Mike Averill of the Tulsa World wrote a story about the Coffee Illuminati and it ran in last Sunday's paper. I was out of town, but read it online. If you missed it, you can do the same:
Check it out here.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Silver Rush
Boy am I dumb. Running 50 miles in Leadville is a piece of cake? Hardly.
I finished. But it hurt like hell.
Had a couple of learning opportunities during the race, which caused a great deal of pain. The course went up to 12,000+ feet at least 6 times. At that elevation I felt light-headed, disoriented, and extremely tired. Then I would feel better after descending. Then I would feel pretty bad again at the top. I haven't had the occasion to train on big mountains, so the descents really tore up my legs. At 25 miles I felt a bit haggard. Then I ate a meatloaf sandwich that my mom made. Took a couple hours to get into my system, but for a while after that I was a new man. Could've been any number of things, but I prefer to think it was the meatloaf. Yum. Then with about 2 miles to go, I started to feel really sick. Had to fight back the urge to puke. And running was out of the question, so I walked the rest of the way in. Turns out I had a touch of pulmonary edema. When I got back to the condo I got extreme chills, fever, fluid in my lungs. All the good stuff that comes with altitude sickness. I've had it before, on more than one occasion. So I spent a restless night trying to sleep it off.
Today I feel better, but my legs are in the midst of responding from extreme training stimulus. Know what I mean? Probably not, but it's hard to walk.
Hopefully the rest of the week will include some productive training time.
Oh, final time was somewhere around 13:20.
I finished. But it hurt like hell.
Had a couple of learning opportunities during the race, which caused a great deal of pain. The course went up to 12,000+ feet at least 6 times. At that elevation I felt light-headed, disoriented, and extremely tired. Then I would feel better after descending. Then I would feel pretty bad again at the top. I haven't had the occasion to train on big mountains, so the descents really tore up my legs. At 25 miles I felt a bit haggard. Then I ate a meatloaf sandwich that my mom made. Took a couple hours to get into my system, but for a while after that I was a new man. Could've been any number of things, but I prefer to think it was the meatloaf. Yum. Then with about 2 miles to go, I started to feel really sick. Had to fight back the urge to puke. And running was out of the question, so I walked the rest of the way in. Turns out I had a touch of pulmonary edema. When I got back to the condo I got extreme chills, fever, fluid in my lungs. All the good stuff that comes with altitude sickness. I've had it before, on more than one occasion. So I spent a restless night trying to sleep it off.
Today I feel better, but my legs are in the midst of responding from extreme training stimulus. Know what I mean? Probably not, but it's hard to walk.
Hopefully the rest of the week will include some productive training time.
Oh, final time was somewhere around 13:20.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Hell of a Week
I'm sitting in a coffeeshop in Leadville, Colorado.
If you would've been a participant in my week, you'd be surprised to hear that.
I think this is one of those FTO coffeeshops... and they told me the Sumatra and the Colombia were "pretty similar," they land the plane in their 36-ounce steaming pitchers, they fill the doser, and they need to clean their equipment. All the usual stuff that bugs me.
Anyway, tough week for me. Sunday afternoon my girlfriend left for LA, where she's training to work as a tour guide for the next few months. Monday night, while we were roasting, the roaster got a fire in the cyclone and Thursday I had to clean the chimneys, vacuum the char out of the chaff collector, and hope to god that was it for now. Sunday night we installed a PID on the espresso machine and Tuesday it went out and the espresso machine went down. We reinstalled the original thermostat on Tuesday night. Wednesday after closing, the floor drains became clogged and backed up, so I had to call a plumber. Friday I left in my Land Rover for Colorado. It broke down before I got to Wichita, Kansas. Turns out the power steering pump imploded. Power steering went out, engine smoked and died, etc. Couple hours later I managed to get it on a tow truck. They were nice enough to call around and find someone who works on Land Rovers in Wichita. Then I found out for sure it was the power steering pump, but the mechanic didn't have one and wouldn't be able to work on it until Monday. And then the owner of the shop said, why don't we just take one off a Rover in their lot and put it on mine? He was probably just being a creative capitalist, but it was a nice gesture and it got me back on the road.
After that 7 hour delay, I drove into the night and stopped in Flagler, Colorado. Slept in my car (fitfully), then finished the drive to Leadville this morning.
I've checked in with the race and am ready to roll. It starts tomorrow morning at 6a, when hopefully the temps will be in the mid-50s. It got hot this afternoon, so I'm not sure what to expect tomorrow. Rain?
