Has it been that long?

Has it really been a year since I last did a legit update??

Things have been interesting to say the least. Our daughter is nearly a year old and I havent run consistently in about the same amount of time. Lack of sleep is a real motivation killer!

My friend Jason has been hounding me about the Shellburg Falls race in December - so I need to really get moving to be even close to ready for that killer hill!

So, my update is: Im thinking about starting to consistently run again!

On another note: Im starting my fundraising again for the Special Olympics Polar Plunge - my goal is $3000 www.portlandplunge.kintera.org/kurtisdrake feel free to donate $5 - every little bit will help me get closer to my goal! Thanks.

Seatbelts.

In the crapper.

My motivation is in the crapper. I havent updated this blog in seven months, and I really havent run very frequently since then either. I did a half marathon in my hometown in Missouri in June and thats the last race I ran.

My wife is pregnant and due really any day now. I am pretty anxious for that to happen and to get on with real life (whatever that will look like, once it starts!).

I ran once last week and havent run yet this week. I know I need to, I know I will feel better if I do, but just cant seem to make it out of bed and get moving.

An up side is that I have been commuting by bike exclusively lately and plan to keep that up for the forseable future.

seatbelts.

Polar Plunge!

This past Saturday I did the Polar Plunge which benefited Special Olympics Oregon. I ended up raising $5000!!! I had a huge donation the night before the event and it put me into first place of Individual Fundraisers. I was pretty stoked about it. The event was alot of fun and it raised over $100,000 for Special Olympics Oregon.

Ive been running pretty well lately. Doing shorter runs alot faster than normal, and I am feeling pretty good about it. Im not sure if I am gonna do an Ultra this year, but my goal is to break my old PR at the Run Like Hell half marathon. My old PR is 1:37.4. I'd like to see if I can do a 1:35. It'll take ALOT of work to get there, so we'll see what happens.

I hope everyone is doing great!

Seatbelts.

thirty-one on my thirty-first.

Today is my 31st birthday! I got up at 2:30am, and started running around 3am. I ran 31K (19.3 miles) to celebrate :) It was a good run, I was definitely doing a bit of a death march at the end. I was pretty wiped out from the lack of good sleep. Its hard to get up that early! Thanks to Doug and Mike for joining in and keeping me going at the end.

I am skipping the Cascade 1/2 marathon this year. I was gonna do the 10k option, but I missed the early sign-up so they wanted to charge me $45 to run 6 miles. I dont think so!

Good luck to Luvin, Pain Train, and J-Dogg on Sunday. I hope you guys have awesome races! Pain Train, I hope you PR the heck outta that 10K.

Seatbelts.

closed the book

I recently "deactivated" my facebook account. Long story short, they changed the security settings and I couldnt stay as anonymous as I wanted!

I ran today for the first time in a few days and it was good. I did about 6 miles. Im finally getting over this second round of a cold. My parents and younger sis, her husband and son are coming to Salem for Christmas. They get into town this Thursday. I am expecting it to be a fun visit with everyone.

What are your Christmas plans? I hope everyone has a great Christmas! Happy holiday eating/running! If anyone wants to go for a run over the Christmas weekend, let me know. If it is early enough, I will be able to go.

Seatbelts.

expensive trail run/not feeling well

I did the shellburg falls trail run a couple of weekends ago. It was a blast! Gary Terlecki from www.runwildadventures.com did a great job organizing and setting this race up - The Pain Train was invaluable in getting this race off the ground. It was a free race which appeals to my frugal nature and I was very a happy about the lack of cost.

On the way home from the race I had to drive my VW Jetta over a bunch of gravel any my skid plate ended up acting like a scoop and scooped up a ton of the gravel. Any way, got home and parked the car for a sec so Jess could run in and grab something, she came back out and we backed out of the driveway and there was a small oil spot on the driveway. We drove around for about a half hour then came home, parked the car and forgot about it. Three hours later we had to go somewhere and we got out to the car and there was an enormous oil puddle under the car.

Long story short, we had the car towed to AJs in Salem and the "free" race ended up costing me $907 in car repairs! Wow. It was still a great race though.

Ive not been feeling well lately, lots of cold symptoms - head congestion, sore throat, coughing/sneezing. It sucks. Its impeded my training quite a bit. Hope to be on the mend soon. Hope all is well with everyone out there!!

Seatbelts.

Polar Plunge!

Hello loyal readers! This is Kurtis and I am seeking donations for the upcoming Special Olympics Oregon Polar Plunge. Jess and I have been volunteers with Special Olympics for almost 5 years and we love it. Due to the oh-so-tough economic times, Special Olympics has had to severely cut programming and staff.

I would really like to raise $1000 for Special Olympics through this event!

If anyone is willing to sponsor me for this years Polar Plunge, please let me know and I will get you the info on how to donate.

Thanks!!

