Peter Lubbers Conquers the 165 Mile Tahoe Rim Trail!

Hmmm...let's see...how far did I run in the time between Friday afternoon and Sunday night? Well, on Friday my buddy Rob and I went 5 miles at Rancho and I felt awful. Saturday morning I felt much better and joined Hao and Pierre of the ultraholics for a 9 miler on the Chamise Trail. On Sunday my friend Emily and I went 8 miles in the morning briefly interrupted by a group of 50 people posing for a photo with hockey sticks in hand (no, really, I'm serious...) and then that night I went with Rob for a 6 mile night run in Mountain View where we got owned by the sprinklers at Cuesta Park. 3 days, 4 runs, 28 miles. Not too bad.

Peter Lubbers went for just one run during those 3 days. But here's the catch: He ran for the entire three days! In an unbelievable, awe-inspiring effort, Peter reached his long-held goal of running the entire length of the 165 mile Tahoe Rim Trail in one go at 1:54 A.M. on Monday. I had the honor of webcasting the event over at his blog, runlaketahoe.blogspot.com, where Peter will be posting a report about the run sometime soon, and I would like to congratulate Peter as well as thank his crew, Rebecca and Chris, for helping him out and keeping me-and everyone else-updated on his progress.

The run took Peter 57 hours and 54 minutes to complete. I'm quite sure 99.99% of the general populace cannot fathom what it must be like to run for that long. As a modestly experienced ultrarunner I can imagine it partially at best. I recall how difficult it was to complete the Rio Del Lago 100 Mile last year which took me 27 hours and 47 minutes. But I also remember the incredible joy of crossing the finish line. How must have Peter felt to go for a run and at last finish 57 hours later?

In 4 short weeks I'll be returning to the Rio Del Lago 100 Mile Endurance Run to try and take down the Junior National Record of 19:13:12. After seeing what this guy just did, I've decided that when I am nearing the end of the race and I am struggling-when I've reached the state where I feel like I can't take another step, when my body is reduced to staggering through 35 minute miles, when Mark Tanaka passes me going the other way back towards Cavitt looking like he's at mile 10, when I want to stop more than anything else in the world-I'm going to remember Peter, the man who had an indomitable will, the man who persisted, persisted, persisted without exception until attaining his goal and inspiring us all to reach for new heights, aim for new goals, and pursue those dreams previously deemed impossible. And then I'll take one more step towards the finish line.

142 Miles In One Week? That's Almost Gross.

Well everyone, I'm glad to sat that my goal of running 20 miles a day for one week has at last been attained! For the few of you who don't get bored with long samples from running logs, let's analyze how the week panned out:

Wednesday, 8/6: 20 miles

AM: 20 miles (2:55:19, 8:44/mi.) on the Chamise trail at Rancho and also the 6 mile Mountain View loop. Felt fresh.

Thursday, 8/7: 20 miles.

AM: 15 miles (2:14:26, 8:57/mi.) on the trails at Rancho.

PM: 5 miles (untimed) in the afternoon which included some ultimate frisbee with friends.

Friday, 8/8: 20 miles.

AM: 20 miles (2:47:33, 8:22/mi.) much faster/fresher than expected, same route as Wednesday.

Saturday, 8/9: 20 miles.

AM: 13 miles (1:39:29, 7:39/mi.) at a consistent pace throughout, feeling surprisingly good.

PM: 7 miles (51:27, 7:21/mi.) on the moderately hilly Upper Wildcat Loop at Rancho with my buddy Rob which included a ridiculous, all-out downhill mile in 5:43.

Sunday, 8/10: 21 miles.

AM: 14 miles (untimed) with fellow ultraholic Hao Liu at Rancho. Ridiculously hot and I turned around at the base of Black Mountain, but it was cool to run with Hao, who was completing his final long run of 34 miles before the upcoming Cascade Crest 100 Mile.

PM: 7 miles (57:something) night run with Rob at Cuesta Park in Mountain View.