It feels good here. Always feels different in the mountains. Maybe it's just the stress rolling out of my brain. But it seems like the air is more healthy, my vision more vibrant, and I feel... lighter.
I want to keep this on your mind. This is a 50-mile training run for me. Hopefully my time out here will help me get to the finish line of the Leadville 100 on August 16. Pledges are trickling in, and every one of them means a lot to me. Because when the time comes, I'll know that just one more mile will raise more money for Coffee Kids. And that's more important than any race.
One good thing that has come of my tribulations in racing and in business is the ability to take negative sitations and isolate them. It seems overwhelming, but you have to stay positive, even if it's deep down. Fix the problem. Or learn how to live with it. Or, as I had to do with the Rover, take in as much information as you can, try to make good decisions, and hope things play themselves out in your favor. And then re-adjust your schedule and expectations. This race isn't going to go as smoothly as I visualize it going. And the 100 is going to be even worse. At some point I'm going to encounter real problems. I'm going to go into "the tunnel," as I call it, which is a place beyond where most marathon runners talk about "hitting the wall." But I need to figure it out and get through it. And keep running. (Crap is going to happen. It's how you deal with it that is important.)
So anyway, I'm here. And the coffees taste similar because they're both stale, but the Colombia is definitely brighter and a little bit fruity, compared to the earthiness of the Sumatra.
If you would've been a participant in my week, you'd be surprised to hear that.
I think this is one of those FTO coffeeshops... and they told me the Sumatra and the Colombia were "pretty similar," they land the plane in their 36-ounce steaming pitchers, they fill the doser, and they need to clean their equipment. All the usual stuff that bugs me.
Anyway, tough week for me. Sunday afternoon my girlfriend left for LA, where she's training to work as a tour guide for the next few months. Monday night, while we were roasting, the roaster got a fire in the cyclone and Thursday I had to clean the chimneys, vacuum the char out of the chaff collector, and hope to god that was it for now. Sunday night we installed a PID on the espresso machine and Tuesday it went out and the espresso machine went down. We reinstalled the original thermostat on Tuesday night. Wednesday after closing, the floor drains became clogged and backed up, so I had to call a plumber. Friday I left in my Land Rover for Colorado. It broke down before I got to Wichita, Kansas. Turns out the power steering pump imploded. Power steering went out, engine smoked and died, etc. Couple hours later I managed to get it on a tow truck. They were nice enough to call around and find someone who works on Land Rovers in Wichita. Then I found out for sure it was the power steering pump, but the mechanic didn't have one and wouldn't be able to work on it until Monday. And then the owner of the shop said, why don't we just take one off a Rover in their lot and put it on mine? He was probably just being a creative capitalist, but it was a nice gesture and it got me back on the road.
After that 7 hour delay, I drove into the night and stopped in Flagler, Colorado. Slept in my car (fitfully), then finished the drive to Leadville this morning.
I've checked in with the race and am ready to roll. It starts tomorrow morning at 6a, when hopefully the temps will be in the mid-50s. It got hot this afternoon, so I'm not sure what to expect tomorrow. Rain?
It feels good here. Always feels different in the mountains. Maybe it's just the stress rolling out of my brain. But it seems like the air is more healthy, my vision more vibrant, and I feel... lighter.
I want to keep this on your mind. This is a 50-mile training run for me. Hopefully my time out here will help me get to the finish line of the Leadville 100 on August 16. Pledges are trickling in, and every one of them means a lot to me. Because when the time comes, I'll know that just one more mile will raise more money for Coffee Kids. And that's more important than any race.
One good thing that has come of my tribulations in racing and in business is the ability to take negative sitations and isolate them. It seems overwhelming, but you have to stay positive, even if it's deep down. Fix the problem. Or learn how to live with it. Or, as I had to do with the Rover, take in as much information as you can, try to make good decisions, and hope things play themselves out in your favor. And then re-adjust your schedule and expectations. This race isn't going to go as smoothly as I visualize it going. And the 100 is going to be even worse. At some point I'm going to encounter real problems. I'm going to go into "the tunnel," as I call it, which is a place beyond where most marathon runners talk about "hitting the wall." But I need to figure it out and get through it. And keep running. (Crap is going to happen. It's how you deal with it that is important.)
So anyway, I'm here. And the coffees taste similar because they're both stale, but the Colombia is definitely brighter and a little bit fruity, compared to the earthiness of the Sumatra.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Preparing for 50
Thank you for the pledges. Our numbers keep creeping up, and so far we have pledges for $13.75 per mile. All the money goes to Coffee Kids, so on their behalf I thank you.
