Mikey is gone

Monday was a day that ordinarily would have been considered good... as Mondays go. Work went smoothly and I had my first Boy Scout troop meeting of the year which is always nice to get back to... I missed those 31 rambunxious Scouts over the summer! Anything good however was obliterated by the news that Mikey Czech lost his battle with cancer, or more specifically with the drugs that attacked the tumor but also ravaged his 11 year old body.

It's hard to explain why the loss of a young boy whom I never met would affect me so profoundly. I heard about Mikey through a friend at work whose son was best friends with Mikey. His was a story that was so captivating because of his positive attitude after being diagnosed with brain cancer on his 11th birthday, yet intent on "being the next Lance Armstrong" who beats cancer against all odds. So I decided to bring a sign with me as I summited my first mountain peak in Nevada last spring with a message for Mikey. That idea spawned many more signs with many more messages to special people as I continued to train, but there was always a sign for Mikey at each big mountain top so that he would know I was thinking of him. I also carried his name with me on my special shirt to many, many different places.

No I didn't actually know him, but I did get regular updates about how he was doing through e-mail blasts from his parents to the many, many concerned people. From those updates I did feel as if I knew him a bit because I regularly heard about his successes, setbacks and family adventures. And yes, I always intended to reach out to him when my journey was done to be able to say I met the young man with the incredible outlook on life.

It seemed like there was always enough time tomorrow to make that meeting happen. Others who added names to my shirt thought the same thing about their friends or loved ones and found out that there aren't always tommorrows available to do it. I think many times grief is a manifestation of opportunity lost. You know, that opportunity that was right there for the taking, but you failed to reach for it... the opportunity to call and say I love you, or the opportunity to visit and show you are thinking of him/her, to give a spontaneous warm hug and smile to someone in need, or the opportunity to spend a few minutes to touch the life of a stranger in even the most seemingly insignificant way. This week for me, it was the lost opportunity to touch/or be touched by a young boy's great attitude while facing tough odds, and his persistence to show others how we should all live our lives, every day, no matter what challenges we are faced with.

Mikey Czech

1/6/1997 - 9/7/2008

An excerpt from a conversation between Mikey and his dad Steve before meeting the Pope this past spring:

"...Dad, can I ask The Pope some questions?" Not knowing where he was going with this, I replied, "What questions do you have for The Pope?" Mikey replied, "Well I have two questions. First, I want to ask him what school he went to to learn how to be The Pope. Second I want to ask him: If he dies, how do we know that the guy who replaces him as Pope is going to know what to do?" I replied that he should probably let The Pope do the talking.

A few last race day reflections

I have to admit, I was extremely apprehensive about running the race this morning due to the nasty weather forecast, but the 47 names on my back, and their spirits, lifted me up in the end and carried me to the top in a time I never expected.


It was extremely emotional at the top for me as I thought about my shirt, the names on it and the stories behind every one of them. I found my eyes welling up and a lump in my throat numerous times and unable to speak. I thought about my friend Serv Gonsalves whom this all started for, and others like my father-in-law George Strolin, John Bocko, Carroll Kenny and Paul Pinette who lost their battles. I also thought about people like Mikey Czech, Janice Whiteley, Regina Barcello and my cousin Darryl who are firecely battling cancer today; and about my Mom (Barbara), Nancy Olofson and Faith Sheehan among others who are survivors whom we can celebrbate life with every day.



Today was about not letting tall odds deter me from bringing the memories of your loved ones to the summit of Pike's Peak as I promised because cancer doesn't slow down either. Your loved ones actually made it to the summit of PP twice because I wore the jersey during our hike to the top last week as well.



LiveSTRONG my friends! I am still... running for other people's lives!



Next up... the Boston Marathon...

The Pike's Peak Ascent - Race Day

It's race day at 5:15 pm in Manitou Springs, CO. It is raining as it has all day in the historic town at the base of Pike's Peak and the Pike's Peak Ascent is now history but let me back up 13 hours.

I got up at 4:30am after a VERY restless night's sleep. I could hear the rain pouring down outside all night a that meant that there was snow on the hallowed mountain up in the alpine regions. I had fretted all day yesterday and all night about what I would wear, what I would carry, and would it be the right combination. It was very difficult deciding what to wear. Many hardcore runners swore all that was needed were shorts, a long-sleeve technical shirt and a wind/rain shell. I chose to use my Scouting experience and survival knowledge to help me decide.

The weather was scheduled for 52 degrees in Manitou Springs at race time (7am) and steady rain while the summit would be in the 30s and snowy until 10am and then turn over to rain with 25MPH winds. I decided to wear my winter tights, my underarmor cold gear shirt and my sleeveless race shirt over that and when needed put on my waterproof/breathable rain shell. I forgot to pack my gloves and ski hat back in good ol' Monroe, so I had to go out and buy them. Since it is normally quite hot in this region, gloves and winter hats were almost impossible to find. I bought some hunting cammoflaged fleece gloves and a totally ugly ski hat that was about the only one I could find. I also decided to wear my micro-pack which I often use for trail running so that I could hold my rain jacket, my ski hat, my gloves, some toilet paper (for emergencies) and my sports nutrition gels.

I ate breakfast by 5am, checked the weather forecast one more time (it really didn't change), and my support team (A.K.A. family) and I were headed for the starting line for a 6:30 drop off.

At race time the rain picked up and it was a steady rain as me and 2,000 of my closest running buddies took off for the summit! Wahoo! It was great to get going after all the stress of the last few days waiting for it to finally come! Since the rain was hard, I started the race with my rain jacket on and never removed it.

I saw my family at the turn from the road we started on to Ruxton Avenue towards the Barr trail and gave a HUGE wave before disappearing up the mountain. From here it was a relative blur for a while... in the early stages of the Barr trail it was like a cattle corral, especially at the switchbacks. Running and passing in these areas was very hard but I was keeping up a good pace that was actually faster than my goal pace. I had hoped, way back when, to finish in 3 hours and 50 minutes but with the nasty weather predictions I had completely given hope for that time and was just hoping to get up to the summit before the cutoff time since if you miss the cutoff you don't even get your race shirt since it says "Pike's Peak Ascent Finisher."

I took my time and ran comfortably in the "W's" which is a 3-mile series of steep switchbacks that is nortorious for crushing overly-eager runners who later bonk in the high altitudes above the treeline.

At the virtual half-way point, Barr Camp, (it's virtual because its not the half-way point in distance but half-way in effort) I was actually about 15 minutes ahead of my split for my goal of 3:50. They say "smart runners know that the race really starts at Barr Camp and really smart runners know that the race starts at the treeline" so I was off to the start of the real race from the treeline at 12,000 feet and then on to the summit. When I neared the treeline, the CO Search and Rescue teams told us that it was pellet sized sleet above us and I decided to switch from my bandana to my ugly ski hat and to get my gloves on. The weather changed fast! It was wicked and the original forecast had changed... instead of changing to rain by 10am, it had actually gotten colder and hail, pellet-sized sleet and thunder snow driven by 25MPH steady winds greeted us.

Some fools were out in shorts, long-sleeved shirts/nylon shells and trash bags pulled over them and they were in real danger. Many were running in shoes meant for road racing and were slipping and falling on the snow and ice. I was never so happy to have listened to my inner voice and prepared. I was wet and chilly but I was also as prepared as anyone, hydrating, eating my gels and in good shape.

The clouds were close in around us and you could only see a few hundred feet away so I guess that was good since I couldn't see how far away the summit still was above me. I hit the 3 miles to go sign and felt good. One guy was in real trouble since he had not brought nourishment and was bonking... since I felt fine I gave him 2 of my GUs to help him out and kept going. I hit the 2 miles to go sign and was getting very cold... my hands were numb and my legs were getting rubbery but I was still making decent time. The ice and snow made it hard to pass people and many were in trances from the cold and could not even respond to your requests to move out of the way. The thunder snow over our heads provided a good motivation to get the heck out of there!

I got to the "16 Golden Steps" which was about 1/3 of a mile from the finish... these 16 steps are actually 32 rocky, steep, nasty switchbacks just before the summit and they break many people. I was pushing forward but I had a line of frozen bodies in front of me moving at a glacially slow pace and it was nearly impossible to pass with steep rocky slopes both above and below the trail so I had to instead resort to motivating the guys to go faster in front of me so I could go faster too. Some appreciated it, some didn't because they were dead men walking. I managed to get by a few of the dead men walking and came across the finish line in 3 hours and 45 minutes! Wow, I never imagined that was possible given the conditions!

