"I have arrived. I am home. In the here. In the now. I am solid. I am free. In the ultimate I dwell." --Thich Nhat Hanh

Friday, January 20, 2017

Where Have You Gone Mr Japod?


I has been 7 months since I last posted on this blog. Not because I forgot about it, but fully for the lack of any and all motivation to write. While gone from here, I've been very active elsewhere. Let's catch up on all that was missed...

I last wrote about my successful run at Laurel Highlands. That race was a great and tough experience for me and perfect training for rest of the year. It taught me bunch of lessons, from proper hydration, to keeping cool to pacing (all still work in progress).
Jahorina Ultra Trail - early on
Amy and I went to Bosnia and Croatia on our annual pilgrimage to visit the family. Being tough and stupid runners that we are, we attempted the newly created Jahorina Ultra Trail, and came up short of our goal. Since I've failed to produce a proper race report you can head on over to Amy's page and read all about the epic fail. Let's just say that there were barbed wires, mad bulls and crazy blisters involved. While we failed to reach the finish line at 125km mark, we still made it over 100km before deciding to call it quits to due to many factors. 30 hours in the wilderness of Bosnia is a certainly an experience we will never forget. We learned, that when going on vacation, perhaps we shouldn't pick the longest race option offered.
Ummm....which way is the trail? Jahorina
Upon returning back home, I still had close to 2 months left to get ready for my third attempt at the 100 mile distance. OC100 was a race that we should have done last year (2015) but foolishly went to TARC instead. I felt confident going into it. I had my trusty pacer/crew Amy. OC100 was everything a 100 miler should be. It was great, fun, horrible, painful and too long. Going into it I thought that loops wouldn't be too bad since they are 30 miles each. Alas, I was wrong. I was annoyed to be going back out, and annoyed knowing how long it would take to get around. There was crying involved as usual, and hitting the deepest levels of hell. Reaching the last "going home" 7 mile loop, I was done. I still had tons of time before the cutoff, so we decided to take it easy. And I mean super easy. Like a morning stroll in the park. Well, that is until the last mile, when I realized that I could go sub 31 hours. Idiotic, right? So I took off running like a mad man, finishing the last mile in 8 min pace and getting it in 30:59. Finally my 100 mile race was in the books. I do have to say it is insane how long it took me to get over the DNF at Eastern States. I need to write about that (should I?).
OC100 done
And that was it for the year. I got an opportunity to go to Utah in October to put on the Trail Fest with the TAUR crew, so I did not end up doing the races at Runner's World in Bethlehem. I did not get to do any races at the Trail Fest, but I had a spectacular time with my TAUR team. I got to visit the Bryce National Park, as well as run in Zion National Park. Certainly not something that can be easily forgotten. I got to see the beauty of south Utah, and got to see a bit to Salt Lake valley. As they say Utah is RAD, and I want to go back soon.
Utah running
Among the lack of racing in 2016, I got to travel to Colorado for work bunch of times, which introduced me to running at elevation. Boulder is absolutely stunning and it was a love at first sight. Mountains is where we want to be, and there will be a lot more of that in 2017 and beyond.
ColoRADo
This brings us up to 2017. I kicked it off with Phunt 25K. I decided to go with 25 rather than 50 as I have been doing some more speed work and I just wanted to see what I could do. I beat my time by over 17 minutes from 2016, but still felt that there was room for improvement. More work to be done.
Phunt 2017
2017 will bring a lot of new adventures and a lot of new challenges. I am heading down to Virginia in May to do MMT 100. After that who knows. My calendar is open and I am looking forward to filling it up with races that inspire me and ones that I really want to run.
Jahorina Mountain - Bosnia
I will try to post more often on this blog. I am thinking about what I could do. I will not be doing any race reports unless something extraordinary happens that is worth writing about it. I went into too many races pre-planning the blog entry, just to see it all go wrong. I will not do that any more.

I will be back soon.....

