Tag: Sydney

Sofa King Awesome Challenge training plan

April 23rd, 2025

Preparing for the Heartland 50 mile in a bit less than 2 weeks. This is a fun run. No pressure on this one. Yes, 50 miles is a long way. No, I haven’t been training for this run, specifically. I’m confident, though. I am in great shape, I know the course, there’s a generous cut-off, and there are a few friends also running. It should be good. Plus, if a runner does both Heartland races they get an extra award for the double.

Sydney and I had some friends over for a long-run party on Saturday. We ran 6-mile loops around the neighborhood. There were plenty of snacks to fuel with and doggies 🐕 to look at. Everyone did great and had fun. I finally got some real mileage and felt good. I want sore at all except for my feet around my big toes. I’m blaming that on dry skin and ignoring it. Hopefully, I’ll develop some callous there before the fall. I was hurt more from the watermelon margaritas on Easter Sunday, lol!

I’ve done an okay job of sticking to the training plan. Some life things have become obstacles. The plan is easy to adjust. No part of the plan is vital, so I just skip, cut, or replace parts that I can’t find/ make time for. I feel like I have been hitting all my goals so far. I will know where I am with mileage and fitness after Heartland. That’s when I will fill in mileage goals on the plan. I don’t think 100-mile weeks are too ambitious.

Nutrition is good. I’m sticking with the diet from 75 hard, sort of. I base my calorie intake on the calorie usage from the previous day, instead of a flat 2990 calorie limit. And I have treats. As many as I want! Welcome back, chips and salsa.

There are two motivational podcasts I listen to nearly every day now. Listen to is an exaggeration. They’re on when I start running. After a bit, everything turns into background noise. Maybe something will accidentally soak in, I don’t know.

My plan this weekend is:

Trolley run, long run, eat good food, do some supplements shopping, hang out. Get ready for the 50 miler. I’m not calling it a taper because I didn’t build. Just mentally and emotionally prepare myself.
Things sure have changed at Argo Road

April 7th, 2025

For our Sunday long run, Sydney and I visited Argo Road. A stretch of road in Grain Valley/Blue Springs, Missouri from 7 highway to South Dillingham Road, another anonymous through street on the east side of the area. Argo Road runs through the William Landahl Park Reserve and has some cool locations, such as the county sheriff’s shooting range, an outdoor archery range (supposedly one of the best,) and a mountain bike park with trails varying in difficulty. We were there, however, for the hills. Argo Road is (about) 5 miles of steep, rolling hills.

Along with a detour down Owen’s School Road, Argo is the home of “K.C.’S TOUGHEST ROAD RACE!” Which is a bit hyperbolic, but wild claims are fun and harmless. Twice a year, a certain type of runner gathers to run 13.1(ish) miles, unofficially. The only prizes are for first place male and female. Official time is at the start finish on a stopwatch or wristwatch. The entry fee was recently bumped to $xx, cash. No refunds. Finishers get a shirt. Maybe some food, if there’s any left. Maybe a soda or beer. The weather is supposed to be bad. The whole thing is supposed to be bad. I feel like the Argo 13.1 is a great example of “type 2” fun.

Sydney and I have, in the past, done some practice runs on Argo. The road isn’t too far from the house, and it’s fun to reminisce about the good times on race day. Plus, you know, bombing downhill. There are no sidewalks, just open ditches. The hills are steep and blind. The neighbors are…more friendly than hostile. People just don’t expect runners out there. The whole ordeal is exciting!

This particular visit, though, wasn’t to practice for Argo 13.1 summer edition. It wasn’t ajog down (and up and down and up and up and up and down) memory lane. We are getting ready for the Heartland spirit of the prairie 50k and 50 miler. We both know what we are in for, and knowledge is power. But you can’t know hills if you don’t run hills. Argo is the closest thing I can think of to big rolling terrain of the flint hills. There aren’t big, chunky rocks. I have no idea how to practice that. At least we will be in good shape for running the hills.

I was a bit disappointed in the addition of 2 brand new, clean, and well stocked portable toilets at Argo Rd. Vanity wants me to believe i am the reason for them. Last time we were there, i had to mosey up and say hello to some bushes. There are trail cameras everywhere! And a guy was doing trail maintenance. Heh. Realistically, it’s probably because it’s spring, and they want people to come enjoy the amenities and be comfortable. Antithema to the Argo Road race.