Kurtis

PCT Ultra Pics

For some reason, these all got posted in reverse of what I wanted.... Anyway, here are some pics from the event. What a day. Official Time: 12:15:00 I think I ended up in 97th place. I will take it!










Seatbelts.

50 Mile Finish Line!

I finished! The PCT Ultra was an amazing experience. It was a great race with awesome helpers/volunteers, and fellow runners. I wasnt sure how I would do with it all, but it was a very do-able race. I took it one mile at a time and just kept putting one foot in front of the other. I walked alot of the uphills, and ran most/all of the downhill portions. I wasnt out there to win, I was out to finish. My friend Mitch crewed for me and that was a great help. Just knowing he was gonna be at the aid stations kept me going. Also, I didnt want to DNF because he had sacrificed his whole day to help me and I wanted to make it worth his time! Around mile 34 or so I felt the best I felt the whole day, It was on a down hill portion and I was belting out Kenny Rogers while running downhill! :) it was alot of fun. The only physical problem I encountered was a blister (big) with 4 miles to go. I just ignored it and kept moving. It hurts like crazy now, but it will heal soon enough. The finish line was a sweet sweet feeling. Jess, Ari, Jolene, Katie and Mitch were all there cheering and that was awesome.

A special thanks to The Pain Train, Mike Luvin', Mike Studer, Doug Slama, and Mitch Duke for all their encouragement and prompting during the race, and during all the training (or lack thereof).

There is another 50 miler in October and I am considering it - mostly because of the fresh belt buckle you get if you finish, and I will definately plan on running the PCT again next year. I have a better handle on how to train, I know I can finish and I know I will do better all the way around.

William (pain train) said that he definately considers a 50K an ultra, but once you run a 50 Miler, you really feel like an ultrarunner - He was correct. I very much feel like an official ultrarunner. I will feel even more offical after I do a second one!

I will post some pics from the race very soon. *--Luvin', I told my buddy Mitch to get some pics of you - but you were too quick (or I was too slow) and he missed you at all the aid stations... sorry dude!

Seatbelts.

not giving up...

well, with the encouragement (via blog comment) from William and Mike, as well as the encouragement of Mike Studer, I am at least gonna show up to the PCT Ultra. I dont know what will happen there, but I will be there giving it a shot.

Thanks Mike and William for the nice comments and encouragement. I appreciate it alot!

Seatbelts

still a wanna be.

well... its been quite some time since my last post. back in january I registered for the PCT Ultra 50 miler. prior to my registration for that race, I was hit by a car on my way to work and had a hip injury that really derailed my training. well, i got orthotics that have really helped my biomechanics and has eliminated my hip pain. that is a plus. however, i just havent been able to get on track with my training. my motivation is in the toilet. thinking about july 25th and the pct ultra fills me with dread. currently, I am in absolutely, no uncertain terms, no way ready for this race and will not be ready by the time it rolls around. my fear is that I am going to show up, and end with a big fat DNF by my name. i'd honestly rather that not happen. but I know i cant finish the race. this past weekend jess and I were in Maui (awesome) and I decided not to run the race. when I made that decision, i was filled with a sense of peace and relief. I definitely want to do a 50 miler, and am looking at the october race. I feel like that gives me enough time to get my training back on track and get ready for it all. backing out of this race sucks, I know, but i think its the right decision for me right now.

seatbelts.

orthotics

I finally got my new orthotics today. But no worries, I have still been running despite my pathetic lack of blog entries. I feel like I have really been trying to renew my commitment to the 50 miler in july. I did a good 20 miler this past weekend and that capped off a 51 mile week for me. I need to get up to probably 60 to 65 miles per week by May and then 70 to 75 by June, then back it off a bit in July. I feel like I have a good grasp of what is up ahead and how to get there. I am hoping that the orthotics help my hip and knee pain. It really should.

Here is a fun tidbit. Jess and I are going to Hawaii at the end of May for memorial day weekend. We are stoked. I cant wait to go running there, ive been looking at different trails in the area. It could be awesome.

Another fun tidbit. We catered our first event tonight, the salem tri-club held its annual running analysis event at Northwest Rehab Assoc. and Mike, the owner of NWRA asked us to cater it. We are also catering his medical open house this Thursday. That event will be a much bigger deal. I am super pumped for it.

Seatbelts.

Ticklemonster

It is legal to ask parents in public if you can tickle their children. I just heard that. Isnt that crazy??

Anyway, regarding my running progress... Its been slow, I havent posted in a while, but have still been running. I had a rough week a couple of weeks ago with little running and when I did, it was incredibly hard. This past week was better, I really took my runs at my own pace. I did a 12 miler pretty much solo on Saturday and it was great. It was the first time Ive felt that good running in a while. I need keep that up as well as really start doing more hills. I am feeling like I am in an okay place running-wise. I know that I have a long long way to go, but feel like I am in a decent spot. This week could be a good week, I am hoping to log some good miles. However, I am going to Texas this weekend to visit the in-laws. More in traveling news! We are going to Hawaii at the end of May. I am excited about running in Maui, it will be amazing!