I got my finisher medal and my shirt (it's REALLY nice!) and found Jan, Derek and Erica in the fog and sleet. When I got inside I realized that I too was bordeline hypothermic and had started to shake, had no fine motor control in my hands but was just pumped from the experience! Then I was treated to a really cool show of love and support from Jan, Derek and Erica who held up 3 placards which said on one side (when held up together) "Go Dad Go" and "We Are SO Proud" on the other side which really choked me up. They have been SO very supportive in this journey and really propped me up at the end when my confidence was faltering. I am the luckiest Dad and Husband in the world!

I put on my heavy jacket and headed outside to take my obligatory pictures at the summit. I can't vouch for the quality of the pictures however because I was shking so much the signs are probaly blurred and the sleet probably messed up the camera lens but I will post those pictures on the web site in the next few days. You'll notice the PP summit sign is crusted with snow and ice in mid-August.

The van ride down from the summit was an adventure as well! We were stuck for a while until snow plows could clear the ice from the road and I had to split up from my family to get the vans filled to capacity before they could head down. It was slow going and one plow had skidded off the road which held the vans up. Our car was parked at "Devil's Playground" which was 4 miles below the summit. They call it Devil's playground becaused of the way the lightning dances from rock to rock in that area during storms... yikes!

Epilogue...
It turned out that they closed the course and started turning all people back at the treeline about an hour after I passed through that area due to the dangerous conditions up top. 2,000 runners checked in, some bailed out due to the weather and did not even start the race, and only about 750 actually finished the race. I came in 297th, not bad.

I do feel bad, those that were turned back at the treeline (almost 9 miles up the trail) do not get shirts or medals because they did not finish. But we all knew the rules before we started.

The day before the race!

Well my friends, this will be my last blog entry before the race... I'll try to write a quick one after the race just to let you know how it went before we head back to CT.

Today I got a bit of a slap in the face... the weather here has been quite nice and relatively warm the whole time. Though each day there are thunderstorm warnings, the actual storm is brief and has always been in the evening. This weekend is different, it has turned unseasonably cold today and is not supposed to rise above 55 degrees all weekend (Fri-Sun) and there will be continual rain all weekend in Manitou Springs. Pikes Peak summit is scheduled for even worse... tonight (Fri) it will have a low of 30 degrees with 3-5 inches of snow and tomorrow (race day) the high will be 36 with another inch of snow and 15-25 MPH cross winds above the treeline. That is just plain nasty! First I'll get soaked at the lower altitudes and then I'll be running in snow! I didn't quite plan for that so today we went out shopping for extra gear to help my survival chances ;-)

Despite this bad news on weather I actually feel better about the race today and my confidence is returning. I'm at the point now that I know the only way I won't get to the top is if they close the course early (which has happened a few times due to really bad weather at the summit). The real issue now is how to get my family safely up the mountain to see me finish and take the usual pictures at the top.

LiveSTRONG everyone! I'm headed for the summit!

The "vacation" portion of our vacation

Yes this vacation definitely revolves around my race up Pike's Peak on the 16th, but its also a family vacation and we have had some really great times that are helping me periodically forget the race. If you aren't interested in our family fun you can pass on this blog entry, I'll understand.

On Saturday we went whitewater rafting on Clear Creek which in the Spring is a hardcore Class V run but in the Summer it is a little less frightening with non-stop Class III and IV rapids. We had a ball! We went over 3 different rapids that dropped up to 8 feet and the rest of the run was also pretty technical and filled with rough water and ice cold mountain water in the face. Our raft was pretty skilled, no one fell out and we did not get perched on a huge rock. Other rafts in our group were no so lucky. Some fell out, and two out of the 4 rafts got stuck really good on rocks in the whitewater. Our guide taught us a new move on the biggest 8' drop called "50/50" (50% of the time you flip the raft on this rapid, 50% of the time you don't) the move was called "train wreck." There is a huge boulder below the drop and many rafts try to steer around it and flip. We instead headed straight for it and at the last minute we all dropped into the middle of the raft as we crashed into the rock (Erica and I were in the front so we would be the casualties if it didn't work). It worked, the raft bounced off the boulder and then we all popped up and started paddling like mad as the raft bounced around the boulder. Quite fun but Erica and I got soaked by the 50 degree water splashing over the front of the raft! What a blast! Unfortunately though Derek said that our Scouting whitewater trips on the Deerfield river in MA will now seem kinda lame compared to this thrill ride :-)

Jan and Erica also went on a horse ride from the Breckenridge Stables the next day while Derek and I went for a run / hike. I get sore riding horses and I didn't want to be sore for the race so Jan took the bullet for me and went riding with Erica (what a great Mom!) Derek and I set off up the Breckenridge slopes, me running and he hiking and we decided we'd meet up as I ran back down. We did but we also decided to hike further up the mountain. It was a really great hike, not because of the views or the exercise but because we could just talk... and there aren't many of those opportunities available anymore for a Dad and a 16-year old. We talked about college, and likes/dislikes, and the fact that he loves the mountains out here so much that he may just consider a college option here in Colorado. Quality time is what family vacations are all about.

We rented Kayaks for an afternoon and went out on Dillon Lake, an alpine lake that is very cold... 37 degrees even in August! It was really fun, we all had our own kayaks and we paddled through an area with many little islands and inlets to explore as well as some passages that were barely 10 inches deep to slip through between islands.

The absolute best excursion though was our zip line adventure. It was a series of zip lines over a canyon west of Vail... 6 lines to be exact totalling more than a half mile of cable runs at over 200 feet above the canyon floor. It was SO fabulous. I'm not a person who likes heights but this didn't bother me a bit. Being hitched to a cable by a harness and a pulley and sailing across a canyon like a bird was so fun! I actually got stuck about 100 feet of the landing zone of the last line due to winds slowing me down and they had to come out and reel me in :-) I got a great video of the last 1,000 foot zip line ride as I flew down the length of the canyon, if you want to see it let me know but I can't post it, it is too large.

It's funny, even when we are relaxing with family time, I'm getting a workout in... there's not much about our vacations that have us just sitting around!

Stay tuned, we may do a mountain bike ride down Pike's Peak from the summit the day after the race!

The final workouts

I'm about at the end of my long road to the Pike's Peak Ascent. This week I have performed my last few "real" workouts and now am in coast mode to the big day.

Breckenridge was a great place to spend the better part of a week before the race since it sits at 9,700 feet above sea level, which gave me some much needed time acclimating to the altitude. I have spent a few days at 6,500, a few days at 5,200 and a bunch of days at 9,500 to 14,000 feet. I'm not acclimated but I hope am in better shape than if I just showed up out here to run the race from good ol' Monroe at about 75 feet. I actually feel the altitude more when relaxing than when running or doing my strength training.

I wabbled between very diverse feelings all week... first I feel like I will never be in better shape to run this race, I've trained so hard that I should be able to turn in a respectable time; second I am wracked with feelings of inadequacy and fear that I will collapse under the stress of such a long, steep race in rarified air. I dwell a whole lot on what could go wrong and think about it all the time right now which at times takes away from the fun we are having on vacation (more on that later).

My training has actually been encouraging... I ran (and walked briskly) up to 10,800 feet on the ski slopes of Breckenridge Tuesday for about 4.5 miles and felt pretty good though the steep hill sections really hurt my lungs and that's why I walked at times. I ran about 3.5 miles Sunday at Breckenridge including a cruise around town and then up the ski slopes to about 10,100 feet and felt strong as well as maintaining a pace of about 10 minute miles which is way faster than my goal pace for the race and at altitude to boot. I did some work on a treadmill in the resort two different nights where I felt very strong and ran at a 13.5% incline (as steep as the steepest 3-mile section averages on PP) at faster than goal pace at 9,700 feet so that too was good and encouraging. Today I did about 5 easy miles... the whole first half was all downhill and the second half was all uphill at about 9,600 feet and at a very good 8:20 per mile pace (my goal pace for PP is about 20:00 to finish under 4 hours).

So given all that positive training and I should feel great right now right? Nope. I have never been so nervous about a race... I have never second guessed myself so much about my abilities... I have never taken on such a physically tough challenge; and now it has become totally mental. I now have to get my PMA (positive mental attitude) back!

Hiking Barr Trail to Pike's Peak to scout it out

Last Thursday morning we got up and drove to the Barr Trail trail head. We parked the car and bought our tickets for the ride down from the summit on the Cog Railroad. Our plans were to start at the 6,800 foot trailhead and hike to the Barr Camp at 10,200 feet 6.5 miles up the trail on day one. Day two we would climb another 4,000 feet of altitude over 6 miles to the summit and take the cog railroad back down. The cog railroad station at the base is only about 1/4 mile from the trail head.