They’ve also done a lot of trimming and clearing along the sides of the road. The feeling of danger is reduced considerably! From having nowhere to go off a car comes barreling over the hill at you, to now you’ll get a little dirty. Maybe scraped up. Maybe tetanus or hepatitis… it’s just not the same thrill. Well, shucks. Nothing lasts forever, I suppose. The only constant is change. You can’t fight progress. I’ll just enjoy the new level of comfort and hope they don’t decide to flatten the danged hills. Pics to follow.
5000 meters

November 25th, 2024

So, after 17 weeks, I completed the Garmin Connect 5k training plan. My “A” race, the Gobbler Grind 5k 10k & Half marathon put on by the runners edge race company, went really well. I felt great and performed beyond what the training plan predicted.

The garmin Connect phone app works with the garmin smart watch. Workouts are sent to the watch, and supposedly, they use feedback from workouts to customize the training. I didn’t notice anything like that. I enjoyed having a workout right there on the watch.

After the slam, while helping Sydney train for her 100-mile race, I decided to try a fast 5k. You know, just to train for something. My personal best time for that distance, according to athlinks, is a little over 18 minutes. Forget that! I was hoping (secretly) to get somewhere in the 20th minute. The training plan only went down to 22 minutes. That’s pretty close and very fast. So that’s where I set the training goal.

17 weeks is a long training block. For comparison, most intermediate to advanced marathon training plans are 12-16 weeks. So I’m training for a little longer than a long marathon training plan to run about an eighth of the distance. But I’m a slow old guy, so it makes sense.

On November 9th, I ran the Veteran’s Day 5k in Parkville in 22:39 seconds. That was fast enough to win the men’s master’s division. I almost ended the training there. I was encouraged by Sydney and the training plan to finish with the goal race. I felt like i should at least try for my secret target time. And two weeks is plenty of time to cram some good training in.

Throughout training, I had been skipping some key workouts. Hill repeats, spring intervals, tempo runs… all the workouts designed to improve overall speed. I really didn’t deserve the good results. I was really hitting the strength training. I was doing really well with the nutrition. Maybe if I had made up those workouts, I would have hit the 20-minute mark.

Gobbler Grind is a very popular race. The route winds through corporate woods business park and the surrounding neighborhoods. The runners edge doesn’t offer very many races throughout the year, but what they do offer is usually very well run. This event was great, overall, but there were some issues.

The start/finish area was in a different spot than usual. That isn’t a big deal. Unfortunately, because of the placement, fast 5k finishers were crossing the route of the half marathon. Seemed pretty dangerous, yet hilarious as long as nobody got hurt.

There were the usual race sponsors at the finish line festival. A massage place, supplement superstore, fleet feet shoe store. There was also a food tent, offering great breakfast food for sale. I’ve got no problem with people selling food, but i didn’t know about it until I got there. I would have brought some money. Lucky for me, Sydney is okay with being a sugar momma sometimes and hooked me up with some breakfast tacos. They were delicious and totally worth the cost.

We tried looking up my results after I finished so I could avoid standing in line at the results table. With a big race like this, even my p.r. isn’t enough for any awards. I don’t mind. It’s neat to win, but I’m racing the clock. Anyways, the results weren’t showing online, so I stood in line. Just to see. Sydney had a feeling I probably won something. I did. I finished in 21:20, which won 2nd in my age group! I was a little off from my secret goal of 20:xx. I was way ahead of the training goal of 22:xx. I had a lot of fun training and running. So I feel like a winner.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Veterans Day 2024

November 13th, 2024

I am a veteran. I served in the United States army from 1994 to 1998. I was honorably discharged from Ft. Hood, Texas, at the rank of e-4. My MOS was 54B. Chemical operations specialist. My service was sort of unique. My MOS was actually 3 specialties all jammed together. After I left, they broke that specialty into 5 new jobs. Even training was a little different. Instead of eight weeks of basic training and then a separate school for my MOS, it was a new program called OSUT or one station unit training. Twenty-two weeks of combined basic training and military oriented specialty training. In my case, chemical school. It just occurs to me now that maybe I shouldn’t be talking about all this. Is it top secret? After 30 years? I’ll try to keep it boring. Just like my time in the service, lol.

Anyways, from chem school basic training, straight to the republic of Korea. Not Seoul, either. This was real “MASH” type Korea, up in the mountains. There were some cool things I saw and did there, some things I missed out on. I regret not trying kimchi while I was there. Young people are idiots. The point is that technically, I’m a veteran of a foreign war. Not long ago, I went ahead and got a lifetime membership to the vfw. I have no home post. Someday, I’ll probably get more involved. I don’t know. I mainly use it when I’m traveling alone. VFW is an okay place to get food and a couple of beers, if you can stand the company.