Monday, 8/11: 20 miles.

AM: 12 miles (1:30:41, 7:33/mi.) on the roads, did the 6 mile MV loop twice with splits of 45:32/45:09 but super hot again.

PM: 8 miles (57:17, 7:10/mi.) on the roads at night. I went in hopes of viewing the Peresids Meteor Shower and saw exactly one shooting star.

Tuesday, 8/12: 21 miles

AM: 10.5 miles (untimed). It was warm and my body was feeling pretty thrashed, but I managed to plod through it and there was no way I was bailing on the last day of the goal week.

PM: 10.5 miles (untimed). Went with friends at Rancho, a little easier than in the morning and officially reached the goal!

Total: 142 miles.

I must say that to at last be able to record a massive PR like that is a great feeling.

Being a hypothesis-driven, scientific-method based activity, I also feel that two questions must needs be answered as a result of this athletic success. These are:

(A) What did I do right?

(B) What type of training (for the Rio Del Lago 100 Mile, still nearly 7 weeks away) should I do now that I reached the 20-a-day goal so much earlier than expected?

Let's start with (A). Hao and I were talking about this and we both agreed that it was a good choice for me to give myself at least 3 months of no racing after SD to really put the nose to the grindstone and get some solid training in. Secondly, I feel that a major contributor to this success was the fact that I was very consistent in training. I think that starting off with running 12 miles every single day when I was in San Antonio, then gradually building it up to 14, 15, 16 miles and then all the way up to 20 was one of the best training choices I could have made, because it not only gave me a tangible sense of progress but also a clear sense of direction to where I was going.

Moving on to (B). For the immediate future I'm thinking I'll take 2-3 very easy days of jogging a few miles to allow mind and body to revitalize while still staying loose. After that, I've ruled out increasing my mileage further for the time being. I'm thinking I'll do another 20-a-day week, but instead alternate runs on more difficult, hillier courses and runs at a faster pace, and end the week with an all-out marathon at whatever pace the chassis can muster. Then I'll rest, and repeat the process until it's time to taper for RDL.

Well, I suppose that's it for self-analysis for the time being. But, before I go, I should point out that, while 142 miles in one week might seem like a lot, it still falls 23 miles short of a distance that my friend and fellow ultraholic Peter Lubbers will be attempting to cover in under 45 hours and 58 minutes. Over harder terrain. And at altitude. Without stopping. Yep, Peter is about to make his attempt at the 165 mile Tahoe Rim Trail speed record beginning next Friday! I'll be webcasting the event starting on that day over on his blog, runlaketahoe.blogspot.com, and will do my best to provide current mile splits and other news courtesy of his crew and pacers. Good luck Peter!

Congratulations Alan Geraldi!

Wow! Last Friday, in the wee hours of the morning, ultrarunner and fellow Bay Area "ultraholic" Alan Geraldi successfully completed the Badwater 135 Mile Ultramarathon in 41:46:17. That is correct, 41 hours. In conquering one of the most grueling ultramarathons the world has to offer, Alan braved temperatures upwards of 115 degrees and finished the race on his 44th birthday! I find his performance truly inspiring and his account of the race should be on his blog, endurazone.blogspot.com, sometime soon.

Most people can't imagine running for 41 hours straight. As an ultrarunner I can partially imagine it and that makes it all the more impressive and daunting. Congratulations Alan, you are a beast and truly personify the name of "ultraholic".

Far less importantly, my training is still going great, with the mileage streak now at 16, 16, 16, 16, 18, and 18 (today, July 20). Each day I feel like I'm getting stronger, and for this reason I upped the ante to 18 a couple days ago. After the SD100 I set a goal of becoming able to run 20 miles a day continuously in training. I'm clearly very close to realizing this goal and, considering I was at 12 miles a day a month ago, such tangible improvement boosts the confidence quite a bit. I think I'll make my initial assault on 20-a-day in a couple weeks.