# 27 Trial and Error (Mohican 100 miler)

To get the fullest experience with this blog, click the link below and listen to Conor's brief Tiny Desk Concert. Upsidedown Mountain is far and beyond my favorite non Bright Eyes album of his. Potentially my favorite ever, but he has some gems.


http://www.npr.org/event/music/324858409/conor-oberst-tiny-desk-concert?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social


First off, thank you to everyone who supported me leading up to the race. I appreciate it. Second off, let me assure you all the my first attempt at a 100 miler is very anti-climatic; no heroics on that day. And C, This was only a mental challenge. The actual big race on my calender come in September and November. I used the build up to that 100 miler to draw in some followers and now everyone will be rewarded with awesome blogs from here on out. On July 1 I am getting a GOPRO!!! What does that mean? You all will start running with me in a sense. You can see the behind the scenes to my training as I and my brothers prepare for Run the Rut 50k in September/ US Cross Champs for Josh/ and Me and Adam's winter road marathons!! It's going to be a blast and I am really excited for some real training and some real blogs. It's going to be a hybrid between a blog and a vlog. Once I get the gopro there will be weekly vlogs and often multiple uploads a week.

The week before Clarksburg saw two sizely events. The first week of cross country summer practice with Fairmont Senior and Cadence going fishing. This summer/fall I am attempting to lead my old high school team to success. Even being severely bias in my favor, I can't consider myself a good leader when I was on the team. I see this as an opportunity to properly lead a team and after three weeks with the team, I can't wait for the season to begin. I really enjoy coaching those guys and seeing the cross country season from a different perspective. I have to admit, this perspective is far more nerve wrecking. When you are the athlete it's not nerve wrecking at all because you have full control over the outcome, but when you are watching on it is completely different. And I dig it.
   When I returned home from one of these practices, I walked into the kitchen while Adam was playing with asparagus and other yucky food. I noticed Cadence was chewing on something that looked like a pin. After trying to get it from her, I realized that she wasn't chewing on anything. She must have found a small fishing hook from the previous residents of our house and somehow fish hooked herself. The barb was stuck in the tissue in her upper lip. The hook was sticking out of her mouth on both sides. When Josh got home we wrestled her down and snipped some of the hook off so she could sleep slightly more safe before getting it surgically removed the next morning. Fun fact- when a corgi thinks its life is at risk, they can shed up to 300 hairs a minute. Or so it seemed. Also if we were to get into a fight with Cadence, she would defeat both of us. That's why we don't pick fights with bullies.

Sometimes I wake up without the recollection of falling to sleep. I like to think that this is what it looks like to healthily black out. I like to think that I randomly time travel back in time and this is what remains in the present time. Similar to Somewhere in Time. I figure it's either that or Josh clubs me in the back of the head when I am not looking.

Pregamin' with Clarksburg 10k

As you can tell, I am disgusted that Josh's shadow is all up on me like that.

Top of the hill after 5 miles, barely leading women's race...

      Prior to the 100 miler I decided to travel 40 miles south to straddle the border between the north and the south... of West Virginia. Clarksburg 10k is like no other race and is extremely hard to pass up. Though I had done absolutely zero workouts to prepare for a hard road 10k, I couldn't pass up a fat chance at some prize money. The only catch is Clarksburg is the best at chewing up runners and spitting them out; especially when you are not in shape. There have been a few times in this lifetime where I absolute amaze myself. This is not one of those times, but it was still pretty neat. Sitting at dinner the night before the race with the gang I predicted that I would run 33:40 at Clarksburg. It was just what time came to mind when I thought about running that course. I had only run Clarksburg once before and went another year to spectate. I crashed and burned back to a 33:09 a few years ago. Come race day, sure enough I came through 5k with the first female in 16:58 and remained with her until 5 miles before kicking it in to... you may have guessed, I certainly did- 33:40. Boom. Not an impressive time, but an impressive guess. With Josh winning and breaking 32 for the umpteenth time and Adam taking 2nd, our house racked in 1650$ of a potential 1750$ I believe. Efficiency. Sidenote- the female leader spit during the race and I caught debris on my arm. Not the highlight of my race.

Clock reads 33:38, but results thankfully said 33:40

Not certain, but I think someone is getting a selfie with digem behind me.

Mohican 100 Trail Race Review 

Day before race. Spoiler- never made it this far on race day.

    A lot of things in my life have been solved through trial & error. From running shoes, houses, majors, colleges, girlfriends, deodorant, video games to hobbies, putting styles, books, and now race selection. I don't think the distance was the problem, but the course in its condition could not have been worse for me. I had totally anticipated trying to survive the entire day out there and really see how far I could travel. That was my only reason for attempting the hundred mile distance. It's very doable, I saw plenty of people doing it on that day. The state of Ohio has consistently tried to sabotage my life since we first met. This race was merely another point in Ohio's column. I've gotten my share of victories over the state throughout the years. The day before the race it began to rain because Ohio has to keep its reputation for being terrible and gloomy. The rain didn't let up most of the evening which spelled trouble for anyone running 100 miles on trails.