Veterans Day is personal to me, but i also get it’s kind of a bologna holiday. If you don’t work at a bank or a government office, you don’t get the day off. Mainly, it’s a day to avoid going out to eat. I haven’t ever taken advantage of the free meal. I’ve wanted to, do sure. The day sneaks up on me, and i forget to take the day off work. Somehow, the free meal thing just doesn’t seem to work out. I do like to act super entitled all day (or more) saying things like ” You’re WELCOME for my service!” And “That’s not what I served for!” Is all in fun. Just jokes.

Know what isn’t a joke? The Veterans Day 5k at English Landing Park in Parkville, Missouri. Put on by our friends at the kc running company. Somehow, after weeks of training, I came in the first male – masters division. Masters are runners over 40 years old. I was eighth overall. Not too shabby!

I’m still doing no Shave November. I’ve pretty much given up on the movies, though. It was a neat idea, but who has time to sit and watch a movie every day? I got through some, though. Syd and I watched “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.” I watched “A Night at the Opera. ” I was looking for “The Dirty Dozen.” That’s about when I gave it up. I thought about spreading it out into t.v. shows (My Name is Earl) and even cartoons (Yosemite Sam), but in the end, it’s better to call it quits. There’s always next year, after all.

There are some big events coming up! Thanksgiving! Ollie’s Ultra 24-hour race! Christmas themed runs! It’s going to be a great season.
Baby, It’s Not As Cold Outside

January 24th, 2024

(Why aren’t you running?)

J/K! J/K! I see everybody out running. I see the stories on Instagram (rex.hunt.7) and Facebook, Garmin Connect, and strava (canceled premium after the price hike, but there’s no deleting the app 🤷‍♂️.) H.B.I.C. Sydney and I have been getting out in it, too. It’s…invigorating. inspiring? It’s certainly educational.

Syd and I did a long run in the caves at Park University. Go Pirates! It was fun. I guess the following weekend was the time to go, though. ALL of our friends were in there, jogging the just under a mile loop.

Syd and I did not do the caves at that time because we were busy registering for the Winter Argo 13.1 mile run. Or for Bootsy and me, a little bit further than 13.1 miles.

So Sydney and I registered and then ran a little bit of the road. Just a few hills, to remember what it’s all about out there. We saw friends and horses. I made a snow angel.

Fun story: After “Ollie’s Ultra,” Sydney couldn’t find her shockz. 🎶Sad trombone🎶. After searching and searching, she decided they must be on a picnic table in Chanute, Kansas. She ordered new ones, they arrived, everything is fine😐.

We brought some camp chairs from her place to my place in preparation for Cactus Roulette 🌵. Sydney is running 12 hours out there and is going to want to sit eventually. Having the chairs here has been great! I’ve been using them to take my shoes and boots on/off. I feel like Mr. Rogers. So I’m putting this chair away after putting my boots on, and I see Sydney’s shockz draped gently around the arm of the chair. I leave them there because clearly, “that’s where she keeps them now so she doesn’t lose another pair…” I think to myself cleverly.

The next day I’m going on about how great place looks since she cleaned it (she cleaned the house, it looks AMAZING!) And she tells me she was looking for something and just got on a roll. I said “ah! Your shokz! They were on the arm of your camp chair!”

Her

Face.

I thought she was going to cry, or attack me, or run out of the house like it was haunted. She walked over to a basket on the counter, pulled out a pair of headphones, and said, “These are yours.” Then she walked over to a different basket in the corner of the room, grabbed a pair of headphones, and said,”These are the ones I just got.” She walks, gingerly, to the camp chair. Points at the shokz. THE shokz. Turns and walks upstairs. She says, “You should blog about this. I’m getting cleaned up.” She may have cried. I don’t know. She definitely muttered. Hey, who hasn’t, though? Right? People are…you know?

Cactus Roulette 🌵 12 hour noon to midnight.

Argo 13.1 mile run (50k).

H.B.I.C., Chad, me, and some horses.

Date night! Mexican food, giant margaritas and the Chiefs vs. Bills game
Kansas Rails-to-Trails Extravaganza

October 24th, 2023

The final race in the Kansas grand slam of ultrarunning super slam is the same as the first race in the Kansas grand slam of ultrarunning. Starting at celebration hall in Ottawa, Kansas. Running on the prairie spirit trail all the way to iola and back.

Maybe it’s poetic? Ending where it began, but a different season. The whole thing began way back in January, when I ran cactus roulette 24-hour, trying to get prepared for The Hawk. Every run, every race, every workout all leading up to this.

As of this writing, I have no intention of trying to “win,” or “breaking a record.” I’m really just looking forward to getting some fun miles with our friends.

