Chaney Family Blog - Madelog Dot Com

Monday, July 6, 2009

Final Month

The Burning River 100 miler is in one month. I am really looking forward to running this event. Registrations are up over previous years and there are several top notch runners coming into town for the event. My preparation has been going very well and I hope to be close to my time goal. The main goal is to finish. This will at least get me into the lottery for the 2010 Western States Endurance Run. I plan on running smart for the entire 100 miles. It is easy to get sucked into competitive mode early on....but I have to put all of that away for most of the race. I will go through the highs and lows like everyone else, but really hope to maintain a steady run inspite of how I am feeling.

A friend of mine was recently in Gary Indiana and took this photo of the Jackson Family house after Michaels death. Can you imagine raising a family that size in a house this small?

Friday, July 3, 2009

4th of July Weekend

* Nice recovery trail run with 5 others today. Ran from Pine Lane to Blue Hen Falls and back. Ran hard the last 1.5 miles. Felt super fresh. Good sign.

* Rained most of the run. What is better than running in the rain and mud?

* New bed arrives today. Finally got my big boy bed. Going to start getting real sleep now!

* Timing the Hudson Firecracker 5K in the morning. No one responded from the club to time this event, so this will be a bail-out favor. I am sure one or two in the club will slam me for donating my time to do this while they sit at home and think of more things to gripe about. Too much energy spent on nothing in my opinion.

* Make sure to thank a firefighter, police officer, doctor, nurse, or any other public service professional for their time over the weekend.

* Got my marching orders for the Buckeye Trail 50K. Good plan rolling into the Burning River 100 miler.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Random Thoughts Wednesday

* Had a really good run with Damon and Matt yesterday morning. I am learning to hate waking up so early to run...but am very thankful for the company and time it saves later in the day.

* Ran with the XC team at Oak Hill this morning. Good run. Ankles a little sore for some reason.

* Ran a SIMS 3 update for my daughter. I have never seen a tech note like this before...

Fix to story progression on/off selection toggle.
Fix for a possible crash with audio code.
Fix for babysitter routing off lots with babies.

...I guess babysitters are an issue in the virtual world as well!

* Picked up the ChampionChip equipment for the next two weeks races.

* Heard once again some rumour about me wanting to win the Burning River 100. I don't know how this started...but is far from the truth. I have a time goal this year. If 174 people run faster than my time goal...good for them. I have only run one 100 mile race and it seems to me that it is not a race until you get to the last 10 miles. Would I like to be the top Master? Of course...who wouldn't? Will I be competitive towards the end? If I make it that far yes. I have been training towards a finish time. Period.

* Race #2 in the "Joe Klett" series is tonight. I can't wait until it is my turn. I have something brilliant planned.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Old Man Monday

Each Monday I run with the high school cross country team. Although I can still run faster than most of them, it takes me their entire workout to get warmed up. I will probably start 30 minutes early to equalize things.

Spending the day at the pool.

-- Post From My iPhone

Sunday, June 28, 2009

General Updates

I have been a blog slacker since the trip to Utah. We had a great time and I met some really cool people during our race. I have also been pretty busy since my return. A few days of getting the XC team on its feet, a few days at Cedar Point, then a busy running weekend (31 miles Saturday / 22 miles Sunday). All in all a good span of 10 days.

July is now upon us and the fun does not end. This will be the final 30 days of training for the Burning River 100. All systems are go at this point. I am finally feeling strong again - like I did in March. The fueling plan is in place, the timing system is ready, and I am looking forward to running a smart race.

Logan and I will head to OU on July 26th for orientation. Summer will be over before I know it. I am still weighing my employment options following my "Summer Hiatis". It appears that I will be the head Cross Country coach at Copley High School. It will be a fun challenge...but clearly does not pay the bills.

Regular reports will begin again tomorrow!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Ragnar Relay Recap

Words don't describe what a great adventure this was. Leg 1: 3.8 miles. Mostly flat. Started around 9pm. Ran it a little faster than I wanted. Got a boost when I was passed by Van 1 enroute to the next exchange. Great support from van 2 along the way. Averaged 6:08 per mile. Leg 2: 7.7 miles. Gradual and rolling climb. Started at 6:15am. Tried to back it off and run even. Leg 3 was on my mind. Got rid of the headlamp and vest 2 miles into the run. Very scenic as the sun came up. Beautiful running towards the mountains. Again great support from my van-mates! Averaged 7:05 per mile.Leg 3: 4 miles. All uphill on a soupy mud road. 8% steady grade beginning at 7500 feet and ending at 9500 feet. Started at 3pm. I knew the altitude would be tough on my lungs…but it killed me. Air getting to my lungs just wasn't going to happen. I decided the key here was steady forward progress. I used a combination of power walking, running, and walking backwards (stretch legs and ease my back from the leaning forward bits). Felt like I was carrying a piano on my back for the entire time. Made solid progress to the finish. Passed many people during this stretch. Not for the timid! Amazing views on the way up. Averaged 11:15 per mile

Other highlights – Van downtime 1 - Sleeping for 2.5 hours on the cement at the ski resort while the winds whipped and it got really cold. Watching Souci watching the naked guys change their clothes in the field. Meeting up with van 1. Van downtime 2 - Sleeping under the skateboard ramp to avoid the rain. Seeing Econo bring it home! Staring at the mountains all around us.

Words and recaps just can’t capture the amazing adventure we had. Thanks to everyone for the trip of a lifetime.