Morning of the Race

       The best stories typically see the climax close to the end of the story, followed by some fluff afterwards. In this tale, the peak of enjoyment came in the first chapter; actually the preface if there is one. Right before four a.m I rolled out of the Explorer that served as my bed the previous night. A short walk later I staggered into the showers. I don't know if it was because I was so tired, but that shower was the best shower that I have taken in a long time. I must have stood there for fifteen minutes. Then when I crossed the room for the bathroom stalls I camped out in there and listened to some of the old ultra guys talking. A different breed, my friend. I couldn't have more respect for the psychos that actually do ultras regulars; I mean psycho in the coolest way as well. One day I do hope to run at least one hundred mile trail run. There were too many bad omens in this race that should have told me not to do it. First- pouring rain. Rain turns me into a baby bitch. Two- sponsored by Great Lakes Brewing? I've arguably never been more drunk than after ending a night out with two lake erie monsters that split my head in half. That's all, but there were no good omens to counter those two.
    Race time! The survivors toed the line with the runner, and off goes the horn or gun or... Hmm... Turns out I honestly can't recall the beginning of the race. And that, my friends, is why no one should ever be running at 5 a.m. We all casually departed the starting area and into the dark ass woods. If anyone has an ipod they have probably from time to time ripped it out of their computer and ignored the 'didn't eject properly' voodoo that doesn't mean anything. I don't think that I have ever properly ejected an ipod. Of course Apple decided that when I choose to run with music for one of the first times ever that they will punish my ejecting methods. All of my music- gone from my ipod. I totally planned on listening to music for the first few hours for two reasons. A- music would probably wake me up and 2- I am petrified of unfamiliar dark woods. You are out in the forbidden forest, dangerously close to dementors and evidently bobcats; no one should have shared crazy bobcat stories with me, but if I had say Will Smith - Summertime in my ears I would be slightly less scared. I feel like I can do nothing but give a bad wrap of the race which I really don't like to do. Perhaps if the weather was better my opinion would change, but I don't think so. A large section of the course is up a damn creek bed and I hate shitty 'trails' like that. There is a difference between hard trails to run and trails that are stupid to run. There were some really nice parts of the trails, but still my least favorite trail that I have run on. It reminded me of Quebec, and by Quebec I mean twenty minutes north of Morgantown not the home of the late Nordiques. The only race photo I have to share is the day before the race when I met my cousin for the first time and talked running for a few hours. He's done ultras for quite a few years and is attempting to do Leadville 100 this year. If he finishes that, well that'd be pretty epic.

Back to the race, the play by play should have taken so much longer than it will take. For the first hour I was behind the first two females because evidently I am the only one who can't see a thing on single track trails in the dark. The fog made my visibility, with a head lamp, almost the ground. When the day light came up I continuously moved up until I was near the front. After pouting up the creek bed for what seems like a day in itself we got to the most bullshit thing I have ever seen. A stairway to heaven out of tree roots. It was slippery when wet like most floors and when I got to the top my left leg kicked out on me and I basically kneed myself in the face. Completely over stretched/tweeked my right hamstring. I stumbled to the next aid station and decided to lie on the wet grass while eating my breakfast of M&Ms. I thought that if I laid there long enough that the pain would magically go away. It didn't. So I walked for two hours back to the aid station nearest my car. This race was extremely disappointing, and so was Clarksburg 10k but in completely different ways. Clarksburg was disappointing because I toed the line knowing that everyone watching wouldn't see the best version of me. Disappointed because I knew that 33:40 was all I could pull out in my fitness and that's not satisfying. Mohican was disappointing because I didn't even get a chance. Sure I finished 50k so it is slightly longer than I've gone, but a hell of a lot slower. I really wanted to test my body and see how long my mind would let me keep trucking through the woods. But the hammy sputtered out and honestly with the course in the sloppy condition it was in, it was only a matter of time before something went out.

Luckily I thing that I have salvaged my summer of training by packing it in once I slipped up. All week my hamstring has hurt, but not impaired my running. I had to skip the last Steph A workout Tuesday, but I think the ball should be rolling here soon. So get ready for some real training logs coming your way starting Monday. For weeks I've been saying that I just wanted to finish the 100 miler so I can train to get fast again. It's over and now comes the fun part. Also, here is a link to Steph A's page. She's a beast and my house are her training partners for her speed workouts. She has 3 1500s coming up in some country called Canada, never heard of it, so I'll probably keep you posted, but this site is from her.

http://www.stephaldea.com/


Since I always cry about Ohio, here is proof of our rivalry.