The weather report so far looks awful! Rain, cold. Maybe wind? I love it! Let’s get miserable! Maybe we should set up a swear jar or “whine fines?” We’ve been pretty lucky with the weather this entire time. I guess we are due for some comeuppance.

We have a great group of pacers and crew signed up. There are more pacers than available pacing spots, so competition is getting a bit heated. I hope it’s all in fun, but I’m not worrying about that part. The whole thing is H.B.I.C. business.

Speaking of, Sydney has done a great job (as usual), getting everything set up for success. For example: accommodation 5 minutes from the start line. Yes, please! How about that? No 4:30 wake up. It feels kind of weird. Plus, all the fun costumes and Halloween stuff she’s doing. This will be a race to remember!

So, I’m very excited. And nervous, still. What I’m really doing is putting off thinking about what comes after. 🤔
Ultrapalooza recap

October 21st, 2023

100 miles is a long way. I mean, it’s far. It’s far enough to use as an excuse. Like: I would go, but it’s 100 miles away.

Ultrapalooza is a running event put on by our friends, Midwest Endurance Race Company. The same group that brought us the Kansas City Last Man Standing event, Miola Madness series of fixed time events, and the Mile 0 run. They do a great job with their events, and Ultrapalooza is no different.

There are 5 distances available to race at ultrapalooza: 50k, 50 mile, 100k, 100 mile, and 1/2 marathon. I was doing the 100 mile as part of my attempt at the grand slam of Kansas ultrarunning super slam. I had friends running in just about every other distance.

A couple of notable ones:

Kerrie ran her 100th half marathon. Apparently, her finish was amazing! I wasn’t there. I was on the trail, trying to run 100 miles.

Adam had intended to run his first 100 kilometer race there at ultrapalooza. He has been doing amazing things lately (the hawk trail marathon and pike’s peak marathon,) but life takes a toll. He dropped down to the 50k and did amazing! I hope his foot pain is temporary. He told me about it as he passed me on the trail, twice, while I was trying to run 100 miles.

Our friend and regular pacer David “Bootsy” Boots ran his first 100k. He did amazing, even though he told me he was seriously undertrained. We saw each other a couple of times on the trail while I tried to run 100 miles.

Sydney’s coach Randy ran the 50-mile race. I mean, he RAN 50 miles. At the start line, he gave me solid advice: “don’t follow me” lol! And I didn’t. I had a plan(ish). I saw him on his way BACK from the turnaround. He was flying! I was trying to run 100 miles.

I did, by the way. I ran 100 miles at ultrapalooza. It took 28 hours. It was really hard. I did it with the help and support of a couple of amazing pacers and my girlfriend, crew chief, and H.B.I.C., Sydney.

The entire weekend was a fun, trippy, unbelievable experience. Syd and I drove down Friday afternoon for packet pickup. The entire main street through Osawatame was ripped up for some sort of project.

Crew chief Sydney as the “I” in mile zero.

Saturday morning, we made it to the start just in time. It’s funny to me how much I have to hurry at the start of these things. The shortest distance takes over an hour. We should be allowed a bit of a grace period at the front end. Maybe there would be, I hate being late, so I’ll probably never test it.

The forecast called for thunderstorms. Luckily I was moving too slow and missed the heavy rain, hail, and lightning. Gay Ann got some awesome video of a lightning show in the distance overnight.

Besides lightning, there was a lot of animal activity through the night. I saw a couple of opossum, some armadillo (possum on the half shell), deer, frogs, and an owl. The noise and being sprayed by something really freaked out my pacer Jeff and me! All the action settled down after he started blasting 80’s hits from his mobile. We agree that music without headphones is gauche, but since we were the only people left out there, it would probably be okay in this instance.

Yes, I was the last runner to finish. I’m okay with it. I wasn’t going slow, according to the stats. In fact, this is my second or third fastest 100 miler. And “last” was still 2nd place. I got a really nice framed print. It’s on the mantle.

Ultrapalooza was on the same weekend as some other popular races. So I didn’t have a lot of crew or pacers. I don’t mind. I understand there are only so many weekends. I hardly ever volunteered before this challenge. I will after, for sure!

So between the heat, humidity, lightning, limited support, and active wildlife… I think it went pretty well.
Strength and Conditioning

October 19th, 2023

Some things I do semi regularly.

Everybody is different, with individual abilities and differing skill levels. Some people are pretzel-like yogis, and some can’t touch their toes. It’s all 🙂 👌 👍. A part of my fitness and something that has really been key for a couple of years now is adding at least some strength training to the routine. Nothing too crazy. Mostly body weight. Mostly core and leg things.