We set off up the trail knowing that heavy rain storms were coming in late in the afternoon so we needed to be crisp and make it to the camp on time. It was sunny and warm. We quickly learned why "the Ws" as they call them is the single hardest section of the race. It is 3 miles on constant switchbacks up a very steep "foothill" of Pikes Peak. We came out of the Ws and entered a more reasonable section that was heavily forrested with pine and aspen groves. We decided to sit down and have lunch as it started to rain. We put our rain gear on, had our meals and headed on up the trail but I was nervous that the nasty thunder storms predicted would come over the mountain before we could get to the camp. We talked about what our point of no return would be so we could decide if we should turn back for safety reasons. The rain subsided luckily and we continued on up to the cabin which was a welcome sight.

Barr Camp is a cool little cabin with a sitting room area and a bunk house with just a row of bunks separated by nothing... just mattress pad to mattress pad. No heat, no electricity, no running water. They had gas lights inside and we could filter water outside at Cabin Creek. It was really nice to sit back and talk to the other hikers camping in the site for the rest of the afternoon and evening. We met Yvonne and Matt Carpenter there while Matt is training for the race as well. Matt is the God of this race, he owns just about every record for it including the all-time fastest time up the mountain in 2 hours and 8 minutes. The caretakers of the camp made dinner for us all and we enjoyed spaghetti and home-baked "switch back bread" that was delicious! We turned in early so that we could be on the trail early the next morning. Our hosts again treated us all to "Pikes Peak Power Pancackes" the next morning before we set off.

The second day we were running against a tight schedule... we had to catch a specific train at the top because we were forced to buy round trip tickets at the bottom for a specific round trip and tickets are non-refundable and non-transferrable. That means that if you miss your train you lose all your money and the tickets ain't cheap! Our second day was tougher yet staring at 10,200 feet. The trail wasn't really steep in the forest but the footing was hard. There were large step-ups over the many, many water bars and it saps your quad strength. We finally came to the A-frame (lean-to) at the treeline which was a big milestone because it meant we had 3.5 miles to go to the summit. Above treeline we know had no protection from the weather. It was beautiful, we had clouds BELOW us covering the valleys and some threatening clouds above us. The going was now slow, it was all switchbacks from here on as we ascended the worlds largest rock pile. We enjoyed a gormet lunch of fruit and spam, summer sausage and cheese on crackers :-) Plenty of carbs and energy from the starch, fat and sugar for the final push.

Rain came on us fast and before we knew we were in a rain squall with no cover. We pulled out our full rain suits and by the time we got them on, the rain had subsided (figures). From the 2 mile to go sign it was hard going, from the 1 mile sign it was really hard but when we hit the sign for the "16 Golden Steps" it was sheer torture! The steps are 32 very short and steep switchbacks with huge rocks and big step ups that tear apart any positive mental attitude you have left. We celebrated in a tired sort of way at the summit but rain was coming in and the temp was dropping so our only focus was to get on the train and get off the mountain to rest.

I hiked up the mountain with a pack without any issues but I am now having a very difficult time visualizing how I will run up it, not only in a single day but in 4 hours as I hope to do. It's all so daunting. I'm aguably in the best shape of my life but I'm not sure it's good enough. I will have to find some new motivation before next Saturday at 7:30am mountain time.

What I can say is I have never been more proud of my family. They all have humored me and hiked lengths and heights that we have never done before in our lives. Jan and Erica, who do not have the hiking experience of Derek and I, were phenominal! Tired yes, but willing to cry uncle, not a chance! I have such an awesome family! I'll get my pictures posted to the web site tomorrow night hopefully.

LiveSTRONG my friends... I am Running for Other People's Lives!

Hello from Colorado!

We've been here in CO now for 4 days. In that time I have run The Incline and climbed Pike's Peak with a 40 lb pack on my back for some training and 411. What I can say after these first 4 days is that I am hugely intimidated and have no idea how I will find it in me to actually RUN up Pike's Peak in less than 4 hours.

When we arrived on Wednesday we drove over to Manitou Springs from our hotel before the rain came in that evening so that I could run up The Incline. For those who didn't read my earlier blog entry, the Incline is an abandoned incline railway route up the side of Mt Manitou. It used to run a car up what was considered the steepest incline railway in the world at a 45 degree incline. It is .9 miles in length and gains 2,000 feet in altitude in that short time. I ran it once and my legs were burning and my lungs were searing in the altitude at the top of 8,500 feet. I ran up it in just under 30 minutes which I think is respectable... the unofficial record is about 17 minutes. Olympic athletes from the US training center in Colorado Springs run it all the time for their training and they say it takes up to a week to recover from the workout since it is so hard on the body. I didn't know that but was glad to find that out because I was planning on running it again next Thursday when I got back into Manitou Springs for the race on Saturday. I'll post pictures from both the bottom and the top that I took that day... it is downright scary lokking down it from the top! As I was decending I tripped and almost fell down it forwards which would have been disasterous. Instead I sat back and landed on my butt just adding a few more scrapes to my already beaten up and bruised legs from many weeks of trail running :-)

I have decided to break this blog entry up since I felt it was rather long. There is now a new entry in here for our scouting mission up Pikes Peak so I know what insanity I'm in for :-(

Under 2 weeks to go!

I am now officially nervous about what I have undertaken! It is Tuesday, August 5th and this is the last real week of workouts I have before the run itself. As much as I have prepared, I have a fear that I have not prepared nearly as much as I need to for this run and I won't really understand that fully until next Saturday. I have a speed workout today and then tomorrow is a fun workout when I arrive in Colorado Springs... I am running the "Incline." If you never heard of it, check out this link: http://www.stevegarufi.com/manitouincline.htm it is a 1 mile set of stairs up the side of Mt Manitou and it gains 2,000 feet of altitude in that 1 mile. Olympians from the Olympic Training center in Colorado Springs frequent it and it is supposedly one of the most brutal workouts you can imagine so it'll be a fun hill workout in the last week before my taper :-)

At this time I have raised over $3,200 which is well more than I had originally set as my goal so I want to thank every one of you who has contributed to my journey! For those who are still hoping to contribute, I will be happy to accept contributions through the end of August but I have officially sent my shirt off to the printer so I cannot add any more memorials to it. You can send a check or use PayPal from my web site... the address for checks can be found on my web site as well.

Today has been crazy! I have been running around while finishing all of my work (I do have to make a living still) and doing con calls while driving and walking through EMS. I spent hours last night creating the iron-ons for my final shirt and trimming them so that my shirt still was able to breathe properly and then this morning while ironing them on before work found out that a defective iron on was in the mix and it ruined my shirt! My saintly wife Jan ran out today and bought more iron-ons, and a trimming knife since I was out of both and I'll have to redo one last emergency shirt tonight before we leave for the airport.

You may be asking yourself... "If Scott just sent his shirts to the professional printer, why is he making another one by hand?" That is an excellent question! The answer is, because of Mr Murphy! He always has a way of messing up my plans and if I didn't make one by hand then either the printer would have a major issue that could not be resolved while I am away, or FedEx would lose the shirts after the printer ships them to my hotel in CO or the hotel refuses the shipment or the hotel loses them or FedEx ruins the package... you get the picture. I am hand carrying my emergency shirt with me! The printer is printing a sleeveless and a long sleeve for me and shirts for all of my crew (A.K.A. family) too.

I will be adding blog entries while I am in CO but it will be whenever I have internet access. I will also be adding pictures to my web site when I can. Hopefully we'll get some great pictures while hiking up Pike's Peak this Thu and Fri and camping on its upper slopes.

God bless you all for supporting my journey and taking interest in an old man's crazy adventure! I will write as often as I can so stay tuned for more news!

3 Weeks to Go!

Its been 7 days since I last wrote in my blog and I apologize for the delay but there really wasn't much to write about. Since I feel down The Wittenberg, I could barely walk let alone train. It was quite scary, I feared that all that I had worked for for the last 6 months was lost. I finally went to an Orthopedic Sports Medicine expert for knees and he gave me a good once over and said my knee was banged up good but there was no permanent damage and I run as much as I could take the pain. I finally got up the nerve after days of just doing strength work and non-impact elliptical aerobic workouts for 30-45 minutes a day. My knee was swollen, bruised nicely, cut right over the kneecap from the rock's impact and full of fluid. It ached when I sat, and the tendon over the kneecap was tight as a rubber band that was overstretched when I walked. Going down stairs was excruciating!

Finally I felt slightly better on Friday the 25th so I decided to go out for a run at the park after work. I got 5.8 miles in at a decent pace... 7:58 per mile and iced my knee heavily when i got back. It really swelled up that night but the next morning I decided to drive to Sleeping Giant park the next morning to run hill repeats on the 1.5 mile trail from the base to the summit. I felt actually pretty good, and the compression sleeve I wore on my knee seemed to help. I got 6 miles in (2 loops) before heading off to my daughter Erica's band camp concert.