OHIO v DIGEM Score Breakdown

2008 - Pulled over on my way back from Wisconsin Camp of Champions [ 15 - 0 OHIO ]
    I was wearing nothing but my shortest running shorts to greet the officer, only a warning. [15 - 15 ]

2010 - Qualified for NSIC at Akron and set fieldhouse record for HS mile. [ 30 - 15 Digem ]
    Pulled over once again. Speeding Ticket #1.  [ 30 - 30 ]

2011 - Flat Tire driving back to Oklahoma with the Brandon Doughty [ 40 - 30 OHIO ]
    Pulled over while trying to PR in the Norman-Morgantown race. Total time killer.  1 - 0 OHIO
  Fell asleep at the wheel in Columbus and woke up in Washington, PA [ 15 - 0 Digem ]

2012 - Signed up for Kent State meet; mysteriously got injured week of race. [ 15 - 15 ]
    Decided to run a 5k in Athens hours before the race and completely unprepared. Got my ass whipped around for 15 minutes and 20 seconds.   [ 30 - 15 OHIO ]
       Saw local Athens police riding horseback. [ 30 - 30 ]
    Pulled over on rt 7, speeding ticket. [ 40 - 30 OHIO ]
      Ticket for deliberately not paying a toll on Ohio Turnpike   2 - 0 OHIO 

2013 - Watched Columbus Blue Jackets get embarrassed by my Minnesota Wild 3-1 [ 15 - 0 Digem ]
    Took a nap at a rest stop in Ohio for three hours [ 30 - 0 Digem ]
Woke up drenched in sweat, ruined the drive to Minnesota [ 30 - 15 Digem ]

2014 - Iron Furnace Trail 20k. We all know how that when down. [ 30 - 30 ]
    Mohican 100 miler, first ever two pointer. As game changing as the 3 point line to the NBA some 30+ years ago. [ 3 - 0 OHIO ]

Don't Call it a Comeback

I have been putting the finishing touches on a book that I have been writing, that is my main excuse as to the delay from my epic failure of a race and the uploading this. Also, Hunter and I have been going pretty hard in the paint both in basketball down the street at Krepps Park and on FIFA 14. We have an intense season going on right now and both get way too into the game. For example, after we finished playing out the world cup bracket we had a championship matchup between my Swiss and his Uruguay vampires. Hunter defeated me and I was lying on the floor during the game. My carpet is borderline shag carpet that could be found in some pretty rad houses 40 years ago. It's also misleading concrete beneath the misleadingly thin carpet. After the final whistle blew I slammed my head off of what I thought was carpet and turned out to be concrete slightly covered in carpet. I saw a big white flash and without saying a word I got up and plopped into my bed. 2 hours later I woke up just in time to go to one of Steph A's track workouts. I am like 98% sure that I knocked myself out. I woke up with a pretty solid headache that lasted close to a day. Not the proudest of moments. Though I would have been less proud if I didn't knock myself out; in a sick way I am happy to know that I can knock myself out. Over a video game. Forever young/immature. Here is a small taste of the seriousness of our season-

Ya, we keep track of every goal.

With Cadence's 2nd birthday around the corner, she has recently been using my computer to Skype her boyfriends. I do my best to subtly monitor the conversations.

I also finished Jo Nesbo's The Snowman and it was quite frightening. So if you want a book to keep you up at night (reading) or if you want to never enjoy running by snowmen again- this book is for you. I really enjoyed that it took place around Oslo. Scandanavia is the first non us region of the world that I want to travel to. It seems like such an excellent place. And for a vague spoiler alert- misdirection never works. I need a new book. Tell me what to read next!!




Also, Season 3 of Wilfred is on Netflex. When things like this happen I do the same thing that I do with a big tub of ice cream. I watched the entire season in one sitting, just like I eat any ice cream in sight until it is gone. Wilfred is a top 10 show in my book. Here's that list attached with quick tastes of the shows.  If you laugh, and cry at some moments of these videos- we just may get along in real life.

10. That 70s Show

9. Dexter

8. Wilfred

7. Psych

6. Boy Meets World - The ultimate BROMANCE

5. The Office - Best character on television

4. Fresh Prince of Bel Air

3. White Collar

2. Top Gear

1. How I Met Your Mother

If you actually watched all the videos, man am I happy to have killed so much of your day.

Here is an updated preview to my summer plans. If you have followed my previews you should know that they are all, aside from Run the Rut, is subject to change.

• GOPRO Trail runs all July long. Big training month and you all will come along with me. 
• Call of the Wilds Mountain Marathon    8/16
• Run the Rut 50k  9/13 (two days after never forgetting)
• 1-3 Trail races in September/October
• Road Marathon debut in Tulsa 11/22 (51st anniversary of the passing of USA's 2nd sexiest President. Behind Clinton.)

NEXT BLOG: Debut of the GOPRO cam and I have to be honest, planning on taking this blog to a completely different level. Things will get personal, you will see things you may not want to see, but it will be one hell of a ride! If you are just now starting to read, consider yourself a 2011 Miami Heat fan because you picked the perfect time to hop on the wagon. Not a wagon, we have a stage coach and you all will be riding the original shotgun.

Sorry I didn't finish and I can promise that there are no more DNFs in my future. But if you are older than ten you know how much promises are worth.

Jokes aside, I appreciate the support and am pumped to evolve this page into a level two pokemon.

ONE LOVE!