Seatbelts

"begin each day as if it were on purpose" maryanne radmacher

miles to go...

I did a fun 11+ miler with William today, bringing my total for the week to 31 miles. This more than doubled my weekly total from last week. Needless to say, I have many, many, many more miles to run before I am even close to ready to complete my 50 miler. It was fun running where Mike Luvin' and the Pain Train do their time-trial for the McDonald Douglas 50K. I wish I had the sack to go as fast as them, but my skills do not pay the bills like theirs. Oh well... :) Regardless of my skills, the run today felt great, it was a beautiful place to run, and I even ran into my old neighbor who is prepping for the upcoming 50K. Good luck to Dennis with his 24 hour run (in progress) For now, Im off to go on a date with my lady-love!

Seatbelts.

checking in...

Its been a bit since my last post. Things have been up and down with my running. I feel like I am on the upswing right now, Ive done 2 10 milers so far this week and am pretty happy about that. I am still waiting to get fitted for orthotics and in the in between am stuffing baby socks under the inside part of my heel in all my shoes. It has been a miracle fix! It doesnt hurt to go up stairs or run up hills (as much) on my hip. I cant wait to see how the custom made orthotics fit. Should be amazing. Here is a website plug. www.runningahead.com this site is garmin compatible and is pretty slick. Lots of graphs and charts and different ways to track your training data. I enjoy it. William gave me a call the other day to check in and I really appreciated that. For the most part, I feel like I am in the company of giants when I run with my friends, but am rarely made to feel less than equal. That is a nice thing to be able to say about the company one keeps.

Seatbelts.

gotta wrap my head around it...

Its been a bit since I last posted. I feel like I am plagued with little wussy injuries that shouldnt be hampering me the way they are. My hip starts to hurt if I run more than like 7 miles, so Ive been doing no more than 7 mile runs lately. I know I have time before the PCT, but I am having some serious doubt about how the hell I am going to finish a 50 miler. I am supposed to be getting some orthotics soon, and hopefully that will fix the biomechanical mess that is Kurtis. I havent really been pushing it that much either, mostly because of the irritation it causes my hip/knee/feet. So, tomorrow I am going to go for at least 3 or 4 miles, just to keep moving. I feel like I have quit on myself a little, and I hate that feeling. I need to get back on top of it, wrap my head around this running stuff, and get going.

On a different note, my kid is awesome! He is getting a huge personality and is becoming much more predictable with his sleeping, and that is a very good thing.

Falling Off

So, I did a 5 miler yesterday and a 4 today, today felt terrible, my left knee is really bothering me and I really feel like it is stemming from my car wreck in January. My hip hurts because of the accident so to accommodate that I change my gait which I think is causing me to have some pain in my right foot as well as my left knee. Now, this could all be separate issues, but it doesnt feel that way. I go to the doc on friday and my friend Mike, the PT I run with, is gonna look at it friday before I go to the doc, so I will go in there loaded for bear. I really want to get this resolved soon. The massages didnt really seem to help, they felt great, but didnt resolve my hip pain like I was hoping for.
I was telling mike today when we were running that if I look back over all my athletic career, I start really strong and peak, but really struggle with falling off and not maintaining that peak and building off of it. I end up starting over, re-committing myself to running, peak, and fall off again. I want to break that cycle, and felt like that was happening before these nagging pains started up this week.
Im not really sure where to go from here, hopefully the doc will have a decent plan of action. I am really sick of all of this and just want to be back to good.
Seatbelts.

"Live Boldly." maryanne radmacher

Quotes...

So, I will be throwing some quotes out, just so my wife finds my blog while she is working. For example - "Lean Forward into your Life" - Maryanne Radmacher Now, while jess is working, she will stumble across my running blog!

Onto the running update. I had a 2009 mileage record this past week - 50.8. I was quite happy with that. I did 20 yesterday with a couple of friends, It was a rough 20, most of it around bush park or around the track at willamette stadium. Thankfully I had my ipod, so that was helpful. I know I need to start doing my longer runs on trail, but couldnt string it together for yesterday. Either way, it was good mileage for me.

Hagg Lake - I cant wait to hear how Hagg Lake treated my friends yesterday, I will have to check results to see how Luvin' and The Pain Train did. Anyway, good job to all who finished! Cant wait to hear about it. Have a great week everyone!

Seatbelts.

Ouch!

I did 11.3 in the rain this am, got some nip chaffing! Not too fun. I even commented towards the end of the run that "I think my nips are getting sore!" I took my jacket off when I got home and I had bled thru! Thats never happened to me before. I definitely have to be more careful in the future.

Ive been working on a year long mileage tracking sheet, I just filled in January and February and my numbers are pretty sad. Ive gotta pick it up for the PCT!

Seatbelts.