My favorite resource for workouts is, hands down, YouTube. I did a particular challenge that I won’t name here (it took 75 days and wasn’t easy) that required two 45-minute workouts a day. So I go to YouTube, search “45 minute ‘insert type’ workout” and BOOM! List of follow along workouts. It is too easy!

Some of my favorite YouTube workout channels are Juice & Tonya; Yoga with Adriene; Critical Bench; and 5 minutes fitness. There are so many more, but these are the ones I go to the most.

My standard, nearly everyday workout/warmup/confidence builder/ just do something routine is the 3 minute mountain leg routine by S.W.A.P. coach David Roche and I do it like this:

12 alternating back lunges

25 step ups with each leg

That’s it.

That simple little leg buster has helped me through some tough “I don’t wanna” days!

So there’s a little peek at my running support “program.”

I’ll try to publish some recaps for ultrapalooza 100 and Heartland 100…soon. Watch the Heartland 100 video on YouTube now! Sydtherunner is the page!
The Back Half

September 21st, 2023

First-off, let me say, I know I’m behind on my posting. I still have a recap of the Hawk 100 to publish. I apologize. I have started over on that, and it has been almost as tough to recap as it was to run. In the meantime, I would like to change direction and talk about the upcoming races.

Unlike the first races in the super slam of Kansas ultrarunning, with long breaks and plenty of recovery time, the last three races in the slam are rapid fire!

ULTRAPALOOZA: 2 weeks after the Hawk 100 comes Ultrapalooza, a flat and fast rail to trail from the mile 0 trailhead in Osawatame, Kansas. This will be the second year for the showcase race event put on by Midwest Endurance Race Company. Last year Sydney and I ran the 100k and had an awesome time. This year looks to be even better!

Heartland spirit of the prairie 100: 3 weeks after ultrapalooza, we go back to Cassoday, Kansas for Heartland. A surprisingly tough race on rocky gravel roads through the picturesque Flint Hills. “Hills,” it’s right there in the name. Sydney and I ran the 50/50 in the spring, so I have a good idea of what to expect. Hills, rocks, and cows… Also, because of the earlier race, I get a bonus buckle (if I finish 😉).

Heartland

Kansas rail to trail extravaganza 100: 2 weeks after Heartland, the series wraps up where it began way back in March. A 100 mile out and back on the crushed gravel prairie spirit trail. From Ottawa to Iola and back. This race being the final in the slam, and on a familiar trail, close to Halloween time, should be a fun and amazing experience. Sydney and I have big plans and ideas for making it really cool!

Just an idea.

So, three 100-mile races in about 6 weeks, and then it’s all over. Huh. Well, I shouldn’t take it for granted that I will even finish all the races. Anything can happen out there. Severe weather… animal attacks… Food poisoning…Anything, really.

So, the recap of the Hawk will be published soon, hopefully before the other races.
Anticipation

September 7th, 2023

The Hawk 100 is on Saturday!

Awesome

I’m very excited! I’m very nervous! I’m very ready to be on the trails!

The Hawk is race #3 in the slam. My halfway point. The closest race to Kansas City.

I’ve been worrying about this race since I decided to try the slam. I’m not very experienced in technical trail running. It is definitely a weak spot for me! I have a LOT of excuses. From “the trails are too far away” to “I don’t look good with a beard.” But on Saturday, the excuses don’t matter.

In case I haven’t explained, for the super slam of Kansas ultrarunning, I must complete every race. A DNF ends the slam. Then this becomes a blog about…I don’t know…microwave cooking, I guess? Needlefelt? Bird…baiting?

But let’s not think about failure! Sure, I could have trained on trails more. I could have done more strength training. I might have upped my supplement game.

All of those are great “could haves.”

What I did, though, was pretty good. I started way back in January with cactus roulette.

Cactus roulette: confidence builder (photo courtesy of mile 90 photography)

I did very well! I ran the nighthawk 50k.

Nighthawk: Practice running at night. (Photo courtesy of mile 90 photography)

I feel like I did good there, too. I ran the snake 10 miler and was super at running the runnable sections. And Sydney and I had a really nice time running some loops during the trailhawks birthday party.

My fitness is up, thanks to some recent long runs. I’ve taken a break from working overtime to rest. We have a good nutrition and hydration plan.

And, of course, I have the world’s greatest crew and real top-notch pacers signed up to carry/drag me kicking, screaming, whining, and crying to the finish.

So here I am, somewhere between psyched-up and psyched-out. It’s pleasantly uncomfortable, like a sauna, or a necktie with a cool pattern.

Let’s GO!