Today I took off from running but I did do 30 minutes on the old elliptical at a fast pace. Tomorrow I'll be at the lake doing speed intervals and Wednesday will be a hard speed workout at Wachusett Mtn in MA... I can't wait! Pain is still there but... I'm baaaack! :-)

Today was a great morning at church at Monroe Congregational Church too. I announced that to help MCC's own Sound Coalition Habitat team, I would disburse the Habitat portion of any MCC members (or friends & family) getting involved in my journey to the Sound Coalition. With the city of Bridgeport, CT now auctioning off building lots (booo!!!) instead of giving them to Habitat, the cost of a new Habitat house has risen dramatically, so we must raise $30K as our contribution to our adopted house this year. Many people came out to get involved and once again I learned so much by speaking to the good people! The total I have raised now over $3,100!!! Wow!

I'll write more next weekend after I return from PA and the NASCAR PA 500 race and a run in the Pocono Mtns!

LiveSTRONG my friends!

The Day After Slide Mtn

Well I usually like to go out for a short, slow run a day after a big workout to prevent the lactic acid from settling in my muscles and making them even sorer and less responsive but when I got up this morning I knew there would be none of that today. My left knee, the one I gashed right on the top of it in my fall, is swelled up some and very stiff. It bends without much pain when there is no weight on it but I have a LOT of pain bending it when I put weight on it too. Today is going to be a day of nursing it back to health so I can get back to running by Monday... I'm within 4 weeks now and I need to capitalize on runs like that.

I did my strength work today on my whole body (weight training) but was very light on leg presses. I normally go as high as 320 lbs on my legs but today I went no higher than 120 lbs. No use in making a moderate injury into a real bad one. I also spent 15 minutes on my elliptical loosening both knees up and they felt much better afterwards, my sore muscles also appreciated it by burning off some of that lactic acid.

I made my second to last cutom shirt today with all of the recent names that were added. The next one I do will be the final one before we head to CO in early August. Anyone wanting to add a name will need to do it before August 3rd so that I can make the last shirt before we leave on the 5th. We decided that we'll also make 3 more shirts, one for Jan, Derek and Erica to wear as my crew on race day. I think that'll be neat! The best support crew a guy could possibly want!

I was interviewed by the Monroe Courier Friday and I'll be in this week's edition so those of you who live in town, keep an eye out for me this week!

LiveSTRONG my friends!

Redfern 3 - Mountains 1

Yesterday (Saturday) I had the longest, toughest training run of the year and dare I say, the toughest run I have ever done in my life. I know I need to run mountain trails from here on out in order to prepare for the climbing and dirt trail aspect of the Pike's Peak Ascent so each week I have been finding good runs within a 3-hour drive from my home to do on Saturdays. And each week I have been getting progressively more aggressive with my choices.



Last week I ran up and over Mt Greylock in MA with a total ascent of 5,306'. This week I knew was going to be tougher but I wasn't sure how much tougher. I did not have detailed topo maps of the trail, but I did know that Slide Mtn was the highest peak in southtern NY at 4,186' and to get to Slide I had to run over two other 3,500' peaks (and back over them again to get back to my car). The other two mountains were Mt Wittenberg (3,780') and Cornell Mtn (3,860').



One thing I learned when I got there was that the real cool backpackers of the Catskills call Mt Wittenberg, The Wittenberg. So from now on I'm going to be cool and call it the same!



As usual I got up at 3:30am and was on the road for Phoenicia, NY at 4am. I arrived at the trailhead in Woodland Valley at about 6:30 and by the time I packed my running backpack and used the luxurious flushing toilets at the campsite one more time it was 7am before I was running for the hills. There were black bear warnings all over the place but since they are predominantly herbivores I wasn't concerened, I just needed to make sure I didn't surprise one or end up close to a cub if I even came across one at all. My plan would be to ascend The Wittenberg, run across the Bruins Causeway and ascend Cornell Mtn then descend the saddle and ascend Slide Mtn... rest... and return the way I came. I gave myself 2.5 hours to get to Slide Mtn and if I didn't get there I'd turn back.



The trail started out immediately steep and treacherous. Not treacherous like danger to life and limb, but more because the path was filled with narly roots jutting out of the ground and jagged rocks sticking up out of the ground at all angles... both of which made it easy to catch a toe and trip, and falling in this stuff would be disasterous. Running was very slow because I had to be very careful with foot placement. I remembered reading in the trails.com brief on this course about all of the rocks and boulders on the way up The Wittenberg so I assumed this is what they were talking about. The trails.com document also spoke of the many sheer ledges that had to be scaled along the way... literally climbing up near vertical walls of rock... COOL! I got to the intersection of the red trail (my trail) and the yellow trail and it was another 1.3 miles to the summit of The Wittenberg. My assumption was wrong, as I continued up I ended up in a literal boulder field where I had to climb over and around very large boulders on a steep slope. At the top of the slope I was quite tired and my legs were fatigued, I saw a big ledge ahead of me and I thought to myself... "I hope that's not one of the ledges I must scale since I'm already pretty tired from ascending the boulder field." I really didn't expect to climb it and truly expected the trail would go around it, but it didn't. I spent a minute or two planning out the best path based on hand/toe holds and cracks I could use hand-jams in. I climbed up the 10' ledge and continued on, but it was exhilarating having scaled a wall without ropes!



My pace was slower than I'd like but I was fully convinced this was going to be GREAT training since I knew I needed to strengthen my thighs and hip flexors after the Mt Washing race caused them to cramp up. The constant step ups over the boulders on steep slopes was going to be a great workout for the legs. It would also prepare me for the many water bars that I'd have to step over on the Barr trail up Pike's Peak.



When I got to the summit of The Wittenberg, I came across a group of hikers who had slept out on the ledge at the summit over night after hiking over Slide from the NJ side of the backcountry. Sounded like a blast! They slept under the stars with no tents and were making pancakes on their pocket rocket stove for breakfast. We spoke for a bit while I ate my energy bar and then I was off for Cornell Mtn. The view off the ledge must have been fabulous when the haze wasn't thick, I could only see outlines of the many Catskill peaks in the distance. I was surprised how far the descent was to the Bruins Causeway before climbing up to Cornell. I had read that this climb had the biggest ledges to scale, I looked forward to it with great anticipation. I got to the ledge and indeed there were two successive ledges that were nearly vertical. The first was a crotch so it was fairly simple to get holds while using the other wall for support. The second was higher and open but had plenty of handholds to scale it. A few minutes and I was over them both and on my way to the summit. I did not stop here since I was on a mission to get to Slide.



As I descended Cornell, I came to clearing and was absolutely blown away at what I found. As I looked out to the west I saw Slide Mtn and it was considerably higher than Cornell... 350' makes a surprisingly big difference. What was more shocking was the depth of the valley I had to desend into before climbing Slide! I though at that point that there was no way in the world I was going to be able to descend into and out of the valley to the summit of Slide in 40 minutes to make it under my self-imposed 2.5 hour limit. I decided to head on and see how far I could make it in those 40 minutes.

I was motivated... I kept pushing on down Cornell but it seemed to go on into the valley forever. Finally I started going up Slide and I was pushing harder than ever but feeling good, but time was running out. I checked my watch and I had 25 minutes. I kept on going past mud bogs, rocks and ledges towards the summit. Finally my time had run out, I saw a clearing ahead so I decided to climb to the clearing, rest and head back. To my surprise, the clearing was the summit! I made it to Slide Mtn in 2:31.

I met a nice older man from PA on the summit who likes to hike the Catskills during the summer as a rereation. We chatted while I drank, he took a picture for me and I wished him well and set on my way back to the car... down Slide, up Cornell, down Cornell, up Wittenberg and down Wittenberg to the trail head... YIKES!

By the time I reached the summit of The Wittenberg, I was exhausted. I ate my last energy bar, took a last picture and headed down. I had done all the climbing for the day and all I needed to do was decend the 3.6 miles back to the trailhead and my car. I ran down the mountain and could feel the exhaustion causing me to be less careful than usual, I still felt good mentally and bounding down the rocks and ledges was actually fun. At one point a group of much younger hikers cheered me on as I made quick work of the last ledge between me and the trailhead. That felt good and I kept up the quick pace. I was thinking about the name of my blog for the day... it would be "Redfern 3 - Mountains 0" since I hadn't had one fall today! Around about the time I was at the divergence of the yellow and red trails though, my exhaustion got the better or me, I hooked a toe on one of those jagged rocks I spoke of on the way up and crashed onto the rocks hard. My left knee was bleeding and gashed, my right knee was scraped, my hip was sore and scraped as was my right elbow, forearm and both palms. Immediately every muscle below my hips went into severe cramps and I was wrenching around on the ground to keep them from tightening up. I forced myself up fairly quickly because keeping moving in this type of situation is the best way to work out the pain and cramps and keep from getting completely immobilized. I knew nothing was broken so I just had to suck it up and get moving again.