I'm leaving in the morning for Leadville. Things went a little haywire these last few weeks, so my plan to fly fell apart and now I'll be driving the 12- or so hours. I'm ready to breath mountain air and fill my eyes with mountain vistas. Have been gathering my gear the last couple days and I hope to get packed today. I used to have to somehow get packed before nightfall, but now that I have electricity in my apartment it makes everything easier. Don't have to sort gear with a headlamp.
My friend Kari hooked me up with a friend's condo in Leadville, so I won't be sleeping on the ground. I'm such a softy. The race doesn't start until 6a on Sunday and I'll be done before dark that evening. That's the beauty of 50-mile races: no night running.
I emailed the race directors to see what the trail conditions are, because I've heard there is still snow above 10,000 feet, and apparently Schofield Pass above Crested Butte is blocked. Here's the email I received back from Merilee:
Brian-Trail conditions should be great. No conditions present that should slow your pace considerably (other than the elevation). There will be a short section of snow on the course and there is a small creek crossing and I would expect some (but probably very little) mud. Thanks, MerileeSo that's good.
I'm actually not sure how I'll do in this race. My (not enough) training fell off pretty hard these last few weeks. But I think I'll be good.
I was doing a little reading in the Hammer Nutrition newsletter today and, according to Steve Born's recommendations, I think I'm going to double up on the amount of electrolyte replacement caps I usually take. We'll see if that helps with cramping, dizziness, and the feeling that my lungs are blowing up when they shouldn't be. Hammer has been really good to me over the years, so I definitely recommend their products. I take the Endurolytes and eat (espresso-flavor) Hammer Gels.
Wish me luck.
After the race I'm going to stay in Colorado until Friday to relax a little on some 14ers or my mountain bike.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Making Progress
It's only been up for one day and already we have $10.50 per mile pledged to Coffee Kids. I sure do appreciate your support of the cause, and I hope pledges continue to come in. I remember hearing the founder of Coffee Kids speak at the SCAA Convention in May. He said he used to be a coffee retailer and then he traveled to origin and saw the families that were producing the coffees he was selling. And he came home and said, I can't sell another pound of coffee knowing that the people who produce it are paid so inequitably. This is the same feeling that brought me to start the Coffee Illuminati. And when I heard him say it, it really hit home.
This weekend I will drive to Colorado and run in a 50 mile race in Leadville. It's on a different course than the 100 mile race, but it will be great training for the real thing. I have been running, strength training, and jumping up and down in preparation for this leg-busting run - up and down the mountain trails first used for silver mining.
This weekend's race is called the Silver Rush 50. Don't worry, 50 miles is a piece of cake (sort of).
Friday, July 11, 2008
Running for Coffee Kids
On August 16 I'm running in the Leadville 100. It's a 100-mile foot race that starts in Leadville Colorado (at 10,000 feet elevation), crosses three mountain passes (Hope Pass is the highest at 12,600 feet) to the 50 mile point, then turns around and re-traces along the same path. Leadville is one of the toughest races in the world, with only around 40% of competitors even finishing the race.
This will be my fourth attempt to finish. Though I've run numerous ultramarathons and finished 100 miles twice, the furthest I've run at Leadville is 70 miles (where I missed a time cutoff).
To be honest, I often lack motivation in racing. Trying to win a race (or in this case, just to finish) is not terribly important to me. Racing for the sake of racing doesn't interest me. Sure, I want to accomplish this task and make myself physically stronger and mentally more confident. But I've been looking for more meaning in my physical pursuits.
So I've decided to team up with Coffee Kids. When I run in the Leadville 100, every mile will raise money to support the coffee farming families who work so hard for so little and produce coffee that we enjoy so much every day. I've set up a pledge form so you can give per mile I run. The race is 100 miles long, and I hope to finish this year - I've assembled a very capable team to organize my gear, give me support, and pace me the last 50. But even if I don't finish the race, we'll still be doing good for coffee families. Every dollar that you give will go directly to Coffee Kids for their various projects.
I plan to update this blog on a regular basis to tell you about my training leading up to race day and my thoughts and feelings about it all.
As I've done in the past, I'll also carry a digital recorder during the race and make a "jogcast" so you can hear (and feel) what it's like to run in the Leadville 100. You'll be able to find that after the race on the AA Cafe Podcast.
And if all goes according to plan, we'll have a page set up that will allow you to check in on August 16 (starting at 4a) and 17 (race ends at 10a) to see how I'm doing. If I can get a couple people to help with the continuous updates...
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