race is staged out of the Pemberton Trailhead at McDowell Mountain Regional Park north of Fountain Hills, Arizona. The 100 Mile distance is comprised of six full loops on the popular Pemberton Trail with an additional half-a-loop on the Pemberton and Tonto Tank Trails. Runners reverse directions each lap of the race and are supported by four on course aid stations per loop (Javelina Jeadquarters, Coyote Camp, Jackass Junction & Rattlesnake Ranch). 

- From the Javelina Jundred Race Info Page

I recently had the opportunity to pace my friend at the Javalina Jundred 100 miler at the beginning of November. I have always had a fascination with this race, but the distance has always scared me away. Thankfully, my friend Kathryn decided she wanted to give it a go, and thus I became a pacer. :)

She created a schedule of all the laps and who would accompany her on each lap. I would accompany her on a nighttime lap, from 8pm-about 11PM. I didn't start driving out to Phoenix until about 5pm, so I was cutting it really close. I finally made it to McDowell Mountain Park and took the shuttle to the start line up the road. I literally made it within minutes!! And we were off!

Kathryn is getting ready to run another
night loop! 

Before our 15 mile
night loop together. 

I tried to keep her entertained and focused. We ran some, and walked some. She got through the aid stations so fast. I mainly drank Coke and munched on salted potatoes (both are my favorites during ultras!) Near the end of the 15 mile loop, we both started to tire, so I tried hard to keep the pace up so we could get to the finish in the time she estimated.

The Flood that was The Old Pueblo 50 Miler - Volunteer Report

Let me start things off by saying that a lot has changed since my last post. It's the reason why I haven't been around for a while. It's funny how one of my favorite things to do always gets pushed farther and farther on to the back-burner while other things get made the priority. The things that need more attention, like family and work, always seem to be put first. But it isn't necessarily terrible; it's just how life works out sometimes. 

Most recently, it has been my job that has been getting in the way. In my second year of teaching, I had issues with a coworker for quite sometime (from way back in October) and I really feel as if she should have been fired for the things that she did. She never was, and she continued to create tension and a negative atmosphere within the middle school building. It was horrible. There were many days when I dreaded coming to work because of the way she treated me, my coworkers, and my students.

I must have caught a bug...a RAGNAR bug!

I'm a Ragnatic!!!
I've signed up for 2 more Ragnars!

While it may not sound crazy to you, it definitely does to me.
After my most recent Ragnar in February, I told myself I would never run a Ragnar ever again.
I was in a mood that race weekend and I was feeling extra stressed and homesick for some weird reason.

 It was also my worst Ragnar ever.

I felt slow, sluggish, hungry, and extremely tired. I was in a bad place and I should not have run a Ragnar that weekend. My mistake. :/ (Sorry teammates, I know I was a moody monster!)

So, when I found myself wanting to create an ultra team for the new Ragnar Trail Relay, I surprised myself.  I guess, as endurance athletes, we forgot about the pain and go back to things we told ourselves we would never do again.

I remember when I completed my first marathon, I was in so much pain and I thought it was way too long. I had second thoughts about training for a second one. But you know how things go, give it a few months and those memories of pain and suffering will disappear. :)
I'm hoping my next marathon will be in December.
But back to Ragnar -------> I signed up for TWO Ragnars!

In the span of one month...and they are both ultra teams! I am definitely challenging myself with this...considering my training my not be ready for an ultra. I am taking that problem on a day-to-day basis. You'll definitely hear about it later.

On Sept. 20th, I will be running across Northern California (Napa Valley) with an ultra team comprised of 6 runners/mostly strangers all crammed in a van.


And on Oct. 18th, I will be traversing the McDowell Mountain Region and it's trails in Northern Phoenix with an ultra team comprised of 4 runners.




I am definitely......SO FREAKING EXCITED!!!!

And a little nervous.
I may possibly be the slowest runner on my team.
My training may not yet be at ultra level but mentally, I am ready for this.

Training posts to come..........................

Oh! And I also applied to be an Ragnar Ambassador!
*Crossing my fingers!*

Going a little Ragnar crazy over here... ;)

Book Review: Dean Karnazes' Ultra Marathon Man

Let me start off by saying that I know this book is a little old (2005) and I'm a little late to the bandwagon. 

But, I thought I would give it a read and see where it went.

I found this book at Bookman's (a semi-local used bookstore) a year or so ago. So, don't worry, I didn't pay top dollar for it. I'm not sure what took me so long to read it. I'm betting it got in the way of reading textbooks during college. 

Anyway, I now know what people think about Dean Karnazes. However, I went into this book not knowing a thing about him. It may or may not have given me a different perspective. Bear with me. 

After reading it, I talked to a few people about him. Some love him, some hate him. Some think he's a phony, and others think he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. 

I, on the other hand, hold a view somewhere in the middle. 

Ultra Marathon Man is all about Dean from the beginning of his running career to the end of a 199 mile relay race he ran solo. 

He takes us through his high school days on the cross country team (and sometimes the track team) where he found his love for running. And then, tragically, his sister Pary was killed in car crash. His running takes a time out until he gets into the corporate world and realizes it's not for him. 

His running adventures then span from his first Western States to Badwater over to Antarctica and then along the California Coast. 

I loved reading this book before I went for a run. My short runs always seemed so minuscule compared to his 100 mile conquests. Definitely a great way to motivate before a run or workout. 

I also really enjoyed the Western States race. I loved the detail that went into it. It really felt as if I was there and experiencing it. I was a little disappointed with the other accounts however. They got a little repetitive. As I read farther and farther into the book, I realized why people think this guy is a phony: he is full of himself! Yes, I understand this is a memoir and it should sound good on his part. I got that. But overall, I got the feeling that this wasn't a book about ultra-running; it was a book about Dean Karnazes and what he can do next. 

I love the idea of pushing the human body to unbelievable limits. But in Dean's case, it didn't completely feel that way. I understand that he wants to keep pushing himself to go farther and get stronger, but it came off differently. I feel as if he is advertising himself in this book, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. 

However, I can't completely critique him; I haven't met him yet! (Dean, let me know when you are coming to Tucson! lol). I can only critique him by what I read in Ultra Marathon Man. He could be a completely different person. 

Maybe being his first book, he got a little excited about his accomplishments and thus they came off a little pompous. He does have 2 other books out (50/50 and RUN!) so I may have to give those a try as well...okay...after I read about all the other ultrarunners out there. :)

So, there's my 2 cents on Ultra Marathon Man. Let me know in the comments if you agree or disagree. I want to know what my blogosphere buddies think of this book and especially what you think about Dean Karnazes. Remember, I am not endorsing him in anyway. I just read and critiqued his book.