Unfortunately moving in the right direction is always the best idea and that's not what happened. I ended up in a clearing that I was not familiar with and could not find the way out the other side, I limped back to where I entered the clearing and realized that I had wandered down the yellow trail... but for how long? I walked back up the trail slowly to make sure I did not miss the turn off... I walked about 0.2 miles before finding it. I was now very sore, very stiff and could not run on this treacherous rocky, rooty path. If I fell again I would surely get hurt even worse the second time so I decided I would have to walk the 2 miles back to the trail head. I did run when I found clearings from the rocks and roots but they were short-lived and very far and few in between. I have to say, that 2 miles was the longest, most excruciating 2 miles I have ever walked, ran or hiked! The terrain stunk and made it horrible for me. What had been a euphoric (yet exhausing) run for 11.3 miles had quickly degraded into pure misery for 2 miles. As I neared the trailhead I crossed a refreshing spring where I sat down, soaked my pack towel in the ice cold water and cleaned my wounds. The cold felt good on my throbbing knees.

Upon arriving at my car I cleaned myself up, ate the fruit and drank the FRS sports drink I had packed in a thermal bag, then put the ice packs on my knees while totaling up the days accomplishments, and what a day it was:

* 5 mountains summitted (Wittenberg and Cornell twice each and Slide)
* 13.3 miles traveled (the same as Pikes Peak!)
* 7,587 feet of climbing (wow! I'll be climbing 8,000 on Pikes Peak!)
* At least 5 ledges scaled in both directcions
* Tons of bounding over big boulders to strengthen those leg muscles!
* And one spectacular wipe out!

It was not a comfortable ride home for 3 hours and I was eating everything in site. I burned a ton of calories on that run and it was now time to replenish them!

Alas, I had to change the name of my blog entry from "Redfern 3 - Mountains 0" to "Redfern 3 - Mountains 1" Oh well...

Beautiful, just Beautiful!

Last night was a fantastic hill workout! While in Boston on business I decided to add a new place to my list of mountains climbed. I drove out to Wachusett Mtn in Princeton, MA that evening for a few repeats up the access road.

For my first run up, I decided I would run up the "Up Summit Road" the one-way road leading up to the summit and the longest way to get there so that I could add some miles on as well get some hill work. I got there much later than expected so I was going to be pushing it to get in multiple runs to the summit before sunset. I headed up for my first one at about 7:45 and was surprised to learn that the paved summer park access road actually bisects many of the ski trails at Wachusett Mtn Ski Area. My run to the top wasn't as tough as I expected but I did get another surprise... as I was nearing the summit I noticed that in one area there was a scenic lookout and lots of people were sitting on the edge of the road looking straight back behind me over the lookout. While continuing up I glanced back to see the most incredible red sunset materializing in the west! I ran backwards for a few seconds to take in the beautiful gift of nature and sped up to get to the summit in hopes of a better view while taking a quick rest. Not to be disappointed, the view at the summit was just as spectacular! There where couples perched everywhere to take in the romantic sunset. Wow! What a great treat!

I was burning daylight though and I had another repeat to get in so I headed back down after about 2 minutes rest. As I wrapped around the other side of the mountain I was treated to a different perspective of the sunset and it too was spectacular.

I rested at the base for a few minutes, drank the last of my Propel and headed back up the mountain but this time I decided to save time by going back up the "Down Summit Road" which was about half the distance but the same elevation (obviously) so it was a steeper run up. It was getting dark now and in the tree covered areas, quite dark. I started seeing the people walking down whom I had seen on the way up or at the summit and they were looking at me in disbelieve that I was on my way back up a second time (I love that look they give me!). When I arrive at the summit it was well past sunset and darkness was setting in... I looked over at the fading red, orange and purple hues of the sunset lost and turned to head back down when I was treated to another spectacular treat. There was a full moon rising in the east as big as a frying pan held out in front of you! It was magnificent and bright and it's reflection shone on the surface of a lake or river way down on the plains below. Boy what I would have given to have had my trusty camera that night!

The run back down was a little trickier in the dark. The moon provided the light, but not enough to illuminate the frost heaves and dips in the pavement so I had to be careful. The challenge descending fast in the dark was well worth the views I was treated to that night! Boy, the simple pleasures I have been treated to through my journey have been things I'll remember for a lifetime!

All in all, a good 8-mile hill workout and some beautiful scenery to boot... just beautiful!

Saturday, if all goes well I'll be heading off again at 4am, this time to the Catskill Mountains of NY to do a 15 mile run up Slide Mountain. It is the tallest mountain in the Catskills at 4,180 feet and will be a very tough workout! One spot includes a sheer rock ledge that I will need to scale before proceeding! Wish me luck!

5 Weeks to Go and Counting!

I am getting more edgy and anxious by the day… maybe even a little nervous. This weekend I crossed 5 weeks before the big day. After the Mt Washington race I changed my training dramatically and I feel it was for the better. Unfortunately I’m not sure my training error was discovered early enough to be really ready for Pike’s Peak… okay truth be told I’m not I’d ever be really ready for Pike.

Since NH I have abandoned the hill training on my treadmill, I have abandoned the thought that I need to train myself to run slower in the mountains and I have abandoned the distance runs on my local streets and I still needed to take about 5 pounds off my frame. In their place I have begun doing all my hill workouts on real hill trails like the Tower Trail to the summit of Sleeping Giant State Park; I have focused on speed once a week… I do 0.8 mile repeats at 6:00/mile pace (I realized on Mt Washington that the size of the hill automatically slows me down); I drive somewhere every weekend to do a long mountain trail run like Mt Greylock on Saturday; and I have brought my weight down to near 145 lbs. I am very fatigued so I go to sleep earlier (that’s good) and am eating much better (tons of fruits and veggies) to combat that issue. The fact that my muscles are regularly sore and I am fatigued tells me I am again making positive progress towards getting ready.

Last week I ran hill repeats at Sleeping Giant and the people walking the Tower Trail thought I was crazy. I passed some of them 5 times in their walk up and back down and they would just shake their heads as I’d pass again. It was very good hill work and since it was on dirt trails it was good practice for making sure I was making good choices of foot placement… you can easily roll an ankle or fall (done it many times) on a rocky trail filled with erosion ruts and potholes.

Getting "Lost" on Greylock on 7/12

Saturday was an awesome day of running! I got up at 4am and headed to Williamstown, MA to run up and over the highest peak in MA… Mt Greylock. I arrived at the trailhead at 7am and was on the trail by 7:12. It was desolate, humid and cool as I headed up the “hopper.” The hopper is a steep 3-walled valley between 3 mountains and the Money Brook trail heads up the crotch between two of them. The canopy over the trail was extremely thick and I could barely see the sky above. The rain from the previous day left the trail muddy and slick with no sunlight to evaporate it.. it also made the insects all the more vicious. When I came to Money Brook Falls I wanted to take a few pictures so I stopped quickly, took pictures (see web site) and headed on up the trail. It was so incredibly steep that I was scrambling up on all fours and slipping in the dirt and mud… until I realized that the reason it was so steep was that I got off the trail about ¼ mile back and was running up a path created by rain runoff! After doubling back it was a much better run!

I continued on up the trail and finally hit the summit of Greylock’s sister mountain Mt Williams at 2,915 feet. I had climbed 1,800 feet in that first 5 miles and wanted to take a short break to look out of the lookout area and take a picture or two (check out my web site) when I headed back out from the lookout area to the trail I discovered a problem. I had not noticed this but the trail down and trail up came in nearly parallel to one another and I was not sure which one I came up on. I thought I knew and headed out on the other trail, but the trail looked slightly familiar and I was heading downhill. Keep in mind that with the thick canopy, and heavy brush around the trails everything looked VERY similar. I stopped and looked at my map but it was too high a level to show the inflection. I pulled out my compass but the trail was heading east-west instead of north-south as the overall trail heads so that did not help me either. I went back to the Mt Williams summit and oriented my map and when that was not decisive given the detail on the map, I decided to head back on the other trail and look for tracks from my shoes since they make a very distinctive mark. I did not think I found any so I decided to head out on this trail for a bit… it headed downhill too. I stopped one more time to look at the map, use my compass, orient the map and think again. I had now used my Scouting experience numerous times… STOP (stop, think, observe and plan). I knew that I was not lost, taking the trail one way would get me back to my car, taking it the other way would get me up to the summit. I one more time I checked everything and decided I was on the right trail. I needed to head south to get to the summit, and since I was still going more west I decided to run with my compass and keep checking for a bit. As I ran, noticed that my direction was steadily turning south and then heading back uphill… I was back on track after about 15 minutes of wandering!