Go forth and run....
Crewing for 24 hour races is hard
 Some more pics from the year:
Camping in Maine




Opaliti Vrh - Bosnia

Peak of Scah - Croatia

Boulder, CO
Zion NP
OC 100



24 comments:

  1. I really like your passion for running and your post has been very informative for me in motivating me for my passion to travel the world and indulge in other adventures as well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's in fact very difficult in this active life to listen news on Television, so I just use the web for that purpose, and get the latest news. paypal mastercard login

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome and interesting article. Great things you've always shared with us. Thanks. Just continue composing this kind of post. dewapoker

    ReplyDelete
  4. If more people that write articles really concerned themselves with writing great content like you, more readers would be interested in their writings.Thank you for caring about your content. dewapoker

    ReplyDelete
  5. You have done a great job on this article. It’s very readable and highly intelligent. You have even managed to make it understandable and easy to read. You have some real writing talent. Thank you. buy instagram likes using paypal

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have browsed most of your posts. This post is probably where I got the most useful information for my research. situs judi qq

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi there, I discovered your blog per Google bit searching for such kinda educational advise moreover your inform beholds very remarkable for me. 198.96.92.108

    ReplyDelete
  8. Extraordinary blog. I took pleasure in scrutinizing your articles. This is extremely a marvelous scrutinized for me. I have bookmarked it and I am suspecting examining new articles. Continue doing magnificent! joker123 apk

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great to be here in your article or post, whatever, I figure I ought to likewise buckle down for my own site like I see some great and refreshed working in your site. Panzer Arms

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great to be here in your article or post, whatever, I figure I ought to likewise buckle down for my own site like I see some great and refreshed working in your site. http://bangawal.com/

    ReplyDelete
  11. They listened and helped us despite the fact that we were dealing with another lender. canadian mortgage calculator People who will be needing a home financing in Canada should research the most popular lenders within the country. mortgage calculator

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great to be here in your article or post, whatever, I figure I ought to likewise buckle down for my own site like I see some great and refreshed working in your site. Oxycodone for sale without prescription

    ReplyDelete
  13. WOW, it's looking very exciting. I really loved to go on such trips whenever I got times. You should pick high quality walking sticks, walking aids, and other related accessories. Those items are really important within rough track.

    ReplyDelete
  14. It's very interesting post.this is my first time visit here.i found so many interesting stuff in your blog especially its discussion..thanks for the post! Buy Weed online

    ReplyDelete
  15. This is a great inspiring article.I am pretty much pleased with your good work.You put really very helpful information. Keep it up. Keep blogging. Looking to reading your next post. ufa

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hey There. I found your blog using Google. This is a very well written article. I’ll be sure to bookmark it and come back to read more of your useful info. Thanks for the post. I’ll definitely return. slot live22

    ReplyDelete
  17. I am always searching online for storys that can accommodate me. There is obviously a multiple to understand about this. I feel you made few salubrious points in Attributes moreover. summary generator

    ReplyDelete
  18. I am always searching online for storys that can accommodate me. There is obviously a multiple to understand about this. I feel you made few salubrious points in Attributes moreover. people counter

    ReplyDelete
  19. I am always searching online for storys that can accommodate me. There is obviously a multiple to understand about this. I feel you made few salubrious points in Attributes moreover. dm20 smartwatch

    ReplyDelete
  20. Great to be here in your article or post. It's very interesting post.Mdmonirul Islam

    ReplyDelete
  21. Incredible tips and straightforward. This will be exceptionally helpful for me when I get an opportunity to begin my blog. corporate loans service provider

    ReplyDelete
  22. This content is simply exciting and creative. I have been deciding on a institutional move and this has helped me with one aspect. corporate loans service provider

    ReplyDelete
  23. I can’t imagine how you write these amazing posts, your blog is a great help for us. You are sharing everything which is the best part of this blog. I have learned a lot from your blog and I almost read you’re every post. corporate loans service provider

    ReplyDelete
  24. This is a compelling read! The mystery surrounding Mr. Japod's disappearance adds an intriguing layer to the story. It’s fascinating to explore what might have led to his sudden absence and the impact it has had. On a different note, at Globe Carbon Industries, we’re also diving into the world of materials and have been exploring what epoxy resin is and its applications. It would be interesting to see if there are any connections or parallels between your story and the innovations in resin technology. Thanks for sharing such an engaging piece!

    ReplyDelete

Popular Posts

Instagram

Copyright © Japod Runner | Powered by Blogger

Design by Anders Noren | Blogger Theme by NewBloggerThemes.com