It was a steady rise to Greylock’s summit 2 miles away. It was very quiet up there since the summit road is closed for the year for a complete overhaul and all summit house operations were shut down so only hikers were around. I took some pictures and headed down the trail back to my car. I took the Overlook trail since it was longer and since it must mean that there was a really cool scenic overlook on it… NOT! The trail was heavily overgrown, treacherously rocky and those rocks were covered with slime from rain, condensation and no sunlight. I took a spill very shortly after getting onto the trail when I hit a big rock that was slippery as ice. I got up and continued running at the same pace descending the hill. I again stepped on a rock in the shadows that was very slippery and fell, got back up and continued on at my same pace. A few minutes later, once again I hit some rocks that were very slippery and I took a bad fall, scraping both legs, bruising my hip and butt and putting a nice long cut and bruise on my arm to boot. It was then that I smartened up and decided to gingerly descend until I got to drier, more stable trails.

As I descended, I again found myself in a spot which was poorly marked. I came out of the Hopper Trail onto an abandoned campground and saw sign for the hopper trail point down a road so I headed in that direction. 100 yards down the road I observed a sign for the Hopper Trail pointing back up the road! I decided that I must have missed the turn off from the road and headed back up the road. It took me a frustrating 20 minutes to find that darned turnoff and it was way down into the campgrounds. Once past there, it was a fast, easy run back to my car. The trail was steep but it was wide with great footing and only smaller rocks so it saved my ankles! In hind sight, the better option would have been to go up the Hopper trail and then come back down the Money Brook trail since the hopper trail was wide, a steady incline and more conducive to running.

I really liked the run today… my “directional challenges” slowed my pace down but the hard work getting to the summit was a good workout. The hardest part was the 3-hour drive home right afterwards!

The next big run is planned!

As I was telling Jan today, I am running out of weekends for quality training runs with mountains, trails, distance and time mashed together. I can't believe I am not nearing 5 weeks to go before th big run... since a week of that is tapering (reducing the mileage in the prior week to build up some energy for the big day), I really only have 4 weeks (4 long runs) before the big day. I have to make every week count now. Every tempo run has to be hard, every hill workout needs to be tough, and every weekend needs to have a real doosy of a run!

This weekend I have decided to get up and out of the house on Saturday morning by 4am, drive to Williamstown, MA and do a really nice 13 mile run up Mt Greylock which is the tallest point in Massachusetts. It's only about 3,000 feet of elevation gain but combine it with the distance and it'll make for a nice workout if I keep up a good enough pace. It'll be rather hot so I want to be on the trail by 7am before the temp hits its high of 88 later in the day.

I am looking forward to it! Watch for pictures on the web site when I am done...

I am... Running for Other People's Lives!

4th of July Hill Training

As I mentioned in my last blog entry, I ran the access road to Mt Holyoke's summit as a hill workout on Friday. It was almost exactly 2 miles from the tree at the corner of Route 47 up to the summit house so that worked out nicely for a good workout. I decided I would park at the summit and run down for a warmup and then start my workout... that way if I get tired and don't want to run up again, I don't have a choice because my car is up there!

As I ran down slowly, I couldn't help but think of the times I had been up the access road in the past. If you remember, on my web site I said that I had ridden from NH to MA with my best friend back in high school and we had planned to ride our bikes up Mt Washington while up in the White Mountains. To train for that ride, we used to ride up to Hadley and climb Mt Holyoke on our bikes... in 10th gear... to strengthen our legs for that long ride. As I ran past I remembered how tough those same switchback curves and hills were 30 years ago. Today they are but a distraction in my training routine. One the first run up, I averaged a crisp 9:45 pace and felt good at the top. I took a quick break to take the photos you see on my web site, but when I could see the rain coming towards the mountain I decided that was enough of lolly-gagging and time to get back to training.

The second run down was tougher... running down hill really beats up my shins quickly and I was hurting half-way down. At the bottom, I turned an headed up and it was amazing how the pain went away on the hill! My legs are ruined! It is now considerably more pleasrable to run up a hill than down a hill! The run back up was a little tough but a good workout, I could feel my left hip flexor getting inflamed again like it did on Mt Washington so I didn't push too hard but I made sure it was a good hard workout. It was a good workout filled with memories from my childhood and rides up the same mountain with my best friend Jeff. Who says you can't go back?

You Learn Something New Every Day...

Well on Independence Day, I celebrated by going for an early run in the "mountains" of western Massachusetts. I decided to do my hill workout on Mt Holyoke in Skinner Park in the town of Hadley. It is a beautiful park and it brought back some fond memories of younger days (more on that later).

At the summit I took some pictures of the sights (see my web site for those) and found a monument that I leanred something from. It was a monument dedicated to the aviators who lost their lives in WWII and in particular to the crew of a B24-J (bomber) which crashed into Mt Holyoke after taking off from Westover AFB in Chicopee, MA (where I grew up). On the monument was a quote that as I read it I thought... "Hey that's President Reagan's quote from when the Challenger exploded back in 1986!" I was surprised to see the credit below it to a man named J G Magee, Jr. I took a picture of it since my memory stinks, and when I got home I looked up JG Magee to find out that President Reagan's eloquent speech memorializing the Challenger victims was comprised of numerous excerpts from a quote that is legendary among aviators called "High Flight" by John Gillespie Magee, Jr. Now I'm sure President Reagan gave the appropriate credit way back when but I never noticed it and always thought it originated in that speech. "High Flight: is apparently legendary with pilots because "it has been found by many to give unique and felicitous expression to the emotions aroused by the act of piloting an aircraft." It is a very lofty verse and I enjoyed reading it in its entirety.

Quite appropriate learning on Independence Day... yes Mr Magee was British, but as a salute to all of our service men and women who fight to make sure that we had freedom and retain that right to freedom, it was a great piece of knowledge to garner.

Happy 232nd Birthday USA!

Fundraising Update

Well my first goal has been achieved! This week I exceeded my initial goal of raising $2,000 and am very close to exceeding $2,500 too! My new goal is $3,000 and I really hope I can achieve that level. It represents two things for me...

1) The good that those funds can do to help other people. Did you know that with the city of Bridgport being in such poor financial shape, they are now auctioning off building lots that Habitat used to get for $1? It now costs on average $20,000 for a typical Habitat lot. That means that the good people struggling to afford a Habitat home now must take on $20,000 more in debt to achieve their dream.

2) It also means that I probably have many more good people honored on my shirt. Friends who have lost the fight against cancer, young boys who are in the fight of their life today, and Moms who have won the fight (for now, because we all know that it can come back at any time). It builds more resolve in all of us to support our loved ones in their personal battle and to band together to help wipe this horrible disease out so no one else has to be put through the horrible ordeals.

Last Saturday was my monthly Habitat work day. I was late because I needed to first drop my son off at his Boy Scout service project beautifying the grounds of a small church in town. I needed to do both myself because my wife was away in Mexico on a church mission trip to help out an orphanage for children, most of whom have been abandoned because they are physically or emotionally disabled. Afterward I went to a picnic which was put on by a wonderful young woman who wanted to thank the Habitat crew which built her home last year. I remember raising the walls of her home during our July "blitz build" and doing work throughout the fall on the exterior and interior finish work. It was so satisfying to see how happy and proud she was of her home as she gave us the grand tour. I was also impressed how much she had done after we completed our work to add her own personal touches to it for her children. Its what Habitat does beyond building inexpensive homes, it gives people hope, it builds pride and creates communities where there was once urban blight.

I have learned so much over the last 3 months about so many people that I mused the other day with a few people that when my journey is complete, I'd like to have a BBQ to get everyone possible together in one place... sponsors, honorees, and my support group. Its not just a race or a fundraiser to me, it is truly a journey that I almost hate to have end because the experience has created an awakening in me. I know that as much as I try to do with my family to service others, there is more to be accomplished and it can't stop on August 16th.

LiveSTRONG my friends!

Six Weeks To Go and Counting

It was last September that I stumbled across this crazy race called the Pike's Peak Ascent that was slightly more than a half-marathon in length, climbed from 6,800 feet to 14,100 feet in altitude and was run on a rocky hiking trail. I was hooked at that moment and needed to compete in it. I can't believe it... after starting my training for the Pike's Peak Ascent back in November 2007 and after successfully qualifying for, entering, and being accepted into the race back in March... I am now nearly six weeks away from the big race day.

I don't feel nearly ready at this point. I was partially successful at Mt Washington but I cramped up which I never expected, the early steep section took the strength out of my legs earlier than expected (the steepest part of PP is early on as well) and I have not felt right ever since from some sort of gastro-intestinal problem. I need to go back in for more tests next week since my doctor found some anomalies with my blood tests in either iron deficiency or hyper-thyroid. I know this, I feel much better this week than I did last week. Last week I had no energy and really couldn't even run due to the pain in my stomach especially when I would run and bounce. This week I still can't eat much due to how my stomach reacts to food, and since I am on a lactose-free diet to see if I have developed a lactose intolerance, I have far fewer options. It is amazing how many prepared foods contain milk or milk by-products! I essentially need to either heavily scrutinize a label and rule out most items I look at or just buy fresh fruit, vegetables and meat and prepare them myself.

My training is getting better. I got little accomplished last week but this week I have done 8.75 miles at a faster pace than I planned on the weekend, then ran a 6.6 mile tempo run early in the week, followed up by a pretty good interval workout at the lake doing repeats at 6 to 6:10 pace while remaining fairly comfortable. On my strength days I also added in 30 minutes on the elliptical for some cardio time too. Tomorrow (Independence Day) I'll be doing a good hill workout while visiting may parents here in South Hadley, MA. I'll be running up the Skinner Mountain access road a few times as hill intervals... and yes I'll have my shirt on!

I'll try and get some pictures on the mountain and get an entry in tomorrow night.

I am... running for other people's lives!

The Week After My Last Big Test

This was an interesting week. I was interviewed by the CT Post for my work to raise money for Scouts Can (Habitat) and LiveSTRONG. It should be coming out soon in one of the editions this week. I'm excited... not for me being in the paper, but for the chance it gives me to further my fundraising and shirt memorial. My local By Scout District did a press release to many of the Fairfield and New Haven county media outlets so hopefully many others will pick this up as well.

I have been very much under the weather since Sunday and tests today were inconclusive but two possibilities are a stomach ulcer (not surprising with everything going on and all the stress) and possibly having become lactose intolerant. For those of you who know me, if the latter were to turn out to be true, that would be devastating! I love milk and my family and I go through a gallon every two days. I sure hope that is not the issue causing my GI distress. Today was much better, I actually ran about 4 miles so hopefully I am getting over it now.

Jan is leaving for an MCC (Monroe Congregational Church) church mission trip to Oaxaca, Mexico on Saturday morning so it feels very funny. Usually it is I who leaves on a trip with Jan staying behind with the kids. The opposite will be true for the next week and I'll sure miss her but she is doing something very good and I could not be more proud of her going down to help out at the Simply Smiles orphanage and building a house for one of the local dump families. If you want to learn more about where she is going, go to http://www.simplysmiles.org its a wonderful organization started by a young man from CT named Brian Nuremberger who has done so much for so many people there who have so little. The power of people is just amazing!

LiveSTRONG Jan and my other MCC friends! And safe travels...

Race & Journey-to-Date Reflections

I met two very special people on the run (not to mention the many other nice folks I met). A police officer who carried a flag up the mountain, it was a black flag with a blue stripe through it, for an organization called the “Thin Blue Line.” He was honoring his fallen comrades in the US the police forces. In the flag, the blue line represents each officer who daily protects our nation. The black background was designed as a constant reminder of their fallen brother and sister officers. There was also a retired US Marine who carried a 3’ x 5’ American flag on a pole the whole way from the bottom to top and he has done this I think 12 times already! Wow, what a patriot and what a heroic man to honor the Corp and his country that way! It was hard to run up the mountain period, it must have been brutal to run up carrying those flags, especially in the wind above the treeline. They had to have some powerful motivation to make it to the top and I salute them both for succeeding!

Yesterday I carried the names and spirits of 23 special people to the summit of Mt Washington on my shoulders. I couldn’t help but reflect on that as I stood on top of the little brass USGS marker for the official summit. Minutes after I finished and before I started looking for my ride in earnest, I walked alone to that point to be able to say I brought your loved ones to the very top, not just the finish line. Later I took a photograph there but the first time I just went up alone to reflect on where I am in this journey of mine. This journey has become so much more than just 3 races for me, I feel a huge responsibility to get to the top each time because of what my shirt stands for now. I feel a tremendous drive to get to the finish line and my life and my perspective on it will not be the same after I have completed the journey.

I won’t break records for fundraising and I won’t break race records, but I’ve met some special people whom I would have never known and I learned much more about my friends and their family and friends so far. I have learned more about the struggles people have gone through or are going through due to cancer. I have spoken more in depth with others who feel equally strongly about what a wonderful program Habitat for Humanity is and how we need to help others less fortunate than ourselves. We cannot push through life amassing personal possessions and not stopping to enjoy our amazing world and the fantastic people around us for there is no guarantee of what tomorrow will bring. We cannot blindly pass by others who need an extra boost to make a decent life for their family too. Every one of us must, as they say, “get out of the stands and onto the court,” because if you are not doing something to make a difference, you are merely a spectator with no impact in this world.

To my Scouts in Troop 63, I encourage you to take the Scout Slogan seriously every day and do something to help other people. What's most important in life is not having the newest iPhone v2 or a PS3 or XBox, it's not buying a new car either, what's most important is knowing that you are leaving a wake of kindness in your path and its ripples will cause others to remember and imitate your actions too.

I am… Running for Other People’s Lives!

Mt Washington Epilogue

As every big run had shown up to this time, there would be big logistical challenges before the start. It turned out that our GPS had the Mt Washington Cog Railroad programmed into as a local attraction so when I jumped out of the car at the starting area, Jan and the kids let it take them to their destination. Here’s the kicker… it actually had the WRONG location programmed in! They were late, lost and in the end missed the train by 4 minutes so they never got to see me run. I felt horrible for them. It must have been a terrible feeling watching that train head up the mountain without them… especially since the $180 of tickets were non-refundable and non-transferrable so that was money out the window. Oh well, its only money. I will say this... the kids told me she said a couple of choice words along about that time in the car :-) tsk, tsk

Well I know now that I have a LOT of work to do to get ready for Pike’s Peak once I take a few days of slow and easy. I felt so ready, but my legs were SO spent at the end. I focused on training slow for the last few months but I think I need to change that through June and July. I think I need to keep my long run on the weekends but make it even longer and then my other two quality runs during the week need to be all about speed to strengthen my muscles. My weekly hill workout will probably change to being mile repeats at a 12 degree incline with lots more speed in the repeats instead of just a long slow run at expected race pace. My weekly tempo run will speed up gradually and lengthen up as well to where I’m working much harder. I’ll need to consult the “rundoc” (my friend Paul) for more advice as well on why I cramped up because if I cramp up at 6 miles on Pike’s Peak I’m toast with 7.3 miles left.

Pike’s Peak is different though… it is mostly trail running and it has a number of breaks from hills… there are flats, there are downhills and there is altitude. I feel like I can be ready for the altitude with my Altolab trainer and the 1.5 weeks in CO ahead of the race. I just need to get my legs ready…

LiveSTRONG my friends!

Mt Washington: Mile By Mile

Mile 1: It was pretty steep and the crowds were heavy so I had to work to keep a pace of 11:00 to 12:00. Some good folks were quickly hurting here and breathing hard. I was not. I will say however that the incline was an unexpected steady 18% which was much more than I expected at the start.

Mile 2: It was pretty steep (that’ll be a theme here!) and the crowds were finally thinning out to where I could run unencumbered. I didn’t run any faster however, my pace was my pace and I wasn’t about to blow out my legs at the bottom. Breathing was still fine too but the incline was still well above the 11.5% average with stretches of 18% still... very hard on the legs.

Mile 3: It was pretty steep and my legs were tiring, I had started out feeling that I could last at least until mile 6 before I did some power walking but this was where I had to make a change to save my legs for the top. I walked for about .1 miles and then went back to running again for another mile. At 3.8 miles I was exactly half way. I’m not sure whose dumb idea it was, but they had music blaring at the half-way point… no it wasn't Eye of the Tiger or Chariots of Fire or Run Like the Wind, it wasn't an up tempo get-your-blood-flowing rock mix, instead it was terrible, horrible, dull Christmas music. As I passed I heard Hark the Herald Angels Sing playing and I couldn’t believe my ears!

Mile 4: It was pretty steep but I was past half way! We were now at what I’ll call the “rubber banding” phase. Those of us at the same approximate time would pass one another while running and be passed again while power walking only to repeat it again and again so a group of us started to hook up and synchronize to pull one another along. I met a guy named Marc from Rhode Island who was a great buddy the rest of the way and we ran with a number of other men and women nearly in a pack for the rest of the way. I knew now that I wouldn’t make my stretch goal of breaking 1:30 but I couldn’t allow myself to finish slower than 1:45 because that would be a huge blow to my Pike’s Peak confidence.

Mile 5: The trees were very scrubby now, and my legs were very fatigued (I won’t bother to say it was pretty steep anymore, that goes without saying). A guy I had met the night before said that the first half was much worse than the second. He lied! The second half was starting out to be mental torture. It felt just as steep (really wasn't), and with little to no tree cover now I could see up a few switchbacks to where other runners were. It looked so close but was SO HARD to get to! I have to say there were some nasty switchbacks and hills in here that took anything you had left in your tank. My cardio was great, I wasn't breathing hard at all yet, but my legs were tiring fast and my left hip flexor was getting sore but my oft gimpy Achilles tendons were GREAT so I felt confident all the same.

Mile 6: Seeing this sign was such a relief! I was now only 1.6 miles from the summit! I was now above the tree line and it was only rocks and moss around. At one point I looked down and could see the starting area WAY down below and I could also see probably 2 miles back down to a switch back where there still quite a few people and I felt good that I wasn't still down there. That actually gave me some extra push. Unfortunately right about there was where my right calf decided to knot up. Whenever it would knot up I would walk in a funky way to try and stretch it without stopping then start running again. The funky walking however led to my left quadriceps knotting up so I was then in a pinch. When my calf would cramp up I’d walk for a bit to loosen it and then my quad would knot up so I’d go back to running. It would continue this way to the end unfortunately.

Mile 7: We could kind of see the summit up there a few twists and turns ahead. I had a little bit left in the tank to give it that last kick because I had been alternating walking a running quite a bit for the last mile with cramps but because of those cramps there would be no sprint to the finish for me. The last 100-200 meters is a 30 degree incline. You may look at your handy-dandy compass and say “that ain’t so bad” but let me tell you, IT IS! Especially at 6,200 feet and after 7.5 miles and 4,600 feet of hill climbing before that. And on that last hill the race photographers are perched ready to catch us at our best slogging it up to the finish line. I’m sure mine is quite pathetic but we’ll see when the pictures are posted online.

The Finish Line: Yes! As I approached the finish line I heard the announcer say “and here comes Scott Redfern from Monroe, CT!” and it felt great to be there with quite a big crowd cheering for all of us! You know what? I all of a sudden had a ton of energy! I bounced around the flat finish area like I had just been on a short jaunt, I was looking for my ride down and my family but could find neither. I had only met Jim and Kim Whitehouse the night before for about 5 minutes to give Kim (the car driver) my bag of dry warm clothes for the summit and I thought I remembered what she looked like and what she said she’d be wearing. I had seen Jim at mile 4 and lost him so I wasn't sure where or if he had finished. 10 minutes later still no family and still no Jim or Kim. 15 minutes later, I heard the finish line announcer call out “Jim Whitehouse from NH” and I turned and ran for the finish line so I wouldn’t lose Jim as well. We soon found Kim looking quite like a pack mule with 5 bags on her back shoulders and arms for the 5 runners she would cart down the hill later. I had been looking for Kim in the wrong colored jacket so I probably looked right past her numerous times. I saw the “King of the Mountains” man finish just under 2 hours as he had planned and looking quite spent… great run King! I got my obligatory pictures taken at the top and we prepared to head back down the mountain to the food tent and celebration at the base once the road opened 3:02 after the race started.

Mt Washington Race Day!

Well I did it, I made it up Mt Washington! I made it on foot power alone. I made it without stopping. I made it without crawling. But unfortunately I did not make it running the whole way. Yes, I did have to walk at times because my legs got fatigued but I survived.

My goal was to finish around 1 hour 30 minutes, and although I did not make that time I came in at a respectable 1:40:43. The winner was done in just over 1:00 and the cutoff time was 3:02; about 1,000 people started, 859 finished and I placed 337… since it was the US Mountain Running Championship race with an elite group of mountain runners from around the country I think I did well. So here’s how the day started out…

I was up at 6am and ate my usual pre-race breakfast consisting of a banana and grapefruit with whole wheat toast and jam (would have preferred a whole grain bagel). By 7:30am I was like a caged lion in the hotel room while my family got ready. I wasn't really nervous but I was very anxious to get going and just pacing the room. I had checked in for the race the night before so all I needed to do was show up at the starting line, but I still just wanted to get there. My daughter Erica started singing The Lion Sleeps Tonight and I couldn’t get it out of my head so I went off to the race singing it in that high voice that the song is recorded in (though not nearly as well). My family dropped me off at the starting area and headed off to the Cog Railroad to meet me at the top.

I called the Mt Washington Autoroad office to get a report on the summit, and it was expected to be about 44 degrees at the summit at race time with 20+ MPH winds and a chance of rain… just as weather.com had predicted a day earlier so I knew I needed some warmth for above the tree line.

The prerace flew by… I stretched, I drank, I took my Gu electrolyte gel, I warmed up, and because I was so anxious I went to the bathroom 3 times and still needed to go again at the starting line! I felt ready though. I was unsure about wearing my long sleeved shirt under my sleeveless race jersey because it was about 65 degrees at the base and I was quite warm in it after doing my warm up. I stuck with it though because I knew above the tree line with the wind and lower temps I would be glad.

I spoke to a guy before the start who had a funky outfit on. He had very long black socks on, long black shorts and for you Tour de France aficionados, he wore the white with red polka dot “King of the Mountains” jersey. He said he wasn’t really the king of this mountain and was going to be happy to come in around 2 hours. Many of us had some pretty “outstanding” outfits to make us recognizable in the crowd.

The starting gun is actually a canon. I knew this but it still scared the tar out of me when it went off! I took off slowly with 1,000 of my closest running buddies. There is literally about a .1 mile slight downhill/flat at the very start and there wasn’t a single downhill or flat place again until we reached the summit 7.5 miles later. The Mount Washington Auto Road turned up as soon we hit the trees and never let up again… not for a second!

I'm BACK!

I started this post a while ago but my life has been SO hectic for the past few weeks that I couldn't even find the time to get it posted. So here it is a few days in arrears.

Well this past 2 weeks has been tough! I have been swamped at work, with the end of year events for Boy Scouts and my workout routine. Put that together with not enough sleep and you have the perfect recipe for getting sick and sick I was. The day of my last entry, I was socked by a bad cold which hasn't wanted to go away. My chest and sinuses have been congested and my lung capacity has been decreased, making it tough to get quality workouts in. What keeps me going is the commitment to each of you and to the memories and successes of good people we are honoring on my shirt. If it wasn't for that I think I would cry uncle sometimes.

I had to stop my altitude training because of the cold and congestion. Even when I resumed it recently, pure exhaustion caused me to literally fall asleep while doing my high altitude breathing sessions. I am simulating 20,000 to 30,000 feet (Mt Everest) for short bursts to cause my body to start reacting and building more red blood cells to compensate and carry more oxygen to my muscles and vital organs. That thin air however makes me very light-headed even for short bursts and combine that with just being plain old tired and you get Scott falling asleep with the tube in his mouth... even worse, Scott falling asleep, tube falling out and Scott slumped over drooling :-) Jan wants to snap a picture next time to post on the web site, how nice!

I'm going to cut this short and actually get some sleep tonight. I'll post again soon.

The Ryan B Spirit Award

I didn't win a trophy for being fast today at the Sprint for DARE, but I was honored for something ultimately more important. I was honored with the "Spirit Award" which is now named after a young man who inspires us all to persevere when faced with the greatest of challenges. The award is given tor an individual who shows courage and personal conviction and it was given to me due to my journey to the top of Pike's Peak and the awareness campaigns I have attached to my journey.

It's not the award that means so much to me however, its the young man whom it is now named after that gives the award so much meaning. I have been running the Sprint for DARE for many years now and this young man, Ryan B (sorry once again I'll withhold his last name for internet safety), has been too. A number of years back he was in a serious accident and sustained a traumatic brain injury that severely affected his motors skills and could no longer walk, but the next year he was back out there doing the Sprint for DARE in his motorized wheel chair... wow, how humbling yet inspirational for the rest of us! He finished with his family at his side and we were all amazed at his perseverance and courage. In the following years I have seen him each year and cheered him on as I pass by, Ryan has graduated from his motorized wheel chair to crutches to canes and every year he completes that 3.1 mile course with us! As big a challenge as it is for me to run up the slopes of Pike's Peak, that challenge is nothing to compared to Ryan's and his family's. I look forward to one day when he can again navigate the Sprint for DARE's course unencumbered by any artificial supports and hopefully even run it again some time after that. I am proud to have received an award with Ryan's name on it. I felt that it was karma today, as I walked up front I noticed that Ryan too was wearing a bright yellow LiveSTRONG shirt... just like me!

I will paraphrase what Lance Armstrong has said of his "LiveSTRONG" mantra... yellow is more than just the color of the Tour de France's leader jersey. It's a symbol for hope, courage, and perseverance; it inspires people to overcome adversity and adopt the channeled, focused energy that Lance used in his own battle with cancer.

Keep living STRONG Ryan and Mikey and Carole and Mom and Karen and Kelsey and Regina and Marty and Reese and ...

(you all know who you are and cancer is not the only adversity that we must persevere against in life)